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                       The Battleship Boys at Sea

                                   OR

                  Two Apprentices in Uncle Sam's Navy

                                   By

                           FRANK GEE PATCHIN

           Author of The Battleship Boys' First Step Upward,
                    The Pony Rider Boys Series, Etc.

                              Illustrated

                              PHILADELPHIA
                         HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY




                                CONTENTS

             CHAPTER                                      PAGE
                  I. The Lure of the Battleship              7
                 II. In Uncle Sam's Navy                    27
                III. Who Threw the Pie?                     35
                 IV. Piping up Hammocks                     43
                  V. Trying Out Their Grit                  50
                 VI. In the Midst of the Battle             60
                VII. The Red-Headed Boy's Surprise          69
               VIII. On the Rifle Range                     74
                 IX. Betrayed by a Streak of Red            86
                  X. Their First Detail                     94
                 XI. On Board a Battleship                 102
                XII. In the Deck Division                  118
               XIII. Resenting an Insult                   125
                XIV. Called Before the Mast                132
                 XV. A Badly Banged-up Bully               144
                XVI. Receiving a Challenge                 154
               XVII. Proving His Courage                   165
              XVIII. The Orderly Takes a Header            180
                XIX. The Work of an Enemy                  193
                 XX. Out on the Mine Field                 200
                XXI. Breaking the Record                   208
               XXII. Buried Three Fathoms Deep             217
              XXIII. Heroes to the Rescue                  224
               XXIV. Conclusion                            236




THE BATTLESHIP BOYS AT SEA




CHAPTER I--THE LURE OF THE BATTLESHIP


"That must be the place over there, Sam."

"Where?"

"Just across the street on the next block. I see something in front of
the building that looks like the picture we saw in the post office at
home."

Dan Davis turned to a passing policeman and, respectfully touching his
hat, asked:

"Will you tell us, sir, where we may find the United States Navy
recruiting station?"

The policeman pointed to the building in front of which Dan's eyes had
caught sight of a highly colored lithograph.

"Thank you, sir. Come on, Sam; I was right. That is the place we are
looking for. See that flag up there in the third story window? That's
the flag you and I are going to serve under if we are lucky enough to be
accepted."

Sam Hickey nodded and started after his companion across the street. A
moment later the lads stood before the picture that had attracted their
attention. In the foreground of the picture stood a sailor clad in the
uniform of a seaman in Uncle Sam's Navy, while on beyond him, in the
distant background, lay a white battleship, the Stars and Stripes
floating from her after staff, a line of signal flags fluttering from
the signal halyard just aft of the battleship's navigating bridge. Palm
trees and similar foliage showed it to be a tropical scene.

For several moments the lads stood gazing on the picture with fascinated
interest. Each seemed unable to withdraw his gaze from it. At last, with
a deep sigh, Dan turned his shining eyes upon his young companion.

"Isn't it beautiful, Sam?" he breathed.

"What, the sailor?"

"I was not thinking of the sailor; I was thinking of the ship--the
battleship--and that Flag floating there, the most beautiful Flag in the
world. At least I guess it must be. I've never seen any of the other
flags, except in pictures, but that one is handsome enough for me. Shall
we go upstairs to the recruiting office now?"

"Don't be in a hurry," objected Sam. "I want to look at the picture some
more."

"We can do that afterwards. The first thing is to see whether we shall
be able to enlist. This letter that I got from the station says we have
to be examined, though I don't know just what sort of examination they
will give us."

Sam Hickey still lingered.

"Are you coming, Sam?"

"No."

"Not coming?"

"No; I've changed my mind."

"I don't understand," rejoined Dan, a puzzled expression in his eyes.

"I guess I do not want to enlist. I think I shall go back home to
Piedmont."

"Look here, Sam Hickey, you will do nothing of the sort! We came down
here to enlist in the Navy and that is exactly what we are going to do,
providing they will have us. You say you are going back home. How do you
expect to get there?"

"The way we came--on a train, of course."

Dan smiled grimly.

"I guess not. You forget that we have no money left--that is, not more
than enough with which to buy one more meal."

"I can walk," grumbled Sam.

"No, you cannot. We are three hundred miles from Piedmont. Why do you
wish to back out at this late hour? You were so anxious to enlist, and
now you are talking the other way. Why?"

"I've changed my mind; that's all."

Dan grasped his companion firmly by the arm.

"You come along with me! You have changed your mind too late this time."

Sam hesitated, then reluctantly accompanied his companion up the stairs.
A few moments later, they were knocking at the door of the recruiting
office.

Sam Hickey felt a strong inclination to bolt, and no doubt he would have
done so had it not been for the firm grip on his arm. He ran one hand
nervously through his shock of red hair, shifted his weight from one
foot to the other and muttered something that was unintelligible to his
companion.

But Dan's ears were keenly alert for the response to his summons, and he
straightened up ever so little as he heard footsteps approaching the
door.

It had been the dream of these two young American boys for many months
to join the Navy. They had talked and talked of the day when they should
have arrived at the age that permitted them to make application for
admission to the service. A few weeks before reaching the legal age,
which is seventeen, each had received a letter from a recruiting station
in New York City pointing out the advantages that the service offers to
young Americans.

Correspondence had been immediately opened with the recruiting office,
with the result that the lads made their preparations to go directly to
New York City and present themselves at the recruiting station.

Dan, who lived with his widowed mother, was a clerk in the general store
in his home town; while Sam, an orphan, had been serving an
apprenticeship in a small machine shop. It had been therefore no small
effort for the boys to get together enough money for their expenses to
the metropolis; and, as already stated, they were now practically at the
end of their resources. But this did not discourage them.

"If we are rejected we shall be able to find something to do in New York
that will let us earn enough money to take us back home," Dan had
declared resolutely, his pale face lighting up, his eyes sparkling with
purpose and determination.

"Yes; I had just as lief work in New York as in Piedmont," agreed Sam.

"I hope, Sam, we shall have to do neither."

The door was thrown open abruptly, and the boys found themselves
confronted by a middle-aged man clad in a blue suit. On the right sleeve
he wore three bright red chevrons enclosing a white pilot wheel,
surmounted by a white eagle, showing that he was a quartermaster in the
United States Navy.

"Well, what is it?" he demanded rather brusquely.

"We wish to join the Navy, sir," answered Dan firmly.

The quartermaster surveyed the lads keenly.

"Come inside," he said.

The boys entered the waiting room, where they were directed to seat
themselves at a table. A printed blank form was placed before each.

"Fill out those applications," directed the petty officer who had
admitted them. "If your answers to the questions are satisfactory you
will be asked some further questions; then we shall have you examined."

Having spent three years in high school, after finishing at the grammar
school, the boys found themselves well able to fill out the application
blanks without having to ask questions of the quartermaster. This they
did with much care, giving such facts about themselves as the
application blank demanded.

Sam nudged his companion.

"See that man sitting over there to the left of you?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I think he must be a general or something of the sort."

"Humph! There's only one general in the Navy, and he is in the Marine
Corps," answered Dan reprovingly. "I know what that officer is."

"What is he, then, if you know so much?"

"He is a commander."

"How do you know?"

"I know by the three gold stripes on his sleeve. If he had two and a
half stripes there he would be a lieutenant-commander. If he had four he
would be a captain."

Sam looked incredulous.

"How do you happen to know all about that?"

"I read about it in a dictionary. They were all pictured out there. I
know a lot more of them, too, only I'm too busy to tell you about them
now. Have you finished filling out your blank?"

"Not quite."

"Then you had better get busy. If we take too much time it _may_ count
against us. I don't know about it for sure."

For several minutes thereafter the lads wrote industriously. Dan was the
first to