Yet, hardly
had Jack been allowed to step out than Hal Hastings was unceremoniously
dropped athwart the blanket. The tossing began again, to the chant of:
Sir, sir, surcingle!
Sir, sir, circle!
Right plentifully were these cadet midshipmen avenging themselves for
having had to say "sir" to these young submarine boys that day.
"Woof!" breathed Jack, as soon as breath entered his body again. Eph
clenched his fists tightly, as Hal continued to go higher and higher. But
at last Hastings's ordeal was over.
"I suppose they'll try that on me!" gritted Eph Somers to himself. "If
they do--"
That was far as he got, for Eph was suddenly flung upon the blanket.
Sir, sir, surcingle!
Then how Eph _did_ go up and down! It was as though these cadet midshipmen
knew that it would make Eph mad, madder, maddest! These budding young
naval officers fairly bent to their work, tautening and loosening on the
blanket until their muscles fairly ached.
It was lofty aerial work that Eph Somers was doing. Up and up--higher and
higher! Without the need of any effort on his own part young Somers was
now traveling upward at the rate of ten or eleven feet at every punctuated
bound.
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