This time he walked in hurriedly. Ritter met him.
"You had three mistakes, Tim," he said sadly.
"_I_ had three mistakes?" Tim cried angrily.
"Well, we had three mistakes. The Foxes were perfect again. They're
sharks on signaling. The Eagles were last."
Tim went over to Don. "Let's see that message." He read it under his
breath. "Every batriot blaces his all at the sereice of his country."
The Foxes were still skylarking when he handed back what Bobbie had
written. He looked around at the members of his own patrol. Bobbie
shifted his eyes. Wally tried to smile that it wasn't a bad showing at
all. Tim turned away slowly, went over to his equipment, and began to
roll his blanket for the homeward march. All the sunshine, and the
frolic, and the outdoor freshness was gone from the day.
He was sure that he had sent the message right. He couldn't send an e for
a v, because e was the simplest letter in the Morse alphabet--just a
single dot. And as for sending two b's where he should have sent two
p's--
"I didn't," he muttered wrathfully. "They think I did because--"
His face clouded with swift suspicion, and the blanket dropped from his
hands. He had been telling himself for two days that there had been no
hidden reason for Don taking him as a partner, but now that was all swept
aside.
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