Midshipman Read Online Free PDF Page B

fur…” He sighed, shaking his head. “We’ll never solve that little problem, I expect. But for now, fresh out of the hospital, you’ll do.”
    I smiled and nodded, even though I really didn’t understand what he was getting at. After all, Rabbits didn’t wear shoes! None of us did, ever, except sometimes when working around broken glass or something. But it didn’t matter because just then James poked his head around the corner, and in an instant we were hugging each other and laughing and dancing a sort of improvised jig. “James!” I cried out. “It’s been so long!”
    “Three times as long as for me as you!” he countered. “I’ve had more homework!” We were still laughing when suddenly the music playing in the ballroom transformed itself into something martial-sounding and the lights dimmed three times. “I’ll show you where to sit, David!” James said, pulling away. Then he smiled at Pedro. “And you too, of course. Come on!”
    I looked up at Mr. Banes, who merely smiled and nodded. Then we were off at a dead run, ducking and weaving our way between the uniformed and tuxedo-ed and evening-gowned adults like mice through a maze. It was something we really shouldn’t have done—both James and I were really too old to behave so childishly, and when we finally stopped my heart was racing and I was gasping for breath. Besides, poor Pedro was hard-pressed to keep up without offending anyone. But it felt so good to see each other again! We were still laughing when James skidded to a halt at a table for four, located a lot closer to the front of the room than I’d have preferred. In fact, it wasn’t five feet from where Lord Robert sat in regal splendor in full ceremonial robes at the foot of the VIP table. I gulped at that, since there were at least a dozen other Lords scattered around both ends. Pedro had taught me a little bit about social precedence so that I’d know who to serve first, and as near as I could tell Lord Robert was the second-highest ranking person present. Only the Royal Governor at the head of the table outranked him, he being a direct representative of His Majesty's person. In the middle, after all the nobility and their wives had been accounted for, sat the uniformed men. It was rather a shock to see that all of Hummingbird ’s surviving crew, distinguished by hats like mine and Pedro’s, were spread out intermingled among the rest of their tablemates without any regard for rank. There was Captain Blaine conversing eagerly with a peer, with Percy the marine of all people sitting right next to him! And there was First Officer von Selkim, who winked when I caught his eye, and Sergeant Wells, and…
    Everyone!
    “We'd be over there with them,” James explained. “But…”
    I nodded, understanding instantly. My friend had been a mere passenger during the battle. And Pedro and I… Well, I didn’t expect us to be slurping hay at a Royal Governor’s table anytime soon. Just eating in the same room was far more than I’d ever have anticipated.
    But I didn’t have very long to dwell on the subject before the appetizers began coming. At first I was really looking forward to trying them, but it turned out that they were all either cheesy or greasy or so full of meat that Pedro and I couldn’t stand them. One of the footbunnies, however, was kind enough to bring us each a plate of timothy-hay and alfalfa from the Rabbit-kitchen, and that was nice enough. The salads were also wonderful when we got to them, and because Rabbits are smaller than humans these were really all Pedro and I needed. The delicate young carrots and cauliflower and potatoes served with the main course were enough to distend we lapines as much as everyone else, though the ragout of pork smelled pretty awful. Dessert was some kind of gooey frozen stuff that I found out later was called “ice cream”. It smelled wonderful but tasted really, really foul. So the yummy carrots and such served as our desserts,