FRANK 
 US
 
 THE ] [BRARY 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 EDWIN CORLE 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 JEAN CORLE
 
 ' All eyes were now fixed on Frank." See page 118.
 
 Frank Merriwell's Chums 
 
 BY 
 
 BURT L. STANDISH, ose^ 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "Frank Merriwell's School Days," " Frank Merriwell's Foes," etc. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER, 
 
 604-8 SOUTH WASHINGTON SQUARE.
 
 Copyright, 1896 and 1902 
 By STREET & SMITH 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Chuias
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I Frank Asks Questions .... 9 
 
 II A Ghastly Subject . . . . 15 
 
 III An Irresistible Temptation . . .22 
 
 IV A Game of Bluff .... 28 
 
 V Frank's Revelation . . . -33 
 
 VI The Plot 39 
 
 VII Spreading the Snare . . . .46 
 VIII The Haunted Room . . . . 51 
 
 IX In the Meshes 58 
 
 X Downward 62 
 
 XI Trusting and True 68 
 
 XII The Snare is Broken .... 73 
 XIII The "Centipede" Jcke . . . -79 
 
 XIV Lively Times 85 
 
 XV Warned 91 
 
 XVI Paul Rains 97 
 
 XVII The Bully's Match . . . . .102 
 XVIII Rains' Challenge .... 107 
 
 XIX Jumping 113 
 
 XX Bascomb's Mistake . . . . 119 
 
 XXI The Rival Professors . . . .126 
 
 XXII A Lively Call ..... 13' 
 
 2035357
 
 ij CONTENTS. 
 
 XXIII Skating for Honors . . . .13? 
 
 XXIV Skating for Life .... 142 
 
 XXV The Sinister Stranger . . . .147 
 
 XXVI The Mystery of the Ring . . . 154 
 
 XXVII Attacked on the Road . . . .159 
 
 XXVIII The Marks on the Black Stone . . 164 
 
 XXIX Bart Makes a Pledge . . . .170 
 
 XXX Frank and the Professor . . . 175 
 
 XXXI Snell Talks 180 
 
 XXXII Snell's Hatred ... . . . 186 
 
 XXXIII Playing the Shadow . . . .191 
 
 XXXIV The Ring Disappears . . . . 197 
 
 XXXV More Danger 203 
 
 XXXVI The Secret of the Ring . . .207 
 
 XXXVII "Baby" 213 
 
 XXXVIII Sport With a Plebe .... 218 
 
 XXXIX An Open Insult 228 
 
 XL For the Under Dog .... 234 
 
 XLI Birds of a Feather 239 
 
 XLII The Challenge 244 
 
 XLIII Doughty Duelist 249 
 
 XLIV A Comedy Duel .... 254 
 
 XLV Another Kind of a Fight . . .259 
 XLVI Result of the Contest ... 265 
 
 XLVII Alive! . . . . . . .272 
 
 XLVIII Baby's Heroism Conclusion . . 277
 
 FRANK MERRIWELL'S CHUMS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FRANK ASKS QUESTIONS. 
 
 September was again at hand, and the cadets at Far- 
 dale Military Academy had broken camp, and returned 
 to barracks. 
 
 For all of past differences, which had been finally 
 settled between them for all that they had once been 
 bitter enemies, and were by disposition and development 
 as radically opposite as the positive and negative points 
 of a magnetic needle, Frank Merriwell and Bartley 
 Hodge had chosen to room together. 
 
 There was to be no more "herding" in fours, and so 
 Barney Mulloy, the Irish lad, and Hans Dunnerwust, 
 the Dutch boy, were assigned to another room. 
 
 Like Hodge, Barney and Hans were Frank Merriwell's 
 stanch friends and admirers. They were ready to do 
 anything for the jolly young plebe, who had become pop 
 ular at the academy, and thus won both friends and foes 
 among the older cadets. 
 
 Barney was shrewd and ready-witted, while Hans, for 
 all of his speech and his blundering ways, was much 
 brighter than he appeared. 
 
 Still being plebes, Merriwell and Hodge had been as 
 signed to the "cock-loft" of the third division, which
 
 10 Frank Asks Questions. 
 
 meant the top floor on the north side of the barracks 
 the sunless side. 
 
 . The other sides, and the lower floors, with the excep 
 tion of the first, were reserved for the older cadets. 
 
 Their room contained two alcoves, or bedrooms, at the 
 end opposite the door. These alcoves were made by a 
 simple partition that separated one side from the other, 
 but left the bedrooms open to the rest of the room. 
 
 Against the walls -in the alcoves stood two light iron 
 bedsteads, with a single mattress on each, carefully folded 
 back during the day, and made up only after tattoo. 
 
 The rest of the bedding was carefully and sys 
 tematically piled on the mattresses. 
 
 In the partitions were rows of iron hooks, on which 
 their clothing must be placed in regular order, overcoats 
 to the front, then rubber coats, uniform coats, jackets, 
 trousers, and underclothing following, with a bag for 
 soiled clothing at the rear. 
 
 On the broad wooden bar that ran across the front of 
 these alcoves, near the ceiling, the names of the cadets 
 who occupied the bedrooms were posted, so inspecting 
 officers could tell at a glance who occupied the beds. 
 
 At the front of the partition the washstand was placed, 
 with the bucket of water, dipper, and washbowl, which 
 must always be kept in a certain order, with the wash 
 bowl inverted, and the soapdish on top of it. 
 
 Rifles were kept in the rack, barrels to the front, with 
 dress hats on the shelf, and a mirror in the middle of the 
 mantelshelf. Accoutrements and forage saps were hung 
 on certain hooks, and clothing and other things allowable 
 and necessary were always to be kept in an unvarying 
 order on a set of open-faced shelves. 
 
 The broom and slop-bucket were to be deposited behind
 
 Frank Asks Questions. n 
 
 the door, the chairs against the table, when not in use, 
 and the table against the wall opposite the fireplace. 
 
 At the foot of each bed the shoes were placed in a line, 
 neatly dusted, with toes to the front. 
 
 It was required that the room should be constantly 
 kept in perfect order, and Merriwell and Hodge were 
 called on to take turns, week and week about, at being 
 orderly, and the name of the one responsible for the ap 
 pearance of the room was placed on the orderly board, 
 hung to the front of the alcove partition. 
 
 Back of the door was another board, on which each was 
 required to post his hours of recitation, and to account for 
 his absence from the room at any inspection. 
 
 In fact, a rigid effort was made at Fardale to imitate in 
 every possible way the regulations and requirements en 
 forced at West Point, and it was the boast that the 
 school was, in almost every particular, identical with our 
 great Military Academy. 
 
 Of coursej it was impossible to enforce the rules as 
 rigidly as they are at the Point, for the cadets at Fardale 
 were, as a class, far younger, and the disgrace of expul 
 sion or failure in any way was not to be compared with 
 that attending unfortunates at the school where youths 
 are graduated into actual service as officers of the United 
 States army. 
 
 Many of the cadets at Fardale had been sent there by 
 parents who could riot handle them at home, and who 
 had hoped the discipine they would receive at a military 
 school would serve to tone down their wildness. Thus 
 it will be seen that many harum-scarum fellows got into 
 the school, and that they could not readily be compelled 
 to conform to the rules and requirements. 
 
 For all that Frank Merriwell was a jolly, fun-loving 
 fellow, he was naturally orderly and neat, so that it
 
 12 Frank Asks Questions. 
 
 seemed very little effort for him to do his part in keeping 
 the room in order. 
 
 On the other hand, Bartley Hodge was naturally care 
 less, and he had a persistent way of displacing things that 
 annoyed Frank 2 although the latter said little about it at 
 first. 
 
 Whenever the inspecting officer found anything wrong 
 about the room, he simply glanced at the orderly board, 
 and down went the demerit against the lad whose name 
 was posted there. It made no difference who had left a 
 chair out of place, hung a coat where it should not be, or 
 failed to invert the washbowl, the room orderly had to 
 assume the responsibility. 
 
 Now, it was the last thing in the world that Hodge 
 could wish to injure Merriwell, but three times in Frank's 
 first week as room orderly he was reported for things he 
 could not help, and for which Bart was entirely re 
 sponsible. 
 
 'Merriwell had risen to the first section in recitation at 
 the very start, while Hodge, who had been placed in the 
 third, was soon relegated to the second. 
 
 Frank was trying to curb his almost unbounded incli 
 nation for mischief, and he was studying assiduously. 
 
 On the other hand, while Hodge did not seem at all 
 mischievous by nature, he detested study, and he was 
 inclined to spend the time when he should have been 
 "digging," in reading some story, or in idly yawning and 
 wishing the time away. 
 
 One day, after having taken his third demerit on his 
 roommate's account, the inspector having detected tobacco 
 smoke in the room, Frank said : 
 
 "Why don't you swear off on cigarettes, Bart ? They 
 don't do a fellow any good, and they are pretty sure to 
 get him into trouble here at the academy."
 
 Frank Asks Questions. 13 
 
 Hodge was in anything but a pleasant frame of mind, 
 and he instantly retorted : 
 
 "I know what you mean. You are orderly, and I 
 ought to have spoken up and told the inspector I had been 
 smoking. I didn't know what it was he put down, but 
 I'll go and confess my crime now." 
 
 He sprang up petulantly, but Frank's hand dropped on 
 his arm, and Merriwell quietly said: 
 
 "Don't go off angry, old man. You know I don't want 
 you to do anything of the sort. I will take my medicine 
 when I am orderly, and I know you will do the same when 
 it comes your turn." 
 
 "Well, I didn't know " began Bart, in a somewhat 
 
 sulky manner. 
 
 "You ought to know pretty well by this time. I am 
 not much given to kicking or growling, but I do want to 
 have a sober talk with you, and I hope you will not fire 
 up at anything I say." 
 
 "All right; go ahead," said Hodge, throwing himself 
 wearily into a chair, and thrusting his hands deep into 
 his pockets. "I'll listen to your sermon." 
 
 "It isn't to be a sermon. You should know I am not 
 the kind of a fellow to preach." 
 
 "That's so. Don't mind me. Drive ahead." 
 
 "First, I want to ask how it is you happened to let 
 yourself be put back in recitations?" 
 
 "Oh, Old Gunn just put me back-rthat's all." 
 
 "But you are fully as good a scholar as I am, and you 
 could have gone ahead into the first section if you had 
 braced up." 
 
 "Perhaps so." 
 
 "I know it. You do not study." 
 
 "What's the use of boning all the time ! I wasn't cut 
 out for it."
 
 14 Frank Asks Questions. 
 
 "That's the only way to get ahead here." 
 
 "I don't care much about getting ahead. All I want 
 is to pull through and graduate. Then I can go to col 
 lege if I wish. These fellows who get the idea that they 
 must dig, dig, dig here, just as they say they do at West 
 Point, give me a pain. What is there to dig for? We're 
 not working for commissions in the army." 
 
 "From your point of view, you put up a very good ar 
 gument," admitted Frank ; "but there's another side. It 
 surely must be some satisfaction to graduate well up in 
 your class, if not at the head. And then, the more a fel 
 low learns here, the easier he will find the work after en 
 tering college." 
 
 "Work ? Pshaw ! There are not many fellows in col 
 leges who are compelled to bone. I hate work! I 
 thought you were the kind of a fellow who liked a little 
 fun?" 
 
 "Well, you know I am. Haven't I always been in for 
 sport?" 
 
 "But you're getting to be a regular plodder. You 
 don't do a thing lately to keep your blood circulating." 
 
 "I am afraid you do too much that is contrary to rules, 
 old man. For instance, where is it that you go so often 
 nights, and stay till near morning ?" 
 
 "I go out for a little sport," replied Bart, with a grim 
 smile.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A GHASTLY SUBJECT. 
 
 "But you know the consequences if you are caught," 
 said Frank, warningly. 
 
 "Of course I do," nodded Bart, "but you must ac 
 knowledge there is not much danger that I shall be 
 caught, as long as I make up a good dummy to leave in 
 my place on the bed." 
 
 "Still, you may be." 
 
 "That's right, and there's where part of the sport comes 
 in, as you ought to know, for you are quite a fellow to 
 take chances yourself, Merriwell." 
 
 "That's right," admitted Frank. "It's in my blood, and 
 I can't help it. Anything with a spice of risk or danger 
 attracts and fascinates me." 
 
 "You are not in the habit of hesitating or being easily 
 scared when there is some sport in the wind." 
 
 Frank smiled. 
 
 "I never have been," he admitted. "I have taken alto 
 gether too many risks in the past. A fellow has to sober 
 down and straighten up if he means to do anything or be 
 anything." 
 
 Bart made an impatient gesture. 
 
 "Any one would think you were a reformed toper, to 
 hear you talk," he said, with a trace of a sneer. 
 
 "Not if they knew me," said Frank, quietly. "What 
 ever my faults may be, I never had any inclination to
 
 1 6 A Ghastly Subject. 
 
 drink. I have had fellows tell me they did so for fun, but 
 I have never been able to see the fun in it, and it surely 
 is injurious and dangerous. I don't believe many young 
 fellows like the taste of liquor. I don't. They drink 
 it 'for fun,' and they keep on drinking it 'for fun' till a 
 habit is formed, and they become drunkards. Now, I can 
 find plenty of fun of a sort that will not harm me, or 
 bring " 
 
 "I thought you weren't going to preach," interrupted 
 the dark-haired boy, impatiently. "Let me give you a 
 text: 'Thou shalt not put an enemy into thy mouth to 
 steal away thy brain/ or something of the sort. Now, go 
 ahead and spout, old man." 
 
 Frank's face grew red, and he bit his lip. He saw 
 that Hodge was in a most unpleasant humor, and so he 
 forced a laugh. 
 
 "What's the matter with you to-day, Bart?" he asked. 
 "I haven't seen you this way for a long time." 
 
 "Oh, there's nothing the matter." 
 
 "It must be staying up nights. Where do you go ?" 
 
 "If you want to come along, and have some fun, I will 
 show you to-night." 
 
 Frank hesitated. It was a great temptation, and he 
 felt a longing to go. 
 
 "Well," he said, finally, "I have not broken away in 
 quite a while, and I believe I'll take a whirl with you to 
 night." 
 
 "All right," nodded Bart. "I'll show you some fel- 
 lows with sporting blood in their veins." 
 
 "But I want you to understand I do not propose to fol 
 low it up night after night," Frank hastened to say. "A 
 fellow can't do it and stand the work that's cut out for 
 him here." 
 
 "Bother the work!"
 
 A Ghastly Subject. 17 
 
 "I'll have to work to keep up with the procession. If 
 you can get along without work, you are dead lucky." 
 
 "Oh, I'll scrub along some way, don't you worry ; and 
 I will come out as well as you do in the end." 
 
 That night, some time after taps, two boys arose and 
 proceeded to carefully prepare dummies in their beds, ar 
 ranging the figures so they looked very much like sleep 
 ing cadets, if they were not examined too closely. Bart 
 was rather skillful at this, and he assisted Frank in per 
 fecting the figure in Merriwell's bed. 
 
 "There," he finally whispered, with satisfaction, "that 
 would fool Lieutenant Gordan himself." 
 
 They donned trousers and coalts, and prepared to leave 
 the room in their stocking feet. 
 
 Bart opened the door and peered cautiously out into the 
 hall. 
 
 "Coast is clear," he whispered over his shoulder. 
 
 In another moment they were outside the room. 
 Along the corridor they skurried like cats, their feet mak 
 ing no noise on the floor. 
 
 Frank was still entirely unaware of their destination, 
 but, as they had not taken their shoes, he knew they were 
 not to leave the building. 
 
 Frank cared little where they went, but he realized 
 Hodge was leading the way to a remote part of the build 
 ing, where the rooms were not entirely taken, as the acad 
 emy was not full of students. 
 
 All at once, Bart sent a peculiar hiss down the corridor, 
 and it was answered by a similar sound. 
 
 A moment later they scudded past a fellow who was 
 hugging in a shadow where the lights did not reach. 
 
 "Who's that?" whispered Frank. 
 
 "That's the sentinel," replied Bart.
 
 1 8 A Ghastly Subject. 
 
 Then they came to the door of a certain room, on which 
 Hodge knocked in a peculiar manner. 
 
 A faint sound of unbarring came from behind the door, 
 which quickly opened, and they dodged into the room. 
 
 As yet there was no light in the room, and, still filled 
 with wonder, Frank asked: 
 
 "Was that the regular sentinel out there, Bart ?" 
 
 "That was our sentinel," was the reply. 
 
 "But where are the regular sentinels? I did not see 
 one of them." 
 
 Faint chuckles came from several parts of the room, 
 and Hodge replied : 
 
 "At a certain hour each night the duties of the regular 
 sentinels take them away long enough for me to get out 
 of my room and in here. See?" 
 
 "They must be in the trick?" 
 
 "The most of them are. When it happens that one is 
 not, we have to look out for him, and dodge him. To 
 night those on duty on this floor were all fixed." 
 
 Then somebody cautiously struck a match, by the flare 
 of which Frank saw several fellows were gathered in the 
 room. 
 
 A lamp was lighted, and Merriwell looked around. 
 Besides Bart, he saw Harvey Dare, George Harris, Wat 
 Snell and Sam Winslow. 
 
 "Hello, Merriwell, old man," some greeted, cordially, 
 but cautiously. "Glad to see Hodge has brought you 
 along." 
 
 Frank was instantly seized by an unpleasant sensation 
 a foreboding, or a warning. Harris and Snell were not 
 friends of his; in fact, in the past, they had been dis 
 tinctly unfriendly. Dare he knew little about, as they 
 had never had much to do with each other. Sam Wins-
 
 A Ghastly Subject. 19 
 
 low was a plebe, having entered the academy at the same 
 time with Merriwell, but Frank had never been able to 
 determine whether he was "no good" or a pretty decent 
 sort of fellow. 
 
 Had Frank been governed by his first impression, he 
 would have found an excuse to bid that company good 
 night immediately, but he did not like to do anything like 
 that, for he knew it would cause them to designate him 
 as a cad, and he would be despised for doing so. 
 
 He had gone too far to back out immediately, so he re 
 solved to stay a while, and then get out as best he could. 
 
 At the window of the room blankets had been sus 
 pended, so no ray of light could shine out into the night 
 to betray the little party. 
 
 At a glance, Frank saw the room was not occupied by 
 students, for it contained nothing but the bare furniture, 
 besides a box on the table, and the assembled lads. 
 
 Bart saw Frank looking around, and divined his 
 thoughts. 
 
 "I suppose you are wondering where you are? Well, 
 this is the room in which Cadet Bolt committed suicide. 
 It has been closed ever since, as no fellow will occupy 
 it. It is said to be haunted." 
 
 This appealed to Frank's love of the sensational. Be 
 sides that., he fancied he saw an opportunity for some 
 sport that was not down in the programme, and he smiled 
 a bit. 
 
 "Of course it isn't haunted," he said. "I don't believe 
 there is a fellow here who believes in ghosts?" 
 
 "I don't." 
 
 "Nor I." 
 
 "Nor I." 
 
 "Such stuff is rot !"
 
 20 A Ghastly Subject. 
 
 "I don't believe in anything I can't see." 
 
 Thus the assembled lads expressed themselves, and 
 Frank smiled again. 
 
 "While I do not believe this room is haunted," he said, 
 "I once had a rather blood-curdling experience with some 
 thing like a disembodied spirit an adventure that came 
 near turning my hair snowy white from fright and horror. 
 I will tell you about it. The original of my ghost hap 
 pened to be a fellow who committed suicide, and he " 
 
 "Say, hold on !" gurgled Wat Snell, who had declared 
 that believing in ghosts was "all rot." "What are we 
 here for to listen to ghost stories or to have a little 
 picnic ?" 
 
 "Oh, drop your ghost yarn," said George Harris, who 
 had asserted that he did not believe in anything he could 
 not see. "You may tell it to us some other time." 
 
 "But this is a really interesting story," insisted Frank. 
 "You see, the fellow shot himself three times, and when 
 he did not die quickly enough to be suited, he cut his 
 throat from ear to ear, and his specter was a most ghastly- 
 appearing object, bleeding from the bullet wounds and 
 having a gash across its throat from " 
 
 "Say, will you let up !" gasped Harris. "If you don't, 
 I'll get out !" 
 
 "Oh, I don't want to break up this jolly gathering," 
 said Frank, his eyes twinkling, "but I was just going to 
 tell how the ghost " 
 
 "Cheese it!" interrupted Sam Winslow. "Talk about 
 something besides ghosts, will you ? You are not given 
 to dwelling on such unpleasant subjects, Merriwell." 
 
 "But I thought you fellows didn't take any stock in 
 ghosts?"
 
 A Ghastly Subject. 21 
 
 "We don't," grinned Harvey Dare; "and that's just 
 why we don't want to hear about 'em." 
 
 "We've got something else to do besides listen to 
 yarns," said Harris. "Let's proceed to gorge." And he 
 began opening the box that sat on the table.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 AN IRRESISTIBLE TEMPTATION. 
 
 "Harris is lucky," said Sam Winslow. "His folks send 
 him a box every now and then, and he gets it through old 
 Carter, at the village." 
 
 "I have hard enough time smuggling it in," said Har 
 ris, "and I share when I get it here." 
 
 "For which we may well call ourselves lucky dogs," 
 smiled Harvey Dare. "A fellow gets awfully weary of 
 the regular rations they have here." 
 
 "That's right," agreed Frank. "I often long for the 
 flesh pots of Egypt, or almost anything in the way of a 
 change of fare." 
 
 "Well, here's where you get it if you'll agree not to 
 spring any more ghost yarns on us," said Harris. "Just 
 look over this collection of palate ticklers, fellows." 
 
 "Fruit cake !" gasped Sam, delightedly. "Oh, how my 
 stomach yearns for it !" 
 
 "Cream pie!" ejaculated Wat Snell. "Yum! yum! 
 Somebody please hold me !" 
 
 "Tarts!" panted Harvey Dare. "Oh, I won't do a 
 thing to them !" 
 
 "Look at the cookies and assorted good stuff!" mur 
 mured Bart, ecstatically. "I shall be ready to perish 
 without a tremor after this !" 
 
 "Permit me to do the honors," said Harris, grandly. 
 "Just nominate your poison, and I will deal it out."
 
 An Irresistible Temptation. 23 
 
 So each one called for what he desired, and Harris 
 supplied them, using a pocket-knife with which to cut the 
 cake and pie. 
 
 "Aren't you glad you came, Merriwell?" asked Sam, 
 with his mouth full of fruit cake. 
 
 "Sure," smiled Frank, as he helped himself. "I shall 
 not regret it, if it gives me indigestion." 
 
 Frank believed Wat Snell was a sneak, but he did not 
 fancy it would be at all necessary to accept the fellow as a 
 friend just because they had met under such circum 
 stances. He meant to use Snell well, and let it go at that. 
 
 The boys thoroughly enjoyed their clandestine feast. 
 It was a luxury a hundred times dearer than a feast from 
 similar things could have been had there been no secrecy 
 about it and had it been perfectly allowable. 
 
 They gorged themselves till they could eat no more, and 
 the contents of the box proved none too plentiful for their 
 ravenous appetites. When they had finished, nothing but 
 a few crumbs were left. 
 
 "There," sighed Harvey Dare, "I haven't felt so full 
 as this before since the last time Harris had a box." 
 
 "Nor I," said Wat Snell, lighting a cigarette. "Have 
 one, Merriwell?" 
 
 Frank declined to smoke, but his example was not fol 
 lowed by any of the other lads. Each one took a 
 cigarette and "fired up." 
 
 "You ought to smoke, Merriwell," said Dare. "There's 
 lots of pleasure in it." 
 
 "Perhaps so," admitted Frank ; "but I don't care for it, 
 and, as it is against the rules, it keeps me out of trouble 
 by not smoking." 
 
 "It's against the rules to indulge in this kind of a feast, 
 old man. You can't be too much of a stickler for rules."
 
 24 An Irresistible Temptation. 
 
 "It doesn't do to be too goody-good," put in Snell, in 
 sinuatingly. "Such rubbish doesn't go with the fellows." 
 
 "I don't think any one can accuse me of playing the 
 goody-good," said Frank, quietly. "I like fun as well as 
 any one, as you all know, but I do not care for cigarettes, ; 
 and so I do not smoke them. I don't wish to take any ; 
 credit to myself, so I make no claim to resisting a tempta 
 tion, for they are no temptation to me." 
 
 "Lots of fellows smoke who do not like cigarettes," as 
 sured Sam Winslow. 
 
 "Well, I can't understand why they do so," declared 
 Merriwell. 
 
 "They do it for fun." 
 
 "I fail to see where the fun comes in. There are 
 enough improper things that I would like to do for me 
 not to care about those things that are repugnant to me. 
 Some time ago I made up my mind never to do a thing 
 I did not want to do, or did not give me pleasure, unless 
 it was absolutely necessary, or was required as a courtesy 
 to somebody else. I am trying to stick by that rule." 
 
 "Oh, don't talk about rules !" cut in Dare. "It makes 
 me weary ! We have enough of rules here at this acad 
 emy, without making any for ourselves." 
 
 "Come, fellows," broke in Hodge; "let's get down to 
 business." 
 
 "Business?" said Frank, questioningly. "I thought 
 this was a case of sport?" 
 
 "It is. You mustn't be so quick to catch up a word." 
 
 The table was cleared, and the boys gathered round it, 
 Hodge producing a pack of cards, the seal of which had 
 not been broken. 
 
 "You'll notice that those papers are all right," he said,
 
 An Irresistible Temptation. 25 
 
 significantly. "Nobody's had a chance to tamper with 
 them." 
 
 "What do you play?" asked Frank, to whose face a 
 strange look had come on sight of the cards. 
 
 "Oh, we play most anything euchre, seven up, 
 poker " 
 
 "Poker?" 
 
 "Yes; just a light game penny ante to make it in 
 teresting. You know there's no interest in poker unless 
 there's some risk." 
 
 The strange look grew on Frank Merriwell's face. He 
 seemed in doubt, as if hesitating over something. 
 
 "I I think I will go back to the room," he said. 
 
 "What's that?" exclaimed several, in amazement. 
 "Why, you have just got here." 
 
 "But I am not feeling exactly right. What I have 
 eaten may give me a headache, and I have a hard day be 
 fore me to-morrow." 
 
 "Oh, but we can't let you go now, old man," said Har 
 ris, decidedly. "You must stop a while. If your head 
 begins to ache and gets real bad, of course you can go, 
 but I don't see how you can get out now." 
 
 Frank did not see either. He had accepted Harris' 
 hospitality, had eaten freely of the good things Harris 
 had provided, and the boys would vote him a prig if he 
 left them for his bed as soon as the feast was finished. It 
 would seem that he was afraid of being discovered absent 
 from his room as if he did not dare to share the danger 
 with them. 
 
 Frank was generally very decided in what he did, and 
 it was quite unusual for him to hesitate over anything. 
 
 There is an old saying that "He who hesitates is lost." 
 
 In this case it proved true.
 
 36 An Irresistible Temptation. 
 
 "Oh, all right, fellows," said Frank, lightly. "I'll stop 
 a while and watch you play." 
 
 "But you must take a hand you really must, you 
 know," urged Harvey Dare. "Our game is small. We'll 
 put on a limit to suit you anything you say." 
 
 "I do not play poker, if that is your game." 
 
 "Don't you know how ?" 
 
 "Well, yes, I know a little something about it, but I 
 swore off more than a year ago." 
 
 "Nobody ever swears off on anything for more than a 
 year. Sit in and take a hand." 
 
 Still he refused, and they finally found it useless to 
 urge him, so the game was begun without him, and he 
 looked on. 
 
 The limit was set at ten cents a and it was to be a regu 
 lar penny ante game. 
 
 There was some hesitation over the limit, which Bart 
 named, winking meaningly at one or two of the fellows 
 who seemingly started to protest. 
 
 Surely there could not be much harm in such a light 
 game ! No one could lose a great deal. 
 
 The first deal fell to Bart, and he shuffled the cards and 
 tossed them round in a way that betokened considerable 
 dexterity and practice. 
 
 The boys were inclined to be jolly, but they were forced 
 to restrain their feelings as far as possible, for, although 
 the rooms near them were unoccupied, there was danger 
 that they might be heard by some one who would in 
 vestigate, and their sentinel might not be able to give the 
 warning in time. 
 
 As Frank -Merriwell watched the game, a peculiar light 
 stole into his eyes, and he was swayed by ill-repressed ex 
 citement. He was tempted to get up and go away for all
 
 An Irresistible Temptation. 27 
 
 that anybody might say, but he did not go; he lingered, 
 and he was overcome by an irresistible longing a de 
 sire he could not govern. Finally, he exclaimed : 
 
 "What's the use for me to sit humped up here ! Give 
 me a hand, and let me in."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A GAME OF BLUFF. 
 
 "That's the talk, old man!" exclaimed Harvey Dare, 
 with satisfaction. "Now you are beginning to appear 
 natural." 
 
 The other boys were only too glad to get Frank into 
 the game, and room was quickly made for him, while he 
 was given a hand. 
 
 The moment he decided to play, he seemed to throw off 
 the air of restraint that had been about him since he dis 
 covered the kind of company Bart Hodge had brought 
 him into. He became his free-and-easy, jolly self, soon 
 cracking a joke or two that set the boys laughing, and be 
 ginning by taking the very first pot on the table after 
 entering the game. 
 
 "That's bad luck," he said, with a laugh. "The fel 
 low who wins at the start usually loses at the finish, so I 
 may as well consider my fortune yours. Some of you will 
 become enormously wealthy in about fifteen minutes, for 
 I won't last longer than that if my luck turns." 
 
 He soon betrayed that he was familiar with the game, 
 and luck ran to him in a way that made the other boys 
 look tired. He seemed able to draw anything he wanted. 
 
 "Say!" gasped Sam Winslow, in admiration; "I 
 shouldn't think you'd want to play poker oh, no! If I 
 had your luck, I'd play poker as a profession. Why, if
 
 A Game of Bluff. 29 
 
 you drew to a spike, you'd get a railroad ! I never saw 
 anything like it." 
 
 Wat Snell had been losing right along, and he sneered : 
 
 "There's an old saying, 'A fool for luck,' you know." 
 
 "It applies in this case," laughed Frank. "If I wasn't 
 a fool, I wouldn't be in this game." 
 
 "What's the matter with this game?" asked Harris. 
 "Isn't the limit high enough to suit you ?" 
 
 "That's the matter," said Dare, swiftly. "Let's raise 
 the limit." 
 
 "Let's throw it off," urged Snell. "What's the use of 
 limit, any how?" 
 
 Frank shook his head. 
 
 "I don't believe in a no-limit game," he said. "There 
 are none of us millionaires." 
 
 "And for that very reason, none of us will play a heavy 
 game," said Sam. "We have played a no-limit game be 
 fore, and nobody ever bets more than a dollar or so. That 
 doesn't happen once a game, either." 
 
 "Twenty-five cents is usually the limit of our bets," de 
 clared Harris. 
 
 "Then raise the limit to a quarter," said Frank. "I am 
 willing to give you fellows a show to get back your 
 money." 
 
 But they did not fancy having the limit a quarter, and 
 quite a long argument ensued, which resulted in the game 
 being resumed as a no-limit affair. 
 
 "There!" breathed Wat Snell, "this is something like 
 it. Now I can do something. If a fellow wanted to 
 bluff he couldn't do it on a ten-cent limit." 
 
 Hodge had said very little, but he seemed willing and 
 ready to throw off the limit. 
 
 The change of limit did not seem to affect Merriwell's 
 luck, for he continued to win.
 
 3o A Game of Bluff. 
 
 "I believe you are a wizard !" exclaimed Sam Winslow. 
 "You seem to read a fellow's cards." 
 
 Wat Snell growled continually, and the more he 
 growled the more he lost. 
 
 "Oh, wait till I catch 'em by-and-by," he said, as he 
 saw Frank rake in a good pot. "I won't do a thing to 
 you, if I get a good chance !" 
 
 "If you have the cards, you will win," was the reply. 
 "They are coming for me now, and I am simply playing 
 'em." 
 
 Hodge had lost something, but he said little, being 
 more than satisfied as long as Frank was winning. 
 
 Thus the hours passed. 
 
 By one o'clock Frank was far ahead of the game, but 
 he still played on, for he knew it would not seem right 
 for him to propose stopping. 
 
 Dare, Harris and Winslow were nearly broken, but 
 they still hung on, hoping for a turn in their direction. 
 
 Snell had plenty of money, for all that he had been 
 the heaviest loser. 
 
 Finally there came a good-sized jackpot, which Dare 
 opened. Snell was the next man, and he promptly raised 
 it fifty cents. Winslow dropped out, and Hodge raised 
 Snell fifty cents. Then it came Frank's turn, and he 
 simply staid in. Harris was dealing, and he dropped out, 
 while Dare simply "made good." 
 
 This gave Snell his turn, and he "boosted" two 
 dollars. 
 
 "Whew !" breathed Winslow. "That settles me. I'm 
 out." 
 
 Hodge was game, and he "came up" on a pair of nines. 
 
 Snell was watching Merriwell, and the latter quietly 
 pushed in two dollars, which finished the betting till cards 
 were drawn, as Dare dropped out, after some deliberation.
 
 A Game of Bluff. 31 
 
 "How many ?" asked Harris, of Snell. 
 
 "Don't want any," was the calm reply. 
 
 Hodge took three, as also did Merriwell, which plainly 
 indicated they had a pair each. 
 
 "Snell has this pot in a canter," said Harris. 
 
 Snell bet five dollars, doing it in a way that seemed to 
 say he was not risking anything. 
 
 Hodge dropped his nines, which he had not bettered, 
 and that left Merriwell and Snell to fight it out. 
 
 "This is why I object to a limit being taken off a 
 game," said Frank. "It spoils the fun, and makes it a 
 clean case of gambling." 
 
 "It's too late to make that kind of talk," sneered Snell. 
 "You are in it now. Do you call ?" 
 
 "No," replied Frank, "but I will see your five dollars, 
 and put in another." 
 
 This created a stir, but Snell seemed delighted. 
 
 "I admire your blood," he said, "but the bluff won't go 
 with me. Here's the five, and I will raise ten." 
 
 Now there was excitement. 
 
 Frank's cards lay face downward on the table, and 
 every one was wondering what he could have found to go 
 up against Snell's pat hand. He was wonderfully calm, 
 as he turned to Bart, and asked : 
 
 "Will you loan me something?" 
 
 "Every cent I have," was the instant reply, as Hodge 
 took out a roll of bills and threw it on the table. "Use 
 what you want." 
 
 There were thirty-five dollars in the roll. Frank 
 counted it over carefully, and then put it all into the pot, 
 raising Snell twenty-five dollars ! 
 
 When he saw this, Snell's nerve suddenly left him. 
 His face paled and his hands shook. 
 
 "Whoever heard of such infernal luck as that fellow
 
 32 A Game of Bluff. 
 
 has !" he grated. "Held up a pair, and must have fours 
 now!" 
 
 Frank said not a word. His face was quiet, and he 
 seemed waiting for Snell to do something. 
 
 "If you haven't the money to call him " began 
 
 Harris. 
 
 "I have," declared Snell ; "but what's the use. A man 
 can't beat fool-luck! Here's my hand, and I'll allow I 
 played it for all it is worth." 
 
 He threw the cards face upward on the table, and 
 smothered exclamations of astonishment came from the 
 boys. 
 
 His hand contained no more than a single pair of four- 
 spots ! 
 
 "Then you do not mean to call me ?" asked Frank. 
 
 "Of course not ! Think I'm a blooming idiot !" 
 
 "The pot is mine?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Well, I will allow I played this hand for all it is 
 worth," said the winner, as he turned his cards over so all 
 could see what they were. 
 
 Wat Snell nearly fainted. 
 
 Merriwell's hand was made up of a king, eight spot, 
 five spot, and one pair of deuces ! 
 
 It had been a game of bluff, and Frank Merriwell had 
 won.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 FRANK'S REVELATION. 
 
 "Great Caesar !" gasped Harvey Dare. "Will you look 
 at that! That is what I call nerve for you! That is 
 playing, my boys !" 
 
 Wat Snell rose slowly to his feet, his face very white. 
 
 "It's robbery !" came hoarsely from his lips. 
 
 "Steady, Snell!" warned Harvey Dare. "You were 
 beaten at your own game that's all." 
 
 Snell knew this, but it simply served to make his rage 
 and chagrin all the deeper. 
 
 "I am not a professional card player," he said, bitterly, 
 "and I am no match for a professional." 
 
 He was more deeply cut by the manner in which he had 
 been beaten than by the loss of his money. 
 
 "Nor am I a professional," came quietly from Frank 
 Merriwell's lips, as he quickly sorted from the pot the 
 money he had placed therein. "I simply sized you up as 
 on the bluff, and I was right. I don't want your money, 
 Snell ; take it. 'I set into this game for amusement, and 
 not with the idea of beating anybody to any such ex 
 tent as this." 
 
 Snell hesitated, and then the hot blood mounted quickly 
 to his face, which had been so pale a few moments before. 
 
 "No, I will not take the money !" he grated. "I take 
 the offer as an insult, Merriwell." 
 
 "No insult is intended, I assure you."
 
 34 Frank's Revelation. 
 
 Snell was shrewd enough to know he would stand little 
 chance of getting into another game of poker with that 
 company if he accepted the money, and so he made a 
 desperate effort to control his rage and play the hypocrite. 
 
 "I don't suppose you did mean the offer as an insult, 
 Merriwell ; and I presume I was too hasty. -I am rather 
 quick at times, and, as Dare says, I was beaten at my own 
 game, which made me hot. You had nerve, Merriwell; 
 take the money keep it." 
 
 The words almost choked him, but he pretended to be 
 quite sincere, although his heart was full of bitterness 
 and a longing to "get even." 
 
 It was some time before Frank could be persuaded to 
 accept his winnings, and, when he did finally take it, he 
 was resolved to return it quietly and secretly to Snell, at 
 such a time that no one else could know anything of it. 
 
 'This matter was scarcely settled when there came a 
 peculiar rap on the door. 
 
 "Who's that?" asked Frank, in some alarm. 
 
 "It's our sentinel," assured Harris. "His time on post 
 is up." 
 
 The door opened, and Leslie Gage entered the room. 
 
 Gage had been Merriwell's bitter enemy at one time 
 during the summer encampment, having made two das 
 tardly attacks on Frank, who had been generous enough 
 to rescue him from death after that, and had saved him 
 'from expulsion by refusing to give any testimony against 
 him. 
 
 For all of this generosity on Merriwell's part, Gage 
 still bore deep down in his heart a hatred for the plebe 
 who had become so popular at the academy. This he 
 tried to keep concealed, pretending that he had changed 
 into a friend and admirer.
 
 Frank's Revelation. 35 
 
 "Hello, Merriwell," he saluted. "Been having a little 
 whirl with the boys?" 
 
 "I should say he has !" replied Snell. "He has whirled 
 me wrong end up, and I feel as if I am still twisted." 
 
 Then the whole play was explained to Gage, who 
 chuckled over it, and complimented Frank on his nerve. 
 
 For all of this apparent restoration of good feeling, 
 Frank was discerning enough to detect the insincerity of 
 both Snell and Gage. 
 
 Gage had done his duty as guard, and there was no one 
 on the watch now. None of the boys felt like taking the 
 place, so it was decided to call the "session" over for that 
 night. 
 
 "You must come again, Merriwell," said Dare. "You 
 have given us the sensation of the evening, and you must 
 let Snell have a chance to get square." 
 
 "Yes," said Snell, "all I ask is a fair chance to get 
 square. If I fail, I won't say a word, and I'll acknowl 
 edge you are the best fellow. Let's shake hands, Merri 
 well, and call it quits for the time being." 
 
 "That's the stuff!" came from Sam Winslow. "Now 
 everything is quiet on the Potomac again." 
 
 Frank shook hands with Snell, and a few moments later 
 the boys began to slip from the room and skurry along 
 the corridors to their rooms, which all reached without 
 being challenged by the sentries. 
 
 Bart was filled with satisfaction and delight, and before 
 getting into bed he whispered to Frank, not daring to 
 speak aloud in that room : 
 
 "That was the prettiest trick I ever saw \ And I was 
 delighted to see you rub that fellow. He hasn't done a 
 thing to me but win every time I have held up a hand 
 against him of late." 
 
 Frank said nothing, and had there been a light in the
 
 36 Frank's Revelation. 
 
 room, Bart would have seen that his face bore an expres 
 sion that was anything but one of satisfaction. 
 
 Merriwell did not sleep well during the few hours be 
 fore reveille. His slumber was filled with dreams, and 
 he muttered and moaned very often, awaking Hodge once 
 or twice. 
 
 "I guess he is still playing," thought Bart. 
 
 At reveille Frank was, as a rule, very prompt about 
 springing out of bed and hurrying into his clothes and 
 through his toilet. On the morning after the game, how 
 ever, he continued to sleep till Hodge awakened him by a 
 fierce shaking. 
 
 "Come, come, man!" said Bart; "turn out. Are you 
 going to let a little thing like last night break you up ?" 
 
 Frank got up wearily and stiffly. 
 
 "I didn't sleep well," he said. 
 
 He was quite unlike his usual spirited self. 
 
 "Get a brace on," urged Bart. "You want to be on 
 hand at roll-call." 
 
 Finding it was necessary to "get a brace on," Frank did 
 so, and was able to leave the room in time to go rushing 
 down the stairway and spring into ranks at the last 
 second. 
 
 After breakfast, as Bart was sprucing up the room, 
 and Frank was vainly trying to prepare himself for the 
 first recitation, but simply sat staring in a bewildered way 
 at the book he held, the former said : 
 
 "You don't know what a slick trick you did last night, 
 Merriwell! Why, I'd given almost anything if I had 
 been the one to soak Snell in that fashion." 
 
 Frank put down the book, and rose to his feet, pacing 
 twice the length of the room. All at once he stopped and 
 faced Bart, and his voice was not steady, as he said :
 
 Frank's Revelation. 37 
 
 "You didn't mean any harm, old man, but you did me 
 a bad turn last night." 
 
 Bart stared, and asked: 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "By taking me where I could sit into a game like that. 
 I am going to tell you something. I have one great fail 
 ing one terrible fault that quite overshadows all my 
 other failings and faults. That is my passion for cards 
 or, to put it more strongly and properly, my passion for 
 gambling." 
 
 Bart whistled. 
 
 "You don't mean to say that you have a failing or a 
 fault that you cannot govern, do you ?" he asked. 
 
 Frank put out one hand, and partly turned away. In 
 stantly Bart sprang forward and caught the hand, saying 
 swiftly : 
 
 "There, there, Merriwell don't notice it! I didn't 
 mean anything. You are sensitive to-day. Hang it all, 
 man ! do you think I want to hurt your feelings without 
 cause! I shouldn't have said it, for I see you are not 
 yourself." 
 
 "No, I am not," confessed Frank. "You know every 
 fellow has a secret. I did not intend to tell mine. I be 
 lieve I was born with an intense passion for gambling." 
 
 "And you cannot govern it?" 
 
 "Well, I have been able to do so during the past year." 
 
 "Oh, you are all right; you have a strong mind 
 and " 
 
 "Every strong mind has a weak spot. I began gam 
 ing by playing marbles, and the passion grew on me. 
 When I had money, I gambled for cents and nickels. As 
 I grew older, I learned to play cards, and I gambled for 
 larger sums. If I knew that a game was going on I
 
 38 Frank's Revelation. 
 
 would leave everything to get into it. Once I 'appro 
 priated' money from my mother's purse to gamble with." 
 
 Frank stopped. His face crimsoned as he uttered the 
 words, and he showed his deep shame and humiliation. 
 But he quickly added : 
 
 "That was my first and last theft. The shame and dis 
 grace of exposure by my mother was nearly more than I 
 could endure. But she did not know I played cards for 
 money. Thank God! she never knew! She died when 
 I was twelve years old. 
 
 "I never knew much about my father's business. He 
 was much away from home, and I saw him but little. 
 After mother's death, I went to live with my uncle. Still 
 I played cards for money, and the passion grew upon me. 
 A little more than a year ago I was rapidly developing 
 into a young gambler. Then came news of my father's 
 sudden death in California, and I swore I would never 
 play cards again. Last night I broke my oath." 
 
 "What was the cause of your father's death?" asked 
 Bart, by way of saying something. 
 
 "He was shot over a game of cards in a gambling- 
 house," replied Frank, hoarsely.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE PLOT. 
 
 Wat Snell and Leslie Gage were roommates, and they 
 certainly made a delectable pair. 
 
 Gage was naturally the leader, being the worse of the 
 two. He was a daring and reckless sort of fellow one 
 who would not stop at anything, and who would have re 
 course to almost any measure to gain his ends. 
 
 This revengeful fellow had never forgiven Merriwell 
 for what he considered a great injury. Gage had been 
 the pitcher on the regular ball team, but, by superior skill, 
 Merriwell had supplanted him. That was enough to pro 
 duce in Gage's heart a feeling of undying hatred for the 
 successful plebe. 
 
 It made no difference that Frank had, in all probability, 
 saved him from death after he had twice attempted to kill 
 Merriwell. Gage had been shrewd enough to see that he 
 must dissemble if he would remain in the academy, and so 
 he pretended to be repentant and to think Frank one of 
 the finest fellows in the world, while his hatred and long 
 ing for "revenge" still lay hidden, black and hideous, in a 
 secret corner of his heart. 
 
 Snell was quite a different sort of bad boy. He re 
 garded Gage as his superior, and he was ready to do al 
 most anything for the fellow, but he could not imitate 
 Leslie's daring, and he kept his own vileness so much con 
 cealed that many square, honest lads believed he was a
 
 40 The Plot. 
 
 really good fellow. Bart Hodge had begun to think 
 Snell was a sneak and bad, but he had no proof of it, 
 and so he kept still. 
 
 Wat was in anything but a pleasant mood the day after 
 the game of cards. He flung things round the room in a 
 way that caused Gage to regard him with wonder, as it 
 was so much unlike the usual quiet, crafty roommate he 
 knew. 
 
 "What's the matter with you, Wat?" he asked, in sur 
 prise. "You must be ill. Go directly and place those 
 things where they belong, for we never know when one 
 of those blooming inspectors will pop in. I am room or 
 derly this week, and am going to have things kept 
 straight, for I can't afford to take any more demerit. 
 My record is bad enough as it stands." 
 
 So, with a little grumbling, Wat went about and re 
 stored to order the things he had disarranged, but he 
 could not help thinking how often, when he was room or 
 derly, he had been obliged to follow Gage about, and 
 gather up things he had displaced. 
 
 "What's the matter?" repeated Leslie, who suspected 
 the truth. "You don't seem to feel well, old boy." 
 
 "Oh, it's nothing," replied Wat. "I was thinking of 
 last night." 
 
 "And raising all this row because you happened to drop 
 a dollar. tW'hy, that's the run of the cards." 
 
 "Oh, it wasn't what I lost that made me mad." 
 
 "Then what was it?" 
 
 "Why, I was thinking that that fellow Merriwell 
 won." 
 
 "And I presume you were thinking how he won the last 
 Vot, eh?" 
 
 "Yes" sullenly. 
 
 M You don't love Merriwell a great deal?"
 
 The Plot. 41 
 
 "I should say not ! I despise the fellow !" 
 
 "And you'd like to get square ?" 
 
 "Wouldn't I !" 
 
 "I suppose you mean to do so?" 
 
 "If I ever get the chance yes." 
 
 "I fancy you are aware that I am not dead stuck on 
 Merriwell myself?" 
 
 "Yes, I know." 
 
 "I have an old score to settle with him, and I will set 
 tle it some way. I failed in one or two attempts to do 
 him up, for " 
 
 "You were altogether too bold, partner mine ; and it's 
 a wonder you were not expelled from the academy. You 
 would have been if Merriwell had blowed on you." 
 
 "That's right, and he would have done so if he had 
 known what was good for him. He is soft !" 
 
 "In some things he may be soft, but you must ac 
 knowledge he is hard enough in others. He has a way 
 of coming on top in almost everything." 
 
 Gage could not deny this, and it made him angry to 
 think of it. 
 
 "You are right," he said, fiercely. "I suppose I was 
 foolish to fight him in the way I did. That big bully 
 Bascomb got a hold on me, and he has been blackmailing 
 me ever since. Hang that fellow! I'll choke the wind 
 out of him yet!" 
 
 A crafty look came to Snell's face, and he said : 
 
 "There are ways to down a fellow without showing 
 your hand." 
 
 "I suppose so ; but it usually takes too long to suit me. 
 I like to jump on an enemy at once, and do him up." 
 
 "Well, I hope you are satisfied that Merriwell is the 
 kind of a fellow who will not be jumped on that way ?" 
 
 "It seems so."
 
 42 The Plot. 
 
 "Then it is possible you are ready to try some other 
 method ?" 
 
 Their eyes met, and Wat grinned significantly. 
 
 "How do you mean?" asked Leslie, eagerly. "You 
 have some kind of a scheme?" 
 
 "That fellow won some money off me^ and I refused to 
 take it back. He must show up again, and give me aj 
 chance to square the score. He is bound in honor not to 
 refuse to do so." 
 
 "That's right," nodded Gage. 
 
 "Well, you are rather handy with the cards, and I 
 reckon you will not find it hard to fleece him." 
 
 "Oh, I can beat him out of his money, but that is poor 
 satisfaction when you want to disgrace a fellow and drive 
 him out of the school." 
 
 "We'll find a way for that, if we can get him to fol 
 lowing the game." 
 
 "I don't know as I see how." 
 
 "His parents are dead." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "He is supported by a rich uncle, who sent him here 
 to this school." 
 
 "What of that?" 
 
 "His uncle gives him a regular allowance. If Merri- 
 well exceeds that allowance, there will be inquiries as to 
 what he has done with his money." 
 
 "I begin to see." 
 
 "This uncle is a stern, crusty old fellow, and he would 
 be furious if he should accidentally find out that his 
 nephew is gambling. The chances are about ten to one 
 that he would take him out of Fardale and turn him 
 adrift to hustle for himself." 
 
 Gage's eyes began to glitter, and the smile about his 
 mouth was most unpleasant to see.
 
 The Plot. 43 
 
 "Snell," he said, "you have a head on your shoulders ! 
 You are a dandy schemer t But how will this uncle find 
 out that Merriwell has been gambling ?" 
 
 "There are several ways for him to find it out. If 
 we can get hold of a few of Merriwell's I O U's, they 
 might be sent to the uncle for collection." 
 
 "I see ; but first we must run him out of ready cash." 
 
 "Of course. By the time he has lost all his money, he 
 will be eager to play to win it back. We must lend h\m 
 money, and take his I O U's." 
 
 "We'll do it!" Gage jumped up, struck Snell a blow 
 on the back, and then grasped his hand, giving it a shake. 
 
 "We'll do it!" he repeated. "Merriwell's goose is 
 beautifully cooked!" 
 
 Snell smiled in his crafty way. 
 
 "I am glad you take to the scheme, for with your aid, 
 there ought not to be any trouble in carrying it out." 
 
 "Oh, we'll work it ! 'But how did you find out so much 
 about Merriwell ? That's what sticks me. He has been' 
 sort of a mystery here, as none of the fellows knew ex 
 actly where he came from, or anything about his folks." 
 
 "Oh, I took a fancy to get posted concerning him. At 
 first I didn't see how I was going to do so. That was 
 during camp, and Hans Dunnerwust tented with him 
 then. I cultivated the thick-headed Dutchman, and suc 
 ceeded in getting into his good graces. >So I often visited 
 Hans in the tent when Merriwell and Mulloy, that Irish 
 clown, who thinks Merriwell the finest fellow in the 
 world, were away. I kept my eyes open, and one day I 
 spotted a letter to Merriwell. I swiped it instanter, and 
 it helped me out, for it was from his uncle." 
 
 "You're an artist in your line, Wat !" exclaimed Leslie, 
 approvingly. 
 
 "That letter didn't give me all the information I de-
 
 44 The Plot. 
 
 sired," continued Snell, "but I found I had a friend living 
 in a town adjoining the one Merriwell hails from, so I 
 wrote and asked him to find out a few things for me. He 
 rode over on his wheel, and found out what I have told 
 you." 
 
 "Why, you are a regular detective, old man !" 
 
 "Merriwell's mother," continued Wat, "has been dead 
 several years. No one seems to know much about his 
 father, except that he was nearly always away from 
 home, and he died suddenly in California a little more 
 than a year ago. I haven't been able to find out that he 
 left any property, so Merriwell is dependent on; the gert- 
 erosity of a rather crabbed and crusty old uncle, whose 
 head is filled with freaks and fancies. He seems to be 
 just the kind of a man who would be easily turned against 
 a nephew who had, as he would consider it, gone astray." 
 
 "That settles Merriwell! If we cannot get the old 
 uncle down on him, we are pretty poor schemers." 
 
 They looked at each other and smiled again. A 
 precious pair of youthful plotters they were ! 
 
 "We must be slick about this business," warned Snell. 
 "We mustn't let anybody but ourselves get the least wind 
 of it." 
 
 "Certainly not." 
 
 "And we must do our prettiest to pull the wool over 
 Merriwell's eyes, for you know he is rather discerning in 
 some things, and he may be inclined to be wary. We 
 must seem to think he is the finest fellow in the world." 
 
 "That will be pretty hard," said Leslie, with a wry 
 face, "but I have been doing something in that line of 
 late, and I will keep it up. That business doesn't come 
 so easy for me as it does for you." 
 
 "You can do it, if you try. And I shall depend on you 
 to skin him with the papers."
 
 The Plot. 45 
 
 "That won't be hard, if he plays square." 
 
 "I don't think there is any doubt about that. He is one 
 
 of the kind of fellows who doesn't know enough to play 
 
 any other way." 
 
 "Then Frank Merriwell's name is mud with a capital 
 
 M."
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 SPREADING THE SNARE. 
 
 The plot was laid, the snare was set, but the game 
 seemed wary. For some time Frank Merriwell remained 
 away from those midnight gatherings in the room of the 
 student who had committed suicide. 
 
 "Hang the luck!" exclaimed Gage. "Is he going to 
 keep away right along?" 
 
 "He must not be allowed to do so," said Leslie. "He 
 must be shamed into coming." 
 
 "That may not be easy." 
 
 "It should not be difficult with a fellow like Merriwell. 
 He must give me a chance to get even." 
 
 "Hodge doesn't try to get Merriwell out again." 
 
 "No. He says he will not influence him to attend the 
 gatherings." 
 
 "What's the matter with Hodge?" 
 
 "I don't know. He is ready enough to come himself." 
 
 It was true that Bart had positively refused to use his 
 influence to induce Merriwell to attend again one of the 
 secret parties. He had been greatly moved by Frank's 
 revelation, and he had resolved not to lead Frank into 
 the path that was so fascinating and so dangerous for 
 him. He did not know that the evil was already done 
 the fever was burning in Merriwell's veins. 
 
 Frank had been waiting an opportunity to speak with
 
 Spreading the Snare. 47 
 
 Snell in private, and it came one day when he met the fel 
 low on the grounds outside the academy. 
 
 "Hello, Snell," he saluted. "I have been looking for 
 you." 
 
 "And I have been looking for you," said Wat, mean 
 ingly. "Why haven't you ever come round since that 
 night ? Aren't you going to give a fellow a show to get 
 square ?" 
 
 "I am not going to play cards any more !" 
 
 "What?" cried Wat, in apparent astonishment. "That 
 beats anything I ever heard ! You have beaten me out of 
 a good roll, and now " 
 
 "I have been looking for you that I might return every 
 cent you lost that night, so you cannot consider me mean 
 if I do n6t give you a chance to get even over the table. 
 If you will tell me just how much you dropped, I'll make 
 it good now." 
 
 An eager look came to Wat's face, but it quickly van 
 ished, for he realized that he would defeat himself if he 
 accepted the money. 
 
 "What do you take me for !" he cried, with apparent in 
 dignation. "I am not that kind of a fellow !" 
 
 "You need never fear that I will say anything about it, 
 for I pledge you my word of honor to say nothing. All 
 I want is to make sure you do not feel that I have any> 
 money that belongs to you." 
 
 "I don't care whether you say anything about it or not, 
 Merriwell. That does not keep me from accepting the 
 money. I tell you I am not that kind of a fellow. You 
 won it, and you will keep it, unless you have nerve enough 
 to give me an opportunity to win it back." 
 
 This did not suit Frank at all, for the money had lain 
 like a load on his conscience. He had sworn not to gam 
 ble again, and he had broken his oath. But, what was
 
 48 Spreading the Snare. 
 
 worse, so long as he kept that money, he felt that he 
 really ought to give Snell a chance to get square. There 
 seemed but one way to get out of playing again, and that 
 was to make Snell take back the money. 
 
 But it was useless for him to urge Wat; not a dollar 
 would the fellow accept. 
 
 "You can't give me back anything," declared Snell. 
 "You won that money by having the most nerve at that 
 time. But you can't repeat the trick, old man," he added, 
 jovially. "Come around to-night, and see if you can." 
 
 Frank shook his head. 
 
 "No," he declared, "I shall not come." 
 
 "Oh, what's the use, Merriwell! We want you to 
 come, and all the fellows are saying it is not like you to 
 win a few dollars and then stay away. I have told them 
 over and over that I do not believe you are staying away 
 because you are afraid I will win the money back. You're 
 not that kind of a fellow." 
 
 At that moment Snell seemed very sincere, and Frank 
 said: 
 
 "Thank you. I am glad to know you do not believe 
 such a thing possible of me. Still, I shall not come." 
 
 "Oh, yes you will!" laughed Wat. "It can't be that 
 you're afraid of being caught. If anybody says so, I'll 
 swear I know better. You have nerve enough not to care 
 for that. Come around to-night. We'll look for you." 
 
 Snell hurried away, knowing full well that he had said 
 things which must worry Merriwell, if they did not drive 
 him into coming to the midnight card parties. 
 
 Wat was right. Frank was worried not a little, for he 
 could not bear to fancy that some of the boys thought him 
 mean in staying away. Hodge saw Merriwell was 
 troubled, but the dark -haired boy remained silent. 
 
 In the meantime, finding Hodge would do nothing to
 
 Spreading the Snare. 49 
 
 bring Merriwell round, Gage and Snell tried their best to 
 make friends with Hans Dunnerwust and Barney Mulloy, 
 as these boys were particular friends of Merriwell's, and 
 might be induced to use some influence over him. 
 
 Barney, however, was wary. He did not fancy either 
 Gage or Snell, and he repulsed their advances. 
 
 To Hans, the temptation of a midnight supper on cakes 
 and pies was too much to resist, and he was added to the 
 circle that gathered in the room of the suicide. 
 
 Hans could play poker, and the game being made small 
 enough to suit him, he came in and won about two dollars, 
 which made him swell up like a toad, and declared : 
 
 "Uf you poys know some games vot I can play petter 
 as dot boker, shust you name him, und I vill do you at 
 dot. Oh, I vose a dandy on trucks, ain'd it ? Shust keep 
 your eye on me, und I vill learn some tricks vot you 
 don'd know alretty yet." 
 
 Snell did his best to make Hans believe he was a great 
 favorite, and then he told him how Frank had won the 
 only time he had appeared in the game, and had never 
 come around since. 
 
 "Some of the fellows seem to think he is afraid I will 
 win the money back," said Wat; "but I don't take any 
 stock in that, for Merriwell's not that kind of a fellow. 
 Still, I don't like to have such ideas concerning him get 
 into circulation." 
 
 "Dot vos vere I vos righdt," nodded Hans. "He don't 
 peen dot kindt uf a feller ad all, you pet me my shirt! 
 Dot Vrankie Merrivell vos a taisy, undt he don'd peen 
 afrait a show to gif anypody. You vait till I tell him 
 vot dose fellers say. I pet me your life he vill gome 
 aroundt bretty kuveek righdt avay." 
 
 "Oh, don't say anything about it !" exclaimed Snell, as 
 if he really wished Hans to keep silent. "Merriwell
 
 5o Spreading the Snare. 
 
 knows his business. His friends will stand up for him, 
 no matter what others may say." 
 
 "Veil, I vos going to toldt him dot shust der same. 
 Uf he don'd peen aroundt here der next dime, I don'd 
 know der kindt uv a feller vot he vos peen yet avile." 
 
 "Well, don't mention that I said anything. He might 
 fancy I thought him afraid to come round." 
 
 "I don'd call your name at all, don'd you let me vorry 
 apout dot." 
 
 Snell knew the Dutch boy would lose little time in 
 communicating with Frank, and he was right. Hans did 
 not see that Frank was little like his usual jovial self, and 
 he did not know in what a turbulent state of mind the un 
 fortunate plebe was left. 
 
 Bart was not a little worried over Frank, for he saw 
 how the lad had changed in a short time, but he hoped 
 that Merriwell would come round in time, and be his old 
 jolly self. 
 
 That evening, a short while before taps, Frank asked : 
 
 "I suppose it is another card party to-night?" 
 
 "Yes," replied Bart, "a few of us are going to get 
 together." 
 
 "Will Snell be there?" 
 t "I presume so." 
 
 No more was said. Bart rose and slipped out of the 
 room at the usual time, thinking Frank was asleep. 
 
 But Frank was not asleep, and Hodge was scarcely 
 gone when he, too, arose and began to arrange a dummy 
 in his bed.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE HAUNTED ROOM. 
 
 The little party of card players was expectantly await 
 ing the appearance of Bartley Hodge. 
 
 There was to be no feast this night nothing but cig 
 arettes and draw poker. 
 
 Hodge appeared at last, and he brought a disappoint 
 ment to at least two of the party, for Frank Merriwell 
 was not with him. 
 
 Leslie Gage and Wat Snell exchanged glances that 
 were full of meaning. 
 
 Sam Winslow was on guard outside, it being his turn 
 to fill that unenviable position. 
 
 "Hello, Hodge," saluted Harvey Dare. "Now we are 
 ready to proceed to business." 
 
 "Dot vas righdt," nodded Hans Dunnerwust, who was 
 on hand. "I vcs goin' to smoke cigarreds to-nighd dill 
 I vos sick, und haf a pully dime." 
 
 "Why doesn't Merriwell ever show up again?" asked 
 Leslie Gage. 
 
 "That's it," joined in Wat Snell, "why doesn't he come 
 round and give a fellow a show to win back some of that 
 money he won off us ? Is he afraid ?" 
 
 "You know well enough that Frank Merriwell is not 
 afraid," said Bart, quickly. 
 
 "Well, it looks that way," declared Leslie. 
 
 "Yes, it looks that way," echoed Wat.
 
 52 The Haunted Room. 
 
 "Possibly he has too much sense to spend his nights 
 here," said Hodge. "If I had known that much, I 
 wouldn't have gone back a class. Merriwell is in the first 
 section, and he is making right along." 
 
 "Well, he is a different fellow than I thought he was," 
 asserted Snell. "Until lately, he has seemed quite a 
 fellow for sport, but he is degenerating into a drone." 
 
 "Such drones are the fellows who get along well in 
 school and in the world." 
 
 "Bah! Give me a fellow with blood in him!" came 
 contemptuously from Gage. 
 
 Leslie had grown desperate, having come to the con 
 clusion that Frank was not to be cajoled into playing 
 poker any more. He now determined, of a sudden, that 
 he would take another tack, and see if he could not anger 
 Merriwell into coming. 
 
 Hodge remembered that Gage had tried to injure 
 Frank in the past, and the dark-eyed plebe was ready to 
 blaze forth in an instant. Although he did not know it, 
 Gage was treading on the very thin crust that covered a 
 smoldering volcano. 
 
 Leslie was not warned by the fire that gleamed in 
 Bart's eyes, for he continued : 
 
 "If Merriwell persists in staying away if he does not 
 show up and give Snell a chance to get square, he is " 
 
 A knock at the door ! 
 
 It was the regular signal for admittance, and so, after 
 the first start of alarm, George Harris said : 
 
 "Open up quickly. It must be Sam, and, if so, there's 
 something wrong in the wind." 
 
 Wat Snell opened the door, and, to their amazement, 
 into the room stepped Frank Merriwell ! 
 
 It was with difficulty that the boys suppressed a shout 
 of welcome.
 
 The Haunted Room 53 
 
 Snell quickly closed the door, and then the boys rushed 
 at Frank and shook his hand delightedly. 
 
 "You're a sight for sore eyes !" exclaimed Wat Snell, 
 joyously. 
 
 "Dot vos so !" agreed Hans. "You vould peen a sighd 
 for a plind man!" 
 
 "I will take back anything I said, and swallow what I 
 was going to say," came from Leslie Gage. "I didn't 
 think it could be possible you wouldn't come round again, 
 old man." 
 
 "Now, we will have a jolly little racket," said George 
 Harris. "And you want to look out for Merriwell. He 
 is a great bluffer." 
 
 "But he doesn't bluff all the time," supplemented Har 
 vey Dare. "I found out that he held cards occasionally, 
 for I called him a few the last time he was around." 
 
 Frank laughed ; it was his old, jolly laugh, suppressed 
 somewhat. He seemed like himself once more, as Bart 
 Hodge instantly noted. He had cast off the strain under 
 which he had been for so long, and now Frank Merriwell, 
 mischievous and full of fun, was on deck again. 
 
 But this did not quite please Hodge, who watched his 
 roommate closely, his uneasiness growing as he saw 
 how care-free Merriwell seemed. What had brought 
 about such a change ? Had Frank thrown his resolutions 
 to the wind ? 
 
 "I've got a supply of coffin-nails," said Snell, as he 
 produced several packages of cigarettes. "Help your 
 selves, gentlemen. Pass them round." 
 
 Round they went, and when they reached Frank Merri 
 well he accepted one. 
 
 "I am going to be real dissipated to-night," he laughed, 
 as he struck a match and "fired up." "You may have to
 
 54 The Haunted Room. 
 
 carry me to my room on a shutter, for I actually am going 
 to smoke !" 
 
 Leslie Gage and Wat Snell exchanged glances of satis 
 faction. 
 
 A black look came to Bart Hodge's face, and he half 
 started up as Frank took the cigarette, acting as if he 
 would utter a warning. Then he settled back in his seat, 
 thinking : 
 
 "Let him smoke, if he wants to. One cigarette will do 
 nobody harm." 
 
 But Hodge knew in his heart that it was not the smok 
 ing of one or a dozen cigarettes that was dangerous to 
 Merriwell ; it was the breaking of his resolutions it was 
 the feeling of abandon and recklessness that had seemed 
 to seize upon him. 
 
 Not much time was lost in beginning the game, but now 
 Bart insisted on a proper limit. 
 
 "What do you say, Merriwell?" asked George Harris. 
 "What kind of a limit suits you ?" 
 
 "Anything from five cents to the sky," was the laugh 
 ing reply. "Fix it to suit yourselves." 
 
 Once more Gage and Snell exchanged glances. 
 
 Bart stuck for a moderate limit, but he finally agreed 
 to make it a dollar, the ante being five cents. 
 
 "Veil, uf I had pad luck, I don'd last long at dot," said 
 Hans. "I don'd haf more as four tollars und sefen 
 cends." 
 
 "Merriwell won at the start the last time he was here, 
 and he kept the luck straight through to the finish," ob 
 served Harvey Dare. "It isn't often such a thing oc 
 curs." 
 
 A few minutes later, as Harris beat Frank, the latter 
 said: 
 
 "This game starts differently from the other, fellows.
 
 The Haunted Room. 55 
 
 I have lost at the beginning, and to keep up the prece 
 dent I have established, I must lose all through it." 
 
 He said this smilingly, as if he really wished to lose. 
 
 As the cards were being dealt, Bart, who sat by his 
 roommate's side, leaned toward Frank, and softly asked: 
 j "What made you come, old man?" 
 * "Couldn't keep away," was the reply. 
 
 "Well, be careful keep watch of yourself." 
 
 "Not to-night, Bart. I am going to let loose on this 
 occasion." 
 
 Frank played recklessly from the start, and fortune 
 fluctuated with him, for he would forge ahead and then 
 drop behind, but he was never much ahead, nor far be 
 hind. For all of his careless playing, he seemed to hang 
 about even. 
 
 Leslie Gage was too shrewd to try to get at Frank on 
 this occasion, for he wanted Merriwell to win again, so 
 they would get a still firmer hold upon him. 
 
 Wat Snell lost steadily, soon beginning to growl, and 
 keeping it up. Once, under cover of conversation the 
 others were making, he leaned toward Gage and mut 
 tered : 
 
 "Merriwell is my hoodoo. I can't do a thing with him 
 in the game." 
 
 "Keep cool," warned Leslie. "Never mind what hap 
 pens this time. We'll get at him again." 
 
 Hans Dunnerwust managed to blunder along and keep 
 in the game by sheer luck, for he did not play the cards 
 for their face value at any time. Still he made enough to 
 keep on his feet and not have to get out of the game. 
 
 "Veil!" Hans finally exclaimed, as he tried in vain to 
 win, "uf I don'd do petter as dot. I vill suicide go und 
 gommit bretty soon alretty." 
 
 "By the way, Hans," said Frank, "do you know that
 
 56 The Haunted Room. 
 
 the fellow who used to have this room committed sui 
 cide here?" 
 
 "Shimminy Gristmas !" gurgled the Dutch boy. "You 
 'don'd say dot !" 
 
 "Yes, I do, and the room is said to be haunted by hii 
 spook, which cannot rest in its grave." 
 
 "Veil, dot vos nice ! Oxcuse me while I haf a chill !" 
 
 At this moment a hollow groan seemed to come from 
 beneath the chair on which Hans sat, and the Dutch lad 
 gave a jump, getting on his feet quickly, and peering 
 under the chair, his face growing pale, as he chattered : 
 
 "Votvosdot, ain'did?" 
 
 Some of the other boys were not a little alarmed, for all 
 had heard it distinctly. 
 
 "It it actually sounded like a groan !" said Wat Snell. 
 
 "That's what it did," agreed George Harris. 
 
 "But you know it couldn't have been anything of the 
 sort," laughed Frank, "for you fellows do not believe in 
 ghosts." 
 
 ''Who who who said anything about ghosts?" 
 stammered Snell. 
 
 At this moment another groan, louder and more dismal 
 than the first, seemed to come from directly beneath the 
 table. 
 
 There was a scrambling among the toys, as they 
 hastened to get their legs from beneath that table. 
 
 "I don'd feel very veil aroundt der bit uf mein stom 
 ach," gasped Hans. "I pelief I vos going to be sick 
 alretty yet." 
 
 One of the boys held the light, while they all looked 
 under the table, but they did not find anything there. 
 
 "Now, that is singular," commented Harvey Dare. "If 
 that wasn't a groan, I never heard one in my life." 
 
 "And a real ghostly groan at that I" said Leslie Gage.
 
 The Haunted Room. 57 
 
 "I never did take any stock in this rot about ghosts, 
 but " 
 
 "Beware, young man, how you mock at the spirits of 
 the departed !" 
 
 The voice seemed to come from one of the alcove bed 
 rooms, and it was of the sort to make the hair stand on 
 the head of a superstitious person. 
 
 "Oh, dunder und blitzen !" panted Hans. "Dot vos a 
 sbook ! Uf I don't ged avay oud uf here righd off, I peen 
 gone grazy ! I don'd vant any sbook in mine !" 
 
 "It is some fellow playing a joke on us," said Harvey 
 Dare, angrily. "Some one has concealed himself in there. 
 Bring the light, fellows, and we will soon find out." 
 
 He started for the alcove, but no one seemed anxious 
 to take the light and follow him. After a moment, how 
 ever, Frank did so. 
 
 All through both alcoves Harvey searched, and his 
 face was rather pale when he and Frank returned to the 
 table. 
 
 "What did you find?" asked Wat Snell, thickly. 
 
 "Not a thing but dust," replied Harvey. "There 
 hasn't been a living soul in either of those bedrooms since 
 the room was closed after the suicide." 
 
 "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the hollow voice. "You are 
 right. They dare not come, but I am doomed to stay here 
 till this building shall crumble and decay." 
 
 "Veil, you may sday till der cows come home !" gurgled 
 Hans ; "but I don'd peen caught in here any more bretty 
 soon righd avay, you pet !" and he made a break for the 
 door. 
 
 The others quickly extinguished the light, and followed 
 him. 
 
 There would be no more gatherings in that room.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IN THE MESHES. 
 
 Frank Merriwell fancied he had hit upon a scheme to 
 stop the card games from which he could not remain 
 away. Being a skilled ventriloquist, he was the author 
 of the dismal groans and the mysterious voice that had so 
 alarmed the boys. 
 
 Bart was not in the secret, and so he wondered, when 
 he heard Frank chuckling to himself, after they had safely 
 reached their room and were getting into bed. 
 
 For several days the "gang" was disconsolate, having 
 no place in which they could play a game of cards with 
 out fear of detection at any instant. 
 
 Frank Merriwell seemed restored to his usual jolly self. 
 He laughed and joked, and did not seem worried over 
 anything. 
 
 But the "gang" would not remain long without a place 
 in which to play cards. 
 
 One day Frank received an invitation to "sit into a 
 little game" that evening. 
 
 Snell tendered the invitation. 
 
 Merriwell's face clouded instantly. 
 
 "Why, there is no place to play, is there ?" 
 
 "Sure!" was the reply. "You didn't suppose we'd be 
 knocked out so easy, did you? 
 
 "Where do you play?"
 
 In the Meshes. 59 
 
 "Come along with Hodge to-night, and he will show 
 you. You have been there before." 
 
 But Frank did not come along. 
 
 Three nights he knew of Bart rising and stealing out of 
 the room. Then there was an interval of two nights, dur 
 ing which Bart, plainly too much used up to stand the 
 strain, or else out of money, remained in his bed. 
 
 When Hodge arose again, and prepared to go out, he 
 heard a stir in Merriwell's alcove. 
 
 "Are you awake, Frank ?" he asked, softly. 
 
 "Yes," was the reply, "and I am going with you." 
 
 Bart hesitated. He was tempted to undress and re 
 turn to bed, but he had received his money from home 
 that day and, having lost heavily the last time he played, 
 he was anxious for "satisfaction." 
 
 "I'm not Merriwell's guardian," he thought. "I guess 
 the fellow is able to take care of himself." 
 
 So he told Frank to dress fully for going out, and to 
 take his shoes in his hand. 
 
 Together they crept from the room, slid along the cor 
 ridor, watched a favorable moment to get past the sen 
 tinel, and finally found their way into a room where the 
 "gang" was waiting. 
 
 There was much whispered satisfaction when Merri- 
 well was known to be with Hodge. 
 
 Then the window was softly opened, and one by one 
 the boys descended the fire-escape, which ran past that 
 window. The last one out closed the window, having ar 
 ranged it so it could be readily opened from the outside. 
 
 Behind the messhall they sat down on the ground and 
 pulled on their shoes. 
 
 It was a cool, starry night. 
 
 "I rather fancy I know where we are bound," said 
 Frank.
 
 60 In the Meshes. 
 
 "Where?" asked Bart. 
 
 "To the old boathouse, down the cove." 
 
 "Sure. You are a good guesser, old man." 
 
 Then the thought came to Frank that it would be a 
 good thing for Fardale Academy if that boathouse should 
 burn to the ground. It was there plebes generally re 
 ceived their first hazing, and there most of the fights 
 between the cadets took place. 
 
 To the boathouse they went, and this night luck ran 
 against Frank, for he lost heavily. 
 
 "There," he said, as he and Bart were returning to 
 gether, "I can stay away from the game now, and no one 
 will have a right to accuse me of meanness^ for I have 
 dropped more than I made at both of the other games I 
 have been in/' 
 
 "That's right," assured Bart, "you may do as you like 
 now, and I'll fight the fellow that dares open his trap 
 about it." 
 
 But Frank had taken the false step that leads to others, 
 and he was to find it no easy thing to keep away from the 
 game that fascinated him so. For a little time he suc 
 ceeded, but he was uneasy and in a bad way so long as 
 he knew a game was going on. 'Night after night he 
 heard Bart dress and slip out, and the longing to accom 
 pany him grew and grew till it was unbearable. 
 
 "What's the matter with Merriwell ?" one of his class 
 mates asked of another. "He was making right along at 
 one time, and we all thought he would head the class, but 
 now he is making an average of less than 2.5." 
 
 "Oh, he is flighty," replied the other. "Do you notice 
 that he doesn't seem to be as jolly and full of fun as he 
 was once." 
 
 "I believe he is in some kind of trouble," declared the 
 first. "He doesn't ever get a max lately."
 
 In the Meshes. 61 
 
 By way of explanation, let us state, a "max" was the 
 highest mark obtainable, or 3 ; 2.9 or 2.8 was considered 
 first class, 2.5 was really good, 2 was fair, and below that 
 it fell off rapidly too, which meant utter failure. 
 
 Frank was, indeed, in trouble. He found it impossible 
 to keep away from the poker parties, and so, one night 
 after Bart had departed, being unable to sleep, he got up 
 and followed his roommate again. 
 
 Gage and Snell were rejoiced, for they saw they had 
 Merriwell fairly within the meshes. All that was needed 
 now was to close the net carefully and draw it tighter and 
 tighter about him, till there was no possible escape. 
 
 This trick was accomplished with consummate skilL 
 Frank's luck seemed to have deserted him, but at first his 
 losings were just heavy enough to provoke without alarm 
 ing him. Sometimes he would win a little, and then he 
 would fancy his luck had turned, but the tide soon set the 
 other way. 
 
 Made angry by his petty losses, he followed the game 
 with dogged persistency. 'And those petty losses soon 
 began to grow larger and larger. His money melted 
 away rapidly, and still fortune frowned on him. 
 
 In vain Hodge counseled his friend to drop the game 
 and stay away. Such advice was now wasted on Frank, 
 and it made him angry. 
 
 "It's too late !" he hotly declared. "I am going to see 
 the thing through !" 
 
 And so the meshes of the snare closed around him.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 DOWNWARD. 
 
 In vain Gage and Snell tried to get hold of some 
 I O U's with Frank Merriwell's name on them. Frank's 
 money was exhausted, and he stopped playing suddenly. 
 Gage offered to loan him money, but he had not forgotten 
 the past, and not a cent of Gage's cash would he touch. 
 
 Then Snell tried it, but was no more successful. 
 
 This made them both angry. 
 
 "Confound the fellow!" said Gage, fiercely. "We've 
 got him badly tangled; but he seems to have taken the 
 alarm, and I'm afraid he will break away." 
 
 "We must not let him do so," said Snell. "If we lose 
 our fish now, we'll never land him. w 
 
 "What can be done?" 
 
 "That is for us to study out." 
 
 And so they set about plotting and trying to devise still 
 (Other schemes to disgrace Frank, and drive him from the 
 academy. 
 
 In the meantime, a feeling of revulsion had seized 
 Frank Merriwell. Of a sudden he had perceived whither 
 he was drifting. He realized what false steps he had 
 already taken, and he was heartily ashamed of himself. 
 
 Among his treasures was a medal of honor presented 
 to him by Congress for twice saving the life of Inza 
 Burrage, a pretty girl who lived in Fardale, and whose 
 brother, Walter, was a cadet at the academy. Once he
 
 Downward. 63 
 
 had fought a mad dog with no weapon but a clasp-knife, 
 and kept the creature from biting Inza, and once he had 
 saved her from death beneath the wheels of the afternoon 
 express, which flew through Fardale village without 
 stopping. 
 
 Coming across this medal where he kept it choicely 
 deposited, it suddenly brought to him an overwhelming 
 feeling of self-abasement and shame. 
 
 What would Inza Burrage think of him if she knew of 
 his weakness knew that he was playing cards for money, 
 and making associates of such fellows as Gage and Snell ? 
 
 It was true that she did not know either Gage or Snell 
 for what they really were at heart, but Frank did, and 
 there really seemed no excuse for him. 
 
 He tried to excuse himself by saying he had been led 
 into temptation through Hodge, but, in another instant 
 he felt meaner than before. 
 
 "You ought to be ashamed, Merriwell!" he told him 
 self. "You have all the influence in the world over 
 Hodge, if you use your power skillfully, and, instead of 
 trying to shoulder the blame on him, you should be dis 
 gusted with yourself for making no attempt to save him 
 from such company and such practices !" 
 
 Then he thought of the money he had lost. How could 
 he stop without making an effort to win it back? If he 
 could have one good streak of luck and win enough to 
 make himself square, he would stop. 
 
 This very desire to "get square with the game" has 
 been the ruin of more than one promising youth. 
 
 So he told himself over and over that he would stop 
 as soon as he "got square." 
 
 Saturday came round. Inza Burrage had sent him 
 word through her brother that she would visit Belinda
 
 64 Downward. 
 
 Snodd that afternoon, and he might see her there, if he 
 cared to call. 
 
 Belinda Snodd was the daughter of John Snodd, a 
 rather queer old fellow, who ran an odd sort of boarding- 
 house for summer people who visited the Cove, on which 
 Fardale Academy was situated. Snodd each year boarded 
 a number of applicants for admission to the academy 
 until they had prepared themselves for examination and 
 been accepted or turned away. Frank had boarded there 
 when he first came to Fardale, and so he knew the family 
 well. 
 
 But how could he meet Inza that afternoon? He was 
 in no mood to meet her. She had regarded him as a hero 
 as being very near perfection. If she knew the 
 truth 
 
 "I can't do it !" Frank muttered. "Not till I face about 
 squarely can I see her again." 
 
 But, as the afternoon came round, he was seized by a 
 great longing to catch a glimpse of her, at least. Me 
 chanically he began dressing, as if he were going to call 
 on her. 
 
 Hodge was reading a book. He flung it aside, with an 
 impatient exclamation that was followed by a yawn. 
 
 "I'm tired of that old thing!" he cried. "I am tired of 
 everything !" 
 
 "You need a rest, Bart," said Frank. "You are not 
 getting enough sleep." 
 
 "I am getting as much as you. I say, Frank, don't you 
 think living is a bore, anyway ?" 
 
 "Not when a fellow lives right." 
 
 "Right ? What do you mean by that ? Isn't a chap to 
 have any sport?" 
 
 "Yes; but there are two kinds of sport so called. 
 One is healthy, invigorating, delightful, like baseball and
 
 Downward. 65 
 
 football, for instance. The other is fascinating, injurious, 
 debasing, like poker." 
 
 Bart stared at Frank a moment, as if he were some 
 what puzzled, and then said : 
 
 "I guess you are right, old man. I hadn't ever thought 
 of it just that way before. I'd swear off and try to keeg 
 away from the game, if I wasn't in so deep." 
 
 "You have lost quite an amount lately." 
 
 "Yes, I have been knifed deep. Gage has astounding 
 luck." 
 
 "Do you think it is all luck?" 
 
 Bart looked surprised. 
 
 "Why, to be sure. The fellow plays a square game." 
 
 "Why should he ? You know, as well as I, that he is 
 not square by nature." 
 
 "That's right ; but his cards are cut every time, and he 
 doesn't know enough to put 'em up." 
 
 "There are other ways of cheating besides putting the 
 cards up." 
 
 "That's true, but I do not believe Gage is on that lay. 
 He simply has beastly big luck." 
 
 "Perhaps." 
 
 "You do not think so?" 
 
 "I do not know. You will remember that Gage has no 
 particular love for either of us, and we have both lost 
 heavily." 
 
 "Do you mean to quit playing?" 
 
 "Possibly." 
 
 Hodge looked doubtful, for he now understood how 
 strong must be the temptation for Merriwell to follow the 
 game. 
 
 Frank completed dressing, and left the academy. He 
 turned his footsteps in the direction of Snodd's, but still
 
 66 Downward. 
 
 he had no intention of going there. Keeping under the 
 brow of the hill, he passed around to a large grove in the 
 rear of Snodd's buildings. 
 
 It was early October now, and the air was bracing and 
 exhilarating, for all the afternoon was mild. The trees 
 .were flaming with color, and the leaves had begun to sift 
 down. In the grove squirrels romped and chattered. 
 
 It seemed good to Frank to get away alone under the 
 shadow of the trees. New strength and new life came to 
 him, and new resolves and determinations formed them 
 selves unsought and unbidden in his mind. He felt that 
 it was a privilege and a blessing to be alive. 
 
 Had he felt free to meet Inza then, he would have been 
 quite happy. 
 
 He flung himself down beneath a great tree at the edge 
 of the grove, where he could see Snodd's buildings. For 
 a long time he lay there, thinking and dreaming. 
 
 Suddenly he started up. Three figures were leaving 
 the buildings and coming toward the grove. He saw 
 they were three girls, and he instantly recognized one of 
 them as Inza. The others were Belinda Snodd and one 
 of the village girls, with whom Frank was slightly ac 
 quainted, Mabel Blossom, generally known as May 
 Blossom. 
 
 "They are coming here!" exclaimed Frank. "They 
 must not see me !" 
 
 He arose hastily, and scurried away into the grove, and 
 he did not stop till he had reached the shore. There he 
 sat down amid some rocks, and remained a long time, as 
 it seemed to him. 
 
 But he could not resist the temptation to steal back and 
 see if the girls were still in the grove. He finally arose 
 and did so.
 
 Downward. 67 
 
 As he passed through the grove and came out near the 
 old picnic-ground, he suddenly halted and stepped behind 
 a tree, for he had come upon two persons in earnest con* 
 versation. 
 
 They were Inza Burrage and Leslie Gage !
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 TRUSTING AND TRUE. 
 / 
 
 Instantly a surge of jealousy swept over Frank Merri- 
 well. How did it come about that Gage had met Inza 
 there? Was it by appointment? 
 
 Belinda Snodd and May Blossom were in plain view a 
 short distance away, and Wat Snell was trying to make 
 himself agreeable to them. 
 
 Without intending to eavesdrop, Frank paused there a 
 moment, unconsciously listening. He heard Inza say: 
 
 "The others cannot hear you now, Mr. Gage, so you 
 can tell me the important thing you have to reveal." 
 
 "I don't know as you will be pleased to hear it," said 
 Gage, with an attempt at great apparent sincerity, "for it 
 is about your friend, Frank Merriwell, and you will not 
 like to hear anything unpleasant of him." 
 
 Inza drew herself up proudly. 
 
 "You cannot tell me anything of Mr. Merriwell that 
 will make me think less of him," she declared, her dark 
 eyes flashing. 
 
 That was enough to chain Frank to the spot ; he could 
 not have slipped away then had he desired to do so. 
 
 "Perhaps not," said Gage, with a significant smile, "but 
 I think I can." 
 
 "How has Frank 'Merriwell ever injured you that you 
 should be slandering him behind his back ?" 
 
 For an instant this staggered Leslie, like a blow in the 
 face, but he swiftly recovered.
 
 Trusting and True. 69 
 
 "Oh, Merriwell has never injured me, and I haven't 
 the least thing in the world against him," he said, 
 smoothly ; "but I do take an interest in you, and it makes 
 me sorry to see you so absorbed in a fellow utterly un 
 worthy of your friendship utterly unworthy to be spoken 
 to or even noticed by you." 
 
 Gage spoke rapidly, for he saw she was eager to in 
 terrupt him. Her face grew pale, and she stamp'ed one 
 small foot angrily on the ground, as she flung back : 
 
 "This is not the first time you have tried to injure him, 
 and you should be ashamed! Why, he saved you from 
 the Eagle's Ledge, after you had fallen over Black 
 Bluff." 
 
 "Which was exactly what any fellow would have done 
 for another under similar circumstances. That is not to 
 his credit. I beg you to listen. It has taken me some 
 time to make up my mind to tell you the truth to warn 
 you, and now I must. To begin with, Merriwell comes of 
 an uncertain family, although, I believe, he has an uncle 
 who has some money, and that uncle is paying the fel 
 low's way through Fardale Academy." 
 
 "What do I care about his family, so long as I know 
 him to be a noble fellow ! You forget, sir, that he has 
 twice saved my life !" 
 
 "No, I have not forgotten. I do not blame you for 
 being grateful, but you must know the whole truth about 
 him. Frank Merriwell is a gambler he plays cards for 
 money." 
 
 "I don't believe it!" were the words that came from 
 Inza's lips, and sent a thrill of shame through the lad be 
 hind the tree. 
 
 "But it is true, and I can prove it. I will prove it, too ! 
 If I prove it to your satisfaction, Miss Burrage, will you
 
 yo Trusting and True. 
 
 cut the fellow, and have nothing to do with him in the 
 future?" 
 
 Frank leaned forward, holding his breath, eager to 
 hear the answer. 
 
 It came promptly and decisively : 
 
 "No!" 
 
 Gage caught his breath. 
 
 "Do you mean to say you will still be friends with a 
 regular gambler like Merriwell?" he asked. 
 
 "I do not believe Frank Merriwell is a gambler you 
 can never make me believe it !" 
 
 "But I will bring proof." 
 
 "Even then I will believe your proof is hatched up 
 against him." 
 
 This made Gage lose his head. 
 
 "Why, you are awfully stuck on that cad!" he cried. 
 "You are altogether too fine a girl for him !" 
 
 He suddenly caught her in his arms, and tried to em 
 brace her. She struggled, and cried out for help. 
 
 Like a panther, Frank Merriwell bounded from behind 
 the tree. He caught Gage by the collar, and tore Inza 
 from his grasp. Then Frank's fist shot out, landing with 
 a sharp spat right between Leslie's eyes. A second later 
 Gage came in violent contact with the ground. 
 
 "Frank !" exclaimed Inza, as he supported her. 
 
 Wat Snell and the two girls with whom he had been 
 talking had witnessed the entire affair. They now came 
 hurrying toward the spot. 
 
 "The miserable cur !" cried Frank. "I will " 
 
 "Don't touch him again !" urged Inza. "Oh, you struck 
 him an awful blow !" 
 
 In truth Frank had given Gage a heavy blow, and it 
 some seconds before the fellow made a move. Snell
 
 Trusting and True. 71 
 
 helped him sit up. Leslie put his hand to his head, and 
 stared in a dazed way at Frank. 
 
 "Are you hurt much, old man?" asked Wat, sympa- 
 thizingly. 
 
 "I guess not," mumbled Gage. "What did he strike 
 me with ?" 
 
 His fist" 
 
 "Why, it seemed like a rock !" 
 
 Wat helped him to his feet, and the two stood glaring 
 at Frank, who regarded them with supreme scorn. 
 
 "Shall we sail in and do him up?" asked Wat, ex 
 citedly. 
 
 "Yes," said Leslie; "we will give him a good drub- 
 bing." 
 
 Instantly Frank placed Inza to one side, and boldly; 
 faced the two young rascals. 
 
 "I don't believe you both can whip me, the way I feel 
 just now," he cried. "I think I can give you more fight 
 than you want, so just sail right in." 
 
 They hesitated. There was something about Merri- 
 well's look and bearing that seemed to warn them against 
 attacking him. To Wat Snell it suddenly seemed quite 
 probable that Frank would prove more than a match for 
 both of them. 
 
 "There are ladies present," he said, hastily. "We can 
 not fight in the presence of ladies." 
 
 "Very thoughtful !" came scornfully from Frank's lips. 
 "Possibly the ladies will step aside long enough for us to 
 settle this little matter." 
 
 "Oh, don't fight with them, Frank!" pleaded Inza. 
 "There are two of them, and " 
 
 "That is not enough. I am good for two such sneak 
 ing scoundrels as they are ! Don't worry about me.*' 
 
 "Hear the blowhard !" sneered Snell.
 
 72 Trusting and True. 
 
 Frank seemed on the point of springing toward him, 
 and Wat hastily dodged behind Leslie, saying : 
 
 "Give it to him, Les, if he wants to fight !" 
 
 This showed how much Gage could depend on Snell in 
 a scrimmage, and the former instantly decided that it 
 was not best to try to get revenge on Merriwell just then. 
 
 "There will be no fighting here," he said, loftily, "but 
 I shall not forget Merriwell's blow, and he shall pay 
 dearly for it. I will make him wish he had not been so 
 free with his fist." 
 
 "As for you, Miss Spitfire," turning to Inza, "you 
 must feel proud to have a friend in a fellow of his class \ 
 Do not forget what I told you about him and " 
 
 "Silence, sir!" cried Inza, contemptuously. "You had 
 better go away at once. I wouldn't believe such a con 
 temptible creature as you under any circumstances !" 
 
 "All right, all right," growled Gage, scowling blackly. 
 "You will find out in time that I told the truth. This is 
 not the end of this matter. Come, Wat, let's go. If I 
 stay any longer, I'll have to whip Merriwell before all of 
 the present company." 
 
 So the delectable pair moved away together, and Gage's 
 revengeful heart was made still more bitter by the ring 
 ing laugh of scorn Inza Burrage sent after them.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE SNARE IS BROKEN. 
 
 When Frank parted from Inza that afternoon, he had 
 made a free and full confession of his fault. She had 
 listened with pained surprise, almost with incredulity, but 
 she had not shown the scorn that Frank felt he fully de 
 served. However, she had exacted a pledge, which he 
 had freely given, and, returning to the academy, he felt 
 that he was himself once more. His step was elastic, 
 his heart was light, and he whistled a lively strain. 
 
 That evening he had a long talk with Bart. 
 
 "Come, Bartley," urged Frank, "drop this card-playing, 
 and give attention to your studies." 
 
 Bart was in a bad mood, as he had been much of the 
 time lately, and he laughed harshly. 
 
 "You're a fine fellow to give that sort of advice when 
 you cannot keep away from the game yourself !" he said. 
 
 "But I can keep away," came quietly and decidedly; 
 from Frank's lips. 
 
 "Prove it." 
 
 "I will. I am not going to play any more. I have 
 been a fool, and I am ashamed of it." 
 
 "That is easy enough to say, but Well, we will 
 
 see what we will see." 
 
 "You doubt my ability to keep away from the game?" 
 
 "Haven't I reason to do so? 7 * 
 
 "You surely have. But look here, Bart ; you know as
 
 74 The Snare is Broken. 
 
 well as I the kind of fellows we are running with whev 
 we play cards with that gang. Neither you nor I care t 
 call Gage and Snell our particular friends." 
 
 "That's right." 
 
 "And Harris is a kind of uncertain fellow neither one 
 thing nor another." 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "Sam Winslow hasn't enough stamina to resist tempta 
 tion of any sort." 
 
 "Goon." 
 
 "Harvey Dare is a pretty decent chap, but he doesn't 
 care a rap what people think or say of him." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Hans Dunnerwust has been inveigled into the game, 
 and I am going to do my best to make him break away." 
 
 Bart drew a deep breath. 
 
 "Go ahead, Frank," he said, "and I hope you may suc 
 ceed in your missionary work. You didn't name my 
 failings, but I have them, or they have me, for I can't 
 break away from them." 
 
 "You can if you will try. Make a desperate effort, 
 Bart. Think how differently you are situated than I, 
 who was born with a passion for gambling." 
 
 Bart rose impatiently. 
 
 "Drop it, old man," he growled. "I've lost too much 
 to knock off now. I am going to play to-night." 
 
 "To-night? Why, it is Saturday night!" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "If you begin playing, you will not stop before Sunday 
 comes in." 
 
 "Perhaps not." 
 
 "You don't mean to say that you are going to play om 
 Sunday?" 
 "The better the day, the better the deed," mocked Bart.
 
 The Snare is Broken. 75 
 
 Frank said no more^ but he formed a firm resolution. 
 He would find a way to save his roommate and break up 
 the card game. Gage and Snell were welcome to all they 
 had won off him, but he would bring their career to an 
 end. 
 
 How was he to do it? 
 
 Surely he could not report them, for that would place 
 him beneath a ban among the cadets. 
 
 He studied over the problem. 
 
 That night, when Hodge arose to slip away, Frank got 
 up also, and began to dress. Bartley heard him, and was 
 surprised. 
 
 "Where are you going, Frank?" he whispered. 
 
 "With you," was the quiet reply. 
 
 "But I thought " 
 
 Hodge stopped; he would not say what he thought. 
 But he told himself that he had known all along that 
 Frank could not keep away. 
 
 They got out of the academy, and made their way to 
 the old boathouse, where the company was already as 
 sembled. 
 
 Gage and Snell were there, but neither of them spoke 
 to Frank. 
 
 Bart sat into the game immediately, but, to the gen 
 eral surprise, Frank declined. 
 
 "I am short, and I don't feel like playing to-night," he 
 said. "I've got a book I want to read, and it wasn't pos 
 sible for me to have a light in quarters, so I came along." 
 
 He declined all offers of money, and sat down to read 
 the book. He turned his back to the table, so the light 
 fell on the pages from over his shoulder, and in a short 
 time he seemed too much absorbed in the book to observe 
 anything that was going on. 
 
 The game became very warm. It was without limit,
 
 76 The Snare is Broken. 
 
 and Hodge lost from the first. Both Gage and Snell 
 were winning steadily. 
 
 Still Merriwell seemed to read on calmly. But he was 
 not reading a great deal. In the palm of one hand he 
 had a small mirror concealed. By the aid of this mirror, 
 he was watching the movements of Gage and Snell. 
 
 And he was making some very interesting discoveries ! 
 
 At length there came a large pot. Hodge and Gage 
 stayed in and raised till every one else fell out. Hodge 
 took one card ; Gage, who was dealing, took two. 
 
 Then there was betting such as had never before been 
 known in that old boathouse. 
 
 Hodge's face was pale, and he refused to call, for he be 
 lieved his time to get square had come. He put in his 
 "paper" for more than fifty dollars, after his money was 
 exhausted. 
 
 Finally the game came to an end, and Gage proclaimed 
 himself the winner. 
 
 He started to take the money lying on the table.. Like 
 a leaping tiger, Frank Merriwell came out of his chair, 
 whirled, thrust Leslie's hands aside, and pushed the 
 money toward Bart. 
 
 "Not this evening, Mr. Gage!" he said. "I am onto 
 your little game, and it won't work any more with this 
 crowd !" 
 
 The boys sprang to their feet. 
 
 "What do you mean?" asked Gage, hoarsely, his face 
 very pale. 
 
 "I mean that you are a sneak and a cheat !" said Frank, 
 deliberately. "I mean that you are too mean and con 
 temptible for any honest fellow in this academy to ever 
 have anything to do with ! I mean that you have deliber 
 ately robbed your companions by means of crooked appli-
 
 The Snare is Broken. 77 
 
 ances made for dishonest gamblers! That is exactly 
 what I mean, Mr. Gage." 
 
 Leslie gasped, and managed to say : 
 
 "Be careful! You will have to prove every word, 
 or " 
 
 "I will prove it ! I have been watching you, and I have 
 seen you repeatedly make the pass that restores cut cards 
 to their original position. I have seen you hold back at 
 least three of the top cards in dealing, and give them to 
 Snell or take them yourself. Those cards will be found 
 to be skillfully marked, and that pack is short. Boys, 
 count those cards !" 
 
 The cards were counted, and the pack proved to be four 
 cards short. 
 
 "Here is one of the gambler's appliances of which I 
 spoke," said Frank, thrusting his hand under Leslie's side 
 of the table and wrenching away something. "It is a 
 table hold-out, and it contains the four missing cards. 
 This is the kind of a fellow you are playing cards with, 
 gentlemen." 
 
 The faces of the boys were black with anger, Wat Snell 
 being excepted. Seeing his opportunity, Snell quickly 
 slipped away, and before he could be stopped, had bolted 
 from the boathouse. 
 
 Gage took advantage of the excitement to make a break 
 for liberty, and he, too, got away. 
 
 "What a howling shame!" said Harvey Dare, in dis 
 gust. "We'd tar and feather them both. Anyway, 
 they'll have to get out of the academy." 
 
 The boys who had put money into the game were given 
 what they had invested. The rest was turned over to 
 Hodge. It made his losing nearly square. 
 
 "This settles me," he said, grimly. "I am done play 
 ing. No more of this business for me."
 
 78 The Snare is Broken. 
 
 "Stick to that, and you will be all right," said Frank 
 Merriweir, in a low tone. 
 
 Leslie Gage knew what must follow. The story was 
 bound to spread among the cadets, and he would find him 
 self scorned and shunned. He immediately ran away, 
 and it was reported that he had gone to sea. 
 
 Wat Snell had not the nerve to run away, but he found 
 himself the most unpopular fellow at the academy, 
 shunned by the cadets generally, and regarded with con 
 tempt. 
 
 The exposure of Gage's crookedness broke up the poker 
 parties for that season, at least; and Frank was happy, 
 for he had saved himself and rescued Hodge and Hans 
 Dunnerwust. 
 
 But he was happiest in receiving the approbation of 
 Inza Burrage, who learned, through her brother, what 
 Frank had done.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 THE "CENTIPEDE" JOKE. 
 
 '"Sh!" 
 
 "What's up?" 
 
 "There's a carmine haze on the moon." 
 
 "That's clear as mud! What's the racket?" 
 
 "You room next to Mulloy and Dunnerwust ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Well, you will hear the racket just about the time taps 
 sound." 
 
 "But I want to know what's up," persisted the second 
 speaker, whose curiosity was aroused. "Has somebody 
 put up a job on those two marks, Mulloy and his Dutch 
 chum?" 
 
 "You've guessed it." 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 "Guess again." 
 
 "Merriwell." 
 
 "Right. Take your place at the head of the class." 
 
 This hasty and guarded conversation was carried on be 
 tween two plebe cadets who had met in a corridor of the 
 academy "cockloft." The first speaker was a jolly-faced 
 little fellow, whose name was Sammy Smiles, and whose 
 companions had failed to invent a nickname for him that 
 fitted as well as his real name Smiles. 
 
 The other boy's name was also Samuel, or the first part 
 of his name was Samuel ; but the cadets declined to have
 
 8o The "Centipede" Joke. 
 
 two Sams among the plebes, and so Samuel Winslow had 
 gradually come to be known as "Poke." 
 
 "What's Merriwell up to now ?" asked Poke, a look of 
 delighted suspense on his face. "He's making things 
 rather lively round here lately." 
 
 "You bet!" grinned Sammy Smiles. "There's more 
 fun in him than there is in a barrel of monkeys." 
 
 "But what's he up to now?" reiterated Winslow. 
 "Don't keep a fellow in suspense !" 
 
 "He smuggled in a basket of crawfish." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Well, you don't suppose he got 'em to eat, do you ?" 
 
 " 'Course not. Is he going to make the Dutchman eat 
 them?" 
 
 "No, but they may take a few bites out of the 
 Dutchman." 
 
 "You don't mean " 
 
 "He's put the crawfish into Dunnerwust's and Mulloy's 
 beds." 
 
 "Jeewhiz!" 
 
 Poke clapped a hand over his mouth, and looked round 
 hastily. Then he asked : 
 
 "How could he do it? Beds ain't made up till after 
 tattoo, and he wouldn't have time to " 
 
 "Tattoo sounded fifteen minutes ago. It doesn't take 
 Mulloy more than two minutes to make up his beds. 
 Hans is slower, but I hustled 'em both up to-night. I 
 dodged into their room the instant tattoo sounded, and 
 told 'em Gray wanted 'em both to come to his room, but 
 they mustn't come till after their beds were made, for 
 they might stay till it was too late to make the beds be 
 fore taps. They both hustled up the beds, and then 
 skipped over to see Gray. iMerriwell was watching, and 
 he didn't lose more than an hour getting that basket of
 
 The ''Centipede" Joke. 81 
 
 crawfish into their room, and stowing the lively little 
 birds in the beds. Oh, my ! won't there be a howl when 
 they yank themselves into bed !" 
 
 Sammy Smiles doubled up with suppressed laughter. 
 He was convulsed at the thought of what would happen 
 when the Dutch boy and the Irish lad hastily jumped into 
 their beds. 
 
 "Merriwell takes the cake," Poke declared, with a 
 chuckle. "He's been on a regular frolic for the last week, 
 and he can invent more kinds of fun than any fellow liv 
 ing besides himself." 
 
 "That's right," agreed Sammy. "Frank is a dandy! 
 Things would be rather dull here this winter if it wasn't 
 for him." 
 
 "Well, he'll never let them get dull, and I believe he is 
 the best fellow that ever lived !" 
 
 "Right again," nodded the other lad, with a moment of 
 seriousness. "Merriwell is the prince of good fellows, 
 and there's not a white man in the academy who wouldn't 
 fight for him. I know some fellows are down on him, but 
 that's pure jealousy. They're sore because he has be 
 come so popular. I don't believe he cares much." 
 
 "If he wouldn't stick up for Hodge the way he 
 does " 
 
 "That shows his loyalty. I can't see what he finds to 
 admire in Hodge, though the fellow can fight and play 
 ball. He and Frank do not seem very well matched for 
 roommates. I don't see how Merriwell can keep from 
 working jokes on Hodge all the time. Jingoes! but 
 wouldn't I laugh if he had put some of those crawfish in 
 Hodge's bed !" 
 
 This fancy convulsed Sammy again, and, just then, 
 Poke hissed : 
 
 " 'Sh I Somebody's coming ! Skip !"
 
 82 The "Centipede" Joke. 
 
 Both made haste to get into their rooms, and, as Sammy 
 roomed with Ned Gray, he found Barney Mulloy and 
 Hans Dunnerwust being entertained there. Ned was tell 
 ing them stories, and pretending to be greatly absorbed in 
 their society. As Sammy slipped in, with the inevitable 
 grin on his face, although he was doing his best to sup 
 press it, Ned looked up and asked : 
 
 "How's the weather outside?" 
 
 "It is settled," replied Sammy, with a meaning wink. 
 
 "Do you think it will be a cold night ?" 
 
 "It will be for some folks." 
 
 "When the weather is cold down East, they call it 
 nipping." 
 
 "Well, it will be nipping to-night for some people." 
 
 "In that case, somebody will have to be stirring." 
 
 "That's right." 
 
 "Yaw," said Hans, with a lazy yawn, "I pet me your 
 life some folks peen plame fools enough to peen sdirring 
 to-nighd. Dot makes me dired. Vy in dunder don'd 
 dey gid in dere peds und sday dere, ain'd id ?" 
 
 "Oh, some people don't know enough for that." said 
 Ned Gray. "And then there are people who are afraid to 
 go to bed at this season of the year." 
 
 "Vot vos dot? Afrait uf vot?" 
 
 "Centipedes." 
 
 "Vot vos cendibedes ?" 
 
 "They are a creature with a poisonous bite, and they 
 are all sizes from the bigness of a pea to one as large as 
 your hand." 
 
 "Oh, phvrat are yez givin' av us !" cried Barney Mulloy, 
 derisively. "Is it idiots or fools ye take us fer, Oi 
 dunno ?" 
 
 "Oh, I am telling you the sober truth," declared Ned, 
 with the utmost seriousness, while Sammy Smiles got be-
 
 The ' 'Centipede" Joke. 83 
 
 hind the visitors and stuffed his handkerchief into his, 
 mouth to keep from shrieking with laughter. "The cen 
 tipedes of tropical countries are smaller than our regular 
 winter centipedes, which are sometimes as large as a 
 man's hand. Their bite is deadly poison." 
 
 "Dunder und blitzens !" gasped Hans. "I don'd tole 
 you dot!" 
 
 "Get away wid yer blarney!" exclaimed Barney, dis- 
 believingly. "Pwhat do yez take us fer, Oi warnt to 
 know ? It's nivver a bit do ye shtuff sich a yarrun down 
 aour throats, me b'y." 
 
 "You are not compelled to believe it." 
 
 "Cintipades in th' winter !" snorted the Irish lad. "Thot 
 bates th' band !" 
 
 "Well, you may think what you like, but you may see 
 some of our winter centipedes some time, and then it is 
 possible you will feel that you owe me an apology." 
 
 "Vot does cendibedes look like, ain't it?" 
 
 "They have long, leg-like claws, and are covered with 
 hard shells." 
 
 "Und dey pite?" 
 
 "Well, I should say so." 
 
 "Put, vy vos some beoples afrait dose cendibedes uf to 
 go to ped ? You tole me dot." 
 
 "Well, these winter centipedes are great creatures to 
 seek warm corners, and so they get into beds." 
 
 Sammy Smiles was ready to roll on the floor. He 
 could not keep his laughter bottled up, and it burst forth 
 in a gurgle, which he quickly changed to a most dis 
 tressing cough. 
 
 "Wan thing is sure," said Barney ; "nivver a cintipade 
 is loikely to get inther our beds, fer we make 'em up ache 
 noight, so we'd see th' craythers if they wur there." 
 
 "I believe one of them has never been seen in the acad-
 
 84 The "Centipede" Joke. 
 
 emy," came seriously from Ned's lips. "The strict dis 
 cipline of the institution is too much for them, and they 
 keep away." 
 
 Barney grinned. 
 
 "Thot's all roight, me b'y. Some doay Oi'll tell yez 
 about th' big shnakes we hiv in Oireland. Oi hivn't toime 
 to-night." 
 
 "Und I vill dell you apoud der big Injuns vot dere vos 
 der Rhine on, in Shermany," said Hans. "Maype you 
 haf heardt uf dose poem enditled 'Big Injun on der 
 Rhine,' ain'd id ?" 
 
 "Oh, well, that's all right !" said Ned, with a wave of 
 his hand, as if he was not quite pleased. 
 
 Then he looked at his watch, and exclaimed : 
 
 "Great Scott ! we've got but one minute left in which to 
 undress and get into bed before taps !" 
 
 He leaped up and began undressing, and, with exclama 
 tions of alarm, the Irish lad and the Dutch boy hustled 
 from the room, losing no time about getting into their 
 own and undressing. 
 
 "Did Merriwell fix it ?" asked Ned, of Sammy. 
 
 "You bet !" was the reply. "Extinguish the flicker, and 
 wait for the general war-dance. It will take place in a 
 very few seconds." 
 
 So they extinguished the light, and awaited the out 
 burst that must soon come.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 LIVELY TIMES. 
 
 Barney and Hans dashed into their room, and tore 
 themselves out of their clothes, which, however, they took 
 care to hang in order on the pegs placed along the parti 
 tion that divided one end of the room into two alcoves. 
 
 Long practice enabled them to undress with great 
 swiftness. 
 
 By the time taps began to sound they were ready to 
 jump into their beds. 
 
 Barney quickly extinguished the light, but Hans lost no 
 time in getting under the blankets, while the Irish lad 
 made a leap to do so. 
 
 Then came a cry of astonishment and fear from Hans. 
 
 "Shimminy Gristmas !" exclaimed the Dutch boy. 
 " Vot dot vos I touch me to, ain'd id ?" 
 
 "Shut up!" growled Barney. "Bad cess to yez! do 
 yez phwant th' officer av th' guarrud doon on us ! Kape 
 shtill, ur " 
 
 "Wa-ow!" howled Hans, uttering a wild shriek of 
 pain and terror. "I vos caught in der ped my leg by! 
 Dunder und blitzens ! I vos bit mit der toe on !" 
 
 "Begorra ! ye hiv gone crazy, ye son av a Dutch chaze- 
 maker! Kape shtill thot howling ur " 
 
 Then Barney's tone suddenly changed, and he let out a 
 yell that would have awakened Rip Van Winkle from his 
 long nap.
 
 86 Lively Times. 
 
 "Saints defind me! I'm bitten in siventane different 
 places intoirely ! Wurra ! wurra ! Musha ! musha ! Th' 
 bed is full av crawling crathers !" 
 
 "Cendibedes !" howled Hans. 
 
 "Cintipades !" shrieked Barney. 
 
 Out of the beds they scrambled in hot haste, and to 
 each one six or eight of the crawfish were clinging. 
 
 "Wao-w!" roared Hans. 
 
 "Whoop !" bellowed Barney. 
 
 "I peen kilt alretty yet!" shrieked the Dutch boy. "I 
 peen bit all ofer py does cendibedes !" 
 
 "Begorra! there's a bushel av th' craythers hangin' to 
 me!" shouted the Irish lad. "Gi'm a dead b'y in 
 toirely !" 
 
 "Hel-lup ! hel-lup !" howled Hans, dismally. 
 
 Out into the center of the room danced the two boys, 
 fighting, clawing, striking at various parts of their bodies, 
 where the crawfish persistently clung. They collided, 
 and both sat down heavily on the floor. 
 
 "It's kilt we are!" moaned Barney. 
 
 "Dot peen near knockin' mine prains oua alretty yet !" 
 declared Hans. 
 
 "Loight th' lamp !" 
 
 "Hel-lup! hel-lup! hel-lup!" 
 
 . In some way they scrambled to their feet, and both 
 lunged for the door, which they beat upon with their fists, 
 as if they would tear it down. 
 
 "Docther !" bellowed Barney. 
 
 "Toctor!" screamed Hans. 
 
 "Will yez get away fram thot dure, so Oi can open it?" 
 
 "Ged avay dot toor from mineself!" flung back the 
 Dutch boy. "I ged me to dot toor first, und I peen der 
 first von oud !" 
 
 "Oh, ye will, will yez! We'll see about thot!"
 
 Lively Times. 87 
 
 Biff ! smack ! thud ! thump ! The two frantic boys were 
 hammering each other in the darkness of their room, 
 while the listening jokers were convulsed with merriment. 
 
 The uproar had aroused that entire section of the acad 
 emy. The sentinel came down the corridor at the double 
 quick, just as Frank Merriwell, partly dressed, leaped out 
 of his room and flung himself against the door of the 
 room from which the racket issued. 
 
 Other boys came swarming into the corridor, and the 
 excitement was intense. 
 
 Merriwell burst into the room, and, a moment later, 
 dragged out Hans and Barney into the lighted corridor. 
 
 The crawfish were still clinging comfortably to various 
 portions of the garments in which the two lads had gone 
 to bed. Seeing the creatures, Hans uttered a howl of 
 agony louder than any that had yet issued from his 
 throat. 
 
 "Cendibedes !" he wailed. "I vos a tead boy! I vos 
 peen bit in more as nine huntred und sefenteen blaces 
 alretty yet! Vere vos dot toctor?" 
 
 "They're centipades sure!" groaned Barney. "An Oi 
 didn't belave there wur such craythers! Ouch! ouch! 
 How they boight! Take 'em off!" 
 
 But the two lads danced, kicked and beat about them 
 with their arms so that no one could remove the 
 crawfish. 
 
 The boys who were witnesses of this "circus," nearly 
 choked with laughter. Sammy Smiles had a fit, and 
 rolled on the floor, clinging to his sides. 
 
 All the while Frank was apparently making desperate 
 efforts to quiet the boys and remove the crawfish, but, at 
 the same time he was saying just loud enough for them to 
 hear: 
 
 "The bite is deadly poison ! The only antidote is equal
 
 88 Lively Times. 
 
 parts of new milk and vinegar taken internally. About a 
 gallon should be absorbed, while a chemically prepared 
 poultice of H2o, tempus fugit, and aqua pura should be 
 applied to each and every bite." 
 
 "Bring on yer new milk and vinegar, begorra !" roared 
 the Irish boy, wildly. "It's a barrel ur two Oi'll drink av 
 th' sthuff!" 
 
 "Somepody dose boultices make britty queek alretty !" 
 shouted Hans. "I vant dwo huntred und elefen for dose 
 bites vot I haf all ofer mein body on !" 
 
 "Keep still!" ordered the sentinel. "Stand still while 
 those crawfish are removed." 
 
 "You peen bitten all der dime dose cendibedes py, und I 
 pet me my poots you don'd keep very sdill yet avile! 
 We-e-eow ! Dey vos eadin' me ub alretty yet !" 
 
 "Get away wid yez, ye spalpane !" shouted Barney, and 
 one of his wildly waving fists struck the sentinel between 
 the eyes and knocked him over instantly. 
 
 "Remember it is vinegar and milk that you want, and 
 you must have it," shouted Frank, in the Irish lad's ear. 
 "Every second you delay about procuring it makes your 
 chances all the more desperate." 
 
 "Begorra ! Oi'll hiv it directly, av there's anything av 
 th' sort in th' ranch !" 
 
 Then Barney made a break for the stairs, with Hans a 
 close second, and the boys could not resist the temptation 
 to rush after them. 
 
 Never before had there been such an uproar heard in 
 Fardale Academy, and the commotion had brought Pro 
 fessor Gunn and his two principal assistants, Professor 
 Jenks and Professor Scotch, from their rooms on the floor 
 below the "Cockloft." 
 
 "What can be the meaning of this outrageous hub-
 
 Lively Times. 89 
 
 bub?" cried Professor Jenks, who, on account of his ex 
 ceeding height, was known as "High Jinks." 
 
 "Goodness knows !" exclaimed Professor Gunn, peering 
 over his spectacles in a horrified way at his companions. 
 "It must be a mutiny " 
 
 "Or a murder !" chattered Professor Scotch, who was a 
 very small man, and was generally known as "Hot 
 Scotch," because of his fiery red hair and peppery temper. 
 
 "Let us proceed together to investigate," came reso 
 lutely from Professor Gunn's lips. 
 
 "All right," said High Jinks, bravely. "Lead the way, 
 sir." 
 
 "Be cautious, gentlemen be cautious!" urged Hot 
 Scotch, his face pale and his teeth rattling together. 
 "Such dreadful shrieks have never before assailed my 
 ears never ! They are certainly cries of mortal agony !" 
 
 "Oh, you can go to your room, and lock yourself in, if 
 you are afraid !" came scornfully from the tall professor's 
 lips. 
 
 "Who's afraid!" bristled the little man, instantly. 
 "You will find I am not afraid of you, sir! I am ready 
 t/"t__" 
 
 "Gentlemen ! gentlemen, silence !" came commandingly 
 from Professor Gunn's lips. "I will not have this un 
 seemly bickering ! If you are ready, come on." 
 
 So they moved toward the stairs, High Jinks resolutely 
 keeping by Professor Gunn's side, while Hot Scotch lin 
 gered a little in the rear, clinging to the tail of the head 
 professor's coat. 
 
 Just as they reached the foot of the stairs and were 
 about to ascend, feet were heard rushing along the cor 
 ridor above, and then Barney Mulloy came plunging 
 down the stairs, with Hans Dunnerwust riding astride his
 
 90 Lively Times. 
 
 neck, both in their nightclothes, with a few crawfish still 
 clinging to them. 
 
 The three professors were unable to get out of the way, 
 so the frantic boys plunged straight into them, and all 
 fell in a struggling, squirming mass on the floor.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WARNED. 
 
 At the head of the stairs swarmed the plebes, who were 
 convulsed with laughter. 
 
 "Oh ! oh ! oh !" gasped Sammy Smiles, clinging to his 
 sides. "Somebody please do something to stop me from 
 laughing! Ha! ha! ha! If I don't stop soon, I'll die! 
 Oh, dear ! oh, dear ! I am sore all over !" 
 
 "Help !" cried Professor Gunn. 
 
 The boys on the floor below the Cockloft were out by 
 this time, and they were enjoying the spectacle quite as 
 much as the plebes above. 
 
 Frank had rushed into his room, and he came forth 
 with a bag that contained something that moved and 
 snarled. Reaching the head of the stairs, he quickly 
 opened the mouth of the bag and extracted two cats. 
 He had slipped on a pair of heavy gloves, and he suc 
 ceeded in holding the cats securely,, while he said to Ned 
 Gray: 
 
 "Quick take the string that held the mouth of the 
 bag tie their tails together! Lively!" 
 
 Ned caught up the string, and worked swiftly, tying 
 the cats' tails tightly together. 
 
 When this was accomplished, Frank gave the felines a 
 fling toward the group at the foot of the stairs. 
 
 The cats struck one on either side of Professor Gunn's 
 neck, and, as their tails were tied together, they hung 
 there, but not quietly.
 
 92 Warned. 
 
 With wild howls of agony, they began clawing each 
 other, incidentally, by way of diversion, socking their 
 claws into the professor's face now and then, and ripping 
 up a few furrows in that gentleman's countenance. 
 
 Professor Gunn howled louder than the cats, and tried 
 to fling them off; but they clung to him as if they loved 
 him, and continued to shower marks of affection upon 
 him. 
 
 "Great Scott !" gasped Ned Gray. "If it is ever found 
 out that you were at the bottom of this, Merriwell, you 
 will be expelled sure !" 
 
 "Then I shall perish in a good cause," laughed Frank. 
 "Fun is better than medicine, and we were beginning to 
 stagnate." 
 
 "Help!" cried Professor Gunn, in tones of deep an 
 guish. "Take these beasts away! They are devouring 
 me!" 
 
 "Meow ! me-e-eow ! S'pt ! s'pt ! Me-e-e-e-ow !" howled 
 the cats, as they continued to scratch the professor's face 
 till it began to look like the colored map of a country that 
 had been disturbed by a violent earthquake. 
 
 Somehow Hot Scotch had gotten into a wrangle with 
 High Jinks, whom he was holding down and punching 
 vigorously. 
 
 "Hit me in the ribs, will ye! Pound me in the eye, 
 will ye? Tackle me when down, will ye ? Well, I've got 
 a score against you, and I'll settle it now !" 
 
 "Take him off!" squealed Jenks, thrashing about with 
 his long legs. "Save me ! save me !" 
 
 Having untangled themselves from the mass and be 
 come freed of the crawfish in the struggle, Hans and Bar 
 ney sat on the floor and stared in astonishment at the 
 spectacle. The sight was too much for the risibilities of
 
 Warned. 93 
 
 the Irish boy, and he forgot that he had been severely bit 
 ten by "centipades." 
 
 "Begorra! Dutchy, this is a roight loively avening, 
 Oi do belave," he chuckled. "Will yez look at this fer a 
 racket, Oi dunno ! Hurro ! Sail in, b'ys !" 
 
 "Veil, I don't efer seen der peat uf dot !" gasped Hans, 
 his eyes bulging. "Uf dot don't peen a recular fight, I 
 vos an oysder!" 
 
 "Now, boys, it's time to take a hand," said Frank Mer- 
 riwell. "Be lively! Gather up the crawfish, and throw 
 'em out of the windows. Work quick ! Here, Windsor, 
 dispose of this bag !" 
 
 His words put the cadets in motion. Down the stairs 
 he ran, and quickly gathered up every crawfish he could 
 find, while others followed his example. Then, leaving 
 the boys to take care of the cats and separate the fighting 
 professors, he bounded up the stairs and hurried to the 
 room occupied by Barney and Hans, where he removed 
 every crawfish he could find in the beds or upon the floor. 
 He worked with great swiftness, and accomplished all this 
 in a very few seconds. 
 
 In the meantime, some of the boys who had been in the 
 joke from the start, took hold and aided Frank to clear 
 out all signs of the crawfish, while others hastened to 
 Professor Gunn's assistance, and pulled off the cats, re 
 moving the string from their tails. 
 
 Barney and Hans were beginning to call for the doctor 
 again, declaring they had been bitten by "centibedes," or 
 "cintipades," and Professor Gunn was glaring over a 
 handkerchief held to his bleeding face, while High Jinks 
 and Hot Scotch stood apart and glowered at each other, 
 ready to resume hostilities at the slightest provocation. 
 
 Lieutenant Gordan was on hand, looking very stern, 
 and asking a few very pointed questions. He fully under-
 
 94 Warned. 
 
 stood a practical joke had been perpetrated, and woe to 
 the perpetrator if the lieutenant found proof against him. 
 Gordan was stern and as unwavering as the hills in the 
 discharge of his duty. 
 
 But the lieutenant found five very excited and inco 
 herent persons in the group that had assembled at the foot 
 of the stairs. Professors Jenks and Scotch would not say 
 much of anything, only mutter and glare daggers at each 
 other, while Professor Gunn was too furious and too con 
 fused to tell anything straight. Barney and Hans de 
 clared over and over that they had been bitten by "centi 
 pedes," and showed the wounds. The jumbled story told 
 by them puzzled the lieutenant more than anything else. 
 
 Having been released, the cats had taken flight. 
 
 Lieutenant Gordon did not say much, but the expres 
 sion on his face told that he meant to investigate the affair 
 thoroughly. The time, however, was not suitable for an 
 investigation, and so he ordered everybody to their rooms. 
 Barney called for a drink of milk and vinegar, but the 
 lieutenant assured him that he was not in danger of dying 
 immediately if he did not obtain what he desired, so both 
 the Irish lad and the Dutch boy were sent to their rooms, 
 like the others. 
 
 In a brief time silence settled over the academy, and no 
 one could have fancied there had been such an uproar 
 there a short while before. 
 
 In the morning, Bartley said to Frank. 
 
 "What in the world has got into you, old man? You 
 are full of the Old Harry, lately. You will have this 
 academy turned bottom up, if you keep on." 
 
 Frank smiled. 
 
 "We've got to have something to break the monotony," 
 he said. "A fellow gets tired of plugging away at his 
 studies all the time."
 
 Warned. 95 
 
 "That's so," admitted Bart, who was a dark-faced, re 
 served sort of boy ; "but such tricks as you perpetrated last 
 night are dangerous." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "What if Lieutenant Gordan finds out you were at the 
 bottom of it ? You know what will happen." 
 
 "Sure!" 
 
 "Well, you are taking big chances for a little fun." 
 
 "A little fun!" echoed Frank. "Didn't you consider 
 that something more than a little fun last night? It 
 struck me as a roaring farce." 
 
 A faint trace of a smile came to Hodge's dark face. 
 
 "You enjoy anything of the kind far more than I do, 
 Merriwell," he said. "I like fun of a different sort" 
 
 "Well, I fancy you will acknowledge I take some in 
 terest in other sports, Bart ?" 
 
 "That's all right, Frank ; you are the leader of our class 
 in everything, because you are a natural leader. But you 
 have a dangerous rival." 
 
 "Think so?" 
 
 "I know it. There is a fellow in this school who is 
 aiming to stand at the head in athletics. Up to a few 
 weeks ago he remained in the background, so that little 
 or no notice was taken of him ; but he is coming to the 
 front now, and I believe he means to give you a hot race 
 for first position. He has even declared openly that he is 
 a pitcher, and means to make a try for a position on the 
 team." 
 
 "That's all right, Bart. I am not hoggish enough to 
 want all the honors, and, if we play as much ball as we in 
 tend to next spring and summer, we'll need another 
 pitcher. I can't do all the twirling." 
 
 "But he says he .will not play under you as captain of 
 the team."
 
 96 Warned. 
 
 "Ha ! That is interesting ! Now you are waking me 
 up. I suppose the fellow you speak of is Paul Rains ?" 
 
 "Yes, he is the one." 
 
 "Then Rains is something of an enemy, as well as a 
 rival. Well, we'll see who is the better man."
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PAUI, RAINS. 
 
 The short, dark days of winter had brought about 
 changes in Fardale Academy. Drills had been discon 
 tinued, and, except for weekly inspections and occasional 
 guard duty, there were no formations under arms. The 
 hours for study were longer, as also were the lessons. 
 Some of the plebes were negligent and regardless of the 
 fact that the January examinations were close at hand, 
 while others were "boning" steadily, doing their level 
 best to stand well in their classes. 
 
 For all of his mischievous disposition, Frank was study 
 ing enough to hold his own in his class, and he was 
 looked on favorably by his instructors. He was mag 
 netic, and had a winning way, so that he made many 
 friends, always among the better class at the school. No 
 one, either man or boy, is ever popular without having 
 enemies, and this was true of Frank; but his enemies 
 were those who were jealous of him, or those with whom 
 he did not care to associate, for the best of reasons. j 
 
 Hodge was not a fellow to make friends, being haughty 
 and proud, and Merriwell obtained many enemies because 
 he roomed with Bart, and seemed to stand up for the 
 fellow. 
 
 The friendship of the two lads was rather remarkable, 
 considering how they had once been enemies, and how 
 Hodge had worked hard to injure Frank.
 
 98 Paul Rains. 
 
 Among the plebes there were a few who stood head and 
 shoulders above their companions in athletics. Hodge 
 went in for fencing, and Professor Rhynas declared he 
 would make a master of the foil. Hugh Bascomb, with a 
 pugilist's thick neck and round head, was spending all his 
 spare time boxing, and it was said that he could strike a 
 blow that would stagger an ox. His admirers declared 
 it was a beautiful sight to see him hammer the punching- 
 bag, and they assured him over and over that he was cer 
 tain to make another Sullivan. Naturally, this gave Bas 
 comb the "swelled head," and he got an idea into his 
 brain that he was really cut out for a fighter, and that no 
 body in Fardale could stand up before him for four 
 rounds. 
 
 Day after day Barney Mulloy took a long pull at the 
 rowing machine. Ned Gray spent his spare time on the 
 horizontal bars or the trapeze, and Hans Dunnerwust tried 
 his hand at everything, making sport for the spectators. 
 
 Among the plebes there were two lads who seemed all- 
 round athletes. They were Paul Rains and Frank Mer- 
 riwell. 
 
 Paul did not like Frank. In fact, he was envious of 
 Merriwell's popularity, although he did his best to keep 
 the fact concealed. Being a sly, secretive person, it was 
 but natural that Rains should come to be considered as 
 modest and unassuming. In truth, he was not modest at 
 all, for, in his secret heart, there was nothing that any 
 one else could do that he did not believe he could do. 
 And so, while appearing to be very modest, he was really 
 intensely egotistical. 
 
 Rains had not been given much attention for a time 
 after he entered the academy, but his athletic abilities, for 
 he was really a capable fellow, although his capabilities 
 were limited, were bringing him into notice.
 
 Paul Rains. 99 
 
 Jolly, open as the day, Frank did not know what it was 
 to be crafty or secretive. He had a way of saying things 
 he thought, and he did not understand people who kept 
 their fancies and ambitious desires bottled up. 
 
 Hodge had not been the first to give Frank a hint that 
 he had a rival in Rains, but he was the first to tell him 
 that Rains had declared he would not play on the ball team 
 if Merriwell was captain. 
 
 Frank remembered that, and he wondered what Rains 
 could have against him. Frank was never able to under 
 stand one fellow despising another because the other was 
 popular, for it was natural for him to wish everybody 
 good luck and success, and he always rejoiced in the suc 
 cess of any fellow he knew, providing, of course, that the 
 success was of the right sort. 
 
 Lieutenant Gordan made a rigid investigation of the 
 racket caused by the "centipedes," but he failed to fasten 
 the blame firmly on any one. Not one of the boys who 
 knew the facts would expose Merriwell, and both Barney 
 and Hans, discovering their wounds were not fatal, 
 grinned and declared they were not sure there had been 
 anything in their beds, but they thought they had felt 
 something. 
 
 Professor Gunn was very indignant to think the culprits 
 could not be discovered. 
 
 "It is a disgrace to the school !" he told Lieutenant Gor 
 dan. "Just look at my face, sir ! I am a picture !" 
 
 The lieutenant did not crack a smile. 
 
 "You have no one but yourself to blame for your con 
 dition, sir," he said. 
 
 "Eh? eh? How's that? how's that?" sputtered Pro 
 fessor Gunn. "I don't think I understand you, sir." 
 
 "Then I will make it clear. If you had remained in
 
 ioo Paul Rains. 
 
 your room, as you should when the disturbance occurred, 
 you would not have received those injuries." 
 
 "But, sir but I am the principal of this school. It is 
 my place " 
 
 "It is your place to keep in your room, sir, when there 
 is an outbreak like the one under discussion, and allow me 
 to straighten matters out. If you had done so, I might 
 be able to get at the bottom of this affair and discover the 
 guilty jokers; as it is, you and your associates compli 
 cated matters so that I do not seem able to do much of 
 anything." 
 
 Having spoken thus plainly, Lieutenant Gordan turned 
 on his heel, and left the professor in anything but a pleas 
 ant frame of mind. 
 
 It was a day or two after the occurrence of the "great 
 centipede joke," as the crawfish affair came to be termed, 
 that Paul Rains and Hugh Bascomb were having a bout 
 with the gloves in the gymnasium. Quite a number of 
 spectators had gathered, and Frank Merriwell sauntered 
 up and joined the group. 
 
 Professor Rhynas was giving his attention to another 
 department of the gymnasium, and he had left Bascomb 
 to meet all comers and "give them points." 
 
 Bascomb was not finding it a very easy thing to give 
 Rains many points, although he believed he could knock 
 the fellow down any time he wished to do so by simply 
 letting drive one of his sledgehammer blows. 
 
 But Bascomb had not thought of striking Rains with 
 all his strength. He had discovered that Rains disliked 
 Merriwell, and that was enough to establish a bond of 
 friendship between the big plebe and the lad with whom 
 he was boxing. 
 
 Bascomb hated Frank, but he feared him at the same 
 time.
 
 Paul Rains. 101 
 
 "Nobody seems able to get the best of that fellow," he 
 had thought a hundred times. "It seems to be bad luck 
 to go against him, and so I am going to keep away from 
 him in the future. Poor Gage! Merriwell was bad 
 medicine for him." 
 
 Bascomb was a coward, but he could hate intensely in 
 his two-faced, treacherous way. 
 
 The moment Merriwell joined the group, Bascomb 
 noted it. 
 
 "He's watching Rains," mentally decided the big plebe. 
 "He wants to see what the fellow is made of." 
 
 Rains seemed aware that Merriwell was a spectator, for 
 he braced up and gave Bascomb a merry go for a few 
 minutes, forcing the big fellow back, and seeming to tap 
 him with ease and skill whenever and wherever he chose. 
 
 When this little flurry was over, Rains threw off his 
 gloves, and declared he had had enough. 
 
 "So have I," said Bascomb, with a grin. "You're the 
 best man I've put the mittens on with yet. I believe there 
 is a fellow not more than a hundred miles from here that 
 thinks he is some one with gloves, but you can do him 
 dead easy. More than that, I think he knows it, and I 
 don't believe he has the nerve to stand up and face you for 
 a whirl." 
 
 "Oh, I don't want to box with any one," said Rains. 
 "Keep still, Bascomb." 
 
 "You may not want to box, but you can down Frank 
 Merriwell just the same," declared the big plebe.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 THE BULLY'S MATCH. 
 
 A moment of silence followed Bascomb's distinctly- 
 spoken words, and the eyes of nearly every one were 
 turned on Merriwell, to whose face the hot color slowly 
 mounted. 
 
 "What's the matter with you, Bascomb?" he finally 
 asked. "What do you want to draw me into this affair 
 for? 'I don't know as I have any desire to put on the 
 gloves with Rains." 
 
 The big fellow grinned in a way that was distinctly in 
 sulting. 
 
 "I don't think you have," he said. "You wouldn't cut 
 any ice with him." 
 
 "You may be right ; but I don't quite understand how 
 you know, as I have never stood up with you." 
 
 "Oh, that wasn't necessary; I've seen you spar, and I 
 have your gage. You don't run in the class with Rains." 
 
 At this juncture Rains made a move as if he would 
 quiet Bascomb, but the big fellow quickly went on : 
 
 "I'm not going to keep still any longer. You're too 
 modest, Rains. You keep in the background, and let fel 
 lows like Merriwell take the lead in everything, when you 
 should be a leader. You are a better all-round man than 
 Merriwell any day, and you can knock corners off him 
 any time he has nerve enough to put on the mitts with 
 you. He's a dandy to push himself to the front, but "
 
 The Bully's Match. 103 
 
 That was a little more than Frank could stand. The 
 jolly look had vanished from his face, and he faced Bas- 
 comb, saying sharply : 
 
 "Look here, my friend, I reckon you are saying one 
 word for Rains and two for yourself. I haven't mixed 
 up with you for reasons that you very well understand, 
 but I don't propose to take much of your talk. If there 
 is any difference between Mr. Rains and myself, we will 
 settle it at another time ; but if you want to get a rap at 
 me, now is the accepted occasion, and I will put on the 
 gloves with you." 
 
 Bascomb had not been looking for this, and he was taken 
 aback for a moment. Still, although he knew Merriwell 
 was a far better all-round athlete, he believed he could 
 more than match him in boxing, so he eagerly accepted 
 the opportunity. 
 
 "I'm your man," he said. "Peel off and get into gear. 
 It won't take me long to show you there are a few things 
 you do not know." 
 
 He laughed in a disagreeable way, and Hodge, who had 
 overheard all, bit his lips to repress an outburst of anger. 
 
 "The sneak!" whispered Bart to Frank, as the latter 
 stepped aside to take off his coat and vest. "He means to 
 use his sledgehammer blow on you. He won't box for 
 points, but he will try to soak you. Look out for him." 
 
 "I am not afraid of him." 
 
 "That's all right ; but you know he has been practicing 
 that blow, and they say it is terrible. He is cut out for a 
 prizefighter, and is no fit boxing antagonist for a gen 
 tleman." 
 
 "I shall look out for his 'wicked left/ as I have heard 
 the boys call it." 
 
 "He wants to provoke you into a fight with himsdf or 
 Rains."
 
 104 The Bully's Match. 
 
 "I thought as much ; but he may change his mind after 
 we spar, if he does not catch me foul by an accident." 
 
 "He is tricky." 
 
 "I will watch out for his tricks." 
 
 "Look out for his cross-buttock. He's stout as a 
 moose, and he will give you a nasty fall." 
 
 For all of his warning words, Bart had great confidence 
 in Frank. They had fought once, shortly after coming to 
 Fardale, and Hodge had found Merriwell more than his 
 match then. Since that time, Frank had missed no oppor 
 tunity to pick up points in boxing, and his advancement 
 had been great. 
 
 Still there was a chance that, by some accident, Bas- 
 comb might land once with that "wicked left," or might 
 seek to injure Merriwell by a fall, if he found that he was 
 matched in every other way, so Bart was on hand with his 
 words of warning. 
 
 It did not take Frank long to get ready, and it was 
 not long before the two boys faced each other, adjusting 
 the gloves upon their hands. Then they came up to the 
 scratch, and the word was given that started the contest. 
 
 Bascomb started in at once with a series of false mo 
 tions intended to confuse Merriwell, but they simply 
 brought a faint smile to Frank's face, and he remained as 
 placid as ever until 
 
 Just as Bascomb had decided to rush, Merriwell rushed. 
 There was a flashing of their gloves. The big fellow 
 struck twice, and both blows were met by a ready guard. 
 
 Biff! biff! biff! First with the right, and then twice 
 with the left Frank struck the big plebe. None of them 
 were heavy blows, but they all stung, and the angry blood 
 surged to Bascomb's face, as he saw Merrriwell leap back 
 Neyond his reach, laughing a bit.
 
 The Bully's Match. 105 
 
 "Mosquito bites !" said Bascomb, derisively. 
 
 "But they count." 
 
 "Who cares. I will more than square that in a 
 minute." 
 
 "All right; I am waiting." 
 
 Once more they were at it, toe to toe, hands moving 
 slightly, light on their feet, ready to dodge or spring, 
 ready to strike or guard. Blows came, one landing on 
 Merriwell's cheek, and another on his shoulder ; but more 
 than twenty were dodged or guarded, and Bascomb was 
 struck twice for every blow he gave. 
 
 Frank was watching for that left hand body blow, and 
 it came at last, just when Bascomb thought it must count. 
 
 In that case Bascomb deceived himself. 
 
 The blow was struck swiftly enough, but Frank stopped 
 it with a right hand guard, and, with his left, countered 
 heavily on Bascomb's mouth, sending the big fellow's 
 head back. 
 
 Bascomb was surprised, and he showed it. He was 
 also thoroughly angered, and he proceeded to "wade into" 
 Merriwell like a cyclone. 
 
 On the other hand, Merriwell was cool as ice, and he 
 made every blow count something, for even when they 
 failed to land they kept the big fellow busy. 
 
 Time after time Bascomb rushed in, but Merriwell was 
 light as a feather on his feet, and he danced nimbly about, 
 tapping the other fellow now here, now there, smiling 
 sweetly all the while, and showing a skill that was very 
 baffling to Bascomb. 
 
 "Hang him !" thought the big fellow. "He is a regular 
 jumping jack. If I don't land a blow on him pretty 
 quick, I am going to clinch." 
 
 This he soon did, catching Frank for the cross-buttock 
 throw.
 
 io6 The Bully's Match. 
 
 For a moment it looked as if Merriwell would be flung 
 heavily, and Hodge drew his breath through his teeth 
 with a hissing sound that turned to a sigh of relief as he 
 saw his friend thrust forward his right foot between 
 Bascomb's, break his wrist clear and catch the big fellow 
 behind the left knee with his left hand, while he brought 
 his right arm up over Bascomb's shoulder, and pressed 
 his hand over Bascomb's face, snapping his head back 
 and hurling him off sideways. 
 
 This was done quickly and scientifically, and it con 
 vinced Hodge that Bascomb could not work the cross- 
 buttock on Merriwell. 
 
 Hugh Bascomb was disgusted and infuriated by his 
 failure. He had counted on having a soft thing, and he 
 was actually getting the worst of the encounter. 
 
 Time was called, and a breathing spell taken. 
 
 Then they went at it again, and this time both worked 
 savagely, their movements being swift and telling. 
 
 Watching this battle, Paul Rains began to believe that 
 he was not yet quite Merriwell's match at boxing. 
 
 "But I am a better man than he is at most anything 
 else," thought the fellow. 
 
 Smack ! smack ! smack ! 
 
 Merriwell was following Bascomb up like a tiger, and 
 the big fellow was forced to give ground. Again and 
 again Frank hammered the desperate plebe, getting few 
 blows in return and seeming to mind none of them no 
 more than drops of rain. 
 
 Bascomb's face wore the look of an enraged bull. Sud 
 denly, with a quick side motion, he snapped off the glove 
 on his left hand. 
 
 Then, with his bare first, he struck straight and hard 
 at Frank Merriwell's face !
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 RAINS' CHALLENGE. 
 
 Bascomb's movement 'had been noted by the spectators, 
 and a cry of astonishment and warning broke from many 
 lips. 
 
 "Look out !" shouted Bart Hodge. 
 
 Frank had seen the movement, and he needed no warn 
 ing. 
 
 Like a flash, he ducked to the right, and Bascomb's bare 
 fist missed his face and shot over his shoulder. 
 
 At the same instant Frank countered with his left, 
 striking the big fellow on the chin, and hurling him 
 backward with force enough to send him reeling. 
 
 Leaping forward, Merriwell followed up his advantage, 
 and Bascomb received two terrible blows, one of which 
 knocked him down as if he had been struck by a cannon 
 ball. 
 
 Then Frank flung off both his gloves, his face flushed, 
 and his eyes flashing, as he exclaimed : 
 
 "Two can play at your game, fellow ! If you want to 
 try a round with uncovered knuckles, pick yourself up and 
 come on!" 
 
 Snarling like a wounded dog, Bascomb scrambled to 
 his feet ; but here the spectators surged between the two, 
 Rains catching hold of the big plebe, while Hodge 
 grasped Merriwell. 
 
 "Easy, Frank !" warned Bart. "Are you crazy ? You
 
 io8 Rains' Challenge. 
 
 know what it will mean if you fight in the gym. Rhynas 
 has noticed it now he's coming." 
 
 "Confound that fellow!" muttered Frank. "I don't 
 often get started this way, but it was such a dirty trick 
 that " 
 
 "Never mind, now. Keep still, or Rhynas will hear." 
 
 "Let me get at him !" Bascomb had snarled. "I will 
 beat the life out of him !" 
 
 "Stop! stop!" said Rains, swiftly. "You are making 
 a fool of yourself ! You can't fight here !" 
 
 "Can't I? Well " 
 
 "No, it is against the rules. If you press this, you will 
 be expelled, for the affair will be investigated, and it will 
 be proved that you bared your hand, and Merriwell was 
 forced to do so to defend himself." 
 
 "Oh, I could hammer him !" 
 
 "Well, there is plenty of time. Steady, now ! Here is 
 the professor. He has scented a row. Can't you play 
 Cool, and pretend it was a joke? Quick!" 
 
 Then Frank was surprised to see Bascomb come for 
 ward, laughing in a sickly way, as he said : 
 
 "You're pretty flip with your hands, Merriwell, and 
 that's right. I hope you won't lay up anything against 
 me because I lost my glove. I was so excited that I didn't 
 know it was gone." 
 
 It was on Frank's tongue to give Bascomb the lie, but, 
 for once in his life, Hodge was the cooler of the two, and 
 he warned his friend by a soft pressure on the arm. 
 
 Then, seeing Professor Rhynas listening, with a dark 
 look on his face, Frank laughed, and retorted : 
 
 "I don't mind a little thing like that, Bascomb, as long 
 as you didn't strike me. I rather think I held my own 
 with you, and so we will drop it."
 
 Rains' Challenge. 109 
 
 "Yes," said Bascomb, "we will drop it for the pres 
 ent." 
 
 The way he spoke the words seemed to indicate thaf^ 
 though they might let it drop for the present, the affair 
 was not settled between them, by any means. 
 
 Rhynas now demanded to know the cause of the er- 
 citement, and he was told that Bascomb had knocked hij) 
 glove off, and then, in his excitement, had struck a blow,* 
 
 The professor looked blacker than ever. 
 
 "Such a thing is not possible," he declared. "This ig 
 no resort for fighters. If you fellows have any differences) 
 to settle, settle them elsewhere. I propose to run thig 
 department so there can be no slurs cast upon it, and B 
 will not have fighting, quarreling or loud talking here." 
 
 The professor was very strict, and they knew he meanl 
 every word he spoke, so they did their best to pacify him 
 with smooth words and apologies. 
 
 The man, however, was too shrewd to be deceived, and 
 he knew very well that the two boxers had come very near 
 fighting in the gymnasium while he was present. How 
 ever, he could do nothing but warn them, which he did, 
 and then went about his affairs. 
 
 The spectators of the little bout had been given some 
 thing to talk about, for, up to that moment, they had not 
 dreamed there was any one in the academy who could 
 stand up before Bascomb's "wicked left" and not be un 
 mercifully hammered. 
 
 Merriwell had been touched very few times with Bas 
 comb's left, for he had constantly been on the guard for 
 any blow that might come from that point, and he had 
 thumped the big plebe most aggravatingly all througi- 
 the affair. 
 
 But, what was most significant, after Bascomb had 
 flung off one glove and struck at Frank with his bare
 
 no Rains' Challenge. 
 
 fist, the smaller and more supple lad had sailed in and 
 shown that he could put pounds into his blows, for he 
 had driven Bascomb back and knocked him down. 
 
 This feat had caused Paul Rains to gasp with astonish 
 ment, and, in his heart, he was forced to acknowledge 
 that he doubted if he were yet a match for Merriwell. 
 
 Hodge alone, of them all, had believed all along that 
 Frank was more than a match for Bascomb. 
 
 Now the spectators began to realize that Merriwell was 
 not given to boasting or "showing off," for he had made 
 no pretense to be the champion boxer, and he had allowed 
 them to think Bascomb was more than a match for any 
 body in the academy. 
 
 When forced to meet some one in a contest that should 
 be a test of skill, Frank had chosen to meet Bascomb, 
 which showed he had been confident in himself all along, 
 for all that he had not thrust himself forward. 
 
 In his heart, Rains was very sore, for he had just met 
 Bascomb, and, while he had made a good display, the big 
 fellow had shown that he was the superior. 
 
 "Merriwell is putting me in the shade without running 
 up against me at all," thought Paul. "I have lost ground 
 with the fellows right here. How can I recover?" 
 
 It did not take him long to decide that he must go 
 against Merriwell in some kind of a contest and beat 
 him. 
 
 "You are very clever with the gloves, Merriwell," said 
 Rains, stepping forward, and speaking placidly; "but I 
 would like to see what you can do jumping." 
 
 "Is that a challenge ?" asked Frank, quietly. 
 
 "If you wish to regard it as such." 
 
 "Oh, I am not anxious ; I simply wanted to know just 
 what you meant it for." 
 
 "Then let it go as a challenge."
 
 Rains' Challenge. in 
 
 "For what 'high jump, or broad jump?" 
 
 "Both." 
 
 "That's the talk !" laughed one of the spectators. "Now 
 We will have more sport !" 
 
 "All right," laughed Frank. "I will go you, though 
 I have not been doing much jumping lately, and I am not 
 in my best form." s 
 
 "That will sound all right if you beat," said Rains; 
 "but it will not do for an excuse if you lose." 
 
 "All right; let it go. I won't try to make any other 
 excuse in case you are the victor." 
 
 In a mass the boys surged toward a piece of ground 
 just outside of the gymnasium adapted to jumping. 
 
 "What shall it be first?" asked Frank, as he stood at 
 the edge of the long strip of turf. 
 
 "Running long jump," decided Rains. 
 
 "That's agreeable. You challenged, and I presume we 
 are to take turns for three jumps, the one who makes the 
 best leap out of the number is the winner ?" 
 
 "That's all right." 
 
 Hodge spoke up quickly : 
 
 "What do you mean by taking turns? Is one to jump 
 three times, and then the other jump three times ?" 
 
 "No, I mean for us to alternate," explained Frank* 
 "First one jumps, and then the other." 
 
 Hodge nodded his satisfaction. 
 
 "That is fair, and it is much better than the other way," 
 he declared. 
 
 The rivals made preparations for the contest. By lot 
 it fell to Rains to lead off. 
 
 Rains was smiling and confident. 
 
 "If there is anything I can do, I can jump," he told 
 Bascomb, in an aside. "I will beat him by a foet, at the 
 very least."
 
 H2 Rains' Challenge. 
 
 "I hope you will beat him by a yard !" muttered the big 
 fellow, sullenly. "I want to see him taken down. He has 
 been a leader long enough." 
 
 "Oh, I will manage to win some of his glory away 
 from him before the spring campaign opens," said Rains, 
 confidently. "Donft you worry about that; but," he 
 added, swiftly, "don't repeat my words to anybody. I 
 am not going to boast, but I am going to do something. 
 That's the proper way." 
 
 "Sure," nodded Bascomb. "I guess you can do it, too." 
 
 In his heart, however, Bascomb did not feel at all sure 
 that Rains would prove the victor in the jumping contest. 
 
 "Merriwell is the hardest fellow to beat that I ever 
 saw," he told himself. "It doesn't seem possible to down 
 him, and keep him down. If one seems to get the best of 
 him for a bit, he bobs up serenely directly, and comes out 
 on top. It is just his luck !" 
 
 If Bascomb had said it was just Merriwell's pluck he 
 would have hit the truth, for Frank, besides being phy 
 sically capable, was endowed with any amount of determi 
 nation, having a never-say-die spirit that would not give 
 up as long as there was a ghost of a chance left to pull 
 out a winner. 
 
 In the words of the boys, "Merriwell was no quitter." 
 
 "Ready," called the fellow who had been chosen for 
 referee. "Rains will set the stint."
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 JUMPING. 
 
 There was a determined look on Paul's face, as he 
 walked to one end of the long strip of turf that ran down 
 one side of the gymnasium. 
 
 "He is built for jumping," said one of the spectators. 
 "There is a fine pair of legs, if I ever saw a fine pair." 
 
 "That's right," agreed another ; "and he is full of snap 
 and ginger. He will give Merriwell a hard go." 
 
 "But Merriwell is no slow coach at anything," broke 
 in a third. "I never saw a fellow who seemed able to 
 make such a record at all sorts of sports. Who would 
 have thought that he could face Bascomb ? Look ! Rains 
 is going to start! See him crouch for the run! He is 
 like a young panther ! Now he's off !" 
 
 Down the line of turf darted Paul, reached the white 
 line, rose gracefully into the air with a pretty spring, and 
 sailed forward in a handsome jump that brought a round 
 of applause from the spectators. 
 
 The measurers immediately ran the tape. 
 
 "Seventeen feet and four inches," was the announce 
 ment. 
 
 A shade of disappointment came to the faces of the 
 spectators, for that was far below the Fardale record. 
 
 Rains, however, winked quietly to Bascomb, as if to 
 say that the first jump was a teaser, just to see what Mer 
 riwell would do.
 
 H4 Jumping. 
 
 Frank now took his position, ran swiftly and lightly 
 down the turf, and made the jump. He seemed to be 
 doing his best, or nearly that, yet he did not reach but a 
 little beyond Rains' mark. 
 
 "Seventeen feet, six inches and a quarter," announced 
 one of the measurers. 
 
 "I wonder if that is anywhere near his limit ?" thought 
 Paul, as he slowly walked back to the starting point. "I 
 think I will 'have to give him a stint this time." 
 
 As he faced the mark, he gathered his energies in every 
 part of his body, felt his muscles strain, knew his nerves 
 were at their highest tension. 
 
 "He's going to lay himself out this time," said one of 
 the spectators to another. "Seventeen feet will not be 
 mentioned again." 
 
 Down the strip shot Rains. He reached the mark, and 
 went flying through the air like a bird, bringing a cry to 
 the lips of those watching, for they saw he had gone far 
 ahead of the first jump. 
 
 "That was a beauty !" exclaimed Bascomb, speaking to 
 Wat Snell, who stood watching. 
 
 "It was a good jump," said Snell ; "but Merriwell will 
 beat it." 
 
 "What makes you think so ?" 
 
 "Because that fellow always beats at everything. I 
 had rather have his luck than a license to steal ! I've quit 
 trying to down him, for I found I was bound to get the 
 worst of it if I kept it up." 
 
 "Oh, his time will come." 
 
 "Perhaps so ; but it isn't coming in a hurry." 
 
 "Nineteen feet, three inches and a third," announced 
 the measurer. 
 
 "Hooray!" shouted one of Paul's delighted admirers.
 
 Jumping. 115 
 
 "That's the stuff ! Merriwell will have to shake himself, 
 if he means to beat that." 
 
 But Frank had friends who were confident that he 
 would still hold the lead. 
 
 "Wait till the next measurement is taken," they said. 
 
 Frank's manner, as he took his place for the start, 
 seemed to indicate that he believed the task before him a 
 difficult one. 
 
 "He's doubtful," muttered one of Paul's friends. 
 
 "He's losing courage," said another. 
 
 Pressing his lips together, Frank made the run, and 
 the watchers held their breath as he jumped. 
 
 "He's tied Rains !" 
 
 "Not much ! He's behind !" 
 
 "Rains holds the lead !" 
 
 "Great Scott ! is that Merriwell's best !" 
 
 Bascomb thumped Wat Snell on the back. 
 
 "What'd I tell you !" he laughed in Snell's ear. "This 
 is right where Merriwell loses some of his glory. Rains 
 has beaten him." 
 
 "This time, perhaps," admitted Snell ; "but there is an 
 other jump to follow, and the best score made is the one 
 that decides the contest. You will find Merriwell is not 
 beaten yet." 
 
 "Why, you talk as if you wanted him to beat !" 
 
 "Not much ! I would give almost anything to see him 
 beaten at everything he attempts. Don't think for a 
 minute that I am in love with that fellow !" 
 
 The tape had been run, and now the announcement was 
 heard : 
 
 "Nineteen feet, one inch and one-third." 
 
 Rains had beaten Merriwell by two inches on the second 
 jump.
 
 Ii6 Jumping. 
 
 But the contest was not yet over, and there was a 
 chance that Frank would finally redeem himself. 
 
 Frank's friends were disappointed. Hodge showed 
 deep chagrin in his face, as he drew Merriwell aside, say 
 ing swiftly and guardedly : 
 
 "You're making a mistake, old man, if you are holding 
 off for the last jump. The second jump is the one to lay 
 yourself out on always." 
 
 "Perhaps I did," smiled Frank. 
 
 "What !" gasped Hodge. "And he has beaten you !" 
 
 "It looks that way, doesn't it?" 
 
 "But but I I won't believe it ! You can do better 
 you must do better! Why, old man, you will lose your 
 grip if you don't beat him !" 
 
 "You do not expect impossibilities, do you ?" 
 
 "No, but " 
 
 "Would you go back on me if I lost this match ?" 
 
 "You know better, Frank ! I would stick by you under 
 any circumstances !" 
 
 "Then I shall not feel so bad about losing it." 
 
 Hodge gasped and clutched the arm of his roommate. 
 
 "For gracious sake, you don't mean to say he had set 
 you a stint you cannot beat? You mustn't lose you 
 shan't lose! Do brace up, old man! Why, think how 
 those fellows who are envious of you will rejoice if Rains 
 comes out on top ! You must win !" 
 
 "Well, I will do my best on the next. There goes 
 Rains for the last jump." 
 
 With the ghost of a triumphant smile on his face, Paul 
 again took his place at the starting point. The smile 
 vanished, and a look of resolution took its place. 
 
 "He is going to try to beat his other jump!" said Bas- 
 comb.
 
 Jumping. H7 
 
 "He can't do it," declared Snell. 
 
 "Wait and see." 
 
 Paul had really resolved to beat his last jump. As he 
 ran, he gathered momentum, gauging the distance care 
 fully, and reaching the mark exactly. The jump was a 
 splendid one, and it was instantly seen that he had actu 
 ally beaten his former record. 
 
 Quickly and carefully the tape was stretched. 
 
 "Nineteen feet, nine inches and three-fourths !" 
 
 Then there were exclamations of wonderment from all 
 sides, and more than one declared Merriwell was badly 
 beaten. There were not a few among Frank's friends 
 who confessed that he had very little chance, and the 
 faces of those who said nothing showed that they had lost 
 heart to a great extent. 
 
 Hodge continued to talk excitedly to Merriwell, who 
 shook his head, looking very grave. 
 
 Paul Rains was quietly triumphant, for he felt that he 
 was safely the winner of this contest. 
 
 Merriwell and Hodge went up the strip together, the 
 latter still talking and making an occasional gesture. 
 Reaching the starting point, they paused and stood talk 
 ing. 
 
 "By smoke!" laughed Bascomb; "Merriwell doesn't 
 want to try it at all, and Hodge is having hard work to 
 induce him to do so! Rains has this match in a walk 
 over." 
 
 "That remains to be seen," said one of Frank's friends, 
 doggedly. "You may be right, but don't you fancy for a 
 moment that Merriwell is going to give up without jump 
 ing. He isn't that kind of a hairpin, my boy." 
 
 "Well, he might as well give up without another try, 
 for he doesn't stand any show."
 
 n8 Jumping. 
 
 "Oh, wait and see wait and see," was all that Frank's 
 defender could say. 
 
 Hodge was now seen to leave Merriwell and come back 
 down the runway, and it was noted that the look on his 
 face was far from one of confidence and satisfaction. 
 
 "When Hodge loses confidence in Merriwell, the case 
 is desperate," declared Bascomb. 
 
 "That's so," confessed Wat Snell. "I am beginning to 
 hope." 
 
 "Merriwell is making ready he's preparing for the 
 run !" 
 
 All eyes were now fixed on Frank, who had taken his 
 position at the starting point. He was seen to dig his toe 
 into the ground to get a brace, and he leaned far forward, 
 with one hand outstretched,, then he darted toward the 
 mark. 
 
 With the speed of a fawn, Frank came down the run, 
 reached the mark, shot like a leopard into the air, sailed 
 like a soaring bird, and landed safely far beyond Rains' 
 best mark so far, indeed, that the crowd was too aston 
 ished to make a sound, but stood staring as the tape was 
 laid. 
 
 "Twenty-one feet and two inches !" came the electrify 
 ing announcement. 
 
 Then, for all of rules, for all of Professor Rhynas, 
 Frank's friends made the air ring with their wild shouts 
 of applause.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 BASCOMB'S MISTAKE. 
 
 Paul Rains was struck with dismay and confusion, 
 which threatened to turn to anger. 
 
 He saw the crowd gathering round Frank, and con 
 gratulating him. Paul was left quite alone. Not even 
 Bascomb approached him, for the big plebe was too dis 
 mayed to say anything or do anything. 
 
 Wat Snell simply muttered : 
 
 "I knew it !" 
 
 His tone expressed his hopeless disgust. 
 
 Frank's hand was wrung till his arm ached, and he 
 was told over and over that he would make a new record 
 for Fardale Academy if he chose to enter the athletic con 
 tests in the spring. 
 
 "If he chooses!" shouted one enthusiastic fellow. 
 "He'll have to enter, whether he chooses or not! You 
 don't suppose we will let a fellow like him remain out of 
 it, do you !" 
 
 "I knew you could do it, old man!" murmured Bart 
 Hodge, his dark face flushed with pleasure. "You were 
 bluffing all the while that you pretended to doubt." 
 
 "I wanted to see how much confidence you actually had 
 in me," said Frank, with a smile. 
 
 "Well, you found out." 
 
 "Yes, and that gave me a great deal more of confidence 
 in myself. I tell you it helps to know one has friends
 
 I2O Bascomb's Mistake. 
 
 whose faith in him cannot be shaken, even when he seems 
 to lose faith in himself." 
 
 "Where is Rains?" 
 
 "There he is. I wonder if he is satisfied ?" 
 
 Paul was still quite alone, pretending to examine the 
 spikes in the bottom of one of his shoes. 
 
 Frank moved toward his rival, and the others swarmed 
 along. 
 
 Seeing them coming, Rains straightened up, and 
 through his mind flashed the thought that he must not 
 show his chagrin, no matter how deeply he felt it, and he 
 must receive Merriwell in a manner that would not make 
 him seem like a cad in the eyes of the fellows. 
 
 And so, when Frank came up, Paul said : 
 
 "That was a beautiful jump, Merriwell. You beat me 
 fairly and squarely. I can't deny that." 
 
 "You are satisfied, then." 
 
 "Perfectly." 
 
 "Then we will try the high jump next." 
 
 "Not much !" 
 
 "What do you mean?" 
 
 "I mean that I am satisfied for the present. If you 
 can beat me nearly a foot and a half at the running broad 
 jump, you ought to be able to beat me at the high jump. 
 But I am going to try you another whirl by and by." 
 
 "You do not hold a grudge?" 
 
 "What do you take me for?" 
 
 "Shake hands?" 
 
 "Of course." 
 
 Their hands met, but Frank did not fail to note that 
 Rains shook in a manner that was very cold and insincere. 
 
 "I reckon Merriwell has come pretty near showing 
 what he is made of," said Hodge ; "and those fellows who
 
 Bascomb's Mistake. 121 
 
 have been claiming that he has won his popularity by 
 luck had better keep still in the future." 
 
 "That's so!" shouted the crowd, and several who did 
 so had been saying the most disagreeable things about 
 Frank a short time before. 
 
 There is nothing in the world so ephemeral as popu 
 larity. The individual who is to-day a hero may be an 
 outcast to-morrow. There is nothing harder to hold than 
 the esteem of a set of school-boys. He who is regarded 
 as an idol in the fall may be supplanted by a rival in the 
 spring, and may find himself unnoticed and neglected. 
 Having once become a leader in a school, the fellow who 
 has obtained the position must prove his superiority to 
 all comers in order to hold it. Even then his success will 
 produce jealous enemies, who will seek his overthrow by 
 some means, no matter how unfair. 
 
 Frank had not sought popularity; it had come unbid 
 den. Having found himself a leader, however, he had 
 pride enough to hold the position just as long as he was 
 capable of doing so fairly and honestly. But he had al 
 ready discovered that he would be assailed openly and 
 secretly, and his foes would try to drag him down by 
 any means, fair or foul. 
 
 Had Rains been a little more cordial, had he shaken 
 hands with Frank as if he really held no grudge, Merri- 
 well would have been more than glad to hail him as a 
 good fellow and a friend. But the touch of his fingers 
 was enough to reveal the bitterness in his heart. Having 
 disliked and envied Merriwell before, Rains would now 
 dislike and envy him still more. 
 
 As soon as he could do so without attracting too much 
 attention, Rains left the excited throng of boys, and hu* 
 tied away to one of the dressing-rooms.
 
 122 Bascomb's Mistake. 
 
 Hugh Bascomb quickly followed, being the only one 
 among Rains' late friends to note his departure. 
 
 Bascomb found Rains rubbing down. Paul did not 
 say a word as the big plebe entered. 
 
 "Well," said Bascomb, as he sat down on a stool, "what 
 do you think of Merriwell?" 
 
 "I think he is a mighty hard fellow to beat at any 
 thing," growled Paul. 
 
 "But he can be beaten eh ?" 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "There are ways." 
 
 "What do you mean ? Speak plainly." 
 
 "You ought to know what I mean," said Bascomb, dog 
 gedly, keeping his eyes on the floor. "It isn't always the 
 best trotter that wins a race." 
 
 "It will not be easy to beat Merriwell fairly." 
 
 "That's right ; but you are a fellow of nerve and brains, 
 and you ought to be able to devise some scheme to get 
 the best of him unfairly." 
 
 Rains stopped and stared at Bascomb, his face show 
 ing that he was angrier than ever. 
 
 "Now your meaning is pretty plain," he said, slowly. 
 "I will confess that I dislike Merriwell that I would 
 give almost anything to get the best of him ; but I want 
 you to understand, Hugh Bascomb, that I am no sneak !" 
 
 Bascomb still kept his eyes on the floor. 
 
 "Oh, what's the use to get on your high horse, Rains !" 
 he said, in his sullen way. "If you dislike Merriwell, as 
 you pretend, and if you hope to down him at anything, 
 you cannot be too much of a stickler for little things. 
 Once get him to going down hill, and we can keep him 
 going. I can help you start him." 
 
 Had Bascomb taken more than a fleeting glance at
 
 Bascomb's Mistake. 123 
 
 Rains' face, he must have seen that the latter was regard 
 ing him with contempt. 
 
 "I suppose you have a scheme of your own?" Paul 
 finally observed, in a questioning way. 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "Well, to begin with, I have pretty good proof that 
 Merriwell was the originator and perpetrator of that 
 crawfish joke on Mulloy and Dunnerwust." 
 
 "What of that?" 
 
 "I think that Lieutenant Gordan would be able to fasten 
 it on Merriwell, if he knew what I know." 
 
 "That would mean certain expulsion for Merriwell." 
 
 "Of course. All three of the professors were so 
 tangled up in that affair that the fellow would surely be 
 fired, if the blame could be fastened upon him." 
 
 "What do you want of me ?" 
 
 Bascomb cleared his throat, twisted on the stool, and 
 hesitated. Finally, he said : 
 
 "You may be able to devise some other means to get 
 the best of the fellow ; but, if you can't, and you are ready 
 to take hold of this, you. may see him fired out of the 
 academy, so he will no longer be in your way." 
 
 "What do you want of me?" repeated Rains, coldly 
 and quietly. 
 
 "Well, you see you understand you know I came 
 near getting into trouble once by trying to help Gage do 
 Merriwell up. After that Gage was caught cheating at 
 cards, and had to run away. Everybody knows I hate 
 Merriwell, and they'd all think I blowed if anything came 
 to Lieutenant Gordan's ears. That's why I don't dare 
 make a move. With you it is different." 
 
 "What do you want of me?" demanded Rains, the 
 third time.
 
 124 Bascomb's Mistake. 
 
 "I will give you the proofs, and you can carry them to 
 Lieutenant Gordan, who will follow it up, and see that 
 Merriwell is expelled. In that way, I will not get en^ 
 tangled, and no one will suspect you." 
 
 With one wide stride, Rains reached Bascomb, caught 
 him by the shoulders, and thrust him backward, thus 
 forcing him to look up. 
 
 "You have insulted me!" came fiercely from Paul's 
 lips. "I am no sneak and informer! Did you think I 
 would do the dirty trick you are too much of a coward 
 to try ? Well, you made a big mistake ! I dislike Merri 
 well, but I am not ready to make myself contemptible in 
 my own eyes by blowing on him." 
 
 Bascomb put up his big hands and thrust Rains off. 
 
 "Whom are you calling a coward!" he snarled, as he 
 got upon his feet. 
 
 "You !" shot back Paul. "You are a coward and a 
 sneak!" 
 
 "Why, I'll thrash you well !" 
 
 "No, you won't!" cried Rains, flinging up one hand 
 to stop the advance of the big plebe. "If you lay a hand 
 on me, I will make known to the entire school the scheme 
 you just proposed to me. The boys would tar and feather 
 you." 
 
 Bascomb stopped and showed his yellow teeth, while 
 he trembled slightly with anger. 
 
 "So that's your trick !" he said, growlingly. 
 
 "Yes, that's my trick ; and if you blow on Merriwell, I 
 will play the card. You made a big mistake in taking me 
 for a sneak just because I didn't happen to like a fellow 
 who is popular. Get out now, and don't come round me 
 again ! I don't belong to your class, and I don't want to 
 have anything to do with you. Get !" 
 
 Bascomb hesitated, longing to strike Rains, but not
 
 Bascomb's Mistake. 125. 
 
 daring to do so. Slowly he moved toward the door, 
 where he paused to growl : 
 
 "This is all right! I will get square with you some 
 time. If you blow on me, I will pound the life out of 
 you!" 
 
 Then he went out. 
 
 Rains had shown his manhood.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE RIVAL PROFESSORS. 
 
 Professor Jenks and Professor Scotch were rivals. 
 Each admired and sought to win the affections of a widow 
 of uncertain years, who lived in Fardale village. 
 
 For some years Professor Gunn's two assistants had 
 been very friendly, but Nancy Cobb, the widow spoken 
 of, was the rock on which they split. 
 
 Their jealousy often caused them to completely forget 
 their dignity, and they did things that made them utterly 
 ridiculous in the eyes of all beholders. 
 
 As yet, neither had possessed nerve enough to propose 
 to the widow, and so, wishing to make a sure catch, the 
 elderly lady had clung to both, ready to jump at the 
 first one who should offer himself. 
 
 The cause of the ill-will existing between the under 
 professors was well known to the cadets at Fardale Acad 
 emy, and had provided them with no small amount of 
 sport. 
 
 Now it happened that Tad Jones, a village lad wh 
 was very well known to Frank Merriwell, was the nephew 
 of the coquettish widow, and the widow made her home 
 with Tad's father and mother. 
 
 Tad was a lively youngster, who liked fun, and, in 
 more ways than one, he was "a thorn in the flesh" unto 
 his aunt. 
 
 One day he succeeded in seeing Frank, whom he in-
 
 The Rival Prolessors. 127 
 
 formed that he had put up another joke on his Aunt 
 Nancy. 
 
 "I've been imertatin' her handwritin' lately," said Tad, 
 "and I've got so I can scrawl jest like her. Old Scotch 
 and Jenks ain't never run onto each other at our house, 
 but I've fixed it." 
 
 Tad grinned gleefully, as he made this declaration. 
 
 "Fixed it, how?" asked Frank. 
 
 "Why, I ) writ 'em both a letter, askin' 'em to call to 
 night at eight o'clock, and I signed Nancy's name. I 
 made the letters jest a little spooney, but not too much 
 so. I'll bet they'll be tickled to death, and they'll come 
 sure." 
 
 "And meet there?" 
 
 "Yep." 
 
 "There's liable to be trouble." 
 
 "That's what we're lookin' for/' chuckled the fun- 
 loving youngster. "Oh, if they'd jest fight!" 
 
 "I'd like to see the circus." 
 
 "Come on over." 
 
 "I don't know as I can get away. I will come if I can." 
 
 "All right. Bring along any of the fellers." 
 
 That night Frank found a way to get leave to go to 
 the village, and Hans, whom he had told of the coming 
 "racket," escaped from the building and joined him out 
 side the grounds. Together they went over to the village, 
 and called on Tad Jones. 
 
 Tad was waiting for them, and he straightway smug 
 gled them into the house. 
 
 "Aunt Nancy's expectin' Professor Jenks to call," he 
 gleefully whispered. "I told her that I saw him, and he 
 said he'd be here to-night, so she's frizzled and primped 
 to receive him." 
 
 "You'll get into a scrape," said Frank.
 
 128 The Rival Professors, 
 
 "I don't care for that, if I can see some fun. Come 
 right into the parlor, and we'll all hide. Aunt's up in her 
 room, layin' on the finishin' touches." 
 
 Into the parlor they slipped. A fire was burning in the 
 old-fashioned open fireplace, and it was plain that Mrs. 
 Cobb had "spruced things up" to receive company. 
 
 "Two of us can git behind the organ in the corner 
 here," said Tad. "The other feller can hide under the 
 sofa." 
 
 As the sofa was a long, old-fashioned affair, and any 
 one hidden beneath it could command a view of the en 
 tire room, Frank decided to conceal himself there. 
 
 This was barely settled when there came a sharp rap 
 on the door. 
 
 "Git under cover quick!" hissed Tad. "That must be 
 one of 'em !" 
 
 Tad and Hans made haste to squeeze in behind the 
 organ, and Frank crept under the sofa. 
 
 "Shimminy Gristmas !" muttered the Dutch lad, "uf id 
 don'd peen britty tight blace here den I ton't know 
 somedings." 
 
 "It is all right," returned Tad, who had obtained a 
 position where he could peer out. "Keep cool, and let 
 your hair curl." 
 
 Pretty soon Nancy fluttered downstairs, and then 
 Frank heard the high-pitched voice of Professor Jenks in 
 the hall. A moment later, the widow entered the parlor. 
 
 "Oh, dear!" she simpered. "What a surprise this is, 
 dear Mr. Jenks ! Set right down on this chair close to the 
 fire. You must be cold. Let me take your hat and coat." 
 
 "I am rather cold," squeaked the professor, as he peeled 
 off his coat, and allowed her to take it away with his hat. 
 "It is a chilly night. You are cozy in here." 
 
 The widow was wonderfully and artistically gotten up
 
 The Rival Professors. 129 
 
 in a back-number silk dress, beneath which was an ex 
 pansive hoop-skirt, while all around her face were cork 
 screw curls, meant to be very fetching. As she was some 
 what deaf, although she never acknowledged it, she mis 
 understood the professor's last remark. 
 
 "Oh, yes," she smiled, coming back and sitting quite 
 close to Jenks, "no one can hear. We are quite alone." [ 
 
 "Is that so?" gasped the professor, nervously, looking 
 as if he contemplated flight. "I received your letter." 
 
 "You believe I'm better! Why, my dear professor, I 
 haven't bin sick. You must have been misinformed." 
 
 "I didn't say that, Mrs. Cobb. I said that I received 
 
 
 At this moment there came another sharp rap on the 
 door, and Professor Jenks started as if he had been 
 struck. 
 
 "Somebody is knocking," he said. 
 
 "Rocking?" smiled Nancy. "Then take the rocking- 
 chair. I like to rock myself pritty well." 
 
 "Somebody is knocking knocking at the doorf cried 
 the professor, in his high falsetto. 
 
 "Oh, somebody knocking. I will see who it is. Mrs. 
 Jones doesn't always hear 'em. I sometimes think she is. 
 ruther hard of hearing." 
 
 As she fluttered out of the room, the professor gasped : 
 
 "I'm in a perfect sweat already ! I'd rather face a bat 
 tery ! I wonder if she will propose ? It's leap year, and 
 she may." 
 
 Then he suddenly started to his feet, with an exclama 
 tion of surprise and anger, for he heard Professor 
 Scotch's hoarse voice in the hall. 
 
 "Confound it!" exclaimed Jenks. "What's brought 
 him here to-night ? I don't understand this,"
 
 130 The Rival Professors. 
 
 In came Nancy, and Professor Scotch was close behind 
 her. 
 
 "It's so good of you both to call !" gushed the widow, 
 girlishly. "We'll have a real lovely little chat." 
 
 Professor Scotch started back as he caught sight of 
 his rival, and the two glared at each other. Then Scotch 
 growled : 
 
 "You here?" 
 
 "Yes, sir," squeaked Jenks, defiantly. "Who's got a 
 better right, I'd like to know ?" 
 
 "But I'd have you to understand I was invited." 
 
 "So was I." 
 
 "But I received an invitation from this particular lady." 
 
 "So did I." 
 
 "Set right down on the sofy, Professor Scotch," urged 
 Nancy. "We'll pop some corn, and eat some apples, and 
 be real sociabul." 
 
 "Madame," said the little man, with great dignity, "I 
 think there is some mistake." 
 
 "You'd like some steak ?" exclaimed 'Mrs. Cobb, in sur 
 prise. "I never heerd of people havin' steak to treat 
 callers on. I don't b'lieve there's a bit in the house. I 
 s'pose you do git awful sick of the food they have over 
 to the 'cademy. Now, if you was a married man, and hed 
 a wife to cook for ye " 
 
 "I say I think there is a mistake in this matter." 
 
 "Beefsteak in a platter? Yes, that's a good way t 
 senre it." 
 
 The little professor gave a gasp, and collapsed onto 
 the sofa. And Frank promptly jabbed a hatpin up 
 througk the sofa, so that it penetrated the professor to 
 a distance of about a quarter of an inch,
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 4 
 
 A LIVELY CALL. 
 
 "Whoop!" roared the big voice of the little man, and 
 Professor Scotch shot into the air like a jumping-jack 
 out of a box. "Wow !" he howled, clutching convulsively 
 at that part of his person which had felt the hatpin. 
 "What did I sit down on?" 
 
 The widow looked frightened, and Professor Jenks 
 looked astonished. 
 
 "What did I sit down on?" repeated Professor Scotch, 
 his red hair bristling with anger. 
 
 "Why, you sat on the sofa, sir," squeaked Jenks. 
 
 "Then there must be a whole nest of wasps concealed 
 in that sofa!" shouted Scotch. "I was stung, or I was 
 stabbed I don't know which." 
 
 "Why, I'm sure I cannot imagine what the matter with 
 you can be," fluttered the widow, in distress. 
 
 "Well, I don't know what is the matter with your old 
 sofa." 
 
 He spoke so loudly that she understood him, and she 
 immediately turned up her nose. 
 
 "Old sofa, sir old sofa ! There is nothing the matter 
 with that sofa. Your language is surprisingly offensive, 
 sir." 
 
 "Te-he, he, he!" giggled Jenks. "Now you're getting 
 it, Scotch ! You've put your foot in it." 
 
 "Beg your pardon beg your pardon," roared the little
 
 132 A Lively Call. 
 
 man. "I did not mean any offense, Mrs. Cobb, but I as 
 sure you there must be a dagger concealed in that sofa, 
 for some pointed weapon entered my person in a most 
 painful manner. If you will excuse me, I'll take this 
 chair, for I really do not dare sit down there again." 
 
 The widow gave a sniff. 
 
 "Your courage is very limited," she said. "Now, I do 
 love to admire a man with courage enough to " 
 
 "Ex-cuse me," squealed Jenks, elevating his voice. 
 "The sofa is good enough for me." 
 
 Down he sat upon it, smiling triumphantly. 
 
 Frank still had the hatpin which he had found on 
 the floor beneath the sofa ready for use, but he held his 
 hand a bit, knowing he could give Jenks a greater shock 
 if he should be pricked after he had sat there a while in 
 apparent security. 
 
 "Oh, you're a daring blade you are !" sneered Scotch, 
 fiercely, as he glared at Jenks. "You'd walk right up to 
 the mouth of a cannon if you knew it wasn't loaded !" 
 
 "Well, I never yet got frightened by a hair-cloth sofa," 
 squeaked Jenks. 
 
 The widow smiled seductively on the long and lanky 
 professor. 
 
 "You don't find nothing the matter with the sofy, do 
 you, professor?" she asked. 
 
 "Not a thing," piped Jenks. "It is ever the wicked 
 man who feels the pricks of conscience. Now, my con 
 science is easy, and so I do not feel We-e-e-ow! 
 
 Murder ! I'm stabbed ! I'm killed ! We-e-ow !" 
 
 Professor Jenks shot into the air with such sudden 
 ness and vigor that he thumped his head against the low 
 ceiling, which seemed to fling him back upon the sofa, 
 and Frank promptly gave him a second dose of hatpin. 
 
 "Wo-o-ouchl" squealed the tall professor, bounding
 
 A Lively Call. 133 
 
 up again, and dancing wildly round the room, with his 
 hands concealed beneath the tails of his coat. "That sofa 
 is filled with broadswords and bayonets! It is stuffed 
 with deadly weapons !" 
 
 Professor Scotch literally roared with laughter. 
 
 "Oh, there's nothing the matter with the sofa!" he t 
 laughed. "Just go right back and sit down there. Ha! 
 ha! ha! It is ever the wicked man who feels the pricks 
 of conscience. Ha ! ha ! ha ! Ho ! ho ! ho !" 
 
 "Shut up!" piped Jenks, coming close to Scotch, at 
 whom he shook his fist threateningly. "Shut up, or I will 
 thump you !" 
 
 "Don't you dare do it here. If you do, I'll " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "I'll see you later." 
 
 "Landy massy !" spluttered Nancy. "I do believe you've 
 both been tooken crazy !" 
 
 Behind the organ were two boys who were holding 
 their hands over their mouths to keep from roaring with 
 laughter, while Frank, under the sofa, was finding it no 
 easy task to be silent. 
 
 The widow was frightened, and both of the professors 
 immediately sought to reassure her. They pranced up 
 on either side, and Scotch began : 
 
 "Don't be alarmed, Mrs. Cobb ; we'll not fight " 
 
 "You're not tight? Well, you act as if you were, and 
 that's a fact." 
 
 "Oh, go fall on yourself, Scotch !" advised Jenks, drop 
 ping into the slang he had overheard some boy use. 
 "This is an unfortunate affair." 
 
 "What's the matter with my hair?" indignantly asked 
 the widow, as she caressed her corkscrew curls. "You 
 are getting very personal, sir."
 
 134 A Lively Call. 
 
 "Ho ! ho !" laughed Scotch, guardedly. "Now you are 
 getting it, Jenks !" 
 
 "You make me tired!" 
 
 "Go have your voice filed, so you won't be an old 
 woman." 
 
 "Who be you callin* an old woman?" cried Nancy, 
 catching the words with wonderful quickness. "I must 
 say your language is most surprisin' and offensive, sir." 
 
 "Excuse me/' roared Scotch. "I was speaking to Mr. 
 Jenks." 
 
 "But he isn't a woman," said Nancy, suspiciously. "I 
 don't know why you should use such language to him." 
 
 "You've put your foot in it now," snickered the little 
 man. 
 
 "And I don't know what he's grinnin' and laughin* 
 about. You both act as if too much studyin' and tooterin* 
 was beginnin' to affect your brains. Now, why, don't 
 you both git married, and give up this awful wearin' life 
 you are leadin'?" 
 
 "That's just what I called to see about," declared Pro 
 fessor Scotch, bracing up. "I called to pro " 
 
 "Hold on!" squealed Jenks, excitedly. "I was here 
 first, and I will have my first say. Mrs. Cobb, my heart 
 has long yearned for domestic joys and comforts." 
 
 "Oh, I don't keer how much you've earned ; it's what 
 you've saved that counts." 
 
 "Oh, if I had that voice, I'd go break it!" sneered 
 Scotch. "Try again, Hyson, and you'll get her so twrsted 
 that I'll stand a good show of winning her." 
 
 So Jenks braced up and tried again. 
 
 "I say my heart has yearned " 
 
 "Sody-water or magneeshy is good for heartburn," 
 smiled the widow.
 
 A Lively Call. 135 
 
 "Ye gods !" gasped Jenks. "I didn't know she was so 
 hard of hearing." 
 
 "Oh, sail in and win her !" chuckled the little professor. 
 "You're doing first rate." 
 
 "Mrs. Cobb," continued Jenks, "I am not much given 
 to the follies of life. I am a very grave man " 
 
 "And I do so admire a brave man !" gushed Nancy. . 
 
 While passing through the village on the way to Tad 
 Jones' home, Frank had purchased an automatic mouse. 
 Being wound up, the mouse would run swiftly across 
 the room. 
 
 At this juncture, Frank pointed the mouse toward 
 Nancy, and let it go, at the same time giving a squeak, 
 which both professors distinctly heard. 
 
 Nancy saw the mouse coming, and she uttered a wild 
 shriek of terror, clutching Professor Jenks around his 
 slender neck. 
 
 "Save me! Save me from that terrible beast!" she 
 squawked. 
 
 It happened that the professor was quite as scared of 
 a mouse as Nancy could be, and he broke away and 
 jumped up on a chair, squealing: 
 
 "Murder! We'll all be bitten!" 
 
 In a most remarkably skillful manner the widow" 
 sprang up to the top of the center-table, where she stood, 
 in a stooping position, her head against the ceiling. 
 
 "Who's scared of a mouse !" sneered Professor Scotch, 
 as he gave chase to the toy, which bumped against various 
 pieces of furniture, and so kept dodging about. 
 
 Under the chair on which Jenks stood ran the mouse. 
 Scotch knocked the chair over, and Jenks uttered a wild 
 .shriek as he came down astride the little professor's neck. 
 Then both rolled against the center-table, which was up 
 set.
 
 i}6 A Lively Call. 
 
 Down came Nancy, like a balloon, nearly smothering 
 the two professors, upon whom she alighted. 
 
 This was too much for Tad Jones, who burst into a 
 shriek of laughter, jumped out, and extinguished the 
 light, and shouted: 
 
 "Skip, fellows skip !" 
 
 Frank and Hans lost no time in leaving their places of 
 concealment and hustling out of the room, abandoning 
 the two professors to their fate.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 SKATING FOR HONORS. 
 
 "I nefer seen der peat uf dot alretty yet," declared 
 Hans, as he and Frank were hurrying back to the acad 
 emy. "Uf dot don'd peen der piggest racket vot nefer 
 vos, you dunno vot I vos talkin' apout." 
 
 "If it is found that we know anything about it, we will 
 be sure to get into trouble," said Frank. "Should any 
 body question you, why you must be ignorant as a mule." 
 
 "You pet me your life I vos. I vill peen ignorand as 
 a clam." 
 
 But it seemed that the professors did not suspect that 
 any of the academy boys had been present, and so no in 
 quiries were made in the school. 
 
 Tad Jones, however, was accused of having some of 
 his village chums in the scrape, and, when he refused 
 to tell their names, he was soundly strapped by his father, 
 who had sincerely hoped one of the professors would pro 
 pose to Nancy and take her away without delay. 
 
 Just how the rival professors had escaped was not 
 known, but, if possible, the coldness between them was 
 more pronounced than ever. The feud seemed of a 
 deadly nature, and some of the boys declared that Jenks 
 and Scotch were certain to fight a duel over Nancy sooner 
 or later. 
 
 The following Saturday was fine, and that afternoon 
 large numbers of the boys from the academy sought the 
 village pond, where the skating was excellent.
 
 138 Skating for Honors. 
 
 By mid-afternoon there were between two and three 
 hundred skaters on the long pond, while half as many 
 spectators were gathered on the shore. 
 
 It was a lively and pleasant scene. Inza Burrage was 
 there, with her chosen companion, May Blossom. Inza 
 was a beautiful skater, and so was much sought as a com 
 panion by the boys. Three times did Frank approach 
 her to ask her to skate with him, and each time he saw 
 her carried off by some one else. 
 
 She was in a coquettish mood that day, and her merry 
 laughter as she skated away each time proved rather tan 
 talizing to Frank, who finally muttered : 
 
 "All right ; two can play at that game." 
 
 It was almost, if not quite, May Blossom's first attempt 
 at skating, and, although she was doing very well, her 
 company was not in such demand as that of Inza. 
 
 Seeing May alone, Frank immediately skated to her 
 side, and he was soon doing his best to instruct her in the 
 correct handling of her feet. They seemed quite ab 
 sorbed in each other's company, and not even Inza's ring 
 ing laugh, as she sped past with Paul Rains, caused either 
 of them to glance up. 
 
 At first Inza had not minded Frank's attentions to May, 
 but, as time slipped away, and they still clung together, 
 laughing, chatting, and minding no one else, she began 
 to grow uneasy. 
 
 "Oh, she can have him, if she wants him!" muttered 
 Inza, her cheeks beginning to burn. "There are any 
 amount of other fellows." 
 
 That was quite true, but, in her heart, she knew full 
 well that there was no other fellow she cared so much for 
 as she did for Frank Merriwell. 
 
 From this moment she ceased to enjoy herself, and she 
 could not keep from watching Frank and May, although
 
 Skating for Honors. 139 
 
 she tried to do so. She grew petulant, and those wha 
 were in her company found her surprisingly crisp and 
 disagreeable. 
 
 Whenever she could, she skated past Frank and May, 
 and she always laughed as she did so, but there was a 
 false note in her laughter it did not seem very sincere. 
 
 Paul Rains was a beautiful skater. He could cut fancy 
 figures that took away the breath of the village boys, and 
 all his movements were graceful and rhythmical. He 
 could write his name with his skates, and every letter was 
 perfect and clean cut as if done with a pen. It was not 
 long before all eyes were centered on him, and Inza did 
 not fail to note that he seemed to be the principal attrac 
 tion on the pond. 
 
 So Inza skated a great deal with Paul, hoping to 
 arouse Frank's jealousy; but, to her overwhelming dis 
 may, after he began to skate with May, Frank seemed to 
 forget there was any one else on the pond. 
 
 "I believe he really likes her better than he does me f" 
 thought Inza. "And she, knowing all my secrets, know 
 ing how much I think of Frank, is doing her best to cut 
 me out ! Oh, that is true friendship !" 
 
 She felt like crying with vexation, and, once or twice, 
 tears did come to her eyes; but she forced them back, 
 continuing to skate and laugh. 
 
 Arrangements were made for a skating contest to take 
 place very soon. One of the gentlemen of the village of 
 fered a "badge of honor" to the swiftest skater on the 
 pond the one who could win the race. 
 
 Paul Rains entered, as also did Bartley Hodge and 
 Sammy Smiles from the academy. Three village boys 
 entered. 
 
 Then Hodge sought Frank, saying : 
 
 "Come, old man, we want you in this race."
 
 140 Skating for Honors. 
 
 "Oh, I am busy," laughed Frank, noticing that Inza 
 was near, although he did not glance in her direction. "I 
 am teaching Miss Blossom to skate, and she is getting on 
 famously." 
 
 "Well, I think she will excuse you a few minutes. You 
 may go on with your lessons after the race." 
 
 "Oh, say, can't you get along without me ?" 
 
 "Can't anyway; you must come along." 
 
 "Well, if I must, I must," murmured Frank, with mock 
 distress. "I will see you later, Miss Blossom, and we 
 will do our best to induce that left foot to make the stroke 
 properly." 
 
 So, bowing and smiling, he left her, and, in her heart, 
 Inza cried : 
 
 "If he skates with her again this afternoon, I'll be out 
 wittedthat's all !" 
 
 As Bart drew Frank aside, he hastily and guardedly 
 said: 
 
 "You must go into this race to win, old man. Rains' 
 friends have been saying you would not dare skate against 
 him, and that he would have a walk-over if you did." 
 
 Frank's teeth came together with a click. 
 
 "Is that so !" he exclaimed. "Well, they may be right ; 
 but we'll see." 
 
 i ' That was quite enough to put him on his mettle, and he 
 lost no time in entering- for the race. 
 
 A short time later the seven contestants were drawn up 
 in line, waiting the signal. 
 
 One mile up the pond a rock reared its head from the 
 ice, where, at low water, there was a tiny rocky island. 
 Every contestant was to "turn the rock" and skate back to 
 the starting point, making a race of two miles in two 
 long, straight stretches. 
 
 The gentleman who had offered the badge of honor
 
 Skating for Honors. 141 
 
 stood, pistol in hand, ready to give the signal. The con 
 testants leaned forward for the start. 
 
 "Ready!" 
 
 Muscles were drawn taut, nerves were tingling. 
 
 "One ! two ! three !" Bang ! 
 
 1 Away darted the skaters, and the race had begun. 
 J A cheer went up from the spectators. 
 
 Paul Rains took the lead at the very start, for he seemed 
 to jump away at astonishing speed, while the others were 
 gathering headway. 
 
 "Rains has a snap this time," declared one. "Merriwell 
 may be able to take the honors at jumping, but he won't 
 be in this kind of a contest." 
 
 "Jist wait a whoile an' see about thot, me b'y," said 
 Barney Mulloy, who had overheard the remark. "Frankie 
 is as full av surproises as a horrunet's nest is full av 
 stings."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 SKATING FOR I, I F E . 
 
 'During the entire first half of the course there were 
 four of the seven contestants who made a good showing. 
 These were Rains, Merriwell, Hodge and one of the vil 
 lage boys. 
 
 Through it all Rains kept the lead, but the village lad 
 was second until the turning point was nearly reached. 
 Then Merriwell settled down to business and took second 
 place, while Hodge pushed the village boy hard. 
 
 Rains' heart was full of triumph. Over and over he 
 told himself: 
 
 "At last I have found something at which I can defeat 
 Merriwell fairly!" 
 
 Rains believed he was safely in advance, and this de 
 lusion was not broken till the last half mile of the course 
 was struck. Then he heard somebody's skates ringing 
 close behind, and, looking over his shoulder, he saw 
 Frank bearing down on him like the wind. 
 
 Paul's heart gave a great leap. 
 
 "By Jove !" he breathed. "That fellow means to press 
 me ! But he shall not come in first he shall not !" 
 
 Then he strained every muscle, and, for a few seconds, 
 the distance between them did not seem to diminish. 
 
 Frank, however, held steadily to that terrible speed, and 
 Paul began to fear he could not stand it to the finish, for 
 his head was beginning to grow unsteady, and there was
 
 Skating for Life. 143 
 
 a wild roaring in his ears. Through a bluish mist he saw 
 the great crowd on the shore near the starting point, and 
 he knew the eyes of hundreds were upon the contestants. 
 
 "I'll die before he shall pass me !" thought Rains. 
 
 And then, once more, he heard the skates of his rival 
 ringing clear close at his elbow. One wild look he cast 
 over his shoulder, and there was Merriwell, fearfully 
 near and gaining ! 
 
 Paul's heart rose with a bursting sensation into his 
 throat. He had seen that Merri well's face bore a look of 
 determination nay, more, a look of confidence. 
 
 Oh, for the power to hold out to the end! Again he 
 forced himself to spurt ; but, as that mad burst of energy 
 slackened, he felt, rather than saw, his rival reach his 
 side. 
 
 Now a great cheer broke from the crowd of excited and 
 delighted spectators, for the two boys were fairly abreast, 
 and neither seemed able to gain another inch on the other. 
 
 Rains had shut his teeth, his nostrils were dilated, and 
 his eyes wild in their sockets. The finish line was near, 
 and he must cross it in advance a yard, a foot, an inch ! 
 
 But he little knew that Frank Merriwell had reserved 
 for the last supreme moment enough strength to make a 
 final spurt. 
 
 Now now is the time for one or the other to forge 
 ahead ! 
 
 Another shout goes up : 
 
 "Merriwell ! Merriwell ! He's the winner ! Hurrah !" 
 
 Frank had forged to the front ; but, even as the cheer 
 came from the crowd, he was seen to be flipped into the 
 air, as if he had struck a spring-board, and he came down 
 heavily on the ice. There was no time to recover. 
 
 Frank slid over the starting line, prostrate on the ice;
 
 /44 Skating for Life. 
 
 but Paul Rains crossed it upright, and at least three yards 
 in advance. 
 
 Rains had won ! 
 
 An accident had prevented Frank from winning, for his 
 skate had struck a flaw in the ice, and he had been thrown 
 with stunning force. 
 
 Great was the excitement. Merriwell was picked up 
 and carried to the shore, where a dash of cold water 
 brought him round. 
 
 Rains was quite used up for a while, but he soon re 
 covered. His friends crowded round him to offer con 
 gratulations. 
 
 "You beat Merriwell this time, Paul/' they said. 
 
 "But he fell," said Paul, bitterly. "That makes the vic 
 tory anything but satisfactory. However, I will race him 
 again at any time and any place." 
 
 Little did he think how soon they would race again. 
 
 Within a short time after the finish of the race, a sud 
 den cry of alarm and terror went up from the throng. 
 
 "Look look there! Two girls have broken through 
 the ice ! They will be drowned !" 
 
 At a certain point in the pond there was a dangerors 
 bit of ice, where some springs deep down at the bottom 
 continually bubbled up and kept the water alive, so the ice 
 did not form solidly. It was supposed that every one 
 knew where this dangerous spot was, so no sign had been 
 placed there. 
 
 Now, however, two girls had ventured upon it, and 
 broken through. 
 "Who are they?" 
 
 "Inza Burrage and May Blossom !" 
 "Save them ! save them !" 
 Several started toward the imperiled girls, but two
 
 Skating for Life. 145 
 
 forms darted out ahead of the rest, and another race be 
 tween Paul Rains and Frank Merriwell had begun. 
 
 This time it was a race for life. 
 
 Shoulder to shoulder they started, and, for some sec 
 onds, they kept thus. 
 
 Then Frank began to forge ahead, for all that Paul was 
 straining every muscle was doing the very best that he 
 could to save life. 
 
 The girls were seen clinging to the broken edge of the 
 ice, which broke beneath them once or twice, but they 
 managed to keep up in some way. 
 
 Wider and wider grew the distance between Merriwell 
 and Rains, showing that the former was by far the faster 
 skater in such a case as this. 
 
 As Frank drew near the girls, the ice broke again, and 
 both went under. 
 
 He did not slacken speed, but, taking care to avoid 
 them, skated straight into the water. 
 
 Clinging to each other, the girls came up ; but they 
 would have sunk again immediately if he had not been 
 there to clutch them. 
 
 Treading water, he held them up, getting close to the 
 ragged edge of the ice. 
 
 The water was fearfully cold, but he managed to keep 
 his head out, knowing aid must come quickly. 
 
 Paul Rains slackened his speed as he came near the 
 opening in the ice. 
 
 "Form a line get hold of my feet !" he shouted. 
 
 Down upon his stomach he went, and he slid forward 
 till he could reach out and grasp one of the girls. 
 
 There he lay till another lad clutched his feet, and still 
 others grasped the feet of the one who had hold of Paul. 
 
 "Now, Merriwell," said Paul, "if you can break their 
 clutch on each other, we can take 'em out one at a time."
 
 146 Skating for Life. 
 
 With some difficulty the grasp of the half -drowned 
 girls was broken. Paul held fast to one, and shouted: 
 
 "Pull away !" 
 
 He was drawn backward, and the girl was dragged 
 from the water upon the ice. 
 
 Quickly she was passed to some one who carried her 
 away to a place of warmth and safety, while Paul Rains 
 crept back to the opening, and the other girl was res 
 cued in a similar manner. Then Frank, nearly exhausted, 
 was drawn out. 
 
 With Rains on one side, and Hodge on the other, Frank 
 skated back to the shore, where the great crowd of specta 
 tors had witnessed the gallant rescue. How the crowd 
 cheered and flung up their hats ! 
 
 "Hurrah for Frank Merriwell !" was the roar that went 
 up. "Hurrah !" 
 
 "Hurrah for Paul Rains ! Hurrah !" 
 
 The man who had offered the badge of honor grasped 
 the two lads by the hands, crying : 
 
 "You shall both have a badge of honor ! This is true 
 heroism, and you are both heroic lads !" 
 
 "Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah !" thundered the crowd. 
 
 Let us add here that neither Inza nor May suffered any 
 particularly ill results from their plunge through the ice. 
 
 Between Inza and Frank the slight misunderstanding 
 was easily adjusted, and May, in her innocent little heart, 
 had never dreamed of "cutting out" her friend. She and 
 Paul Rains afterward became very friendly. 
 
 Between Frank and Paul a rivalry continued to exist ; 
 but, for the most part, it was of a healthy, generous sort, 
 and Merriwell retained his position as leader, having be 
 come more popular than before among the better class of 
 boys at the academy.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE SINISTER STRANGER. 
 
 "Boy, where did you get that ring?" 
 
 Frank Merriwell started and looked quickly at the man 
 who had hoarsely hissed the question in his ear. At a 
 glance he saw that the man was a stranger in Fardale 
 village. 
 
 The stranger was dressed in black clothes, wore a cloak, 
 with a cape, and had the brim of his hat slouched over his 
 eyes, which were coal-black and piercing. He had a 
 heavy black mustache and imperial, which gave him a 
 rather savage expression, and, withal, he made a some 
 what sinister figure. 
 
 The night mail at Fardale was not delivered at the 
 academy till the following morning, and Frank had come 
 to the village post office late that afternoon to obtain an 
 expected letter from home, if it had arrived. 
 
 He had also hoped that, on his way to the post office, or 
 in returning to the academy, he might catch a glimpse of 
 Inza. Frank was now a welcome visitor at Inza's home, 
 but, being governed by natural tact and delicacy, he did 
 not wish to call too frequently, fearing Inza's parents 
 might regard him as something of a bore. 
 
 Shortly after entering the village he had noticed the 
 stranger in black, who seemed to be staring wonderingly 
 at the boy. To Frank's surprise, this man followed him 
 about.
 
 The Sinister Stranger. 
 
 Finally the stranger slipped softly to Frank's side, and 
 hoarsely whispered the question with which this chapter 
 opens. At the same time, he pointed to a peculiar ring 
 which Merriwell wore on the third finger of his left hand. 
 
 Frank drew back, looking the man over from head to 
 feet. 
 
 "I beg your pardon, sir," he said, in a manner that was 
 intended to repulse further advances. 
 
 But the man was not to be choked off thus easily. 
 
 "The ring," he repeated. "I asked you where you ob 
 tained it." 
 
 "I know you did," said the boy, coolly. 
 
 "Answer me!" sibilated the stranger, his brows darken 
 ing beneath the wide brim of the hat, and a gleam of fire 
 showing in his eyes. "Tell me the truth, boy !" 
 
 "I don't know why I should answer you," said Frank. 
 "I do not know you, and I do not understand what right 
 you have to ask me such a question." 
 
 The man in black bit his lip, and hesitated. After a 
 moment, he forced a smile that was far from agreeable to 
 see, although he plainly meant that it should reassure the 
 boy, and, in a low tone, he rapidly said : 
 
 "That ring is very odd, and it attracted my attention 
 for that reason. I am a great collector of curios, and es 
 pecially of quaint and curious rings. I have traveled the 
 world over in search of the quaint and curious, and I have 
 a collection of nearly five hundred rings of all patterns, 
 makes and values. This collecting of rings has become a 
 fad, or mania, with me. Whenever I see an odd or pe 
 culiar ring, I am immediately seized by a great desire to 
 possess it; but I always want to know its history. It 
 enhances the value of a ring to know its history. I as 
 sure you that some rings have very queer histories, in 
 deed."
 
 The Sinister Stranger. 149 
 
 Frank watched the man closely as he was speaking, 
 and, although it was plain that the stranger was trying to 
 secure the boy's confidence, Merriwell continued to re 
 gard him with suspicion and aversion. There was some 
 thing about this person's dark face and sinister aspect that 
 was extremely repulsive to the lad. 
 
 Once more the man smiled, as if making a desperate 
 attempt to thaw the cool reserve of the boy; but he had 
 begun in a very poor way, for Frank remained cold and 
 distant. 
 
 "Some of my rings," went on the man in black, "have 
 tales of bloodshed and murder connected with them, and 
 these are interesting in their way. Some recall romances 
 of blighted love or sundered hearts, and these tales are 
 always interesting to the ladies who look over the collec 
 tion. Some have been worn by great men or great ladies, 
 and some have encircled the fingers of great villains or 
 great criminals. You should understand why I desire to 
 know the history of every ring that comes into my 
 possession." 
 
 "Well," said Frank, quietly, "as there is not the 
 slightest possibility that you will ever possess this ring, 
 you can have very little interest in its history." 
 
 The stranger fell back a step, and then, with one hand 
 eagerly outstretched, he exclaimed: 
 
 "You will sell it for a good price of course you will ?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Why, its real value is insignificant!" 
 
 "It is valuable to me." 
 
 "No jeweler will give you more than three or four 
 dollars for it possibly five." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "I will give you ten dollars for that ring."
 
 150 The Sinister Stranger. 
 
 "It is useless for you to offer me money for it, as I do 
 not intend to sell it." 
 
 Frank turned as if he would move away, but he felt a 
 hand clutch his shoulder with a grasp of iron, while the 
 voice of the stranger almost snarled : 
 
 "Don't be a fool, boy ! I want that ring, and I mean 
 to have it at some price. I will give you twenty-five dol 
 lars for it." 
 
 "Take your hand off my shoulder, sir !" 
 
 "I'll give you thirty dollars." 
 
 "Take your hand off my shoulder, sir !" 
 
 "Forty dollars !" 
 
 "I have warned you twice to take your hand off my 
 shoulder," came coldly from the lips of the boy, on whose 
 face there was now a dangerous look. "I am going to 
 warn you again, and if you do not obey, it will be the 
 worse for you. Take your hand off my shoulder !" 
 
 There was a single moment of hesitation, and then the 
 stranger obeyed ; but the look on his face was not pleas 
 ant to see, and he hoarsely said : 
 
 "You are showing a great deal of authority for a 
 stripling. These military schools spoil boys like you by 
 making them think they are men before the fuzz grows 
 on their faces." 
 
 There was no doubt in the lad's mind but he was deal 
 ing with a desperate man, and Frank fully realized that 
 he had thoroughly aroused the stranger's anger. But 
 Frank could not be bullied, and the man in black was 
 very repulsive to him, for some reason. 
 
 Once more the boy started to walk away ; but the man 
 was quickly at his side, where he kept, again attempting 
 to be persuasive, although it was plain that he longed to 
 throttle the lad. 
 
 "What is the use of being unreasonable ! I am willing
 
 The Sinister Stranger. 151 
 
 to do the square thing. I have made you a magnificent 
 offer for that ring, which I am anxious to possess." 
 
 "Far too anxious," muttered Frank. 
 
 "That is natural," declared the man, swiftly. "Did you 
 ever collect stamps? If you have, you should know 
 something of the mania that seizes upon a collector. It 
 is thus with me. If I see an odd ring I cannot obtain, I 
 feel as if I had been robbed of something that rightfully 
 belongs to me." 
 
 He paused a moment in his talk, but Frank walked 
 straight onward, saying nothing. 
 
 "I have offered you a ridiculous price for that ring," 
 continued the man. "I cannot afford it, but my mind is 
 set on having the ring. Already I have spent a fortune 
 in my collections, and the time has come when I cannot 
 fling money freely to the winds. Come now, young man, 
 have a little sympathy with me, and sell me that ring." 
 
 Under certain circumstances these words might have 
 melted Frank, who was not a cold-blooded lad, by any 
 means ; but there was something in the stranger's villain 
 ous aspect and repulsive manner that had turned the boy 
 against the man in black and caused him to remain ob 
 durate. 
 
 "I told you at first that it was useless to offer me 
 money for this ring," said the boy. "I think you will 
 begin to understand that I meant it." 
 
 "At least, you will tell me how it came in your posses 
 sion?" 
 
 Frank hesitated. Surely there could be no harm in 
 telling this, and it might enable him to get rid of the 
 stranger, so he said: 
 
 "It was given to me by my mother." 
 
 "And your mother how did she obtain it?" swiftly 
 asked the stranger.
 
 152 The Sinister Stranger. 
 
 "My father gave it to her. I do not know how it came 
 into his possession." 
 
 "Your father and mother " 
 
 "Are dead." 
 
 "Ha ! And you prize the ring because it was a present 
 from your mother ?" 
 
 "That is one reason." 
 
 "And there is another?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 It suddenly struck Frank that he was talking alto 
 gether too much, and so he answered : 
 
 "I decline to say. I have already told you enough, and 
 I beg you to excuse me. We will part here." 
 
 "First answer one more question. What was your 
 father's name?" 
 
 "Charles Conrad Merriwell." 
 
 The man in black put a hand to his eyes, and seemed 
 to be thinking for a moment. Beneath his breath he 
 muttered : 
 
 "Merriwell, Merriwell I do not know the name." 
 
 Then, dropping his hand, he said : 
 
 "I will make you one more offer for the ring. I will 
 'give you fifty dollars for it. See here is the money. 
 Don't be foolish take it! You will never receive an 
 other such offer." 
 
 He had pulled out some bills, from which he quickly 
 selected a fifty-dollar bank-note, which he tendered to 
 Frank. 
 
 The boy drew away. 
 
 "You are wasting your time in offering me money for 
 the ring. I am in earnest in declining to sell it. Good- 
 day, sir." 
 
 He turned and walked swiftly away.
 
 The Sinister Stranger. 153 
 
 The uaffied man in black stood staring after the lad, 
 his forehead lowering and his white teeth showing a bit 
 through his dark mustache. 
 
 "Refuse to sell the ring!" he grated, madly. "All 
 right ! I am not defeated. I will have it within a week !"
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE MYSTERY OF THE RING. 
 
 Frank did not glance back till he turned onto another 
 street, and then he saw the man in black standing quite 
 still where they had parted. The reddish glow of the sun 
 set was behind the man, on which his black figure stood 
 out like a silhouette, the cloak and cape making him 
 slightly resemble a gigantic bat. 
 
 The boy shivered a little as he passed beyond the view 
 of the mysterious stranger. 
 
 "That man makes my blood cold," he murmured. 
 "There is something decidedly awe-inspiring about him. 
 Somehow, I do not believe I have seen the last of him." 
 
 Frank was right; he had not seen the last of the man 
 in black. 
 
 Thinking of what had happened, Frank soon came to 
 the conclusion that the man was mad, or else there was 
 some mystery about the ring that was not known to the 
 possessor. 
 
 Why had the stranger been so desirous of knowing how 
 the ring came into Frank's possession ? 
 
 True he had said that he always wished to know the 
 history of such rings as he collected ; but Frank had re 
 fused distinctly to sell the ring, and still the man had 
 seemed very desirous of obtaining information concern 
 ing it. 
 
 Why had he asked the name of Frank's father?
 
 The Mystery of the Ring. 155 
 
 These questions presented themselves to the boy for 
 consideration, and he remembered how, on hearing 1 the 
 name, the stranger had confessed that it was unfamiliar 
 to him. 
 
 Frank was thinking deeply of these things, when a 
 familiar voice called : 
 
 "Hello, Frank! Are you going past without speak 
 ing?" 
 
 He started and looked up, finding himself in front of 
 Inza's home. It was a fine^ old-fashioned house, built 
 years and years ago, and an iron fence surrounded the 
 front lawn. Inza was at the gate, a pretty pout on her 
 face. 
 
 The young cadet instantly lifted his cap, as he smil 
 ingly retorted : 
 
 "I did not see you there, Miss Burrage." 
 
 "Oh, bother your 'Miss Burrage !' " she exclaimed. 
 "You know it was Inza with you long ago you prom 
 ised to call me that. No wonder you didn't see me ; you 
 were going past with your head down, your eyes on the 
 ground, and an expression of profound abstraction on 
 your face. What in the world were you thinking of?" 
 
 "That's a mystery," said Frank, approaching the gate. 
 
 "Indeed!" and she lifted her eyebrows with a pretty 
 assumption of offended dignity. "A secret from me?" 
 
 "I did not say it was a secret ; I said it was a mystery. 
 I was thinking of the man in black." 
 
 "Mercy!" She gave a little shiver. "What is the 
 man in black some horrible ogre ?" 
 
 "Well, I fancy he is ogre enough to give you the 
 chills." 
 
 "What story did you find him in ?" 
 
 "Oh, I didn't find him in a story ; I met him in real life. 
 I left him a few minutes ago."
 
 156 The Mystery of the Ring. 
 
 "This is interesting!" she laughed. "Who is he? 
 What's his name?" 
 
 "I don't know. Didn't I say he is a mystery ?" 
 
 "Come, Frank, are you trying to tease me ?" 
 
 "Not at all. I will tell you all I know about this sin 
 gular man in black." 
 
 Then, leaning gracefully against one of the iron gate 
 posts, he related his recent adventure with the unpleasant 
 stranger. She listened with breathless interest, her eyes 
 growing wider and wider, and an expression of alarm 
 coming to her pretty face. 
 
 "Oh, Frank !" she exclaimed, when he had finished ; "I 
 know this terrible man is dangerous! He will do you 
 harm!" 
 
 "Oh, I'm not afraid of that," declared the boy, lightly ; 
 "but I would give something to know what there is about 
 this ring that makes him so desirous of possessing it." 
 
 He held up the ring for her to examine. It was an 
 oddly twisted band of gold, looking like a writhing ser 
 pent. It was set with a peculiar black stone that seemed 
 quite as hard as a diamond, for all that there were nu 
 merous marks and scratches on its smooth surface. 
 
 "It is a horrid ugly old ring," declared Inza. "Any 
 body must be crazy to offer fifty dollars for it." 
 
 "Unless it bears some value that is not apparent to one 
 who does not know its secret." 
 
 "What value can it bear?" 
 
 "That is the mystery. Still, from my mother's words, 
 I am sure my father prized this ring highly. When it 
 came into his possession he was in Southern California 
 or Mexico, and he sent it home to my mother at the earl 
 iest opportunity, writing her to be very choice of it, and 
 not to lose it on her life, as it was very valuable. Now, 
 my father never revealed the secret of this ring to my
 
 The Mystery of the Ring. 157 
 
 mother, if the ring has a secret ; but I am sure that mother 
 believed there was something mysterious about it, for, 
 when she was dying, she gave it to me, telling me never 
 to part with it. Of course I will not sell it." 
 
 "Of course not/' nodded Inza; "but the horrid old 
 thing may bring you trouble, instead of good." 
 
 "Oh, I don't think there is much danger of that." 
 
 "The man in black " 
 
 "Will give over his attempt to obtain it when he really 
 knows I will not part with it on any condition." 
 
 "He may ; but his words, which you have repeated for 
 me, make me believe he will do something desperate in 
 order to get possession of it. You must look out for him 
 you must be on your guard constantly." 
 
 "Why, Inza!" laughed Frank, in astonishment; "I 
 never heard you speak like this before. You really ap 
 pear as if you felt a foreboding of some terrible thing." 
 
 "Perhaps I do," she said, very gravely, for a light- 
 hearted girl. 
 
 Frank looked down at the ring on his hand. Surely it 
 was an ugly trifle to make so much trouble. 
 
 "Do you see those fine lines on the surface of the 
 stone?" he asked. 
 
 They were faintly visible to the naked eye. 
 
 "There is something peculiar about those lines," he 
 said. "This stone is so hard that nothing seems to 
 scratch it, and I am sure those lines were not made by 
 the ring accidentally striking against hard objects. They 
 were there when it came into my possession. I do not 
 think another line or mark has been made upon it since I 
 have owned it." 
 
 "That is odd." 
 
 "Odd ! It is remarkable. It makes it appear that these
 
 158 The Mystery qf the Ring. 
 
 lines were traced there with some instrument that could 
 mark the stone, and that they have a secret meaning." 
 
 "Who knows? Possibly that is true." 
 
 "And it may be that the man in black can read their 
 meaning." 
 
 The red light was dying out of the western sky, and 
 the dusky shadows of advancing night were gathering in 
 the village street, which was overhung by large dark elm 
 trees. Standing by the gate, the boy and girl minded not 
 the approach of darkness as they talked on. 
 
 Suddenly Inza uttered a cry and caught Frank's arm, 
 pointing to the opposite side of the street, and excitedly 
 whispering : 
 
 "Look look there ! Who is that man skulking along 
 the walk over there?" 
 
 "By Jove ! it is the man in black !" declared Frank
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 ATTACKED ON THE ROAD. 
 
 It was in truth the mysterious man who was lingering 
 on the opposite side of the street under the deeper shad 
 ows of the elms. That he was watching Frank quickly 
 became evident, but he slowly walked away when he saw 
 he was observed. 
 
 "What a villainous-looking creature he is !" said Inza, 
 in a flutter of alarm. 
 
 "How could you tell at that distance when it is so 
 dark?" half laughed Frank. 
 
 "Oh, it was his general appearance his black clothes, 
 and that strange cloak and cape." 
 
 To himself Frank confessed that the man had seemed 
 rather more awe-inspiring when seen through the gather 
 ing darkness than he had appeared near at hand in the 
 stronger light of sunset. 
 
 , The stranger had moved along the street till swallowed 
 iby the darkness beneath the great trees, but something 
 told the boy he was lingering at a distance watching 
 and waiting. 
 
 Despite his strong nerves, the boy felt a cold chill creep 
 along his back. What desperate deed might not the mys 
 terious man in black be contemplating? 
 
 The girl was no less impressed. 
 
 "Oh, Frank !" she exclaimed, looking up into his hand 
 some face; "I know you are in danger I am sure of it! 
 That dreadful creature means to do you some injury!"
 
 i6o Attacked on the Road. 
 
 Seeing how distressed she was, Frank began to feel 
 sorry that he had told her so much. 
 
 "You are nervous/' he said. "I shouldn't have told 
 you all this stuff about the ring and that man." 
 
 Her hand fell on his, which rested on the top of the 
 iron gate. 
 
 "You did right in telling me," came softly from her! 
 lips. "Who should you have told if not me ? We ought 
 not to have secrets from each other." 
 
 "I do not fancy we have many secrets that we keep 
 from each other, Inza," he murmured, leaning toward her 
 over the gate. "You know how I have trusted you." 
 
 "And have I not trusted you, Frank ? I have told you 
 all my delightful little secrets, and I have not told yours 
 to another soul. They say girls cannot keep secrets, but 
 I think you will find out they can." 
 
 "Ah, Inza ! you are not like other girls." 
 
 "Oh, yes, I am !" she laughed. "You think I am not, 
 but I am. Perhaps I am a trifle too old for my years, as 
 papa often says; but the terrible dangers you have res 
 cued me from have been quite enough to add something 
 to my age." 
 
 "In the face of every danger you have been brave as 
 few girls could have been." 
 
 "That's flattery." 
 
 "It is the sincere, honest truth. Do you think I would 
 attempt to flatter you ?" 
 
 "Frank !" 
 
 Their hands met, and he suddenly leaned over the gate 
 and kissed her, in the dusky twilight. She gave a little 
 cry, as of surprise or dismay, retreating swiftly; but 
 Frank clung to her hands, and she did not make a severe 
 struggle to break away, although for a moment there was 
 a playful mockery of a struggle.
 
 Attacked on the Road. 161 
 
 Slowly he drew her back to the gate, but she timidly 
 held away, as if she were really alarmed. 
 
 "How dare you, sir !" she exclaimed, with a toss of her 
 head. "You are very bold!" 
 
 "I beg your pardon," he beseeched, with mock hum 
 bleness. "I will agree not to do it again till I get an 
 other good chance." 
 
 "Really! How sacrificing you are! You are extremely 
 free." 
 
 "Stolen sweets, you know, are the best. But truly, 
 Inza, hadn't I a right to that ?" 
 
 "A right, indeed ! Why, to use a slang expression, that 
 is cheek!" 
 
 "Never mind the cheek," he said, laughingly. "I prefer 
 the lips." 
 
 And then, before she could divine his intention, he 
 kissed her again. 
 
 This time she broke away in earnest. 
 
 "Good-night, sir," she called, from up the walk. 
 
 "Oh, wait a moment !" he implored. "You aren't going 
 to leave me like this ?'" 
 
 "Oh, but I am." 
 
 "How can you !" 
 
 "You are getting altogether too free." 
 
 She seemed really angry, and a feeling of dismay came 
 over the lad at the gate. 
 
 "Inza!" 
 
 She had paused 
 
 "Well, sir?" 
 
 "Don't go away angry, please ! I know I had no right 
 to steal those kisses, but I am willing to make amends." 
 
 "Oh, you are !" she said, wonderingly, and it seemed 
 to Frank that she was struggling to keep back a burst of 
 laughter. "How will you do it?"
 
 1 62 Attacked on the Road. 
 
 "If you'll come here, I will give them back to you." 
 
 That was a master-stroke. A soft laugh came from 
 her lips, and she returned : 
 
 "You are a saucy, cheeky fellow, and I am not coming 
 back. Good-night." 
 
 "You are not angry?" 
 
 "What's the use to be angry with you !" 
 
 "Good-night, Inza." 
 
 "Good-night, Frank." 
 
 As he turned away down the walk, he saw her pause 
 at the door and heard her softly call : 
 
 "Frank." 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 "I don't like to think of you as a thief. I will take 
 those kisses back some other time." 
 
 Then, with another ripple of laughter, she disappeared 
 into the house. 
 
 Frank's heart was very light as he walked airily down 
 the street. He had forgotten the man in black for the 
 time, and he whistled a lively air, thinking of the charm 
 ing girl he had left a few moments before. 
 
 It had now grown quite dark, for the moon had not yet 
 risen; but there was a spring-time sweetness in the air, 
 which was not yet enervated by the languorous heat of 
 summer. 
 
 Frank passed beyond the limits of the village, where 
 lights were twinkling from the windows of the houses, 
 and he swung down the road toward the cove at a lively 
 gait, still whistling. 
 
 At a certain point the road was lined with bushes, and 
 not far away was the village cemetery. 
 
 Frank had reached this lonely locality, when, of a sud 
 den, a feeling of uneasiness came over him. Somehow it 
 seemed that he was in danger.
 
 Attacked on the Road. 163 
 
 Then came a rustle in the bushes, and, the following 
 moment, a dark form confronted the lad, blocking his 
 path. 
 
 Frank recoiled, and through his mind flashed the 
 thought : 
 
 "It is the man in black !" 
 
 At the same moment, the unknown sprang forward 
 and clutched the lad, snarling: 
 
 "Give me that ring ! I will have it ! Give it up peace 
 ably, or I will choke the breath out of your body ! Don't 
 shout ! It will be the worse for you if you do !" 
 
 Right there and then the man in black met with a great 
 surprise. 
 
 Frank grappled with the stranger, and, for some mo 
 ments, they engaged in a fierce struggle. At length the 
 boy got the best of it, and, as he threw the man, he gave 
 his assailant a terrible upper-cut blow. 
 
 Having freed himself Frank took to his heels and ran 
 down the road toward the academy.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 I 
 
 THE MARKS ON THE BLACK STONE. 
 
 Frank fancied he heard pursuing footsteps behind him, 
 but the mysterious man might have spared himself the 
 effort if he tried to overtake the lad, for Merriwell almost 
 flew over the ground. 
 
 The .lights from the windows of the barracks soon ap 
 peared through the trees, and Frank felt relieved when 
 he was safely within the grounds with the academy build 
 ings looming before him. 
 
 A short time later he entered his own room in the 
 "Cock-loft," to find Bartley Hodge sitting with his feet 
 on the table, smoking a cigarette and perusing an excit 
 ing detective story; but the feet went down to the floor 
 like a flash, and the cigarette and book disappeared with 
 magical swiftness as Frank came in. 
 
 "Oh !" said Hodge, with a sigh of relief ; "it's you, is 
 it, Merriwell? I thought it might be an inspector." 
 
 Frank laughed. 
 
 "It would have been rather bad for you if I had been 
 an inspector, for you did not get that book and cigarette 
 out of sight quick enough to fool anybody, and the air is 
 full of smoke. You would have stood a good chance for 
 chevrons next month if you had let cigarettes and novels 
 alone and taken a little more care to avoid demerit." 
 
 "Never mind, old man," said Hodge, as he resumed 
 the cigarette and brought forth the detective story again.
 
 The Marks on the Black Stone. 165 
 
 "You'll be a corporal sure, and that is glory enough for 
 us. Don't preach. If you should start in on this yarn, 
 you wouldn't give it up till you finished it." 
 
 "And that is exactly why I am not going to start in. 
 I enjoy a good story as well as you do, but I cannot af 
 ford to read novels, now, and so I refuse to be tempted 
 into looking into any of them." 
 
 "This is a hummer," declared Bart, enthusiastically. 
 "It is full of mystery and murder and all that. Beagle 
 Ben, the detective, is a corker! That fellow can look a 
 man over and tell what he had for dinner by the expres 
 sion around the corners of his mouth. He sees through 
 a crook as easily as you can look through a plate-glass 
 window. And the mysteries in this story are enough to 
 give a fellow the nightmare. I wonder why such mys 
 terious things never happen in real life?" 
 
 "Perhaps they do occasionally." 
 
 The way Frank spoke the words caused Bart to turn 
 and look him over wonderingly. 
 
 "Hello!" he said. "What's struck you? You are 
 breathing as if you had been running, but you're rather 
 pale round the gills." 
 
 "I have had an adventure." 
 
 "You are always having adventures. You're the luck 
 iest fellow alive." 
 
 "This adventure is somewhat out of the usual order," 
 declared Frank. "It might furnish material for a de 
 tective story." 
 
 "Whew !" whistled the dark-haired lad. "Now you are 
 making me curious. Reel it off for us." 
 
 Then Frank sat down and told Hodge the full particu 
 lars of his adventure with the mysterious man in black. 
 
 A look of wonder and delight grew on Bart's face as
 
 1 66 The Marks on the Black Stone. 
 
 he listened, and, when the account was finished, h 
 slapped his thigh, crying: 
 
 "By Jove, Merriwell, this is great ! Why, such things 
 do actually happen, don't they! Why do you suppose 
 that man is so determined to obtain possession of that! 
 ugly old ring? Do you actually believe he is a collector 
 of rings, ,with a mania for the quaint and curious ?" 
 
 "It is possible, but, for some reason, I doubt it." 
 
 "So do I." 
 
 "He did not seem quite sincere in his manner of telling 
 that story, and he was altogether too desperate in his de 
 termination to obtain the ring." 
 
 "That's right." 
 
 "Besides that, he wished to know how it came into my 
 possession, and, when he learned my father's name, he 
 declared he had never heard it before." 
 
 "What do you make out of that?" 
 
 "Well, it strikes me that this man recogni2ed the ring 
 as one he had seen before." 
 
 Bart nodded with satisfaction. 
 
 "Just the way I figured it out, old man !" 
 
 "He did not seem so anxious to learn the history of 
 the ring, although he pretended that it was his wish to 
 know the history of every ring that came into his posses 
 sion. In this case he seemed far more anxious to dis 
 cover how I came to have it." 
 
 "And so he must already know its history ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "What do you know about it yourself, Frank ?" 
 
 "Not much," was the serious reply. "You know I once 
 told you that my father was much away from home, trav 
 eling in the West, where he claimed to have business 
 interests, and it was not till after his death that we knew
 
 The Marks on the Black Stone. 167' 
 
 what his business actually was that of a note broker 
 with a passion for gambling?" 
 
 "Yes, I remember all this." 
 
 "In his wanderings, father somehow got hold of that 
 ring, and it is pretty certain that he considered it very 
 valuable, for he sent it to mother, and wrote her to guard 
 it faithfully, and not to let it part from her on any con 
 sideration. He said that he would come for it some day ; 
 but he never did. When mother died, she gave me the 
 ring, telling me to keep it always. That is as much of 
 the ring's history as is known to me." 
 
 "And that is just enough to make the thing a decided 
 mystery. I have heard of magic rings used by East In 
 dian fakirs and magicians. Perhaps this is one of those 
 rings." 
 
 Frank smiled a bit, and shook his head. 
 
 "Hardly that, I think," he said. "From its appearance, 
 I should say this ring was made by some crude workman 
 in the West." 
 
 "In that case, what can there be about it that is mys 
 terious or valuable?" 
 
 "You have asked me something I cannot answer." 
 
 "Let's look at the thing." 
 
 Bart held out his hand, and Frank removed the ring 
 from his finger, handing it over. 
 
 "It slips off altogether too easily," said Hodge. "I 
 should think you would fear losing it." 
 
 "It does come off easy, and, for that reason, I have not 
 worn it much till of late." 
 
 "Yes ; I never noticed it on your hand till a short time 
 ago." 
 
 "I have kept it among my valuables." 
 
 Hodge looked the ring all over, examining it slowly 
 and carefully.
 
 i 68 The Marks on the Black Stone. 
 
 "There doesn't seem to be anything about it to make a 
 fellow think it so very mysterious," he said, with a shade 
 of disappointment in his voice. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "It is just a homely, twisted ring, with an old scratched 
 black stone set in it." 
 
 "That's right." 
 
 "Perhaps the man in black is crazy." 
 
 "It is possible." 
 
 "In which case the mystery amounts to nothing." 
 
 For a few seconds the two lads sat staring at each 
 other. Then Frank removed a pin from some hidden 
 place, and held it toward Bart. 
 
 "Here," he said, "take this and see how easily you can 
 scratch that stone." 
 
 Hodge took it, and attempted to scratch the black stone 
 that was set in the ring. 
 
 "Why, the thing is hard as flint yes, harder !" he ex 
 claimed. "The pin will not leave a mark upon it, and 
 it has already turned the point of the pin over." 
 
 "Still, as you said, the stone is scratched." 
 
 "What do you make of that?" 
 
 "It strikes me it was not scratched by accident." 
 
 Hodge started and whistled. 
 
 "Do you imagine these marks were made here inten 
 tionally and deliberately?" 
 
 "Doesn't it seem that way?" 
 
 "Well, it is not impossible." 
 
 "If they were made there deliberately and intentionally, 
 cut by some instrument that could mark that hard stone, 
 doesn't it stand to reason that the one who made them 
 did not do all that work for nothing ?" 
 
 "Of course." 
 
 "Then those marks may mean something."
 
 The Marks on the Black Stone. 169 
 
 "By jingoes ! you are right !" 
 
 "This may be known to the man in black, which makes 
 him so fierce to obtain the ring." 
 
 "Sure!" 
 
 Again the boys stared silently at each other, but there 
 were traces of eager excitement on the faces of both. 
 
 "How are you going to find out what those marks 
 mean, Frank?" 
 
 "That is a question easier asked than answered." 
 
 "Did you ever examine this stone under a misroscope ?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Then I advise you to do so without delay. These 
 scratches are not very plain to the naked eye, but a micro 
 scope may reveal a great secret to you." 
 
 As Bart passed the ring back, Frank said : 
 
 "You are right. My curiosity is thoroughly aroused, 
 and I will examine it under a magnifying glass at the 
 earliest opportunity." 
 
 "Get leave to look at it under the big glass in the ex 
 perimenting room." 
 
 "I will try it to-morrow." 
 
 Until very near taps the boys talked of the mystery of 
 the ring, and that night both of them dreamed over and 
 over of the ring and the sinister man in black.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 BART MAKES A PLEDGE. 
 
 The following day Frank obtained permission to look 
 at the ring through the powerful microscope belonging 
 to the academy. Bart accompanied him to the experi 
 menting room, and they were soon taking turns in look 
 ing at the marked stone. 
 
 "What do you make of it, old man ?" asked Bart. 
 
 "It looks like a map," said Frank. 
 
 "Right !" exclaimed the other lad. "It looks like a map, 
 and I believe that is what it is." 
 
 There is a river, or road, and mountains, something 
 that looks like a lake, and then a tiny cross. The cross 
 must be a landmark. 
 
 "Yes; and you will note that it is at the end of what 
 looks like a river." 
 
 "But that must be a road." 
 
 "It is, if this is a map, for it runs over that range of 
 hills, or mountains." 
 
 "That is plain enough." 
 
 "And you will see there is a tiny, snake-like thread 
 that winds away from that spot, which looks as if it was 
 intended for a lake." 
 
 "I see it." 
 
 "That must be a river, or stream." 
 
 The boys were now very excited. All doubts were 
 fading from their minds; the lines on the black stone 
 had surely been intended to represent a map
 
 Bart Makes a Pledge. 171 
 
 But what portion of the face of the earth did it por 
 tray? That was a question the ring did not answer. 
 
 "Supposing it is a map," said Frank, helplessly ; "what 
 good will it do me ? I do not know what it is a map of." 
 
 "But you may bet your last dollar the man in black 
 knows." 
 
 "I don't see how that is going to do me any good. 
 
 "It will do him some good, if he gets hold of this ring." 
 
 "Well, I shall take care that he does not get hold of it." 
 
 The map if it were a map on the stone served to 
 more fully arouse the curiosity of the boys ; without in 
 any way satisfying them concerning the mystery of the 
 ring. 
 
 Frank became so absorbed in trying to discover the 
 true meaning of the map and in getting some light on 
 the mystery that he began to neglect his studies. This, 
 however, was quickly noted by Hodge, who said : 
 
 "Be careful, old man ; don't let that ring get into your 
 head so that you will lose your chance of standing well 
 up in your class. You are all right in drill work, and 
 you should be appointed a corporal next month." 
 
 "Hang the old ring !" exclaimed Frank, petulantly. "I 
 never had anything cause me so much bother before. 
 Whenever I try to study I fall to thinking of it, and I 
 dream of it every night." 
 
 Two days passed, and nothing more was seen of the 
 man in black during that time, which led Bart to believe 
 that the mysterious individual had left the vicinity. 
 
 "He must have fancied that you would have him ar 
 rested for attacking you on the road," said Hodge. "You 
 are not likely to see him again very soon." 
 
 "Don't get that impression into your head," returned 
 Frank. "He is not far away. I seem to feel that he is 
 lurking near, awaiting his next opportunity."
 
 172 Bart Makes a Pledge. 
 
 "That's tommy-rot! You have let this old ring mix 
 you all up. Don't slip any cogs now, Frank, or you may 
 have the pleasure of seeing your new rival, Paul Rains, 
 appointed a corporal, while you still remain an ordinary 
 cadet." 
 
 Frank flushed. 
 
 "Rains is not a bad fellow," he said. "He is square." 
 
 "He may seem so to you," said Hodge ; "but I am sus 
 picious of any fellow who has much to do with Wat Snell 
 and that gang. Frank, it is a wonder to me that you 
 ever came to have anything to do with me afterward 
 well, yoa know." 
 
 "I shouldn't if I hadn't believed there was some good 
 in you for all of appearances." 
 
 "Thank you, old man!" exclaimed Hodge, with gen 
 uine feeling. "You are white all the way through, and I 
 believe it is to you I owe credit for still remaining a cadet 
 in this school." 
 
 "Nonsense !" 
 
 "There is no nonsense about it. You know I tried two 
 military schools before I came here, and I did not re 
 main in either. I could not get along. You have helped 
 me over the hard places, and you have stood by me, 
 through thick and thin, although most of the fellows dis 
 liked me at first, and thought you were foolish in doing 
 what you did. I have been no particular aid to you, but 
 I have led you into temptations and dangers you would 
 have avoided but for the fact that we were roommates 
 and friends. In return, you have saved me many bad 
 breaks, and I am not liable to forget. I did hate you 
 most intensely, but you shall find that I can be as strong 
 in my friendships as I am in my hatreds." 
 
 This was saying a great deal for Hodge, who was 
 usually silent and reserved concerning himself. But Bart
 
 Bart Makes a Pledge. 173 
 
 knew he was speaking no more than the truth, and he 
 felt that the time had come when such an acknowledg 
 ment would do him good. 
 
 Frank's generous heart was touched by this new reve 
 lation of his friend's nature, and he grasped Bart's hand 
 warmly. 
 
 "If I have helped you in any way, I am glad to know 
 it," he said, earnestly. 
 
 "Well, you have; and you have taken demerit on my 
 account without a murmur. It is selfish of me to cling 
 to cigarettes when 'tobacco smoke in quarters' has been 
 reported against us so many times. By jingoes! I'm go 
 ing to swear off ! They don't do a fellow any good, and 
 they get an awful hold on one. It won't be easy for me 
 to give them up ; but I am going to do it. If you catch 
 me smoking another of the things, you may kick me till 
 there isn't a breath left in my body! That's business, 
 and I will stick to it!" 
 
 "Good !" laughed Frank. "You have been smoking a 
 good many of them lately, and I have noticed that you 
 complained of your lungs. How can your lungs be in 
 any condition when you are constantly inhaling so much 
 of that smoke! I know of a young fellow with weak 
 lungs who went into quick consumption, and the doctors 
 said cigarettes were entirely responsible. He smoked a 
 number of packages a day. When he started he simply 
 smoked now and then, but the habit grew on him, and 
 at last he was unable to break it." 
 
 "I believe any fellow can break off smoking them if he 
 has any will-power of his own." 
 
 "I think a fellow should, but you may not fincl it as 
 easy as you fancy." 
 
 "Oh, it will be easy enough for me. When I make up 
 my mind to a thing, I never give up/'
 
 174 Bart Makes a Pledge. 
 
 "Well, I sincerely trust it will prove so. Every one 
 knows cigarettes are harmful. Yesterday I read in a 
 paper about a boy in a New York hospital who was said 
 to have a 'tobacco heart' from smoking cigarettes. By a 
 tobacco heart it was meant that his heart was so badly 
 affected that it did not perform its action regularly and 
 properly. Sometimes he is convulsed with terrible pains, 
 and gasps for breath. Nearly all the time he moans and 
 begs for cigarettes; but the doctors say he must never 
 smoke another one if he cares to live. As it is, if he 
 should get up, his heart is so weakened that it may go 
 on a strike any time and cause his death." 
 
 "Oh, say!" laughed Bart; "that settles it. Now, I 
 never will smoke again. I mean it you see if I don't." 
 
 "I sincerely hope you do. You may become one of the 
 best athletes in this school. Your only trouble has been 
 shortness of breath when you exercise heavily, and that 
 came entirely from smoking. If you give it up, you will 
 joon cease to be troubled that way." 
 
 "Well, here's my hand on it, and it is as good as set 
 tled. No matter how much I may desire a smoke now, 
 I'll not monkey with the deadly cigarette." 
 
 Their hands met again.
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 FRANK AND THE PROFESSOR. 
 
 Frank Merriwell was right in thinking he had not 
 seen the last of the man in black. On the third day after 
 his first meeting with the mysterious stranger he was 
 astonished, while ascending the stairs, to see that indi 
 vidual come out of Professor Gunn's room. Frank paused 
 on the flight that led to the "Cock-loft," and watched the 
 man hurriedly descend the stairs. 
 
 "Great Scott!" muttered the young cadet. "That is 
 remarkable. I wonder what he was up to in the pro 
 fessor's room? He saw me, but he hustled away in a 
 hurry." 
 
 For a moment Frank hesitated, and then he resolved 
 to find out, if possible, what could be the meaning of the 
 stranger's visit. With this object in view, he descended 
 the stairs and approached the professor's door, on which 
 he rapped. 
 
 Of late Professor Gunn had been severely troubled 
 with headaches, and, this happening to be one of his bad 
 days, he was stopping in his room, with his head bound 
 up in a cloth saturated with camphor. Frank was obliged 
 to rap a second time, and then the professor's shuffling 
 step was heard, and his cloth-bound head appeared as the 
 door opened. 
 
 "What's wanted?" he asked, sharply. "Can't I have 
 any peace and rest? Speak up what's wanted?"
 
 1 76 Frank and the Professor. 
 
 "I have something to ask you, professor ?" said Frank, 
 quietly. 
 
 "Ah, is it you, Merriwell? I was going to see you 
 later. Come in." 
 
 Not a little surprised, Frank entered the professor's 
 room, standing cap in hand, while the crusty old fellow 
 seated himself in an easy chair, and asked : 
 
 "What is it you want to see me about, young man ?" 
 
 "You were lately visited by a stranger, whom I saw 
 leaving this room a few moments ago." 
 
 "Yes, sir yes." 
 
 "That man assaulted me on the highway a few nights 
 ago." 
 
 "What's that what? Assaulted you? This is inter 
 esting decidedly !" 
 
 "Yes, he assaulted me ; but I managed to give him the 
 worst of it, and got away without being harmed." 
 
 "You should have reported the occurrence you cer 
 tainly should. That was the proper thing to do the cor 
 rect thing, young man. Then I would have known how 
 to receive him." 
 
 "I thought he had gone away from this vicinity, but it 
 seems that he has not. Now, I would like to know his 
 name. What is his name, professor, please?" 
 
 "Eh? Ah? His name? Let me see. Now that is 
 surprising really surprising. I do not think he gave 
 me his name." 
 
 "Did not give his name? How did he obtain admis 
 sion to the building?" 
 
 "That's so how did he? I hadn't thought of that. 
 He was the smoothest talker I ever heard ; he didn't give 
 me a chance to ask many questions." 
 
 "He must have had some sort of business with you." 
 
 "He did that is, he pretended to have. He said he
 
 Frank and the Professor. 177 
 
 was here to recover some property that belonged to him 
 property he lost several years ago." 
 
 The eyes of the old professor searched Frank's hands 
 and rested on the peculiar ring. 
 
 "So that was his trick the scoundrel!" cried Frank, 
 repressing his anger with difficulty. "I presume he 
 claimed this ring belonged to him?" 
 
 "Well ahem! he described such a ring, which he 
 said he had seen on the hand of a student here." 
 
 "Exactly. And he named me as the possessor of the 
 ring?" 
 
 "He said the name of the student's father was Charles 
 Conrad Merriwell. I believe, sir I am quite sure, in 
 fact that that was the name of your father." 
 
 Frank was fully aroused, and his brown eyes gleamed 
 in a way that showed how indignant he was, although 
 it was necessary to keep his feelings suppressed as far as 
 possible. 
 
 "Professor Gunn," he said, swiftly, "that man is a 
 scoundrel !" 
 
 "Eh? Ha! Hum! Severe language. Be careful, 
 young man be cautious. Do not make a statement you 
 cannot stand behind. It is dangerous very dangerous." 
 
 "I can stand behind every word I have said. Why, 
 \vhen he found I would not sell him the ring, professor, 
 he tried to rob me of it ! That is not only the act of a 
 scoundrel, but that of a desperado." 
 
 "It looks bad bad," confessed the old professor, who 
 seemed in a somewhat nervous and flustered state. "Tell 
 me all about it give the full particulars of the occur 
 rence." 
 
 Frank did so, telling a straightforward story, to which 
 the professor listened with interest that was apparent, al-
 
 178 Frank and the Professor. 
 
 though he now and then pressed his hand to his head, as 
 if the pain were troubling him. 
 
 When the story was finished, and Frank had explained 
 what he and Bart had discovered on the black stone set 
 in the ring, the old professor showed that he was quite 
 wrought up. 
 
 "Remarkable!" he exclaimed "re-e-markable ! I am 
 surprised I am puzzled. This man told a very straight 
 story said the ring was stolen from him in Arizona. 
 He said it was very valuable to him, as it was an heir 
 loom. He could not tell how it came into your possession 
 he did not try. All he wanted was to recover his prop 
 erty that was all." 
 
 "That was his scheme when he found he could not buy 
 it from me. He did not attempt to make you believe he 
 was a collector of odd rings, professor, for he knew that 
 would do no good, and so he laid claim to the ring. What 
 proof did he give you that it was his property ?" 
 
 "Eh? Proof? It seems as if he did give proof of 
 some sort, but really I don't know as he did. He was 
 such a plausible person so very smooth and convincing. 
 Why, I did not think of doubting him. But I know your 
 record very well since entering the academy, Merriwell. 
 It is satisfactory quite satisfactory. I do not think you 
 are the sort of a lad to tell a deliberate falsehood no, 
 sir, no." 
 N "Thank you, sir." 
 
 "That being the case, I shall have to accept your state 
 ment yes, I will accept it. He said he would call again 
 to-morrow. Let him come ! I think I will have an officer 
 on hand he shall be arrested the moment he shows him 
 self. That's right that's proper. Hum ! ha ! Assaulted 
 a cadet of Fardale Academy, did he ? Attempted to rob
 
 Frank and the Professor. 179 
 
 a student at this school, did he? Well, he shall be duly 
 and properly punished yes, sir." 
 
 The professor had worked himself up into a state of 
 considerable excitement, seeming to have forgotten his 
 headache for the time. He got upon his feet and went 
 tramping about the room in his slippers, the heels of 
 which had been trodden down. He perched his nose- 
 glasses far down on his pointed proboscis, and glared 
 over them in a way he had when he was endeavoring to 
 appear very impressive before a class. 
 
 Under other circumstances Frank might have smiled 
 at the figure cut by the excited old man, but he was now 
 far too angry himself to note what was ludicrous. 
 
 "Take care of that ring, young man," advised the pro 
 fessor "take the best of care of it. It may be more val 
 uable than it appears. There is certainly something con 
 nected with this ring that makes it valuable to this 
 stranger or else the man is a lunatic yes, sir, a lunatic. 
 I do not think that no, I do not. He appeared rational 
 he was quite sane when he was here quite so." 
 
 "I have ever regarded this ring as simply an ugly orna 
 ment that my father ran across and took a fancy to; but 
 now I believe it must be something more." 
 
 "It is likely quite likely. It seems that there is a 
 mystery connected with the ring. It may be solved soon 
 very soon. This stranger must know a great deal con 
 cerning it. Perhaps he will tell what he knows perhaps 
 he may be induced to tell." 
 
 The professor said this in a peculiar way, that seemed 
 to say "strong inducements" would be held out to the 
 strange man in black. 
 
 Frank had seen Professor Gunn, and asked his ques 
 tion, but the mystery was deep as ever when the boy left 
 the professor's room.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 SNELL TALKS. 
 
 Frank was not the only one who had observed the 
 man in black as that mysterious individual was depart 
 ing. Bart Hodge saw the sinister stranger, and instantly 
 recognized him from Frank's description. 
 
 "Great Scott !" thought Bart. "What can that imp of 
 Satan be up to here ?" 
 
 The man was hurrying from the grounds, and Hodge 
 followed. The man passed the sentry, but Bart was chal 
 lenged. 
 
 "See that man ?" said the lad, hurriedly. "I am satis 
 fied that he has been up to some mischief. I want tc 
 follow him, and see where he goes." 
 
 "You cannot leave the grounds without a pass, sir," 
 said the sentinel, firmly. 
 
 "Oh, hang your pass !" cried Bart, warmly, as he saw 
 there was danger that the man in black would escape. 
 "This is an exceptional case." 
 
 "A sentry knows no exceptions. If you leave the 
 grounds, you will have to obtain a pass from the office." 
 
 "But that man is a robber a highwayman ! If you 
 stand on the rules of the academy now, he will escape, 
 and you may be reprimanded." 
 
 "I shall do my duty as sentinel, sir, reprimand or no 
 reprimand." 
 
 The man in black was walking swiftly up the road to-
 
 Snell Talks. 181 
 
 ward the village, his cape flapping behind him in the 
 wind like the wings of a bat. In a few moments he 
 would disappear from view. 
 
 "Hang the luck!" grated Hodge, as he turned away 
 in disappointment. "I'd given something to follow him 
 up." 
 
 He was inclined to be angry at the sentinel at first, but 
 his friendship with Merriwell had taught him that he 
 should have forbearance when in the right, and should 
 never hold a grudge when in the wrong. Sober reason 
 told him the sentinel had done no more than his plain 
 duty, so the feeling of anger was swiftly banished from 
 Bart's breast. 
 
 "I will find Frank and tell him what is up," he thought. 
 
 As he walked swiftly toward the barracks, he was met 
 by Wat Snell, who said : 
 
 "Hello, Hodge. I want to have a talk with you." 
 
 "With me?" asked Bart, in surprise. 
 
 Snell had not been friendly for some time, and, of late, 
 he had ceased to speak to Hodge. This had not troubled 
 Bart at all, but he was greatly surprised by this advance 
 on the part of his enemy. 
 
 "Yes, with you," assured Snell. "There was a time 
 when you were ready enough to talk with me. I have 
 even known you to follow me up to get a chance to have 
 a word in private with me." 
 
 The face of the dark-haired boy flushed. 
 
 "That time is past/' he said. "What do you want of 
 me?" 
 
 "It is my turn now. I want to have a word in private 
 with you." 
 
 Bart did not fancy this much. He knew Snell for ex 
 actly what the fellow was a sneaking, revengeful rascal. 
 The thought that he had ever had dealings with such a
 
 j82 Snell Talks. 
 
 scamp made Bart's cheeks burn and caused him to re 
 gard himself with no little contempt. 
 
 He did not care to be seen talking privately with Snell, 
 and he glanced hastily around, to see if any one was 
 watching them. 
 
 Snell noted the look, and an angry light came into his 
 eyes, which were somewhat too small and set so near to 
 gether that they seemed crowding his nose between them. 
 
 "Oh, you hesitate over it, do you !" he sneered. "That's 
 like some fellows to go back on their old friends! You 
 won't make anything by it in the end." 
 
 "If you have anything to say to me, say it," com 
 manded Hodge, sharply. 
 
 "Come over here where the fellows can't see us from 
 the windows," invited Snell, beckoning Bart to follow. 
 
 But Hodge did not stir. 
 
 "No, sir," he said, firmly. "If you have anything you 
 want to say to me, say it right here." 
 
 Snell did not like this. He came back slowly, casting 
 a hasty, doubtful look up to the dormitory windows. 
 After some hesitation, during which he kicked the gravel 
 of the walk with his toe, he began : 
 
 "There was a time when you didn't like Merriwell any 
 better than the rest of us, and you have done things that 
 would put you in a pretty bad corner, if they were 
 known." 
 
 Hodge's brows lowered in a scowl, and his nostrils 
 dilated, like those of a wild creature that scents danger. 
 He said nothing, but his steady, piercing gaze made Snell 
 keep his eyes on the ground. 
 
 "Of course I am not the kind of a fellow to blow any 
 thing of the sort," Wat went on, hurriedly. "I simply 
 mentioned it by chance. You seem friendly with Merri 
 well now, and I thought you might have forgotten."
 
 Snell Talks. 18} 
 
 "I wonder what the rascal is coming at?" thought Bart; 
 but not a word did he speak aloud. 
 
 "For the sake of old times, I thought perhaps you 
 might do something for some of your old friends I 
 didn't know but you might. It can't harm Merriwell any 
 in particular he'll never miss it. It will be a lift for me ; 
 and I can make it an object for you." 
 
 Snell was floundering, and the look on his face seemed 
 to indicate that he was growing frightened and felt like 
 taking to his heels. 
 
 Of a sudden, Hodge became curious to know what the 
 fellow had to say, and so he decided to try diplomacy. 
 
 "I do not forget my friends," he said. "What is it you 
 want of me, Snell?" 
 
 That gave Wat a little courage. 
 
 "Before I tell you, Hodge, I want to say that you will 
 be well paid if you help out a little in this matter, and 
 Merriwell can never know that you were in it. He'll 
 never suspect you. You didn't have any scruples about 
 doing something of the sort once on a time." 
 
 "Well, what is it?" demanded Bart, impatiently. "Don't 
 beat round the bush so much." 
 
 "Oh, don't be in such a hurry!" fluttered Snell, 
 nervously, far from feeling fully confident of Hodge. 
 "There's money in this. It will be twenty-five dollars in 
 your pocket if you do what I want you to. Are you 
 with me?" 
 
 "That depends on what you want me to do. Name it." 
 
 "Well, Merriwell has something that doesn't rightfully 
 belong to him. Understand that it is not his by right. 
 It belongs to a friend of mine, who wants me to recover 
 his property." 
 
 "Well?"
 
 1 84 Snell Talks. 
 
 "You can aid me, as you room with Merriwell." 
 
 "Jupiter !" thought Bart. "I wonder if the mysterious 
 ring is the piece of property Snell means ?" 
 
 It was with no little difficulty that Hodge held himself 
 in check ; but he did not wish Snell to become alarmed, 
 and so he quietly asked : 
 
 "What is this piece of property?" 
 
 "It is something Merriwell wears every day. I sup 
 pose he takes it off occasionally. That would give you 
 your chance. Mind you, it is not rightfully his, but it 
 belongs to my friend, so there is no harm in taking it to 
 restore it to its proper owner. In fact, that is a simple 
 act of justice." 
 
 "Why doesn't the rightful owner recover his property 
 in the regular manner?" 
 
 "That might prove difficult, or even impossible, as he 
 would have trouble in establishing his claim, and Merri 
 well might conceal the property. It is not the value of 
 this property that the owner cares so much for ; he wants 
 the property itself." 
 
 There was no longer any doubt in Bart's mind ; Snell 
 was speaking of the ring. The man in black had re 
 sorted to another scheme to obtain possession of that ugly 
 
 ornament. 
 
 i 
 
 With the greatest difficulty, Hodge kept cool and 
 placid, as he asked : 
 
 "And you want me to steal this property?" 
 
 "No, no, no ! It would not be stealing it ; it would be 
 returning it to its proper owner. Can't you see?" 
 
 "Well, if I am going to do this job, I must know what 
 the property is." 
 
 "It is the ring Merriwell wears when he is not in ranks 
 the twisted band, with a black stone set in it."
 
 Snell Talks. 185 
 
 "And you want me to obtain that ring and give it to 
 you?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "For which I am to receive twenty-five dollars ?" 
 
 "Yes. What is your answer?" 
 , "This is my answer!" 
 
 Like a flash, Hodge struck out straight frem the 
 shoulder, and his fist caught Snell between the eyes.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 S N ELL^S HATRED. 
 
 Smack ! 
 
 The blow sounded sharp and clear, and Snell quickly 
 found himself stretched on the gravel walk. He looked 
 up in a dazed way, to see Hodge standing near at hand, 
 regarding him with withering scorn. 
 
 "You'll pay dearly for this !" gasped Snell, lifting him 
 self to his elbow and glaring at Bart. 
 
 "All right," was the hot retort. "I am willing to pay 
 for it. You may have taken me for a thief, but I rather 
 think you have discovered your mistake." 
 
 "You weren't so honest once on a time, not so very 
 long " 
 
 "What's that?" cried Bart, taking a threatening step 
 toward the fellow. "I was never a thief, no matter what 
 my other failings may have been ; and if you dare in 
 sinuate such a thing, I will ram the words down your 
 throat!" 
 
 "That's all right that's all right!" muttered Wat, 
 scrambling up and getting out of reach. "I will report* 
 this assault." 
 
 "Report it, and be hanged ! The fellows in this acad 
 emy admire a tattler! You will have a very pleasant 
 time if you report it !" 
 
 "It was seen. Somebody will tell Professor Gunn." 
 
 "Perhaps so; but it isn't best that you are the one."
 
 SnelPs Hatred. 187 
 
 "I'll I'll get even !" 
 
 "Go ahead. I'd like the satisfaction of fighting you to 
 a finish." 
 
 "I will not fight with my fists," blustered Wat, trying 
 to appear very fierce. "There are more deadly weapons." 
 
 "Name any weapon you choose. I will be only too 
 glad to meet you. I am a good pistol shot, and Professor 
 Rhynas says I handle the foils fairly well." 
 
 "Oh, you're a regular ruffian!" cried Snell, his chin 
 beginning to quiver and his voice choking with anger 
 that brought tears to his eyes. "I will not fight you in 
 any way ! I do not pretend to be a match for a ruffian of 
 your sort. But I will get square just the same." 
 
 "I presume you will try to square the account in some 
 sneaking manner. Well, I warn you now and here that 
 it will not be healthy if you try any dirty tricks on me. 
 If anything underhand happens to me, I'll know who was 
 the originator of it, and I'll settle with you. That is busi 
 ness !" 
 
 With this, Bart turned to walk away, noting that a 
 great many of the cadets were peering from the windows, 
 some of them grinning with delight. 
 
 Snell shook his fist at Hodge's back, blustering: 
 
 "This is all right all right, sir! It is not necessary 
 for me to fight you ; you are not on the same level with 
 me." 
 
 "No," muttered the dark-haired boy, grimly, "I have 
 never sunk as low as that." 
 
 The room occupied by Merriwell and Hodge was not 
 on that side of the building, so Frank, who was studying, 
 had not witnessed the encounter between his roommate 
 and Snell. 
 
 Fortunately, also, the blow had not been seen by any
 
 188 Snell's Hatred. 
 
 one but cadets, so it was not liable to come to Professor 
 Gunn's knowledge, unless Wat told of it himself. 
 
 Bart found Frank in their room, and Merrivvell looked 
 up as the dark-haired boy entered with a quick, nervous 
 step. 
 
 "Hello!" he cried, in surprise. "What's happened? 
 Your face is dark as a thunder-cloud, and you look as if 
 you could eat iron." 
 
 "Well, I feel as if I wouldn't have any trouble in chew 
 ing up a few pounds of iron," replied Bart. "By Jove ! 
 old man, I never realized till a few minutes ago how 
 narrow was my escape from being a most contemptible 
 scoundrel !" 
 
 "How is that?" 
 
 "I was taken for a thief !" grated Bart, his white teeth 
 clicking. "Yes, sir, taken for a thief !" 
 
 "It must have been by somebody who does not know 
 you very well." 
 
 "That's where you are wrong. It was by somebody 
 who knows me far too well. That is why I feel that my 
 escape from being a scoundrel was a narrow one." 
 
 Had he not seen that Bart was so serious and thor 
 oughly in earnest, Frank must have smiled. 
 
 "Give us the particulars," he urged. "What did you 
 do when you were taken for a thief?" 
 
 "Knocked the cad down!" snarled Bart, smashing his 
 clinched right hand into the open palm of his left. 
 
 "That was very proper," assured Merriwell. "You 
 did nicely, my son." 
 
 "But I do not feel any the less humiliated. If I had 
 not given him reason to approach me in such a manner, 
 he would not have ventured." 
 
 Then Bart related the particulars of his adventure with 
 Snell.
 
 Snail's Hatred. 189 
 
 "So, so!" muttered Frank. "That rascal is in this af 
 fair. The man in black has chosen a good tool." 
 
 "That man is determined to have your ring." 
 
 "I should say so. He has been to Professor Gunn and 
 represented that the ring belonged to him." And then 
 > Frank took his turn to tell what he had learned from 
 the head professor. 
 
 "Well, I never !" cried Bart, as Frank finished. "Why, 
 the scoundrel has the cheek of a brass monkey ! He is 
 dangerous, Frank." 
 
 "I believe you." 
 
 "If I were in your place, I would swear out a warrant 
 for his arrest, and send an officer after him." 
 
 "I may be forced to do so." 
 
 "And I advise you to keep your eye on Wat Snell." 
 
 "I will do that." 
 
 "In the meantime, let me take the ring long enough to 
 make an enlarged drawing of those lines, so that you 
 will have the map, if it is a map, even if you lose the 
 ring. You know my ability to copy with pen and ink 
 anything I see. My father wants me to become a civil 
 engineer, and so I am taking a course to suit him ; but, 
 when I leave Fardale, I mean to go to an art school, and 
 find out if I am not cut out for an artist." 
 
 "How can you make a drawing of the lines ?" 
 
 "Why, I will place the ring under a microscope, and 
 then it will not be difficult. You know I can be very 
 accurate when I try." 
 
 "Yes, I know it, and I will think of your plan. I am 
 inclined to believe it is a good one. Whether I should 
 lose the ring or not, I'd like to have a copy of that map 
 to study." 
 
 "I'll find time to do the job to-morrow, if Old Gunn 
 will permit us to use the microscope again."
 
 190 Snail's Hatred. 
 
 On the following day, however, Bart found no oppor 
 tunity to make the drawing. 
 
 Frank watched for the man in black, who had said he 
 would call on Professor Gunn again ; but the mysterious 
 man did not put in an appearance, and Merriwell waited 
 his time. 
 
 Wat Snell was forced to endure no end of ridicule from 
 his companions, as it was the rule at Fardale that a 
 student who had received a blow or an insult must chal 
 lenge the one who gave it. If he did not do so, he was 
 regarded as a coward, and his life in school from that 
 time was certain to be far from pleasant. 
 
 In his heart Snell was an arrant coward, and he knew 
 that Hodge was really longing for a challenge. Wat felt 
 sure that he would receive a severe drubbing at the hands 
 of the dark-haired boy whom he had angered, and the 
 thoughts of such punishment filled his soul with horror. 
 
 "I can't fight him it's no use, I can't !" he told him 
 self over and over. "He is a turn-coat, anyway ! He did 
 not pretend to be so conscientious till after he got thick 
 with Merriwell. Oh, Merriwell is really the one who is 
 at the bottom of all the trouble I have had in this school, 
 and I hate him worse than I do Hodge. 
 
 "I'd like to get hold of that ring. Jupiter! seventy- 
 five dollars is a price to pay for an old ring like that, but 
 it's what that strange man in black offered me to secure 
 it for him. There's something mighty mysterious about 
 that ring. I wish I knew what the mystery is. I am 
 going to ask the man when I see him this evening." 
 
 That night Snell escaped from the building and the 
 grounds without obtaining leave. He was going to keep 
 an appointment with the man in black.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 PLAYING THE SHADOW. 
 
 Snell was followed. 
 
 Frank had taken Bart's advice to keep an eye on the 
 fellow, and something in Wat's actions had given him 
 the impression that Snell was up to something that he did 
 not care to have generally known. 
 
 With a great deal of skill, Frank kept watch of Snell 
 till the latter slipped from the grounds under cover of 
 darkness. 
 
 It was a cloudy night, with the wind moaning far out 
 at sea, and the waves roaring sullenly along the base of 
 Black Bluff, down the shore. 
 
 As may be imagined, it was no easy task to follow Wat 
 without losing the fellow in the darkness or getting so 
 close that the "shadowed" lad would discover that some 
 body was watching him. 
 
 Although he was not aware of it^ Frank possessed a 
 remarkable faculty for performing such a task. He 
 moved with the silence of a creeping cat, and yet covered 
 ground with sufficient swiftness to keep near Wat. 
 
 Something must have made Snell suspicious, for three 
 times he stopped and peered back through the darkness, 
 and three times Frank sunk like a ghost to the ground, 
 escaping discovery by his swiftness in making the move. 
 
 Indeed, had it been possible for a third party to watch 
 them, it must have seemed that Merriwell felt an intui-
 
 192 . Playing the Shadow. 
 
 tion which told him exactly when Snell was going to look 
 back. 
 
 Once or twice before they came to the road that led 
 up from the cove, Frank lost sight of the boy he was fol 
 lowing, but his keen ears served him quite as well as his 
 eyes. 
 
 When the road up the hill was reached Frank was able 
 to follow Wat with greater ease. 
 
 Suddenly Snell paused and whistled three times. In a 
 moment a single sharp whistle sounded near at hand, 
 and then Frank, crouching close to the ground, saw a 
 black figure come toward Wat Snell. 
 
 The wind that was moaning over the sea swept up the 
 road and caused something to flap around the shoulders 
 of this figure like a great pair of wings. 
 
 For all of the darkness, Frank recognized this figure, 
 and he was seized with an indefinable feeling of fear such 
 as he had never felt before. 
 
 With an effort, Frank steadied his quivering nerves, 
 remaining quiet to watch and listen. 
 
 The person who had appeared in answer to Snell's 
 signal was the man in black, and he quickly pounced upon 
 the boy, like a huge hawk upon its prey. 
 
 "The ring!" he cried, hoarsely. ' "Where is it?" 
 
 Wat gave a low cry of fear. 
 
 "Don't!" he gasped. "You're hurting me! Your 
 fingers are hard as iron, and they crush right into a fel 
 low!" 
 
 "The ring !" repeated the man, fiercely. "Produce it !" 
 
 "I haven't got it." 
 
 "What?" snarled the mysterious stranger. "You have 
 not kept your word ! What do you mean ?" 
 
 "Don't shake a fellow like that!" quavered Snell. 
 "You act like a madman."
 
 Playing the Shadow. 193 
 
 "Answer my questions! Why haven't you kept your 
 word?" 
 
 "Couldn't." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Didn't get the chance." 
 
 "But you said you could get a boy to assist you the 
 fellow who rooms with this Merriwell." 
 
 "I thought I could, but the cad went back on me." 
 
 "He refused to aid you?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "And you have found no opportunity to get hold of 
 the ring yourself?" 
 
 "Not yet but I will, sir," Snell hastily answered. "All 
 I want is to know that you will pay me as you agreed. 
 Don't hold onto my arm so tight ; I won't run away." 
 
 "Bah!" cried the man in black, as he half-flung Wat 
 from him. "What beastly luck !" 
 
 "It is bad luck," confessed Snell, falteringly. "But it 
 isn't my fault. I have done my best." 
 
 The man in black said nothing, but stood with his head 
 bowed, the elbow of his right arm resting in the hollow 
 of his left hand, while his right hand, fiercely clinched, 
 supported his chin. The wind continued to flap the cape 
 about his shoulders. 
 
 The man's attitude and his silence gave Snell a feeling 
 of fear, and he drew away, acting as if he contemplated 
 taking to hi<s heels, for all that he had said he would not 
 run. 
 
 "I do not propose to endure much more of this," mut 
 tered the man, at length. "I'll have that ring soon, by; 
 some means !" 
 
 "You must consider it very valuable," said Wat, curi 
 ously. 
 
 "Valuable!" came hoarsely from the lips of the man
 
 194 Playing the Shadow. 
 
 in black. "I should say so ! If it were not, I shouldn't 
 be making such a desperate struggle to get possession 
 of it." 
 
 The lad who was listening a short distance away, 
 strained his ears to catch every word. 
 
 "There must be some secret about the ring?" insin 
 uated Snell. "The gold in it amounts to little, and the 
 old black stone " 
 
 A strange sound came from the throat of the man in 
 black, and then, seeming to fancy that he had admitted 
 altogether too much, he hastened to say: 
 
 "The ring is valuable to me; but it is worth little to 
 anybody else." 
 
 "I suppose that is because nobody else knows its se 
 cret?" came from Snell. 
 
 "Secret ! Bah ! It has no secret !" 
 
 But it was not easy to convince Snell that this was the 
 truth. 
 
 "Then why should you go to such extremes to get pos 
 session of a wretched old thing of that sort?" demanded 
 Wat. 
 
 "I have told you. The ring belonged to me was 
 stolen from me. It has been in our family a great length 
 of time, and was given me by my father. I prize it 
 highly for that reason. I do not know how it came into 
 the possession of this Merriwell family, and I cannot 
 .prove my claim to my own property, so I must recover 
 it in such a manner as is possible. That is the truth." 
 
 Wat said nothing. Somehow he was doubtful, for it 
 did not seem that anybody who was sane could resort to 
 such desperate expedients to recover an ugly old ring 
 that had no particular value save as an heirloom. 
 
 As for Frank, he might have believed the strange 
 man's story, but for the fact that the man had told him
 
 Playing the Shadow. 195 
 
 something entirely different. One story or the other 
 might be true, but in any case the man in black was a 
 liar. 
 
 There was a brief silence, and then Snell asked : 
 
 "How am I to know that you will surely pay me sev 
 enty-five dollars for the ring? You pounced upon me a 
 few minutes ago as if you would rob me of it if it had 
 been in my possession." 
 
 "That was all through my eagerness and excitement," 
 declared the man, soothingly. "I meant you no harm, 
 but I was very anxious." 
 
 "Well, I don't know ; I am afraid I will be left when I 
 get the ring and hand it over, so I guess I'll " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 Wat edged a little farther away. 
 
 "I guess I'll throw up the job," he hesitated. 
 
 "Do you still think you can find a way to get the ring ?" 
 
 "Think so! I know I can get it, sooner or later, if I 
 want to." 
 
 "Then look here, to prove that I am sincere I will pay 
 you this much in advance. It is a twenty-dollar gold 
 piece. Now you cannot doubt my earnestness and fair 
 ness in this matter. If you bring me the ring within 
 forty-eight hours, I'll pay you, besides this twenty, the 
 seventy-five dollars I offered in the first place." 
 
 Snell eagerly clutched the piece of money. 
 
 "You're a brick !" he cried. "And I'll lay myself out 
 to get that ring. I haven't begun to try the schemes I 
 have in my head. I will meet you here to-morrow night 
 at abbut this time, and I'll do my best to have the ring. 
 Only, if I haven't got it, I want you to promise not to 
 jump on me and grab me the way you did to-night." 
 
 "Don't be afraid. I won't harm you."
 
 196 Playing the Shadow. 
 
 "Well, you can scare a fellow out of his boots, and I 
 don't like to be scared." 
 
 "I am afraid you are something of a coward," said 
 the man, a trace of contempt in his tone. 
 
 But little more passed between them before the man in 
 black turned away toward Fardale village, and Wat de 
 scended the road in the direction of the academy. 
 
 Frank hugged the ground at one side of the road, and 
 he was not seen by Snell. 
 
 But, by the time Wat had gone so far that there was 
 little danger of discovery if Frank moved from the lo 
 cality, the man in black had vanished in the night. 
 
 Still, Frank sprang up and went scurrying lightly up 
 the hill, keeping to the grass at the side of the road, so 
 his feet made scarcely a sound. 
 
 He hurried along the road till Fardale village was al 
 most reached, but he saw nothing more of the man in 
 black. The mysterious stranger had vanished as com 
 pletely as if swallowed up by the earth. 
 
 Frank had hoped to trace the man to the place where 
 he was stopping, but he was forced to give this up and 
 hurry back to the academy. 
 
 Still he had not wasted his time. 
 
 "They will meet there to-morrow night, eh?" he mut 
 tered. "Well, it would not be a very difficult thing to 
 have an officer on hand with a warrant for this stranger." 
 
 He went straight to his room, hoping to find Hodge 
 there. 
 
 He did. Bart was seated in his favorite attitude, with 
 his feet on the table, and a cigarette in his mouth !
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE RING DISAPPEARS. 
 
 "Bart!" 
 
 The exclamation of mingled surprise and reproach 
 came from Frank's lips. 
 
 Hodge had made a move to conceal the cigarette, but 
 discovered he was too late. 
 
 His face turned crimson, and he hung his head with 
 shame. 
 
 Frank closed the door, and came to the side of his 
 roommate, on whose shoulder he gently placed a hand, 
 as he asked: 
 
 "How does it happen, Bart?" 
 
 'Bart started to say something, choked a little, and 
 then forced an unpleasant laugh. 
 
 "Oh, I'm a liar!" he burst out, hotly. "I have broken 
 my pledge at the first temptation !" 
 
 "Why did you do it? You know you said you could 
 .leave off smoking cigarettes easily." 
 
 "I thought I could." 
 
 "And you found out the habit was fastened more 
 firmly on you than you thought ?" 
 
 "That's about the size of it. I have been longing for 
 a cigarette all day, and, when I came by accident upon 
 this one, finding myself all alone, I could not resist the 
 desire to have a whiff." 
 
 "That shows the habit had a firmer hold on you than 
 you thought."
 
 198 The Ring Disappears. ^ 
 
 "Yes. I fancied I could leave it off readily enough; 
 but I was mistaken. It seems a fellow never knows what 
 a hold the nasty little things have on him till he tries to 
 stop smoking them." 
 
 "And were you going to give up the struggle without 
 another effort?" 
 
 "Oh, no! I didn't mean to smoke only this once. 
 That is, I didn't mean to at first, but after I got to smok 
 ing I thought it would be a good plan to taper off." 
 
 "Which meant that you were going to tamper with the 
 stuff again, and, finally, you would smoke as much as 
 ever, and would not leave off at all." 
 
 "Perhaps you're right," confessed Hodge, who showed 
 his shame. 
 
 "I am sure I am right ; but you will give over the plan 
 of tapering off you will stop at once. You are not 
 weak-minded enough to let cigarettes get a hold on you 
 that you cannot break." 
 
 "Well, I thought I wasn't; but I don't know about it 
 now." 
 
 "Oh, this is bad, but it doesn't mean failure. I don't 
 believe you are the kind of a fellow to give in thus easily 
 to an enemy. You have more fight in you than that." 
 
 Frank spoke in a confident tone, as if he did not doubt 
 Hodge's ability to conquer the habit, and Bart gave him 
 a grateful look. 
 
 All at once, Bart jumped up and opened the window, 
 out of which he fiercely flung the half-smoked cigarette. 
 
 "If I hadn't been a fool by nature, I'd never lighted 
 the thing!" he cried, in supreme self-contempt. "Your 
 confidence in me, old man, has given me confidence in 
 myself. This settles it! I am done with cigarettes for 
 ever. You'll never again discover me with one in my 
 lips!"
 
 The Ring Disappears. 199 
 
 Bart had meant to keep his pledge in the first place, 
 but Frank's failure to reproach him for falling, and 
 Frank's confidence in his ability to stop smoking gave 
 him the needed confidence in himself filled him with a 
 determination not to be defeated. And from that hour 
 he never again smoked a cigarette. 
 
 "Now we're all right again," said Merriwell, heartily, 
 as Bart came back from the window. "Sit down while 
 I relate a very interesting tale to you." 
 
 Bart sat down, and Frank told what he had seen and 
 heard through following Snell. 
 
 "That sneak makes me sick!" cried Hodge, fiercely. 
 "I'd like to get another chance at him! Why, he's the 
 biggest sneak in this school !" 
 
 "That's right." 
 
 "Gage couldn't hold a candle to Snell." 
 
 "Gage was bolder ; Snell is a bigger sneak." 
 
 "That's about the size of it. What are you going to 
 do with the fellow ?" 
 
 "I think it would be well to catch him in company 
 with the man in black when they meet to-morrow night." 
 
 Bart slapped his thigh. 
 
 "Just the scheme! But who's going to do the catch 
 ing?" 
 
 "It would be a good plan to have an officer from the 
 village on hand for that job." 
 
 "Good ! You can swear out a warrant for the man for 
 felonious assault, attempted highway robbery, or some 
 thing of the sort, and have him sent where he won't 
 trouble you again for some little time." 
 
 "That's what I thought." 
 
 "It seems the only way to get rid of him, and he is 
 mighty dangerous." 
 
 "He is desperate."
 
 200 The Ring Disappears. 
 
 "Yes ; he means to have that ring anyway. I'll find a 
 way to-morrow to draw those lines on paper. I don't 
 care if that man does say the ring is of no particular 
 value, I know better. If the lines are taken off, you will 
 stand a show of finding out what they mean." 
 
 Frank was eager to have an enlarged copy of the lines 
 made, for he felt that he could never be sure that he 
 would not lose the ring, even though the mysterious man 
 in black should be disposed of effectually. 
 
 "Snell is determined to get himself into serious 
 trouble," said Frank. 
 
 "Oh, money will hire him to do any mean, sneaking 
 thing !" came scornfully from Bart's lips. 
 
 "If he is caught with this scoundrel in black to-morrow 
 night, he will be under a cloud here." 
 
 "He is under a cloud now. Twenty fellows saw me 
 knock him down, and they'll never give him any rest till 
 he sends me a challenge." 
 
 "Well, I don't fancy he will send you a challenge." 
 
 "Then his life will be made wretched while he remains 
 at Fardale Academy." 
 
 "He has brought it on himself." 
 
 "Of course. A fellow can't be a sneak and have the 
 respect of anybody who is decent. I found that out long 
 ago." 
 
 The following forenoon Bart obtained permission to 
 use the microscope long enough to make a drawing of 
 the lines on the stone set in the mysterious ring. 
 
 Before going to recitation, Frank surrendered the ring 
 to Bart, who hesitated about taking it. 
 
 "What if I should lose it?" he said. 
 
 "You can't," smiled Frank. "There is no danger of 
 that." 
 
 "Still, I rather wish you were coming along."
 
 The Ring Disappears. 201 
 
 "I can't do that without getting dismissed from recita 
 tion, and that isn't possible." 
 
 "Well, I will do the job quickly, and I'll have it fin 
 ished by the time your class is through reciting." 
 
 So they parted, and, with the precious ring in his pos 
 session, Hodge hurried to the room where the microscope 
 v, as kept, having provided himself with the necessary 
 materials for making the drawing. 
 
 He lost no time in getting to work, and he made rapid 
 progress. As the drawing developed, he grew excited 
 and enthusiastic, for he plainly saw it must be a map of 
 some wild bit of country. 
 
 "I'll bet the man who can read this correctly and knows 
 where this country is located, can go straight to a 
 fortune!" muttered the lad. "But I do not see how it 
 is going to benefit anybody who does not know what sec 
 tion of the country this map represents." 
 
 It was a warm spring day, and Bart had opened a win 
 dow near the table at which he was working. A pleasant 
 breeze was stirring. 
 
 Although he took care to be quite accurate, it did not 
 take the lad long to complete the drawing. 
 
 He was examining it carefully to make sure he had 
 omitted nothing and had made no errors, when a strong 
 wind sucked through the building, swinging open the 
 door of the room. 
 
 He rose hastily to close the door, when another breath 
 of wind set the paper on which he had been drawing flut 
 tering across the table. He sprang to catch it, but it. 
 avoided his fingers and fluttered out of the window. 
 Thrusting his head forth, he saw it sail away and settle 
 slowly at the foot of one of the great trees amid which the 
 academy buildings stood. 
 
 Out of the room darted Bart, and down the stairs he
 
 2O2 The Ring Disappears. 
 
 bounded. He was soon outside, and, recovering the 
 paper, which he readily found, he hastened back. 
 
 "Great Scott!" he muttered. "I left that ring under 
 the microscope !" 
 
 . The thought that he had allowed the ring to escape his 
 sight for a moment filled him with anxiety. 
 
 What if he should not find it where he had left it a few 
 moments before? 
 
 A cold sweat started out on his face, and he literally 
 tore up the stairs and rushed headlong into the experi 
 menting room, the door of which he had left open. 
 
 And then, when he looked for the mysterious ring, he 
 found it had vanished !
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 MORE DANGER. 
 
 "Gone!" 
 
 Bart staggered as if he had been struck a heavy blow, 
 and his face grew ghastly pale, while his eyes stared at 
 the spot where he had last seen the ring. 
 
 It was truly gone. In some surprising manner it had 
 disappeared from the room while he was in pursuit of the 
 paper, astonishing though such a thing seemed. 
 
 For a few moments Hodge was quite overcome by this 
 discovery. He sank weakly into a chair, wringing his 
 hands and breathing hoarsely. 
 
 How had it happened ? 
 
 It did not take Bart long to decide that somp one must 
 have slipped into the room and stolen the ring while he 
 was after the drawing. 
 
 In that case, whoever committed the theft must have 
 been watching for an opportunity, knowing that he had 
 the ring. 
 
 Hodge quickly recovered from his stupefied condition, 
 and dashed out into the corridor to look for the miscreant. 
 
 "It must have been Snell/' was his decision. "I will 
 look for the sneak." 
 
 Straight to Snell's room he rushed, but Snell's room 
 mate, who was studying, declared Wat had not been there 
 in the past hour. 
 
 This put Bart at sea for a moment. Where could he 
 find Snell?
 
 2O4 More Danger. 
 
 Looking at the recitation board, he saw that Snell 
 should appear in the recitation room in a very few 
 minutes. 
 
 He could not be confronted there. What plan of action 
 could be devised ? 
 
 He did not wish to give Snell time enough to conceal 
 the ring. If the fellow could be caught with it still in his 
 possession, it might be possible to make him disgorge. 
 
 It was time for Frank to return from recitation. The 
 thought of facing Merriwell with the confession that the 
 ring was gone made Bart's knees weak; but he decided 
 that that was the proper course to pursue, and so he hur 
 ried to their room. 
 
 Frank had just got in, and, by the look on Hodge's face, 
 he instantly saw that something of an alarming nature 
 had happened. 
 
 "The ring!" he cried. "Where is it?" 
 
 "I think Wat Snell has it," came huskily from Bart's 
 lips. 
 
 With one bound, Merriwell caught his companion by 
 both shoulders, staring straight into his face. 
 
 "Have you, also, turned? No! no!" he quickly went 
 on. "I do not think that of you, Bart! You are still 
 true!" 
 
 "No, I didn't go back on you," said Hodge, thickly; 
 "but I was guilty of criminal carelessness." 
 
 "How did it happen? Tell me quick!" 
 
 Bart did so, speaking swiftly, so that no more moments 
 were wasted. 
 
 "It is probable that Snell has it," said Frank. "He 
 must be apprehended without delay. Come." 
 
 He took the lead, and Bart followed at his heels. 
 
 But they were not to confront Wat Snell at the door of
 
 More Danger. 205 
 
 the recitation room, as Merriwell hoped, for they were 
 not long in learning that the fellow had lately obtained a 
 pass and left the grounds. According to Snell, his uncle 
 was to pass through Fardale village on the noon train, 
 |and Wat's presence was desired at the station. 
 
 Of course both Frank and Bart immediately decided 
 that this excuse had been used to enable him to reach the 
 village and deliver the stolen ring to the man in black. 
 
 For all of their desire to pursue Snell hotly, they were 
 unable to leave without permission, and so valuable time 
 was lost. At length, however, they were on the highway, 
 running side by side toward the village. 
 
 Frank had seemed cool and clear-headed, but, not 
 knowing that Bart had fully completed the drawing of the 
 lines on the black stone, in his heart he was feeling very 
 desperate indeed. 
 
 Hodge had grown thoroughly angry, and Snell was 
 likely to get hurt when Bart placed hands upon him. 
 
 The boys were good runners, and they covered the dis 
 tance betweeen the academy and Fardale village in a very 
 short time. 
 
 Once within the village, they began inquiring for Snell, 
 and it was not long before they discovered people who 
 had seen him. To the post office they went, and then they 
 were told that a boy answering Snell's description had 
 been seen going toward the railway station. 
 
 "It would be a corker if the fellow had really come to 
 see his uncle !" said Bart. 
 
 "I do not take any stock in that now," declared Frank. 
 
 "Nor I ; but I don't understand why he is making so 
 many twists and turns since reaching the village. If he 
 has the ring, why didn't he take it straight to the man in 
 black?"
 
 206 More Danger. 
 
 "Perhaps he knows as little about where to find that in 
 dividual as we do." 
 
 "Possibly." 
 
 They came in sight of the station, about which were 
 several carriages, while a few people were seen on the 
 platform, waiting for the midday train. 
 
 Reaching the station, they came sharply round the first 
 corner, and found themselves face to face with Wat Snell 
 and the man in black. 
 
 At that very instant Snell accepted some money and 
 surrendered something to the stranger. 
 
 Frank's keen eyes saw that the something was the 
 stolen ring. 
 
 With a cry, he leaped forward, flinging Snell aside, and 
 grasping the man. 
 
 "Give me that ring!" 
 
 A fierce exclamation of fury broke from the stranger's 
 lips, and he swiftly thrust the ring into his pocket. 
 
 "Hands off, boy !" he hoarsely commanded. "Hands 
 off, or you will get hurt !" 
 
 "I'll never take my hands off you till you give up that 
 ring, you scoundrel !" 
 
 The man having encountered Frank before, well knew 
 that the boy possessed remarkable strength, which would 
 not make it an easy thing to shake him off. 
 
 "Let go !" he hissed. 
 
 "I will not!" 
 
 "Then take that !" 
 
 Something bright and gleaming, like the blade of a 
 knife, flashed in the man's hand. He struck, and with a 
 cry, Frank fell heavily to the platform !
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 THE SECRET OF THE RING. 
 
 Astonished and horrified though he was, Bart Hodge 
 realized that Frank had been stabbed. At that moment, 
 with the lack of resolution that was characteristic of him 
 on occasions of peril, and not through fear, he stood quite 
 still and did nothing. 
 
 Without a shout or a sound, the man in black leaped 
 toward the end of the station, where a saddled and bridled 
 horse was hitched to a post. 
 
 One slash of the knife set the horse free, and the des 
 perate man leaped to the creature's back, riding rapidly 
 away. 
 
 Frank had swiftly risen to his feet, and several persons, 
 who had witnessed the blow, crowded anxiously around 
 him, asking how badly he was hurt. 
 
 'It's nothing but a scratch in the shoulder, for I saw it 
 coming, and dodged. Don't mind me. Don't let that 
 man get away !" 
 
 "He won't get very fur on that hoss," said the owner 
 of the animal. "She's lame in her off hind foot, an' 
 she'll tarnal soon give out if he pushes her like that." 
 
 "Still he will get away if he is not immediately pursued. 
 Come who'll follow?" 
 
 "Into this carriage, boy!" cried a man. "I have a lit 
 tle horse here that will give him a hot chase. Come on !" 
 
 "I am the constable," said another man, with great dig 
 nity. "I'll foller as soon as I can get a hoss saddled."
 
 2o8 The Secret of the Ring. 
 
 Realizing that the boy was not seriously hurt, half of 
 those who had been lingering about the station made a 
 rush to join in the pursuit of the murderous stranger. 
 All kinds of teams were pressed into use, and the road 
 was soon filled with a string of pursuers. 
 
 Looking back anxiously, the man in black saw them 
 coming, and he grated his teeth fiercely, for he had 
 already discovered that the horse he had appropriated was 
 seriously lamed. 
 
 "Let 'em come!" he cried. "I'll not be taken easily! 
 I have the key to a fortune in my pocket, and I will es 
 cape with it, if it is in me to do so !" 
 
 Ruthlessly and cruelly he pricked the lame mare with 
 the keen point of the knife, which he still held in his 
 hand, and a trail of dust rose behind him. 
 
 Out of the village and into the country the lame horse 
 bore the fugitive. Not far from Fardale was a big stone 
 quarry, and, by chance, the man had selected the road 
 which skirted the jagged hole in the ground. 
 
 His pursuers were gaining on him, and he continued to 
 use the knife mercilessly as the horse bore him along the 
 road past the quarry. 
 
 Of a sudden a large dog bounded into the road in 
 front of the man in black, and the horse which the man 
 bestrode gave a snort and whirled sideways, coming with 
 a crash against the rail which ran along by the roadside. 
 
 At that point the rail was somewhat rotten, and a shriek 
 of horror broke from the man's lips as he saw it break. 
 He made one desperate effort to spring from the saddle 
 and escape going down into the quarry with the horse, 
 but the pursuers were dismayed to see man and beast 
 disappear into the yawning hole. 
 
 "He won't get away to-day, my boy," said the man in 
 the foremost carriage, at whose side was Frank. "We'll
 
 The Secret of the Ring. 209 
 
 find him down at the bottom of the quarry, dead as a 
 flounder." 
 
 Finding a place to hitch the horse at the side of the 
 road, the man did so, and they went forward together, 
 while the other pursuers kept coming up. 
 
 Reaching the point where the man and horse had fallen 
 into the quarry, they looked down. 
 
 Amid the jagged rocks far below were two motionless 
 forms. 
 
 "Come," said the man; "we'll go down there by the 
 regular road." 
 
 They passed round the quarry till they found a road 
 that wound downward till it reached the bottom. By this 
 road they descended, with scores of others at their heels. 
 
 When they came to the man and the horse, great was 
 their astonishment to hear the man moaning and to see 
 him open his eyes and look at them. 
 
 "Why, the critter an't dead yet!" exclaimed the con 
 stable. "I think it's my sollum duty to arrest him on 
 the spot." 
 
 Frank quickly knelt by the side of the mysterious man, 
 who faintly whispered : 
 
 "So I didn't kill you, boy. Well, I have crimes enough 
 to answer for. The ring is here in my vest pocket. Take 
 it. It will never do me any good now." 
 
 Frank quickly extracted the ring from the man's 
 pocket, and slipped it upon his finger. 
 
 "I am dying," murmured the man. 
 
 "Perhaps not. We'll have you taken back to town, and 
 see what a doctor can do for you." 
 
 "No use; I wouldn't live to get there. My time has 
 come. The hidden mine will never reveal its riches to 
 me." 
 
 "He is really dying," whispered some one in Frank's
 
 210 The Secret of the Ring. 
 
 ear. "He will not live ten minutes. The wonder is that 
 he is alive at all." 
 
 "Who are you ? and what is the mystery connected with 
 this ring?" hurriedly asked the boy. 
 
 "Never mind my name," came faintly from the lips of 
 the dying man. "It would do you no good to know it. 
 I have lived a wild life a wicked life. This is the end ! 
 Fate brought me to Fardale fate showed me the ring 
 that bore the chart to the lost mine." 
 
 The man stopped and closed his eyes, while the ghastly 
 
 pallor spread over his face. 
 
 % 
 
 A hand held a bottle of liquor to his lips, and he swal 
 lowed a few drops, which gave him a few more moments 
 of life. Again his eyes unclosed. 
 
 "Once I committed murder for that ring," he whis 
 pered. "I killed the Mexican who possessed it. It was a 
 crazy hermit who cut that map on the stone. He dis 
 covered one of the richest mines in Arizona, and a fantasy 
 of his deranged brain led him to cut the chart upon the 
 stone, for he cared nothing for the gold himself. When 
 he died, he gave the ring to a Mexican who attended him 
 in his last moments, telling him its secret. In Tombstone 
 the Mexican got drunk and boasted of his riches, show 
 ing the ring. That night I killed the greaser, and ob 
 tained the ring. I had a partner, and he stole the ring 
 from me. How he came to part with it, and how it fell 
 into the hands of your father, boy, is something I do not 
 know." 
 
 He was exhausted, and his voice sunk till Frank could 
 not catch the words. Then he lay still, short breaths 
 fluttering his lips. 
 
 Frank feared the man would not rally again, but he 
 did, and the boy panted:
 
 The Secret of the Ring. 2 1 1 
 
 "Tell me where this mine is located. What part of 
 Arizona does the chart represent?" 
 
 With a last great effort, the dying man whispered: 
 
 "Northwest from Tombstone lies the Santa Cata- 
 rina mountains. There there is " 
 
 His eyes grew glassy the last faint breath fluttered 
 over his lips the man of mystery was dead. 
 
 The man in black was buried in the cemetery just out 
 side Fardale village, and the small stone which Frank 
 Merriwell caused to be placed at the head of his grave 
 bears the word "Unknown." 
 
 The man had died just as his lips were about to reveal 
 the location of the country depicted by the chart cut on 
 the black stone of the ring that had caused so much 
 trouble. He had mentioned the Santa Catarina moun 
 tains, but he had not told what part of the large range the 
 chart depicted. 
 
 "If he had lived thirty seconds longer, I should have 
 learned his secret should have known how to reach the 
 lost mine by aid of the chart. Now " 
 
 "You may be able to reach the mine after all," said 
 Bart, encouragingly. "You have the ring, and you know 
 its value. When you leave school, you may go West and 
 search for your mine, for it certainly belongs to you now. 
 You may find somebody in the Santa Catarina region that 
 will recognize thi portion of the country depicted here." 
 
 "Long before that the mine may be found by some 
 one else." 
 
 "It is possible, but hardly probable. If it were so easy 
 to find, that man would not have made such desperate 
 attempts to obtain possession of the ring." 
 
 "Well, I am not going to kick. I have the ring, and
 
 212 The Secret of the Ring. 
 
 his knife did not end my life, as it would if I had not 
 dodged. He slit open my sleeve from the shoulder to the 
 elbow, and brought the blood." 
 
 "Oh, you're a lucky dog," laughed Bart. "You are 
 sure to come out on top every time." 
 
 Wat Snell found it convenient to take a vacation, but 
 he returned to the academy later, although he found him 
 self regarded with scorn by all save a certain few of his 
 own sort. 
 
 Had Frank seen fit, he could have had Wat expelled ; 
 but it seemed that, if the fellow had any sense of shame, 
 the way he was treated by the other cadets was quite 
 punishment enough. 
 
 Sometimes Frank and Bart would get out the draw 
 ing the latter boy had made from the lines on the ring, 
 and they would study over it a long time, but they al 
 ways found it baffling, and they finally gave up in de 
 spair. 
 
 Still Frank clung to both ring and chart, hoping they 
 would some day prove valuable to him.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 "BABY." 
 
 A year had passed since Frank entered Fardale 
 Military Academy a year crowded with events and ad 
 ventures such as made its memory both pleasant and pain 
 ful. 
 
 The time of the June encampment had again arrived. 
 
 Frank was no longer a plebe, and the glistening chev 
 rons on his sleeves told that the first year in the academy 
 had not been wasted. He was now Cadet Corporal Mer- 
 riwell. 
 
 The graduates had departed, and the furlough men 
 were away at their homes. 
 
 A new squad of plebes had been admitted to the school, 
 and the yearlings, mad with joy at being released from 
 plebedom themselves, were trying every scheme their fer 
 tile brains could devise for making miserable the lives of 
 their successors. 
 
 During the first two weeks that the plebes had been in 
 the academy the opportunities for hazing them had been 
 few; but immediately on getting into camp the mischie 
 vous lads who had suffered the year before, not a few 
 of whom had sworn that nothing in the wide world 
 nothing, nothing, nothing! could tempt them to molest 
 a fourth-class man, lost no time in "getting after" the 
 "new stiffs," as the plebes were sometimes called at Far- 
 dale.
 
 214 "Baby." 
 
 The yearlings were eager to find fags among the 
 plebes, and they generally succeeded in inducing the new 
 boys to bring buckets of water, sweep the tent floors, 
 make beds, clean up, and do all sorts of work which the 
 older cadets should have done themselves and were sup 
 posed to do. 
 
 While the penalty for exacting the performance of any 
 menial or degrading task, as well as for hazing, was 
 court-martial and possible dismissal, the yearling gener 
 ally succeeded in getting the work done without giv 
 ing orders or making demands, so the plebes could not 
 say they had been coerced into doing those things against 
 their will. 
 
 Each yearling sought to have a particular fag to at 
 tend to him and his wishes, and no cadet could demand 
 service of another fellow's fag without danger of bring 
 ing about trouble. 
 
 At first, Frank had resolved to astonish his companions 
 by attending to his own duties entirely by himself, and 
 having no fag; but it was shortly after the new boys 
 came to Fardale that he saw something that made him 
 change his mind. 
 
 Among the plebes was a rather timid-looking, red- 
 cheeked lad, who seemed even further out of his element 
 than did his awkward companions. He was shy and re 
 tiring, blushed easily, and, at times, had trouble in find 
 ing his voice. 
 
 Such a fellow was certain to attract attention at any 
 school, and he was soon singled out as a particular ob 
 ject for chaffing by the yearlings. 
 
 He blushed to the roots of his hair on being called 
 "Baby," "Mamma's Boy," "Little Tootsy- Wootsy," and 
 other names of the sort applied to him by the cadets. 
 
 His real name was Fred Davis, and of the nicknames
 
 "Baby." 215 
 
 given him Baby seemed to stick the best, so it was not 
 long before he came to be known by that almost alto 
 gether, the officers and instructors being the only ones 
 who did not use it in addressing him. 
 
 At the outset Fred was unfortunate in being singled 
 out for guying by Hugh Bascomb, who was a bully by 
 nature, and whose ideas of fun were likely to be of a 
 vicious order. 
 
 Bascomb saw he could plague Davis, and he kept at the 
 little fellow, piling it on unmercifully. In fact, he seemed 
 to take a strong dislike to the boy with the pink cheeks, 
 whom he derisively designated as "the dolly boy," and he 
 lost no opportunity to humiliate Davis. 
 
 It happened that, on a certain occasion, Bascomb de 
 sired that Fred should lie for him, but, to his surprise, 
 the timid plebe absolutely and firmly declined to lie. 
 
 "I I can't do it, sir," stammered the little fellow. "I'd 
 do it if I could, but I can't." 
 
 "Why not, pray?" fiercely demanded Bascomb, tower 
 ing above the shrinking lad and scowling blackly. "That's 
 what I want to know why not?" 
 
 "Because I promised mother I would not lie, and she 
 she has confidence in me." 
 
 "Oh, she she has!" mocked Bascomb. "You make 
 me sick you do! I never took any stock in mamma 
 boys. Now you're going to do as I want you to, or I'll 
 make it hot for you." 
 
 "I shall not lie, sir." 
 
 "All right ; wait till you get into camp. Oh, we won't 
 do a thing to you!" 
 
 From that time Bascomb did his best to set his compan 
 ions against Davis, a fact which Frank soon noted. 
 
 Knowing that Bascomb was at heart a bully, Frank
 
 216 "Baby." 
 
 immediately saw that Davis would have a hard life dur 
 ing his first months in the academy. 
 
 Frank's sympathy went out to the little fellow, who 
 had been so tenderly reared that he knew very little of the 
 harsh ways of the world outside his own home. He re 
 solved that the little plebe should be given a fair show. 
 
 Somehow Frank divined that Bascomb intended to 
 secure Davis for his fag, and he resolved to balk the bully 
 in this. So it came about that, on the day that the plebes 
 marched into camp, with their bundles under their arms, 
 Merriwell found an opportunity to take Davis into his 
 tent and instruct him in cleaning shoes and setting things 
 to order. 
 
 Fred attended to these things cheerfully, never dream 
 ing that they were not a part of his regular duties. 
 When he had finished, Merriwell said : 
 
 "That is very satisfactory, Mr. Davis. Immediately 
 after tattoo you may come round and be shown how to 
 make up beds. In the meantime, if any one else should 
 require you to perform service of a similar nature in any 
 tent other than your own, you may inform them that you 
 have already received instructions from me, and that the 
 state of your health will prevent you from doing too much 
 labor of the kind. Do you understand?" 
 
 "I think so, sir." 
 
 "Very good. You may go." 
 
 Frank's duties kept him very busy during the most of 
 the day. He had little time to look after Davis, and he 
 scarcely gave his fag a thought till after supper, when 
 the dusk of evening was settling over the cove, and the 
 "plebe hotels" had been surrounded at various points by 
 mischievous yearlings. Then he took a fancy to stroll 
 around and see how Baby was getting along. 
 
 On his way down the street he passed the tent oc-
 
 "Baby." 217 
 
 cupied by Bascomb. He might have walked on, but the 
 low, fierce voice of the big cadet caught his ear, and he 
 distinctly heard these words: 
 
 "What's that? You refuse to bring water for me? 
 Have done this kind of work already for Merriwell ? So 
 Corporal Merriwell has been compelling a plebe to per 
 form menial services? Well, that might cost him those 
 pretty stripes on his sleeves ! What do I care for him ! 
 I want you to bring that water, and you will bring it." 
 
 "But he told me not to do work of this kind for any 
 body else but myself," came the faltering voice of Fred 
 Davis. 
 
 "Oh, he did? Well, that's interesting! I suppose by 
 that he means to lay claim to you. I wonder what Lieu 
 tenant Gordan would say if he knew what one of his 
 particular pets has been up to! We'll see who is best 
 man in this affair. Bring that water !" 
 
 "I I don't want to, sir." 
 
 "Well, it doesn't make any difference about that ; you'll 
 bring it, whether you want to or not. If you don't, I 
 will " 
 
 "What will you do in that case, Bascomb ?" quietly 
 asked Frank, as he stepped lightly and quickly into the 
 tent, and confronted the big cadet, who was towering 
 over Fred Davis in a threatening attitude. 
 
 Bascomb recoiled, with a muttered exclamation of dis 
 may.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 SPORT WITH A PLEBE. 
 
 'Merriwell- 
 
 Bascomb's face showed he was little pleased by the 
 appearance of Frank. 
 
 "I believe you were about to tell Mr. Davis what you 
 would do in case he declined to bring a bucket of water 
 for you, sir," said the yearling with chevrons. 'Tray, 
 proceed !" 
 
 "This this is an intrusion !" grated Bascomb. 
 
 "Really so?" And Frank's eyebrows were uplifted in 
 mock surprise. "I presumed I would be welcome to the 
 tent of a classmate." 
 
 "Well, you are not welcome here," growled the big 
 fellow. 
 
 "What are you going to do about it?" 
 
 "Nothing. If you haven't the instincts of a gentle 
 man " 
 
 Frank interrupted with a laugh. 
 
 "Really that sounds fine from your lips, Mr. Bas 
 comb !" he exclaimed. "You were trying to intimidate 
 one smaller and weaker than yourself a moment ago, and 
 yet you have the nerve to talk of gentlemanly instincts. 
 You seem to be venturing on unfamiliar grounds, sir." 
 
 Bascomb glared. He longed to punch Merriwell's 
 head, but he felt that Frank was anxious for him to at 
 tempt a move of the sort.
 
 Sport With a Plebe. 219 
 
 "You're a nice chap to talk of intimidation when you 
 have already forced Baby to fag for you !" he cried, hotly. 
 
 "I think Mr. Davis will attest that I neither forced him 
 nor asked him to perform any task for me. I simply 
 gave him a few instructions that were sure to be of ma 
 terial benefit to him. But I heard you demanding serv 
 ice, and seeking to compel it with threats. You know 
 what the penalty is for such conduct." 
 
 "And I suppose you are just the kind of a fellow to 
 blow. All right; go ahead." 
 
 "I scarcely like your tone or your language, Mr. Bas- 
 comb ; but I am not going to pick it U here and now. 
 However, you have accused me of making Mr. Davis a 
 fag. I presume you know there is a rule in this school 
 that no man has a right to demand service of another 
 man's fag? Knowing this, you tried to make Mr. Davis 
 perform your duties about the tent. Weren't you tread 
 ing on rather dangerous ground, sir ?" 
 
 Bascomb looked at the floor, and muttered something. 
 
 "You may not have realized what you were doing," 
 Merriwell went on. "In which case, you are pardonable 
 to a certain degree. But I warn you to let nothing of 
 this kind occur again, or you will have the entire camp 
 down on you." 
 
 "I know what you mean," grated Bascomb. 
 
 "I am very glad you do," came coolly from Frank's 
 lips. "I hoped to make my meaning plain. And I have 
 something more to say. Since the arrival of the new 
 boys, you have seemed to single Mr. Davis out as an 
 especial object for ridicule and torment. I don't know 
 that you have done so because Mr. Davis is small and 
 scarcely a match for you, but it looks that way. Now, 
 Mascomb, if I were in your place, I would let up. If you
 
 22o Sport With a Plebe. 
 
 persist, you are bound to get yourself into serious trouble. 
 I am going to see that Davis has a fair show, and the 
 fellow who crowds him too hard will have some difficulty 
 with me." 
 
 Bascomb forced a mocking laugh. 
 
 "You seem to fancy you can set yourself up against 
 the whole battalion," he sneered. "I don't believe any 
 plebe ever got through this school without taking his 
 medicine, and I scarcely think you will be able to pull 
 this one through that way. 'The fellows are not very 
 fond of pets." 
 
 "That's all right. The only thing I ask of you is that 
 you let Davis alone." 
 
 "Perhaps I will, and perhaps I won't." 
 
 "You will if you know what is good for you." 
 
 Again the big fellow glared through the gathering 
 darkness, but Frank met the gaze squarely, and Bas- 
 comb's eyes dropped. 
 
 "That's all I have to say," came quietly from Frank. 
 "You may go now, Mr. Davis. Don't forget you are to 
 receive instructions in making beds after you answer to 
 your name at tattoo." 
 
 "No, sir, I will not forget," said the little plebe, and, 
 making a salute, he hurried away, glad to escape from 
 Bascomb 's clutches. 
 
 Frank stood looking straight at his big classmate, who 
 made a pretense of disregarding him. 
 
 "You should take warning by what has happened to 
 several of your particular friends, Bascomb," he finally 
 said. "Harkins resigned to escape court-martial and 
 dismissal ; Gage deserted and ran away, and Snell has be 
 come the most unpopular fellow in the academy, and all 
 because "
 
 Sport With a Plebe. 221 
 
 "All because they ran against you !" snarled Bascomb, 
 madly. "You have had the greatest luck of any fellow I 
 ever saw ; but there is a turning point somewhere. You 
 never miss an opportunity to jump on a fellow, and " 
 
 "Now, you are making a statement that you know is 
 absolutely false, sir!" exclaimed Merriwell. "I have 
 never crowded any fellow, and I have never lost 
 an opportunity to cover as far as possible and honorable 
 any wrongdoing a fellow cadet may have been led into. 
 You may not know that I could have caused Snell's 
 expulsion in disgrace if I had wished, but it is true." 
 
 "Oh, you are very generous exceedingly magnani 
 mous ! All the matter is, people don't know it." 
 
 "You are at liberty to think what you like about it. I 
 have warned you, and you will do well to heed my warn 
 ing. That is all I have to say." 
 
 Frank left the tent, and continued on his way. 
 
 Crowds of cadets gathered here and there near certain 
 "plebe hotels" told where the yearlings were enjoying 
 sport at the expense of the new boys. 
 
 As Frank came near to the first collection, the familiar 
 voice of his former tentmate, Hans Dunnerwust, attracted 
 his attention. 
 
 Forcing his way toward the center of the laughing 
 throng, he found Hans catechising a tall, lank country 
 boy named Ephraim Gallup, who was repeatedly forced 
 to explain that he was "from Varmont, by gum," which 
 expression seemed to delight the listening lads more and 
 more with each repetition. 
 
 "Vere vos dot Varmont, sir?" demanded Hans, with a 
 great show of dignity. "Vos it a cidy alretty yet, or vos 
 it a village ?" 
 
 "Oh, yer gol dern ignerent critter Er er ex-
 
 222 Sport With a Plebe. 
 
 cuse me, sir ! I f ergot whut I wuz sayin', darn my skin 
 ef I didn't ! Varmont is a State, an' one of ther smartest 
 gol derned States in ther Union, by gum !" 
 
 "Vos dot so? I subbose you exbect dot Varmont vos 
 peen large enough to be a cidy britty soon, ain'd id?" 
 
 "Wai, gol blame my eyes ! Don't you know ther dif 
 ference betwixt a State an' a city ? Ef ye don't, I think 
 you'd best go studdy yer jografry some more." 
 
 "Don'd ged so oxcited, sir," cautioned the Dutch boy, 
 with a wave of one pudgy hand. "Id don'd peen goot 
 your health for. Vos dot Varmont a broductive Sdate?" 
 
 "Productive! Wai, you bet yer last dollar! We kin 
 raise more grass to ther square acre " 
 
 "Veil, how apout hayseeds? You raise dose ub there 
 py der quandity, I pelief me?" 
 
 "What makes ye think so?" 
 
 "Because your hair vos full of id." 
 
 "What's that? what's that?" cried Ephraim, in aston 
 ishment, quickly removing his cap and clawing through 
 his hair with his fingers. "Hayseed in my hair ? Darned 
 if I believe it !" 
 
 The boys roared, and the face of the country lad grew 
 crimson. 
 
 "You're havin' a gol derned pile of fun with me," he 
 said, sheepishly. "Wai, sail right in an' have it. I kin 
 stand it." 
 
 "Begobs ! it's nivver a bit roight at all, at all," said a 
 boy with a rich Irish brogue, and Barney Mulloy pushed 
 his Dutch friend aside. "Av it's a soldier yure goin' to 
 be, me b'y, it's instructions in military tictacks you nade. 
 Now, sur, in case ye wur on guarrud at noight, an' 
 should foind yure post invaded by the simultaneous ap-
 
 Sport With a Plebe. 223 
 
 pearance av the commandant an' corporal av th' guarrud 
 on th' roight, the gineral-in-chafe an' staff on th' left, an' 
 a rigimint av red-headed girrulls behindt yez, all wearin* 
 bloomers an' arrumed to th' tathe wid corrun-brooms an' 
 feather-dusthers, which would yez advance firrust wid 
 th' countysoign ?" 
 
 This sort of a question, put to a plebe with all sorts of 
 twists and variations, was time-honored at Fardale, 
 whither it had come from West Point, where plebes are 
 puzzled with some variation of it year after year. 
 
 The country boy grinned a bit, and, still with his little 
 fingers touching the seams of his trousers and the palms 
 of his hands turned to the front, lifted his left foot and 
 scratched his right shin with his heel, till a sharp rap on 
 the ankle brought the foot down to the ground again, and 
 caused him to brace up stiffly, drawling : 
 
 "Gol darned if I wouldn't be so scat I'd surrender on 
 ther spot ter ther red-headed gals in bloomers." 
 
 These words do not look very humorous in print, but 
 they sounded comical as they came from the mouth of that 
 raw countryman, and the crowd roared with laughter 
 again. 
 
 "Be me soul!" exclaimed Barney. "It's yersilf thot 
 knows a hape more thin Oi thought yez did. Ye show 
 yer good judgmint in surrunderin' to th' girruls, fer wan 
 av thim alone wud capture yez av she set out to, an' ould 
 Nick take th' countysoign she wudn't nade it !" 
 
 Next the country lad was invited to sing, "to develop 
 his vocal organs." 
 
 "Oh, say!" he awkwardly grinned. "I can't sing I 
 really can't, by gum !" 
 
 "Oh, you vos too modest alretty yet," declared Hans. 
 "You peen goin' to ged ofer dot britty soon pime-by."
 
 224 Sport With a Plebe. 
 
 "But I hain't got no voice, an' I can't sing a tune no 
 more than a mule kin." 
 
 "Me b'y," said Barney, "Oi admire yer modesty, but 
 ye'll foind it necessary to sing fer th' intertainmint av 
 Ould Gunn an' under professors av ye stay in th' acad 
 emy, so ye moight as well begin now." 
 
 "You'll laff." 
 
 "Nivver moind that." 
 
 "It will sp'ile me so I can't sing. If I couldn't see ye 
 laff I might do " 
 
 "Dot vos all righdt," declared Hans. "You bet my 
 life we been aple to feex dot britty soon right avay queek. 
 Shust gif me your bockethanderkerchief." 
 
 "Whut you want of it?" 
 
 "Nefer you mindt dot. Shust gif me to id." 
 
 The country boy produced the handkerchief, and 
 Hans quickly folded it in a thick strip about three inches 
 wide. 
 
 "Now I feex id britty shlick so you don'd see us laugh 
 oudt loudt," he said, as he quickly tied the handkerchief 
 over the boy's eyes, while several of the others made 
 Ephraim submit and stand with his little fingers still glued 
 to the seams of his trousers. 
 
 In a few seconds the boy from Vermont was securely 
 blindfolded. 
 
 "Now you sing dot song," commanded Hans. 
 
 "Whut shell I sing?" 
 
 ' 'Yankee Doodle,' begobs !" cried Barney. "It's pa 
 triotic songs Ould Gunn admoires." 
 
 "I can't git the tune," said Ephraim, "an' I don't know 
 the words of only jest one varse." 
 
 "Well, sing pwhat yez know, an' kape repeating it over 
 an' over till yez are told to stop." 
 
 "Dot vos der stuff. Let her go, Gallup "
 
 Sport With a Plebe. 225 
 
 So the country lad opened his mouth and began to 
 sing in a droning, drawling way: 
 
 "Yankee Dewdle came ter taown 
 
 'Long with Cap'n Goodwin, 
 An' there he saw the boys an' gals 
 
 As thick ez hasty poodin'." 
 
 "Louder!" commanded several voices. 
 
 So Ephraim repeated the stanza, singing still louder. 
 
 "Dot vos petter," complimented Hans; "bud id don'd 
 peen loudt enough to blease Lieudenant Cordan." 
 
 "Louder! louder!" ordered the yearlings. "Open your 
 mouth and let the sound out. You can never expect to 
 sing if you pen the words up in such a cavern as that." 
 
 This time Ephraim shouted the words at the tops of 
 his lungs, and he was complimented on all sides, while 
 Barney Mulloy hastily said : 
 
 "Kape roight at it, an' kape on singing till ye're towld 
 t' stop by me. Ye know my voice, an' don't ye moind 
 another thot spakes to yez. Av he kapes bothering av 
 ye, tell him to let ye alone, ur you'll kick th' back-strap av 
 his trousers clane out through th' top av his head. Oi'll 
 shtand by yez. Now, let her go again, an' kape at it." 
 
 The country boy began once more, and this time he 
 bellowed the words so they could be heard for a mile. 
 
 The grinning yearlings lost no time in slipping quietly 
 away from that locality, and taking positions at a distance, 
 where they could watch what followed. 
 
 All alone in the street in front of his tent stood the 
 blindfolded plebe, bellowing the words at the full capacity 
 of his voice, and repeating them over and over. 
 
 In a very few seconds Lieutenant Gordan, the regular 
 army officer at the academy, came marching briskly 
 down the street in the dusk, his face so red that it almost
 
 226 Sport With a Plebe. 
 
 seemed to glow like a light. Stopping short in front of 
 the lone plebe, he called : 
 
 "Sir!" 
 
 Ephraim kept on with 
 
 "An' there he saw the boys an' gals 
 Ez thick ez hasty poodin'." 
 
 "Sir !" came sharply from the lieutenant. 
 Ephraim began the stanza over again, roaring it louder 
 than before, if possible : 
 
 "Yankee Dewdle came to taown 
 'Long with Cap'n Goodwin " 
 
 "Sir!" cried Lieutenant Gordan. 
 
 "Git aout!" snorted the boy from Vermont. "I'm 
 here ter sing, an' I'm goin' ter fill ther bill, by gum !" 
 
 Then he began at the first of the stanza, and howled 
 straight through it, for all that the lieutenant spoke to 
 him twice. 
 
 In the dusky shadows not far away the cadets were 
 convulsed with laughter they could not suppress. 
 
 "Sir!" thundered Lieutenant Gordan, "you are making 
 a fool of yourself !" 
 
 "Ef you don't shut up an' stop interruptin' me, I'll be 
 gol darned ef I don't kick you clean inter the middle uv 
 next week ! You ain't ther feller that sot me ter singin', 
 fer your voice is of a diffrunt color than his. Naow you 
 keep mum, ur I'll take this handkerchief off my eyes^ 
 spit on my hands, an' sail right into you, by thunder !" 
 
 Then Ephraim began once more : 
 
 "Yankee Dewdle came to taown 
 'Long with " 
 
 The exasperated lieutenant snatched the handkerchief 
 from Ephraim's eyes, almost bursting with rage.
 
 Sport With a Plebe. 227 
 
 "If you don't quit this howling, I'll lodge you in the 
 guardhouse !" he declared. 
 
 The boy came near smashing the lieutenant with his 
 fist, and then, seeing who it was, he gave a gasp and 
 nearly fainted on the spot. 
 
 "Where's them fellers ?" he murmured, looking around 
 for his tormentors. "By gum ! they've slipped ! I've bin 
 fooled !" 
 
 After giving him some sharp advice, the lieutenant sent 
 him into his tent, and departed.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 AN OPEN INSULT. 
 
 The spirit of mischief seemed to break loose in the 
 camp that night. A dozen times were some of the plebes 
 hauled out of bed and slid around the streets enveloped 
 in their own blankets, ridden on a tentpole, or an old 
 wheelbarrow, tossed in tent flies, or nearly smothered 
 with smoke that filled their tents from the burning of 
 some vile-smelling stuff. 
 
 Time after time was the guard turned out to capture 
 the perpetrators of these tricks, but still alarm followed 
 alarm, and not one of the jokers was captured. 
 
 Every inspection seemed to show the older cadets all 
 in their beds and sleeping with amazing soundness, con 
 sidering the racket that was going on. 
 
 Lieutenant Gordan was at his wits' end, for never had 
 there been such an outbreak in camp since his coming to 
 Fardale, and he began to believe there was something 
 radically wrong about the system as enforced at the 
 academy. 
 
 The professors were driven from their tents and com 
 pelled to take refuge in the academy in order to get any 
 sleep, and they all felt like resigning their positions and 
 seeking occupations in other walks of life. 
 
 At West Point such things were once possible, but the 
 introduction of long rows of gas lamps put an end to it 
 by illuminating the camp so that the pranks could not 
 be performed without the greatest danger of detection.
 
 An Open Insult.' 229 
 
 At Fardale the gas lamps were missing, and a dark 
 night during the first weeks of each yearly encampment 
 was certain to be a wild night. 
 
 It happened that Fred Davis had been assigned to 
 guard duty on this particular night, and, for a long time, 
 none of the disturbances took place on his post. 
 
 At length, however, when things had been quiet for 
 an ominous length of time, Fred saw three figures com 
 ing swiftly toward him through the darkness. 
 
 "Halt!" he commanded, promptly. "Who comes 
 there?" 
 
 "The corporal of the guard," was the reply, given in a 
 muffled tone of voice. 
 
 "Advance, corporal of the guard, and give the counter- 
 sign." 
 
 Then followed a suspicious hesitation. Fred fancied 
 he heard a faint sound in his rear, but, before he could 
 make a move, a blanket was thrown over his head, and 
 he was hurled to the ground. 
 
 He struggled with surprising strength, but he was 
 helpless in the hands of his assailants. His musket had 
 been torn from his hands, and he seemed to feel some- 
 . thing slitting and tearing his clothing. Once he was 
 struck or kicked with great violence. 
 
 After a few moments of this treatment, Davis managed 
 to get his head clear of the enfolding blanket and shout 
 for help. His cries produced another alarm in camp, and 
 his assailants quickly took to flight, leaving him in a 
 badly battered condition. 
 
 Fred got upon his feet, and was standing dazed and be 
 wildered when the corporal of the guard actually ap 
 peared, with the guard at his back. 
 
 Lieutenant Gordan, who had been on the alert for an-
 
 230 An Open Insult. 
 
 other outbreak, showed up at the same time; but Davis 
 was so bewildered that it was several moments before he 
 could answer their questions. 
 
 It was finally found that he had been robbed of his gun, 
 his belt slashed, and his uniform cut in half a dozen dif 
 ferent places, so it was quite ruined. 
 
 By this time Lieutenant Gordan was thoroughly angry, 1 
 and he declared he would give his time and attention dur 
 ing the next week to the discovery and punishment of the 
 perpetrators of the outrage. 
 
 "There is going to be an end to this hazing of sentries," 
 he asserted. "Somebody shall be made an example of, 
 and we'll see if that will do any good." 
 
 Fred was told to go to his tent and get to bed, and he 
 was only too glad to do so. 
 
 Somehow, in the morning, the report got around that 
 Davis had been stabbed or cut in the attack upon him. 
 Frank lost no time in investigating, finding his fag at 
 tending to duties about his own tent. 
 
 In answer to Merriwell's questions, Fred said he had 
 not been cut in any way, but his clothing had been muti 
 lated, and he had been robbed of his gun, cartridge-box 
 and bayonet-scabbard. He showed Frank his clothing, 
 and the latter was scarcely less indignant than Lieutenant 
 Gordan had been. 
 
 "This is not fun," Merriwell declared. "It is malicious 
 and wanton brutality, and I fancy I can lay my hands on 
 the fellow who was at the bottom of it." 
 
 The search for Fred's rifle had proved unsuccessful, 
 and so he was given another from the armory, while a 
 new uniform was ordered for him. 
 
 Lieutenant Gordan came around, and questioned the 
 unlucky plebe again concerning the assault upon him ; but
 
 An Open Insult. 231 
 
 it had been too dark for him to recognize any of his as 
 sailants, and the voice of the fellow who had announced 
 himself as corporal of the guard had been muffled and 
 disguised. 
 
 It now began to appear that the unusual activity during 
 the night had been for the purpose of drawing the atten 
 tion to the side of the camp opposite Davis' post, so that 
 the attack upon him might be carried out successfully. 
 
 The boys found enough to think of and talk about dur 
 ing such opportunities as were given them. 
 
 At dinner the conversation was almost entirely about 
 the tumultuous events of the night, and, by keeping eyes 
 and ears open, Frank sought to discover who knew the 
 most concerning those things which had taken place. 
 
 Bascomb seemed in high spirits. Over and over, in a 
 sarcastic way, he repeated Lieutenant Gordan's assertion 
 that such actions were outrageous, and must be stopped, 
 appearing very grave as he did so, but winking slyly to 
 some particular friend. 
 
 And Frank noted every fellow to whom Bascomb 
 winked. 
 
 The big fellow could not keep his bullying propensities 
 suppressed, and the sight of Fred Davis seemed to arouse 
 him. Singling out the little plebe, he took a station at 
 the opposite side of the table, observing : 
 
 "It is really too bad anybody should haze a pretty boy 
 like him. Look at the tender blue in his eyes, and the 
 delicate pink in his cheeks. Isn't he just too sweet to 
 live ! Oh, the fellows won't do a thing to him here not 
 a thing!" 
 
 Fred paid no attention to Bascomb, although the hot 
 blood rushed to his face. 
 
 The bully continued :
 
 232 An Open Insult. 
 
 "Before you, gentlemen, masticating his rations, sits a 
 section edition of the late lamented George Washington. 
 Those who are conversant with history are aware that 
 little George found it impossible to tell a lie. Evidently 
 Baby has heard of George, and seeks to emulate the 
 Father of his Country, for he also finds it extremely dif 
 ficult to tell a lie. Gentlemen, you may, at this very mo 
 ment, be regarding a future president of the United 
 States. The thought should overcome you with awe." 
 
 Bascomb's friends snickered, and the big yearling pro 
 ceeded to address himself directly to Davis. 
 
 "Look here, Baby," he said, "I want you to tell us just 
 what happened to you last night. We want to know the 
 exact facts of the case." 
 
 With a trace of spirit, Davis looked up, and asked : 
 
 "Don't you, sir?" 
 
 "Don't I what ?" demanded Bascomb, harshly. 
 
 "Don't you know ?" 
 
 "What do you mean by that? How should I know?" 
 
 "I thought you might remember," said Fred, in a low 
 tone. 
 
 That was enough to give the bully his opportunity to 
 rave and bluster. 
 
 "That is an insult!" he fiercely declared, glaring at 
 the little plebe as if he longed to devour him. "Such an 
 insinuation is an insult ! Do you mean to say that I had 
 anything to do with the assault upon you ?" 
 
 "I don't mean to say anything more about it." 
 
 "Oh, you don't? That is actually an open defiance. 
 But I am going to put a question to you, and see if you 
 will refuse to answer me. What do you know about it ?" 
 
 "I know enough to mind my own business."
 
 An Open Insult. 233 
 
 Frank laughed softly, and it was Bascomb's turn to 
 flush angrily. 
 
 "You are very cool about it," grated the bully, reach 
 ing out and picking up a glass of water. "Perhaps this 
 will make you still cooler." 
 
 He flung the water full and fair into Fred Davis' face.
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 FOR THE UNDER DOG. 
 
 In n instant every lad save Davis was on his feet, for 
 all knew what naturally followed an act of this sort. 
 
 But the natural order of events did not take place. 
 Davis slowly and carefully wiped the water from his face 
 with the napkin. His hand trembled a little, and his 
 cheeks were pale, the color having fled from them in a 
 moment. 
 
 Frank had taken a quick step forward, ready to see fair 
 play. 
 
 Although it was generally known that Davis was a 
 peaceful sort of a fellow, who would not get into trouble 
 if he could avoid it, still all expected he would show re 
 sentment at this open insult. 
 
 Bascomb stood with an insolent sneer on his face, wait 
 ing. As Davis made no move, he broke into a short 
 laugh. 
 
 "There's courage for you, gentlemen !" he said, scorn 
 fully. "Why, the fellow hasn't as much spirit as a dead 
 mouse !" 
 
 Frank was about to speak, when Davis slowly rose to 
 his feet. 
 
 "I suppose I am expected to fight in a case like this," 
 he said, his voice shaking. 
 
 Some of the cadets who were always eager to see a 
 fight of any sort, no matter how unevenly the antagonists 
 might be matched, quickly said :
 
 For the Under Dog. 235 
 
 "That's right. You must fight." 
 
 "I have never done such a thing in my life," declared 
 Davis ; "but I do feel like it now. You have laughed at 
 me because I promised my mother that I would not lie, 
 and I will give you a chance to laugh again. I promised 
 her I would not fight, and I shall keep my word." 
 
 "Baby boy !" 
 
 "Mamma's petsie !" 
 
 "Softie!" 
 
 These terms of derision came from several sources, 
 and Frank was swift to note every one. 
 
 Bascomb laughed again. 
 
 "You are altogether too good to live, Baby !" he said. 
 "You make me sick!" 
 
 Frank had kept quiet as long as was possible. He 
 saw that Davis did not mean to fight, and he made a re 
 solve to save the plebe if possible by taking up his 
 quarrel. 
 
 With two swift steps Merriwell confronted Bascomb. 
 
 "Sir," he said, speaking rapidly, and in a low tone, "I 
 have been a witness to this entire affair." 
 
 "Well?" sneered the big yearling. 
 
 "I want to say that I think Davis perfectly right in re 
 fusing to fight you. You are larger and older than he is, 
 you have nearly, if not quite, twice as much strength as 
 he has, and your reputation is that of a slugger. He 
 would not stand a show with you, and you know it, for 
 which reason you have seemed to select him as an object 
 of your bullying attentions." 
 
 Frank looked Bascomb straight in the eye, and the big 
 fellow's face grew black with anger. 
 
 "What do you want?" he muttered. 
 
 "I want to tell you what I think of you, and I am going 
 to do so. Davis has been reared like a gentleman, and
 
 236 For the Under Dog. 
 
 it is but natural that he should recoil from contact with 
 such as you." 
 
 "Do you mean to say I am no gentleman ?" 
 
 "That is exactly what I mean to say, sir. No gentle 
 man ever plays the bully, as you have done." 
 
 Bascomb made a move, as if he would do something 
 desperate, and, on the instant, two of his particular 
 friends caught hold of him, saying hastily : 
 
 "Not now, old man not here ! It would spoil every 
 thing." 
 
 Now Bascomb was not longing for a fight with Merri- 
 well, and he would gladly have done something to cause 
 the officers to interfere; but, to his regret, he saw that 
 he had been too slow about it. So he sullenly muttered : 
 
 "All right, fellows ; I won't smash him here." 
 
 "But you'll meet him later you'll have to," eagerly 
 said Rupert Reynolds, a fellow who made a pretension of 
 being "sporty," and who was a great admirer of game- 
 cocka and prize-fighters, for which reason he had grown 
 very friendly with the slugger of the academy. "This 
 affai^ must be settled in the regular manner." 
 
 "I didn't suppose I'd have to fight the whole academy," 
 came sulkily from the bully. "If every sneak in schoot- 
 had somebody to step in and fight his battles, things 
 would soon undergo a change." 
 
 As he said this, he cast a contemptuous glance at Davis, 
 who was looking on, in a helpless way. 
 
 "You may fight or not, as you like," said Frank, 
 serenely. "But you know what I think of a bully who is 
 too cowardly to tackle a fellow he fears may be his 
 match." 
 
 And then, unmindful that Bascomb made another move 
 and was held back by his friends, Frank turned his back 
 and walked round the table to Davis.
 
 For the Under Dog. 237 
 
 "Come," he said, "we will go." 
 
 There was a murmur of applause when he turned 
 away, with Davis at his side. 
 
 Still Frank knew very well that he had taken an un 
 popular stand by espousing the cause of a plebe who did 
 not seem to have nerve enough to stand up for his own 
 rights, and he was breaking all precedent and traditions 
 by a show of friendliness for his own fag. 
 
 However, Frank was a lad who firmly believed in 
 standing by the right, no matter whether the cause were 
 popular or not, and his sympathy was invariably with 
 "the under dog in the fight." He could not bear to see 
 the weak oppressed by the strong. 
 
 His generous heart had gone out to the lad who had 
 been so tenderly and delicately reared, and who declined 
 to lie or fight because he had promised his mother he 
 would not do such things. Somehow Davis did not seem 
 at all like a "sissy-boy" to Merriwell, who believed the 
 plebe had a great deal of moral courage, if he were not 
 physically brave. And Frank had come to believe that 
 moral courage is a higher qualification than physical 
 courage. 
 
 In this world there are two classes of heroes, and one 
 class is likely to be grievously misunderstood. First 
 comes the physical hero, the fellow who defiantly faces 
 dangers that are sufficient to turn to ice the blood of an 
 other, and yet may succumb to some simple temptation 
 that he knows will lead him into wrongdoing. 
 
 Then comes the moral hero, who resists the strongest 
 temptations to do wrong, who fights and conquers in 
 many a silent battle with his passions and desires, who 
 bravely faces ridicule and scorn because he is confident 
 that he is doing right, yet who quails, cowers, trembles, 
 and flees in the face of physical danger.
 
 238 For the Under Dog 
 
 Who will say which is the greater hero? 
 
 As soon as they were in the open air, Davis turned to 
 Merriwell, his voice shaking, as he said : 
 
 "You must not fight with that fellow on my account." 
 
 "Why not?" asked Frank. 
 
 "Because you must not. It would not be right. He is 
 big and strong " 
 
 "But I am not afraid of him." 
 
 "That may be true, and still it is not right for you to 
 fight in my place. That will not help me any. I can see 
 that I will not be thought any better of if you fight in my 
 place. You must not fight him !" 
 
 Fred was very agitated and excited. 
 
 "The matter rests entirely with Bascomb now," said 
 Frank, calmly. "I have expressed my opinion of him in 
 public, and I shall be forced to back up my words if he 
 challenges me."
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 BIRDS OF A FEATHER. 
 
 v 
 
 Reynolds and Bascomb came from dinner arm in arm. 
 
 "Your time has come to knock out this fellow Merri- 
 well, Hugh," declared the big fellow's sporty companion. 
 "You'll have to do it." 
 
 "It looks that way," admitted Bascomb, but there was 
 something ludicrously dubious in both his face and 
 voice. 
 
 "Looks that way !" exclaimed Rupert, in a fiery manner. 
 "Of course it looks that way. There's nothing else to be 
 done, and I should think you'd be well satisfied with the 
 opportunity." 
 
 "But I am not sure I can do it," confessed the bully, 
 hesitatingly. 
 
 "Do it ! Why, you ought to do it with one hand tied 
 behind your back." 
 
 But Bascomb was not so easily reassured. 
 
 "I have boxed with him," said the big fellow, "and I\ 
 know he is not easy fruit for anybody." 
 
 "You boxed in the gym ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "And there it was necessary to conform to certain 
 rules." 
 
 "Of course." 
 
 "That wasn't much like a genuine fight." 
 
 "I know it; but I found it impossible to hit him a 
 soaker with my left. He is up to all the tricks."
 
 240 Birds of a Feather. 
 
 "That's all right. Fight him in the evening, where you 
 are not liable to be interrupted till you have finished him. 
 The darkness will be an advantage to you, for he cannot 
 see to guard or avoid all your heavy blows, and you will 
 soon do him up. If you work it right, you can get him 
 into a straight fight from start to finish, so it will not be a 
 matter of rounds, which would accrue to his advantage. 
 Once you get at him, you can follow him up till he is 
 done for." 
 
 Reynolds' words gave Bascomb new courage. 
 
 "I don't know but you are right," he said. "The dark 
 ness would be to my advantage, and I ought to be able 
 to get in a knockout blow sooner or later. By Jupiter ! 
 I believe I can polish him off !" 
 
 "Of course you can!" exclaimed his delighted com 
 panion. "Merriwell has put on a big front, and suc 
 ceeded in making everybody believe he is a terror, but the 
 time has come to cook his goose. Give him a good lick 
 ing, and he will not be so high and mighty. His popu 
 larity will mighty soon begin to wane." 
 
 "You do not seem to love him." 
 
 "Not much! The cad has called me down on parade 
 several times." 
 
 "Me, too." 
 
 "I'd like to get a grip on him that would disgrace him 
 and cause his dismissal." 
 
 "You are not the first fellow who has thought that 
 way, but, somehow, the cad has the luck to get out of 
 every trap set for him, and he turns the tables on any 
 body who tries to trap him." 
 
 "He can't be that lucky always." 
 
 "I should hope not." 
 
 "Shall I act for you?" 
 
 Bascomb hesitated. Something told him that Frank
 
 Birds of a Feather. 241 
 
 could fight quite as well with his bare fists as he could 
 box with gloves. But how could he retreat? If he did 
 not meet Merriwell he would be regarded with scorn by 
 every one, and, like Wat Snell, who had refused to meet 
 Bart Hodge, be ostracised in the school. 
 
 "Davis ought to fight me first," he muttered. 
 
 "Oh, hang that plebe!" cried Reynolds, contemp-* 
 tuously. "He doesn't count with Merriwell. You can 
 attend to him when you have disposed of Merriwell. If 
 you go into this business determined to finish the fellow, 
 you'll be sure to do it. Knock him out some way, fair or 
 foul." 
 
 "I suppose a fellow might get at him foul in the dark, 
 and not be detected." 
 
 "Sure. Only he wants to be slick about it. Say, I 
 can tell you a trick." 
 
 " 'Sh ! Don't speak too loud ; Dunnerwust and Mulloy 
 are a little distance behind, and they're both particular 
 friends to Merriwell." 
 
 So Reynolds lowered his voice, and talked rapidly to 
 Bascomb in a low tone. The bully listened eagerly, 
 finally slapping his thigh and crying: 
 
 "That's the scheme ! That will do it !" 
 
 "Shall I see him, and make arrangements for to 
 night?" 
 
 "Yes; but wait till the last minute take him after 
 supper." 
 
 "All right. It's settled then?" 
 
 "All settled ; and Merriwell will have a dandy pair of 
 eyes on him to-morrow !" 
 
 Dunnerwust and Mulloy had been watching Bascomb 
 and Reynolds. 
 
 "Vot you pelief dose shneaks vos down to, ain'd id?" 
 asked the Dutch boy.
 
 242 Birds of a Feather. 
 
 "Well, Handy, me b'y," replied Barney, "it's me proi~ 
 vate opinion, which Oi don't moind publicly ixprissing, 
 thot they're plannin' mischief." 
 
 "Yaw, I pets me your boots you vos righd. Dey don'd 
 haf their headts togeder near vor nottings, py shimminy !" 
 
 "Oi'd loike to take th' spalpanes by th' ears an' rap 
 , their hids togither wance," declared the Irish lad. "Oi'd 
 make thim see stars." 
 
 At this moment Bascomb clapped his thigh and cried : 
 
 "That's the scheme ! That will do it !" 
 
 "Uf dot don'd mean somedings, Parney, you vos a 
 liar !" exclaimed Hans. 
 
 "Av course it do." 
 
 "I pelief me dot means drouble vor Frankie." 
 
 "Oi wouldn't wonder, Handy." 
 
 "You und me hat pesser dell him to keep his vedder eye 
 vide open tight, ain'd id?" 
 
 "Thot's pwhat we will, me b'y. An' Oi propose to 
 watch thim spalpanes a bit mesilf. Oi moight catch 'em 
 at something crooked, Oi belave." 
 
 So it came about that Frank was warned that Bascomb 
 and Reynolds had apparently been plotting. 
 
 Frank acted as first sergeant, and that very afternoon 
 both Bascomb and Reynolds appeared in ranks with their 
 belts disarranged. This was an open defiance, and, of 
 course, was something Merriwell could not overlook. 
 
 "Fall out, Bascomb, and arrange your belt," he com 
 manded, sharply. "You, too, Reynolds. You know 
 very well that you have no right in ranks in that shape. 
 Fallout!" 
 
 Bascomb and Reynolds obeyed in a sullen way, the big 
 fellow beginning to mutter. 
 
 Merriwell had started back to his post, but he whirled 
 sharply, saying :
 
 Birds of a Feather. 243 
 
 "Silence, sir ! This is the third time I have been com 
 pelled to warn you against muttering in ranks. You will 
 be severely dealt with in case you repeat the offense. " 
 
 Once more he turned, but he had not taken five steps 
 before he heard some one say: 
 
 "Who's playing the bully now !" 
 
 Frank turned again, but Bascomb did not appear to 
 have spoken, and Reynolds looked innocent. Having 
 fixed their belts, they were again in ranks, standing at 
 ease. 
 
 Not a word did Frank say, but his face expressed a 
 great deal. No further murmurs were heard, and the 
 drill was soon in progress ; but Frank knew his enemies 
 had tried to place him in a false light before the corps.
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 THE CH ALLEN GE. 
 
 That night, immediately after supper, Rupert Rey 
 nolds appeared at the door of Frank's tent. 
 
 "Mr. Merriwell," said Reynolds, stiffly, "I am here in 
 the interest of my friend, Mr. Bascomb." 
 
 "I presumed as much," came quietly from Frank's lips. 
 
 "You have openly insulted Mr. Bascomb, and he de 
 mands an immediate apology." 
 
 Frank whistled. 
 
 "Is that all?" he exclaimed, with a queer twist of his 
 face and a twinkle in his eyes. 
 
 "You will find this a very serious matter, sir," said 
 Reynolds, with an assumption of great dignity. 
 
 "Mr. Bascomb may also find it serious." 
 
 "Will you apologize?" 
 
 "You may tell Mr. Bascomb that I will apologize to 
 him when he is man enough to apologize to Fred Davis, 
 and publicly acknowledge that he treated the little plebe 
 in an unmanly and bullying manner." 
 
 Reynolds made a scornful gesture. 
 
 "'Mr. Bascomb will not do anything of the kind !" 
 
 "Very well ; I shall not apologize to him." 
 
 "Then you must fight him." 
 
 "I will do so with the greatest of pleasure." 
 
 "Oh, you won't find much fun in it," sneered Reynolds. 
 "It isn't going to be that kind of a fight. Bascomb is 
 thirsting for your life. It was with the greatest diffi-
 
 The Challenge. 245 
 
 culty I persuaded him not to challenge you to fight a 
 duel with deadly weapons. He said he would take satis 
 faction in meeting you in an affair of honor where he 
 could run a blade through your body or perforate you 
 with a bullet." 
 
 Frank whistled again. 
 
 "Why, he has become very courageous since he took to 
 bullying boys ! He is really bloodthirsty." 
 
 "He is determined to square accounts with you, sir. 
 He says you have been boning military at his expense 
 for some time, just to show your authority." 
 
 "Which he knows is absolutely false," Frank flashed 
 back. "I have reprimanded him when compelled to do so 
 by his utter disregard of what is right." 
 
 "That may be your opinion ; Mr. Bascomb thinks dif 
 ferently. He demands that this fight take place without 
 delay." 
 
 "The sooner the better." 
 
 "What do you say to making the time immediately 
 after dark?" 
 
 "I am agreeable." 
 
 "As Lieutenant Gordan has been watching the old 
 boathouse of late, it will be necessary to have the fight 
 take place elsewhere." 
 
 "All right." 
 
 "It may be stopped if it is anywhere in this vicinity." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Black Bluff is but a mile away." 
 
 "That's all." 
 
 "Why not go there?" 
 
 "The place is satisfactory to me." 
 
 "Then it is settled. Be on hand with your second as 
 soon as possible after dark." 
 
 "I will."
 
 246 The Challenge. 
 
 Reynolds walked away with his head held very high 
 and his neck very stiff. 
 
 Of course, the boys had been expecting Frank would 
 receive a challenge, and no small number had been 
 watching the two lads. Immediately on Rupert's depar 
 ture, Frank's friends came swarming around him, asking 
 scores of questions. 
 
 "Pwhat did th' b'y want wid yez, Frankie ?" asked Bar 
 ney Mulloy, eagerly. 
 
 "Oh, not much," smiled Frank, who did not believe in 
 letting the entire gathering know exactly what had hap 
 pened and what was going to take place. "He informed 
 me that Bascomb demands an apology. Of course, I did 
 not apologize, which may lead Bascomb to challenge me." 
 
 "An' he didn't challenge yez alridy? Wurra! wurra! 
 Oi thought there moight be a foight on hand, so Oi did." 
 
 "Dot's vot's der madder mit me," sighed Hans Dun- 
 nerwust, in disappointment. "It vos peen so long alretty 
 yet since I haf seen a scrap dot I don'd know vot it vos." 
 
 "G'wan wid yez, Dutch !" cried Barney, who was in ill- 
 humor on account of the failure as he supposed of 
 Bascomb to challenge Merriwell. "Thot Yankee from 
 Vermont called yez a balloony sausage t'-day, an' ye 
 nivver did a thing. Av ye wur dying fer a foight, ye'd 
 challenge him. Ye're th' biggest coward on th' face av 
 th' earth. Ye give me distriss !" 
 
 "Vos dot so !" retorted Hans. "Don'd you pelieve me ! 
 Vos id my blace to fight mit a blebe?" 
 
 "Of course it is yer place, ye ignoramus." 
 
 "Veil, I didn't know dot. Maype I fight him some 
 dime pime-py right avay soon alretty yet." 
 
 "Oh, no ye won't." 
 
 "Von'tl?"
 
 The Challenge. 247 
 
 "No, ye won't dare, ye Dutch coward. Av ye had a 
 bit av spunk in yer body, ye'd challenge him to wance." 
 
 "Veil, you pet me my boots I don'd vos a coward," de 
 clared Hans, emphatically. "I'll vight dot feller!" 
 
 "Thot's th' shtuff, me b'y !" cried the delighted Barney. 
 '"Let me take th' challenge." 
 
 "Nod py a plamed sight! I don'd vant a pog-drotter 
 to done some uf dot peesness for me, ain'd id? Uf I 
 shoose mein second, I dakes Vrankie Merrivell alretty!" 
 
 For all that he had serious work on hand, Frank was 
 ready for a frolic, and he instantly said : 
 
 "I will carry your challenge, Hans. You may depend 
 on me." 
 
 "All righd, Vrankie, my poy ; led her go." 
 
 "You wish me to hunt up Ephraim Gallup, and demand 
 an apology or a fight ?" 
 
 "Yaw." 
 
 "And you really mean it?" 
 
 "Yaw." 
 
 "Will you fight if he agrees to meet you?" 
 
 "Yaw." 
 
 "All right. There can't be any backing out now, un 
 derstand that. You are in for a fight, if Gallup doesn't 
 apologize." 
 
 "Yaw; but you mighd influence him to abologize uf 
 you couldt, ain'd id ?" 
 
 "It would not be proper to bring any undue influence 
 to bear on him. I shall carry your challenge to him im 
 mediately." 
 
 As Frank started to find Ephraim Gallup, Barney Mul- 
 loy slipped from the crowd and joined him. The Irish 
 lad's eyes were full of mischief. 
 
 "I say, Frankie, me b'y," he said, quickly, "can't we put
 
 248 The Challenge. 
 
 up a job on thot Dutchman, an' hiv som' fun av this, Oi 
 dunno?" 
 
 "Leave that to me," smiled Frank. "I fancy I will find 
 a way to get plenty of sport out of this business. You 
 know those two old horse-pistols that are hung up for 
 relics in the armory?" 
 
 "Yis." 
 
 "Go for them yourself, or send somebody who can get 
 them immediately." 
 
 "Pwhat do yez want wid thim ?" 
 
 "I will show you, if I can make my scheme work." 
 
 "Oi belave Oi know," chuckled the fun-loving Irish lad. 
 "Mursha ! Won't thot be fun, Oi dunno ! Oi'll hiv thim 
 roight away," and off he darted. 
 
 As Frank expected, he found Ephraim once more sur 
 rounded by a mob who were having sport at his expense. 
 Fortunately for Merriwell's scheme, the country boy 
 was rather angry, and felt more like fighting than doing 
 anything else. 
 
 "Mr. Gallup," said Frank, as he forced his way through 
 the throng and confronted the Vermonter, "I am here in 
 behalf of a friend whom you have sorely insulted." 
 
 "Git aout with yer nonsense!" retorted Ephraim. "I 
 wish you'd quit yer foolin' an' let a feller alone." 
 
 "You will discover this is not fooling, sir," said Frank, 
 sternly. "My friend demands that you fight him imme 
 diately. Will you do it?" 
 
 "Wai, I be twisted if I don't !" snorted Ephraim, as he 
 spat on his hands and prepared to remove his coat. 
 "Where is ther consarned critter? I'll bark his nose 
 quicker'n a brindle caow kin kick over a pail of milk, by 
 gum!"
 
 CHAPTER XLIIT. 
 
 DOUGHTY DUELIST. 
 
 Ephraim was in earnest. 
 
 "Hold on," said Frank, quickly, "what are you going 
 to do?" 
 
 "Fight, by gum!" 
 
 "But you can't fight here." 
 
 "Why not ?" 
 
 "You would be arrested and placed in the guard tent." 
 
 "Wai, ef a feller can't fight, whut ye makin' all this 
 taowse abaout ?" 
 
 "You can fight, but not within the limits of the camp. 
 The duel must take place outside." 
 
 "Who is this consarned critter that says I've insulted 
 him ?" 
 
 "Mr. Dunnerwust." 
 
 "Wai, ef he wants to fight me, he'll find he never dun 
 er wust thing." 
 
 Frank staggered and clutched at his heart. 
 
 "Don't!" he gasped. "I'm not particularly weak, but 
 I'm not strong enough to stand many of those." 
 
 Ephraim grinned all over his long face. 
 
 "Oh, them things come natteral like with me," he said. 
 "I kin reel 'em off by ther yard when I git started. Folks 
 up aour away say I'm ther funniest critter that ever 
 growed in them parts." 
 
 "Well, you have agreed to meet Mr. Dunnerwust?" 
 
 "Yep."
 
 250 Doughty Duelist. 
 
 "The meeting must take place without delay, so there 
 may be daylight enough for its consummation." 
 
 "Is that anything good to eat?" 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "Consummation." 
 
 "Not exactly." 
 
 "Didn't know but 'twas. Sally Colander up aour way 
 she went to Boston, an' when she kem home she told 
 abaout havin' consummation soup, ur something of that 
 sort. Say, you'd oughter seen that air gal arter she got 
 back from Boston ! She put on more style than a prize 
 pig at a caounty fair, by gum ! Why, you couldn't touch 
 her with a ten-foot pole! She walked as ef she'd fell 
 daown an' stepped on the small of her back, and she 
 ripped open ther sleeves on ev'ry one of her dresses, an' 
 bought caliker an' stiffenin' an' stuff ter put inter 'em to 
 make 'em swell aout like a blowed-up bladder. I tell you 
 she did cut an amazin' fast pace in aour taown." 
 
 "You are wandering from the issue," said Frank. "I 
 presume you will be ready to proceed to the scene of the 
 duel in a few moments ?" 
 
 "Ready any time." 
 
 "All right. Choose your second." 
 
 "Whut do you mean by that ?" 
 
 "You have to have somebody to look out for you and 
 see that you have fair play." 
 
 "By chaowder ! Ephraim Gallup kin look aout for his- 
 self, an' don't you fergit it !" 
 
 "But it is absolutely necessary that you have a second." 
 
 "I'll act for Mr. Gallup," said Sammy Smiles. "He 
 may depend on me to stand behind him as long as he 
 stands in front of me." 
 
 "You'll do well ez anyboddy." 
 
 "All right, Mr. Smiles," said Frank, with a wink at
 
 Doughty Duelist. 251 
 
 Sammy. "Come aside, and we will make all arrange 
 ments." 
 
 It did not take long to make arrangements ; but, as 
 every one who knew about it was anxious to see the fun, 
 it was not a little difficult for them all to get out of camp 
 without attracting too much attention. There was a 
 strip of woods close by, however, and the boys succeeded 
 in vanishing into this cover one by one, after which they 
 soon hastened to the spot where the encounter between 
 Dunnerwust and Gallup was to take place. 
 
 The seconds took good care to have the two principals 
 on hand, and Barney Mulloy was there with the old 
 horse-pistols, which he kept carefully concealed. 
 
 Frank took Hans aside and said : 
 
 "This affair has assumed a much more serious aspect 
 than seemed possible at first." 
 
 "Vos dot Yankee abologized alretty yet ?" asked Hans, 
 anxiously. 
 
 "Far from it." 
 
 The Dutch boy gave a groan of dismay, but stiffened 
 up to say : 
 
 "Dot seddles his coose ! I knocks uf him der sduffins 
 oudt" 
 
 "But he refused to fight that way, and, as he is the 
 challenged party, I was forced to allow him to select the 
 weapons. He chose pistols." 
 
 "Bistols ?" gasped Hans, turning pale. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Dot vos murter in der virst degree! I don't meed 
 dot veller mit bistols!" 
 
 "But you will have to meet him now. If you refuse, 
 you will be drummed out of school you will be tarred 
 and feathered." 
 
 "Bud I don'd like dot peesness uf sdanding oop to be
 
 252 Doughty Duelist. 
 
 shod ad mit a pullet oudt uf a bistol. Somepody mighd 
 ged hurt, ain'd id?" 
 
 "Oh, there's no danger that you'll get hurt any more 
 than to have a bullet through your head." 
 
 "Vot vos dot?" gurgled Hans. "A pullet drough mein 
 headt. Shimminy Gristmas! Uf dot don'd vas pad 
 enough, vot you vant ? Oxcuse me !" 
 
 "Now, don't show the white feather," urged Frank. 
 "That Yankee has done this to scare you. I don't be 
 lieve he really thinks you will dare meet him with pistols, 
 and so he is going to make a laughing stock of you." 
 
 "Vos dot his game? Veil, I pets you your life he 
 makes der piggest misdake vot he nefer seen." 
 
 "That's the stuff! If you brace right up and pretend 
 you are eager to fight with pistols, the chances are ten to 
 one he'll back down before the word is given to fire." 
 
 "Veil, uf dot veller don'd dink I vos apout grazy for 
 dot tuel, you can kick me mit der neck in." 
 
 Frank saw that he had fixed it all right with Hans, and 
 he wondered what success Sammy Smiles was having 
 with his second. 
 
 Sammy was not finding it very easy to convince 
 Ephraim it was his duty to fight a genuine duel with pis 
 tols, and he was talking swiftly, for it was past sunset, 
 and would become dark in a very short time. 
 
 "I be hanged ef this air ain't ther biggest scrape I was 
 ever in!" gasped the lank country boy, wiping the cold 
 sweat from his forehead. "I wish I'd stayed away frum 
 this thunderin' skewl, an' bin contented ter keep right on 
 hoein' 'taturs an' cuttin' grass daown on dad's old farm. 
 Say, ain't ther no way this air matter kin be settled up 
 'thout shewtin'?" 
 
 "It's' too late for that now. You have accepted 
 Dutchy's challenge, and you'll have to fight this duel."
 
 Doughty Duelist. 253 
 
 "I never was so thunderin' scat in all my life, by gum ! 
 My knees don't feel strong enough to hold me up. Haow 
 duz a feller feel when he's goin' ter faint away ?" 
 
 "Oh, you're not going to faint. That's what the 
 Dutchman's counting on. He wants to scare you out of 
 it. He's even made his boasts that you Yankees haven't 
 any courage, and that you'll run." 
 
 "Oh, he has, has he?" grated Ephraim. "Bust his 
 skin !" 
 
 "He doesn't believe you'll dare fight him," continued 
 Sammy, concealing a grin with his hand. "That's what 
 he's counting on. If you put on a bold front, you'll scare 
 him out of his shoes. I'll bet he'll run away before the 
 word is given to fire." 
 
 "Think so?" asked the Vermonter, eagerly. "Do ye 
 really?" 
 
 "Of course. Look how much more of him there is 
 than there is of you. Why, you'd be sure to hit him the 
 first shot, while he has not one chance in a hundred of 
 hitting you. He has been chuckling over the way your 
 long legs will look when you run away." 
 
 "That settles it, by the jumping blizzards ! Give me 
 holt of that air hoss-pistil ! I'll show him whuther a 
 Yankee'll run ur not, by chaowder !" 
 
 "That's the stuff !" complimented the delighted Sammy, 
 reaching up to pat the tall plebe on the back. "Stick to 
 that, and you will scare him into convulsions. You must 
 look as fierce and desperate as you can, so he'll think you 
 are thirsting for his gore." 
 
 The preliminaries were soon over, and the valiant 
 duelists were placed facing each other at a distance of 
 fifteen paces. The old pistols, loaded with heavy charges 
 of powder, but minus bulletSjt were thrust into their 
 hands.
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 : 
 
 A COMEDY DUEL. 
 
 Both Hans and Ephraim were ghastly pale. The 
 .Dutch lad's teeth were chattering, and the Yankee boy's 
 knees shook beneath him. But both tried to put on a 
 bold front. 
 
 "Are ye ready, jintlemin?" demanded Barney Mulloy, 
 who had been chosen to give the word. 
 
 "Vait a moment," commanded Hans, waving his hand 
 frantically at Barney. "I vos goin' to gif dot feller a 
 shance to safe his life. Uf he vants to abologize now I 
 vont shood him drough der heart mit a pullet." 
 
 "Hurry up this business !" blustered Ephraim, waving 
 the big pistol. "If ye fool around here all night it will 
 git so thunderin' dark I can't see ter hit ther middle but 
 ton on the Dutchman's coat." 
 
 "Vos you goin' to abologize?" shouted Hans. 
 
 "Be you goin' to run away ?" demanded Ephraim. 
 
 "Uf you don'd abologize, I voss a dead man," cried the 
 Dutch lad, threateningly. 
 
 "Ef you don't run away, you're a dead man," declared 
 the Vermonter. 
 
 Now it happened that Sammy Smiles had brought 
 along some stale eggs which he had been keeping for 
 some festive occasion, and he had given one of them tfl 
 Frank, while they had come to a perfect understanding af 
 to the proper manner and the right moment to use them*
 
 A Comedy Duel. 255 
 
 With the eggs concealed in their hands, they were wait 
 ing for Barney to give the word. 
 
 "Come, come, jintlemin," called the Irish lad, sharply. 
 "Take yer positions, fer Oi'm goin' t' give th' worrud." 
 
 "This is your last chance to run away, Dutchy," fal 
 tered Ephraim, who seemed to be losing confidence. 
 
 "Dis vos your lasd obbortunity to abologize, Yankee," 
 said Hans, rather weakly. 
 
 "Ready to foire at th' worrud," called Barney. 
 
 Hans' teeth were plainly heard to rattle together like 
 dice. 
 
 "One!" counted Barney. 
 
 "Uf he don'd run avay, I vas reaty to hear him abolo 
 gize," murmured the Dutch lad. 
 
 "Say!" Ephraim hoarsely whispered to Sammy. "Git 
 a rope an' tie me, quick ! Hang me ef I don't believe my 
 legs is goin' to run the best I kin do." 
 
 "Two!" counted Barney. 
 
 "Shimminy Gristmas ! vere vas someding I can hide pe- 
 hind?" 
 
 "Great thutteration ! I'm a goner !" 
 
 "Three fire !" 
 
 Both of the bold duelists turned their heads away, 
 pointed the pistols at something, and fired. 
 
 Bang ! bang ! 
 
 Frank and Sammy Smiles let the eggs fly, and the aim 
 of both was accurate. 
 
 Sammy's egg struck Hans behind the right ear, and 
 spattered all over the side of the Dutch lad's head, while 
 Frank's egg landed on Ephraim's neck. 
 
 "I vos a deadt man !" squawked the Dutch lad, as he 
 went over in a heap. 
 
 "I'm shot, by gum !" squealed the Yankee, as his knees
 
 256 A Comedy Duel. 
 
 collapsed and he measured his long length upon the 
 ground. 
 
 "Smoke !" cried Barney Mulloy, grasping his nose with 
 both hands. "It smells loike ye'd both been corpuses fer 
 a long toime !" 
 
 "By Jove!" gasped Frank. "That odor is strong 
 enough to lift a safe!" 
 
 The other witnesses of the duel roared with laughter, 
 but Hans was bellowing and Ephraim was groaning so 
 loudly that neither of them heard the sounds of mirth. 
 
 "I can feel mein prains runnin' all ofer der side uf mein 
 headt !" howled Hans. 
 
 "Send for a doctor !" shrieked Ephraim. "I'm covered 
 with blood! My jubilee vein is cut clean in two, an' 
 ther blood is runnin' down my neck!" 
 
 "Ivosdyin'!" 
 
 "I'll be dead in a minute !" 
 
 Sammy Smiles held fast to his nose, and made haste 
 to bend over his principal, whom he pretended to ex 
 amine. 
 
 "Bring bandages!" he shouted. "Help me to stop 
 him from bleeding to death." 
 
 "It's nary a bit of use," groaned the Vermonter. "No 
 feller ever lived with his jubilee vein cut in two!" 
 
 "Merciful goodness !" cried Frank, in pretended horror, 
 as he hovered over Hans, also taking care to cling to his 
 nose. "The whole top of his head is shot away !" 
 
 The Dutch boy gave a wild, despairing wail. 
 
 "Und you said dot feller vos goin' to run avay ! Dun- 
 der und blitsens ! I vos a fool dot I don'd run avay 
 meinseluf pefore mein prains he shot oudt !" 
 
 "Never mind^" said Frank. "You will die like a 
 hero, and we'll bury you with all the honors of war." 
 
 "Yah !" snorted Hans. "Dot vos nice I don'd pelieve I
 
 A Comedy Duel. 257 
 
 I don'd care apout dot honors uf var! Oh, Shimminy 
 Gristmas! vot a fool a blamed fool vos!" 
 
 "I am surprised at you/' said Frank, sternly. "You 
 should be proud to perish in such a heroic manner." 
 
 "Oh, yaw ! I peen tickled to death mit a pullet. Id 
 vos fun !" 
 
 "I am afraid you are not a success as a hero." 
 
 "Veil, I dudder peen a success as a coward und kept 
 avay from dot pullet." 
 
 In the meantime Ephraim had recovered from the 
 shock sufficiently to detect the powerful odor of the stale 
 egg that had struck him. 
 
 "Great gum!" he gurgled. "What was that Dutch 
 man's pistol loaded with? Something must have crawled 
 inter ther pesky thing an' died there !" 
 
 "Do you really smell anything?" chuckled Sammy 
 Smiles. 
 
 "Do I ?" howled the Yankee boy, sitting up and gasp 
 ing for breath. "I ruther think I do, by gum !" 
 
 "You must be mistaken. Being seriously wounded, 
 you imagine it. It is the result of your injury." 
 
 "Is that so? Wai," he wildly panted, "if that's ther 
 case, I hope I'll die soon an' git aout of my misery!" 
 
 The spectators were convulsed with merriment, and 
 Ephraim began to smell a rat if, indeed, it were pos 
 sible to smell anything but the ancient eggs. 
 
 "Say !" he snorted, "you fellers don't act like there was 
 anybody dyin' around here. An' by chaowder ! this smell 
 is jest ther same ez I struck when I crawled under dad's 
 old barn to find where the speckled hen was layin', an r 
 crunched up some aigs that hed bin there two or three 
 months. Ef that Dutchman loaded his pistol with a ripe 
 aig an' shot me in the neck, I'll paound the stuffin' aout 
 of him, by gum !"
 
 258 A Comedy Duel. 
 
 "Vot vos dot?" roared Hans, also sitting up, and glar 
 ing at the Vermonter. "You don'd peen pig enough to 
 bound der sduffin oudt uf nottings !" 
 
 "Wai, dern my skin ef I don't show you ! Ef I'm mor 
 tally shot, it'll be some satisfaction to die thumpin' you, 
 by gum !" 
 
 "Keeb avay off !" squawked Hans, as Ephraim began to 
 crawl toward him. "Keeb avay off, ur I vos goin' to 
 bulverize you britty queek right avay soon !" 
 
 "You pulverize, an' be hanged ! All I want is to git 
 holt of ye." 
 
 Hans began to scramble out of the way. 
 
 "Holt on ! holt on !" he cried. "Dot don'd peen no fair 
 to sdrike a man mit haluf uf his heat plown off !" 
 
 "Your head's all right, only one side of it is plastered 
 over with some yaller stuff. You shot me in the neck, 
 and I'm all kivered with blood, but I kin do ye, jest ther 
 same !" 
 
 "Dot vos der gweerest colored plood vot I nefer saw ! 
 You don'd peen shot ad all." 
 
 "Then, by gum ! I'm goin' ter lick ye anyhaow !" and 
 Ephraim scrambled to his feet. 
 
 "Veil, you don'd done dot till you catch me, py Shim- 
 miny !" 
 
 Hans also scrambled up, and immediately took tojiis 
 heels, with the tall Yankee in hot pursuit, leaving the 
 spectators of this ridiculous duel to exhaust themselves 
 with merriment.
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 
 ANOTHER KIND OF A FIGHT. 
 
 It had already grown quite dark. 
 
 The fun for the time being was over, but there was 
 an engagement of quite a different nature to take place. 
 
 Barely had the Dutch boy disappeared, with the Ver- 
 monter at his heels, when Frank and several others of the 
 party slipped away into the shadows and made for Black 
 Bluff. 
 
 Bascomb and a large number of his friends were wait 
 ing when Frank arrived, and Merriwell heard the big fel 
 low sneeringly observe: 
 
 "He has really come at last ! I didn't know but he was 
 going to take water. I was afraid I'd lose the satisfac 
 tion of giving him the licking he needs." 
 
 Frank bit his lip, and remained silent. 
 
 Bart Hodge was on hand, and he was quickly at 
 Frank's side. 
 
 "Where have you been ?" he asked. "I was beginning 
 to fear Bascomb had put up some kind of a job to keep 
 you away, so he could claim you were afraid to meet 
 him." 
 
 "I have been acting as second in another affair," said 
 Frank. "I want you to represent me in this. Will you?" 
 
 "You have no need to ask that, for you must know 
 that it will give me pleasure. I want to see you give that 
 big brute the drubbing he merits, so he will keep still
 
 26o Another Kind of a Fight. 
 
 for a while. He has been trying to injure you ever since 
 you entered the academy, and he has said here to-night 
 that he proposed doing me up to square an old score 
 after he had finished you. I tried to get him to take me 
 first, for I told him there wouldn't be anything left for 
 me to fight when you were through with him. He said 
 he was going to polish you off easily, and he has been 
 whispering and laughing with that sneaking Reynolds. 
 Somehow, I feel as if they have put up some kind of a job 
 to get the best of you, and that is why they feel so well. 
 You want to be on your guard for tricks, old man." 
 
 "I will," assured Frank, as he began to "peel" for the 
 fight. "Go over and make arrangements with Reynolds. 
 If you can get him to agree to make it a go-as-you-please 
 till the best man whips you will suit me." 
 
 "All right; I'll stand for that." 
 
 Away went Hodge to consult with Reynolds, and Frank 
 did not dream that he had proposed just the kind of a 
 fight that Bascomb and his second most desired. 
 
 The wind was coming in across the bay, and the sea 
 was moaning at the ragged base of Black Bluff, on the 
 heights of which the fight was to take place. There were 
 scudding clouds in the sky, but the night did not prom 
 ise to be very dark. 
 
 It did not take Hodge long to complete arrangements 
 with Reynolds, and he soon returned to inform Frank 
 that it was to be one straight fight from start to finish, 
 with no rests till one or the other whipped. 
 
 Frank had not supposed there would be near so many 
 spectators present, and he well knew that the most of 
 those assembled were fellows who were secretly envious 
 of him because of his popularity, although nearly all had 
 made protestations of friendship in the past.
 
 Another Kind of a Fight. 261 
 
 Frank did not care for the friendship of such fellows, 
 as there was nothing in the world he despised more than 
 a hypocrite. He could respect a foe who was open and 
 frank; but he had no use for anybody who wore two 
 faces. 
 
 Fred Davis had not been told where the fight was to 
 take place; but he had scented it in some way, and he 
 came panting to the spot, just as Merriwell and Bas- 
 comb were about to meet. He rushed straight to Frank, 
 exclaiming : 
 
 "You must not fight on my account! You shall not! 
 You haven't any right to do it ! This must stop !" 
 
 "Here, Bart," said Merriwell to Hodge, speaking 
 quietly and firmly, "turn this boy over to Mulloy, and 
 tell him to keep Davis from making any fuss." 
 
 "But you must listen to me!" cried the little plebe, on 
 the verge of tears. "People sometimes get killed in 
 fights. If you are badly hurt, I'll never forgive myself. 
 Can't I do something to stop it? Why, I will apolo 
 gize to Bascomb, and " 
 
 "That would simply place you more in contempt, and 
 would not let me out in the least, boy. Take him away, 
 Mulloy," Frank spoke to the Irish lad, who was now 
 at hand. "See that he doesn't get into trouble." 
 
 Seeing it was impossible to put an end to the con 
 test, Fred gave up in despair. 
 
 Merriwell and Bascomb now faced each other. There 
 was no demand that they should shake hands, and neither 
 offered to do so. The boys formed a circle around 
 them, and, at the word, they leaped at each other and 
 the fray had begun. 
 
 Bascomb made an effort to clinch immediately ,,. but 
 Frank landed two blows that sent him staggering. This
 
 262 Another Kind of a Fight. 
 
 was an advantage which Merriwell followed up, and 
 Bascomb was forced to keep falling back for some mo 
 ments, shifting the battle-ground considerably from the 
 point where the struggle began. 
 
 Spat ! spat ! spat ! sounded the blows ; but it was not 
 always an easy thing to tell who was getting the worst 
 of it. 
 
 To and fro, forward and back, moved the fighting lads, 
 their movements being breathlessly followed by the spec 
 tators. Sometimes it would seem that one of the lads 
 had the advantage, and then it would appear to be the 
 other. 
 
 With his hands clasped together and his heart beating 
 wildly, Fred Davis strained his eyes to see it all. To 
 him every moment seemed an hour of acute agony and 
 suspense. 
 
 Bart Hodge and Barney Mulloy were both intensely 
 interested and excited, but neither of them entertained a 
 doubt but what, barring accident, Frank would come forth 
 the victor. 
 
 The breathing of the fighting boys became short and 
 loud, and Bascomb occasionally muttered fierce words. 
 Merriwell fought silently and fiercely. 
 
 At length the tigerish determination of Bascomb's foe 
 began to drive the big fellow back again. Several times 
 he clinched Frank, but his hold was quickly broken on 
 each occasion. Three times both went down; but the 
 strength of neither seemed sufficient to get the advantage 
 and hold the other. 
 
 At length, as they were apparently on the point of 
 grappling again, Bascomb was seen to make a quick 
 move of one hand, and Frank immediately cried :
 
 Another Kind of a Fight. 263 
 
 "My eyes ! Oh, I am blinded ! They are burning !" 
 
 Instantly there was the greatest excitement. 
 
 "Foul play, by the eternal skies !" shouted Bart Hodge, 
 leaping forward. Instantly someone gave him a blow 
 that sent him reeling. 
 
 "Howld on, ye imps !" roared Barney. "Ye can't play 
 your dirty thricks here!" 
 
 "Keep them away !" grated Bascomb. "Keep them away, 
 and I'll fix this fellow now !" 
 
 Frank heard the bully's voice, but he could not see 
 Bascomb. With a cry of unutterable fury, Merriwell 
 leaped for his foe, caught him, grappled with him. 
 
 Then was seen such a mad struggle as not one of the 
 boys present had ever before witnessed. Merriwell 
 seemed like a tiger that had been stung to ungovernable 
 rage, and Bascomb exerted every bit of skill and strength 
 he possessed. 
 
 Round and round they whirled, away they reeled, and 
 then a cry of surprise and horror suddenly broke from 
 the crowd. 
 
 The beginning of the fight had been at a long distance 
 from the brink of the bluff, but, all at once, it was dis 
 covered that, in the darkness, they had shifted about 
 till they were close to the verge. And, unconsciously, 
 they were staggering swiftly to the edge. 
 
 "Stop them!" shouted Hodge. "Quick, or they will 
 go over!" 
 
 Fred Davis leaped forward, clutched at the struggling 
 lads, but could not hold them. In a twinkling they 
 tore away, and reeled on. 
 
 Others would have interfered, but it was too late. Both 
 Hodge and Mulloy did their best, but Bascomb and Mer 
 riwell escaped their outstretched hands. 
 
 Then another cry of horror went up.
 
 264 Another Kind of a Fight. 
 
 The fighting lads were tottering on the brink. They 
 realized their peril at last; but, before they could make 
 a move to save themselves, they went over. 
 
 "Merciful Heaven !" gasped Hodge. "That is the end 
 of them both!"
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 
 RESULT OF THE CONTEST. 
 
 For a moment the horror-stricken witnesses stood and 
 stared through the darkness at the place where the foes 
 had disappeared over the brink of the bluff, and no one 
 seemed capable of making a move or saying a thing im 
 mediately after those blood-chilling words came from 
 the lips of Bartley Hodge. 
 
 Fred Davis was the first to recover. Down upon the 
 ground he flung himself, peering over the verge of the 
 bluff, and calling: 
 
 "Frank Frank Merriwell !" 
 
 Immediately there was a faint, muffled answer from 
 near at hand. 
 
 "Thank Heaven!" Fred almost wept. "He has not 
 fallen into the sea! He is near at hand! I can hear 
 him! Frank, where are you?" 
 
 "Here clinging to this vine," was the faint reply. 
 "The thing is giving it will tear away! Quick grasp 
 my wrists!" 
 
 Fred saw that the dark form was dangling immediately 
 below, and, without delay, he reached down and found 
 a pair of hands which were clinging madly to a stout 
 vine. 
 
 The vine was really giving way, and Davis instantly 
 grasped both wrists of the imperiled lad. 
 
 "I've got him, boys !" he shouted, joyously. "Pull us 
 up pull us up! I can hold fast if youjmll us up at
 
 266 Result of the Contest. 
 
 once! He has hold of one of my hands now; he will 
 not let go. Pull us up, and he will be saved !" 
 
 "Lay hold here!" shouted Hodge, grasping Davis by 
 the shoulder. "Down on your faces, two of you, and 
 clutch Merriwell the moment he is lifted far enough 
 for you to grasp him. Work lively, now! Are you 
 ready?" 
 
 "All ready," came the chorus. 
 
 "Then hoist away, lads, and up he comes !" 
 
 So, with a strong pull, the imperiled youth was 
 dragged up over the brink to safety, falling prostrate and 
 panting at the feet of his rescuers. 
 
 "Poor Bascomb !" exclaimed one of the boys. "I am 
 afraid he is done for!" 
 
 "Not much !" panted the boy they had just saved. "But 
 that was a mighty close call." 
 
 "What's this?" shrieked Fred Davis, dropping to his 
 knees and staring into the face of the fellow he had 
 helped to rescue. "This isn't Merriwell! It's Bas 
 comb !" 
 
 Exclamations of astonishment came from every lip, 
 for all had thought they were rescuing Frank. 
 
 "Great Jupiter !" gasped Bart Hodge. "It must be that 
 Merriwell went clean down the face of the bluff!" 
 
 "An' thot manes he is a dead b'y!" declared Barney 
 Mulloy. Fred Davis quickly leaped to the brink, and 
 wildly shouted : 
 
 "Frank Merriwell! Frank Merriwell! Where are 
 you ? Frank ! Frank !" 
 
 No answer save the moaning of the wind and the gur 
 gle of the sea which came up from the base of the bluff, 
 like the last strangling sound from the throat of a 
 drowning person. 
 
 "He is gone !"
 
 Result of the Contest 267 
 
 A feeling of unutterable horror came over the little 
 party on the bluff, for they all seemed to realize what a 
 terrible thing had happened. 
 
 Fred Davis fell to sobbing and moaning. Again and 
 again he sent his voice down the face of the bluff, shout 
 ing into the darkness that hovered over the surging sea: 
 
 "Frank Merriwell! Oh, Frank, where are you? 
 Frank! Frank!" 
 
 A night-bird swept past, and answered his shouts with 
 an eerie cry; but the voice of Frank Merriwell did not 
 come up out of the darkness below. 
 
 "It's no use!" came hoarsely and hopelessly from the 
 lips of Bart Hodge. "Merriwell is a goner! It was 
 most remarkable that Bascomb caught hold of that vine 
 and so escaped." 
 
 Fred Davis sprang to his feet, and rushed at Bas 
 comb, who was cowering and shivering in the midst of 
 the boys. 
 
 "You killed him !" screamed the little plebe. "You're 
 responsible for his death! It was murder!" 
 
 "Thot's roight!" came from Barney Mulloy. 
 
 Bascomb cowered and retreated before Davis. All his 
 bullying spirit was gone, and he shivered when the little 
 fellow declared it was murder. 
 
 "You shall be hanged !" wildly cried Fred, shaking his 
 clinched hands in Bascomb's face. "I will testify 
 against you ! You shall be arrested and hanged !" 
 
 "Take him away, somebody!" muttered Bascomb, 
 hoarsely. 
 
 "Touch me if you dare!" defied Davis, who seemed 
 quite beside himself. "I have been a coward long 
 enough, and I am not afraid of you all now ! If I hadn't 
 been a coward, I should have fought here to-night, in 
 stead of Merriwell, and he would be alive now! Oh,
 
 268 Result of the Contest. 
 
 I'll never forgive myself for letting him fight in my 
 place ! But I'll do my best to avenge I'll swear he was 
 murdered !" 
 
 "That's rot," said Rupert Reynolds, rather weakly. 
 "It was a clean case of accident." 
 
 "I am not sure about that," came significantly from 
 the lips of Bart Hodge. "We all heard Merriwell cry 
 out that he had been blinded. That meant some 
 thing. There was foul play here, and the parties who 
 were in the dirty game must suffer for it." 
 
 "Faith, an' thot's roight, Bart, me b'y!" exclaimed 
 Barney Mulloy. "It's as clane a lad as iver brathed thot 
 wint over Black Bluff to his death th' noight, an' some 
 body will pay dear fer this pace av worruk." 
 
 Bascomb still remained silent, seeming incapable of 
 offering any defense. 
 
 "It is useless to waste any more time here," said Hodge, 
 sharply. "This awful business must be reported in 
 camp. We must get boats from the boathouse, and 
 search for Merriwell's body." 
 
 He started away, and the boys began to follow him. 
 Bascomb stood quite still, and saw his late supporters, 
 with the exception of Reynolds, draw away and leave him, 
 as if he were some creature to be avoided. 
 
 "Oh, that's the way!" he grated, bitterly. "They're 
 afraid they will be mixed in it some way, and so they 
 sneak ! I am left to face the music alone !" 
 
 "Brace up, old man," urged Reynolds. "You may not 
 be in such a very bad box. I don't see how they can 
 do anything but expel you from the academy, and it is 
 likely I will have to take the same medicine, as I was your 
 second." 
 
 "Oh, you're trying to show a bright side; but I tell
 
 Result of the Contest. 269 
 
 you, Reynolds, there is something worse than expul 
 sion to follow this !" 
 
 "What do you mean ?" 
 
 "You heard that plebe Davis declare he would charge 
 me with murder?" 
 
 "Sure; but he's deranged for the moment." 
 
 "He will make the charge, just the same; and I'll have 
 to face it." 
 
 "But it cannot be proved against you." 
 
 "I am not so sure. If I hadn't flung red pepper in 
 Merriwell's eyes I'd have a better show. Now it will 
 look as if I did that to blind him, so I might force him 
 over the bluff." 
 
 "I don't believe anybody can think you as bad as 
 that. You certainly had no desire to do anything more 
 than whip Merriwell by some means, fair or foul." 
 
 "It is easy enough to say that, but I'm afraid it will 
 not be easy to make people believe it. I swear, Reynolds, 
 it's a terrible thing to have anything like this hanging 
 over a fellow ! Why, it has taken all the nerve out of 
 me! I'd give my right hand to see Frank Merriwell 
 alive and well at this moment!" 
 
 "Don't go to pieces that way, Bascomb!" entreated 
 Rupert. "You've got to keep a stiff backbone. Come, 
 let's hurry after the others." 
 
 Reynolds got hold of Bascomb's arm, and fairly 
 dragged him after the other lads, who were making their 
 way toward camp. 
 
 Each step that brought the big fellow nearer camp 
 made him more desperate. Finally, he declared : 
 
 "I'm going to know what Hodge and Mulloy mean 
 to do." 
 
 Then he hastened forward till he came upon Bart and 
 Barney, who were accompanied by Fred Davis.
 
 270 Result of the Contest. 
 
 "Look here, fellows," said Bascomb, "I've got some 
 questions to ask you." 
 
 "Well, ask them," directed Hodge, shortly, as the boys 
 halted and clustered again. 
 
 "I want to know if you actually think I am wicked 
 enough to wish to kill a fellow cadet and classmate?" 
 
 "As fer mesilif, Oi dunno," admitted Barney. "Yure 
 a big scoundrel, but Oi don't loike ter think any felly's 
 villain enough to do murther." 
 
 "But it looks mighty black for you, Bascomb," said 
 Bart. "We all heard 'Merriwell cry out that he was 
 blinded, and then you seemed to drag him straight for 
 the brink of the bluff." 
 
 "It was an accident!" declared Bascomb, hoarsely. "I 
 did not dream we were anywhere near the edge of the 
 bluff." 
 
 "It was not accident !" cried Fred Davis. "It was mur 
 der, and I will swear to it!" 
 
 "You hear that," came huskily from the lips of the 
 accused. "If you fellows stand by him, I am done for." 
 
 "We'll have to be given time to think it over." 
 
 "No, that is wrong, for you'll be forced to make some 
 explanation as soon as you get into camp." 
 
 "We'll simply tell the truth." 
 
 "That will ruin me !" 
 
 "Which cannot be helped. The truth is the only thing 
 that will stand in a case like this." 
 
 "All right. There's no show for me." 
 
 Bascomb turned about in a blind way, and Reynolds 
 caught him by the arm, asking: 
 
 "Where are you going? What are you going to do?" 
 
 "I don't know," was the hopeless reply. "It doesn't 
 make any difference where I go or what I do now !" 
 
 The most of the boys moved toward camp again,
 
 Result of the Contest 271 
 
 leaving Reynolds talking earnestly with Bascomb. Be 
 fore the camp was reached, Reynolds came running and 
 panting after them. 
 
 "Bascomb has gone crazy !" he cried. "He said he 
 was going to kill himself, and he broke away from me 
 and ran into the woods ! It is terrible !"
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 ALIVE ! 
 
 "I don't know but suicide is his easiest way out of this 
 scrape," said Hodge. 
 
 "It is the only way he can escape hanging !" came from 
 Fred Davis, who seemed to be aroused to a point of re 
 lentless hatred for Bascomb. 
 
 "Merciful goodness!" came faintly from Reynolds, 
 who seemed to be weakening. "What a dreadful af 
 fair this is! I'd give anything in my power to give if 
 I were well out of it !" 
 
 "An' ye'd be gittin' out chape at thot, me hearty," de 
 clared Barney Mulloy. 
 
 "If I'd ever dreamed what would come of it, horses 
 couldn't have dragged me into the affair !" almost whim 
 pered Reynolds. 
 
 "An' now ye're in it, it won't do yez niwer a bit 
 av good to whoine, me b'y." 
 
 "All you can do is brace up and face it out," said 
 Hodge. "That's what the rest of us will have to do. It's 
 likely we'll all be fired from the academy for our shares 
 in the business." 
 
 "I wouldn't mind that if it would bring Merriwell 
 back all right," asserted Reynolds, and there was a sin 
 cere sound in his voice. 
 
 "We'd all take our medicine without a murmur if it 
 would restore him to life. He was the whitest boy 
 that ever breathed!"
 
 Alive! 273 
 
 "I think you're right," admitted Rupert. "I don't 
 like him, but I presume that was my fault. Perhaps 
 I was jealous because he was so popular. He never 
 did me a mean turn." 
 
 "Och! an' he nivver did anybody thot!" quickly put 
 in Barney. "It wur ivver a good turn, av it wur any 
 thing at all, at all." 
 
 And so, talking of Frank's virtues, the boys approached 
 the camp. It was decided among them that Hodge 
 should report the affair to Lieutenant Gordan, and they 
 should all get into camp without being challenged, if 
 possible. For this purpose they separated, and slipped in 
 one by one, by various ways. 
 
 Hodge himself found a little difficulty in getting past 
 the sentinel, by whom he did not wish to be challenged 
 and taken in custody, as there would be a certain amount 
 of red tape business that would delay him from seek 
 ing the lieutenant immediately and making his report. 
 
 He finally succeeded in getting into camp, and hurried 
 directly to his own tent. As he entered, he was sur 
 prised to see a lamp had been lighted, and somebody 
 was wringing out a towel in the water-bucket, at the 
 same time having his head and face well swathed with 
 another towel, that was dripping wet. 
 
 "Well, who in thunder are you ? and what are you up to 
 here?" demanded Bart, indignantly. 
 
 The fellow with the towel about his head pulled enough 
 of it away from his mouth to reply: 
 
 "Hello, Bart! I am soaking the red pepper out of 
 my eyes, and incidentally bathing my bruises at the same 
 time. I couldn't see to guard for all of Bascomb's 
 blows." 
 
 Hodge reeled backward, and came near collapsing.
 
 274 Alive! 
 
 He caught hold of the tent pole at the front, and clung 
 to it for support. 
 
 "Frank!" he cried, faintly. 
 
 "That's my name/' affirmed the other, as he unwound 
 the towel from about his head, and looked at Bart with 
 a pair of very red eyes. "You look as if you saw a 
 ghost." 
 
 "Well, I couldn't be more surprised if I saw a whole 
 regiment of ghosts. Is it really you alive ?" 
 
 "To be sure." 
 
 "But but didn't you go over Black Bluff?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Then how do you happen to be here? It can't be 
 you fell all the way down into the water, and then swam 
 out?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Then what did happen? For mercy sake, tell me, and 
 relieve me of this suspense." 
 
 "Why, I didn't fall far not more than ten feet. I 
 struck on a shelf, and lay there stunned." 
 
 "And Bascomb clung to some vines till we pulled him 
 back to the top of the bluff." 
 
 "Those vines fell all around the shelf I was on, and 
 I was half-covered with them when I recovered enough 
 to thoroughly realize my position. It is likely that, while 
 he was clinging to them, Bascomb partly covered me 
 with them by winding his legs about them, thus chang 
 ing their position after I fell." 
 
 "And he covered you so that the vines and the dark 
 ness prevented us from seeing you." 
 
 "I suppose so." 
 
 "But why didn't you answer? Davis called to you 
 more than twenty times." 
 
 "I was stunned, and I did not hear him at first.
 
 Alive! 275 
 
 When I did hear, it was impossible for me to answer, al 
 though I tried to do so." 
 
 "And we went away and left you there." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "How did you get off the ledge?" 
 
 "My strength came to me swiftly when I realized my 
 position. As soon as possible, realizing I was alone, I 
 sought a way to get to the top of the bluff. I was suc 
 cessful, for I found some clefts in the rock for my feet, 
 and, aided by the vines,, I climbed up. Then I lost little 
 time in getting into camp, for I didn't know what sort 
 of a report you fellows would bring. I did not expect 
 to reach camp ahead of you, but it seems that I did, 
 although I had not been in the tent two minutes when 
 you showed up." 
 
 Up to this moment Hodge had held off, as if not quite 
 able to believe it possible Frank had escaped. Now, with 
 a cry of joy, he sprang forward and embraced his com 
 rade. 
 
 "This is the happiest moment of my life, Frank!" he 
 declared, with tears of joy in his eyes. "Why, I was 
 about to report you as dead, and start out an expedition 
 to search for your body! I couldn't have felt so bad 
 had you been my own brother. Davis is distracted. He 
 has charged Bascomb with murder, and swears he will 
 stick to it in court. Mulloy was also inclined to look 
 on it as a case of murder, and Bascomb became so scared 
 that he ran away while we were returning to camp. Rey 
 nolds said Bascomb swore he was going to commit sui 
 cide." 
 
 Frank straightened up quickly. 
 
 "Look here, Hodge," he said, "you must act, and you 
 must act swiftly. I do not want to go to Lieutenant 
 Gordan in this condition; but you must go to him, and
 
 276 Alive! 
 
 tell him that Bascomb seems to be out of his head and 
 has run away, threatening to kill himself. The lieu 
 tenant will be sure to send out a detachment to search 
 for the poor fellow. If you see Mulloy, tell him I am all 
 right, and get him to keep Davis still. The plebe mustn't 
 blow the story all over camp. Let everybody know I 
 am all right. As soon as I can soak this red pepper 
 out of my eyes, I'll be ready to help in the search for 
 Bascomb, if I am needed. Go quickly !" 
 
 "All right; I'm off." 
 
 Hodge darted out of the tent, and Frank wrapped 
 another wet towel about his head and eyes.
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 BABY'S HEROISM CONCLUSION. 
 
 All night the search for Bascomb continued, the ca 
 dets carrying on the work in relays. 
 
 Hodge had convinced Lieutenant Gordan that Bas 
 comb had suddenly become deranged, and had succeeded 
 in having the search instituted without telling the real 
 cause of the disappearance. 
 
 The joy of the boys when they knew Merriwell was 
 safe in his own tent had been boundless, but they were 
 forced to keep it suppressed, fearing that too much of a 
 demonstration would arouse suspicion, and create an in 
 vestigation. 
 
 Davis wept for joy. At first he could not believe such 
 good news could be true, and he had rushed straight to 
 the tent, where Frank was already receiving congratula 
 tions. 
 
 "You don't know what a terrible load this lifts from 
 my shoulders!" cried the little plebe, in ecstasy. "No 
 body shall ever fight for me again! I can't lick any 
 body, but I will stand up and take my thumping when 
 it is necessary. I am going to write to 'mother to 
 morrow that it is absolutely impossible for a fellow to 
 get along here without fighting, and I am going to ask 
 her to release me from my promise. I won't lie for any 
 body, but I am going to fight when I have to !" 
 
 "I do not believe you will be forced into many fights 
 when the boys understand you," said Frank.
 
 278 Baby's Heroism Conclusion. 
 
 Frank reduced the inflammation in his eyes so he was 
 able to take part in the search, and he declined to be re 
 lieved, continuing in his efforts through the entire night. 
 
 Near sunrise, with a company of plebes under his com 
 mand, he was beating a piece of woods along the bank 
 of a river about four miles from the academy. Davis 
 was one of the company. The little fellow had grown 
 intensely anxious for the quick discovery of Bascomb, 
 hoping the big bully had done no harm to himself. 
 
 "If he should commit suicide, I'd feel that I must 
 be responsible for that/' said Fred. 
 
 "You are altogether too conscientious," declared Frank. 
 "There are none of us but hope to find Bascomb all 
 right, but no one save himself will be to blame if he 
 has taken his life." 
 
 Birds were singing their morning songs, and there 
 was a rosy tinge spreading upward in the eastern sky. 
 The breath of the morning was sweet with the perfume 
 of June; but the boys heeded none of the beauties of 
 nature around them, for they were fearing that at any 
 moment they might come upon some ghastly thing there 
 in the heart of the green woods. 
 
 All at once, they did come upon a haggard, pale-faced 
 lad, who was sitting on a fallen tree, and seemed to be 
 waiting for them to approach. 
 
 It was Bascomb. 
 
 "I have dodged searching parties all night, and I am 
 not going to run any " 
 
 Thus far did Bascomb get, and then he saw Merriwell. 
 He stopped, 'and his jaw fell, while he shuddered, show 
 ing the strongest symptoms of terror. His eyes bulged 
 from their sockets, and the expression on his face was 
 one of unutterable horror.
 
 baby's Heroism Conclusion. 279 
 
 "Bascomb!" cried Frank. "I am glad I have found 
 you !" 
 
 iHe stepped toward the big fellow, but Bascomb 
 leaped to his feet, shrieking : 
 
 "Don't touch me ! You are dead dead ! Go away !" 
 
 And then, before another word could be said, before 
 anybody could do a thing to prevent it, Bascomb turned 
 and fled through the woods fled as if pursued by fiends, 
 shrieking forth his terror. 
 
 "After him !" cried Frank. "Don't let him get away ! 
 He is so scared that he will surely do himself injury if 
 he escapes." 
 
 The pursuit began, and Merriwell soon found that 
 Fred Davis was rather fleet of foot. In fact, Fred was 
 able to keep near to Frank's side. 
 
 It was a wild chase through the strip of woods. Im 
 pelled by terror, Bascomb ran as he had never run be 
 fore. Under ordinary circumstances, Frank could have 
 overtaken him easily, but this was far from an ordinary 
 case. 
 
 At length, however, Frank and Fred began to gain on 
 the fugitive. 
 
 Casting wild glances over his shoulder, Bascomb dis 
 covered this, and his terror knew no bounds. He had 
 been running parallel with the river, but he suddenly 
 changed his course and made straight for it. 
 
 "He is going to try to drown himself!" cried Frank. 
 
 Then an accident happened to Merriwell. He tripped 
 in some underbrush, and fell heavily to the ground. 
 When he got upon his feet, he saw Bascomb leap from 
 quite a high bank into a deep part of the river. 
 
 Fred Davis was not far from Bascomb's heels, and he 
 was stripping off his coat when the big fellow plunged
 
 280 Baby's Heroism Conclusion. 
 
 into the water. The coat was flung aside in an instant, 
 and then Frank saw Fred boldly plunge into the water 
 after Bascomb. 
 
 "By Jove !" exclaimed Merriwell ; "the little fellow has 
 courage, after all !" 
 
 He hurried forward, and when he reached the bank, he 
 saw a struggle taking place in the river. 
 
 Bascomb did not want to be rescued. (Made crazy by 
 the horrors he had experienced through the night, and 
 by the sight of Merriwell, whom he believed a ghost, he 
 was determined to drown himself in the river. 
 
 Three times Davis struck at Bascomb's temple with 
 his clinched fist, and he finally landed with sufficient vio 
 lence to stun the big fellow. 
 
 Then, with the skill of a veteran life-saver, the little 
 plebe swung the heavy yearling over his back, and struck 
 out for the bank, swept down stream by the current. 
 
 Frank ran along the bank till Davis came near enough 
 to be pulled out with his burden, and Frank dragged 
 both the water-dripping lads to solid ground. 
 
 "By gracious ! Davis, you have proved your value this 
 morning !" cried Frank, as he clung to the panting little 
 plebe. "Bascomb will owe you his life, and no one can 
 call you a coward from this time on." 
 
 The other boys came running to the spot, breathing 
 heavily, and Frank soon explained exactly what had taken 
 place. They looked at Davis with increased respect, and 
 one of them proposed three cheers for "Baby," which 
 were given with a will. 
 
 The sound of the cheering seemed to arouse Bascomb. 
 He opened his eyes, and the first person he saw was 
 Frank. With a moan and a shudder, he covered his eyes 
 with his hands, gasping:
 
 Baby's Heroism Conclusion. 281 
 
 "Take him away ! Don't let him touch me !" 
 
 "You have no reason to be afraid of me," assured 
 Frank, quietly. "I am no ghost; I am alive and well." 
 
 "No, no ; it cannot be !" 
 
 "It is the truth. I did not go to my death over Black 
 Bluff, as you thought. I did fall, but I was saved by a 
 rocky shelf." 
 
 Then Frank slowly and distinctly explained every 
 thing, finally convincing Bascomb that it was really true. 
 
 The horrors of the night he had spent alone in the 
 woods overcame Bascomb so that he was quite pros 
 trated, having to remain in hospital several days, and 
 barely escaping a fever. 
 
 But he was very happy to know that Frank still lived, 
 and this happiness led to his quick recovery. 
 
 As for Frank, although Bascomb had played a most 
 contemptible trick on him in flinging the red pepper in 
 his eyes, he knew the bully had been punished quite 
 enough, and he decided to let the matter drop. As it 
 was, there were many other matters to claim his atten 
 tion, some of which will be related in the next volume 
 of this series, entitled: "Frank Merriwell's Foes." 
 
 The report of Davis' exploit in rescuing Bascomb be 
 came generally known, and, instead of being called a 
 coward, Fred was regarded as something of a hero. The 
 boys thought him peculiar, but there were not a few 
 who came to uphold him in refusing to fight when he 
 had given his mother his word that he would do noth 
 ing of the kind. 
 
 'From -the time that he dragged Bascomb out of the 
 river he had very little trouble in the school, and there
 
 282 Baby's Heroism Conclusion. 
 
 were ever dozens of champions ready to fight his battles 
 when he did find it necessary to fight. 
 
 But Frank had been first to defend the little fellow, and 
 there never came a time when Fred did not think Frank 
 the noblest and bravest lad in all the world.
 
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 THE TORY PLOT. By T. C. Harbaugh. 
 
 IN BUFF AND BLUE. By T. C. Harbaugh. 
 
 WASHINGTON'S YOUNG SPY. By T. C. Harbaugh. 
 
 UNDER GREENE'S BANNER. By T. C. Harbaugh. 
 
 FOR FREEDOM'S CAUSE. By T. C. Harbaugh. 
 
 CAPTAIN OF THE MINUTE MEN. By Harrie Irving Hancock. 
 
 THE QUAKER SPY. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 
 
 FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 
 
 BY ORDER OF THE COLONEL. By Lieut. Louasberry. 
 
 A CALL TO DUTY. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 
 
 IN GLORY'S VAN. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 
 
 THE TRADER'S CAPTIVE. By Lieut. Louniberry. 
 
 THE YOUNG PATRIOT. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 
 
 " OLD PUT " THE PATRIOT. By Frederick A. Ober. 
 
 THE LEAGUE OF FIVE. By Commander Post. 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGER. By Capt. Frank Ralph. 
 
 DASHING PAUL JONES. By Frank Sheridan. 
 
 FROM MIDSHIPMAN TO COMMODORE. By Frank Sheridan. 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE ESSEX. By Frank Sheridan. 
 
 LAND HERO OF 1812. By C. C. Hotchkiss. 
 
 FOLLOWING MAD ANTHONY. By T. C. Harbaugh. 
 
 THE YOUNG CAPTAINS. By T. C. Harbaugh. 
 
 CAMPAIGNING WITH BRADDOCK. By William Murray Graydon. 
 
 Price, 5O cents per volume 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price 
 by the publisher 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Philadelphia 
 
 (3)
 
 THE ROB RANGER SERIES 
 
 By LIEUT. LIONEL LOUNSBERRY 
 
 A capital series showing what can be accomplished by a boy of ability and courage. 
 Rob it a hero whose example of courage, honesty and manliness can be followed with 
 profit. Rob's horse, Silent Sam, and his dog Trumps, play an important part in the 
 series, and cannot fail to win admiration and affection. No better stories for bright 
 healthy boys could well be imagined. 
 
 ROB RANGER'S MINE, or THE BOY 'WHO GOT THERE. By Lieut. 
 
 Lionel Lounsberry. 
 ROB RANGER THE YOUNG RANCHMAN, or GOING IT ALONE AT 
 
 LOST RIVER. By Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry. 
 ROB RANGER'S COWBOY DAYS, or THE YOUNG HUNTER OF THE 
 
 BIG HORN. By Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry. 
 
 Price, 5O cents per volume 
 
 THE CIRCUS SERIES 
 
 STANLEY NORRIS VICTOR ST. CLAIR 
 
 Where is there a boy who does not love a circus and who does not also love to take 
 a peep " behind the scenes " of the great white canvas ? There are adventures galore, 
 enough to satisfy any healthy youngster. 
 
 PHIL THE SHOWMAN, or LIFE IN THE SAWDUST RING. By 
 
 Stanley Norris. 
 YOUNG SHOWMAN'S RIVALS, or UPS AND DOWNS OF THE ROAD. 
 
 By Stanley Norris. 
 YOUNG SHOWMAN'S PLUCK, or AN UNKNOWN RIDER IN THE 
 
 RING. By Stanley Norris. 
 YOUNG SHOWMAN'S TRIUMPH, or A GRAND TOUR ON THE ROAD. 
 
 By Stanley Norris. 
 ZIG-ZAG, THE BOY CONJURER, or LIFE ON AND OFF THE STAGE. 
 
 By Victor St. Clair. 
 ZIP, THE ACROBAT, or THE OLD SHOWMAN'S SECRET. By Victor 
 
 St. Clair. _ . 
 
 Price, oO eents per volume 
 
 THE MATTHEW WHITE SERIES 
 
 These books are full of good, clean adventure, thrilling enough to please the full- 
 blooded wide-awake boy, yet containing nothing to which there can be any objection 
 from those who are careful as to the kind of books they put into the hands of the young. 
 
 ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG ATHLETE. A story of how a boy saved his 
 
 father's name and fortune. 
 
 ERIC DANE. Interesting experiences of a boy of means. 
 GUY HAMMERSLEY. How an energetic boy cleared his name. 
 MY MYSTERIOUS FORTUNE. An extremely interesting story of a $200,000 
 
 check. 
 THE TOUR OF A PRIVATE CAR. Interesting experiences of a young private 
 
 secretary. 
 THE YOUNG EDITOR. Experiences of a bright boy editing a weekly paper. 
 
 Price, 5O cents per volume 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price by the publisher 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Philadelphia 
 
 (4)
 
 The Famous Adventure Series 
 
 An ideal series of books for boys of all ages. The stories 
 are of the bright and sparkling kind, full of adventures on 
 land and sea and not over-burdened with lengthy descriptions ; 
 in fact, just the sort that must appeal to every healthy boy 
 who is fond of thrilling exploits and deeds of heroism. 
 
 The names of the authors give sufficient guarantee to their 
 merits. Among these may be mentioned Henry Harrison 
 Lewis, who is a graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, 
 and has written a great many books for boys. 
 
 A VOYAGE TO THE GOLD COAST. By Frank 
 H. Converse. 
 
 An adventurous trip of New England boys to Africa. 
 
 CAMP IN THE SNOW. By Wm. Murray Graydon. 
 
 Boys' winter camp life in northern New England. 
 
 CENTREBOARD JIM. By Henry Harrison Lewis. 
 
 The secret of Sargasso Sea. 
 
 FROM LAKE TO WILDERNESS. By Wm. Murray 
 Graydon. 
 
 Adventures around the northern lakes. 
 
 HOW HE WON. By Brooks McCormick. 
 
 Triumphs of a plucky boy afloat and ashore. 
 
 IN SEARCH OF AN UNKNOWN RACE. By 
 Frank H. Converse. 
 
 A thrilling story of exploration in Brazil. 
 
 KING OF THE ISLAND. By Henry Harrison Lewis. 
 
 Strange adventures on a South Sea Island. 
 
 TOM HAVEN WITH THE WHITE SQUADRON. 
 By Lieut. James K. Orton. 
 
 The adventures of a young inventor of submarine boat. 
 
 Illustrated, cloth binding, 5O cents per volume 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price 
 by the publisher 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Philadelphia 
 
 (5)
 
 THE ANNAPOLIS SERIES 
 
 By ENSIGN CLARKE FITCH, U. S. N. 
 
 A graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, and 
 thoroughly familiar with all naval matters Mr. Fitch has 
 devoted himself to literature, and has written a series of 
 books for boys that every young American should read. His 
 stories are full of interesting information about the navy, 
 training ships, etc. 
 
 BOUND FOR ANNAPOLIS, or The Trials of a Sailor Boy. 
 CLIP, THE NAVAL CADET, or Exciting Days at Annapolis. 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE TRAINING SHIP, or Clif Faraday's 
 Pluck. 
 
 FROM PORT TO PORT, or Clif Faraday in Many Waters. 
 A STRANGE CRUISE, or Clif Faraday's Yacht Chase. 
 
 Illustrated, cloth binding, 75 cents per volume 
 
 THE WEST POINT SERIES 
 
 By LIEUT. FREDERICK GARRISON, U. S. A. 
 
 Every American boy takes a keen interest in the affairs of 
 West Point. No more capable writer on this popular subject 
 could be found than Lieut. Garrison, who vividly describes 
 the life, adventures and unique incidents that have occurred 
 in that great institution in these famous West Point stories. 
 
 OFF FOR WEST POINT, or Mark Mallory's Struggle. 
 A CADET'S HONOR, or Mark Mallory's Heroism. 
 ON GUARD, or Mark Mallory's Celebration. 
 
 THE WEST POINT TREASURE, or Mark Mallory's Strange 
 Find. 
 
 THE WEST POINT RIVALS, or Mark Mallory's Strategem. 
 Illustrated, cloth binding, 75 cents per volume 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price 
 by the publisher 
 
 DAVID McKAY, Philadelphia 
 
 (6)
 
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