FRANK 
 MEKKIWELL'S 
 SECRET 
 
 BURT ' L 
 STAN DISH
 
 THE LIBRARY - 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 EDWIN CORLE 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 JEAN CORLE
 
 " He saw four rough-looking men around him, and realized that he was in the 
 cabin of the mysterious vessel." (See page 205)
 
 Y 
 
 BURT L. STANDISH 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "Frank MerriwelPs Schooldays," "Frank Merriwell's Trip West," 
 
 "Frank Merriwell's Chums," "Frank Merriwell's Foes," 
 
 "Frank Merriwell Down South," etc. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER, 
 
 604-8 SOUTH WASHINGTON SQUARE.
 
 Copyright, 1897 and 19*4 
 By STREET & SMITH 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Secret
 
 FRANK MERRI WEIL'S SECRET. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART. 
 
 Frank Merriwell, the all-round athlete of Yale, whose 
 integrity and honest endeavor in the path of right and 
 justice had made for him a host of friends, and as many 
 enemies, had become involved in "an affair of the 
 heart." So far as Merriwell was concerned, it had been 
 brought about entirely unwittingly. 
 
 It is a very fine thing for a young man to stop a run- 
 away horse and save the life of a young girl that's what 
 Merriwell did. But when the young girl afterward 
 sets the young man up as "her hero," complications are 
 likely to follow that's what Winnie Lee did. 
 
 And then Inza Burrage came to New Haven for a 
 visit. Frank and Inza had been friends at Fardale when 
 Frank was a student at the military academy. Frank 
 had told Winnie all about Inza, and their friendship. 
 At first Winnie had been jealous, but she had put this 
 feeling aside until Inza herself put in an appearance at 
 New Haven. Then, when Inza had gone away, and the 
 boys had pronounced her a "peach," and spoke of her 
 as Merry's "best girl," all her old jealousy returned, 
 and she resolved to use her arts to "cut out" Inza. 
 
 Immediately Winnie seemed to forget there was such a 
 person in the world as Frank Merriwell, and she took care 
 to bestow her sweetest smiles on the very fellows Merry 
 most disliked.
 
 2 An Affair of the Heart. 
 
 Among all the fellows with whom Frank was not par- 
 ticularly friendly, Winnie selected Walter Gordan as the 
 one on whom she would bestow her sweetest smiles. 
 
 It was shortly after Inza's departure that Merry was 
 invited to a party. He found Jack Diamond had also 
 received an invitation, and the two went together. 
 
 As they were starting out, they were joined by Walter 
 Gordan, much to Jack's disgust. 
 
 "Ah, fellows," called Walter, who was bundled to the 
 ears, "going to the party? So am I. We'll all go along 
 together." 
 
 Merriwell said nothing, but Diamond muttered some- 
 thing under his breath. 
 
 "It's jolly cold to-night, isn't it?" said Walter, attempt- 
 ing to strike up a conversation. 
 
 "This is good, bracing air," said Merriwell. 
 
 "Oh, say ! it's altogether too bracing. I don't like cold 
 weather. I hate snow. It's time for snow. Wonder why 
 we haven't had any yet? Ground ought to be covered 
 now." 
 
 Diamond and Merriwell walked on without speaking. 
 Gordan kept at Merriwell's side, and did not seem at all 
 discouraged by his reception. 
 
 "I'd like to go South this winter," he said. "Spent one 
 winter in Florida. Ever been there, Merry?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Oh, yes, so you have. I know about that, come to 
 think of it." 
 
 "Eh you do?" 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "Well, how in " 
 
 Frank stopped short. He had thought of asking Gor- 
 dan how he knew so much, but what was the use? It 
 was likely some fellow who did know had told Walter. 
 
 "I should think you'd like to go South this winter,
 
 An Affair of the Heart. 3 
 
 Merry," Gordan said. "At least, I should think you'd 
 like to go as far South as Virginia." 
 
 "Eh? What do you mean?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing, nothing !" answered Walter, with a know- 
 ing laugh ; "but you are a great fellow for the girls, Mer- 
 riwell you cut ice with them all. Same one was in 
 Florida when you were there, I believe." 
 
 There was something in Gordan's manner that aggra- 
 vated Frank so much that he longed to catch the fellow; 
 by the collar and shake him, but, with his usual coolness, 
 he held himself in check. 
 
 "You talk in enigmas," he declared. "What do you 
 mean by saying the same one was in Florida?" 
 
 "Same girl, of course." 
 
 "Same girl as what ?" 
 
 "Ha, ha, ha! I don't wonder you can't remember 
 them all. Why, same girl that was in Virginia as you were 
 returning from your trip across the continent." 
 
 Elsie Bellwood! Gordan knew about her. That was 
 plain enough, and again Frank wondered how the fellow 
 obtained his information. 
 
 Again Diamond muttered something under his breath, 
 but Gordan rattled on: 
 
 "There are not many fellows who can have so many 
 girls and keep them all. You must work it pretty slick, 
 Merry. It must keep you lying pretty near all the time." 
 
 "Look here, Gordan !" said Frank, sharply, "you are 
 getting somewhat offensive." 
 
 "Oh, am I? Beg pardon. Mustn't be so touchy, old 
 man; but the truth does sting sometimes, doesn't it?" 
 
 "If the truth were told about you, you'd have to get out 
 of college, my fine fellow," growled Diamond, unable to 
 keep silent longer. 
 
 "There are others, my boy," returned Gordan, witK 
 nonchalance. "I'm not the only dumpling in the soup.
 
 4 An Affair of the Heart. 
 
 But say, I'm just jollying. There's no reason why you 
 chaps should get nifty. Can't you stand anything ? Every- 
 body knows Merriwell is a masher." 
 
 Frank's hand fell on Gordan's shoulder. 
 
 "Look here!" he said, sharply; "I want you to under- 
 stand that I distinctly object to being called a masher." 
 
 "Oh!" 
 
 "Yes. I am not a masher, and I do not lie to anybody. 
 Your language is altogether too insolent." 
 
 "Punch him !" growled Diamond. 
 
 Gordan cringed. He had not thought to carry the thing 
 far enough to get himself into trouble, although he had 
 taken delight in prodding Merriwell. 
 
 "Hold on!" he exclaimed. "You must be tender to 
 mind a little joking." 
 
 "Joking can be carried too far." 
 
 "You never seem to think so when you are horsing some 
 other fellow. Can't you take a little when it comes your 
 turn?" 
 
 "Confine yourself to the proper kind of jokes, and it 
 will be all right. But you were not joking in this instance 
 you were sneering. I give you fair warning not to call 
 me a masher again, for that is a title to which I object. 
 That's all. You understand it, and there is no need of 
 making any further talk about it." 
 
 His hand fell from Walter's shoulder, and they walked 
 along in silence. Gordan realized he had reached the 
 limit, and he kept still. 
 
 Jack Diamond was not at all satisfied. He had hoped 
 Frank would punch Gordan, and he mentally resolved to 
 do the job himself at the first opportunity.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 JEALOUS WINNIE. 
 
 Winnie Lee was at the party. Frank sought her for 
 the very first dance, but she coolly said: 
 
 "You'll have to excuse me, Mr. Merriwell. I may not 
 dance this evening." 
 
 "Oh, but you must dance once with me !" he exclaimed. 
 
 She lifted her eyebrows. 
 
 "Indeed!" she returned, rather haughtily. "I had no 
 idea you were my master!" 
 
 He looked at her in astonishment. 
 
 "What's the matter with you, Winnie ?" he asked. "You 
 are not like yourself. I don't know why you should treat 
 me like this." 
 
 "I beg your pardon," she said, still more coldly. "There 
 is Mr. Gordan. I wish to speak with him." 
 
 Then she abruptly left Frank. 
 
 "That's what I call a body blow!" he muttered, as he 
 watched her hurrying to join Gordan. "It makes me feel 
 like giving that cad a thump on the coco ! It's plain he is 
 getting in his fine work with her. Means to knock me 
 out. Well, Winnie and I were simply the best of friends. 
 If she desires to end our friendship, all right. There are 
 a few other young ladies in New Haven society who may 
 feel like smiling on me." 
 
 Still, he was cut deeply by having Winnie abandon him 
 for a fellow like Gordan, and he flushed to the roots of his 
 hair as Walter led her onto the floor for the first waltz. 
 
 "That's worse than a body blow!" he gasped; "it's 
 plumb in the neck ! Oh, my ! how I would like to punch 
 that fellow ! I'll do it, too, if I continue to feel this way !"
 
 6 Jealous Winnie. 
 
 As they whirled past him, Gordan gave Merriwell a tri- 
 umphant grin, and that added to Frank's anger. 
 
 But Merry was right in thinking Winnie was not the 
 only young lady in New Haven society who would seek 
 his company. He, the famous athlete and football player, 
 was not to be left to himself. 
 
 A bevy of laughing girls, every one of them pretty, de- 
 scended on him, surrounded him, buttonholed him. 
 
 Then they began to fire compliments at him so fast that 
 he was nearly overwhelmed. He gasped for breath. 
 
 "Girls, girls!" he weakly protested. 
 
 "Oh, my brother says you are a phenom !" gurgled one. 
 
 "Mine says you are a marvel !" declared another. 
 
 "And I saw you carry all those Harvard men over the 
 line on your back in the game at Cambridge," said a third. 
 "How could you do it?" 
 
 "And you dance so divinely !" exclaimed a fourth. 
 
 "Why aren't you dancing now ?" they all cried together. 
 
 "To tell the truth, girls," laughed Frank, "I am waiting 
 to see which one of you will ask me." 
 
 There was a moment of silence, and then every one of 
 them asked him in the same breath. 
 
 "That won't do !" cried Frank, laughing more than ever. 
 "I can't dance this dance with all of you. How are we 
 going to settle it? Of course I'd like to dance with you 
 all all the time, but " 
 
 "We'll have to draw jackstraws for him," cried one 
 laughing joker. 
 
 "I'll tell you what we can do," said another. 
 
 "Do !" cried the three. 
 
 "We can play a game of whist, eight points, for him. 
 It will be such jolly fun ! What do you say, girls ?" 
 
 This proposition was received with great delight, and 
 Frank was carried away to the card-room.
 
 Jealous Winnie. 7 
 
 The game was played, with Frank for referee, and the 
 prettiest girl of them all was the winner. 
 
 By the time the game was over the first waltz had 
 ended, so it was agreed that they should take the next 
 dance. 
 
 From that time on during the entire evening Frank 
 was scarcely left to himself a moment. Plainly enough, 
 he was the lion of the evening, and it was considered quite 
 an honor to dance with him. 
 
 Frank gave Winnie Lee not the least attention, appear- 
 ing as if he did not know there was such a person in ex- 
 istence. Not once did she catch him glancing in her di- 
 rection. 
 
 Winnie flirted persistently with Gordan, making a des- 
 perate attempt to awaken some show of jealousy on Mer- 
 riwell's part. She laughed at Walter's witless jokes and 
 pretended to blush at his indelicate flattery. Any one 
 not in the secret might have fancied she was deeply smit- 
 ten by him. 
 
 Diamond saw all this. 
 
 "She's foolish if she thinks she can work Merry that 
 way," he mentally observed. "She is finding two can 
 play at that game, and Merry does it with the greater suc- 
 cess. Sometimes she does look around to see what he is 
 doing, but he acts as if he had never met her and did 
 not know there was such a girl in the world. Oh, he's 
 an artist in that line when he gets started. I can't do the 
 trick, for I become angry and show my jealousy." 
 
 At last Winnie approached Jack. Diamond saw her 
 coming. 
 
 "She's beginning to cave in," he thought. "It's ten 
 to one she's going to make an attempt to reach him through 
 me." 
 
 He was right, but the attempt was of a different char-
 
 8 Jealous Winnie. 
 
 acter than he anticipated, for Winnie said not a few cutting 
 and scornful things about Frank. 
 
 Jack was indignant, and defended his friend to the best 
 of his ability. 
 
 That, however, was just what Winnie wanted, but he 
 had not tact enough to see it. It gave her an opportunity 
 to get in her most telling blows, and she did so. 
 
 At last Diamond opened up in earnest, and it did not re- 
 quire many words for him to express his opinion of 
 Walter Gordan. 
 
 Then she pretended to get indignant, and away she went 
 to dance with Walter. 
 
 When Diamond told Frank, the latter simply laughed, 
 and said : 
 
 "You played into her hands, old fellow. She told you 
 all that stuff so you would report it to me. Even now 
 she is watching, and she knows you have told me." 
 
 Then Frank fell to laughing more than ever, as if im- 
 mensely amused by what Diamond had told him, and Win- 
 nie Lee believed her effort to touch him had been a failure. 
 
 Gordan was highly elated, for he fancied he had really 
 got the advantage of Frank in one thing. 
 
 If Gordan could have known a few of the thoughts in 
 Winnie's mind his self-conceit would have received a se- 
 vere setback. 
 
 Finally Frank decided to leave. He went to the coat- 
 room, and he was there alone when Winnie appeared at 
 the door. 
 
 "Mr. Merriwell," she called, and she seemed strangely 
 excited. 
 
 Frank turned sharply. 
 
 "Miss Lee." 
 
 He was perfectly calm and as cool as ice. 
 
 She hesitated, and then spoke quickly:
 
 Jealous Winnie. 9 
 
 "Before you go, I must have a few words with you. X 
 must not be seen speaking with you." 
 
 Frank was astonished. Just what it meant was more 
 than he could understand, but he said: 
 
 "Where shall we go?" 
 
 "Follow me at a distance. Do not approach me if any 
 other person is present." 
 
 He obeyed, and she found a curtained corner, where 
 there was not much chance that they would be seen. Be- 
 hind the curtains they sat down on a settee. 
 
 There was a moment of silence. 
 
 "We can talk here without being seen or overheard," 
 said Frank, very quietly. 
 
 "Yes," she said. "I have something to tell you." 
 
 "I am listening," said Frank. 
 
 "You have an enemy." 
 
 "Several of them." 
 
 "But one in particular." 
 
 "I am not sure I know which one you mean." 
 
 "A freshman." 
 
 "Mason?" 
 
 "Yes, that is his name." 
 
 "How do you know anything of him?" 
 
 "Never mind that. I do know, and I know that he 
 means to do you harm." 
 
 "Is this what you wish to tell me?" 
 
 "That and more. He will try to injure you to-night." 
 
 "Indeed ? How is he going about it ?" 
 
 "While you are here at this party, he and some of his 
 friends will enter your room." 
 
 "Really? I'd like to know how they are going to do it." 
 
 "Some fellow has taken an impression of your dooc 
 key, and they have had a key made to fit the lock." 
 
 Frank's interest grew.
 
 io Jealous Winnie. 
 
 "That is worth knowing. But what are they going 
 to do in my room?" 
 
 "Wait for you." 
 
 "Ah! And when I return what will they do then?'* 
 
 "Wait till you have gone to bed and to sleep, if you do 
 not discover them." 
 
 "And then what?" 
 
 "I don't know what they mean to do to you, but I do 
 know they mean you no good. The one who told me 
 seemed to think it all a great joke, but I think they intend 
 to hurt you. That is why I wished to speak to you, and 
 I did not wish to be seen for fear it would be suspected 
 that I had told you." 
 
 "It was very kind of you," said Frank, after a moment 
 of silence. "I assure you that I fully appreciate it, Miss 
 Lee." 
 
 She drew back. 
 
 "Don't mention it/' came chillingly from her lips. "I 
 Would have done as much for any other fellow." 
 
 "It is more than I expected you would do for me." 
 
 "More than you had a right to expect, perhaps." 
 
 "Winnie, why " 
 
 "Miss Lee, if you please." 
 
 "Oh, very well," he said, with the utmost seriousness ; 
 "Miss Lee it shall be hereafter forever. You have 
 chosen that it should be so; I am not to blame. I thank 
 you, Miss Lee, for the information you have given me, 
 and you may be sure I shall do my best to entertain my 
 enemies who are seeking to trap me to-night." 
 
 Then there was a silence. Some way his hand touched 
 hers, but she drew back quickly. 
 
 "No more drives, no more theatres, no more pleasant 
 evenings together," he repeated, slowly. "All that is 
 over now. You have decided it. I trust you will never 
 regret your decision."
 
 Jealous Winnie. n 
 
 "I shall not," she said, coldly so coldly that he was 
 astonished. 
 
 He had expected that she would melt at last, but now 
 he understood that he hoped in vain. It was plain that 
 she was determined, and she did not mean that anything 
 should alter that determination. 
 
 "Very well," he repeated again, rising to his feet. 
 "Once more I thank you. I would warn you of a certain 
 person, but were I to do so, you would think it spite and 
 jealousy, so I will remain silent." 
 
 "You need not trouble yourself, Mr. Merriwell. I am 
 quite capable of taking care of myself. Go now, so we 
 may not be seen coming from behind these curtains." 
 
 He left her, without another word, for he felt that 
 silence would be far more effective than words just then. 
 
 Without delay, he sought Jack Diamond. 
 
 "Any more dances engaged, old man?" he asked. 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Get your hat and coat. I want you to come with me." 
 , "What's up?" 
 
 "There's blood on the moon." 
 
 "As the moon is full, it must have fallen down and hurt 
 itself," returned Jack, springing the first joke Frank had 
 ever heard from his lips. 
 
 "Eh?" exclaimed Merry, in astonishment. "Have you 
 been drinking? Never knew you to do anything like that 
 before. You seem to be in a merry mood, old fellow. 
 That is good. Come with me, and I will show you more 
 fun than a whole barrel of monkeys. Oh, we won't do a 
 thing not a thing!"
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FRANK SECURES ASSISTANCE. 
 
 "Now," said Merriwell, as they were on their way to 
 South Middle, "we want some paint." 
 
 "What?" exclaimed Jack. 
 
 "Red paint." 
 
 "Red paint? What for?" 
 
 "We are going to do a little decorating this evening, 
 old fellow," laughed Frank. "If I can get the kind of 
 paint I want we'll do some decorating that will not wash 
 off easily." 
 
 Jack was more puzzled than ever. 
 
 "Look here !" he cried. "Let me into this. What sort 
 of a racket is on the stocks ?" 
 
 "I know where there are several savages who are on 
 the warpath, but are not properly adorned with war paint," 
 chuckled Merriwell. "I intend to see that they are adorned 
 as they should be." 
 
 "Still I am in the dark." 
 
 "Never mind ; you'll find out pretty soon. I am going 
 to get that paint if I have to turn out every dealer in chemi- 
 cals in New Haven. After those savages are adorned, 
 they'll not need another coat for a week, and it will take 
 sandpaper to get off the one we'll give them." 
 
 Frank knew where to get the stuff he desired, and soon 
 he and Jack each had a package under their arm. 
 
 "How many savages do you expect to paint this even- 
 ing?" asked the puzzled Virginian. 
 
 "Don't know. It all depends on how many of them we 
 find on the warpath." 
 
 "Say, when are you going to let me into the game?"
 
 Frank Secures Assistance. 13 
 
 "Right away. We've got to take Nagasaki along.'* 
 
 "The Jap?" 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 "He is a hypnotist, and we'll need him to put the sav- 
 ages under a spell." 
 
 "Will he do it?" 
 
 "He'll do anything for me." 
 
 "I'd like to know what sort of power you have over that 
 Jap freshman. No one else can approach him or do any- 
 thing with him, but he obeys you in everything." 
 
 "Little secret, old man." 
 
 "There is something uncanny about him. His mysteri- 
 ous power " 
 
 "Simple hypnotism, that is all." 
 
 "But he seems able to use it on anybody. All he has to 
 ido is look at them and wave his hand, and they crawl 
 or stand on their heads, as he may tell them. No wonder 
 the fellows shun him." 
 
 "No one would have known of his power if he had not 
 been forced to use it in his own defense. He was being 
 hazed right and left, and, getting tired of that, he started 
 in hazing the hazers. He would hypnotize them and then 
 make them do all sorts of ridiculous things, but he never 
 harmed anybody." 
 
 "He tried to kill Harris." 
 
 "Harris was to blame. He provoked Nagasaki till the 
 Jap completely lost control of his passions." 
 
 "Well, I don't care about monkeying with Matso Naga- 
 saki much. I don't mind going along with you, but I 
 would not enter his room with any other fellow in col- 
 lege." 
 
 To Nagasaki's room they went. The Jap was a hard 
 student, for he acquired knowledge slowly, although he
 
 14 Frank Secures Assistance. 
 
 never forgot anything once it was learned. He was just 
 preparing to go to bed when Frank knocked on his door. 
 
 "Who's there?" called the Jap, without unbolting the 
 door. 
 
 "Frank Merriwell. I want to see you right away. Let 
 me in." 
 
 "Not to-night. Go away. I will see you to-morrow." 
 
 "To-morrow will not do. I must see you now." 
 
 After a pause, the door was unbolted, and Nagasaki 
 surlily called : 
 
 "Come in." 
 
 The boys entered. 
 
 Nagasaki's room was of the plainest sort. It was not 
 decorated, nor did it contain any chairs. There were rugs 
 on the floor. When Nagasaki wished to sit down he sat 
 on one of these rugs. 
 
 Frank and Jack stood up. Nagasaki faced them and 
 asked what they wanted. 
 
 "I want you to help me to-night, Matso," said Frank. 
 "There are several fellows in my room who are waiting 
 for me to return. They had a key made to fit my door, 
 and have sneaked in there. It is their plan to lay low 
 till after I get to bed and go to sleep. Then they mean 
 to capture me. What they mean to do after that I can't 
 tell, but it is certain they intend to raise merry thunder 
 with me." 
 
 "How you find all this out?" asked Matso. 
 
 "It came to me straight enough. I know it is true." 
 
 "What you do?" 
 
 "I am going to capture those fellows and decorate 
 them?" 
 
 "How decorate?" 
 
 "With paint ; we have it here ; it won't wash off. We 
 will mark them so the whole college will know them to- 
 morrow."
 
 Frank Secures Assistance. 15 
 
 Something like the ghost of a grin came to the face 
 of the little Jap. 
 
 "You turn the joke/' he said. "That good trick. What 
 you want of me?" 
 
 "I want you to go along and help me. You are to make 
 the fellows powerless while I get in my fine work with 
 the paint brush." 
 
 "Can't do that." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "When I am let alone, I let others alone." 
 
 "That's all right, Nagasaki ; but I have befriended you, 
 and now it is your turn to give me a lift." 
 
 As he said this, Merriwell made a peculiar sign with 
 his fingers. The Jap saw the movement. 
 
 "All right ; I will go with you," he said. 
 
 They soon reached Frank's room. 
 
 "Walk right in, fellows," said Frank, loudly, as he un- 
 locked the door of his room. "I will strike a light di- 
 rectly." 
 
 Diamond and Nagasaki entered, stepping heavily, and 
 trying to make it appear as if there were four or five of 
 them, instead of two. 
 
 Frank closed and locked the door. Then he found a 
 match and lighted his student's lamp. 
 
 "Sit down," he invited. "We are alone. As I was 
 telling you, this Hock Mason is the easiest thing I ever 
 went up against. I don't see where he got his reputation. 
 He is fruit for anybody that can scrap a little bit." 
 
 "And he runs with a snide crowd," said Diamond, lean- 
 ing on the back of a chair. "Gordan, Harris and those 
 fellows are all sneaks. Why, it would be just like them, 
 Frank, to sneak into your room some night when you 
 were out and try to get the best of you when you came 
 back." 
 
 "If they ever try that trick, they'll wish they hadn't,"
 
 1 6 Frank Secures Assistance. 
 
 said Frank. "I carry a revolver, and I would not hesitate 
 to shoot one of them down. It would be a matter of self- 
 defense. Any one has a right to shoot a burglar found 
 in his sleeping-room." 
 
 All this was said for effect. 
 
 Frank began to look around, without seeming to do so. 
 It was not long before he discovered that one of his ene- 
 mies was hidden beneath the couch. 
 
 Merry felt certain the others were in the next room, 
 as the couch was the only thing that could hide one of 
 them in that room. Probably at least two of them were 
 under the bed. 
 
 Frank took down a cane and asked Jack how he liked 
 it. Then he fixed a pin to the end of the cane and sat 
 down on the couch. As he chatted he carelessly thrust 
 the cane under the couch. It touched something, and 
 Merry mercilessly rammed the pin home. 
 
 There was a cry and an upheaval. The fellow under 
 the couch had not been able to remain silent. 
 
 "Hello!" called Frank, springing to his feet. "Come 
 out. I have caught a burglar, and my revolver is ready 
 for use. Come out, fellow, or I'll send a few bullets under 
 there." 
 
 "Don't shoot !" called a faint voice. "I'll come out." 
 
 Then Walter Gordan crawled from under the couch ! 
 
 "Well," said Merriwell, coolly, "you must have hustled 
 to get here. How did you do it ?" 
 
 Walter tried to force a laugh. 
 
 "Oh, I came right along," he said, huskily. "I I found 
 your door unlocked, and so I I came in." 
 
 "I see you did. What were you doing under that 
 couch? Were you looking for anything?" 
 
 "Ha, ha ! Nun no oh, no ! Just got under there fofl 
 a a little joke. That's all."
 
 Frank Secures Assistance. 17 
 
 "You'll find it the worst joke you ever tried to play/* 
 declared Diamond, fiercely. 
 
 Gordan actually trembled. 
 
 "Oh, come !" he cried. "You wouldn't hurt a fellow 
 for trying to a ah to have a little fun?" 
 
 "No, we won't hurt you," said Frank ; "but I am going 
 to have some fun myself. Mr. Gordan, my friend, Matso 
 Nagasaki. Take a good look at him." 
 
 Gordan looked at the Jap. Nagasaki was standing. 
 He gazed fairly into Gordan's eyes, made a few slow 
 moves with his hands, and then said: 
 
 "You must do as I say. You can't help it. Stand with 
 your back to the wall there." 
 
 Mechanically Gordan obeyed. He seemed powerless to 
 do anything else. 
 
 "He is yours," said the hypnotist. "He will stay there 
 till I tell him to move." 
 
 Frank picked up a small lamp, which he lighted. 
 
 "Come," he whispered. "The others must be in the 
 bedroom." 
 
 They followed him into the room. He had his revolver 
 in his hand. Pointing the weapon toward the bed, he said : 
 
 "Now, gentlemen, I will prove to you my claim that a 
 revolver of this bore will send a bullet through the bed and 
 into the floor beneath it. That will end the dispute. I 
 shall fire three shots downward through the bed, and I'll 
 bet you anything that all three bullets will penetrate the 
 floor under the bed. Ready, now " 
 
 "Stop !" called a frightened voice from beneath the bed. 
 "Don't shoot ; you will hit us !" 
 
 Frank laughed outright. 
 
 "So there is another burglar here," he said. "Come out, 
 sir, and show yourself." 
 
 Sport Harris and a freshman by the name of Pooler 
 came crawling forth.
 
 1 8 Frank Secures Assistance. 
 
 As soon as they appeared Nagasaki began the work of 
 hypnotizing them, and they were soon under his control. 
 His power was something marvelous, and it was not re- 
 markable that it was thought by the other students that 
 there was something uncanny about him. 
 
 When Harris and Pooler were on their feet, Frank faced 
 the clothespress. 
 
 "It is possible there are still others around," he said. 
 "If any person is behind that door, he had better come 
 forth, for when I have counted three, I shall fire through 
 the door." 
 
 Then he began to count: 
 
 "One!" 
 
 Silence. 
 
 "Two !" 
 
 Silence still. 
 
 The door opened quickly, and Hock Mason came out, 
 his face pale and contorted with rage. He looked as if he 
 longed to leap at Frank's throat, but the revolver was 
 pointed straight at him, and Frank advised him not to 
 try it. 
 
 Nagasaki worked hard to hypnotize Mason. The fresh- 
 man bully fought against the spell, and the perspiration 
 fairly poured from the face of the Jap before he con- 
 quered. 
 
 But conquer he finally did, and then the three were 
 marched into the other room and stood in a line beside 
 Gordan, with their backs to the wall. 
 
 "Ha, ha, ha!" 
 
 Frank Merriwell laughed merrily as he surveyed his 
 captives. 
 
 "Take a good look at them, fellows," he directed. 
 "Aren't they birds ? They came here to have fun with me 
 to-night."
 
 Frank Secures Assistance. 19 
 
 The hypnotized students seemed to realize what was 
 being said, but they remained rigid and helpless, with 
 their backs against the wall. 
 
 "You have found out who your enemies are, Merry," 
 said Diamond. 
 
 "Yes, and I am going to mark them all so I'll know 
 them to-morrow so everybody will know them. Matso, 
 direct them to strip off their clothes to the waist." 
 
 The Jap did so, and it was a ludicrous spectacle to see 
 those four captives obeying his order. 
 
 Frank prepared the paint which he had obtained. 
 
 "Now, my giddy warriors," he said, when they were 
 stripped to the waist, "I am going to decorate you each 
 with a coat of war paint. It will go on easy, and it will 
 wear off in time, but you will not be able to wash it off in a 
 hurry." 
 
 The captives showed signs of rage, but still they were 
 helpless. Nagasaki was watching them all, and now and 
 then he would make a few mysterious passes before their 
 eyes. 
 
 Frank dipped the brush into the paint. He approached 
 Gordan. 
 
 "My dear boy," he said, "I will be as artistic as possible 
 with you. You shall look like a Pawnee brave." 
 
 Then he began to dash on the paint profusely. Jack 
 Diamond regarded the work with great satisfaction. 
 
 "Put it on thick, Merry," he advised. "Give them some 
 work to get the stuff off." 
 
 "Don't worry," laughed Frank. "I'll make it thick 
 enough, and it will not come off in a hurry." 
 
 Breasts, backs and arms of all four he daubed with 
 the paint, which dried with remarkable quickness. 
 
 Then he came to the faces of the captives. 
 
 "I'll put my mark on you all," he said. "You will 
 carry it for several days."
 
 20 Frank Secures Assistance. 
 
 On the right cheek of each he painted an "F," and on 
 the left cheek he made an "M." 
 
 "F. M.," he said. "There is not a man at Yale who 
 does not know that stands for Frank Merriwell. You will 
 carry my mark for some time." 
 
 He drew other fanciful designs on their faces with the 
 paint, and Jack Diamond was forced to smile with grim 
 satisfaction. Nagasaki looked on stolidly. 
 
 When the task was completed, Frank bade them put on 
 their clothes. They did not make a move to obey him, 
 however. At the command of the Jap they resumed the 
 garments they had taken off. 
 
 Frank made a speech to them. He struck a mock heroic 
 attitude, and addressed them as "mighty warriors." He 
 caused Diamond to smile still more. 
 
 At last, he gave Nagasaki his instructions. The Jap 
 ordered them to go to their rooms and to sleep. When 
 they awoke in the morning they were to be in their normal 
 condition. 
 
 Frank opened the door, and mockingly bade them good- 
 night as they filed out of the room.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED. 
 
 A number of juniors had gathered at the fence despite 
 the cutting wind which swept across the campus. In their 
 midst was Danny Griswold, talking excitedly and laughing 
 tumultuously. 
 
 "My, my !" cried the little fellow. "I've heard all about 
 it ! I know how it happened. Oh, my, my ! It's the best 
 thing Merriwell ever did. Branded all four of them 
 marked them with some kind of paint that they can't wash 
 off. Not one of them appeared at chapel this morning. 
 They would have been guyed to death. He put his initials 
 on their faces 'F. M.' They look like Indians in war 
 paint. He, he, he ! They will be jollied to death." 
 
 "Well, I don't understand how he captured all four of 
 them," said Charlie Creighton, eagerly. "Such a thing 
 seems impossible." 
 
 "That's because you do not yet know what Frank Merri- 
 well can do," said Bruce Browning. 
 
 "But Mason, the bully, was one of them!" exclaimed 
 Bandy Robinson. 
 
 "And it's a corker on Mason," cried Griswold. "If that 
 doesn't cook him, I don't know what will." 
 
 "How was it how did he do it?" persisted Creighton. 
 
 "Caught them all in his room and held them up while 
 he painted them. They say he made them strip to the 
 waist, and he has covered them with paint." 
 
 "Well, I am willing to admit I don't understand how he 
 could do it," said Ben Halliday. 
 
 "Held them under the muzzle of a revolver, and they 
 didn't dare do a thing."
 
 22 What Followed. 
 
 "Ridiculous!" 
 
 "But he did it, I tell you! Diamond was with him- 
 they did it together." 
 
 "What were those fellows doing in his room ?" 
 
 "They had put up some kind of a job on him, and he 
 turned the tables. It was the slickest trick ever done." 
 
 "They say two juniors were in it," put in Ben Halliday. 
 
 "Yes, Sport Harris and Walter Gordan. You know 
 they are both down on Merriwell." 
 
 "Well, that fellow is a dandy! I should think Hock 
 Mason would feel like crawling into a hole and pulling the 
 hole in after him." 
 
 "He has not been seen outside his room to-day, and 
 he's sent to the drug store for all sorts of stuff to take the 
 paint off. He swears he will murder Merriwell. Ha, 
 ha, ha!" 
 
 "Boys," laughed Halliday, "I really believe Merriwell 
 will cook the freshman bully. I didn't think he could do 
 it, but I have changed my mind." 
 
 When it became generally known what had happened 
 it was the talk of the college. The appearance of Merri- 
 well was the signal for a score of fellows to crowd around 
 him and ask him all sorts of questions. 
 
 Frank told the whole story, with the exception of be- 
 traying the manner in which he received the warning that 
 his enemies had set a trap for him. He explained how, 
 Nagasaki had aided him in handling the four plotters. 
 
 His story produced shouts of laughter. Then it was 
 decided to pull the "decorated" lads out and place them 
 on exhibition. Harris, Gordan and Pooler were assailed 
 in their rooms, they were dragged forth before a jeering, 
 laughing mob of students. 
 
 Never did three fellows look more ashamed and dis- 
 gusted. 
 
 Their faces showed how they had struggled to scrub
 
 What Followed. 23 
 
 off the paint. Everybody guyed them. Everybody joined 
 in heaping ridicule upon them. 
 
 Harris ground his teeth while he looked as if he longed 
 to kill somebody. Gordan was utterly crushed, and 
 Pooler tried to bluff it off by pretended nonchalance. 
 
 Hock Mason alone was not dragged out of his room. 
 They went up for him, but he refused to unlock his door, 
 and he shouted at them that he was armed with a baseball 
 bat and would brain the first man who tried to enter. 
 
 They contented themselves by firing volleys of ridicule 
 through the door and then went away. 
 
 Harris had thought of running away and staying away 
 till he could get the paint off, but it was too late for that. 
 Everybody knew it, and he resolved to remain and face it 
 out. 
 
 All speculated in the manner in which Mason would 
 carry it off. Of course he was furious, but what could 
 he do? "There'll be an awful fight between that fellow 
 and Merriwell when he does come out," said Robinson. 
 
 "And Merriwell will lick him," declared Halliday. "I 
 am sure of it now." 
 
 "Then Mason's reign as a bully is over." 
 
 "Let us hope so." 
 
 Before night Mason had a doctor. This created a stir 
 and further gossip. All wondered what it meant. 
 
 The following day Mason was taken away to the city 
 hospital. Then it was said that he had a fever.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A CHANGE OF HEART. 
 
 Hock Mason lay on a cot in the hospital. He was 
 emaciated and pale. His eyes were large and staring, 
 while the hand that lay on the spread was thin and bony. 
 
 "A gentleman from the college to see you," said the 
 nurse. "He has been here every day to inquire for you, 
 but this is the first day that the doctor would let him see 
 you. Your fever has turned now, and you are coming out 
 all right, so your friend can see you." 
 
 "My friend!" said Mason, weakly. 
 
 "Yes, he must be the best friend you have in the world, 
 for no one but a true friend could have been so anxious 
 about you." 
 
 "Is he the only one who has called?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I don't know who it can be. I did not know I had 
 such a friend. I want to see him." 
 
 A few moments later Frank Merriwell came to the 
 side of the cot. Mason stared up at him with his eyes 
 larger and wilder than ever. 
 
 "You ?" he huskily whispered. 
 
 "Yes," said Frank, sitting down beside' the cot. "They 
 tell me you are coming out all right, old man. I am glad." 
 
 Then Hock Mason's eyes filled with tears, and he 
 turned his face away to hide them. 
 
 "I am afraid I was in some way to blame for this," 
 said Frank, his voice low and sincere. "It has worried 
 me, Mason. If you had died, I'd never forgiven myself." 
 
 Still Mason kept his face turned away and remained 
 silent. His heart was filled with wonder and a new sen-
 
 A Change of Heart. 25 
 
 sation he had never before experienced. It was swelling 
 with an emotion Mason did not understand. 
 
 "I don't think you really meant me any harm," Frank 
 went on, "and the way I got back at you was altogether 
 too steep. It " 
 
 "It served me right !" growled Hock Mason, still with 
 his face averted. 
 
 "I don't know, but it was pretty rough." 
 
 "Rot ! I meant to take you out of that room and carry 
 you somewhere that we could fight it out and I could lick 
 you without being interrupted. I meant to mark your 
 face worse than you marked mine. It wasn't what I de- 
 served ! You should have used me worse, Merriwell !" 
 
 "Well, old man, it's all over now, and the nurse tells 
 me you are coming around finely. You'll be in fighting 
 trim again before long, and then " 
 
 Mason turned over and showed his face wet with tears. 
 
 "I'll never fight again!" he passionately declared. "I 
 am done with it ! Since I have been sick I've thought it all 
 over, and, for the first time, I have seen what a big brute 
 I was becoming. I began to realize I didn't have a true 
 friend in the world, and it made me sick at heart. I 
 would have given anything for one real friend, but I real- 
 ized that I would not be missed from old Yale if I died. 
 I knew lots of fellows would be glad of it. Then I be- 
 gan to hate myself, and I swore I would be a different fel- 
 low if I ever got well. I am going to try to keep my 
 oath." 
 
 Merriwell was surprised. 
 
 "Old fellow," he said, earnestly, "I hope you will stick 
 to that. You have a magnificent physique, and there is 
 no reason why you should not be popular. If you go into 
 athletics, you will become a second Hikok, and Yale will 
 be proud of you." 
 
 A light came to the face of the lad in an instant.
 
 26 A Change of Heart. 
 
 "Do you really believe that ?" he asked. 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "And do you think the fellows will have anything to do 
 with me?" 
 
 "Of course they will." 
 
 "I don't know. I must be the most unpopular man at 
 liTale." 
 
 "You can overcome that." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "I will help you/' 
 
 "You?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "In what way?" 
 
 "I'll show them that I am your friend, and " 
 
 "Merriwell, would you do that would you dare ?" 
 
 "Why not? You may depend on me, Mason." 
 
 Hock was silent again, looking long and steadily at 
 Frank's face. 
 
 "Merriwell," he finally said, and his voice quivered, 
 "you are the whitest fellow in the whole world. You are 
 the only one who has taken the trouble to ask for me 
 iwhile I was sick. The others did not care. And you are 
 the last one I could have fancied would care. I would 
 give anything were I half the man you are !" 
 
 He was sincere; his face and his voice showed that. 
 Merriwell was affected. 
 
 "Mason, you may become just as good a man as the 
 best. We are what we make ourselves." 
 
 Hock reached out and took Frank's hand. 
 
 "Merriwell," he exclaimed, "if there is a change in me, 
 you will be the cause of it. Hereafter I'll fight for you 
 as long as I can stand up ! If I become anything worthy, 
 the credit will be due to you. God bless you, Merriwell 1" 
 
 (For a long while the pair talked the matter over.
 
 A Change of Heart. 27 
 
 When Frank went away Mason was in a decidedly 
 thoughtful mood. 
 
 He was beginning to see matters in the right light. 
 
 Frank was equally thoughtful. 
 
 He had been greatly alarmed when it was reported that 
 his enemy was down with a fever, and he was sincerely 
 thankful that Mason was on the road to recovery. 
 
 "I guess I was a little too rough," he said to himself. 
 
 Day after day slipped by until winter was at hand. 
 
 Then Mason came from the hospital prepared to turn 
 over a new leaf if the other students would let him. 
 
 Frank had determined to stand by him. What this con- 
 dition of affairs led to will he related in the next chapter.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A SENSATION ON THE CAMPUS. 
 
 There had been a light fall of snow, and a crowd of 
 merry fellows were snowballing on the Yale campus. They 
 laughed and shouted as they pelted each other. 
 
 "There goes Browning !" exclaimed Bink Stubbs. "See 
 me nail him !" 
 
 Then, straight as a bullet from a rifle, the snowball 
 flew, striking the big fellow's cap, and knocking it from 
 his head. Stubbs uttered a cry of triumph. 
 
 "Confound you!" called Browning, as he lazily picked 
 up his cap. "If it wasn't for the trouble, I'd shake you 
 out of your clothes." 
 
 "You can't do it, you know," tauntingly sang Stubbs. 
 
 "Can't? Why not?" 
 
 "Can't catch me. You're so slow you can't catch a 
 cold." 
 
 "I'll catch you some time," said Browning, brushing the 
 snow off his cap and leaning up against a tree ; "and when 
 I do, there'll be a funeral in your family." 
 
 This brought another shout of laughter from the little 
 fellow, and he let another snowball fly at Bruce. 
 
 Being too lazy to dodge it, Browning put up his hands 
 and caught it as if it were a baseball. Then, with aston- 
 ishing energy, for him, he threw it back. 
 
 Stubbs dodged and avoided the snowball, which flew 
 past and struck a big freshman in the side of the head, 
 nearly knocking him down. 
 
 "Hock Mason!" gasped Stubbs. "Now there'll be a 
 fight!" 
 
 But, to the astonishment of all who saw it, Mason
 
 A Sensation on the Campus. 29 
 
 showed not the slightest inclination to fight. He wiped off 
 the snow with his handkerchief, grinned a bit, and said : 
 
 "That was a pretty good shot. Plugged my ear so 
 I won't be able to hear for a week. I'd like to snowball 
 ;with you fellows, but I don't dare try it." 
 
 Then he walked away. 
 
 Everybody stopped throwing snowballs and stared after 
 him, as if unable to believe what they had seen and heard. 
 
 "Jee whiz !" gasped Bink Stubbs. "Is this some sweet, 
 sweet dream? He wasn't even ruffled." 
 
 Stubbs, Halliday, Rattleton and Browning quickly came 
 together, staring after the retreating form of the huge 
 freshman. 
 
 "Did you hear it? Did you see it?" spluttered Rattle- 
 ton. "Why, he didn't even stuss at Cubbs I mean cuss at 
 Stubbs." 
 
 "And he grinned !" grunted Browning "grinned as he 
 was digging snow out of his ear!" 
 
 "Thought he'd come after me," admitted Stubbs. "Was 
 ready to light out lively." 
 
 "Tell you what!" cried Halliday. 
 
 "Tell us !" exclaimed the others. 
 
 "I believe Merriwell has cooked him." 
 
 "Can't be possible. He wouldn't give up like that." 
 
 "I believe he has, just as hard. You know Merry said 
 he'd do it, and he wouldn't enter into a combine against 
 Mason." 
 
 The boys remembered that Frank had persistently re- 
 fused to have anything to do with a combination to tackle 
 the freshman, and then had gone against Mason alone, 
 saying that was the only way to teach him his place. 
 
 Was it possible the final encounter between the two had 
 broken Hock Mason's spirit? 
 
 "Tell you what I heard," said Stubbs, mysteriously. 
 
 "Go ahead," urge.d Halliday.
 
 30 A Sensation on the Campus. 
 
 "Heard Merriwell visited Mason at the hospital before 
 Hock was out of bed. Something queer about that." 
 
 "Frank Merriwell is forever doing remarkable things," 
 said Ben. 
 
 Browning nodded. 
 
 "I have traveled with him some," he said, "and I am 
 never able to tell what sort of a move he will make in any 
 game. He is the greatest enigma I ever struck." 
 
 "Look !" exclaimed Halliday. "There he is now. He's 
 coming this way. He's met Mason. They have stopped 
 to chat. Holy smoke! what a nerve Merriwell has! 
 There's not another fellow in college would dare do the 
 things he does. He is chummy with all alike. He cuts ice 
 in all directions. Doesn't care a continental what people 
 say about him, and still holds his head up all right. WKy, 
 that fellow is the biggest mystery at Yale, not even ex- 
 cepting Nagasaki, the Jap." 
 
 Tastily dressed in winter clothes, Frank was standing 
 with his hands carelessly thrust into his pockets as he 
 chatted with the freshman. No one could have suspected 
 by their appearance that they had ever been anything but 
 the very best of friends. Mason was not such a bad- 
 looking fellow. He had a strong face and a big nose. 
 Still, as the two stood there, for all of the superior size of 
 the freshman, a good judge would have declared Merri- 
 well the more manly in appearance. 
 
 There was something impressive about Frank's appear- 
 ance. For all of his habitual carelessness, his every pose 
 and gesture betrayed a reserve fund of energy and power 
 that would stand by him well in any trying situation. 
 
 Although jovial and bubbling with good humor, his 
 merry eyes could blaze with indignation and his handsome 
 face could darken like a stormcloud. 
 
 Frank detested fighting, as he detested everything that
 
 A Sensation on the Campus. 31 
 
 is low, but he believed that, as a rule, the best way to 
 avoid a fight is to boldly face an enemy. 
 
 Halliday, Stubbs, Browning and Rattleton watched 
 with some interest the former enemies who stood talking 
 earnestly. 
 
 "Jove !" exclaimed Ben. "Merry is beginning to warm 
 up. He has taken his hands out of his pockets, and is 
 talking to Mason in earnest. Wonder what it's all about ?" 
 
 "Dunno," grunted Browning; "but Merriwell can talk 
 in a way to interest anybody. Never saw a fellow like 
 him before. He is posted on everything and can talk 
 about anything." 
 
 "See there!" palpitated Halliday. "Hanged if they 
 aren't going away together! Yes, by Jove! they are go- 
 ing " 
 
 "Arm in arm !" gasped Rattleton. "Bring me soothing 
 syrup, chloroform, any old thing that is deadly! This 
 this is a heart blow !" 
 
 On all sides the snowballing lads paused and stared, 
 amazed at the spectacle of the freshman bully and Frank 
 walking across the campus arm in arm. 
 
 The change in Hock Mason was truly most amazing. 
 The former bullying expression had disappeared from his 
 face, and he seemed dejected and troubled. 
 
 It was universally supposed that Mason's dejection was 
 caused by the thought that he had been humiliated by Mer- 
 riwell, but still, instead of avoiding Frank, the former bully 
 sought his society. 
 
 It was this fact that puzzled those who were watching 
 the two, and Jack Diamond was by far the most as- 
 tounded fellow in college. 
 
 Diamond had formed a powerful dislike for the big 
 freshman. To him Mason still remained a coarse, brutal 
 fellow, with no refinement or decency, and the Virginian 
 abhorred him.
 
 32 A Sensation on the Campus. 
 
 The more the Virginian thought this over the more 
 puzzled he became, and he thought of it a great deal. At 
 last, three days later, he went to Harry Rattleton and told 
 him everything. 
 
 "What does Merry mean by having anything to do with 
 that ruffianly freshman?" stormed Diamond. "Why, even 
 Mason's former friends, or chums, among the freshmen 
 have abandoned him since his downfall as their bullying 
 leader." 
 
 "Perhaps that is why Merriwell is associating with him," 
 said Harry. 
 
 "Perhaps that is the reason," repeated the Southerner, 
 in a puzzled way. "I don't see why that should be a 
 reason. Does it make Mason any better because his own 
 class thinks he's too mean to travel with?" 
 
 "No, but it is pretty hard on Mason." 
 
 "Hard on him yes. Just what he deserves ! He 
 brought it all on himself. What he deserves no! He 
 has not received what he deserves." 
 
 "I suppose Merry thinks he was the principal cause of 
 Mason's downfall and so he associates with him as a balm 
 to his fattered sheelings I mean shattered feelings." 
 
 "Then Merriwell has a great weakness he's a fool !" 
 exploded Diamond. "I don't want to think him a fool." 
 
 "It does seem foolish for him to have anything to do 
 with Mason." 
 
 "It is foolish ! Rattles, we must do something to break 
 that up." 
 
 "That will be easier to say than do, old man." 
 
 "Think so?" 
 
 "Know so. I have roomed with Merriwell, and I know 
 him pretty well. If he thought " 
 
 "Well, we'll try to show him the folly of his ways. 
 Are you with me?" 
 
 "Sure."
 
 A Sensation on the Campus. 33 
 
 On the evening after this conversation took place, Jack 
 and Harry found Merriwell pouring over his Plato in his 
 room. 
 
 "Hello, Merry!" called Rattleton, cheerfully, as he en- 
 tered. 
 
 Diamond was not so exuberant in his salutation. He 
 looked grim and troubled, dropping into a chair and star- 
 ing hard at the tiger-skin rug on the floor. 
 
 "Make yourselves at home, fellows," said Frank. "You 
 know this is Liberty Hall to all my friends, although many 
 of them have not seemed to regard it thus of late." 
 
 "Know why ?" asked Diamond, shortly. 
 
 Frank looked at him in surprise. 
 
 "Know why?" he repeated. "No, I don't suppose so. 
 I haven't stopped to think much about it." 
 
 "Perhaps they didn't want to meet somebody they were 
 liable to find here." 
 
 Frank put down his book, got up, stood with his feet 
 apart and his hands resting on his hips, staring straight 
 at the Virginian. 
 
 "Just what do you mean by that, old man?" he slowly 
 asked. 
 
 "Just what I said," answered Jack, doggedly. 
 
 "And my friends have been staying away because they 
 did not wish to meet somebody who comes here?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Frank was not slow to understand; he saw it all in a 
 moment, and he knew who Diamond was thinking of as he 
 spoke. 
 
 "Are these the sort of friends I have !" exclaimed Merri- 
 well, with a laugh that was touched with scorn. "Well, 
 I suppose it is the way of the world." 
 
 "You can't blame them," said Diamond, grimly, while 
 Harry Rattleton writhed in dismay, for the conversation 
 had taken such an abrupt turn that the plans he and Jack
 
 34 A Sensation on the Campus. 
 
 had formed for bringing it about were shattered, in a mo- 
 ment. 
 
 "I don't know but it is as much as I expected," said 
 Frank, quietly. 
 
 "Isn't it as much as you have any right to expect?" 
 demanded Diamond. "You can't suppose your best friends 
 care to take chances of meeting in your room some fellow 
 with whom they are not willing to associate or know." 
 
 Frank was silent, and, feeling that he had the best of 
 it, Jack went on: 
 
 "You sometimes prefer to choose your own associates, I 
 presume. That being the case, you would be inclined to 
 keep away from some place where you were liable to 
 meet some person you did not care to know. You can't 
 deny that I am right." 
 
 "I shall not attempt to deny it." 
 
 "Well, you see why your friends are keeping away from 
 your room. A certain person they do not care to meet 
 comes here." 
 
 "I presume you mean Hock Mason?" said Frank, 
 calmly. 
 
 "Yes, he is the fellow." 
 
 "I thought so." 
 
 "A low, brutal ruffian a man of coarse instincts. Is it 
 strange any decent fellow does not care to know him ?" 
 
 Something like a grim smile flitted across Frank's face. 
 
 "You are putting that pretty steep," he said. "You say 
 any decent fellow does not care to know him, and yet I 
 know him." 
 
 "That is the mystery. Why you should be friendly 
 with that bullying scoundrel is a mystery to everybody." 
 
 "He is no longer a bully, Diamond. Have you heard of 
 any bullying act of his since he came from the hospital ?" 
 
 "No, but I know he is still a bully at heart." 
 
 "What makes you think so?"
 
 A Sensation on the Campus. 35 
 
 "Bullies do not become gentlemen in such short order. 
 He can't change his nature." 
 
 "It is not absolutely necessary that a bully should be- 
 come a gentleman the moment he ceases to be a bully. 
 I acknowledge that the change from a bully to a gentle- 
 man cannot come about in a moment." 
 
 "Then do you mean to acknowledge that Hock Mason 
 is not a gentleman, and still you associate with him and 
 permit him to come to your room?" 
 
 "Hock Mason is as much of a gentleman as he can be 
 at present, and I believe he will improve steadily." 
 
 "But he is not a gentleman, and you know it. Do you 
 wonder that your friends will not come to your room and 
 take chances of meeting some fellow who is not a gentle- 
 man some fellow with whom you seem to be friendly? 
 If they snubbed him, as he should be, then you would be 
 offended, so, rather than offend you, they remain away." 
 
 Again Frank was silent. Diamond looked up and 
 watched him closely, feeling that he had struck a body 
 blow. He saw his words had some effect on Merriwell. 
 
 "Now," thought Jack "now to follow it up." 
 
 Aloud he said : 
 
 "If you choose the society of one low fellow to that of 
 the friends who have been true to you, you have no one 
 but yourself to blame; but it seems to me that, when 
 you see matters in their true light, you will come to your 
 senses and everything will be all right again." 
 
 "What do my friends expect of me ?" 
 
 "That you will give Hock Mason the frigid agitation, 
 the marble heart, the grand bounce that you will drop 
 him for good and all. Then your old friends will come 
 back to you, and things will be as they were before. What 
 do you say, Merriwell will you drop Mason?" 
 
 And Frank quietly but firmly answered: 
 
 "No."
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 RATTLETON'S EYES ARE OPENED. 
 
 "No?" cried Diamond. 
 
 "No ?" echoed Rattleton. 
 
 "No," repeated Merriwell. 
 
 Jack and Harry were astonished, for they had fancied 
 that the case had been presented so strongly that Frank 
 could not fail to appreciate the situation, and it had not 
 seemed possible he would prefer a chap like Hock Mason 
 to his former friends when he fully understood his posi- 
 tion. 
 
 "You refuse to give Mason the shake ?" flared Diamond, 
 angrily, his face growing crimson. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Jack sprang to his feet. 
 
 "I was right!" he cried. "Rattleton has boasted that 
 you have no weak points, but I told him you did have, 
 for you were fool enough to stick by Hock Mason. I was 
 right. Merriwell, you are a fool !" 
 
 These words he flung straight into Frank's face, the 
 passionate Southerner being aroused to a point where he 
 cast discretion aside. 
 
 Frank drew back a bit, putting both hands behind him 
 while his face grew pale. 
 
 "Look here, Diamond," he slowly said, "you accuse me 
 of choosing the society of a person who is not a gentle- 
 man, but it strikes me that you are showing yourself any- 
 thing but a gentleman just now." 
 
 The words were cutting, and they brought the Vir- 
 ginian to a sense of his angry speech. 
 
 "I am trying to make you understand," he said, huskily.
 
 Rattleton's Eyes are Opened. 37 
 
 "I saw it was no use to talk to you in an ordinary man- 
 ner, and I didn't know but I could wake you up by be- 
 ing insulting." 
 
 "But for the fact that we are friends who have fought 
 for each other in the past, your words would have aroused 
 me to your regret. I don't think any other person ever 
 called me a fool to my face without afterward swallowing 
 his words. 
 
 "I do not want to fight " 
 
 "You will not have to. We had our little trouble, and 
 it was settled, but it will be rather hard for me to forget 
 your insulting words of a moment ago. Friends who 
 insult me are not friends I desire." 
 
 "Oh, all right !" flared Jack, once more. "I think I un- 
 derstand you now ! You do not desire my friendship. 
 Very well; you'll not be troubled with it in the future. 
 Good-evening !" 
 
 Then, before Merriwell could say another word, he 
 caught up his cap and rushed from the room, slamming 
 the door behind him. 
 
 Rattleton was all broken up. 
 
 "Too bad !" he exclaimed. 
 
 "Oh, I don't know," said Frank, calmly. "He talked 
 plainly to me, and I retaliated in the same manner." 
 
 "But he has such a temper, and it takes him so long 
 to get over anything." 
 
 "He will come to his senses sooner or later." 
 
 "But," said Harry, hesitatingly, "really you are wrong, 
 Frank." 
 
 "Eh? How?" 
 
 "It can't be that you prefer a fellow like Hock Mason 
 to your old friends ?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "But you choose him instead of them." 
 
 "No."
 
 38 Rattleton's Eyes are Opened. 
 
 "You do you did." 
 
 "You are mistaken, Rattles, old man. I simply refused 
 to throw Mason over." 
 
 "Well, what is that but a choice?" 
 
 "Much. Look here, Harry, I believe in building up, 
 not in tearing down. If I see a poor fellow in the mud and 
 I can pull him out by giving him a hand, I do not hold 
 back for fear I may get a little mud off him onto me. 
 The fellow who does hold back for such a reason is a 
 moral coward, no matter how brave he may be physically." 
 
 Harry was silent, and Merriwell went on, warming up 
 to his subject. 
 
 "Mason is down, and it would not take much to put 
 him still lower. He feels that everybody is against him, 
 and his courage is not great. I was the principal cause of 
 his downfall, and I fail to see why I should push him 
 farther." 
 
 " N You needn't push him farther, but you can lone him a 
 let I mean let him alone." 
 
 "Would that be right?" 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Would it be the act of a Christian?" 
 
 Harry gasped for breath. 
 
 "A a what?" he cried. 
 
 "A Christian." 
 
 "Do you profess to be a Christian?" 
 
 "I make no profession, but I see no reason why, when 
 the opportunity offers, I should not do an act of Chris- 
 tianity." 
 
 Never was Rattleton more amazed. He got on his feet 
 unsteadily, stared at Frank, shook his head, and then 
 sat down weakly. 
 
 "It beats me !" he muttered. 
 
 "I see no reason why you should be so astonished, Rat-
 
 Rattleton's Eyes are Opened. 39 
 
 ties," said Frank, quietly. "There are two kinds of Chris- 
 tianity professed Christianity and practical Christianity. 
 I believe in the practical kind, and, as far as possible, 
 I have tried to live by it all my life. I have always been 
 square and upright; I have never tried to injure any per- 
 son wantonly ; I have been inclined to forgive my enemies, 
 and I have never lost an opportunity to hold out a helping 
 hand to a fellow-creature in distress. I don't go about 
 boasting of these things, and you know it, Rattles. I don't 
 think I ever spoke to any one but you of them, but if you 
 will stop to think, you will remember that I have practiced 
 them. That is what I call practical Christianity." 
 
 Rattleton was silent, still staring at Frank, as if, for 
 the first time, he was beginning to understand this side 
 of his friend's nature. 
 
 Harry thought of the many times Frank had forgiven 
 enemies who had tried to injure him. Now he under- 
 stood why it had been done. Merry was trying to be a 
 practical Christian without making a big show of himself 
 as a professed Christian. 
 
 Rattleton's heart began to warm toward Frank in a new 
 way. All along he had loved this dashing young athlete, 
 who was a leader in all manly sports, but now he saw a 
 depth in Frank's nature that had never before opened to 
 him. For a moment Merry had drawn away the curtain 
 from a chamber of his soul and permitted his companion 
 to peep awesomely into that sacred room. 
 
 Frank was serious Harry thought him far more seri- 
 ous than he had ever been before. The expression on his 
 face was new to Rattleton. 
 
 "I think you are beginning to understand what I mean, 
 old man," said Merriwell, as he approached and placed a 
 hand on Harry's shoulder. "Hock Mason was down I 
 helped throw him down. He was in disgrace, and his 
 courage was broken. He did not think he could come
 
 40 Rattleton's Eyes are Opened. 
 
 back to college, and he would have abandoned the attempt 
 but for me." 
 
 "You induced him to come back?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Don't don't tell the fellows that !" 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "They'll say you were a fool. Everybody hoped he 
 would not come back. His return was the only thing they 
 feared." 
 
 "Because they thought he would return to his old bully- 
 ing ways ?" 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "Has he showed any signs of doing so?" 
 
 "Not yet, but " 
 
 "But what?" 
 
 "He is not fully recovered yet. All the fellows think 
 he is keeping still till he gets in good trim, and then he 
 will light on some of the fellows he knows he can bully." 
 
 "And I think they are wrong." 
 
 "You believe just what?" 
 
 "I believe Hock Mason is cured." 
 
 Harry shook his head. 
 
 "You doubt that?" said Frank. "Well, I don't know 
 as it is strange, but I think I am a fairly good reader of 
 human nature, and I am sure I brought about the change 
 in Mason." 
 
 "How by knocking him out with your fists and then 
 painting him when you caught him in your room ?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "How, then?" 
 
 "By taking an interest in him when he was in the hos- 
 pital. I was the only person who went there to inquire 
 about him, and I was the first and only visitor from col- 
 lege to see him while he was in the hospital. He was
 
 Rattleton's Eyes are Opened. 41 
 
 astounded by it, and his heart melted the first time T came 
 to the side of his cot." 
 
 "I don't know about melting the heart of such a ruf- 
 fian as that fellow is." 
 
 "Not 'is,' Harry, but 'was/ for he is no longer a ruf- 
 fian. If you had been with me, you would have been 
 convinced. All through his illness Mason had thought 
 how there was no one who cared enough for him to even 
 ask if he were living or dead. He had come to realize 
 that his failure to return to college would be a source 
 of pleasure to almost everybody. He even realized that 
 many of them would express satisfaction and pleasure 
 if they were to hear that he had died. Such thoughts 
 made him bitterer than ever at first, but he was finally 
 led to think why it was so. Then he saw that he alone 
 was to blame for the state of things, and no one in col- 
 lege ever despised him more than he despised himself." 
 
 Harry's interest was increasing with each moment. 
 Still it did not seem possible that Mason, the brutal bully, 
 had ever paused to think such thoughts or to care what 
 anybody thought of him, even though he did think them. 
 It had once seemed to be his delight to keep others in 
 fear of him. He did not seem to want them to have any 
 feeling of affection for him ; if they cringed with fear and 
 fawned about him like whipped curs he was happy. 
 
 Could such a nature be changed in a moment ? 
 
 Harry still doubted. 
 
 "When I was admitted to the hospital the first time 
 to see Mason," Merriwell went on, "he turned his head 
 away that I might not see the tears in his eyes." 
 
 "Scrate Gott !" gurgled Rattleton. "Ears in his ties I 
 mean tears in his eyes ! Come off 1" 
 
 "It is true!" 
 
 "Oh, you don't want me to believe that! You arc 
 jollying now, Merry."
 
 42 Rattleton's Eyes are Opened. 
 
 "Not a bit of it. There were tears in Hock Mason's 
 eyes. You are not to mention this to the fellows, Harry." 
 
 "Oh, I won't you needn't be afraid of that!" cried 
 Rattleton. "I don't want them to call me a thundering 
 liar ! I won't say a word about it." 
 
 "Mason was astounded to think I should call to ask 
 about him. He was amazed to think I should care." 
 
 "Well he might be !" 
 
 "When he found I really did care, then he told me 
 of all he had thought about himself as he lay there ill 
 and alone on that cot. He told me how mean he felt 
 and how he had hated himself. I saw my opportunity 
 to do an act of practical Christianity, and I did not let it 
 pass. Then and there I pledged myself to be Hock Ma- 
 son's friend, and stand by him if he would give up his old 
 ways and turn over a new leaf." 
 
 "Great smoke ! what a nerve !" 
 
 "It takes nerve sometimes to be a practical Christian." 
 
 "I suppose Mason jumped at the opportunity suppose 
 he was eager to be known as the friend of Frank Merri- 
 well, the most popular fellow in Yale ?" 
 
 "Nothing of the sort." 
 
 "What's that? He didn't?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "What did he do?" 
 
 "Refused." 
 
 "Now, Merry, you are putting it on pretty thick again. 
 Why did he refuse ?" 
 
 "Because he said it would injure me to be known as his 
 friend. He said he would not pull me down by associating 
 >vith me." 
 
 Rattleton nearly lost his breath. 
 
 "Hock Mason Hock Mason said such a thing as that ?" 
 he palpitated. 
 
 "He did."
 
 Rattleton's Eyes are Opened. 43. 
 
 "Merry have you any salting smells ? I mean 
 any smelling salts?" 
 
 "No," smiled Frank, "but I can throw some cold water 
 on you if you are going to faint." 
 
 "Never mind it," said Harry, weakly. "I think I'll pull 
 out without flying off the handle. But it nearly did me up. 
 It was an awful shock, Merry awful !" 
 
 Frank was forced to laugh at this, but still he protested 
 that he was in earnest in all he had said. 
 
 "It was some time," continued Frank, "before Mason 
 would agree to let me be known publicly as his friend." 
 
 "Frank!" 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "I think I know why he did not want you to apptar 
 friendly toward him." 
 
 "I know, too." 
 
 "You are wrong. It was shame." 
 
 "Shame no, it " 
 
 "I tell you it was shame. He knew the fellows would 
 laugh they would say he had been conquered. He did 
 not want that, and that is why he did not want to appear 
 publicly as friendly toward you. I have hit it, Frank." 
 
 "You have hit it wrong, Rattles. I am certain I read 
 him aright, and I attribute a nobler motive to Hock Mason. 
 He knew he was unpopular, and he believed it would in- 
 jure me to associate with him. For that reason he did 
 not want it publicly known there was any friendship be- 
 tween us." 
 
 "If you are right," said Harry, slowly, "I shall begin 
 to believe there is something in Hock Mason." 
 
 "I am right I know I am right. And I am going to 
 do everything in my power to make a better fellow of 
 Mason. I believe it is my duty." 
 
 "Even though all your former friends desert you?" 
 
 "Even though the last one of them deserts me!" ex-
 
 44 Rattleton's Eyes are Opened. 
 
 claimed Merriwell, firmly, and his handsome face shone 
 with a light that added to the admiration which Rattleton 
 felt for him. 
 
 "Well, Frank," said Harry, rising, "all I have to say 
 is that you have lots of nerve." 
 
 "Am I right, or wrong?" 
 
 "Well, I guess you are right you are always right." 
 
 "I am glad to hear you say that, old man. Give me your 
 hand!" 
 
 Their hands clasped. 
 
 "Now," said Frank, "what I have told you about Ma- 
 son's tears and all that is to be a secret, you know you 
 are not to speak of it." 
 
 "No danger." 
 
 "All right. For all of former friends, I am going ahead 
 just as I have started. I shall stand by Hock Mason and 
 try my best to make a decent fellow of him." 
 
 "You are right about one thing," said Harry. "What 
 you are doing is an act of practical Christianity."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 DI A MOND'S PLAN. 
 
 Jack Diamond was waiting for Rattleton to appear. 
 He collared Harry. 
 
 "Come !" he exclaimed. 
 
 "Where?" asked Harry. 
 
 "To my room." 
 
 "All right." 
 
 To Jack's room they went. 
 
 Diamond closed and locked the door behind them. Then 
 he exploded. 
 
 "I'm going to kill Hock Mason!" 
 
 "Hey ?" gasped Rattleton, in great alarm, for he feared 
 Diamond's fiery Southern blood was aroused to such a 
 pitch that he meant to actually kill the former bully. 
 
 "It must be done !" declared the Virginian, pacing ex- 
 citedly up and down the floor. 
 
 "You are not in earnest, Jack you can't be?" 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Such a thing is ridiculous." 
 
 "Why ridiculous?" 
 
 "You are excited, or you would not ask such a silly 
 question. Why should you kill Hock Mason ?" 
 
 "To keep him from killing Frank Merriwell!" 
 
 Rattleton staggered, gasping : 
 
 "What do you mean ? You do not think Mason is plot- 
 ting to do Merry up in some cowardly manner?" 
 
 "I don't know what Mason is plotting to do, but I do 
 know what he is doing he is killing Merriwell socially. 
 For all of Merriwell's popularity a short time ago, the 
 fellows are beginning to turn from him with scorn be-
 
 46 Diamond's Plan. 
 
 cause he has anything to do with such a lowborn creature 
 as Hock Mason. I told Merriwell to-night that he was a 
 fool, but when I did that I made a fool of myself. I 
 should have held my temper and tried to reason further 
 with him." 
 
 "You would have wasted your breath.*' 
 
 "Perhaps not." 
 
 "I know it." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "I know the whole business from start to finish. Merry 
 told me everything after you left." 
 
 "What did he tell you?" 
 
 Harry hesitated. He wondered how much he could tell. 
 
 Jack instantly observed that hesitation, and he resolved 
 to know everything. Immediately he became cool, and 
 he set his wits to work worming the story out of Rattleton. 
 Within half an hour he had learned everything save the 
 one thing Frank had pledged Harry not to tell that 
 Mason had shed tears when Merriwell visited him in the 
 hospital. 
 
 Then Diamond set about convincing Rattleton that Mer- 
 riwell was making the mistake of his life. 
 
 "Mason knows he has met his match in Merriwell," 
 said the Virginian, "and he thinks he sees his opportunity 
 to bolster himself up through this seeming friendship. 
 Take my word for it, he is doing this thing out of purely 
 selfish motives." 
 
 Harry began to think Diamond was right. 
 
 "He thinks that as long as he cannot remain the bully 
 that he has been he will keep his head up by the aid of 
 Merriwell. It makes no difference to him that he is drag- 
 ging Merriwell down. What if he does drag Merriwell 
 down? He will rejoice in that, for Merriwell was the 
 man who caused his downfall. It's ten to one he has
 
 Diamond's Plan. 47 
 
 thought this out in just this way. It's more than even 
 chances that he is trying to drag Merriwell down." 
 
 Harry began to get excited now, but still he hated to 
 think that Frank was being deceived that Frank had 
 made a mistake. 
 
 "I told him all this," he declared, "but he convinced 
 me I was wrong." 
 
 "He couldn't convince me." 
 
 "What can we do?" 
 
 "We'll do something to break it up, bet your life!" 
 
 "My head is all uddled and maddled I mean muddled 
 and addled," confessed Rattleton. "I don't seem able to 
 think of anything." 
 
 "I am doing a little thinking, old man. I'll tell you how 
 we can find out if Merriwell is right in thinking Mason 
 did not wish to have it known they were friendly for fear 
 he might damage Merry in that way." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "We'll go to Mason and tell him he is making Merriwell 
 unpopular." 
 
 "What good will that do?" 
 
 "We'll ask him to keep away from Merriwell. We will 
 tell him it is his only way of showing his manhood and 
 saving Merriwell from disgrace. We will try to get him to 
 promise not to have anything at all to do with Merriwell." 
 
 "If he refuses what ?" 
 
 "We'll know he is sticking to Merry from purely self- 
 ish motives. It will settle that point." 
 
 "But if he agrees to cut Merriwell?" 
 
 "It will be a good job, in case he agrees and keeps his 
 agreement." 
 
 "But it will ruin Frank's plan to pull Mason up." 
 
 "What of that ? It's our duty to ruin it if we can save 
 Frank. Why should Merriwell sacrifice himself for a 
 creature like Hock Mason? Merriwell's small toe is bet-
 
 48 Diamond's Plan. 
 
 ter than the whole of Mason ! One drop of his blood is 
 worth all there is in Mason's carcass! You know that." 
 
 Diamond's fiery words aroused a feeling of fire in 
 Harry's breast. 
 
 "That's right that's right !" Rattleton cried. 
 
 "Then why should he offer himself as a sacrifice in an 
 attempt to better the condition of a creature like Mason 
 an attempt that is almost certain to prove a failure ?" 
 
 "He should not." 
 
 "Of course he shouldn't. Now you are getting sensible, 
 Harry. And we are the boys to see that he does not make 
 a fool of himself. If we can get Mason to keep away from 
 Frank, it will be a good job a job to be proud of. If 
 there is anything in Mason, he'll feel that he is doing a 
 good act, and it will make him all the better. Really, we 
 will be helping Mason instead of hurting him, Rattles." 
 
 Harry did not pause to consider if Diamond's reasoning 
 was perfectly sound. It seemed all right, and that was 
 enough. He was carried away by the smooth reasoning of 
 the fiery Southerner. 
 
 "Never looked at it that way before, Jack," he said, "but 
 your head's level. You've got a great nut on you, old 
 man." 
 
 Jack didn't give him an opportunity to think it all over 
 soberly. He saw he had carried the day with Rattleton, 
 and so he hastened to put the plan into action before Harry 
 could think the whole matter over again. 
 
 "Now is our time," he said. "We should get at Mason 
 without delay, before he can injure Merriwell any fur- 
 ther." 
 
 "That's so," agreed Harry, who was now in condition to 
 agree to anything Diamond might say. 
 "Let's go for him to-night ?" proposed Jack. 
 "Do you dare?"
 
 Diamond's Plan. 49 
 
 "Dare!" flashed Diamond. "Do you think I'm afraid 
 of that big lubber ?" 
 
 "He's an awful fighter when he starts out, and he has 
 beaten some of the fellows frightfully." 
 
 "What of that?" 
 
 "He may think we are meddling with something that is 
 none of our business. It may infuriate him, and then " 
 
 "You think he may try to jump us?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "You think it may be that he has kept from beating 
 somebody just as long as he can?" 
 
 "That's it." 
 
 "Well, I don't know but you are right." 
 
 "Then are you going to tell him he is injuring Merri- 
 well, and take chances of being knocked down and ham- 
 mered senseless?" 
 
 "You are afraid of Mason, Rattles you don't want to 
 face him." 
 
 Harry flushed, but admitted that Diamond was right. 
 
 "You need not go," said Jack, quietly. 
 
 "But you will you go?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Alone?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Well, you have a nerve! You shall not go alone. I 
 will go with you." 
 
 "You may be sure of one thing," said Diamond, as he 
 opened a drawer in his dressing case. "Mason never will 
 be given a chance to knock me down and kick me," 
 
 "What will you do if he tries it?" 
 
 "I'll stop him." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "With this." 
 
 Diamond took a k>aded revolver out of the drawer and 
 slipped it into his pocket.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ON THE WAY TO SEE MASON. 
 
 Instantly Harry wilted. He knew Diamond's fiery tern* 
 per, and he fully understood the danger. 
 
 "That settles it !" he exclaimed. "I am not going with 
 you to see Mock Hason I mean Hock Mason." 
 
 "Not? Why not?" 
 
 "You are altogether too fiery, old man, and you are too 
 wrought up over this business. I don't know what you 
 might try to do with that gun." 
 
 "If Mason attempted to hammer me, I'd stand him off. 
 If he pushed me too hard, I'd shoot him. It would be a 
 case of self-defense. We could both swear we were afraid 
 of our lives." 
 
 "Would you swear that was why you took the revolver 
 with you?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Jack, I won't go." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "I can't trust you." 
 
 "Had you rather take chances of being hammered half 
 to death by that big brute of a freshman ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Will you go if I leave this gun here?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Diamond took the revolver out of his pocket and tossed 
 it back into the drawer, which he closed and locked. 
 
 "I will leave it," he said, quietly. "I want you to come 
 along, for I want you to hear all that is said. It is possible 
 Mason will be so angry that he will make some damaging
 
 On the Way to See Mason. 51 
 
 admissions. If that happens, I want somebody to sub- 
 stantiate me when I tell them to Merriwell." 
 
 "What sort of admissions are you expecting him to 
 make ?" 
 
 "Why, when we accuse him of attempting to injure 
 Frank, he may get hot and say he is trying that, and defy 
 us to stop it. See? If we hear anything like that, and we 
 can carry it to Merriwell, it may be a body blow for 
 Mason. Twig my little game ?" 
 
 "I do ; but if the fellow is crafty enough to work Merri- 
 well, he may be too slick to give away the game like that." 
 
 "Too slick when he isn't angered, but you know he is a 
 man who permits his passions to get the best of him." 
 
 Harry knew it, and he knew that Diamond was another, 
 but he was sure it would not be a healthy thing for any 
 one to say as much to Jack. 
 
 "If he will not agree to break away from Merriwell and 
 keep away," said the lad from Virginia, "I'll call him a few 
 names that will stir him up. Then I'll tell him what I 
 think that is, that he is doing his best to drag Merry into 
 the mire. It's ten to one he will flare up and say I am 
 right, and challenge us to prevent it." 
 
 Harry looked dubious. 
 
 "By Jove, Jack!" he exclaimed. "We have a mighty 
 dirty job on our hands. Mason is a bad man to call hard 
 names." 
 
 "You can back out now if you want to. I will take my 
 gun and go alone." 
 
 "And shoot the fellow ? that's what you'd do !" 
 
 "If he crowded me." 
 
 "You shall not go!" 
 
 Diamond laughed scornfully. 
 
 "Why, Rattles," he cried, "you can't stop me!" 
 
 Harry realized this was true. For a moment he was in 
 despair, and then came the final resolution to go with Dia-
 
 52 On the Way to See Mason. 
 
 mond. He could see no way out of it. It would not do td 
 let Jack call on Mason alone with that revolver in his 
 pocket. Were he to do so, and were he to shoot Mason 
 in self-defense, which Rattleton understood was quite 
 likely to happen, there would be no witness to prove he 
 had not gone there with the deliberate intention of killing 
 the giant freshman. 
 
 "Jack," said Harry, "you must let me search you before 
 we start." 
 
 "Search me? What for?" 
 
 "To make sure you have no other weapons." 
 
 A grim smile came to Jack's face. 
 
 "Go ahead," he said. 
 
 Rattleton searched through the pockets of the Virginian, 
 removing a common clasp knife. 
 
 "Why are you taking that away from me ?" asked Jack, 
 surprised. 
 
 "I have heard of cases where, in a fight, some fellow got 
 out a knife like that, opened it, and cut the other fellow all 
 up with it. I am not going to have you do anything of 
 that sort." 
 
 "All right. I'll leave that here, too." 
 
 When they were ready to leave the room, Harry sug- 
 gested that Jack put on his overcoat, but Diamond de- 
 clined. 
 
 "No," he said, "I don't want to be bothered with that 
 if I have to scrap with Mason. I'll leave it here. If the 
 freshman hits me, you must sail into him, Rattleton. We'll 
 do our best to punch his face off. How is that?" 
 
 "I am with you, old man, so long as nothing but fists 
 are used." 
 
 "Then come on." 
 
 They left the room, locking the door behind them. 
 
 Mason had a room in a freshman boarding house on 
 York Street. In that house Rattleton and Merriwell had
 
 On the Way to See Mason. 53 
 
 roomed when they first came to New Haven, and so Harry 
 knew just where to find the fellow they sought. He also 
 knew how to gain admittance to the house. 
 
 Up to Mason's room they went, Jack leading. Rattle- 
 ton's heart was thumping violently, but still he was ready 
 and determined to stand by Diamond, no matter what hap- 
 pened. 
 
 Rat-tat-tat ! 
 
 Diamond knocked on the door in a bold, aggressive 
 fnanner. 
 
 There was a moment's pause, and a voice called : 
 
 "Come in." 
 
 They opened the door and entered, closing the door tie- 
 hind them. 
 
 Mason was there alone. He looked up in astonishment 
 from a book he had been reading. Then he put the booE 
 down. 
 
 That book, as Rattleton saw, was the Bible ! 
 
 When Harry made this discovery he staggered as if he 
 had been struck. Hock Mason, the freshman bully, read- 
 ing the Bible ! Such a thing seemed beyond the bounds of 
 possibility, and it is not strange Rattleton was nearly para- 
 lyzed with amazement. He looked again, to make sure he 
 was not mistaken. 
 
 No, the book was the Bible. 
 
 Diamond did not pay any attention to the book. He had 
 eyes for nothing but Mason, whom he was watching like a 
 hawk. 
 
 "Er excuse me!" exclaimed Mason, rising in confu- 
 sion. "I thought it was the landlady. She said she would 
 bring up the receipt for the rent this evening." 
 
 "Where is your roommate?" asked Diamond, coldly. 
 
 "My roommate !" echoed the freshman. "Why, I have 
 none." 
 
 "That's odd," said Jack, suspiciously. "Why not?"
 
 54 On the Way to See Mason. 
 
 Mason's face, which had not regained its natural color 
 since he was ill, now flushed painfully. 
 
 "Because," he said, slowly, "because no one cares to 
 room with me." 
 
 "Oh, that is it!" exclaimed Jack, and his expression 
 seemed to add, "I don't wonder." 
 
 "Yes, that is it," said Mason, with humility. 
 
 "He's putting on that humble air," thought Jack. "The 
 duffer thinks he can fool us ! He can't." 
 
 "Won't you sit down, gentlemen?" invited Mason, of- 
 fering chairs. 
 
 "No," refused Jack, "what we have to say to you we 
 can say standing." 
 
 Mason bowed. The expression of his face showed he 
 was wondering why they had visited him there. 
 
 Now that the time had come, Diamond found it rather 
 awkward to go at the freshman as he had intended. He 
 cleared his throat, all the while watching Mason narrowly, 
 and said: 
 
 "We have come to see you about an important matter, 
 eh, Harry?" 
 
 "Yes, yes," said Rattleton, quickly, "whatever Jack 
 goes has to say I mean, what he says has to go." 
 
 It was plain that Mason's curiosity was aroused, and 
 his wonderment showed itself on his face. What matter 
 of importance could have brought them to see him ? How- 
 ever, with a dignity that surprised Jack, he restrained his 
 curiosity and waited for Diamond to express himself. 
 
 "It's it's about Merriwell," said Jack, hesitating de- 
 spite himself. 
 
 "What about him?" asked the freshman. 
 
 "You you are rather friendly with him since since 
 he did you up the last time you put up a job on him," said 
 Jack, with a bluntness that was foreign to his usual cour- 
 tesy and politeness.
 
 On the Way to See Mason. 55 
 
 Mason drew himself up a bit, and Diamond, for the first 
 time, was struck by the magnificence of the fellow's per- 
 fect figure. 
 
 "Mr. Merriwell," said the freshman, slowly, "has seen 
 fit to show a friendly feeling toward me, for all of the past. 
 It was very good of him, and I appreciate it more than 
 I can say in words." 
 
 "I hope you do," said Jack, quickly. "We are here to 
 put you to the test." 
 
 Slowly a look of suspicion gathered on Mason's face. 
 It was plain he regarded them as enemies, and fancied 
 they were going to try to get him into a trap. 
 
 "What sort of a test?" he finally asked. 
 
 Rattleton felt that the tug of war had come, and he 
 feared Diamond would go at the freshman in a manner 
 that would arouse Mason's anger and antagonism. 
 
 Still, Harry was relieved to think the task was not re- 
 quired of him. He knew well enough that he would be 
 unequal to it. 
 
 Jack hesitated, and then he braced up and spoke swiftly : 
 
 "You must know, Mr. Mason, that you are anything but 
 a popular man in college." 
 
 Mason winced a bit, as if a sore spot had been touched, 
 but Diamond rattled on : 
 
 "In fact, you are, if anything, the most unpopular man 
 in Yale. You have nobody but yourself to blame that this 
 is so." 
 
 Mason made a gesture of protest, opened his lips, as if 
 about to speak, closed them firmly, and was silent. 
 
 Of a sudden, a feeling that some consideration was due 
 this fellow's feelings, if he had feelings, struck Diamond, 
 and his next words were somewhat apologetic : 
 
 "You will understand that, in order to make our busi- 
 ness plain, it is necessary I should talk plainly." 
 
 "Go on," said the freshman, hoarsely.
 
 56 On the Way to See Mason. 
 
 "Mr. Merriwell," continued Diamond, "is the most 
 popular man in college. He made himself so through his 
 own efforts. You must know it is certain to damage any 
 man who associates with you at present. Later, if it is 
 seen that you have changed for the better, this order of 
 things may change, but, just now, no self-respecting fellow 
 can afford to be classed as your friend." 
 
 Rattleton gasped for breath. He prepared for the out- 
 burst that he felt must come. He was sure that Mason, 
 the bully with the ungovernable temper, would assault 
 Diamond. 
 
 For a few seconds it seemed that Rattleton was right in 
 thinking this, for Mason's face grew dark as a stormy 
 cloud, his hands were clinched, his eyes gleamed, and his 
 strong white teeth shone through his parted lips. He 
 glared at Jack as if longing to annihilate the Virginian. 
 
 Diamond saw all this, and he put himself in a position 
 to meet the assault. 
 
 It did not come. Instead, something happened that 
 astonished both the youths. 
 
 The look of fury fled from Mason's face, and its place 
 was taken by an expression of pain and shame that was 
 pitiful to see. He covered his face with his hands, ut- 
 tered a bitter groan, and sank down on a chair, where he 
 sat still, with his face covered. 
 
 Jack and Harry looked at each other in astonishment. 
 
 "Jee whiz !" gasped Rattleton. 
 
 "The deuce!" muttered Diamond. 
 
 Then they were silent, staring at the freshman, who 
 seemed like a creature utterly humiliated and crushed. 
 They saw Mason's body quiver with suppressed emotion, 
 but after that deep groan, which seemed to come from his 
 very heart, not another sound escaped his lips. 
 
 Then Rattleton began to feel ashamed.
 
 On the Way to See Mason. 57 
 
 "It's too bad, Diamond!" he whispered in Jack's ear. 
 "You hit the fellow too hard." 
 
 "Thought that was the only way to have any effect on 
 the fellow," whispered back Diamond, who now seemed in 
 doubt. 
 
 "Mistake. Go light." 
 
 After some seconds, Diamond started to speak again. 
 
 "I beg your pardon," he said, "but I wished to make it 
 plain just how the matter stood, and " 
 
 "You have!" exclaimed Mason, hoarsely, dropping his 
 hands from his face and rising to his feet. "You have 
 made it very plain. You are right I confess it. No self- 
 respecting fellow can afford to be friendly with me." 
 
 Diamond seemed relieved, but hastened to say : 
 
 "There may come a time " 
 
 Mason stopped him with a gesture and a bitter smile. 
 
 "That is not necessary," he said. "You need not apply 
 any salve to the sore. You have said what you meant, 
 and I understood it. What comes next ?" 
 
 Now Jack found his task harder than ever. It was only 
 by nerving himself to the highest pitch and thinking that 
 he was doing it for Merriwell that he brought himself to 
 continue. 
 
 "Since you came out of the hospital you have been seen 
 with Frank Merriwell. This has occurred so often that 
 all the college has commented on it. You visit him in his 
 room. His former friends are beginning to quit him. 
 They do not visit his room because they know not when 
 they will meet you there. They shun him outside of his 
 room because they know not when you will join him." 
 
 The bitter smile on Mason's face changed to one of 
 deepest scorn. 
 
 "Fine friends !" he sneered ; "but true to human nature. 
 Go on." 
 
 Diamond felt the sting of Mason's words, and lamely
 
 58 On the Way to See Mason. 
 
 attempted to defend Merriwell's friends who were holding 
 aloof from him. 
 
 "No matter what Mr. Merriwell can do, many of them 
 feel that they cannot afford to become familiar with a man 
 as unpopular as you are, Mr. Mason. They know it will 
 injure them. Even though they remain loyal to Frank 
 Merriwell in their hearts, he is deprived of their society by 
 you. Have you any right to force yourself upon him, and 
 thus rob him of the society of his friends and admirers?" 
 
 For a second time Mason drew himself up to his full 
 height, and a proud look came to his rugged face. 
 
 "Mr. Diamond," he said, his powerful voice intense with 
 the depth of his feelings, "I have never forced myself upon 
 Frank Merriwell. If any person says so, that person lies ! 
 Mr. Merriwell chose to be friendly with me. I told him 
 it would injure him, but he refused to consider that fact at 
 all. He has urged me to come to his room often. When 
 I have remained away a little while, he has met me outside 
 and taken me there. If you do not believe this, ask him. 
 He will tell you I have not forced myself upon him." 
 
 "This may be true," said Jack, after some hesitation; 
 "but have you any claim upon him?" 
 
 "None at all." 
 
 "Then have you any right to accept his friendship, 
 knowing you are doing him an injury in such a manner?" 
 
 "I respect Mr. Merriwell more than I can say. I do nofr 
 wish to do him an injury." 
 
 "Then, that being the case, why do not you shun him, 
 why not refuse to accept his friendship? If you really 
 care anything for Frank Merriwell, as you claim, you will 
 do this. If you do this, I shall believe you sincere, and I 
 shall believe that the time will come when even Merriwell 
 5Rrill be able to acknowledge you as a friend." 
 
 "This is what you wish me to do, is it?" 
 
 "Yes."
 
 On the Way to See Mason. 59 
 
 "You wish me to make Frank Merriwell believe I do not 
 choose to accept his friendship?" 
 
 "That's it." 
 
 "He will think me a miserable, ungrateful cur ! It's a 
 hard thing you are asking of me, John Diamond !" 
 
 "But it is for Merriwell's sake. You can afford to do 
 it, knowing you are doing it for his sake." 
 
 "Yes !" cried Mason, his voice breaking with a sound 
 that was half a sob. "Yes, I will do it for his sake !"
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A SURPRISE FOR RATTLETON. 
 
 Diamond and Rattleton left the freshman's room and 
 made their way out of the house onto the street. They 
 stopped and looked at each other under the first lamp 
 they reached. 
 
 "Am I dreaming?" muttered Rattleton. "Isn't it all a 
 mistake? Surely it was not Hock Mason, the bully, we 
 saw!" 
 
 Diamond pinched himself. 
 
 "It's no dream," he declared; "but I swear, I am not 
 willing to believe it yet ! There is something beneath the 
 surface something we did not tumble to." 
 
 "What do you mean by that?" 
 
 "Hanged if I know just what I do mean, but I won't 
 believe Hock Mason ever gave such a promise without 
 being forced into it ! He won't keep that promise !" 
 
 , "You are wrong, Jack," said Harry, positively. "I'll 
 stake my life that he will !" 
 
 "It's impossible, man! He's up to some trick." 
 
 "No! You hit him hard with your plain .vords you 
 must have seen that." 
 
 "Well, if he wasn't hard hit, he is a better actor than I 
 ever dreamed he could be." 
 
 "It was not acting, Jack." 
 
 "Hanged if he didn't make me feel ashamed of myself 
 for a minute !" confessed Diamond. "Why, I didn't think 
 he would be ruffled. I thought I would have to pound him 
 in order to get anything through his thick head." 
 
 "He hasn't a thick head, Jack, for all that he was a 
 bully."
 
 A Surprise for Rattleton. 61 
 
 "That's plain enough now. And he didn't light on me! 
 We got his promise, and we didn't get into a fight! I 
 swear, it still seems like a dream." 
 
 They walked away, talking it over. They resolved to 
 watch Mason and see if he kept his word. 
 
 The very next day, from the window of his room, Dia- 
 mond saw Frank Merrjwell hurry and overtake Mason on 
 the campus, saw Mason turn his back to Merriwell and 
 walk away, saw Merry thrust his hands deep into his 
 pockets and whistle his astonishment. 
 
 "Thunder !" gasped Diamond. "I really believe that fel- 
 low is going to try to keep his word ! Well, it will be a 
 good thing for Merry, but it must be that Mason was look- 
 ing for a good excuse to snub Merry publicly. He feels 
 that he is getting back into his old form, and he wants to 
 go up against Frank again." 
 
 Jack could not bring himself to think Hock Mason was 
 keeping his promise because of a desire to help Frank. 
 Instead, he still clung to the belief that every act of 
 Mason's was prompted by a selfish motive. 
 
 But, as soon as possible, he told Rattleton what he had 
 seen. 
 
 "I knew it!" cried Harry, triumphantly. "I knew 
 Mason would keep his promise !" 
 
 "Wait !" said Jack, stubbornly. "I am not satisfied yet." 
 
 "But but you saw him." 
 
 "Yes. He may have seen me at the window he may 
 have known I was watching." 
 
 "Oh, say, old fellow, don't be so hard on him ! If he 
 saw you, and he meant to hang to Merry, he would have 
 taken satisfaction in talking with Frank before your eyes 
 and walking off with him." 
 
 "Then he has intended all along to snub Merriwell as 
 soon as he was strong enough to dare, and he was glad of 
 the opportunity."
 
 62 A Surprise for Rattleton. 
 
 "You are uncharitable, Jack. I believe Hock Mason is 
 more of a man than we have ever dreamed, and I believe 
 he is doing as he promised to do because he thinks it is for 
 Merry's good." 
 
 "Well, time will tell." 
 
 While they were watching Mason, they watched Merri- 
 well also, and it was not long before they discovered that, 
 regularly every evening Frank was going out all alone, 
 returning to his room quite as regularly shortly after ten 
 o'clock. Where he went was a mystery. He did not visit 
 Morey's, Traeger's, or any of the students' resorts in town, 
 and yet he was in town somewhere. 
 
 Rattleton decided to follow Frank and find out the truth. 
 At first this looked like spying on his friend, and he hesi- 
 tated. Then he remembered that a change had come over 
 Frank of late remembered that Merriwell was strangely 
 grave and thoughtful with a look on his face as if he were 
 haunted by something that he kept a secret in the depths of 
 his heart. 
 
 "He's been in all sorts of scrapes," thought Harry. 
 "Perhaps he is in another. He has had all sorts of ene- 
 mies, and it is possible a new enemy has a hold on him. 
 If I can help him in any manner, I want to do so. If I 
 find he is going somewhere that I have no right to go, I 
 will turn about." 
 
 And so, out of the goodness of his heart, and from not 
 idle curiosity, Rattleton followed Frank. 
 
 Merry did not know any one was following him. He 
 walked with a swift step, leaving the vicinity of the col- 
 lege and making direct for the poorer section of the city. 
 
 "Well, this means something," muttered the trailer. 
 "He isn't coming here for nothing." 
 
 In the very lowest section of the city tKey approached m 
 little mission chapel. Merriwell did not hesitate, but boldly 
 entered the place, as if he had been there before.
 
 A Surprise for Rattleton. 63 
 
 "Wheejiz!" gurgled Rattleton, as he paused and 
 thumped his hands together to warm them, for the air 
 was biting cold that evening. "This staggers me ! What 
 is the meaning of it?" 
 
 Harry felt that he had stumbled upon a mystery. For 
 some time he remained silent, watching and waiting for 
 Merriwell to come out, but Frank did not appear. He 
 saw several poorly dressed men and women go into the 
 building. 
 
 Becoming restless, Harry walked past. This he repeated 
 several times. He thought he would go in, but hesitated 
 about doing so. 
 
 Then, as he was passing, he heard sounds of singing 
 coming from the chapel. He halted, astonished beyond 
 measure, for amid the cracked, wheezy, wretched voices he 
 heard one that was young, and strong, and clear. 
 
 It was Frank Merriwell's voice! Frank was in there, 
 and he was leading the singing! 
 
 "Am I dreaming?" gasped the lad, who was listening 
 outside. "It isn't possible!" 
 
 Then he resolved to settle the question without further 
 delay. Up the mission steps he went, opened the door 
 softly, and slipped in. 
 
 The place was pretty well crowded, and the most of 
 those present were wretched outcasts and still more 
 wretched women. The younger men and boys in the place 
 plainly were hoodlums and toughs, some of them having 1 
 faces that seemed to indicate that they were vile enough 
 for almost any dishonest deed. 
 
 Harry slipped in without being seen and took a seat 
 near the door at the back of the house. On the platform 
 Frank Merriwell was standing, leading the singing : 
 
 "Jesus, lover of my soul, 
 Let me to thy bosom fly."
 
 64 A Surprise for Rattleton. 
 
 The voices of the wretched men quavered through the 
 lines, but they did their best. They were safe from the 
 cold for a short time, at least. The mission provided hot 
 coffee for all, and that was one of the principal things 
 that brought them there. 
 
 But, after a time, Harry was to discover there was an- 
 other reason why they came there. They were there, 
 many of them, to hear Frank Merriwell talk to them. 
 And he did talk to them after the singing was over. He 
 did not preach, he did not exhort, but he went right down 
 among them, walking from one to another, and he talked 
 to them as if he was one of them, no better. 
 
 It was not a lecture of temperance it was something 
 better. In a way that was indescribable, he showed them 
 that he sympathized with them all, that his heart was full 
 of love for them. He spoke as if he, too, were in the gut- 
 ter, as if he were fighting the demon drink, but was con- 
 quered again and again in his battle. 
 
 "But we'll never give up fighting, will we, friends ?" he 
 said, his voice full of earnestness. "We'll make one more 
 struggle to get up again in the world. We can do it, if 
 we try, and we'll try with all the strength we possess. 
 We know that drink drowns the bitter memories of the 
 past, makes us forget our broken homes and the lost ones 
 who are dear to us. But it's only for a short time, and 
 then, when we can get no more drink, the hateful memo- 
 ries crowd thicker and heavier upon us. We remember the 
 loved ones of years ago, we see their sad eyes looking 
 mournfully upon us, we see baby hands outstretched to 
 us, and then then we are ready to sell our very souls for 
 another drink to drown those memories. 
 
 "But there is a chance for the worst of us. We can 
 throw off the iron fetters if we make one more desperate 
 struggle. There is always hope as long as there is life. 
 iWe can become men again, and we can go back to some of
 
 A Surprise for Rattleton. 65 
 
 the dear ones who had waited for us so long who are 
 waiting for us to-night. If there are no dear ones wait- 
 ing, we can make a new place for ourselves in the world, 
 we can become good men and women, and in time there 
 will be dear ones who love and respect us as we deserve." 
 
 As he went on he became more and more eloquent. It 
 was wonderful to see how the old vagrants hung onto 
 every word he uttered. It was wonderful to see how he 
 swayed them by the music of his voice and the eloquence 
 of his words. 
 
 Then, when he finished, he showed them the pledge, 
 which was ready for them to sign. He held it out to 
 them as their anchor of hope. 
 
 A miserable, blear-eyed, tottering wreck arose to his 
 feet, tears streaming down his bloated face. 
 
 "I will sign it!" he cried, brokenly. "I'll make one 
 more attempt. Somewhere I have a wife and a son. He 
 must be a young man now. Ain't seen him for years 
 never expected to see him again. But I'll sign the pledge, 
 and I'll try to reform. Perhaps sometime I may be 
 man enough to go back to my wife and my boy. I've tried 
 before, but I'll try again." 
 
 He went up to the table to sign the pledge. Frank took 
 him by the hand, shook it joyfully, spoke earnest, encour- 
 aging words to him, and he cried like a child. 
 
 And then Harry Rattleton, choking with his own emo- 
 tion, dazed by the wonder of what he had seen and heard, 
 got up and slipped out of the building. 
 
 "Merciful goodness !" he gasped, when he reached the 
 street. "What will Merry do next? This is another ex- 
 ample of practical Christianity,"
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DIAMOND LOSES HIS TEMPER. 
 
 On the way back to his room, Rattleton passed Morey's. 
 Some roystering lads were coming out, and another party 
 was entering. Harry was recognized, and they called to 
 him to join them, but he refused and continued on his way. 
 
 Straight to his room Rattleton went. Alone he sat 
 down and meditated on his discovery. He thought of 
 Frank Merriwell first as the jolly freshman he had 
 known, the leader of his class in its war against the sopho- 
 mores; then he thought of Frank as an athlete, a pitcher 
 on the baseball team, and one of the most enthusiastic 
 football players at Yale; he remembered Frank at the 
 poker table, when Merry for a short time had yielded to 
 his one great weakness, the passion for gambling; then 
 came memories of the famous trip across the continent, and 
 the many thrilling adventures encountered, through all of 
 which Frank had been the leader ; finally to his fancy came 
 a picture of the last football game between Yale and Har- 
 vard, when Frank was carried from the field on the shoul- 
 ders of his madly cheering admirers, the hero of the hour, 
 having won the game by one of the most remarkable plays 
 ever seen on the gridiron. 
 
 But of all the strange scenes with which Frank Merri- 
 well was associated, Harry Rattleton felt that he had wit- 
 nessed the most remarkable in the little mission that 
 evening. 
 
 He gasped for breath as he thought of Frank Merriwell, 
 a fine Greek scholar, a magnificent athlete, a fellow with 
 the most delicate instincts and the most scrupulous habits 
 of cleanliness, the most popular man at Yale, surrounded 
 by greasy, blear-eyed, besotted wretches of the gutter, and
 
 Diamond Loses His Temper. 67 
 
 talking to them exactly as if he was one of them, and not 
 a bit better. 
 
 *'If I were to know that fellow a thousand years, I'd 
 never fully understand him!" exclaimed Harry. "There 
 are unsounded depths to his nature, and I believe Frank 
 Merriwell is a practical Christian. He does not make 
 much of a show of being a Christian, but his every act 
 since I have known him has been an act of manliness and 
 justice. If he doesn't become one of the greatest and 
 grandest men the world has ever seen, it will be a 
 wonder." 
 
 Then, when Harry thought that there was a part of 
 Frank's life of which his best friends knew very little, 
 when he thought that Frank had traveled in many foreign 
 lands, and met with scores of thrilling adventures before 
 coming to Yale, yet never boasted of what he had done, 
 never even mentioned those travels and adventures unless 
 asked about them when Harry thought of that he was 
 stupefied. 
 
 From that night Harry Rattleton regarded Frank Mer- 
 riwell with a feeling of awe that he could never fully over- 
 come. He remembered how familiar he had been with 
 Frank in the past, and was astonished by it. 
 
 Harry did not tell what he had seen down at the little 
 mission in the slums; he kept it a secret. Frank Merri- 
 well was not saying anything about it, and Rattleton 
 thought it possible he did not wish it generally known 
 that he was playing the Good Samaritan in such a manner. 
 
 Not that Harry thought for an instant Frank would be 
 ashamed to have it known. He knew Merriwell well 
 enough to be sure Frank would not do a thing deliberately 
 that would bring the least sense of shame to his heart. 
 
 For a few days it seemed that a change had come over 
 Rattleton. He was not the same rattle-brained fellow that 
 he had been, and a new look of thoughtfulness was to be
 
 68 Diamond Loses His Temper. 
 
 seen on his face. Up to that time it had seemed that he 
 had never paused to think seriously about anything. 
 
 Diamond, in the meantime, was watching Mason like a 
 hawk. One day he said to Harry : 
 
 "The freshman is priming himself." 
 
 "What do you mean by that ?" Rattleton asked. 
 
 "He is preparing for the assault on Merriwell." 
 
 "What makes you think so?" 
 
 "Something I saw last night." 
 
 "What was it?" 
 
 "I saw Mason stand up to the bar in Jackson's joint 
 and drink whiskey till he was loaded." 
 
 "Wheejiz!" exclaimed Harry. "Did he get off his 
 feet?" 
 
 "Not quite, but he was jagged, and he punched a fel- 
 low named Wiggins." 
 
 "Who is Wiggins?" 
 
 "A freshman." 
 
 "Did Mason hit him hard?" 
 
 "Hard enough to knock him down." 
 
 "Then the bully is up to his old tricks !" 
 
 "That is the way it looks from the road. It won't be 
 long before he'll go on the warpath for Merriwell." 
 
 "What did Wiggins do that Mason struck him?" 
 
 "Called Mason a coward. Said Mason showed he was a 
 coward by failing to lick Merry after getting out of hos- 
 pital. I was watching it all, and I saw the devil leap into 
 the big fellow's eyes. He smashed Wiggins a corker." 
 
 "Well," cried Harry, "I don't know as I blame him for 
 that ! A fellow can't stand everything." 
 
 "But think how mild he has pretended to be of late. He 
 has been putting it on all the time." 
 
 "Perhaps he would not have struck Wiggins if he hadn't 
 been drinking. A man is not responsible for everything 
 he does when he is filled to the chin with whiskey."
 
 Diamond Loses His Temper. 69 
 
 Diamond scowled. 
 
 "I don't admire the way you stand up for Mason," he 
 said. 
 
 "I can't help that," flung back Harry, growing excited. 
 "If the fellow is making an attempt to become a man, I 
 am going to stand up for him. There are plenty of others 
 who will try to push him down." 
 
 "Is that an insinuation that I am trying to push him 
 down?" 
 
 The Virginian was getting angry, and Harry was not 
 desirous of trouble with Diamond, so he quickly said : 
 
 "Not that, old man; but you know I am right you 
 know Mason has so many enemies that he has little show 
 to rise here." 
 
 "Let him keep in his place!" flashed Jack. "He has 
 poor blood in him, and " 
 
 "I know you stand by the old saw that blood will tell, 
 but you do not know anything about Mason's father and 
 mother. It is possible they may be fine people." 
 
 "Not on your life! There is a bad streak in one side 
 or the other. Either it comes from his mother or his 
 father. I'll wager something his father is a low creature." 
 
 "But there is some good in Mason I'll bet my life on it. 
 Within him the good is battling to overcome the bad." 
 
 "Well, it has a poor show with such a fellow." 
 
 "It has a poor show if everybody gives him a kick in- 
 stead of a helping hand. Merriwell was trying to help lift 
 him up, but we stuck our noses in and spoiled everything." 
 
 "You talk as if we were wrong in doing that." 
 
 "We had no misness to beddle I mean, no business to 
 meddle." 
 
 Diamond was thoroughly disgusted. 
 
 "Rattleton, you make me sick!" he cried. "Go lay 
 down and die! There is a soft spot somewhere about 
 you!" 
 
 Then he angrily walked away.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 AN ACT OF COURAGE. 
 
 Diamond was fully satisfied that he and Rattleton had 
 done a friendly act for Frank Merriwell. He could see no 
 reason why they should have any consideration for the 
 feelings of Hock Mason, who had never been anything 
 but an enemy to both of them ; but surely they were under 
 the greatest obligations to Merriwell, and it was their duty 
 to do anything in their power for him. 
 
 The natures of Jack Diamond and Harry Rattleton 
 were so unlike that there was a constant clash between 
 them, even when they were working to accomplish the 
 same object. 
 
 As Jack walked away Harry wondered what he would 
 say if he knew that Frank visited the little mission in the 
 slums and mingled with the bummers and toughs who 
 gathered there as if he were one of them. 
 
 "He'd think Merriwell crazy," muttered Rattleton. 
 
 That afternoon as Rattleton came out upon the campus, 
 he saw a number of students guying a drunken bummer 
 near the fence. 
 
 "What's that creature here for?" came angrily from 
 Harry's lips. "It's a disgrace to let such wretches wander 
 in here!" 
 
 He approached the group, but stopped suddenly when 
 he obtained a fair look of the drunken man's face. 
 
 "Wheejiz!" gurgled Rattleton. 
 
 He had made a discovery. He had seen the man before. 
 
 "It's the vag who signed the pledge down at the mis- 
 sion the other night !" exclaimed Harry. "He's drunk as
 
 An Act of Courage. 7 1 
 
 he can be ! It's plain Merry didn't do much good in this 
 instance." 
 
 One of the students shied a chunk of snow at the tramp 
 and knocked his hat oil his head. 
 
 Cursing them all, the man attempted to pick up his hat, 
 but rolled over helplessly. 
 
 The thoughtless students shouted with laughter. 
 
 "Hall's got him down !" cried one. "Alcohol, I mean." 
 
 "Say, old gent," called another, "what's the matter with 
 you? Is the ground unsteady?" 
 
 "Are you drunk?" asked another, "or are you simply 
 drunk?" 
 
 Then one of them sang a verse of "Booze, Beautiful 
 Booze." 
 
 The inebriated man secured his hat and attempted to get 
 upon his feet, but when he was part way up, one of the lads 
 ran forward and pushed him over. 
 
 He cursed at them again. 
 
 "I've got a son !" he cried, "a fine son who is here at 
 this college ! I've come to see him. Is he 'shamed to come 
 out and see his father his poor old father ?" 
 
 "He ought to be, if he isn't," said one of the fellows at 
 the fence. "I'm sure I'd be." 
 
 The drunkard sat up and shook his fist at them. 
 
 "Y're all a lot of devils!" he screamed. "I'm goin' to 
 find m' boy, and I'll take him 'way from here. Didn't 
 know he was here till yesterday. Where is my son ?" 
 
 "Where is an officer?" cried one of the boys. "This 
 wretch should be lodged for the winter where he'll have to 
 work for his board." 
 
 "That's right," agreed the others. 
 
 The tramp began to cry in a maudlin manner. 
 
 "Whole world's down on me always was!" he said, 
 thickly. "World always kicks a man when he goes wrong 
 helps push him into the gutter. Don't have no sym-
 
 72 An Act of Courage. 
 
 pathy. Now my own son's 'shamed of his father, and 
 don't dare to come out and see him." 
 
 Rattleton's heart was filled with mingled disgust and 
 pity. He longed to help the poor old wretch up, but hesi- 
 tated because he knew he would be guyed and jollied by 
 the students. His courage failed him quite. 
 
 It was plain that the lads at the fence were touched by 
 a feeling of shame at last, for they kept away from the 
 drunken man, ceasing to torment him. 
 
 Across the campus came a straight, manly-looking 
 youth. He espied the gathering at the fence, and he saw 
 the man on the ground. Then he hurried toward the spot. 
 
 It was Frank Merriwell. 
 
 "What's this ?" he exclaimed, as he reached the side of 
 the old bummer. "You ?" 
 
 The man looked up and recognized Frank. 
 
 "Yes," he said, thickly. "It's no use drunk again! 
 Broke m* pledge can't keep it! Old man's gone to 
 devil ! Let him go ! No use to try to help him !" 
 
 "Oh, we'll try again!" said Frank, feis voice as tender 
 as if he were speaking to a woman. "We won't give it 
 up as long as there is life ! We'll try again, my friend, and 
 we'll win at last, I know we will !" 
 
 He helped the bummer to his feet, while the lads at the 
 fence looked on in amazement. 
 
 "Oh, you're a good boy a noble boy !" sobbed the man. 
 "You ain't like devils there !" with a faltering, feeble ges- 
 ture toward the group near by. "You are a man ! They 
 push a man down, you lift a man up. That's difference." 
 
 Some 'of the lads at the fence laughed, while some 
 flushed with shame. 
 
 "Come," said Frank, speaking kindly to the unsteady 
 wretch, "we will go away somewhere. Come with me." 
 
 "My boy," said the drunkard, weakly; "I want to see 
 m' boy. He's here goes to this college ! Oh, I know it
 
 An Act of Courage. 73 
 
 I found it out! He's here, and he's 'shamed of his ofd 
 father his drunken old father!" 
 
 "You do not want to see him now," came gently and 
 firmly from Frank. "We'll find him by and by. Come 
 away with me won't you come with me?" 
 
 "Yes, I'll do anything for you ! You've got a heart." 
 
 Then he tried to shake his fist at the group at the fence. 
 
 "Mocking devils !" he cried, hoarsely ; "here is a man 
 worth more than you all ! There is more man in one of his 
 fingers than in whole of you ! You ain't fit to wipes shoes 
 on his feet! You push man down; he lifts man up. 
 Shame shame on y' all !" 
 
 "Come !" urged Frank, gently forcing the man away. 
 
 "Yes, I'll go for you. But I'm coming back. I'm go- 
 ing to see my boy who goes to this fine college, while his 
 poor old father has no place to lay his head." 
 
 It was a strange sight to see Frank Merriwell assisting 
 the drunken tramp across the campus and away from that 
 vicinity. No one attempted to guy him, but all stared at 
 Frank amazed. 
 
 All ? No ; Harry Rattleton was not amazed, but his face 
 was crimson with shame when he thought how he had 
 held back and failed to give assistance to the bummer, but 
 Frank had not hesitated an instant. 
 
 "He is a thousand times the man I am !" Rattleton men- 
 tally cried.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HOW FRANK CONQUERED MASON. 
 
 "Mason's on the warpath again !" 
 
 That was the report that was circulated. It created a 
 sensation, although something of the sort had been ex- 
 pected for some time. 
 
 Mason on the warpath again meant that the big fresh- 
 man was once more the brutal bully who had caused con- 
 sternation among the students. 
 
 Mason was drinking. In the old days before his illness 
 he had never drank anything more than an occasional beer 
 or a glass of ale now and then, but now he was drinking 
 whiskey. 
 
 It was the universal opinion that Mason was drinking 
 whiskey to fire up courage to the point of tackling Frank 
 Merriwell again. 
 
 It was seen that Merriwell and Mason no longer seemed 
 on friendly terms. Why they had broken was not known. 
 Diamond and Rattleton kept the secret. 
 
 Wiggins bore the mark of Mason's knuckles on his 
 cheek, but he thought he was lucky to escape without re- 
 ceiving something worse than that. 
 
 Jackson's was a place occasionally patronized by stu- 
 dents as well as the general public. In a back room above 
 Jackson's, "Buster" Kelley, a professional bruiser, had 
 rooms. Kelley was a bull-necked slugger with a record. 
 He picked up not a little money by teaching college men 
 fighting tricks and straight sparring. Kelley knew more 
 about tricks than he did about scientific boxing. It was 
 said that he could foul an opponent with greater skill than 
 any living fighter.
 
 How Frank Conquered Mason. 75 
 
 Months before Kelley had been warned to leave New 
 Haven, and, for some time, he had kept "shady." After a 
 time, however, he became bolder, and almost any night he 
 could be found loafing in Jackson's barroom. 
 
 It happened that Kelley was not present the night that 
 Mason struck Wiggins, but he heard of it shortly after- 
 ward, and he publicly declared he would "t'ump der mug 
 off n der fresh bloke" the next time Hock cut up in Jack- 
 son's. 
 
 This was soon put in circulation, and each night a large 
 number of fellows went to Jackson's, hoping to see a fight 
 between Kelley and the freshman bully. 
 
 It was the universal opinion that Mason would soon 
 meet his "finish" when he went up against "Buster," for 
 Kelley would spring some sort of a trick on the college lad 
 that would "do him up." 
 
 Mason kept away from Jackson's a while, and then, one 
 night, he appeared. 
 
 Kelley was on hand and itching for a fight. 
 
 Mason drank whiskey by himself, and Kelley watched 
 him. Word went out that there was "blood on the moon," 
 and college lads came swarming into the place, hot to see 
 the "scrap" they felt certain was coming. 
 
 Mason had "put himself up against the bar," and it did 
 not take Kelley long to get up beside him. Kelley said 
 nothing, but he watched Mason in a manner that was an 
 open insult. 
 
 At last Mason accused the barkeeper of changing his 
 whiskey and giving him a poorer brand. 
 
 "Think I can't tell poor whiskey just because I've 
 pitched in a pint of it ?" he growled. "Well, I can ! This 
 stuff is vile !" 
 
 "It is the same that I have been giving you all along," 
 declared the barkeeper. 
 
 "Haw!" snorted Kelley, unable to keep still longer.
 
 76 How Frank Conquered Mason. 
 
 "Dat duck don't know whiskey from benzine! Shall I 
 t'row him out, Jimmy?" 
 
 He asked this question of the barkeeper, but he thrust 
 out his square chin and glared at Mason in the most ap- 
 proved bulldog fashion. 
 
 Mason turned and looked Kelley over. 
 
 ''Throw me out throw me !" he exclaimed. "You poor, 
 deluded, yap- faced accident ! You couldn't throw me out 
 if my hands were tied behind my back !" 
 
 Kelley gasped for breath. He did not seem able to be- 
 lieve that he had heard aright. 
 
 "I I'm Buster Kelley!" he roared. 
 
 "I don't care if you are Buster Thunder!" flung back 
 Mason. "You won't melt things. There are others just 
 as warm." 
 
 Kelley gave a howl and a leap, but Mason sprang side- 
 ways at the same time, and the bruiser did not fasten his 
 hands on the freshman, as he had intended. Instead, he 
 received a sledge-hammer blow on the ear that came near 
 knocking him clean over the bar. 
 
 Kelley was a man who could stand punishment, and he 
 turned as quickly as possible to get at Mason. He was 
 just in time to get a smash in the mouth that sent him up 
 against the bar once more. 
 
 The two blows Mason had struck were terrible ones, 
 and would have knocked out an ordinary man. 
 
 Kelley was not an ordinary man, and the bar saved him 
 from measuring his length on the floor. 
 
 Although dazed by the blows, Kelley managed to duck 
 and avoid a third one. 
 
 But Hock Mason was aroused as he had never been be- 
 fore. He seemed a perfect fury. His eyes glared and his 
 teeth gleamed beyond his back-drawn lips. 
 
 For all that Kelley escaped being struck when Mason 
 swung at him the third time, he could not get away. Like
 
 How Frank Conquered Mason. 77 
 
 an infuriated beast the freshman followed the prize 
 tighter. 
 
 Kelley tried to strike Mason, and did succeed in hitting 
 him once, but, to the bruiser's astonishment, that blow 
 simply seemed to make the collegian more furious. 
 
 The spectators held their breath. The fight had started 
 so quickly and was so savage that they could do nothing 
 but keep still and watch. 
 
 Kelley ducked again when Mason swung the fourth 
 time, and then closed with the freshman. 
 
 "You have him, Buster !" cried the barkeeper. "Give it 
 to him ! Throw him out !" 
 
 Mason heard those words, and the snarl that escaped his 
 lips was a sound that might have issued from the throat 
 of an animal. He broke Kelley's hold, and swung him into 
 the air, flinging the prize fighter bodily over the bar. 
 
 Kelley was put out of the fight by this, for he was 
 stunned when he struck. 
 
 All that was bad and savage in Mason's nature seemed 
 aroused. With his teeth grating together, his eyes glar- 
 ing redly, and his breathing sounding hoarsely, he caught 
 up a chair. 
 
 "Put your bouncer on me, will you !" he roared. "Well, 
 I'll clean this joint out now!" 
 
 At this moment Mason was approached by a lad who 
 had been passing, and was drawn into the place by the 
 sounds of the fight. 
 
 It was Frank Merriwell. 
 
 Without the least hesitation, Merriwell walked straight 
 up to the freshman, placed a hand on Mason's- arm, and 
 spoke, his voice being gentle and soothing : 
 
 "I wouldn't do it, old man. Put down the chair, and 
 come with me." 
 
 Mason paused, with the chair poised in the air, his eyes 
 turned on Frank. For a moment he glared at Merriwell as
 
 78 How Frank Conquered Mason. 
 
 if longing to smash him over the head with the chair, but 
 it was plain a struggle was going on within his breast. 
 
 The others in the place watched in silent suspense, won- 
 dering what the result would be. Some of them felt sure 
 that Mason would improve the opportunity to "do up" the 
 lad who had been more than a match for him in the first 
 struggle between them. 
 
 Harry Rattleton afterward declared that at that mo- 
 ment he would not have given a cent for Merriwell's 
 chance of getting away with a whole head. Still, knowing 
 the danger that menaced his friend, he could not lift a 
 hand to aid Frank. 
 
 Merriwell did not shrink before the glare of Hock 
 Mason's eyes. He stood there quietly, looking the former 
 bully straight in the face, his hand still resting in a re- 
 straining manner on the arm of the infuriated freshman. 
 
 Gradually the look of fury left Hock Mason's face, 
 which was suffused by a blush of shame. He lowered the 
 chair, and then Frank spoke once more : 
 
 "Come on, we will leave this place. You could clean it 
 out, but what is the use you don't want to do it. Come, 
 old man come with me." 
 
 Not a word did Mason speak, but he permitted Frank 
 Merriwell to lead him out of the room.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MORE MYSTERY. 
 
 The witnesses of this remarkable scene were for a time 
 dumb with amazement and wonder. They realized that 
 Frank Merriwell had conquered again, but in a manner 
 that made his victory quite different from the first one. 
 And the second victory was the greater of the two. 
 
 Diamond and Rattleton were together, having come 
 there to keep an eye on Mason. Harry was the first one 
 to regain his power of speech. He turned to Jack, gasp- 
 ing : "What do you think of that ?" 
 
 Diamond shook his head, still looking dazed. 
 
 "It's more than I can understand," he confessed. "Why, 
 Merry conquered that fellow by sheer force of will." 
 
 "That's right!" exclaimed Harry; "and Merry can 
 make a man of Mason in the same way. You and I are 
 fools to interfere ! Hereafter, I am going to keep my nose 
 out of Frank Merriwell's business, and I think that is the 
 best thing you can do." 
 
 To Harry's astonishment, Diamond did not resent these 
 plain words. It seemed as if he was too dazed by what he 
 had seen to be aroused by language that would have in- 
 furiated him at any other time. 
 
 After a few moments Harry slipped out of the barroom. 
 He felt a consuming curiosity to know just what Merri- 
 well would do with Mason. 
 
 To Rattleton's disappointment, neither of them was to 
 be seen in the vicinity of the place. 
 
 "Frank has taken him away, so he would not be pinched 
 if the police got onto the scrap," Harry decided. 
 
 He turned to re-enter Jackson's, but paused.
 
 8o More Mystery. 
 
 "No!" he muttered, suddenly seized by disgust of the 
 place, "I'll not go back there. I've seen all there is to see. 
 Buster Kelley got just what he deserved, and I am glad 
 of it." 
 
 He walked away. 
 
 When he reached the corner of the next street, he saw at 
 a distance two persons who were talking earnestly. He did 
 not notice them in particular till he came close to them, and 
 then he distinctly heard one of them say : 
 
 "He is calling for you, and it is your duty to go at once 
 and see him. He is in a bad way, and may not pull through 
 the night." 
 
 "I'll go," said the other. 
 
 The two were Frank Merriwell and Hock Mason. 
 
 Before Harry reached them they turned and walked 
 swiftly away, still talking. Neither of them had noticed 
 him. 
 
 With his eyes fastened upon them, Harry walked on 
 and on. When he awoke to realize what he was doing he 
 had followed Mason and Merry into the cheapest and most 
 wretched part of the city. 
 
 "Great Scott!" he exclaimed, stopping suddenly. 
 "Where am I going? I've been walking in a trance!" 
 
 Then he saw the two lads pause before a door that 
 opened directly upon the sidewalk. That door was the 
 entrance to a wretched building. 
 
 Merriwell took a key from his pocket, unlocked the 
 door, and then Mason followed him into the building, the 
 door closing behind them. 
 
 For some time after they disappeared Harry stood there, 
 staring at the door and wondering why they had gone in 
 there. At last he turned away, muttering : 
 
 "It's plain to me that I am not onto the whole of Frank 
 Merriwell's secret. There are still some things about him 
 that I do not know,"
 
 More Mystery. 81 
 
 All the way back to South Middle Harry was thinking 
 over what had happened that night. He thought of it in 
 his room, thought of it after going to bed, and dreamed of 
 it after falling asleep. 
 
 The story of the manner in which Frank had handled 
 Mason in Jackson's saloon was circulated without delay, 
 and it seemed that every man in college knew it before 
 noon of the following day. It was the general opinion that 
 Merriwell had conquered the freshman bully through fear ; 
 but a few fellows did not think so, contending that it was 
 by a superior force of will that Mason had been controlled. 
 
 Diamond was silent. To himself he confessed that 
 there was more in it than he could understand. At noon 
 the sun was shining brightly, and the campus looked 
 rather lively for that season. 
 
 Just when the largest number of students had gathered 
 there in the sunshine, Frank Merriwell and Hock Mason 
 appeared and walked across the campus together. They 
 were watched by more than a hundred eyes, but they gave 
 little attention to anybody, talking together in low, earnest 
 tones. 
 
 Diamond saw them. 
 
 "That settles it !" he muttered. "Merry is done for now. 
 I throw up the sponge." 
 
 But Jack could not entirely give Frank up. His curios- 
 ity was aroused, but it was aroused still more when he saw 
 Mason and Merriwell leave the college together every 
 evening at a certain hour. 
 
 It was not long before, one evening, Diamond sought 
 Rattleton in the latter's room. 
 
 "Look here, Rattles, what do you think ?" he cried. 
 
 "Dunno," grunted Harry, wondering what Diamond 
 was driving at. 
 
 "You know Merriwell and Mason are chumming 
 again ?"
 
 82 More Mystery. 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "Do you know they go somewhere together every even- 
 ing?" ' 
 
 "Well, I have seen them." 
 
 "Know where they go?" 
 
 "Nit." 
 
 "I do." 
 
 "How do you know?" 
 
 "Followed them. Curiosity was aroused. Couldn't help 
 it. Glad I did. Look here, old man, Mason is leading 
 Merriwell into something crooked. This talk about Merry 
 controlling the freshman is all rot. It's Mason who is the 
 boss." 
 
 "What makes you think that?" 
 
 "What I saw. I followed them down into the meanest 
 part of the city, and I saw them stop before the door of a 
 wretched building. Mason took out a key and unlocked 
 the door. Then they both went in, and the door was locked 
 behind them. What do you think of that?" 
 
 "I knew about that all the time." 
 
 "Well, what do you think of it?" 
 
 "Think they have a secret. Think it is none of our busi- 
 ness. Think we had better keep our noses out and let them 
 alone." 
 
 "Eh? You don't believe in doing anything to save 
 Merry?" 
 
 "Don't you worry so much about Frank Merriwell," 
 advised Rattleton. "He can take care of himself, and he 
 will not thank anybody for meddling with his business. 
 I am going to let him alone in the future, and I advise you 
 to do the same. That is all." 
 
 "I don't want your advice !" exclaimed Jack, springing 
 up. "I don't thank you for it ! You may do as you like, 
 and I will do as I like. Good-evening." 
 
 Then he left the room and slammed the door.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE OPCN DOOR. 
 
 It was Saturday afternoon. A dozen jolly students 
 were on their way to witness a match game of billiards be- 
 tween two professionals in one of New Haven's popular 
 sporting resorts. They joked, and laughed, and sang. 
 
 A wretched tramp staggered around a corner and ran 
 into one of the party. The student gave the man a push 
 that sent him tottering to the ground. 
 
 "Get out, you miserable old bum!" cried the angry 
 student. 
 
 The tramp slowly arose to his feet. His face was ghastly 
 pale, and there was a dead look in his eyes. With a 
 mighty effort, he stood up before them, weakly saying: 
 "Where is my boy my dear boy ? I want to see him for 
 the last time. He's one of you student fellers. I must see 
 him ! I'm dying !" 
 
 "Dying for a drink," said one of the party, coarsely. 
 "You are the old vag who made the scene on the campus. 
 Where's a cop ? You should be put away for the winter." 
 
 "I'll soon be put away for eternity," said the wretched 
 man, gasping for breath. "I want to see my boy my 
 dear boy ! once more. Have pity on me !" 
 
 He stood in their way ; they rudely pushed him aside. 
 
 A faint cry of anger came from the tramp, and, with a 
 savageness that was astonishing in one who appeared so 
 helpless, he struck one of the students in the face, knocking 
 the fellow down. 
 
 Then the man turned and ran with astonishing speed. 
 
 For a moment the party was dazed by what had hap-
 
 84 The Open Door. 
 
 pened, and then the one that had been struck got upon his 
 feet, swearing savagely. 
 
 "After him, fellows !" he cried. "I'm going to thump 
 his face off !" 
 
 They started in pursuit of the running man. He looked 
 back and saw them coming, and fear seemed to give him 
 wings. He amazed them by his speed. 
 
 "Pretty hot pace for a dying man," said one of the 
 pursuers. 
 
 Down into a wretched part of the town they followed 
 him. They saw him fling open the door of a poor building 
 and rush in. 
 
 "We've got him now!" cried one. "We'll find him in 
 there!" 
 
 But suddenly out through the doorway stepped a person 
 who closed it behind him. It was Frank Merriwell ! 
 
 "Hold up, fellows !" rang out Merriwell's clear voice. 
 "You can't go in here !" 
 
 "Stand aside, Merriwell!" shouted one of them. "We 
 want that old bum !" 
 
 "No !" flung back Frank. "You can't touch him, fel- 
 lows ! He is a poor devil driven mad by rum." 
 
 "He struck Collins." 
 
 "He is not responsible for his acts. Have some sym- 
 pathy for a fellow-being who was once a good man, hon- 
 ored, respected, loved by his family, and trusted by all 
 who knew him. Drink has brought him where he is. I am 
 sure you would not touch him if you were to go in and 
 find him cowering before you. You are a dozen, all 
 young, strong and healthy; he is one, old, weak and 
 wretched." 
 
 Harry Rattleton was with the crowd. He came forward 
 and took his place at Frank's side. 
 
 "Merry is right, fellows," he said. "We couldn't touch 
 the old vag if we went in."
 
 The Open Door. 85 
 
 The others agreed, and soon they turned away, al- 
 though they wondered that Merriwell had appeared at 
 such a place and such a time to defend the man he had 
 led off the campus. 
 
 Frank held Rattleton back. 
 
 "Come," he said, "you are my friend, and you shall 
 know all the secret. Mason will not care." 
 
 They opened the door and entered. In a miserable room 
 they found the old bummer stretched face downward on 
 the floor. When they lifted the man to a hard cot, he 
 opened his eyes, recognized Frank, and painfully gasped: 
 
 "My boy bring him! Dying!" 
 
 Frank felt the man's pulse, and then turned swiftly to 
 Rattleton. 
 
 "Go for Mason !" he commanded. "Find him and bring 
 him here. On your way, send a doctor, and say it is a 
 case of life or death." 
 
 Harry stopped to ask no questions, but departed in a 
 hurry. 
 
 When Rattleton returned with Hock Mason, Frank was 
 fanning the man, who lay gasping on the cot. The doctor 
 had not yet arrived. 
 
 Mason fell on his knees beside the cot, crying brokenly : 
 
 "My father my poor father !" 
 
 "My boy thank God !" fluttered the faint voice of the 
 man. "I tried to live long enough to see you again. Now 
 now I am willing to go !" 
 
 "But you shall not die ! You shall live and take the cure 
 you shall be a man once more." 
 
 "No use too late ! My boy, don't drink ! I broke your 
 mother's heart, ruined our home, became a wandering 
 wretch on the face of God's earth ! My boy, don't don't 
 drink !" 
 
 "Father, I will not I give you my pledge here and 
 now, that never again shall a drop of liquor pass my lips !"
 
 86 The Open Door. 
 
 "Keep it, boy keep it ! Always remember your pledge 
 to your dying father! It will soon be over. Bury me 
 quietly ; don't disgrace yourself by letting the world know. 
 Promise you will not." 
 
 "Father " 
 
 "Promise promise !" 
 
 "Anything, father!" 
 
 "Now I shall go easier." 
 
 He turned his eyes on Frank Merriwell, and a faint 
 smile came to the face of that wretched bummer. 
 
 "He was the first to show me the way. Oh, he is a 
 noble fellow! He is a true Christian, for he practices 
 more than he preaches. It was his voice that stirred my 
 rum-deadened heart for the first time in years. My boy 
 my boy! all I could ask is that you might be like him! 
 Take him for an example, my boy. You will never go 
 wrong." 
 
 The last words cost a mighty effort. Then the old man 
 lifted himself a bit, seemed to look far beyond the bare 
 walls of the wretched room, stretched out his hand, and 
 whispered : 
 
 "The door the door Is open!" 
 
 He fell back stiffly. 
 
 The door had closed forever! 
 
 For a long while after this there was silence in the 
 room. Then Frank laid his hand on Hock Mason's 
 shoulder. 
 
 "Shall I make all arrangements for the funeral?" he 
 said. "I presume you want it to be a quiet affair?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 So Frank made the arrangements, and only a handful 
 of people attended. 
 
 It was fully ten days before Mason returned to the col- 
 lege, he having obtained leave of absence through Frank's 
 efforts.
 
 The Open Door. 87 
 
 When he returned he seemed so changed that all the 
 boys wondered. Nobody, not even Jack Diamond, dared to 
 say anything, either to Mason or to Frank. 
 
 The days went on, and Frank continued his studies. 
 
 It looked as if all was running smoothly at last, but in 
 the midst of the college work Bruce Browning brought 
 news to Frank that disturbed our hero more than mere 
 words can telL
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 BROWNING AND MERRIWELE. 
 
 "Say, Merry." 
 
 Frank looked up from his book. 
 
 "What is it, Browning?" 
 
 The big fellow lazily turned on the couch'. 
 
 "Nearly everybody is more or less of a fool," he said; 
 "but some fellows are bigger fools than others." 
 
 "What are you driving at?" asked Frank, puzzled. 
 
 "I know two of the biggest fools in college," declared 
 Bruce, with a certain languid emphasis. 
 
 "Think it? Name them." 
 
 "Jack Diamond." 
 
 "Eh? Who's the other?" 
 
 "Harry Rattleton." 
 
 "What are you driving at?" Merriwell again asked. 
 "What's the matter with Diamond and Rattleton ?" 
 
 "They are chumps. Both going it again." 
 
 "Going it? How?" 
 
 "Poker." 
 
 That aroused Frank. 
 
 "You don't mean they are playing the game?" he asked, 
 flinging the book aside. 
 
 "That's what," affirmed Browning; "and they're being 
 swindled after the same old style." 
 
 "Well, I am not surprised that you should call them 
 fools," declared Frank, rising to his feet. "I thought they 
 had learned their lesson." 
 
 "Hold on," said the big fellow, lighting a cigarette with 
 a pocket-lighter, which he carried to save him the labor of 
 scratching matches. "Haven't told you everything yet.'*
 
 Browning and Merriwell/ 89 
 
 "What else have you to tell?" 
 
 "Can't guess the gang they're playing with?" 
 
 "I don't know. There are a dozen poker crowds." 
 
 "Well, they are not playing with the swell crowd." 
 
 "I presume not. The game would be too steep for 
 
 them." 
 
 "You know where they used to play ?" 
 
 "Jackson's joint?" 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "But neither Diamond nor Rattleton would go there to 
 
 play poker now. The decent fellows have quit that place. 
 
 It's too tough." 
 
 "Diamond and Rattleton have been pulled into the gang 
 
 that plays at Jackson's. They are playing with Harris 
 
 and the others." 
 
 "Harris?" cried Frank, astonished. "Why, they know 
 
 he is crooked! They know he stood in with that fellow 
 
 Harlow to beat his friends, the meanest thing any man 
 
 can do! You must be mistaken, Bruce! Neither Jack 
 
 nor Harry would sit into a game with that fellow." 
 
 "But they are playing with him, just as hard. He has 
 
 hypnotized them or something." 
 
 "How do you know this?" 
 
 "Fleming told me. You know he is friendly with 
 Thornton, and Thornton plays with that crowd. Flerr. 
 was asked to come in. He wanted to know who played 
 and Tom told him." 
 
 Frank seemed relieved. 
 
 "If the story came through Tom Thornton I sfiall not 
 put much stock in it," he said. "Tom is rather irresponsi- 
 ble. He would like to be square and go with a decent 
 crowd, but he is easily influenced, and so those cheap fel- 
 lows lead him off. I know he cannot be depended on to 
 tell the truth at all times. You remember he was in with
 
 90 Browning and Merriwell. 
 
 Hartwick and my enemies last year, but redeemed himself 
 by quitting them and putting me on to their plots." 
 
 "I think you are rather hard on Thornton, Merry," said 
 Bruce. 
 
 Frank whistled his astonishment, and then broke into a 
 merry laugh. 
 
 "Well, I like that !" he cried. "Everybody has been tell- 
 ing me I was too soft with fellows who have tried to injure 
 me, and now you say I am too hard on one of them who 
 was in the gang once. By Jove ! that is a relief ! Really, 
 I like it ! Do it again, old man !" 
 
 Then Frank laughed again, and Browning brightened 
 perceptibly. 
 
 "Huah!" grunted the big fellow, expelling a mouthful 
 of smoke with the sound. "That's a relief." 
 
 "What's a relief?" 
 
 "To hear you laugh like that. You've been glum enough 
 lately; ain't seemed like yourself at all. What's been the 
 matter with you, Merry?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing," answered Frank, evasively. 
 
 Browning knew nothing of the secret held by Merriwell, 
 Mason and Rattleton. He knew nothing of Frank's ef- 
 forts to uplift some of the poor wretches who came to the 
 services in a certain little mission in the poorest quarter of 
 the city. 
 
 The work Frank had been trying to do, the misery and 
 degradation he had seen, and the final death of the drunken 
 parent had served to sober the light-hearted lad and make 
 him thoughtful and serious. 
 
 Another thing happened that had caused Frank to seem 
 more serious than usual was the fact that he was studying 
 hard through the winter months that he might pass 
 "exams." with flying colors, and have all the better oppor- 
 tunity to play ball and take an interest in other sports 
 when spring came.
 
 Browning and Merriwell. 91 
 
 Merriwell was a fellow who carefully laid his plans for 
 the future, and for that reason when the time came around 
 for him to take part in sports and pastimes, if he went into 
 them at all, he was able to do so in earnest. He had the 
 time to spend, for he had "boned" hard to acquire time. 
 
 Browning knew Frank was not giving him a direct an- 
 swer, but he also knew better than to be too inquisitive, so 
 he did not put any more questions in that line. 
 
 "All right," he grunted, lighting a fresh cigarette from 
 the butt of the old one. "Maybe nothing was the matter 
 with you, but you have been acting queer. Still, you did 
 ship that fellow Mason before all the fellows were queered 
 on you." 
 
 "That's where you're wrong, old man," returned Frank. 
 "Mason shipped me." 
 
 "Oh, come off ! He was hanging to you, hoping to make 
 himself popular that way." 
 
 "You misjudge him, Browning. That was not his ob- 
 ject at all. He simply accepted the friendship I offered 
 him. 
 
 "When he found it was injuring me because he came 
 here to see me in my room, he quit coming. That's 
 straight." 
 
 "Huah!" exploded Bruce. "You seem to be the only 
 fellow who has a real good opinion of him." 
 
 "I think the time will come when I'll not be the only 
 one." 
 
 "Well, he has been going pretty straight lately. Seems 
 awfully sober, and never says anything to anybody." 
 
 Frank thought that Mason had good cause to seem 
 sober, but he did not say so. 
 
 Browning finished the cigarette, and then, between 
 yawns and groans, got upon his feet. 
 
 "Got to do some grinding myself," he declared. "Can't
 
 92 Browning and Merriwell. 
 
 stand it to be dropped again, and I'll have to dig for 
 exams., or something will drop." 
 
 Prank laughed again. 
 
 "I should like to see you digging !" he exclaimed. "It 
 would be an awe-inspiring spectacle. The only time for 
 a year that I have seen you do anything was during our 
 vacation trip. Then you were compelled to push a bicycle, 
 walk or flunk." 
 
 "And I felt like flunking more times than I can remem- 
 ber, but I'd said I'd do it or bu'st, and so I stuck to it." 
 
 After chatting a few moments longer, the big student 
 familiarly known as "the laziest man on earth," struggled 
 to his feet and wearily dragged himself out of the room, 
 leaving Frank to his thoughts. 
 
 When Browning had departed, Merry suddenly remem- 
 bered that in the midst of their conversation about Dia- 
 mond and Rattleton they had branched off onto something 
 else, and had not afterward returned to the original 
 channel. 
 
 That was like Browning, but to Frank it seemed 
 strangely forgetful in himself. 
 
 "Perhaps I am studying too hard and keeping myself 
 too close in my room," he said, as he walked up and down. 
 "Sometimes I feel like flying. I want to shout, tear some- 
 thing, smash something; but I nail myself right down to 
 my studies and bone till I am so tired I can do nothing but 
 crawl into bed. I am killing my superfluous energy, in- 
 stead of working it off. That hurts. If a fellow had 
 brought me a piece of news three months ago same as 
 Browning did just now I should not have forgotten it be- 
 fore we were through talking it over." 
 
 He continued to pace the room for some time, thinking 
 this matter over. He realized that he was not like himself, 
 and he resolved to get back into normal condition. 
 
 Then his thoughts ran to what Browning had told him
 
 Browning and Merriwell. 93 
 
 of Diamond and Rattleton. He remembered that neither 
 Jack nor Harry had called on him often of late. 
 
 To Frank it did not seem possible that they could be 
 foolish enough to again play poker with Sport Harris, after 
 knowing that the fellow had at one time been implicated in 
 a plot to rob his friends with the assistance of a card sharp. 
 
 But for the fact that Harris had begged in a pitiful man- 
 ner, saying it would kill his mother if he had to leave 
 college, it is certain he would have been driven out of 
 Yale. 
 
 But Frank felt that it would be a fearful thing to ruin 
 a young man in such a manner, and he had pledged all his 
 friends to secrecy concerning the affair, thus protecting 
 Harris. 
 
 Instead of feeling grateful for this, however, Harris 
 had not forgotten that the exposure of the crooked work 
 was made by Merriwell, and, in his heart, he hated Frank 
 all the more. He had made a few feeble attempts to in- 
 jure Merriwell, but each one had been a failure, and, at 
 last, it seemed that he had decided the best thing was to 
 drop it. 
 
 Despite the fact that Frank had pledged all the fellows 
 to secrecy, something of the truth concerning the affair 
 had dribbled out, as we know, and Harris was occasionally 
 guyed or sneered at about the affair. Every gibe or sneer 
 made him feel all the more bitter toward Merriwell deep 
 down in his heart. 
 
 Harris had a particular friend in Walter Gordan, al- 
 though at times he and Gordan had very little to do with 
 each other publicly. Occasionally it would seem that 
 they scarcely knew each other, so formal were they when 
 they met, but all the while there was a perfect understand- 
 ing between them, and they were on the best of terms. 
 
 Gordan was a two-faced fellow. He was not frank 
 enough to come out and openly declare his dislike for Mer-
 
 94 Browning and Merriwell. 
 
 riwell. Instead of that, to a certain extent, he kept his 
 rancor corked up in his heart, where it gnawed and 
 gnawed, pretended to be friendly toward the lad he hated, 
 and lost no opportunity to work him an injury if it could 
 be done secretly. 
 
 Harris was the only man who came anywhere near 
 knowing the full extent of Gordan's bitterness toward 
 Merriwell, for Harris was the only man who received his 
 confidence. 
 
 Of late Gordan and Harris had seemed more distant 
 than ever toward each other. They seldom spoke or no- 
 ticed each other, but whenever a poker game was going on 
 at Jackson's and Harris was in the game, Gordan was 
 somewhere around. Occasionally he played, but it was 
 far oftener that he sat around and looked on, pretending 
 to be "broke."
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 GOOD ADVICE. % 
 
 While Merriwell was thinking of Diamond and Rattle- 
 ton, and asking himself why they had not visited him 
 oftener, the door suddenly opened and the Virginian 
 strode into the room. 
 
 "Hello, Jack, old fellow !" called Frank, cheerfully. '1 
 was thinking of you this very minute." 
 
 "Hello," said Jack, shortly. Then he dropped on a 
 chair and stared moodily at the floor. 
 
 Frank instantly saw that Diamond was not feeling as 
 well as he might. 
 
 "What's the matter, old fellow?" he asked. 
 
 "Nothing," was the short answer. 
 
 Still Jack stared at the floor. 
 
 "He has been getting it in the neck," thought Frank. 
 "That's what's the matter." 
 
 Merriwell attempted to talk of various things, but Dia- 
 mond did not seem inclined to talk. Suddenly he looked 
 up, saying: 
 
 "Lend me twenty dollars, Merriwell?" 
 
 Frank whistled. 
 
 "Why, of course " he began, slowly. 
 
 Jack jumped up, his face flushing. 
 
 "Needn't if you don't want to !" he exclaimed. "There 
 are others !" 
 
 "Oh, say!" called Frank. "What's the matter with 
 you ? Sit down, Jack Diamond ! Did you ever know me 
 to refuse to grant a favor to a friend who was a white 
 man?" 
 
 "No, but "
 
 96 Good Advice. 
 
 Jack hesitated. 
 
 "But what?" 
 
 "Oh, I didn't know but you were going to question me, 
 and I don't care to be questioned." 
 
 "That is putting it on pretty thick, Jack!" protested 
 Frank. "When one friend lends money to another, does 
 he ask the other what he means to do with it if he is a 
 gentleman ?" 
 
 "Oh, no, but " 
 
 "Then don't you think- 
 
 "I'll apologize!" cried Jack. "Hadn't a right to say 
 such a thing to you." 
 
 "Here, Jack here is the money." 
 
 Frank counted out twenty dollars, which Diamond ac- 
 cepted with mingled eagerness and reluctance that Frank 
 did not fail to note. 
 
 "Now," said Merriwell, "there was no reason why I 
 should ask you what you meant to do with that money, for 
 I know. If we were not the very best of friends, I would 
 not say what I am going to say now. I knew when you 
 came into this room that you had lost heavily playing 
 poker." 
 
 Jack stared at Frank in astonishment. 
 
 "Are you a wizard?" he gasped, after some moments. 
 "Did you read my mind ?" 
 
 "Was I right?" 
 
 "Yes, but how " 
 
 "Never mind how. I am sorry you are in the game 
 again, but I am not going to preach." 
 
 "That's a relief." 
 
 "You are playing at Jackson's?" 
 
 "Sometimes," confessed Diamond, blushing. 
 
 "Harris is in the game?" 
 
 "Yes."
 
 Good Advice. 97 
 
 'That is what surprises me. Why should you play witH 
 him? You know he is crooked, and " 
 
 "We can do him all right. He doesn't know how to 
 put up the cards, or do anything else that he can't be de- 
 tected in. It was Harlow who did all the tricks. Nobody 
 is afraid of Harris. That fellow is a mark." 
 
 "Has he proved so lately?" 
 
 "Well, he has done pretty well, but it has been a case 
 of luck nothing more. Rattleton and I have watched 
 him like hawks, and he hasn't had a chance to do anything 
 out of the way." 
 
 "You think so, but that fellow may be sharper than you 
 imagine." 
 
 "I tell you he is a bungler. We'll get at him and sink 
 the knife deep pretty soon. That's what we want to do. 
 Luck can't run his way always, and we are laying for 
 him." 
 
 "I think you are making a mistake," said Frank; "but, 
 of course, I don't know. I think I'll drop in sometime, 
 and " 
 
 "Don't do it, Merry! It's no place for you. Keep 
 away !" 
 
 "Well," laughed Frank, "that sounds well from your 
 lips! If the place is good enough for you, it should be 
 good enough for me." 
 
 Diamond's face grew very red. He tried to explain 
 that that was not what he meant, but made a mess of it. 
 He was thinking all the time that Merriwell had, once on 
 a time, confessed that card playing was his weakness, but 
 he did not wish to say that he feared Frank would yield to 
 that weakness. He could not find words to make his 
 meaning plain without making it altogether too plain. 
 
 "It's all right," smiled Frank. "Go ahead, old fellow, 
 and I hope my double sawbuck will give you luck." 
 
 So Diamond departed. When he was gone Frank sat'
 
 98 Good Advice. 
 
 down and tried to study again, but his mind would wander, 
 and he soon found it was useless. 
 
 "Can't do it to-night," he declared aloud, as he flung the 
 book aside. "My mind is running to jackpots, flushes, 
 full hands, fours and all that stuff. Great Christopher! 
 how I would like to play a game of poker ! Haven't played 
 for a thousand years more or less! If poker was any- 
 thing but poker, I'd get into a game this night ; but I know; 
 my weakest spot, and I am not going to play. All the 
 same, I am going to drop down to Jackson's and see if 
 Diamond and Rattleton are getting a fair show. I hate 
 to think that they are being skinned by Sport Harris and 
 his pals. It's ten to one they go down there and ball-up till 
 they are in no condition to play a steady game. Then Har- 
 ris works them easy. He has a cinch with them. He 
 plays horse with them. They do not trot in his class. 
 Frankie, it's your turn to look after Mr. Harris a little." 
 
 Merry went to the wardrobe and brought out his over- 
 coat, but suddenly changed his mind and returned it to its 
 hook. 
 
 "I won't take it, for it might bother me. If I drop in on 
 the gang and pull off my overcoat, it will arouse suspicion. 
 If I drop in on them and keep my eyes open, it may hap- 
 pen that an overcoat would be an incumbrance." 
 
 He pulled off his jacket and drew on a heavy coat in its 
 place. This he buttoned tightly around him, drew on his 
 gloves, took his stick, and left the room. 
 
 On his way to Jackson's, Frank's mind was full of 
 many schemes. A fancy came to him that made him laugh 
 outright. 
 
 'Til do it!" he exclaimed. 
 
 No one had ever seen Merriwell take a drink of liquor, 
 but when he entered Jackson's barroom he seemed to be 
 pretty full.
 
 Good Advice. 99 
 
 "Everybody have something with me," he called. "Ball- 
 up, gentlemen, ball-up!" 
 
 There were but four persons besides the two barkeepers 
 in the place. Two of those were freshmen, but they 
 knew Merriwell, and stared at him in astonishment. 
 
 The men behind the bar knew him also, and they were 
 surprised, for never had he been known to take anything 
 stronger than ginger ale at that bar. 
 
 "What will you have?" one of them asked. 
 
 "Whiskey," replied Frank ; "whiskey, old chap ! Some- 
 thing to warm me up. It's cold enough to take the plating 
 off a door knob this evening, and whiskey is the only 
 thing that will set a fellow's blood moving." 
 
 Then he again asked the others what they would have. 
 
 "Blamed if he isn't steaming!" said one of the fresh- 
 men to the other. 
 
 "That's what," nodded his companion. "When these 
 temperance chaps do start, they are terrors." 
 
 Then they got up against the bar and said it would do 
 them proud to drink whiskey with Mr. Merriwell Mr. 
 Merriwell, the famous full-back, the great baseball pitcher, 
 the all-around athlete. They were honored by an invitation 
 from Mr. Merriwell Mr. Merriwell, the dead-game sport, 
 the j oiliest fellow in college, the whitest man alive. Would 
 they drink with him ! Well, would they ? Rather ! 
 
 Merry was jolly enough for anything. Almost any one 
 would have been willing to swear he had been "looking on 
 the wine when it was red." His tongue seemed a trifle 
 thick, but he told a funny story as no one but he himself 
 could tell it. He told it with assumed gravity that seemed 
 of the half-intoxicated order. 
 
 That story was funny. The barkeepers roared over it. 
 Afterward they wondered what they had laughed at, for 
 when they tried to tell it themselves it seemed flat and 
 tame. They did not realize it was all in the telling.
 
 ioo Good Advice. 
 
 The freshmen came near bursting blood vessels. They 
 shouted with laughter. One of them got on the right side 
 of Frank, and the other got on the left. It was the first 
 time they had been given an opportunity to get so near 
 the famous athlete. They improved it, they brushed el- 
 bows with him, one of them ventured to place a hand 
 familiarly on Frank's arm. 
 
 The drinks were before them. Frank lifted his glass, 
 the others lifted theirs. Then they paused, and Merry 
 gave a toast. That was funny, too, and they all laughed 
 again. Then they lifted their glasses to drink. 
 
 At that moment Merry did a very clever piece of leger- 
 demain. Not a drop of whiskey touched his lips, al- 
 though it seemed that he tossed it off at a gulp. When the 
 others lowered their glasses, Merry was drinking the water 
 chaser, and the whiskey was in the cuspidor that stood 
 under the rail of the bar. 
 
 Then Frank seemed to grow jollier than ever. He told 
 other stories that made those who heard them laugh. He 
 sang a song and followed it with some artistic whistling. 
 
 One of the freshmen ordered drinks. Frank was asked 
 what he would have. 
 
 "Tom gin," he said. "Going to shift. Been drinking 1 
 whiskey for the last hour. Don't seem able to get up an 
 edge." 
 
 "He'll get up an edge if he mixes his drinks," said one 
 of the barkeepers, speaking in an aside to his companion. 
 
 "Too bad he's steaming," said the other. "He's a 
 fine fellow, and never has taken anything." 
 
 All but Frank took whiskey. The bottle of gin was 
 placed before him, and he turned out a "stiff" drink in a 
 glass. He was given water as a chaser, and turned that 
 into another glass. Then, by a very simple bit of leger- 
 demain, he changed the glass about, so that, when he came 
 to drink, he took the water, instead of the gin. As the gin
 
 Good Advice. 101 
 
 was almost exactly the color of the water, this trick was 
 worked with ease. The gin went into the same cuspidor 
 that had caught the whiskey. 
 
 After this Merriwell seemed more hilarious than ever. 
 He called one of the barkeepers aside and whispered in 
 his ear : 
 
 "Some of my friends said they were going to sit into a 
 little game down here to-night. Thought I'd come down. 
 Can you let me in, old man?" 
 
 "Sure," nodded the barkeeper. "I'll fix that." 
 
 He pressed a button, and a young negro came in by a 
 back door. 
 
 "Here, Pomp," said the barkeeper, "take this gent into 
 the card-room where the little game is going on. He's all 
 right." 
 
 "All right," nodded Pomp. "Right dis way, sar." 
 
 Frank followed. He slipped a silver half-dollar into 
 Pomp's hand, and the darky was obsequious. 
 
 Merry knew the way to that card-room. He had been 
 there before, but he had taken what he considered the best 
 method of getting in there without trouble. His plan had 
 worked finely. 
 
 Pomp rapped on the door in a peculiar manner. A bolt 
 shot back, and Frank stepped in, while the colored boy 
 said: 
 
 "Heah is a gemman dat wants teh come in." 
 
 "Hoop-la!" cried Merry, dancing about the room. 
 "When I want to come in, you can't keep me out. I'm 
 hot stuff ! If you touch me, you'll get scorched !" 
 
 Three lads were playing at a table. Two others were 
 standing up. All regarded Merriwell in astonishment. 
 
 Sport Harris was one of the three at the table, Diamond 
 and Rattleton were the others. The two standing were 
 Walter Gordan and Sydney Gooch. 
 
 There were poker chips on the table, and Harris had
 
 102 Good Advice. 
 
 the biggest pile in front of him. He had shaved off his 
 infant mustache, and, to Merriwell, his face betrayed his 
 true character that of a sharper. 
 
 On the walls were sporting pictures. There was a well- 
 worn carpet on the floor. 
 
 Frank's face was flushed, and he made a false step when 
 he stopped dancing about. He did it in a manner that in- 
 stantly aroused the suspicions of Diamond and Rattleton. 
 
 Jack and Harry exchanged glances, and that one look 
 was full of doubt and inquiry. 
 
 "Give us a hand !" cried Merry, thickly. "I want to get 
 into that game ! I've got money to burn, and I'm going 
 to burn it in an open grate 1"
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 FRANK GETS ONTO THE GAME. 
 
 "You can't get into this game!" cried both Diamond 
 and Rattleton. 
 
 "What's matter?" demanded Frank. "Isn't my money 
 good's anybody's ? That's what I want to know." 
 
 "Yes," said Jack, quickly, "your money is all right, old 
 man; but we are in for a little three-handed game of 
 freeze-out, and I object to taking in another fellow." 
 
 "Anything 'gainst me ?" demanded Frank, his imitation 
 of an intoxicated person being perfect. 
 
 "No, it's not that, but " 
 
 "Lemme into game?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "All right, that settles it. Oh, 's all right 's all right ! 
 My money's jesh good's anybody's money. I don't want 
 to come in wouldn't come in 'f you wanted me to!" 
 
 He pretended to be angry, and it was done in a man- 
 ner that would have commanded the admiration of all 
 if they had known he was simply acting. As it was, there 
 was not a man present who did not believe Frank had been 
 drinking. 
 
 Still, Rattleton was determined to know the truth. He 
 pushed a button, and Pomp appeared. Harry whispered 
 in the darky's ear, telling him to go find out if Frank had 
 taken a drink of anything intoxicating at the bar. 
 
 Pomp departed. 
 
 Harris' eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Frank Merri- 
 ivell had been drinking; he felt sure of that. Two more 
 drinks would fill him up. If he could get Merriwell into 
 the game and fleece him ! .What a revenge that would be !
 
 104 Frank Gets Onto the Game. 
 
 Then Sport urged the others to let Frank into the game. 
 
 "Why should we be piggish if Mr. Merriwell wants to 
 play?" he said. 
 
 Again Jack and Harry looked at each other. 
 
 Pomp returned and whispered in Harry's ear. Rattle- 
 ton grew pale, and a look of pain came to his face. 
 
 So Frank Merriwell had taken to drinking at last! 
 Harry nodded to Diamond, and Jack's white teeth gnawed 
 at his lip. 
 
 Both objected to letting Frank into the game. Harris 
 insisted. Both Diamond and Rattleton declared they 
 would not play. 
 
 Then Merriwell said he did not want to break up the 
 game, and refused to come in anyway. 
 
 Harris was disgusted, for he feared he had lost a fine 
 opportunity to fleece the fellow he hated above all others 
 at Yale. But he decided to keep still and wait. Perhaps 
 Merriwell would want to come in later; perhaps a party 
 would gather so that a game could be made up, even if 
 Diamond and Rattleton did pull out. 
 
 Frank ordered a drink. He told Pomp to bring him 
 some gin. Harris took whiskey. Gordan and Gooch took 
 the same. 
 
 Diamond and Rattleton refused to take anything. 
 
 "Won't even drink with me, eh ?" cried Frank, fiercely. 
 "All right ! I know who m' friends are !" 
 
 When the drinks were brought, Jack and Harry 
 watched Merriwell closely too closely to suit him, for he 
 saw he was not going to be able to deceive them unless he 
 was exceedingly crafty. 
 
 On the wall was a picture* of John L. Sullivan. Frank 
 lifted his glass, crying: 
 
 "Here's to you, John L., old boy. You're a back num- 
 ber, but you were a daisy in your day." 
 
 Then the picture seemed to say ;
 
 Frank Gets Onto the Game. 105 
 
 "That's all right. Corbett found there were others. 
 Drink hearty." 
 
 Every eye was turned toward the picture, and then 
 Merry turned the gin into a cuspidor, so that, when they 
 looked back, he was drinking the water. 
 
 All the wool on Pompey's head seemed to rise on its 
 hind legs. The darky became a sickly yellow, and his ; 
 knees trembled. 
 
 "Gemmans," he chattered, "did Ah hear dat photum- 
 graf speak? Oh wuz hit an optical delusum ob mah 
 ears?" 
 
 Harris grinned. 
 
 "That was pretty slick," he said. "Who is the ventrilo- 
 quist?" 
 
 No one present was more innocent in appearance than 
 Frank, and it seemed that he was too intoxicated to do a 
 trick like that. He seemed to have all he could carry and 
 stand on his pins. 
 
 "Too bad !" muttered Rattleton, as Frank walked over 
 and gravely stared at the picture of Sullivan. "Wouldn't 
 believed it if I hadn't seen it." 
 
 Diamond was silent, but his thoughts were busy. 
 
 "Oh, it won't do him any harm," laughed Harris, trying 
 not to show his satisfaction. "He has stuck to soft drinks 
 a blamed sight longer than I thought he could and run 
 with the set he has been in." 
 
 Both Jack and Harry felt that this was a thrust at 
 them, but they could not resent it. At that moment they 
 were thoroughly ashamed of themselves, for they felt that 
 they were in no small degree responsible for the condition 
 of their friend. 
 
 The game continued, but Merriwell did not seem to pay 
 the slightest attention to it. He looked at the pictures and 
 talked to himself. 
 
 Gordan and Gooch were fully as delighted as Harris, for
 
 io6 Frank Gets Onto the Game. 
 
 they disliked Frank. If anything, Gooch was more two- 
 faced than Gordan. He had few friends in college. 
 
 There were more than three chairs in the room, but 
 Gooch and Gordan did not draw them up to the table. 
 They stood and talked to each other in low tones. 
 
 After a time Merriwell sat down on a chair, and it was 
 not long before he seemed to fall asleep, with his head 
 hanging over on one side. 
 
 "He's off," laughed Harris. "What a surprise it must 
 be to the stomach of such a temperance crank as he has 
 been !" 
 
 "He's never been a crank !" flared Diamond. "He has 
 not chosen to drink, but you know he has not been med- 
 dling with fellows who wanted to do so." 
 
 "Oh, don't fly off the handle like that!" said Harris. 
 "Merriwell is all right. He'll be all the more popular now 
 that he has got so he will take something." 
 
 "He is purchasing added popularity at a big price," said 
 Rattleton. 
 
 Merriwell heard all this, but still he seemed to sleep on. 
 
 The game continued. As it was freeze-out, Harris re- 
 solved to clean Diamond and Rattleton out as soon as pos- 
 sible. He won all the large pots that he stayed on. It 
 was a remarkable thing that when he was beaten, he 
 dropped his cards without betting. It made no differ- 
 ence who dealt, he seemed to read the cards. 
 
 Disgusted, Diamond called for a fresh pack. Still, every 
 time Diamond or Rattleton got the "top hand," Harris 
 dropped his cards. That left Jack and Harry to "buck" 
 against each other, and both were eager to get at Harris. 
 
 Gooch and Gordan watched the game. Gordan pre- 
 tended that he wanted to come in. He asked Gooch for 
 money, but Sydney declared he was "broke." 
 
 All the while, though seeming to be asleep, Frank was 
 watching the players and the two on-lookers. He was
 
 Frank Gets Onto the Game. 107 
 
 confident that, in some way, Harris was fleecing Jack and 
 Harry. How the trick was being done was what he meant 
 to find out. 
 
 Not one in that room suspected Merriwell was watch- 
 ing him. But, if Frank had come there without seem- 
 ing to be intoxicated, all would have suspected his pur- 
 pose. Once before he had exposed a card sharp, and he 
 had done the trick very cleverly. 
 
 Now, as Frank pretended to sleep, he saw how it came 
 about that Harris always knew when to bet and when 
 to drop his cards. 
 
 Gordan and Gooch were "tipping him off." They 
 stood so that they could look at the cards held by Dia- 
 mond and Rattleton, and it was easy enough for them to 
 signal Harris. 
 
 Frank's blood began to seethe in his veins. It was 
 with difficulty that he kept still long enough to discover 
 the meaning of all the signals employed by Harris' allies. 
 
 At last, he could stand it no longer. A big pot was 
 on the table. Diamond held three aces, and Rattleton 
 had a flush. Still, Harris was raising every time it came 
 his turn. 
 
 Merriwell arose to his feet, advanced quickly, and 
 grasped Gordan and Gooch by the collar. Then there 
 was a crack as he rapped the heads of the two rascals to- 
 gether.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 HARRIS AT BAY. 
 
 "Ouch!" 
 
 "Leggo!" 
 
 "You hurt!" 
 
 "Wow!" 
 
 The startled rascals uttered the exclamations as Frank 
 Merriwell shook them, one with each hand, as if they 
 were children. 
 
 The trio at- the table were no less startled. Frank's 
 action had been so sudden and unexpected that they were 
 dazed for a moment. 
 
 "Help!" cried Gooch. 
 
 "Take him off!" squawked Gordan. 
 
 "He's crazy !" exclaimed Harris, starting to his feet. 
 
 "Sit down, Harris !" rang out Frank Merriwell's clear 
 voice, as he flashed a look over his shoulder at the chief 
 rascal. 
 
 Harris dropped back into his seat as if those words 
 had knocked him down. 
 
 At that moment Frank showed no signs of intoxica- 
 tion, although he had seemed so full a short time before. 
 It was this fact that upset Harris as much as anything. 
 
 Jack and Harry were startled. They sat still some 
 seconds, staring at Frank. 
 
 Harris jumped up again, crying: 
 
 "Get hold of him ! He's nutty ! What has he jumped 
 on Gordan and Gooch that way for?" 
 
 "I'll tell you why I jumped on them," said Frank. 
 "I did it because they are a precious pair of scoundrels 
 who are helping you fleece my friends!"
 
 Harris at Bay. 109 
 
 Harris turned pale. Once before this same keen-eyed 
 youth had exposed him in a piece of rascality. Had 
 Merriwell detected him in his crookedness a second time ? 
 
 Harris knew the only course was to put on a bold face, 
 so, with a pretense of mingled astonishment and indigna- 
 tion, he asked: 
 
 "What do you mean by that, Frank Merriwell?" 
 
 "Just what I said," came from Frank, as, with a snap, 
 he cast the two accomplices reeling aside. "I am on to the 
 dirty trick, Harris !" 
 
 "Be careful !" came threateningly from Sport, as he 
 took a step toward Merry. "You'll find I am not ready 
 to take such talk from a fellow who is drunk." 
 
 "I am not drunk, Harris," declared Frank. "Further 
 than that I have not taken a single drink. I knew if I 
 came here when I seemed to be sober you would be on 
 your guard, and I could not catch you. That was why 
 I made believe I had been drinking. I fooled you very 
 nicely, and thus I was able to get on to your crooked 
 work." 
 
 "You are drunk now!" exclaimed Harris, desperately, 
 although he knew better when he said so. "We all saw 
 you take a drink of gin." 
 
 "You saw me take a drink of water nothing more. 
 The gin went into that cuspidor when you turned your 
 head at the time that John L. up there on the wall saw fit 
 to make a remark in response to my toast. That, too, 
 was a little ruse of mine, and it worked beautifully. You 
 have been fooled this time, Harris, and you can't squirm 
 out of it." 
 
 Gordan and Gooch were pulling themselves together, 
 glaring at Frank in a manner that betrayed their mingled 
 hatred and fear. Gooch picked up his hat, which had 
 fallen to the floor, and restored it to shape, while Gor- 
 dan tenderly rubbed his head.
 
 no Harris at Bay. 
 
 Diamond and Rattleton were both astonished and re- 
 lieved. They were astonished by Frank's sudden action 
 and his words, and they were relieved to hear him declare 
 he had not taken a drink of liquor. Instantly both Tack 
 and Harry felt that Frank knew what he was doing 
 and what he was talking about, but they wanted an 
 explanation, and that was something Harris really did 
 not want. How had they been skinned ? It must be that 
 Gooch and Gordan had been giving their hands away to 
 Harris. 
 
 Sport grew paler than ever, but he continued to "put 
 on a front." 
 
 "What are you driving at?" he hoarsely demanded. 
 
 "I am driving at you, my fine fellow ! I want you to 
 give up the money you have won from my friends." 
 
 "I refuse ! I will not be robbed !" 
 
 Frank laughed. 
 
 "You are a nice chap to talk about being robbed! A 
 few moments ago you were robbing my friends ! That is 
 what I mean ! It was robbing them just as much as it 
 would be to put your hands into their pockets and take 
 their watch or money." 
 
 "Be careful, Merriwell!" grated the chief rascal. 
 "You'll have to prove that !" 
 
 "Oh, I don't know ! My word will go against a fellow 
 like you. I saw your curs here giving you signals. I 
 can tell their signals for two pairs, threes, a straight, a 
 flush, full house and fours. They signaled to you, and you 
 knew what was against you. That is how you knew 
 enough to lay down your hand every time you were 
 beaten." 
 
 "It's a lie!" snarled Harris. 
 
 "It's a lie !" faintly echoed Gordan. 
 
 "Yes, it's a lie!" weakly supported Gooch. 
 
 "It is the truth! Look, Diamond look, Rattleton
 
 Harris at Bay. in 
 
 look at their faces! There is guilt for you! It proves 
 iny charge true without another word !" 
 
 Gooch betrayed guilt more than either of the others. 
 Gordan made an effort to look innocent, but did not suc- 
 ceed very well, while Harris ground his teeth furiously. 
 
 "Are you going to let him circulate this story about 
 us, fellows?" cried Harris, savagely. 
 
 "No," said Gooch, with an effort. 
 
 "No," said Gordan, with a little more spirit. 
 
 "But what can we do?" asked Gooch, helplessly. 
 
 "Go for him !" shouted Harris. "We'll go for him all 
 together, and we can do him up!" 
 
 "That's right," said Gooch, but he edged away from 
 Merriwell. 
 
 "Come on !" cried Gordan, with sudden rage. "No fel- 
 low can use me the way Merriwell has and not be sorry 
 for it !" 
 
 "Stop !" exploded Diamond, jumping up. 
 
 "Stop !" roared Rattleton, also rising. 
 
 "Don't try to lay a hand on Merriwell," rang out 
 Jack's voice. 
 
 "Don't try to put a finger on him!" shot forth Rattle- 
 ton. 
 
 "If you do " 
 
 "We'll do you!" 
 
 "Sit down, fellows sit down!" laughed Merriwell, 
 motioning for Diamond and Rattleton to resume their 
 seats. "Why, I can polish off all three of these fellows. 
 It will be easy, and I shall consider it a great piece of 
 good luck if they will wade right into me." 
 
 Frank was in a dangerous mood. All the indignation 
 of his soul had been aroused, and he felt like fighting 
 at that moment. It was not often he felt that way, but 
 he was a dangerous man when the mood seized him. 
 
 Gordan's courage suddenly wilted. He had heard
 
 H2 Harris at Bay. 
 
 Frank laugh like that before, and that laugh was a warn- 
 ing. He lost his eagerness to get at Merriwell. 
 
 Gooch did not have any courage to lose. 
 
 Harris realized his satellites had wilted and a bitter 
 imprecation came from his lips. 
 
 "Go slow, Merriwell!" he cried, warningly. "Don't 
 push me too far ! You have no proof of this charge, and 
 I declare it false. Mr. Gordan and Mr. Gooch both say 
 it is false. That is three against one." 
 
 "I rather think my word will go against all three of 
 you," came coolly from Merriwell. "A fellow who has 
 been detected in crooked work once has not much of a 
 reputation to stand on." 
 
 "Do you know that Gordan and Gooch were giving 
 away to Harris what we held?" asked the Virginian, 
 savagely. 
 
 "Yes," nodded Frank, "I know it." 
 
 "That settles it!" came harshly from Jack's lips, as he 
 quickly placed his back against the door. "Shell out, 
 Harris! Give up all you have won from us!" 
 
 "Yes, give it up, or I'll hunch your ped I mean punch 
 your head!" spluttered Harry, making a threatening 
 move toward the gambler. 
 
 Harris looked around helplessly. He saw there was no 
 hope for him. Gordan and Gooch would do nothing to 
 assist him. 
 
 He had sold chips to the others repeatedly, besides act- 
 ing as banker. He took a roll of bills out of his pocket 
 and flung them on the table. 
 
 "There's all I have !" he snarled. "If you are going to 
 rob me, take the whole of it ; but I swear you shall suffer 
 for this!" 
 
 "Take what is your due, fellows," directed Frank; 
 "and don't mind what he says. If he attempts to make 
 trouble about it, I'll take care that he is drummed out of
 
 Harris at Bay. 1 1 3 
 
 college. It is what he deserves, and I believe it is my duty 
 to see that he gets his deserts." 
 
 Harris looked on sullenly while Diamond and Rattle- 
 ton consulted together. He expected to lose the monej' 
 he had won in such a crooked manner, and he bit his 
 tongue with rage whenever he thought how he had been 
 tricked and trapped by Frank Merriwell. 
 
 He had hated Merriwell before, but now he felt that 
 he could kill the fellow without a qualm of conscience. 
 All his bad luck had been brought about by Merriwell. 
 Whenever he made a wager on anything Merriwell en- 
 tered into the game somewhere and upset all his calcula- 
 tions. He remembered with overwhelming fury how 
 Yale had taken the gridiron with a far weaker football 
 team than Harvard, how he had bet everything he could 
 raise on Harvard, and how Merriwell, who had not been 
 expected to play, had gone in as full-back and proved the 
 principal cause of Harvard's defeat. 
 
 And now, when Harris was doing something to re- 
 trieve his fallen fortunes, once more Merriwell upset his 
 plan and exposed his crookedness. 
 
 Walter Gordan felt quite as bad as Harris, but the 
 time was past when Walter dared openly face Merriwell 
 in anything. 
 
 Sydney Gooch, always foxy and hypocritical, never 
 possessed courage enough to show his colors. 
 
 After speaking together, Diamond and Rattleton turned 
 toward Harris, and the former said: 
 
 "Pick up that money, Harris, and put it into your 
 pocket. You have won it in some manner, and we are 
 not going to touch it." 
 
 Harris had not expected this, and now that it had come 
 he hesitated. He suspected some sort of a trick. 
 
 "No!" he cried. 
 
 "You won't?" gasped Rattleton. -
 
 ii4 Harris at Bay. 
 
 "No!" 
 
 * Why not?" 
 
 "I have been accused of beating you out of that money 
 in a crooked manner. Take your money back ! I will not 
 touch a cent of it !" 
 
 Harris was playing a part now, for he hoped they 
 would not take the money. He was making a bluff by 
 showing indignation, hoping to restore his standing in 
 their eyes in a measure, at least. 
 
 Frank smiled a bit. He could read the fellow like 
 an open book, and he thoroughly understood Harris' 
 game. 
 
 "You have been accused " began Jack. 
 
 "But " put in Harry. 
 
 Then both hesitated. 
 
 "It has not been proved," said Walter Gordan, quickly ; 
 "and it can't be proved. You won the money honorably, 
 Sport, so keep it, I say." 
 
 "I say so, too," came faintly from Syd Gooch, who felt 
 that he must say something to support Gordan. 
 
 "Very well," said Frank, quietly; "keep the money, 
 Harris." 
 
 But Harris hesitated, fearing this sudden change in 
 Merriwell meant another trap. 
 
 "No!" he huskily said, sitting down on a chair and 
 thrusting his hands into his pockets. "Take out the 
 money I won from you, Diamond and Rattleton. Next 
 time I play I'll choose men who will not squeal when they 
 are honorably beaten." 
 
 Diamond flushed and took a quick step toward the in- 
 sulting speaker. 
 
 "Harris!" he cried, "if you accuse me of squealing, 
 you lie! That is straight and plain enough. I do not 
 care to be beaten out of my money by a card sharp and a 
 crook, but I never cry baby when I lose fairly."
 
 Harris at Bay. 115 
 
 "Nor I," hastily declared Rattleton. 
 
 "Oh, well," said Sport, with a sneer, "I don't suppose 
 you fellows are to blame for your friends. Some of 
 them " 
 
 Frank made a warning gesture. 
 
 "Better be careful, Harris," he said. "I have handled 
 you gently so far, but there is a limit. If Mr. Diamond 
 and Mr. Rattleton do not choose to take back their money, 
 that is their business; but they may be satisfied all the 
 same that you were playing a skin game with them. Take 
 my advice, pick up your money and get out of here. You 
 will not make anything by remaining to talk it over, and 
 you may stir me up. In case that happens, you will not 
 escape any easier than did your confederates." 
 
 "Don't you dare put a hand on me!" snarled Harris, 
 starting to his feet and carrying one hand back toward 
 his hip pocket. 
 
 Frank laughed. 
 
 "If I thought of doing so, you would not stop me by 
 making that kind of a motion," he declared. "I don't 
 doubt but you carry a gun, but it is not handy. Out 
 West men who are liable to need a gun and need it in a 
 hurry never think of carrying one around in such an awk- 
 ward place, for they know the first movement in that 
 direction is a warning to an enemy, and the chances are 
 about ten to one that they will find themselves toes up 
 before they can get their shooting-iron out for business." 
 
 "We're not out West," muttered Harris ; "and I rather 
 think I can draw quick enough to fix you." 
 
 "Why, you wouldn't have the nerve to use that gun 
 after you drew it," declared Frank. "In fact, I don't be- 
 lieve you would have nerve enough to draw it. Any- 
 way, I am coming at you right now !" 
 
 He walked swiftly toward Harris, who fell back
 
 n6 Harris at Bay. 
 
 against the wall, crying out for him to stop, but did not 
 draw his revolver. 
 
 Frank followed the fellow up to the wall, and then, 
 with a scornful laugh, turned his back on him in the most 
 careless and disdainful manner and walked away. 
 
 Harris looked as if he longed to leap like a panther 
 on Merriwell's back, but it was plain he did not dare do 
 it. The very fact that Frank gave him such an oppor- 
 tunity by turning his back held Harris in check to a cer- 
 tain extent, for it seemed that Merriwell was eager for 
 him to make an attack. 
 
 "That's all right!" he grated. "If Gordan and Gooch 
 would stand by me, I'd " 
 
 "What would you do?" 
 
 Frank turned and shot the question into Sport's face. 
 
 "I'd I'd fight you !" 
 
 "Oh, well, it is easy enough to arrange that," said 
 Merriwell, who seemed aroused in a manner that sur- 
 prised Jack and Harry. "We can have a little set-to " 
 
 "When I fight you, I want fair play." 
 
 "You shall have it." 
 
 "No! If I were getting the best of you, your friends 
 here would interfere. If you were getting the best of 
 me, neither Gordan nor Gooch would lift a hand to help 
 me." 
 
 "Is that what you think? Well, we can fix it. We'll 
 run them all out of the room and lock the door. You 
 and I will be in here together, and I'll agree to lick you 
 till you beg before they can break in to us." 
 
 Harris wilted. 
 
 "I don't propose to let you arrange it," he said ; "but I 
 am going to get a crack at you before long. I will tell 
 you that now. You want to look out for me." 
 
 "I know what you will do. You'll try to get a crack 
 at me behind my back. That is brave ! All right ! I am
 
 Harris at Bay. 117 
 
 not alarmed, but I warn you now that I have stood all I 
 can from you. I spared you once, but I shall not be so 
 merciful the next time. If you try anything dirty on me, 
 I'll give you no rest I'll drive you out of Yale!" 
 
 Sport shrank a bit closer against the wall, and his face 
 hardened. 
 
 "So be it !" he cried. "We understand each other now. 
 I know what you will try to do, and you know I am your; 
 enemy. The time of avowed hostilities has come. You 
 are a popular man, but it is possible that you have esti- 
 mated your popularity too high. Even you can be 
 reached, if the trick is done right." 
 
 "Then it is to be open war ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Good enough ! I see your finish !" 
 
 "Oh, I don't know ! You are not the only cake of ice 
 in the cooler, and you won't last forever." 
 
 Without paying any further attention to Harris, Frank 
 turned to Jack and Harry. 
 
 "Come, fellows," he said, "let's get out of this place. 
 Take my advice, and stay away from it." 
 
 Harris picked up the roll of money. Without speak- 
 ing to Gordan or Gooch, he walked out of the room. 
 They followed close at his heels, both seeming glad to 
 escape as easily as they did. 
 
 When they were gone, Diamond turned to Frank, con- 
 fessing : 
 
 "You were right about Harris, old man. I would not 
 take your warning then, but now I see we were foolish to 
 play poker with a chap of his caliber after knowing he 
 had been in a crooked deal once." 
 
 "Let poker alone, fellows," said Merriwell, soberly. 
 "There is no one who likes the game more than I, but I 
 keep away from it, for I know what will happen if I allow 
 myself to chase it. There is nothing can get such a hold
 
 n8 Harris at Bay. 
 
 on a fellow as poker, and nothing will do him greatei 
 damage, unless it is drinking." 
 
 He stopped short, feeling that it would not be best to 
 "preach." 
 
 His words were not wasted, and they seemed all the 
 more impressive from the fact that both lads knew he 
 spoke the truth when he said no one liked the game 
 more than he. 
 
 "I'd like to get back some of the money Harris has 
 won from me lately," said Harry. 
 
 "Well, we can't win it back," said Jack, "so we'll have 
 to let it go." 
 
 "That is a sensible conclusion," said Frank. 
 
 "But there is one thing we can do," cried Jack. 
 
 "What's that?" 
 
 "We can help crowd that fellow out of Yale." 
 
 "Sure !" eagerly exclaimed Harry. 
 
 Frank shook his head. 
 
 "Don't think of it, fellows," he said. 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "It would not be right for all of us to get onto his neck 
 at once. He would say it was a case of persecution be- 
 cause he won money from you, and it would seem that 
 way." 
 
 "I don't believe he'd dare say anything of the sort," 
 said Harry. 
 
 "Well, even if he didn't, it would seem like three on 
 one, and I like to see any fellow, no matter who or what 
 he is, have a fair fighting show. There is to be open 
 hostilities between Harris and myself. Let us alone let 
 us settle it."
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 A SLEIGHING PARTY. 
 
 "Art dreaming ? awake ! and the stars shall pale, 
 
 While I bathe in the light of thine eyes; 
 Art musing? ah! shake off fancy's veil, 
 
 For thy face needs no disguise. 
 The sea sleeps calm in the light of the moon, 
 
 The stars guard heaven's gate; 
 Then tell me not, Love, I have come too soon, 
 
 For, queen of my love, I wait. 
 
 "The sea sleeps calm in the light of the moon, 
 
 The stars guard heaven's gate; 
 Oh, tell me not, Love, I have come too soon, 
 
 For, light of my soul, I wait. 
 Beloved, beloved, beloved, thy loved one waits." 
 
 A fresh fall of snow lay on the ground, and the moon 
 was high in the heavens. It was a perfect night just 
 the night for a sleighing party. 
 
 Out of New Haven drove a merry party, twenty in all. 
 They were in single sleighs and double-seaters. The 
 bells tinkled merrily, and the voices of the jolly lads and 
 light-hearted girls mingled sweetly in the song Frank had 
 started. 
 
 Never had Frank seemed in better spirits. He was 
 handling the reins over a "spanking span," and Fanny 
 Darling was at his side, while on the seat behind him 
 were Bart Hodge and Bessie Blossom. 
 
 Bessie and Mable Creighton had come on from Phila- 
 delphia to visit their brothers at Yale, and Fanny had 
 accompanied them. Just why she wished to come she 
 had not stated, but there were those in the secret who 
 knew she would not have taken the trouble but for the 
 fact that Frank Merriwell was a student of "Old Eli."
 
 120 A Sleighing Party. 
 
 Bessie Blossom had been Bart's favorite at the time the 
 "Yale Combine" was stopping in the Quaker City, and 
 she seemed well satisfied to have him as a companion on 
 this ride. 
 
 The sleighs strung out along the road, and there was 
 laughter and calling from sleigh to sleigh. Frank started 
 the singing, and Fanny Darling joined in. He leaned 
 closer as he sang, and she did not draw away. The verse 
 ended, and she lifted her eyes to his, the moonlight falling 
 full on her face. He was looking down at her. 
 
 "What a splendid singer you are, Mr. Merriwell !" she 
 exclaimed. "You really sang that as if you meant it." 
 
 "As if I did!" cried Frank, softly. "Well, didn't I?" 
 
 "Perhaps so, if you were thinking of some one else." 
 
 Fanny knew all about Inza Burrage and Elsie Bell- 
 wood. She had heard Frank confess that he cared more 
 for Elsie than all other girls. He had not tried to de- 
 ceive her, and for that reason her admiration for him 
 was something more than mere friendship, even though 
 she realized fully that Frank could be nothing but a friend 
 to her. 
 
 "Oh, I don't know!" smiled Frank. "Life is young, 
 you and I are together. Why should we think of any 
 one else to-night?" 
 
 Her head drooped, and she nestled a bit nearer. 
 
 "I don't know," she murmured. "Perhaps it would not 
 be so very wicked, just for to-night." 
 
 Then Frank started on the second verse of the song: 
 
 "Art sleeping? ah, no! for the night is still young, 
 
 Still far too young for sleep ; 
 'Not yet hath the glow which the day god flung 
 
 Been lost in the western deep. 
 Art absent? not so, it cannot be, 
 
 To-night is the night we meet; 
 iWhile breathing and free, thou knowest well, 
 
 This night I am at thy feet.
 
 A Sleighing Party. 121 
 
 "The sea sleeps calm in the light of the moon, 
 
 The stars guard heaven's gate; 
 Oh, tell me not, love, I have come too soon, 
 
 For, queen of my soul, I wait. 
 Beloved, beloved, beloved, thy loved one waits 
 
 Thy loved one waits." 
 
 Silence, the tinkle of the bells, the crunch of snow 
 under the feet of the horses, the softly smiling moon, the 
 world asleep beneath its robe of white a night for young 
 hearts and for whispered words of love. 
 
 The words of the beautiful song stirred Fanny Dar- 
 ling's soul. She knew that she loved Frank Merriwell 
 there was no doubt of it now. But she must hold it 
 down crush it back. 
 
 Then came the thought that it was for but one night. 
 Why should she not be happy that night, at least? They 
 might never be together again like this. 
 
 "Thou knowest well, this night I am at thy feet." 
 Frank had sung those words, and she felt that he had 
 sung them to her. For one night they belonged to each 
 other. She would try to be as happy as if she expected 
 that night to last forever. 
 
 So she felt his arm about her, and she was happy. She 
 thought of his heroic act in saving her from horrible dis- 
 figurement, from possible death by fire, and she realized 
 that, deep in her heart, he had been the one hero of her 
 life ever since that evening. 
 
 A thousand times Fanny had longed for an opportunity 
 to square the great debt she owed Frank. She had felt 
 that she could die for him. Once he had thought her 
 frivolous and cruel, and she longed to show him how 
 much he had misjudged her. 
 
 "No whispering," called Bessie Blossom, with a light 
 laugh. "It isn't polite in company, you know." 
 
 "It can't be that Mr. Hodge is doing his duty," Fanny
 
 122 A Sleighing Party. 
 
 tossed over her shoulder. "If he were you would not 
 notice what is going on in front." 
 
 "I may not be doing my duty, but I am trying to hold 
 my own," said Bart, as he clasped his arm still more 
 tightly about the girl at his side. 
 
 Frank gasped. 
 
 "Never knew you to say anything like that before, old 
 man," he declared. "How long since you have taken to 
 joking." 
 
 "That was no joke," returned Bart. "I am not letting 
 words go to waste." 
 
 "How about your arm?" laughed Fanny. 
 
 "Well, there are others." 
 
 Some one struck up a college song, and the entire party 
 joined in the chorus. 
 
 "Where are we going, Merriwell?" asked Bart. 
 
 "Oh, out to some old farmer's somewhere in the coun- 
 try. Pierson has an uncle out here somewhere, I believe, 
 a staid old codger who will drop dead when we all drive 
 into his yard and pull him out of bed, for it's ten to one 
 he'll be abed when we get there." 
 
 "Oh, but this is a jolly lark!" cried Fanny. "I'm 
 awfully glad I came on to New Haven with you and 
 Mabel, Bessie." 
 
 "Don't you think college fellows are just the nicest 
 fellows in the world ?" asked Bessie. 
 
 "Of course they are, and Yale fellows are the nicest 
 college fellows in the world." 
 
 "Oh, there are cheap fellows in Yale," said Frank. 
 "There is one in this very party. I don't care to name 
 him, but I was sorry to see him in this crowd." 
 
 He was thinking of Sport Harris.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 UNCLE ASA AND AUNT PRISCILLA. 
 
 Farmer Asa Stebbins had attended to the chores for the 
 night. He had cared for the cattle, bedded down Nancy, 
 the old farm horse, locked the stable and betaken himself 
 to his cheerful fireside. 
 
 When supper was eaten, Uncle Asa smoked his pipe, 
 while Priscilla, his good wife, industriously knitted away 
 at a pair of warm socks she was making for her husband. 
 Conversation came at intervals. The cat purred on the 
 hearth. 
 
 Uncle Asa looked over the last weekly paper as he 
 smoked. He had read it all once, but, for want of some- 
 thing else, he read some of the most interesting items 
 over again. 
 
 At length Uncle Asa cleared his throat and laughed 
 softly to himself. 
 
 "What's the matter with you, father?" asked his wife. 
 "What do you find in the paper that's so funny ?" 
 
 "Oh, here's an item about them college chaps over al 
 New Haven, but it wasn't that I was laughin' at." 
 
 "What was it, then?" 
 
 "I was thinkin', mother." 
 
 Aunt Priscilla did not ask any more questions, for she 
 knew her husband well enough to be sure he would tell 
 what he was thinking of quite as soon if she kept still as 
 if she pressed him. After a time, the old man laughed 
 again, in his dry way, observing: 
 
 "What a jokin' set of fellers them college chaps be! 
 Alwus tryin' to have fun with somebody."
 
 124 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla. 
 
 " 'Cording to what I've heard, them chaps carry their 
 jokin' altogether too fur sometimes," said Aunt Priscilla. 
 
 "Oh, well, boys will be boys, you know. Now if our 
 Jimmy had lived to grow up, I'd wanted him to go to 
 college and git his eddycation finished. I never had many 
 advantages myself, and " 
 
 "I don't know as it's any great advantage to any boy to 
 go to college and wear long hair and break his collar bone 
 playin' football. That's 'bout all them college chaps seem 
 to do." 
 
 "They do have fun," said Uncle Asa, chuckling again. 
 "Now, I remember 'way back years ago a prank they 
 played on an old farmer that lived somewhere out in the 
 country. That was before they had put up all them new 
 buildin's. The old State House was standin' then. It 
 was the greatest joke." 
 
 The old man shook with silent laughter, and his wife 
 looked at him sharply, wondering that he should be so 
 amused. 
 
 "You know them college chaps have a fence down 
 there," the farmer pursued. "They consider it their 
 sacred property. There was another fence back in them 
 days. The boys roosted on that fence jest as they roost 
 on the one they've got now. Well, this farmer I'm tellin' 
 you of drove into town and hitched up his hoss to their 
 fence, while he went off to 'tend to some business. 
 
 "Ho ! ho ! ho !" laughed Uncle Asa. "The hoss cribbed 
 away at the top of that fence, and when the student fellers 
 come out from recitation they saw him hitched there and 
 trying to eat their fence. They didn't like that, and they 
 got together an' set about concoctin' some sort of a plan 
 to punish the farmer for darin' to hitch his nag to their 
 sacred fence." 
 
 The old man pulled at the pipe a moment, quite wn-
 
 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla. 125 
 
 aware that it had gone out. There was a whimsical loolc 
 on his weather-tanned face. 
 
 "Purty soon they struck onto a plan," he continued. 
 "They drove the team over to the State House and un- 
 hitched it. The buildin' was not in use at that time, so 
 what did them darn boys do but lead the farmer's hoss in 
 and take him right up the stairs. That's right, mother 
 them dare-devil boys done it. There was a flight of 
 stairs leadin' right up to the roof, which was purty near 
 flat, and out onto the roof they took that hoss." 
 
 "Land sakes !" exclaimed Aunt Priscilla, putting down 
 her knitting. "Do tell !" 
 
 "Fact," chuckled Uncle Asa. "Then them young ras- 
 cals took the farmer's waggin all to pieces and carried it 
 up there piece by piece and put it together again." 
 
 "Well, I declare !" exclaimed the listener. 
 
 "When they got the waggin all together, they har- 
 nessed in the old hoss and hitched him to the chimney. 
 When this was done, they came down and waited for the 
 farmer to come back. 
 
 "It was a monster funny sight to see that team up there 
 on the roof of the old State House. Folks stopped and 
 stared at the team, and then pinched themselves to see if 
 they was awake or asleep and dreamin'. A crowd begun 
 to gather purty soon. 
 
 "The farmer had considerable business to 'tend to, and 
 he jest stepped into a saloon and bought him a pint of 
 somethin' or other, and he nipped away at that now and 
 then. When he got through with his business he was 
 feelin' jest a little bit how-come-you-so. Then he started 
 for his team. 
 
 "When he got long to the fence there was a crowd of 
 student fellers and other folks, but not a sign of his 
 team could that farmer see. He began to think the hoss
 
 126 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla. 
 
 had got unhitched and wandered off, so he asked some of 
 the crowd if they'd seen the team. 
 
 "One of them student fellers said he had seen the hoss 
 wanderin' off by hisself goin' over toward the State 
 House. Then the farmer he happened to look up the 
 way all them laughin' folks was lookin' and he saw his 
 team." 
 
 Uncle Asa slapped his knee and laughed outright. 
 
 "B'gosh !" he cried, "I don't s'pose that farmer ever 
 was so 'stonished before in all his nateral life. He gasped 
 for breath, rubbed his eyes, staggered backward, and set 
 right down on the ground. He couldn't b'lieve his eyes. 
 
 " 'Say,' he asked, 'do any of you folks see a hoss and 
 waggin up there on top of the State House? or be I 
 twisted ?' 
 
 "When he was satisfied that the team was there, he was 
 more 'stonished than ever, and his 'stonishment increased. 
 He hadn't never known his hoss to climb up on roofs be- 
 fore, and he kinder wondered if the old nag had been 
 drinkin', too. Them student fellers laughed and joked 
 the farmer, and all the street urchins guyed him. Arter 
 a while he rekivered enough to get up and go after his 
 team, but he had to pay some men a good big pile to get 
 it down for him, and they had an awful time with the 
 hoss, for, though the animal had walked up stairs all 
 right, it didn't want to go down. They had to back the 
 nag down, and it was night before the farmer got started 
 for home. He knew his wife'd give it to him for stayin* 
 in town all that time, and he swore off takin' anything in 
 the way of strong drink that very day. He ain't never 
 touched a thing but cider sence." 
 
 Aunt Priscilla looked sharply at her husband. 
 
 "How'd you know all about this, father?" she asked. 
 
 "Oh, I heard of it," answered the farmer, evasively. 
 
 "Who was the man?"
 
 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla. 127 
 
 "I don't jest exactly remember what his name was 
 now," said the old fellow, hastily rising. "It's time to go 
 to bed, mother." 
 
 "How long ago did this happen, father?" persisted his 
 wife. 
 
 "Quite a while quite a while. Don't remember jest 
 the number of years. I'm goin' to bed." 
 
 "Your memory's gittin' shorter and shorter. It's re- 
 markable how short it is when you don't want to remem- 
 ber a p'int." 
 
 Uncle Asa paid no attention to this shot, but put his 
 pipe on the mantel, made sure the door was locked, wound 
 . up the clock, looked after the fire, and then picked up the 
 lamp. 
 
 At that moment he paused, lamp in hand, and listened. 
 
 There was a sound of sleigh bells. 
 
 "Wonder who that is," he speculated. "This last 
 snow's made powerful fine slippin'." 
 
 Aunt Priscilla rolled up her knitting. 
 
 "Somebody's been to town, that's all," she said. 
 
 "Hark!" 
 
 There was a sound of youthful voices singing sweetly 
 in the clear night air. 
 
 "Sounds like there was a lot of 'em," said Uncle Asa. 
 "Young folks do have good times, mother. We was 
 young ourselves once." 
 
 "Yes," said his wife, "but young folks never went sky- 
 larkin' in my day the way they do now." 
 
 "Keep still, mother ! I really believe somebody's drove 
 into our yard." 
 
 "Mercy sakes! At this time of night! It can't be!" 
 
 "I'm sure of it ! Hear them voices ! There's lots of 
 J em. What can they want?" 
 
 There was a rap on the door. Uncle Asa put down the 
 lamp, and Aunt Priscilla was in a flutter of excitement.
 
 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla. 
 
 As soon as possible, the old man opened the door, and 
 then into the room swarmed a flock of rosy-cheeked girls 
 and laughing lads. 
 
 "Good gracious !" cried Aunt Priscilla, holding up both 
 hands in amazement. 
 
 "Hey! hey! what's this mean?" gasped Uncle Asa, 
 nearly dropping the lamp, which he still held in his hand. 
 
 "Hello, Uncle Asa!" called Paul Pierson, cheerily. 
 "Thought we'd call and see you." 
 
 "So we called, don't you see," laughed Ben Halliday. 
 
 "Come in everybody," invited Jack Diamond, holding 
 the door open. 
 
 "My clean floor!" faintly murmured the farmer's wife. 
 
 "What does it mean?" persisted the astounded farmer. 
 
 "It's a little surprise party, that's all," explained Pier- 
 son. "We knew you would be glad to see us, uncle." 
 
 "But we we ain't prepared." 
 
 "Oh, never mind that. We're not fussy. We'll make 
 ourselves at home." 
 
 "I should say so ! I should say so ! But, really, young 
 gentlemen and ladies, I can't " 
 
 "Now don't say that," cut in Paul. "We know you are 
 delighted to see us. We want a place to stand our horses, 
 and then we'll dt> what we can to eat up your best apples 
 and drink a barrel or two of your good cider." 
 
 "Apples and cider!" cried one of the girls. "How 
 jolly !" 
 
 Uncle Asa groaned. 
 
 "Oh, yes!" he said. "It's darn jolly! But I won't 
 have it, I tell you. I refuse to be imposed upon like " 
 
 "Now, uncle," said Pierson, "don't be foolish. If you 
 are, I'll feel it my duty to tell Aunt Priscilla all about that 
 time you found your team on the top of the State House 
 in New Haven, and " 
 
 " 'Sh !" gasped the old farmer, in consternation. "How
 
 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla. 129 
 
 in the world do you know anything about that? It was 
 before your time." 
 
 "Oh, but I know all about it, and " 
 
 "I wouldn't have mother know that joke was played 
 on me for the world. I'd never hear the last of it as 
 long as I lived." 
 
 This talk had been made aside, so the farmer's wife 
 had not heard what was said. Paul chuckled with satis- 
 faction, for he saw he had the old fellow at an advan- 
 tage. 
 
 "We won't say a word about it, uncle," he promised. 
 "All we want is some apples and cider, and, in return, 
 we'll sing you some songs and do our best to liven you 
 up. It's just what you need, Uncle Asa. The blood is 
 running slow in your veins, and it should be quickened." 
 
 "Keep still about that joke, and I'll do what I can for 
 ye," promised the old farmer. "We wasn't expectin' any- 
 thing like this, so we can't do much ; but I have got a few 
 apples and some cider, and so " 
 
 "That's all we want," declared Paul. "Just show us 
 where we can stand our teams. Oh, you won't be sorry 
 we called!" 
 
 Aunt Priscilla was so overcome that she could not say 
 anything further. Her husband turned to her, saying: 
 
 "It ain't often we have such a lot of jolly young folks 
 visit us, mother, so I vote that we do what we can to 
 entertain 'em. You look out for the gals, and I'll take 
 keer of their fellers." 
 
 The good woman saw her husband had capitulated, so 
 she did not attempt to hold out longer. 
 
 "Come right in, gals," she said, beginning to smile. 
 "If you'd let us known you was comin' we could have 
 made it pleasanter, but we'll do our best now." 
 
 She urged them to take off their wraps, which they 
 did. One of the lads found the wood and piled a fresK
 
 130 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla. 
 
 lot upon the open fire, which quickly blazed up in a merry 
 manner. 
 
 In the meantime, having lighted his lantern, Uncle Asa 
 went out with the boys to care for their teams. It was 
 nearly half an hour before they returned, and by that 
 time the girls were well acquainted with Aunt Priscilla. 
 
 Then came apples and cider, and joking and laughter. 
 The old farmhouse echoed to such merry sounds as it had 
 not heard before in years. 
 
 Sport Harris was one of the party. He had been 
 brought into it by one of the girls, and, rather than spoil 
 a good time, those who knew just what he was did not 
 object and refuse to take him along. 
 
 Harris kept pretty still, and the others made merry the 
 same as if he were not present. 
 
 "These Baldwins are particularly fine," declared Uncle 
 Asa, as he brought a big basket of his best apples out of 
 the cellar, "but the gals may like them Tompkins sweetin's 
 best. Gals alwus like sweet things, you know. Mother 
 was a gal once, and she took to me because " 
 
 "Now, father, don't be silly !" protested his wife, while 
 the old fellow slapped his knee and chuckled. 
 
 The girls gathered about Uncle Asa and chatted mer- 
 rily with him while they ate apples. Fanny Darling de- 
 clared he was a dear old boy, and said Aunt Priscilla 
 must have known a good thing when she saw it. This 
 pleased the farmer, and he chucked Fanny under the chin. 
 Under the warming influence of the cider he did his best 
 to flirt with her, which amused his wife. 
 
 Browning and Diamond gave the farmer's wife much 
 of their attention. The big fellow fairly outdid himself, 
 and he finally succeeded in getting the best of Jack in the 
 contest for her favors. 
 
 But then Frank Merriwell stepped in, and it was not 
 five minutes before he had won Aunt Priscilla's heart
 
 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla. 131 
 
 completely. He counted apple seeds with her and drank 
 to her health and happiness. Not to be outdone by 
 Frank, Fanny counted apple seeds with Uncle Asa. 
 
 "Odd for a kiss and even for a miss," she cried. 
 
 It came odd and before he knew it she had kissed him 
 on the cheek. 
 
 "Ain't goin' to wash my face for a week," laughed the 
 old man. "I'll keep that as long as I can. Now, don't 
 go to bein' jealous, mother! You'll have all the young 
 folks laughin' at you if you shake your head at me and 
 scowl like that. Mother never could bear to see me pay- 
 in' any 'tention to the gals," he chuckled. "She knows 
 I'm a fascinatin' old dandy, and she's afraid some pretty 
 gal will steal me." 
 
 "Now, don't you flatter yourself, father," flung back 
 Aunt Priscilla. "I might be able to catch a young man 
 myself." 
 
 "You have captured one already," declared Frank. 
 
 Jack Diamond prowled around the house, and no one 
 paid any attention to him. 
 
 Frank proposed a song, and all joined in merrily. 
 
 Song followed song. 
 
 Suddenly a strange sound broke on their ears. 
 
 "What's the matter with the cat ?" cried five or six. 
 
 But the sound suddenly changed, and they realized 
 some one had been putting a fiddle in tune. Now the 
 rollicking strains of the "Devil's Dream" filled the rooms. 
 
 "Who's playing?" was the cry. 
 
 Diamond stalked in from another room, with an old 
 violin under his chin, and the bow was literally dancing 
 Over the strings. 
 
 "Good! good!" cried many voices. 
 
 Fanny Darling could not keep still. She caught hold 
 of Uncle Asa and waltzed him around the room till he 
 v/as giddy and out of breath.
 
 132 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla. 
 
 "I should think you'd be ashamed, father you, a mem- 
 ber of the church !" said his wife, reprovingly. 
 
 "I ain't a darn bit ashamed!" he cried, rather warmly. 
 "David danced, and I ain't no better than David." 
 
 Jack played "The Last Rose of Summer," and ren- 
 dered it beautifully, but it brought murmurs of protest. 
 
 "Don't play anything sad!" begged Fanny Darling. 
 "Sadness comes to-morrow. Let's all be happy and gay 
 to-night." 
 
 "I didn't suppose you wanted me to play nothing but 
 dance tunes," said Jack. 
 
 "Dance tunes are what we want now. The livelier they 
 are the better they will be." 
 
 "Why not have a dance?" proposed Frank Merriwell. 
 
 There was a shout of approval. 
 
 Uncle Asa looked doubtful, and Aunt Priscilla was 
 filled with dismay. 
 
 "Ain't no room to dance here," said the farmer. 
 
 "But there is room out on your stable floor," said 
 Frank. "We will go out there and have a jolly good 
 dance." 
 
 This was received with cries of delight. 
 
 Uncle Asa attempted to protest, but Paul Pierson was 
 at his elbow, saying: 
 
 "If we don't dance, we may get to telling stories. If 
 we tell stories, I may forget and tell about the time you 
 found your team on the top of the New Haven State 
 House." 
 
 "Go ahead," said Uncle Asa "go ahead and dance in 
 the barn. I don't care."
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE DANCE IN THE BARN. 
 
 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla refused to have anything 
 at all to do with the dance. They refused to go into the 
 barn, but they furnished the merry party with two lan- 
 terns and two lamps, and told them to go on and dance. 
 
 "Take keer not to set the barn on fire," warned Uncle 
 Asa. "I'm goin' to build a new one next summer, but I 
 don't care to have the old one burned down." 
 
 "We will be careful," assured Frank Merriwell. 
 "Don't have any fear about that. I will assume all re- 
 sponsibility. If your barn burns, Uncle Asa, I'll pay for 
 the building of a new one." 
 
 "If I warn't a church member, I'd go out and have a 
 good time with ye," declared the farmer; "but I don't 
 dare do it now. It would raise a scandal." 
 
 "Goodness, yes !" exclaimed his wife. "Deacon Tucker 
 would have us pulled up for it. We'll stay right in the 
 house, father." 
 
 Out to the big barn went the laughing boys and girls. 
 They swept the wide floor clean, hung up the lanterns and 
 placed the lamps where they seemed all right. 
 
 Then Diamond mounted to a seat on a high wooden 
 block, tuned up the old fiddle again, and called : 
 
 "Select your partners for the first waltz." 
 
 A moment later the fiddle began to talk, and the dancers 
 were whirling merrily on the floor. 
 
 Since arriving at Uncle Asa's, the girl who came with 
 Harris had seemed to shun him, as if she were offended, 
 and it happened that Sport was left without a partner. 
 He looked on sullenly, chewing his tongue. All the
 
 134 The Dance in the Barn. 
 
 others were having a good time, but he was not enjoying 
 it much. He envied them. 
 
 Frank was waltzing with Fanny Darling, and they were 
 the most graceful couple on the floor. With a sneer on 
 his face, Harris kept his eyes upon them. He saw Frank 
 bend his head and whisper something in Fanny's ear, saw 
 her blush and press her cheek against Frank's shoulder. 
 
 "Oh!" grated Harris; "that Merriwell is the dickens 
 with the girls. I can't understand why all of them take 
 to him. Now that girl with him is a peach. She is the 
 liveliest girl in the party. If I could catch her but I 
 can't! I'd like to cut Merriwell out. Wouldn't that be 
 great !" 
 
 He gloated over the thought. 
 
 "There's nothing like trying," was his final decision. 
 "I'll wager something Fanny Darling doesn't know about 
 Merriwell's other girls. If some one were to tell her 
 I'll try it." 
 
 Then he watched for his chance to reach Fanny. 
 ' In the meantime Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla were 
 growing restless in the house. They could hear the 
 sound of the fiddle, and that was quite enough to warm 
 the blood in their old veins. Uncle Asa took another big 
 drink of cider, going into the cellar for a special "brand," 
 which he had not brought forth for the young folks. 
 That cider was aged, and it had been kept in a whiskey 
 barrel. As Uncle Asa himself declared, "There was an 
 all-fired kick to it." 
 
 The cider warmed the old man more than ever. He 
 could not keep still. 
 
 "Mother," he said, "it seems to me I'd better go out 
 there and look out for them lights." 
 
 "Now, father, you had better stay away." 
 
 "Them young folks are monst'rus careless sometimes.
 
 The Dance in the Barn. 135 
 
 We don't want to get burned out of house and home to- 
 night." 
 
 "I don't see how you came to consent to such doin's, 
 father. If it gets out, there'll be a scandal in the church. 
 Deacon Tucker is powerful strait-laced." 
 
 "Deacon Tucker is an old busybody !" said Asa, rather 
 warmly. "If he'd keep that long nose of his out of other 
 folks' business it'd be a mighty fine thing." 
 
 "Be careful, father ! You shouldn't talk about a brother 
 in that way." 
 
 "I don't care it's the truth." 
 
 Uncle Asa was like a mettlesome colt. He absolutely 
 could not keep still. He went to the window and looked 
 out toward the barn. 
 
 "Mother," he said, "I can't stand this. Think of all 
 them lights out there. If one of 'em should be upsot. 
 I'm goin' out there!" 
 
 "Then you wait a minute till I git my shawl." 
 
 "Why, what be you goin' to do?" 
 
 "Asa Stebbins, do you think I'm a fool ?" 
 
 "No, mother no, no!" 
 
 "Well, I'm not going to let you go friskin' round 
 among them young gals without I'm on hand to look after 
 you." 
 
 Then they looked at each other, and Asa broke into a 
 laugh. 
 
 "Gracious, mother!" he cried; "I do believe you are 
 jealous ! Well, come on." 
 
 He put on his hat, and she threw a shawl over her 
 head. Then away they went to the barn, from whence 
 came the sound of merry laughter and lively music. 
 
 The dancers were whirling on the floor when the farmer 
 and his wife entered the barn by a side door which led to 
 another door that looked out upon the floor. This second
 
 136 The Dance in the Barn. 
 
 door they opened, and the sight they beheld caused their 
 old eyes to sparkle. 
 
 "If we was young again, I'd never mind what the 
 church said," murmured the farmer, in the ear of his 
 good wife. 
 
 "Nor I, Asa nor I," she murmured, in return. He 
 rubbed his hands together. 
 
 "It's a good sight to see, now ain't it, mother? It's 
 better than medicine. Seems to me the rheumatism thatis 
 been botherin' me all winter has completely left. I tell 
 you, mother, we've made a mistake by not havin' more 
 young folks round us these last years. Young folks keep 
 old folks from growin' old, and you know anybody's jest 
 as old as they feel and no older." 
 
 "But the way you act and talk, Asa, I should think you 
 warn't more'n thirty." 
 
 "Twenty, mother not a day over twenty. And you're 
 lookin' younger and handsomer to-night than you have 
 before for ten years. I'll bet the best cow I've got that 
 we can go on there and show them youngsters some capers 
 that will open their eyes." 
 
 "Don't talk of it, father. Think of Deacon Tucker." 
 
 "Hang Deacon Tucker! He's an old hypocrite, any- 
 how!" 
 
 "Why, father!" 
 
 "Come on, Priscilla!" 
 
 She hesitated. 
 
 At that moment Frank and Fanny Darling saw them 
 there in the door. A word passed between Frank and 
 Fanny, and, a moment later, they were besieging the old 
 folks. 
 
 "Come, Uncle Asa!" cried Fanny; "you must dance 
 with me." 
 
 "And you will not refuse to dance with me, Aunt Pris-
 
 The Dance in the Barn. 137 
 
 cilia I know you won't," said Frank, in his most per- 
 suasive manner. 
 
 The old farmer and his good wife cast one last doubt- 
 ful glance at each other. 
 
 "Deacon Tucker will say " began Priscilla. 
 
 "I don't care a rap what Deacon Tucker says !" ex- 
 ploded the farmer. "If he says too much to me, I'll 
 punch his head ! Come on, Priscilla !" 
 
 Then, laughing gayly, Frank and Fanny drew them 
 upon the floor and whirled them away to the enlivening 
 strains of music. 
 
 Sport Harris had been watching every move. 
 
 "That's one way that Merriwell makes himself popu- 
 lar," he muttered. "He will fool around with old folks just 
 as quick as with young people, and he always seems to 
 be laughing. How I hate that laugh! Sometime I'll 
 make him laugh out of the other side of his mouth." 
 
 Bending over the old violin, Jack sawed away till the 
 entire party was tired enough to stop. 
 
 As soon as the dance was over, the boys and girls gath- 
 ered around Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla and congratu- 
 lated them on the graceful manner in which they had 
 acquitted themselves. 
 
 "Oh, that was nothing!" declared the old man, puffing 
 for breath. "Wait till we get our wind, and we'll show 
 you some quirks you never saw before. Hey, mother?" 
 
 "We might, but it's sure to get to the ears of Deacon 
 Tucker, and " 
 
 "Old Nick take the ears of Deacon Tucker! If you 
 say Deacon Tucker to me again to-night, I'll do somethin' 
 that'll be sure to get me churched !" 
 
 After a short pause, Jack struck up again, and the aged 
 couple had the entire floor to show the young folks how 
 dancing was done in their day. They whirled about with 
 the old heel-and-toe, bowed low, whirled and bowed again
 
 138 The Dance in the Barn. 
 
 and again, while every evolution was received with bursts 
 of applause. 
 
 When the lads and lassies could remain quiet no longer 
 they again swarmed onto the floor, and the merry dance 
 continued. 
 
 The opportunity Harris sought came at last. He found 
 Fanny Darling alone. 
 
 With all the politeness he could command, Harris ap- 
 proached the girl. 
 
 "I beg your pardon, Miss Darling, I wish to compliment 
 you on your dancing. I think you are the most graceful 
 dancer I have ever seen." 
 
 "Thank you." 
 
 Fanny said it shortly. There was something about this 
 fellow that she did not like. 
 
 "But why do you dance with that fellow Merriwell all 
 the time?" asked Sport. 
 
 "I do not dance with him all the time." 
 
 "Nearly all the time." 
 
 "Besides, I don't know why you should call him 'that 
 fellow.' " 
 
 Harris smiled in a significant manner. 
 
 "You do not know him as well as I know him," he 
 said, insinuatingly. 
 
 "Why don't you dance?" 
 
 "I have not danced yet because I haven't had the op- 
 portunity to dance with the one I most desired." 
 
 "I am sorry." 
 
 Fanny made a move to pass him, but he placed himself 
 directly in front of her. 
 
 "You are the one I wish to dance with, Miss Darling," 
 he said. "You are so graceful. I will show you I am 
 quite as good a dancer as Merriwell, though I may not 
 be able to say so many soft things." 
 
 Her face flushed.
 
 The Dance in the Barn. 139 
 
 "I don't think I care to dance with you, sir," she said. 
 
 That brought the color to Harris' face. 
 
 "Don't care to dance with me?" he hoarsely muttered. 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Is it necessary I should give reasons?" 
 
 "You might do that much, at least." 
 
 "Then I will. I do not like the manner in which you 
 spoke of Mr. Merriwell as 'that fellow.' Frank Merri- 
 well is a gentleman." 
 
 "So that is it!" sneered Sport. "I knew I was right 
 when I said you did not know him very well." 
 
 "By that I presume you mean to insinuate that he is 
 not a gentleman?" 
 
 "I don't care to say anything more." 
 
 "You have said quite enough! I am sure he is too 
 much of a gentleman to make insinuations against any 
 other fellow behind that person's back." 
 
 "Oh, I understand what you mean !" grated Harris. 
 
 "I trust you do !" 
 
 "I understand it, and now I am going to tell you some- 
 thing more about Mr. Merriwell." 
 
 "I do not care to listen." 
 
 "You must !" hissed Sport, hurriedly. "I know he has 
 been making love to you. He is trying to fool you into 
 believing that he really cares for you. Don't take any 
 stock in him. Already he is engaged to two girls. One 
 of them, Inza Burrage, was in New Haven last fall. 
 Any of the fellows can tell you about her. The other one 
 is down in Virginia somewhere. That is the kind of a 
 double-faced sneak Frank Merriwell is!" 
 
 "Mr. Harris," said Fanny, coldly, "you have quite over- 
 shot the mark. I know all about Inza Burrage and Elsie 
 Bellwood." 
 
 "You do know how?"
 
 140 The Dance in the Barn. 
 
 "Mr. Merriwell told me about them, like the honorable 
 fellow that he is." 
 
 "Told you he was engaged to them both?" 
 
 "No, he is engaged to neither of them, although he 
 may be sometime." 
 
 A sneer curled Sport's lips. 
 
 "So that is what he told you! Well, Frank Merriwell 
 is showing himself a liar, as well as a hypocrite!" 
 
 A hand fell on Harris' shoulder. 
 
 "Were you speaking of me?" said the voice of Merri- 
 well, himself. "I fancied I heard my name." 
 
 Harris whirled. Frank was looking him straight in 
 the eyes. 
 
 "Yes," answered Sport, with husky defiance, resolved 
 not to show the white feather before the girl, "I was 
 speaking of you, sir." 
 
 "What did you say? Do you mind repeating your 
 words?" 
 
 "Not in the least. Take your hand from my shoulder, 
 and I will repeat them." 
 
 Frank's hand dropped. 
 
 In a moment Fanny stepped between them. 
 
 "Not here not now !" she panted. "You must not 
 fight here! Think think what it would mean! It 
 would ruin the party. You have better judgment than 
 that, Frank." 
 
 Frank bowed. 
 
 "We will not fight here and now," he said. "Perhaps 
 Mr. Harris will repeat his words later and elsewhere." 
 
 "I shall be pleased to do so," said Harris. 
 
 Fanny took Frank's arm, and they walked away, leav- 
 ing Sport to eat his heart out with bitter fury. 
 
 "Oh, how can I strike him?" muttered Harris. "I 
 have tried to hurt him by telling that he was drunk in 
 Jackson's saloon, but no one seems to believe it. There
 
 The Dance in the Barn. 141 
 
 must be a way to get at him. When I find it, I will get 
 at him hard. I hate him so much that I could kill him 1 
 Yes, I could kill him !" 
 
 His face was black with the stormcloud of passion. 
 All the evil in his nature had been aroused, and, at that 
 moment, the good which dwells within the breast of the 
 lowest human being had been crushed down and almost 
 obliterated by the bad in Harris. 
 
 He made no further attempt to dance, but remained by 
 himself, speaking to no one. He was plotting, plotting, 
 plotting. 
 
 For more than an hour the dance continued. Uncle 
 Asa and his wife danced several times, but they found 
 it tiresome after a while, and they became content to sit 
 side by side, holding each other's hand and looking on. 
 Their faces beamed with pleasure. 
 
 Big Bruce Browning danced three times, which was 
 a real marvel. He fairly outdid himself in gallantry. 
 
 Diamond played all the tunes he knew, and then played 
 them over and over. Some of the dancers sang to the 
 music. 
 
 But the evening could not last forever, even though 
 Fanny Darling wished that it might. The time came at 
 last when Diamond broke his E-string and found he 
 could not splice it out. Then the dance was over, and the 
 boys and girls returned to the house. 
 
 "Uncle Asa," said Paul Pierson, "we have enjoyed our- 
 selves more than we can tell, and so I am not going to say 
 another word about " 
 
 Here the farmer made some warning gestures behind 
 his wife's back, and, laughing heartily, Paul continued : 
 
 "No, I'll not say another word about anything. You 
 need not be afraid of that." 
 
 "Thankee thankee kindly," said Uncle Asa. "It has 
 been a pleasant evenin' for mother and me. We won't
 
 142 The Dance in the Barn. 
 
 fergit it soon, and we've made a diskivery. We have dis- 
 kivered that it's better to have young folks visit us once 
 in a while than it is to take patent medicine. I've been 
 pourin' down stuff to cure the rheumatism and rubbin' on 
 liniment, but it ain't done half so much good as you 
 youngsters have done for me to-night. Just you come 
 again when you feel like it, and you may be mortal sure 
 Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla will be glad to see ye." 
 
 "That's so," said his wife. "And we don't care very 
 much what Deacon Tucker says about it, either." 
 
 "Gol darn Deacon Tucker," shot forth the farmer. "If 
 he opens his trap to me, I'll tell him what I think of him !" 
 
 "Father," said Priscilla, "hadn't you better bring up a 
 little more cider before they go? They'll want one more 
 sip, and mebbe they'll want some apples to take with 
 them." 
 
 "If they want a bushel of apples apiece they shall have 
 them, and I don't keer if they drink up all the cider in the 
 cellar." 
 
 Down the stairs went the old man, accompanied by two 
 of the boys. 
 
 The girls began to get on their wraps. 
 
 "Where is Frank Merriwell?" asked somebody. 
 
 No one seemed to know. 
 
 One of the boys stepped outside the house. A moment 
 later he excitedly shouted : 
 
 "Fire! fire! the barn is on fire!"
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE FIRE IN THE BARN. 
 
 There were screams of surprise and fear, and the boys 
 and girls rushed out of doors. 
 
 A red glow showed through the cracks of the great 
 barn. 
 
 In the excitement no one missed Fanny Darling. 
 
 Fanny had seen Frank and Harris quietly leave the 
 party after all were in the house and slip out. She felt 
 sure they were going somewhere to fight. 
 
 As soon as she could get away without attracting at- 
 tention, Fanny followed. 
 
 Outside the house she paused. Where had they gone? 
 The horses had not been taken into the barn, but were 
 standing in a long shed back of the house. 
 
 She hurried there, but did not find the ones she was 
 seeking. 
 
 "Frank can whip him," thought Fanny; "but they 
 must not fight and spoil everything now we have had 
 such a good time." 
 
 She hesitated a moment, listening. The horses in the 
 shed stamped impatiently, and then 
 
 Was that a cry? 
 
 The sound seemed to come from the barn. A sudden 
 chill seized the girl's heart. It seemed that fingers of ice 
 closed on her heartstrings. A thrill of horror ran over 
 her, and she stood spellbound. A conviction that some 
 frightful thing had happened came upon her overwhelm- 
 ingly. 
 
 Some moments she stood thus, and then she did some-
 
 144 The Fire in the Barn. 
 
 thing few girls would have dared to do. She hurried 
 toward the barn and entered it alone ! 
 
 The moment she opened the door a smell of smoke came 
 to her nostrils. That caused her to halt irresolutely. If 
 the barn was afire, was it not her duty to run to the house 
 and give the alarm ? 
 
 A reddish glow showed faintly before her, and in the 
 midst of it she saw a crouching human figure that came 
 toward her. 
 
 "Frank! Frank!" she called, starting forward. 
 
 The door closed behind her. 
 
 There was a startled exclamation, and that crouching 
 figure came at her with a rush, clutched her, held her. 
 
 "Miss Darling here!" grated the voice of Harris. 
 "You must get out of here ! The barn is afire !" 
 
 "Let me go!" she panted. 
 
 "No ! Get out quick !" 
 
 "Let me go!" burst from her lips. "I know what you 
 have done ! Let me go ! I will save him !" 
 
 "Don't be a fool !" snarled the fellow. "The barn wa 
 set afire in some manner while the dance was going on. 
 It will burn to the ground in a few minutes." 
 
 "You set it !" 
 
 "You little fool! Why should I do such a thing? 
 Don't dare say that !" 
 
 "I do dare ! I saw you coming here with Frank Mer- 
 riwell! Where is he?" 
 
 "I don't know. I see I'll have to carry you out." 
 
 The thought that Frank was somewhere in that burn- 
 ing barn gave her such strength as she had never known 
 before. 
 
 "Wretch !" she cried. 
 
 Then she struck him in the face, using all her strength. 
 He staggered backward, and his hold was broken. With
 
 The Fire in the Barn. 145 
 
 another cry, she ran toward the spot whence the fire was 
 sending out that red glow. 
 
 "Frank !" she gasped ; "you saved me once ! Heaven 
 give me strength to save you now !" 
 
 She flung open a door and was nearly stifled by a cloud 
 of smoke. The fire was before her. In the midst of the 
 smoke and flames she saw a groping figure. 
 
 Into that terrible place sprang the brave girl. She 
 caught hold of that swaying form, half supported it, 
 urged it toward the door. The smoke followed them out 
 through the door, the flames sprang higher, and the barn 
 was doomed. 
 
 Half fainting, Fanny managed to keep her wits about 
 her long enough to find the second door. It was 
 fastened ! 
 
 Then she realized what Harris had done. Driven mad 
 by the fear that his crime would be exposed by her, he 
 had closed and fastened that door, shutting them in. 
 
 Fanny screamed for help. Voices answered her. 
 She screamed again, and then, overcome by smoke, she 
 sank upon the floor, while her companion helplessly 
 leaned against the fastened door. 
 
 But those cries had been heard. Bruce Browning was 
 coming. He was calling, but they could not answer 'him 
 now. He tore open the door, and Merriwell fell into his 
 arms. 
 
 As Bruce was drawing Frank out the latter faintly 
 gasped : "Let me go ! Fanny save her ! She is there !" 
 
 Fresh air came in by the door beyond, and Frank found 
 some of his strength. He pushed Browning off. Bruce 
 understood him, and sought for the girl. He found her, 
 lifted her, and aided them both to reach the open air. 
 
 The barn burned to the ground, and, although it made 
 a hot fire, the boys worked like heroes to save the house
 
 146 The Fire in the Barn. 
 
 and succeeded, aided by the wind, which blew all the 
 sparks away. 
 
 Frank had recovered and led them in the work of fight- 
 ing the fire. 
 
 When it was all over, and there was no longer any dan 
 ger that the house would catch, a sad and sober party 
 gathered in the old-fashioned dining-room. 
 
 "It's a judgment upon us, mother!" said Uncle Asa, 
 sadly. 
 
 "How did the fire catch, Merry?" asked Diamond. 
 "That is where the mystery comes in." 
 
 "It did not catch," declared Frank. "It was set !" 
 
 Cries of astonishment burst from the listeners. 
 
 "Who would do such a thing?" they asked. 
 
 "The worst enemy I have in the world. He intended 
 that I should perish in that fire, but I was saved by the 
 heroism of Miss Darling, who came to my rescue. But 
 for her, I should not have been able to escape, for I was 
 completely bewildered and overcome by the smoke." 
 
 Then Frank told of his trouble with Harris. He told 
 how, when the others had entered the house after the 
 dance, he had returned to the barn with Harris. 
 
 "I think he really meant to fight me," said Frank ; "but 
 I was foolish enough to think he would do it in a square 
 manner. I gave him a chance by being off my guard for 
 a moment, and he caught up a pitchfork and struck me 
 over the head with it. I partly turned and saw him strike, 
 but I could not dodge the blow. It must have knocked 
 me senseless. I believed Harris thought he had killed me, 
 and then, overcome by terror, he set the fire in order to 
 cover up the crime. When I became conscious there was 
 fire all around me, and I was stifling with smoke. I could 
 not find my way out, but then Miss Darling came to my 
 rescue."
 
 The Fire in the Barn. 147 
 
 The boys uttered cries of anger. 
 
 "Where is Harris?" they demanded. 
 
 Harris had disappeared, and it was found that he had 
 cut one of the horses free and escaped. 
 
 "What will you do, Frank?" asked Jack Diamond. 
 
 "I will put Harris behind the bars ! He shall find that 
 I am aroused at last!" 
 
 But Merriwell was not given an opportunity to punish 
 Harris, for the fellow did not return to New Haven. 
 Officers were sent out after him. They found the horse 
 in Derby, and it was evident that Harris had taken a train 
 there. The officers were not able to trace him. 
 
 Frank always declared he did not believe Harris really 
 meant to kill him at the start, but, having struck him 
 down in a moment of mad fury, the fellow believed he 
 had committed murder. Then it was he tried to hide the 
 crime by setting fire to the barn. 
 
 To Frank it seemed that the most dastardly act of all 
 was the fastening of the door behind Fanny Darling, so 
 that she, too, was shut into the burning barn. 
 
 It was some weeks after the night of the sleighing 
 party that Uncle Asa and Aunt Priscilla sat alone by 
 their fireside, both looking sad and overburdened. 
 
 "Next Sunday, father," said the good wife, "Deacon 
 Tucker is going to prefer charges against us in the 
 church." 
 
 Uncle Asa's under lip hung down, but he did not 
 say a word. 
 
 "Brother Tucker says we were punished for our sin 
 by the burning of our barn," sighed Aunt Priscilla. 
 
 "So he's goin' to try to punish us some more by gettin' 
 us churched. That's what I call true brotherly love, 
 mother!" 
 
 There was a knock at the door, and a neighbor
 
 148 The Fire in the Barn. 
 
 handed in a letter, saying he had brought it along from 
 the post office. 
 
 Uncle Asa got out his spectacles, rubbed them' with 
 his handkerchief, and slowly adjusted them to his nose. 
 
 "Postmarked New Haven," he said, as he scanned the 
 envelope. "Wonder who it's from? Smart sort of 
 writin' that." 
 
 "Well, why don't you open it ?" asked his wife, sharply. 
 "Don't set there starin' at it like a blind owl !" 
 
 The envelope was opened, and Uncle Asa drew out 
 a sheet of paper and a check for five hundred dollars. 
 For some time he sat and stared in speechless amaze- 
 ment at that check. 
 
 "Good gracious!" cried Aunt Priscilla, all a-flutter. 
 "Why don't you read the letter!" 
 
 So Uncle Asa slowly read : 
 
 "DEAR UNCLE ASA : I suppose you have sometimes felt 
 resentful toward the party of young people who were 
 responsible for the burning of your barn. It is probable 
 you have thought they did not care for your loss, but you 
 were mistaken. We have raised five hundred dollars 
 among us to aid you in building a new barn, and I send 
 you a check for the amount with this letter. Hoping it 
 will be sufficient to remunerate you for your loss, I re- 
 main, Yours respectfully, 
 
 "FRANK MERRIWELL." 
 
 "By gum!" gasped Uncle Asa, as he again stared at 
 the check. "It's too good to be true!" 
 
 Aunt Priscilla began to cry with joy. 
 
 "Oh, father!" she said; "it don't seem that the Lord 
 can be so set against us, no matter what Deacon Tucker 
 says." 
 
 "Darn Deacon Tucker!" shouted the old man, jumping 
 to his feet. "He kin go to grass! I'm goin' to build 
 a new barn, and when I get it built, I'm goin' to have
 
 The Fire in the Barn. 149 
 
 them same young fellers and gals out here to dance in it ! 
 We'll have more fun than we did before! I say dam 
 Deacon Tucker!"
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 OUT FOR A CRUISE. 
 
 Spring ! 
 
 All through the long winter the only green thing to be 
 seen on the Yale campus was the festive freshman, but 
 now, on this mild, sunny April day, which was a promise 
 of June soon to come, a few blades of grass were strug- 
 gling to appear. 
 
 It was a day to bring everybody out. For the first 
 time one could realize that winter was really a thing of 
 the past. 
 
 At noon the campus swarmed and the fence was lined 
 with roosters. The juniors came out and smoked their big 
 English pipes, and did their best to imitate the graveness 
 and dignity of the seniors. The sophomores loaded their 
 line of fence, joking, laughing and guying the freshmen. 
 And the freshmen gamboled like young colts just turned 
 out to pasture, betraying their absolute "newness" by 
 every word and act. 
 
 Big Bruce Browning smoked in lazy abandon, leaning 
 against a post, feeling far too tired to climb to a seat upon 
 the top rail. Bink Stubbs was whittling with a brand-new 
 knife, while Danny Griswold whistled a rollicking tune. 
 Dismal Jones actually wore an expression on his face that 
 was as near perfect satisfaction and happiness as anyone 
 had ever seen on his long countenance. "Lucy" Little,
 
 Out for a Cruise. 151 
 
 with a necktie "loud enough to jar the bricks out of SoutH 
 Middle," was doing his best to see how many packages 
 of cigarettes he could smoke in five minutes. 
 
 Everywhere the talk was baseball. Who would make 
 the team ? Would it be as strong as the year before ? and 
 would they win out from Harvard ? 
 
 It was pretty certain Harvard would have an excep- 
 tionally strong team. The material to choose from was 
 better than ever before, and Harvard was "making a 
 brace" in all directions. Yale had won the last football 
 game from Harvard more by the wonderful work of one 
 man than by the superior strength of her eleven, and the 
 Cambridge lads were thirsting for revenge. 
 
 The man who seemed to stand head and shoulders 
 above all others in Yale sports and athletics was Frank 
 Merriwell. But Merriwell had become a "greasy grind" 
 during the winter, and there were those who prophesied 
 that he was satisfied with his fame, and would retire on 
 his laurels. It was even reported that he was ambitious to 
 be valedictorian, and it was known that he could go to 
 either Bones or Keys, as he might choose, which was a 
 most remarkable state of affairs, as there were hundreds 
 of good men and true, with hearts full of ambition, who 
 could not reach either. 
 
 All along Merriwell had refused to say anything about 
 his plans, and he would not talk baseball. He had been 
 drawn into the football game with Harvard through force 
 of circumstances, and against his inclination, so it was not 
 strange that the general belief was that he might refuse 
 to become the leading "twirler" for Yale that season. 
 
 It was generally conceded by Merriwell's friends and 
 foes alike that his refusal to play would be a great blow to 
 Yale. Hugh Herfiner and Dad Hicks, the old timers, were 
 gone, and Merriwell was the only man left who had been 
 tried by Yale and not found wanting.
 
 152 Out for a Cruise. 
 
 True, there was some new material. Walbert, an An- 
 'dover man, was a promising candidate; and Haggerty, 
 who had come to Yale after being dropped at straight- 
 laced little Williams for some thoughtless prank, was 
 said to be a great "southpaw" twirler. 
 
 But what Yale wanted was steady, reliable material in 
 which confidence could be placed. The new men might 
 show up all right when the time came, but what if they 
 did not? The "if" was in the way. 
 
 So baseball was the theme on this bright April day, and 
 the enthusiasm which the game always arouses among 
 the "cranks" was beginning to make itself manifest. 
 
 While they were talking of him, Frank Merriwell ap- 
 peared. He looked trim and well-groomed. It was one 
 of his peculiarities that he always looked as if he had just 
 emerged from a bath. 
 
 Barely was Frank upon the campus before Harry Rat- 
 tleton, his old-time chum, rushed up and caught him by 
 the arm. 
 
 "Looking for you, old man looking for you!" he ex- 
 citedly sputtered. "There's tomething on sap I mean 
 something on tap." 
 
 "You know I never drink beer," smiled Frank. 
 
 "Never mind t'ain't beer," Harry rattled on. "This 
 is just the day, isn't it?" 
 
 "Just the day for what?" 
 
 "Cruise." 
 
 "What sort of a cruise?" 
 
 "On the sound. I've got a cat." 
 
 "A cat? Well, what has a cat to do with a cruise on 
 the sound?" 
 
 "I mean a batcoat no, no, a catboat ! Bought her 
 yesterday." 
 
 "Oh! I must say you are starting early." 
 
 "None too early. And this is just the day for a sail.
 
 Out for a Cruise. 153 
 
 We can have a glorious afternoon on the sound. What 
 do you say to it, old man?" 
 
 "Who is going?" 
 
 "Anybody you want. We'll take along Browning and 
 Diamond." 
 
 "I don't think I ought to spend the time." 
 
 "Oh, come off ! You have been cramming like a fiend 
 all winter, and an afternoon's outing is just what you 
 need. You can't say no. Think of the sport." 
 
 Frank did think of it. He knew it was true he had be- 
 come a "dig," and he felt that a sail on the sound would 
 do him good. It would serve as a relaxation for half a 
 day, and he could return to his studies with fresh energy 
 on the morrow. 
 
 All at once he turned on Harry, exclaiming : 
 
 "I am with you, old fellow!" 
 
 "You will go?" 
 
 "Dead sure. I'll be able to study all the better for it 
 afterward." 
 
 "That's the talk, Merry! Who'll we take?" 
 
 "Name your own crew." 
 
 "Diamond and Browning." 
 
 "They're all right. What say if I get Hodge and take 
 him along?" 
 
 "Get him. That will make just the right sort of a crew. 
 I'll get a lunch, and we'll meet at the New Haven Yacht 
 Clubhouse. The Jolly Sport is moored off the club- 
 house. We'll all get down there as soon as possible. I 
 know Browning and Diamond will go when they know 
 you are coming along, Frank. You go for Hodge, and 
 I'll look after the others." 
 
 In this way it was settled. Frank started to get Bart 
 Hodge, another old chum, who roomed at a distance. 
 Hodge had passed examinations successfully, and was a
 
 154 Out for a Cruise. 
 
 Yale student at last. Rattleton made for Browning, who 
 still leaned in solemn stateliness against the fence. 
 
 Rattleton and Diamond were on the Jolly Sport, get- 
 ting her in trim, when Frank and Bart appeared. 
 
 "Where's Browning?" shouted Frank. 
 
 "Coming," Harry called back. 
 
 "So's Christmas, but it'll be a long time getting here. 
 If you really expect that fellow to sail with us this after- 
 noon, you should have brought him along." 
 
 "We can't waste the afternoon waiting for him," said 
 Jack, impatiently. 
 
 Frank and Bart got on board the boat, and then Bruce 
 appeared, perspiring and staggering under a heavy load, 
 for he carried a huge basket in either hand. 
 
 "Dat the whickens I mean, what the dickens has he 
 there?" cried Harry. "Oh, I know, the lunch!" 
 
 "That's it !" exclaimed Frank. "We were smart not to 
 think of that. But he has brought enough to provision 
 the Jolly Sport for a week's cruise." 
 
 "Hurry up, Browning!" shouted Jack, testily. "We've 
 waited long enough for you." 
 
 "Oh, fall overboard and cool off!" flung back the big 
 fellow, who seemed a bit out of sorts himself from the 
 exertion. "You're always in a hurry." 
 
 "What have you there, anyway?" asked Frank, as 
 Bruce came on board. 
 
 "Beer." 
 
 "Beer?" shouted all the lads. 
 
 "Sandwiches." 
 
 "Then it's not all beer?" 
 
 "Most of it is." 
 
 "That's all right," said Diamond, beginning to look 
 satisfied. "We'll take care of it." 
 
 "Oh, I don't know!" grunted Browning. "I brought
 
 Out for a Cruise. 155 
 
 it along for myself. Supposed you chaps would bring 1 
 your own beer and provisions." 
 
 "You don't mean to say you brought all that stuff in 
 those two great baskets for yourself and no one else?" 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "How long do you think this cruise will last?" 
 
 "Can't tell about that." 
 
 "You'll divvy, or we'll put you in irons and cast you 
 into the hold !" declared Rattleton. "I'm owner and cap- 
 tain of this vessel, and what I say goes. See?" 
 
 To this Bruce simply grunted. 
 
 The baskets were stowed as snugly as possible, and 
 then Rattleton began to give orders. 
 
 "Haul away!" he cried. "Haul away on the throat 
 halyards ! Up with the peak ! That's right. Slack off the 
 sheet a bit, Diamond. Lay her a bit more to port! 
 Steady, so!" 
 
 The tide was running out, and the wind was light, but 
 the Jolly Sport seemed eager to get out into the sound, 
 and was soon running down past an anchored fishing ves- 
 sel at good speed. 
 
 "Well, this is great !" muttered Hodge, as he lay back 
 comfortably, lighting a cigar. 
 
 Down past the fort in Indian Hill they slipped, steered 
 across to the old lighthouse, and tacked into the sound. 
 
 "Hurrah !" cried Skipper Rattleton. "The breeze is 
 with us, boys !" 
 
 Then he sang a snatch of "A Life on the Ocean Wave." 
 
 "What do you think of my singing?" he asked. "It's 
 entirely by ear." 
 
 "Great heavens!" cried Merry, tragically. 'That ex- 
 plains it!" 
 
 "Explains what?" 
 
 "Why, I didn't think it possibly could be by mouth,"
 
 156 Out for a Cruise. 
 
 Browning grunted. It was as near as he could come 
 to laughing without exerting himself. 
 
 The boys took off their coats and prepared to enjoy 
 life. All fell to smoking, with the exception of Frank. 
 
 "Going to pitch on the nine this spring, Merry ?" asked 
 Bart. 
 
 "I may," answered Frank. "I was practicing yesterday, 
 and I threw the ball a mile." 
 
 "What's that ? Threw a baseball a mile ? Oh, come off !" 
 
 "You see, I threw it at a mark." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "I missed the mark." 
 
 "What of that?" 
 
 "Isn't a miss as good as a mile ?" chuckled Frank. 
 
 Rattleton came near having a fit. 
 
 "If this keeps up," said Diamond, "there will be a lot 
 of maniacs on board before the Jolly Sport sails back to 
 New Haven." 
 
 As they passed a purring tug, an old salt hailed them : 
 
 "Better be careful, boys," he called. 
 
 "Careful? What for?" 
 
 "There'll be a reg'ler nor'wester to-night. This is a 
 weather breeder." 
 
 "All right, cap," returned Frank. "We'll be back be- 
 fore night." 
 
 And they did not think of the warning afterward. 
 
 Away down the harbor ran the Jolly Sport. The boys 
 smoked, laughed, sang and joked. It was like a mid- 
 summer day. They took the East Channel out toward 
 Brandford Point, and then set their course toward the 
 Thimble Islands. 
 
 After a time the wind freshened a little, and they put 
 on their coats. The Thimbles were seen glistening in the 
 bright sunshine. Harry had brought along a glass, and 
 they took turns peering off toward the islands, of which
 
 Out for a Cruise. 157 
 
 there are said to be three hundred and sixty-five, one for 
 each day in the year. 
 
 The wind rose steadily till they had a "spanking breeze," 
 and the catboat danced along right merrily. 
 
 "Perhaps we hadn't better try to make the islands," 
 said Frank, but the others cried him down. 
 
 "What's the matter with you ?" they demanded. "This 
 is a beautiful breeze. Of course, we'll go to the Thim- 
 bles." 
 
 They were enthusiastic, for the way the Jolly Sport 
 reeled along was exhilarating. Soon the glistening islands 
 grew to bits of green and then took on definite shapes. 
 
 "Look at that schooner yonder," said Jack. "Isn't she 
 a queer-looking craft?" 
 
 He pointed out a black two-master that was running up 
 into the sound. There was something rakish about the 
 slant of the masts, and the vessel seemed to creep over 
 the water in a stealthy fashion. The boys watched her 
 with increasing interest. 
 
 "Makes me think of some of the stories of pirate ves- 
 sels," said Bart. 
 
 "Jingoes!" exclaimed Diamond. "She does look like 
 a pirate !" 
 
 "But the days of pirates are past," said Harry. "Prob- 
 ably she is a fishing vessel." 
 
 "Guess not," said Frank. "She does not look like a 
 fisherman. There is something mysterious in her appear- 
 ance." 
 
 "You know Capt. Kidd ran in here something over a 
 hundred years ago and landed on the Thimbles," Harry 
 reminded. "He hid his vessel behind the rocky islands and 
 buried his treasure where he and no one else has since 
 been able to find it. His 'punch bowl' and initials remain 
 to prove that he really did come in here." 
 
 "Imagine we are living in the days of pirates," said
 
 158 Out for a Cruise. 
 
 Diamond, his eyes sparkling. "Imagine that fellow com- 
 ing yonder is one." 
 
 "We'd be headed the other way, instead of bearing 
 down to cross close under his stern," declared Hodge. 
 
 "I don't believe that schooner is much of a sailor, for 
 all of her rakish appearance," said Harry. 
 
 "She's running under light sail," observed Frank. "It 
 would make a difference if she were to crack on every 
 stitch." 
 
 At the wheel a man seemed half asleep. Another man 
 was at work forward, and those were all the boys could 
 see. 
 
 "Don't believe she carries a heavy crew," said Brown- 
 ing, surveying the schooner with lazy interest. 
 
 Somehow or other as they drew nearer to the black ves- 
 sel they lowered their voices and all seemed to feel an 
 air of awe stealing over them. 
 
 "Do you make out her name, Merry?" asked Harry of 
 Frank, who had the glass. 
 
 "Yes. There, you can all see it now." 
 
 The schooner swung to port, and the white letters on 
 her stern were distinctly seen. 
 
 "P-i-r-a-t-e," spelled Diamond. 
 
 "Pirate?" gasped Harry, doubtfully. 
 
 "Pirate!" exclaimed Hodge, excitedly. 
 
 "Pirate," came languidly from Browning, who showed 
 no remarkable interest. 
 
 "That's right," nodded Frank. "An appropriate name 
 for her, sure enough." 
 
 "I should say so!" nodded Rattleton. "She looks like 
 a pirate." 
 
 "And I'm hanged if the man at the wheel don't look like 
 one !" half laughed Frank, passing the glass to Harry. 
 
 Rattleton took a look through the glass,
 
 Out for a Cruise. 159 
 
 "Both men are tough-looking fellows," he declared 
 "They have the appearance of men who would not hesitate 
 
 to cut a throat for a sawbuck. I wouldn't What's 
 
 up now?" 
 
 There was a commotion on board the black schooner.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE MAN WITH THE GUN". 
 
 "Something's wrong !" 
 "Sure pop!" 
 
 The boys heard a scream. It sounded like the voice of a 
 woman. 
 
 Then there was a hoarse shout. The man at the wheel 
 woke to a show of interest, and the man forward started 
 aft. 
 
 Suddenly a girlish figure appeared on deck. She ran to 
 the rail and tried to leap overboard, but two men, besides 
 those already on deck, appeared in pursuit, grasped and 
 held her. 
 
 The girl seemed to see the small sailboat. 
 
 "Help!" she wildly cried. "Save " 
 
 One of the men clapped a hand over her mouth, and sh6 
 was carried away, struggling. 
 
 Then there was excitement on board the Jolly Sport. 
 
 "The Old Nick is to pay on board the Pirate!" ex- 
 claimed Rattleton. 
 
 "It's a girl, boys !" cried Diamond, all his natural gal- 
 lantry awakened and aroused. "She is in distress. We 
 must aid her !" 
 
 "Bring her round, Hodge bring her round, and 
 we'll " 
 
 "Lay her up, Hodge, lay her up, and we'll make a run 
 after the schooner!" came promptly from Frank. "I want 
 to know something more about this." 
 
 "That's right," nodded Rattleton, who did not resent 
 the manner in which Frank took command. ''What right
 
 The Man with the Gun. .161 
 
 have they to treat a girl like that! There's something 
 wrong going on !" 
 
 Even Browning was aroused. 
 
 "I believe Rattleton is right," he said. "Maybe that girl 
 has been kidnaped." 
 
 The Jolly Sport was headed in pursuit of the black 
 schooner, without immediately attracting the attention of 
 anyone on board the Pirate. 
 
 The girl had been overpowered with ease and carried 
 below. 
 
 "What are we going to do when we overtake them?" 
 asked Browning. 
 
 "We'll do something if we get on board!" exclaimed 
 Hodge. 
 
 "But it's not likely we'll be able to get on board." 
 
 "Oh, I don't know !" 
 
 It was not long before the man at the wheel saw the 
 boat in pursuit. He called to another man, who went be- 
 low, after coming astern to take a look at the pursuing 
 catboat. 
 
 In a short time two men came up from below and took" 
 a survey of the Jolly Sport. One of the men seemed to 
 be captain of the schooner. He betrayed uneasiness. 
 
 Coming to the rail, the captain harshly shouted : 
 
 "What are you lubbers chasin' us fer? Go about, and 
 mind your own business !" 
 
 "We wish to talk with you, captain," returned Frank. 
 
 "Don't want to talk," was the surly retort. "Keep off." 
 
 "We want to talk, I tell you. What's the use to be so 
 unsociable. Make yourself agreeable." 
 
 "What do you want?" 
 
 "We saw you were having a little trouble on board 
 and so "
 
 1 62 The Man with the Gun. 
 
 "Ain't havin' no trouble. Tell yer to mind your own 
 business! If you nose round us, you'll get hurt." 
 
 "Who was the young lady who tried to jump over- 
 board?" 
 
 "That was my gal," answered the man, after somfe 
 hesitation. 
 
 "Why did she try to leap over the rail ?" 
 
 "She's been sick, an' she's a little daffy in her upper 
 deck, that's all." 
 
 "He's lying!" exclaimed Hodge, in a low voice. "You 
 can tell that he is lying by the way he says it!" 
 
 "We've got a doctor here," fibbed Rattleton. "We'll 
 come aboard and he'll prescribe for her." 
 
 "Keep off!" roared the man on the schooner. "We 
 don't want no doctors botherin' round here." 
 
 "But we are coming aboard!" flung back Diamond. 
 "We want to see that girl." 
 
 "You can't see her ! If you come round here, you'll get 
 yer heads broke !" 
 
 The black-bearded sailor was angry. He shook his fist 
 at the boys, and used language that would not look well 
 in print. 
 
 Still the Jolly Sport kept after the Pirate, as if the 
 youthful crew of the former had determined to overhaul 
 the schooner and board her. 
 
 There was a consultation on board the schooner, and 
 then one of the men hastily went below. 
 
 The Jolly Sport was drawing close to the other vessel 
 when the man reappeared, bringing a gun, which he 
 handed to the black-bearded man who had done all the 
 talking. 
 
 "Jee whiskers !" gurgled Rattleton. "That means trou- 
 Ue!"
 
 The Man with the Gun. 163 
 
 "He won't dare use it!" declared Diamond. 
 
 The man with the gun leaned over the rail of the 
 schooner. 
 
 "Now, look here, you fresh young lubbers," he roared, 
 "if you don't go round and git, I'll fill you full of duck- 
 shot, or my name's not Cyrus Horn !" 
 
 The way he said it seemed to indicate that he meant 
 business. 
 
 "Hanged if I don't think he'll do it !" grunted Brown- 
 ing. "He is a genuine old pirate, for sure." 
 
 "Are you the captain of that schooner?" asked Frank 
 Merriwell. 
 
 "I be," was the answer. 
 
 "Well, what's the use to be touchy, captain ! We've got 
 some beer on board, and you must be thirsty. You'll find 
 us a jolly crowd." 
 
 "I don't drink beer and I don't want nothing to do with 
 yer. Git!" 
 
 Capt. Horn leveled his big gun at the pursuing boat. 
 
 "Don't be hasty, captain, for " 
 
 "Git !" 
 
 "Listen to reason." 
 
 "Git!" 
 
 The captain of the schooner was not to be beguiled by 
 smooth words. They could see his greenish eyes glaring 
 along the barrel of the gun he held, and he looked like 
 a person who would not hesitate to shoot. 
 
 "I'll give ye till I count three to go about," he roared. 
 "If ye don't do it, I'll begin shootin'." 
 
 Then he counted: 
 
 "One!" 
 
 The boys looked at each other undecidedly. 
 
 "Two!" 
 
 "It's no use," said Frank, quietly. "If the man is in
 
 1 64 The Man with the Gun. 
 
 such a mood, it's worse than folly to try to board his boat 
 He could claim that he took us for robbers, and " 
 
 "Down with your helm !" cried Rattleton, and the Jolly 
 Sport was put about. 
 
 None too soon, for the captain of the schooner was seen 
 taking aim with great deliberation. 
 
 "Now git !" he roared. "If I see anything of yer again, 
 I'll take a shot at yer jest for the fun of it." 
 
 "Well, if that man isn't a genuine pirate, it's not his 
 fault," growled Browning. "It's certain he was cut out 
 for one." 
 
 "He'd cut a throat with pleasure," nodded Hodge. 
 
 Merriwell was silent, with his eyes fastened on the re- 
 ceding schooner. There was a troubled expression on his 
 handsome face, and it was plain enough that he regretted 
 their inability to solve the mystery of the girl who had 
 tried to leap overboard. 
 
 It was not like Frank to give up so easily, but he had 
 realized that it was the height of folly to attempt to board 
 the schooner in the face of the enraged man with the gun. 
 
 It might be true that the girl was crazy, but Frank 
 could not help feeling that it was not true. Something 
 seemed to whisper that she was a captive in the hands of 
 wretched and unscrupulous men. 
 
 Such a thought was quite enough to arouse within 
 Frank's heart a strong desire to rescue her, but it seemed 
 that he was utterly helpless to render her any assistance. 
 
 Had our hero been sure the girl was a captive, he would 
 have felt like following the Pirate at a distance and mak- 
 ing an attempt to have the proper authorities render the 
 girl assistance when Capt. Horn ran into some port. 
 
 If it was true she was crazy, the boys would make 
 themselves objects of ridicule by interfering in her behalf. 
 
 The situation was discussed, and they finally decided to 
 continue on their course to the Thimbles.
 
 The Man with the Gun. 165 
 
 They steered for Pot Rock and the cove, where it was 
 said Capt. Kidd had hidden his vessel, and near which, 
 it was supposed, his treasure was buried. 
 
 It was past three in the afternoon when they ran into 
 the little steamboat dock.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 ON THE ISLAND. 
 
 Under a tree they lunched, drank their beer and smoked 
 cigars and cigarettes. They were jolly, seeming to have 
 forgotten the adventure with the mysterious black 
 schooner. 
 
 Browning stretched his massive frame on the ground 
 and puffed away in serene laziness. 
 
 "I'd like to stay right here the rest of my life and do 
 nothing but eat and drink and sleep," he grunted. 
 
 "You'd miss the ball games this spring," said Diamond. 
 
 "Go to!" said the big fellow. "What are the ball 
 games? A lot of fellows get up and bat a ball around, 
 while another lot of fellows chase it. They run and whoop 
 and throw the ball and get covered with perspiration. It 
 is a most distressing spectacle. Ball games, indeed! Go 
 to, I say go to!" 
 
 "And the spring boat race you'd miss that," said 
 Harry. 
 
 "Another distressing spectacle. Nine men in a boat, 
 eight of them working, working, working as if their lives 
 depended on it. They strain every muscle, their faces are 
 contorted with the agony of it, their eyes bulge with dis- 
 tress, their breasts heave as they try to breathe, and when 
 the race is over some of them are like rags run through a 
 wringer. Again I say, go to!" 
 
 "But you used to be enthusiastic over such things. You 
 played football yourself." 
 
 "Which goes to show what a fool a fellow can make 
 of himself. Of all things football is the worst. That is a 
 real battle for life between twenty-two mad and furious
 
 On the Island. 167 
 
 fools, every one of whom is thirsting for gore. They 
 tear at one another, like famished wolves, buck one an- 
 other, fling one another to the ground, jump on one an- 
 other. Did I play football?" 
 
 "Surely you did." 
 
 "It's a far reach from such folly to the wisdom of to- 
 day. Ten thousand dollars would not induce me to engage 
 once again in a real game of football." 
 J'But think of the excitement the glory." 
 
 "The excitement is the delirium of fools. The glory 
 what is glory? How long does it last? Last fall, when 
 Merry carried the ball over the line for a touchdown on 
 Jarvis Field, with half the Harvard team on his back, he 
 covered himself with glory. For a little time he was the 
 talk of the college. His picture was in the papers. He 
 was dined, and he would have been wined that is, if he 
 would have been. But now now how is it? Spring has 
 come, football is forgotten and his glory is fading. Every- 
 body is talking of baseball and the way the nine will be 
 made up." 
 
 "And you'll find they are talking of Merry just the 
 same," declared Harry. "They haven't forgotten that he 
 twirls the sphere." 
 
 "Oh, no, they haven't forgotten; but what if he were 
 not available what if he should refuse? How long would 
 his glory last ! Another would arise to fill his place, and 
 he would be forgotten. Glory! It is the dream of fools. 
 Give me plenty to wear, plenty to eat and lots of time to 
 rest, and the world may have its glory." 
 
 Frank laughed. 
 
 "The same old Browning," he said. "And yet you 
 are as much of a football and baseball enthusiast as any 
 man at Yale. It breaks your heart when Harvard or 
 Princeton wins from Old Eli. You go into mourning and
 
 1 68 On the Island. 
 
 'don't recover for a week. Oh, you put up a good bluff, 
 old man, but I can read you like an open book." 
 
 Bruce grunted derisively. 
 
 "Very astute," he commented, and then relapsed into 
 silence, as if it were a great effort to speak, and he had 
 already exerted himself too much. 
 
 "And think of the pretty girls Merry wins by his popu- 
 larity," said Jack. "He has opportunities to kiss lots of 
 them." 
 
 "If a fellow has an opportunity to kiss a pretty girl he 
 should improve it," declared Hodge. 
 
 "Ah !" cried Rattleton ; "such an opportunity could not 
 be improved." 
 
 To this all agreed, laughing, with the exception of 
 Browning, who had closed his eyes and seemed to have 
 fallen asleep instantly. 
 
 The boys talked of Yale's prospects on the diamond, 
 and Harry said : 
 
 "It strikes me that we are going to be weak behind 1 
 the bat this year. What do you think, Merry ?" 
 
 "There are several fellows who will try for the posi- 
 tion." 
 
 "Yes ; but what do you know about them?" 
 
 "I don't like to say." 
 
 "Oh, come! You are with friends, and you may talk 
 freely. What do you think of Ned Noon ?" 
 
 "He is, in my estimation, one of the most promising 
 men, but he can't run, and bats weakly. Behind the bat 
 he might work very well, but he would be weak in other 
 directions." 
 
 "That's string as a straight I mean, straight as a 
 string," cried Harry. "If Ned Noon stands a show to get 
 on the 'varsity nine, there is hope for me." 
 
 "Well, there's Roger Stone," put in Diamond. "What 
 about him 2"
 
 On the Island. 169 
 
 "He can bat like a fiend," said Frank, "but he is wealc 
 on his throwing. He'll stop anything he can reach, but it 
 takes him so long to get a ball to second base that a good 
 runner can steal down from first every time. That is a 
 big fault. Stone will not do." 
 
 "Right again," nodded Rattleton. "And those two men 
 are the strongest of the new candidates." 
 
 "Some man may show up who is not talked of at all 
 now," said Jack. 
 
 Harry gave Hodge a quick glance. 
 
 "Old man," he cried, "why don't you make a try for 
 the nine?" 
 
 An embarrassed flush showed in Bart's dark cheeks. 
 
 "That would be pretty fresh for a freshman, wouldn't 
 it?" he asked. 
 
 "Not so confounded fresh. Merry got on the first 
 year he was in Yale." 
 
 "That's different." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "I am not Frank Merriwell, and there are 'not many 
 fellows his equal." 
 
 Frank laughed merrily. 
 
 "Come off!" he cried. "The world is full of them. In 
 order to get on at anything, a fellow must seize his op- 
 portunities. At the time that I got on to the nine there 
 was a great cry for a change pitcher. I laid out to fill the 
 bill, and I managed to fill it. That's all. Now there's a 
 cry for a catcher, as well as for pitchers. It will be some- 
 body's opportunity." 
 
 Hodge was silent, but there was an eager look on his 
 face. 
 
 "I have pitched to you, Bart," Frank went on, "and I 
 know what you are. We work well together. You are a 
 dandy thrower, a good batter, and a bird on the bases.
 
 i yo On the Island. 
 
 Take my advice, get into gear and make a try for the 
 nine." 
 
 "I don't know how to do it." 
 
 "There'll be plenty of fellows to coach you," said Dia- 
 mond, quickly. "I am going in for a shot at third bag. 
 I may get there, although several good men are looking in 
 the same direction. If I fail, it won't kill me. I know I 
 am not the only cake of ice. There are others just as 
 cool. Make a bluff at it, Hodge. It won't hurt you to 
 get left.",. 
 
 "Perhaps not," said Bart; but he felt in his heart that 
 he would be cut keenly if he made a desperate try to get 
 on the nine and some other fellow was chosen. 
 
 Browning sneezed and awoke. 
 
 "You're catching cold, old man," said Frank. 
 
 "No danger," said Rattleton. "He's too lazy to catch 
 anything." 
 
 "That's got a long gray beard on it," grunted Bruce, 
 with an air of disgust. 
 
 The wind, chill and raw, began to blow. Black clouds 
 were piling up in the west, and the sun was shut out. This 
 came so suddenly that the boys were startled. 
 
 "Jove!" cried Hodge. "There's a storm coming!" 
 
 "Remember what the old fellow on the tug said when 
 we came out?" exclaimed Diamond. "He warned us." 
 
 "That's so!" 
 
 Frank was on his feet taking a survey of the sea 
 and sky. 
 
 "If we want to get back to New Haven to-night we'd 
 tetter get a hustle on," he declared. 
 
 Then there was a hasty gathering of such things as they 
 wished to carry back and a hurrying down to the Jolly 
 Sport. They clambered on board, stowed things away, 
 cast off from the pier, ran up the sails, and made the first 
 tack out to sea.
 
 On the Island. 171 
 
 The sky became dark and overcast. Down near New 
 York somewhere great rollers started and seemed to 
 gather force and size as they surged along the sound. 
 
 The spray began to fly as the catboat plunged from 
 roller to roller, and the boys saw a prospect of getting 
 "good and wet." 
 
 Frank was at the helm, and his face wore a serious look. 
 He realized that they were in for a bad run, to say the 
 very least. 
 
 And the wind was dead ahead! 
 
 Harry showed nervousness. He owned the boat, but it 
 was not that he was thinking about. He remembered the 
 story of the Yale crowd lost on the sound some years be- 
 fore. 
 
 "Mink we'll thake it I mean think we'll make it all 
 right, Frank?" he asked, with evident agitation. 
 
 "We must," was all Merriwell answered. 
 
 The wind grew stiffer and stiffer. The Jolly Sport 
 floundered considerably, and the spray flew thicker and 
 thicker. 
 
 "We've got to take in a reef," cried Merry. "Get ready, 
 all hands. Now work lively!" 
 
 Lively work they made of it, but the catboat shipped 
 a sea before the reefing was over and she was brought into 
 the wind again. 
 
 The boys fell to bailing, and away went the Jolly Sport 
 like a racer. 
 
 The wind continued to rise, and Frank found Harry's 
 boat had her faults. 
 
 "She's no wind-jammer," he said. "Can't hold her 
 close, and she will fall off, best I can do." 
 
 "If we'd paid some attention to the old fellow who 
 warned us there would be a blow," regretted Harry. 
 
 "No use to cry over that," came sharply from Diamond. 
 "We've got to make New Haven harbor."
 
 172 On the Island. 
 
 Browning shivered. 
 
 "Don't know why I was fool enough to come," he 
 grumbled "Might be safe and warm in my room now." 
 
 It was five o'clock, but was so dark that it seemed much 
 later. Rattleton, for all of his nervousness, cracked sev- 
 eral jokes. Diamond made an effort to look unconcerned, 
 and succeeded very well. Hodge was grim and silent. 
 
 The wind was fitful. Now and then Frank would cry: 
 
 "Ease her off." 
 
 Then they would let out the sail quickly, and the cat's- 
 paw would sweep over them. 
 
 "How is your old sheet, Rattles?" asked Diamond. 
 "Will she hold?" 
 
 "Can't say," confessed Harry. "She isn't new." 
 
 "How are the halyards?" 
 
 "Strong enough so I have been up the mast with them." 
 
 "They ought to be all right." 
 
 Sizz boom ! A big wave struck the bow, the spray 
 flew in a thick cloud, and they were drenched to the skin. 
 
 "Awfully jolly !" grinned Harry. 
 
 "Yes, more fun than a barrel of monkeys!" said Jack, 
 sarcastically. 
 
 "That's nothing but the beginning," assured Frank, 
 consolingly. "It'll be a regular picnic before New Haven 
 is reached." 
 
 "How nice!" groaned Browning. 
 
 They took turns at bailing till all were weary and ex- 
 hausted. Diamond's temper was beginning to rise, while 
 Hodge was holding his down with an effort. 
 
 "Don't anybody ever again ask me to go sailing on an 
 April day!" snapped the Virginian. 
 
 Darkness came down without the moon they desired, 
 
 "I wish we were back on the island," said Bart. 
 
 "Can't we run back there now?" asked Harry.
 
 On the Island. 173 
 
 Frank looked away over the water and then shook his 
 head. 
 
 "It's more than even we'd run straight out to the open 
 sea," he said. 
 
 Frank took full command, and his sharp orders were 
 obeyed unhesitatingly, showing they all had confidence 
 in him. 
 
 The Jolly Spart lurched and staggered. She fell off 
 amazingly. Frank gave orders that another reef be taken, 
 and the boys sprang to obey, Browning making a show 
 of haste. 
 
 Frank put two men on the sheet when the reef had 
 been made, a laborious task, for their fingers were numb 
 with the cold. The boat shook ominously. 
 
 But under the double reef she rode better. 
 
 All at once a cry broke from Bart's lips. 
 
 "Luff! luff!" he screamed. "Hard a-port, or we're 
 goners !" 
 
 He pointed, and they all saw a dark mass that was bear- 
 ing down upon them with the speed of an express train. 
 It seemed to loom above them like the black shadow of 
 doom. It sent a shudded of horror to their hearts. 
 
 "A vessel !" screamed Diamond. 
 
 "A vessel !" thundered Browning. "Look out, Merry !" 
 
 With all his strength Frank jammed down the tiller, 
 and the boat came about on the other tack, although she 
 seemed to do so with deathly slowness. 
 
 Every lad held his breath, expecting to hear a crash, 
 feel the shock, or be hurled into the sea. 
 
 There was a slight jar, a scraping sound, and the black 
 mass fled past. 
 
 "It's the black schooner !" shouted Diamond. 
 
 The same thought had come to Frank. There seemed 
 to be something familiar in this overshadowing peril ol 
 the deep.
 
 174 O th e Island. 
 
 Past them flew the strange vessel. The wind was mak- 
 ing a great racket, but high above its clamor the boys in 
 the catboat heard a cry that must have come from human 
 lips. It was wild and weird, and it sent a shudder through 
 them. 
 
 On sped the mysterious vessel. 
 
 Round came the Jolly Sport, and, almost before any- 
 body was aware of it, the catboat was running after the 
 schooner. 
 
 Running before the wind the Jolly Sport was a won- 
 der. She flew like a bird. 
 
 "What are you going to do, Merry?" shouted Rattle- 
 ton, in amazement. 
 
 "I am going to try to get back to the Thimbles before 
 it is pitch dark." 
 
 "It can't be done !" declared Diamond. 
 
 "It's our only show. The night is going to be blacker 
 than a stack of black cats. We'll be run down here on the 
 sound, or the seas will swamp us. We can't make New 
 Haven against this wind. It is utterly impossible." 
 
 The others felt that Frank was right. The boat had 
 shown that she was but little good against the wind, but 
 she could run like a deer before it. They had been a 
 long time beating off from the Thimbles, but it could not 
 take them long to run back. 
 
 Then they thought of the vessel that had so nearly 
 run them down. 
 
 "Did you hear that cry, Merry ?" asked Rattleton. 
 
 "Yes, I heard it," nodded Frank. 
 
 "What do you think it was ?" 
 
 "Hard to tell." 
 
 "Sounded like a cry of distress." 
 
 "Yes, that was what it sounded like." 
 
 Then all the boys thought of the girl they had seen on
 
 On the Island. 175 
 
 the mysterious schooner. It occurred to each one of them 
 that it was possible the cry had come from her lips. 
 
 For all that the Jolly Sport seemed to fly, the vessel 
 was making still greater speed, and she was soon lost in 
 the gloom. 
 
 The boys felt that the chance of making the Thimbles 
 * and running into the snug little harbor was small indeed, 
 but they trusted everything to Frank Merriwell's judg- 
 ment. 
 
 They had been bailing all along, thinking the water was 
 coming in over the rail, but when they had turned about 
 a startling discovery was made. 
 
 The water was coming in as fast as ever, although but 
 little spray flew into the boat. 
 
 "She's leaking!" cried Hodge. 
 
 Frank had made that discovery some time before, and it 
 was for that reason he had turned about so suddenly and 
 unexpectedly. He hoped to strike the Thimbles, and, as a 
 desperate resort, he could pile the Jolly Sport high and 
 dry on the beach. 
 
 Frank knew the boat would not hold to continue the 
 desperate attempt to beat across the sound. He was not 
 sure she would hold to reach the islands. 
 
 But what if they missed the islands entirely? 
 
 They would be driven out to sea, and the chances were 
 a thousand to one that not ojie of them would ever live to 
 again place a foot on dry, land !
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 IN THE HOUR OF PERIL,. 
 
 It was a terrible risk running blindly for those islands, 
 but it seemed a still more terrible one to attempt to beat 
 across the black sound. 
 
 The five lads in the boat held their breath, strained 
 their eyes, listened. 
 
 Around the boat the sea swirled and seethed. It rolled 
 darkly on either hand, and the Jolly Sport cut through the 
 water with a hissing sound. 
 
 Somehow through the darkness they could see great 
 white bubbles of foam that came up out of the water and 
 winked at them like the eyes of the mighty demons of 
 the deep. 
 
 Those blinking eyes filled them with awe and horror. 
 They shuddered and turned sick at heart. Their ears 
 listened for the breaking of the surf on the beach of 
 the islands, a sound which they longed, yet dreaded, to 
 hear. 
 
 But all they could hear was the shriek of the wind, the 
 swish of the sea, and the rushing sound of the boat. 
 
 "Bail!" 
 
 The word came like a pistol shot. It woke them to a 
 realization of the peril that was creeping upon them. 
 
 Water was pouring into the boat from her leaks. It 
 was rising around their feet, and the Jolly Sport was 
 beginning to plunge and flounder distressingly. 
 
 "Bail!" 
 
 Again the word shot from Frank Merriwell's lips. 
 
 They hastened to obey. They scooped the water up
 
 In the Hour of Peril. 177 
 
 with the bailing dishes, with a sponge, and with their; 
 caps ; but it came in faster than they could throw it out. 
 
 "We're going down!" 
 
 Rattleton uttered the cry. 
 
 "Well," said Browning, in the same old lazy manner, 
 "it does look as if we might have to swim for it pretty 
 soon." 
 
 Diamond and Hodge were silent. Their teeth were set, 
 and they were straining their eyes through the darkness, 
 as if they longed to see something that would give them 
 hope. 
 
 A light flashed out, winked, disappeared. 
 
 "Lighthouse there!" shouted Rattleton. 
 
 "Running straight for it!" cried Diamond. 
 
 "Be on a ledge in a minute !" grunted Browning. 
 
 Frank shoved over the tiller, and the Jolly Sport went 
 floundering off through the seas, with her course changed 
 somewhat. 
 
 "Bail, boys bail!" Frank again commanded. "It is 
 our only hope. If we can keep afloat five minutes 
 longer " 
 
 The wind tore the words from his lips, with a mocking 
 shriek. He bent his head and gripped the tiller, while the 
 boat wallowed along bravely, seeming like a wounded 
 creature seeking cover as it grew weaker from loss of 
 blood. 
 
 The boys worked with all the energy they could com- 
 mand to get the water out as fast as it came in. Bruce 
 Browning did his best. They were chilled to the bone, 
 dripping wet, and sick at heart. Every man of them felt 
 that his chance of being drowned was most excellent. 
 
 Swish bump! the big waves came down on the boat, 
 struck her, piled over her. A score of times it seemed that 
 she was swamped, a score of times she fought her way to
 
 178 In the Hour of Peril. 
 
 the surface, a score of times prayers of relief were whis- 
 pered by white lips. 
 
 She was not making much headway. The wind was 
 carrying her off helplessly. 
 
 Still Frank clung to the tiller, trying to steer and suc- 
 ceeding in a measure, so that he kept her from rolling 
 helplessly broadside to the seas. 
 
 "Light again !" cried Diamond, as the flash of fire again 
 gleamed out and disappeared. 
 
 Now came a sound that was like the sullen roar of an 
 animal in distress. It was the booming of the surf on 
 shore. 
 
 "If I don't strike the mouth of the cove, we'll be piled 
 up on a ledge, or high and dry on shore in less than two 
 minutes," came from Frank's lips. 
 
 They heard him, and they realized they were close upon 
 the islands. The sound of the surf added a feeling of ter- 
 ror to their other sensations, and yet they were thankful 
 they had not missed the Thimbles and been driven out 
 to sea. 
 
 Louder and louder came the booming roar of the surf. 
 Through the darkness they seemed to see a white wall of 
 foam that shifted and heaved, leaped and roared. 
 
 All the tigers of the deep seemed to be at play along 
 that white line. They saw the boat and its helplesss crew. 
 They roared their delight over the coming feast. 
 
 But ahead what was that? A spot where the white 
 line was not dancing and howling. The boat made for 
 that spot. 
 
 "Holdfast!" 
 
 Frank was not sure it was the mouth of the cove. He 
 could not tell in that dense darkness, but he headed 
 straight toward that spot. They might strike at any 
 moment. 
 
 Onward floundered the Jolly Sport, making a last gal-
 
 In the Hour of Peril. 179 
 
 lant effort to keep afloat. The roaring surf was on either 
 side. The leaping tigers in white were there, gnashing 
 their teeth and howling with impotent rage. 
 
 "It's the cove !" screamed Harry Rattleton. "We're all 
 right! Hurrah!" 
 
 "Hurrah !" cheered Diamond. 
 
 Frank said nothing; he knew their peril was not over. 
 
 Bart Hodge said nothing; he would not have mur- 
 mured had they gone down in mid-sound. 
 
 Bruce Browning was silent; he was exhausted by his 
 efforts at bailing. 
 
 The great waves pursued the fugitive boat into the 
 cove, like wolves in chase of a wounded deer. 
 
 All at once a black hulk loomed before them. 
 
 "A vessel !" cried Harry. 
 
 "Look out!" warned Jack. 
 
 With all his strength, Frank pulled over the tiller. The 
 boat obeyed slowly and with reluctance. She could not 
 clear the black hulk entirely. 
 
 "Confound them!" muttered Frank. "Why don't they 
 have a light out ? There's a law for this, and " 
 
 Bump! the Jolly Sport struck. Scrape! she slid 
 along the side of the vessel. 
 
 It was a marvel she did not go down then and there, 
 but they continued to scrape and slide along the side of 
 the vessel, which was heaving at anchor. 
 
 The shock was felt on board the vessel. As the boys 
 looked up there was a faint gleam of light, and a man 
 looked down at them from the rail. He snarled out 
 something at them, but the shrieking wind drowned his 
 words, and they did not understand what he said. 
 
 The boat cleared the vessel and went wallowing across 
 the dark waters of the cove. 
 
 "Can't strike steamboat pier," muttered Frank. "Strike 
 shore beyond. Bound to swim for it."
 
 i8o In the Hour of Peril. 
 
 Then he called to the others : 
 
 "All ready, fellows ! Got to swim. We're all right now, 
 if we stand by each other." 
 
 They knew they would be in the water directly, but 
 they were not scared now, for what was before them was 
 nothing beside what they had escaped. 
 
 "Harry, are you ready ?" called Frank. 
 
 "All ready, Merry," came back, promptly. 
 
 "Ready, Jack?" 
 
 "Sure," answered Diamond's voice. 
 
 "And you, Bruce ?" 
 
 "I'm too fat to sink, don't worry about me," said 
 Browning, with a laugh. 
 
 "How about you, Bart?" 
 
 No answer. 
 
 "Hodge, are you ready?" called Frank. 
 
 No answer. 
 
 "What's the matter with him ? Why doesn't he speak ?" 
 
 "Where is he?" asked Rattleton, excitedly. 
 
 "Isn't he here?" 
 
 "No! He is gone!" 
 
 "Impossible." 
 
 But it was true; Hodge was not in the boat. He had 
 disappeared in a most remarkable manner, as if he had 
 beqn dragged from the boat by the grim demons of the 
 deep. 
 
 There was no time to think about this most astounding 
 and terrible discovery. They had stopped bailing for a 
 few seconds, but the water had continued to rush in, and 
 now, without so much as one last faint struggle, the Jolly 
 Sport floundered and sank. 
 
 "She's going!" screamed Harry. 
 
 "Jump!" cried Frank. 
 
 He saw them rise and plunge into the cold water, and 
 then, with some trouble, he cleared the dripping sail that
 
 In the Hour of Peril. 181 
 
 sought to settle down over his head and drag him tinder 
 with the Jolly Sport. 
 
 They were close to the shore, else they could not have 
 escaped even then. They helped each other out, and 
 dragged themselves upon the bank, where they sank down, 
 panting and helpless. 
 
 Beyond the mouth of the cove the breakers roared, and 
 now in their clamor there seemed a note of triumph, as if 
 they knew not all of the crew on board the Jolly Sport 
 had escaped. 
 
 And the four water-dripping lads who lay upon the 
 shore were too numb for words. But their hearts were 
 torn with grief, even though they had reached solid 
 ground, for one of their number was not with them. 
 
 Where was he? 
 
 Had he been swept overboard by a wave and carried 
 down without a sound? 
 
 It did not seem possible. 
 
 Frank was thinking of him. Where, when and how had 
 it happened? 
 
 Frank remembered that Bart had been silent all along, 
 but he was sure Hodge had been in the boat when the 
 black schooner so nearly ran them down. 
 
 He was in the boat after that. The others remembered 
 that he had helped them bail. 
 
 The mystery of his disappearance was appalling. It 
 crushed down upon them all like some mighty weight. 
 
 He had helped them bail. Frank kept thinking that 
 over. He understood Bart better than anyone else, and 
 he knew Hodge had realized that the Jolly Sport was 
 overloaded. 
 
 Then came a thought to Frank that brought an ex- 
 clamation from his lips. 
 
 "Did he jump overboard purposely?" 
 
 That was the question that gave Frank a shock. H
 
 1 82 In the Hour of Peril. 
 
 realized that Hodge might have done so. Bart might 
 have felt that his added weight was helping to sink the 
 catboat and that the others would stand a better show 
 of reaching shore if he were gone. Then 
 
 Merry did not like to think of that. He did not like to 
 fancy Hodge slipping overboard to lighten the boat so 
 that the others might have a better chance to reach land. 
 
 Still he could not help thinking, and his fancy pic- 
 tured Bart struggling with the surging waves, trying to 
 keep afloat a few moments, rising on the crest of a wave 
 and straining his eyes through the darkness for one last 
 glimpse of the boat that contained his friends his friends 
 for whom he had sacrificed his life. 
 
 If Bart had done such a thing, Frank was certain he 
 knew why. Merry had done everything in his power for 
 Hodge, and Bart had felt his utter inability to make re- 
 payment. Now it was possible he had sacrificed his own 
 life that Frank might possibly be saved. 
 
 Such thoughts brought to Merriwell the tenderest 
 emotions. 
 
 "Dear, brave fellow !" he whispered. 
 
 Then he murmured a prayer, the words being torn from 
 his lips by the furious gale. 
 
 Merry seemed to see Hodge feebly battling with the 
 waves, his strength failing him swiftly. He fancied the 
 waves tearing at him, beating upon him, hurling him 
 down. 
 
 The last struggle had come and passed, and the cruel, 
 triumphant, deadly sea rolled on. 
 
 In the morning they would search for him on yonder 
 shore where the white tigers were dancing and howling. 
 They would walk along the shore, hoping, yet dreading, 
 to see his white face on the sand. 
 
 Frank thought of the time he had first met Hodge at 
 Fardale Station. They had met as enemies, and Merry
 
 In the Hour of Peril. 183 
 
 had struck the proud and haughty lad who was shaking 
 a barefooted urchin, after having kicked the urchin's dog 
 from the station platform. 
 
 Hodge had vowed vengeance, and he had resorted to 
 questionable methods for obtaining it; but in everything 
 he had been beaten by Frank. 
 
 Then came the time that Bart had realized the cow- 
 ardice of his own actions and Merriwell's nobility. Later 
 they had become friends, roommates, chums. They had 
 fought for each other, and Bart had said more than once 
 that he would die for Frank Merriwell.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 A MYSTERY. 
 
 Huddled together on the shore, the boys began to talk 
 it over. Rattleton did not remember seeing Bart after 
 the second appearance of the black schooner, while Dia- 
 mond was sure Hodge had been with them till they were 
 near the mouth of the cove. All wondered why they had 
 not seen him when he plunged overboard. 
 
 "Perhaps he felt that he had a better show to get 
 ashore if he swam for it than he had if he remained in 
 the boat," suggested Browning. 
 
 "Hodge was not a fool," said Frank, a bit sharply. "He 
 knew he had no show at all if he left the boat." 
 
 "Then why did he leave it ?" 
 
 "That the resf of us might have a better show. He 
 thought the boat would keep afloat longer." 
 
 "Do you think that?" 
 
 "It seems that way." 
 
 They talked it over and over, wringing the water from 
 their clothes. Despite the fact that four of them had 
 escaped, all felt that a frightful calamity had occurred. 
 At one time it had seemed there was not one chance in a 
 hundred for any of them to escape, but, now they were 
 ashore, the horror of the loss of a single man made them 
 sick at heart. 
 
 "I'll never own another boat!" declared Rattleton. 
 "I've had enough of it." 
 
 A light flashed out on the cove. It was on board the 
 Tessel that they had run against. 
 
 Then they spoke of her.
 
 A Mystery. 185 
 
 "Do you know," said Diamond, "I believe I can name 
 that vessel." 
 
 "Do you really think so?" asked Harry. 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "Name her." 
 
 "Pirate." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 Harry and Bruce uttered the exclamation together. 
 Both were startled. 
 
 Frank Merriwell said nothing. Had he been asked to 
 name the vessel, he would have said the same thing. 
 
 "How can that be?" asked Harry. "We thought it 
 was the Pirate that came so near running us down on the 
 sound." 
 
 "Perhaps it was." 
 
 "Impossible ! She could not be here." 
 
 "Why not ?" asked Frank. "We ran into this cove, and 
 the Sport was disabled at that." 
 
 "But the Pirate is a big vessel." 
 
 "Not so very large." 
 
 "Why should she run in here?" 
 
 "There is some mystery about her. Like Diamond, I 
 think that is the black schooner. She had time to run in 
 here and drop anchor ahead of us, and that's what she 
 did. We know no vessel was here when we left the cove 
 this afternoon. She must have come in since then." 
 
 "Say, fellows," grunted Browning. 
 
 "Say it." 
 
 "I don't believe her name is a misnomer. It strikes 
 me she is a genuine old pirate. If not, why is she run- 
 ning around in this way and taking such chances of being 
 piled high and dry on these islands? She came into this 
 cove to hide." 
 
 "The days of pirates are past," said Jack. 
 
 "Don't care," growled Bruce. "Gapt. Horn is a pirate
 
 1 86 A Mystery. 
 
 chief, or he's the ghost of one, and his old schooner is a 
 phantom, like the Flying Dutchman" 
 
 "She's a pretty solid phantom," said Frank. "We 
 struck against her and scraped her side." 
 
 "If that is the Pirate" 
 
 "Hark!" 
 
 The boys listened, and the wind brought to their ears 
 sounds that interested them. 
 
 "They are lowering a boat out there," said Frank. 
 "Surely they are at some unlawful business, or they 
 would not work in the dark and fail to display a single 
 light." 
 
 A few moments later the boys heard the sound of oars 
 clanking in rowlocks. 
 
 "Coming!" 
 
 Rattleton uttered the exclamation. 
 
 "Sounds like it!" agreed Diamond. 
 
 Browning grunted. 
 
 Merriwell was silent. 
 
 The wind was right for them to hear any sound that 
 might come from the direction of the unknown vessel, but 
 when it rose to a wild shriek nothing but its howling 
 could be distinguished. When it fell, each of the four 
 boys distinguished the sound of oars. 
 
 Somehow there seemed something mysterious about 
 the movement of the boat. Each of the listening lads felt 
 the mystery, although they could not have told why. 
 
 Harry's teeth chattered. He was cold, and he was 
 nervous. The events of the night had quite unmanned 
 him. 
 
 Clug-dank, clug-clank, clug-clank. 
 
 More than a single set of oars were being used. FranK 
 felt sure of that, for his keen ear distinguished some- 
 thing in the sound that settled the point in his mind.
 
 A Mystery. 187 
 
 The boat was coming straight toward the point where 
 the boys were crouching on the shore. 
 
 "Pier is near here," thought Frank. "They're going 
 to run in there and get in the lee of it. But why are they 
 coming ashore in this confounded storm?" 
 
 In the teeth of the wind a fine sleet was carried. It 
 was too cold for a genuine storm of rain, and the sleet 
 fell like some particles of ice. 
 
 No wonder Harry's teeth chattered together. 
 
 "Keep still, boys/'' warned Frank. "We'll get a loolc 
 at those fellows." 
 
 "Huah!" grunted Browning. "Don't know how you 
 are going to get a look at anybody in this darkness." 
 
 "They are bringing some kind of a light." 
 
 "Can't see it." 
 
 "They've got it just the same." 
 
 "What makes you think so?" 
 
 "Saw a gleam of it when they were getting into the 
 boat." 
 
 "Yes; but it may have been left on the vessel." 
 
 "No ; I'm sure I caught a flicker after the boat started." 
 
 "Well, what sort of a light is it if we can't see it 
 now?" 
 
 "Dark lantern." 
 
 "Eh? Great Scott!" 
 
 All the boys, with the exception of Merry, gave a start. 
 Why should the men in the boat carry a dark lantern? 
 
 Rattleton, Browning, Diamond, all three of them, flung 
 the question at Frank. 
 
 "I don't know," confessed Merry; "but it is a part of 
 the mystery." 
 
 It added to the keen interest with which the boys 
 awaited the approach of the boat. 
 
 Burglars carried dark lanterns. Crooks carried darR
 
 1 88 A Mystery. 
 
 lanterns. What sort of men were these? What sort of 
 a night expedition were they making ? 
 
 For the moment the mystery surrounding the fate of 
 Bart Hodge was forgotten. The boys had no thoughts 
 for anyone or anything but the approaching boat. 
 
 The sound of rowing became more and more distinct. 
 
 "Changed now not coming straight here," whispered 
 Frank. "Going in at pier. I thought so." 
 
 Rattleton's imagination was at work; strange fancies 
 flitted through his brain. 
 
 "What if they are kidnapers?" he thought. What if 
 they had stolen that girl ? What if they were paid to put 
 her out of the way? What if they have murdered her 
 and are bringing her ash<- -<; to bury her under cover of 
 darkness, where her body will never be found. What 
 if " 
 
 That was the limit. He did not dare carry the spcula- 
 tion any further. Already he was gasping for breath, 
 overcome with the horror of the thought. The adventures 
 of the night bore heavily upon him. For the first time in 
 his life he felt like a coward. He was willing to keep 
 still and let the men in the boat go their way and do their 
 will, no matter what crime they had perpetrated. 
 
 Frank did not feel that way. His curiosity was fully 
 awakened, and he was eager to solve the mystery. 
 
 "Come !" 
 
 He arose to a crouching posture and moved toward the 
 pier, stumbling blindly over the rough ground. 
 
 Diamond was ready to follow anywhere Merriwell 
 migfct lead, and he followed close at Frank's heels. 
 
 Rattleton hesitated. It was not till Browning, with a 
 groan, arose and started to follow the others that he 
 seemed to awaken from the spell that had fallen upon 
 him.
 
 A Mystery. 189 
 
 "Brace up!" he grated. "What ails you? Are yott 
 going to wilt now ?" 
 
 He did brace up, but he followed along behind the 
 others. 
 
 They did not go far before Merriwell brought them to 
 a stand. 
 
 "They're landing," whispered Frank. 
 
 The rowing had stopped. They could hear a subdued 
 murmur of hoarse voices. 
 
 The boat had come round under the lee of the pier, and 
 the men were coming ashore. 
 
 As the boys stood there, they again caught a gleam of 
 light a moving ray, shot from a reflector. It was gone 
 in a moment, but it had shown them several figures. 
 
 "Nearer!" palpitated Diamond, eagerly. 
 
 "Dangerous," declared Frank. "Might shoot the light 
 on us at any moment. Can't tell what those men are 
 'doing." 
 
 The others felt that Merriwell was right. It might be 
 very dangerous to be discovered. 
 
 "Shall we follow them?" asked Browning, who had 
 been awakened in a most unusual manner. 
 
 "Perhaps. Wait and see." 
 
 The wind howled, the fine sleet beat upon them, the 
 white tigers roared from the distant shore. 
 
 "Down !" 
 
 Merriwell hissed the word, sinking to the ground. The 
 others followed his example. 
 
 "What's the matter?" asked Jack, throbbing with ex- 
 citement. 
 
 "Coming," answered Frank, laconically. 
 
 This was true. The men had left the pier, and they 
 were advancing toward the boys. 
 
 Again strange fancies flitted through Harry Rattle-
 
 190 A Mystery. 
 
 ton's head. Had they been discovered? Were those men 
 coming to attack them? Were they destined to soon be 
 engaged in a savage battle for life? 
 
 "If I ever get out of this scrape, I'll let the Jolly Sport 
 rest where she is and keep off the sound in April," he 
 mentally vowed. 
 
 "Lay low !" hissed Frank. 
 
 They flattened themselves upon the ground, hearing 
 footsteps close at hand. They looked up and saw dark fig- 
 ures passing. One, two, three, four of them. 
 
 "Don't try any funny business with us, old man!" 
 sounded a hoarse voice. "Take us straight to the spot!" 
 
 "If he tries ter fool Capt. Horn he's as good as dead !" 
 said another hoarse voice. 
 
 Then there was a muttering of harsh laughter, and the 
 four men passed on into the darkness. 
 
 Frank sat up, and the others did likewise. 
 
 "This is interesting!" Merry softly exclaimed. 
 
 "Yes, very!" grunted Browning. "Give something to 
 know what it means. Can you tell?" 
 
 "No," confessed Frank. "All I could make out is that 
 three of those fellows are making a fourth lead them 
 somewhere." 
 
 "Let's follow," suggested Diamond. "Let's know what 
 they are up to. What do you say, Merry?" 
 
 "Just what I'd like to do." 
 
 "What's the use " began Rattleton. Then he 
 
 checked himself, biting his tongue and thinking: 
 
 "Don't be a fool ! If you're scared, don't give it away. 
 They may never know it." 
 
 "Come ahead!" 
 
 Frank arose and took the lead. The others trailed out 
 after him. He was following the sailors through the
 
 A Mystery. 191 
 
 darkness, and his companions were following him. Not 
 one of them knew what the adventure might lead to; all 
 of them realized that it might be very dangerous. They 
 were sure the men ahead were desperate ruffians, but 
 curiosity overcame every other emotion.
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 GHOSTLY SOUNDS. 
 
 Clank! clink! clank! 
 
 "What are they doing?" 
 
 "Digging!" 
 
 The boys had followed the men to a lonely part of the 
 island, where the wind howled through the trees when it 
 came down in fitful gusts, or moaned when it sank low. 
 
 The booming of the surf was like the steady roar of 
 a distant battery in action. The night seemed full of 
 alarms and terrors. 
 
 Frank had followed the unknown men with the skill of 
 an Indian trailer. The others had followed him with less 
 skill, but the sounds of the storm had favored them by 
 drowning such noises as they made while stumbling 
 along through the darkness. 
 
 At last the men had stopped, and, bit by bit, the boys 
 had crept upon them. 
 
 There was a gleam of light to guide them. The lights 
 came from two dark lanterns, the sides of which had 
 been opened. The lanterns were held to aid the men who 
 were at work. 
 
 Clink-clank! clink-clank! clink-clank! 
 
 One man was plying a pick. After a little he paused. 
 
 Scrape-swish ! scrape-swish ! 
 
 Another man was using a spade, flinging out the earth 
 "Which the man with the pick had loosened. 
 
 "Digging!" repeated Diamond, in a palpitating whis- 
 per. "What does that mean ?" 
 
 "Digging!" fluttered Rattleton. "Digging a gravel" 
 
 "Huah!" grunted Browning. "For whom?"
 
 Ghostly Sounds. 193 
 
 "Somebody ! I knew it ! Going to bury that girl ! She's 
 been kidnaped ! They're going to put her out of the way !" 
 
 "How about the man they have with them the man 
 they forced to show them this spot?" asked Diamond. 
 "What are they going to do with him?" 
 
 "Don't know. Kill him, too, perhaps! Let's git!" 
 
 "And leave him to be killed?" said Frank. "Well, I 
 didn't think that of you, Harry !" 
 
 Harry felt the cut of the reproach. He choked as he 
 tried to whisper something back. After a little, he asked: 
 
 "Well, what can we do? Tell me that." 
 
 "We can do our best for the man, if necessary; but I 
 do not think it will be necessary." 
 
 "Then you think just what?" 
 
 "That you are off your trolley." 
 
 "How? Which way?" 
 
 "I do not believe they are digging a grave." 
 
 "Then what are they doing? Why are they digging 
 that hole?" 
 
 "They are looking for a souvenir." 
 
 "Eh? Are you jollying, Merry? A souvenir of what?" 
 
 "Capt. Kidd !" 
 
 The others had been listening eagerly. Frank's words 
 caused all of them to gasp for breath. 
 
 "Then then you think they are digging for " 
 
 "Kidd's gold !" finished Merriwell. 
 
 There was a moment of silence, and then Browning 
 hoarsely whispered : 
 
 "That's it just it ! It explains everything." 
 
 "Everything but the prisoner. One of those four men 
 is not here of his own free will. That is certain." 
 
 "And the mystery of the girl on board the vessel," came 
 from Harry. "It is certain she is not there of her own. 
 free will."
 
 194 Ghostly Sounds. ' 
 
 TKere was no doubt in the minds of the boys ; all were 
 satisfied that Frank had hit upon the truth. 
 
 Harry, however, was no less afraid, for he realized 
 that, without doubt, the men who had taken such pains 
 to come there under cover of the storm and had brought 
 a captive with them were ruffians capable of any des- 
 perate deed. 
 
 The men worked steadily. One would use the pick a 
 short time, and then the other would toss out the dirt with 
 the spade. Not one of the four spoke. Deeper and deeper 
 grew the hole. 
 
 The light fell on the faces of the men occasionally. 
 They were rough and bearded. Frank watched them 
 closely, and he soon decided that one was the man who 
 had been at the wheel of the black schooner when they 
 first saw the vessel that day. 
 
 Now there was no longer a doubt that the same black 
 schooner lay in the cove, having run in there under cover 
 of darkness, for all of the frightful risk. 
 
 The boys had heard one of the men speak to Capt. 
 Horn as they crouched to let them pass, and that was 
 quite enough to settle the point. 
 
 Who was Capt. Horn? 
 
 He was the commander of the black schooner Pirate, 
 but what was his record and his business. He had looked 
 like a man who would not hesitate to enter into anything 
 by which it seemed likely he might make money, no mat- 
 ter how dishonest or dangerous the project might be. 
 
 Frank crept a bit nearer the four men, hugging the 
 ground. The others followed him. 
 
 Merriwell remembered the stories he had heard of other 
 attempts to recover Kidd's buried treasure remembered 
 how it had been necessary, according to superstition, for 
 the treasure hunters to obey certain rules. They always
 
 Ghostly Sounds. 195 
 
 dug on a dark and stormy night, and not one of the party 
 could speak from the time they began to work till the 
 treasure was found. If they did speak the treasure would 
 turn to old iron or vanish entirely. 
 
 For some time the boys watched the digging, wonder- 
 ing if there was a bare possibility that, at last, some one 
 had located the spot where the pirate's treasure was 
 buried. 
 
 The hole grew deeper and deeper. The two men got 
 down into it, and were hidden to their hips. 
 
 Frank became tired. He resolved to test the courage of 
 the diggers in some manner. 
 
 The wind sank to a low moaning, but, from far, far 
 away it seemed to bring a sound that caused the men in 
 the hole to start, stop digging and listen. 
 
 It was a voice singing, and it seemed to be away on 
 the distant cove: 
 
 "Oh, my name was Capt. Kidd, 
 
 When I sailed, when I sailed; 
 And so wickedly I did, 
 When I sailed, when I sailed." 
 
 It was the famous song of the famous pirate, and it 
 caused those men to tremble in their boots. They felt like 
 dropping pick and spade and taking to their heels, but 
 one of the men who stood above savagely motioned for 
 them to go on with the work. 
 
 The wind rose to a shriek, full of mockery. The surf 
 boomed in the distance. 
 
 Slowly the sailors picked up the pick and spade and 
 resumed their work, but they were trembling now. 
 
 The sound of singing came nearer and nearer, as if 
 Kidd himself were approaching the spot, singing at the 
 top of his voice as he advanced. 
 
 The men grew more and more nervous as the soun'd
 
 196 Ghostly Sounds. 
 
 came nearer, but still the man above motioned for them 
 to go on. 
 
 At last, when the singer seemed close to that very spot, 
 the song ceased. 
 
 "Thunder!" muttered Browning. "Where is that fel- 
 low? Thought it must be another one of their gang 
 coming." 
 
 "Nothing of the sort," whispered Diamond. "Didn't 
 you see how scared the men digging were?" 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "They would not have been frightened if it had been 
 one of their own crowd." 
 
 "That's so. Who was it, then?" 
 
 "Capt. Kidd's spook/' suggested Harry. "You know it 
 is said his ghost haunts the place where he buried his 
 treasure." 
 
 "Rot!" grunted the big fellow. "Don't take stock in 
 spooks." 
 
 Then, of a sudden, when the wind had died once more 
 to a low moaning, a wild burst of laughter was heard. 
 That laugh was full of fiendish glee and mockery, and it 
 seemed to come from some vague point in the very midst 
 of the treasure-seekers. 
 
 Then the men in the pit did drop their implements and 
 scramble out in hot haste. But they were met with a 
 revolver in the hand of one of the men above, and it 
 drove them back to their digging. 
 
 "Ha! ha! ha! Ho! ho! ho!" 
 
 Again the weird laughter sounded, and it seemed to 
 the excited imagination of the diggers, to come from the 
 pit they had made. 
 
 But that revolver was menacing them, and they dared 
 not leap to the surface and take to their heels, although 
 it was certain they wished to do so.
 
 Ghostly Sounds. 197 
 
 Again and again that laugh rang out. Then a deep, 
 sepulchral voice was heard to say: 
 
 "Fools, do ye think to rob me now that I am dead? 
 You shall find I guard my blood-stained gold! Not a 
 single piece shall you touch !" 
 
 That was quite enough to frighten any sailor . Again 
 the men in the pit dropped the pick and spade, but they 
 seemed paralyzed with fear, and stood there, staring 
 about with bulging eyes. 
 
 "Avaunt!" cried the hollow voice. "Flee from my 
 wrath, or ye shall feel the touch of my dead hands the 
 touch of doom ! That touch means death !" 
 
 A wild shriek broke from the lips of one of the diggers. 
 
 "I feel it !" he screamed. "He has touched me ! I am a 
 dead man ! I am doomed !" 
 
 Then, shrieking with terror, he leaped out of the pit 
 and fled. 
 
 That was enough to completely unman the others, and 
 they lost no time in taking to their heels also.
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 PURSUIT. 
 
 Frank had caused all this terror. As old readers know, 
 he was a skillful ventriloquist, and he had seized the op- 
 portunity to work upon the superstitious fears of the 
 ignorant sailors. With a skill that was absolutely won- 
 derful he had made the singing seem to come nearer and 
 nearer till it was close at hand, and then he had laughed 
 so the sound appeared to issue from the pit the men had 
 dug. 
 
 It was sport for Frank, and he hoped to frighten the 
 men away so completely that they would abandon their 
 captive. This, however, they did not do. Capt. Horn 
 kept a clutch upon the captive, whom he dragged along 
 as he hurried after the fleeing men, whom he savagely 
 cursed as poltroons. 
 
 Capt. Horn did not know whence the ghostly voice had 
 come, but, although he was startled, the sound of that 
 voice had added to his belief that they really were on 
 track of the pirate's treasure. He had mores than half 
 expected something of a weird and ghostly nature would 
 happen, and he had tried to fortify the courage of his 
 companions so they would keep at work for all of any- 
 thing that might happen. 
 
 But those sailors, who had promised faithfully not to 
 desert him, were frightened, and they fled as if the very 
 Old Nick was in pursuit. 
 
 When Frank saw that Capt. Horn was dragging the 
 captive away, he leaped up and ran to help the man ; but 
 the dark lantern was dropped, and both captor and cap- 
 tive disappeared in the shadows beneath the trees.
 
 Pursuit. 199 
 
 Frank ran in the direction he fancied they had taken. 
 First he tripped over a stone and went sprawling upon 
 the ground; but he jumped up instantly and dashed on 
 again. 
 
 Bump shash grunt ! 
 
 Frank was hurled down again, but this time he had 
 struck the trunk of a tree, and he was stunned. It was 
 some moments before he oould recover, but still he did not 
 give up the hope of rendering the captive some assistance. 
 
 When he got upon his feet he realized that the chances 
 of overtaking Horn and his captive in the darkness was 
 slim. 
 
 "Must do something," he muttered. "What?" 
 
 Then he thought of the boat. 
 
 "Cut 'em off ! Perhaps I can do that. I'll try !" 
 
 He ran for the pier, hoping to get there ahead of Capt. 
 Horn hoping Capt. Horn and the captive would be the 
 next to arrive after he reached the spot. 
 
 Frank's clothing was heavy with water, and thus he 
 was hampered. He could not see what lay before him, 
 and he took chances of a broken neck. Two or three times 
 he went down, but he came up again like a bounding rub- 
 ber ball. 
 
 "This isn't anything to bucking Harvard's line 
 in football game," he panted. 
 
 He enjoyed it. The thought came to him that he would 
 have a jolly time telling the fellows of the adventure. For 
 one moment he saw in his fancy a crowd of friends gath- 
 ered in his room eagerly listening to the narration of that 
 night's adventures. 
 
 He did not wait for his friends to overtake him. He 
 had lost them in the darkness, and he knew it would not 
 do to wait. 
 
 In a short UiiiC he approached the little steamboat
 
 200 Pursuit. 
 
 still running like a racer, head up, and breathing through 
 his nostrils. 
 
 "Wonder if I'm ahead." 
 
 He could not tell. When he was close to the pier, he 
 stopped and listened. 
 
 He heard nothing but the sweep of the wind and the 
 boom of the surf. 
 
 "Can it be they got here ahead? Can it be they are 
 gone ?" 
 
 He crept out on the pier and looked over. Was that 
 a boat under the edge of the pier? 
 
 He let himself over, hung down, felt out with his feet, 
 found the boat and dropped into her. 
 
 "This is the one they came ashore in," he decided. "It's 
 the only one here. I am ahead of them." 
 
 The boat had drifted under the pier when he dropped 
 into her. He put his hands against the wet and slimy 
 timbers and pushed her out. Then he started to climb 
 up on the pier. 
 
 Hark ! Voices close at hand ! The men were coming ! 
 
 He took hold of the edge of the timbers above and 
 pulled himself up, but the moment his head rose above 
 the edge of the pier he realized that the men were close 
 at hand. They were coming, and he could not get off the 
 pier before they reached it! 
 
 "Trapped!" 
 
 He felt out with his feet, dropped back into the boat, 
 sat down. 
 
 Then it was that Frank Merriwell's brain worked 
 swiftly. What was he to do? He thought of several 
 things. His first thought was to cut the boat adrift, push 
 it under the pier, where they could not find it, and keep 
 still. Then he knew his friends would soon be coming 
 down to that pier, and, if the sailors were there, a collision 
 must take glace.
 
 Pursuit. 201 
 
 His hand touched something in the prow of the boat. 
 
 "A tarpaulin !" he whispered. 
 
 With that discovery a daring scheme entered his mind. 
 Not one boy in a hundred would have ventured to carry 
 it out had he thought of it. 
 
 The boat was fairly large, and there was little danger 
 that one of the four men would be placed in the bow. 
 
 "Got to hustle !" whispered Frank, as he heard the feet 
 of the men on the pier above his head. 
 
 He lifted the tarpaulin, crawled under it, stowed him- 
 self as closely as possible in the forward end of the boat. 
 
 'Not a moment too soon. 
 
 There was a tug at the rope, and the boat was dragged 
 from beneath the pier. Then several cursing, growling, 
 shivering men dropped into it. 
 
 Capt. Horn was there. He snarled at everybody, he 
 swore at everybody, he was furious. 
 
 "A lot of lubberly cowards !" he raved. "A lot of fools ! 
 You were scared at nothing !" 
 
 "No, sir," said a sullen voice. "I heard it, cap'n." 
 
 "An 5 I felt it's touch, cap'n," chattered another, who 
 seemed almost overcome with terror. 
 
 One of the men planted his heel fairly on Frank's fin- 
 gers, but Merry set his teeth and made no attempt to pull 
 his hand away, although he felt that his fingers would 
 be crushed. It was a great relief when the man removed 
 his foot. 
 
 Capt. Horn realized that his men were utterly over- 
 come with fear, and so he allowed them to push off from 
 the pier and row toward the black schooner, which was 
 hidden in the darkness of the cove. 
 
 The waves beat against the boat with heavy thuds, but 
 the arms ef the sailors were strengthened by fear, and
 
 202 Pursuit. 
 
 ttiey pulled lustily, seeming in terror that the ghost of 
 the pirate chief should follow them even after they had 
 left the island. 
 
 Capt. Horn continued to curse and snarl. His captive 
 was silent. 
 
 That captive was a mystery to Frank. Surely it was not 
 the girl they had seen on the vessel. It was a man, but 
 not a word had Frank heard him speak. 
 
 The thought that he might be gagged came to Merri- 
 well. Perhaps that was why he remained so silent. 
 
 The schooner was reached at last. There was a hail 
 from the boat, answered from on deck, and then a line 
 came down from above, was caught, and they were along- 
 side. 
 
 Frank remained quiet for a little time after the men 
 had left the boat. At last, he stirred, for he was in a 
 most uncomfortable position, cramped and aching in every 
 limb. 
 
 With great caution, Merry pulled the tarpaulin off hint 
 and got a breath of fresh air. It had ceased raining, and 
 it did not seem as if the wind was blowing as hard as it 
 had been. 
 
 "Short storm," Frank decided ; "but it was long enough 
 to raise the Old Nick with us and send Bart Hodge to the 
 bottom. Poor Bart ! I'll never see him more !" 
 
 The thought made Frank sick at heart, and, for some 
 moments, he remained there motionless, benumbed by this 
 fresh sense of the loss of his friend. 
 
 Merry knew Bart had regarded him as a hero. He 
 had reached out his hand and steadied Hodge more than 
 once when the dark-faced, passionate lad was tottering 
 on the brink of a precipice. His hand had guided Bart's 
 wavering footsteps into the path of honor, and for his 
 sake Hodge had studied for months that he might be
 
 Pursuit. 203 
 
 in condition to pass the examination and enter Yale that 
 spring. 
 
 And now he was gone ! 
 
 No wonder Frank was sick and numb. After a time 
 he aroused himself and sat up. 
 
 A short line held the boat close under the stern of the 
 black schooner, upon which he could see no sign of life. 
 
 "I might cast off and slip ashore without a soul on 
 this vessel being the wiser," he thought. "I could find 
 the boys and bring them on board. What could we do 
 then? There are, at least, four sailors. There are but 
 four of us. It is a sure thing that the sailors are armed, 
 and we are not. It's more than even chances that they'd 
 do us up in a square fight." 
 
 It did not take him long to decide he would not be in a 
 hurry about bringing the rest of the boys on board, but he 
 resolved to go on board himself. 
 
 With the aid of the line, he pulled the boat close under 
 the stern of the vessel, and, a moment later, he slipped 
 like a cat over the rail of the Pirate and reached her deck. 
 
 Frank crouched low in the shadow of the wheel, listen- 
 ing and trying to peer through the darkness. He saw no 
 moving thing. The wind was whistling through the rig- 
 ging of the heaving schooner, and a loose rope was mak- 
 ing a slatting sound, but that was all. 
 
 Frank moved. He did not stand upright, but, on his 
 hands and knees, he crept along the deck toward the 
 companionway. He had not gone far before the sound 
 of voices reached his ears. 
 
 "They are all below," he decided. 
 
 The companionway was reached, and he started to 
 slip down the stairs. He had not gone far before he 
 halted suddenly and turned his head, having heard a 
 sound behind him.
 
 204 Pursuit. 
 
 At that very moment, with a hoarse shout, a man 
 sprang down the stairs and landed on Frank's shoulders. 
 
 With a crash and a bump, they went to the bottom 
 together. Frank received a shock that robbed him of his 
 senses for the moment, so that he .was utterly helpless.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 WHAT BECAME OF BART. 
 
 When Merriwell recovered a light was glaring straight 
 into his eyes, causing him to blink. He saw four rough- 
 looking men around him, and realized that he was in the 
 cabin of the mysterious vessel. 
 
 One of the men was Capt. Horn, and, on closer view, he 
 looked more the ruffian than he had seemed at a distance. 
 His beacd was black as ink, while his huge nose was 
 turned up and his nostrils were wide open, like the mouths 
 of two black funnels. He showed his teeth as he saw the 
 captured boy look up. 
 
 "It seems to be raining boys to-night," he said, with a 
 sneer. "Well, I can take care of 'em as fast as they come." 
 
 Frank looked at the others, and quickly decided that 
 they were fit followers for such a captain. 
 
 "Excuse me," he said, with an effort. "Just dropped in. 
 Thought I'd come aboard and see how much you'll ask to 
 take me to New York. Must have slipped on the stairs 
 or something. Don't seem to know what happened. First 
 thing I knew I fell, and then here I am." 
 
 "Cute, ain't ye!" sneered Capt. Horn. "Think you'll 
 make me swaller that, I suppose ! Think I'm a durned 
 fool ! Made a mistake this time biggest mistake of your 
 life." 
 
 "You may be right," acknowledged Frank, promptly. 
 "It's just like me. Seems to come natural for me to make 
 mistakes. Made a mistake when I joined that picnic ex- 
 cursion. Made another when I let the boat go off without 
 me. And now .you say I made another when I came aboard
 
 206 What Became of Bart. 
 
 to see if you won't take me back to New York. I am get- 
 ting it in the neck, sure." 
 
 "What's this you're trying to tell, anyway? Spit it 
 out. How'd you happen to be on the island?" 
 
 "Came down on an excursion, got leit, and here I am. 
 I'll pay well if you'll take me to New York." 
 
 Capt. Horn pulled his beard and glared at Frank. 
 
 "What sort of an excursion?" he asked. "One of the 
 regular kind from New York?" 
 
 "Of course," answered Frank, thoughtlessly. 
 
 "You're a liar !" said the man with the black beard, in- 
 stantly. "Knew it all the time." 
 
 "Thank you," answered Frank. "You are polite." 
 
 "I saw you on the small boat to-day," said Capt. Horn. 
 "You wanted to come on board then. How you ever suc- 
 ceeded in doing so now is more than I can tell, but you'll 
 be sorry for it. When you go back to New York the tide 
 will take you there." 
 
 "What are you going to do with me?" 
 
 "Feed you to ther fish, durn ye! It's no use to ask 
 you questions, for you'll lie faster than I can ask 'em. 
 Lies won't do ye no good." 
 
 "Sorry about that," was Frank's cool retort; "but it'll 
 save me a heap of trouble to invent 'em. Shan't have to 
 rack my brain to get 'em up." 
 
 Capt. Horn looked at the boy in astonishment. Frank 
 was a cool customer for his years. 
 
 Merry was securely bound, as he had already discov- 
 ered. The men lifted him and flung him into a berth, 
 where he was left to his thoughts, which might have been 
 more pleasant. 
 
 Frank's head had been injured in the fall, and it 
 throbbed painfully, but he made no murmur. 
 
 The men talked a while, and then fell to playing cards.
 
 What Became of Bart. 207 
 
 Three of tkem played, while the fourth remained on deck to 
 watch. 
 
 Frank could see nothing of the captives. 
 
 The night wore on. Capt. Horn arose and looked into 
 Frank's face. The boy's eyes were closed, and he was 
 breathing steadily and regularly. 
 
 "Never saw anything like that !" exclaimed the captain. 
 "The youngster is asleep ! He is a cool one !" 
 
 The watch on deck was changed, and the men took 
 turns in guarding Frank. 
 
 Toward morning, after going on deck, Capt. Horn an- 
 nounced that the wind had changed, and they could get 
 out of the cove. 
 
 Merry still seemed to be sleeping when all the sailors 
 went on deck to get up the anchor and make sail. 
 
 Barely were they gone when Frank was startled by a 
 voice that called : 
 
 "Hello, Merry!" 
 
 "Eh?" exclaimed Frank. "Who are you?" 
 
 A head rose up from the opposite berth. The light 
 shone full on the face of the person in that berth, and 
 Frank Merriwell came near shrieking: 
 
 "Bart Hodge!" 
 
 Frank was incredulous. He could not believe the evi- 
 dence of his eyes. He was almost inclined to think hinv 
 self staring at a phantom. 
 
 "Hodge impossible !" 
 
 "Not a bit of it," assured the voice of Hodge himself. 
 "I am here, but I'm tied, like yourself, and it strikes me we 
 are in a mighty bad scrape." 
 
 "But but we thought you dead," said Frank. "We 
 felt sure you were dead. How do you come to be here?" 
 
 "That's an easy one. When the Jolly Sport slammed 
 up against this vessel I thought she was a goner, and I 
 made a scramble to get on board here, expecting the rest
 
 208 What Became of Bart. 
 
 of you to follow. I was astonished when you failed to do 
 so, and I looked down to see nothing of the boat. She was 
 gone, and I did not know but what she had gone to the 
 bottom with the whole of you. They have kept me here 
 ever since, for I was knocked over and tied up with ease, 
 like the fool that I am ! I've tried to get away, but it's no 
 use. Then I heard you captured, and saw you dragged 
 in here." 
 
 This was very astonishing, but Frank Merriwell's heart 
 was filled with thankfulness to know that Hodge still 
 lived. Hastily they talked over what had happened since 
 the Jolly Sport was driven into the cove before the gale. 
 
 "Merry." 
 
 "Yes, Bart." 
 
 "Got a surprise for you." 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "Don't want to tell you now, but I know the captives 
 Capt. Horn's captives. We must do something for them. 
 You are full of schemes, old man; can't you plan some- 
 thing now?" 
 
 "I can plan enough, but the trouble is to put the plans 
 into execution. Where are the captives ?" 
 
 "Beyond that door there." 
 
 Frank saw a door at the farther end of the cabin. He 
 had not noticed it before. 
 
 At this moment one of the sailors came down from 
 above. The sound of hoisting the anchor had stopped, and 
 it was evident that the man popped down to take a look at 
 the captives and make sure they were all right, for he 
 stopped but a moment. 
 
 Soon the boys realized that the vessel was under way, 
 They could tell by the motion. 
 
 Capt. Horn came down. 
 
 "Hello, cap," called Frank. "Whither away?"
 
 What Became of Bart. 209 
 
 "Out to sea," was the surly answer. "Going to drop 
 you over where it is deep." 
 
 "Couldn't persuade you to change your mind about that? 
 I don't want to be dropped overboard." 
 
 The man grunted. After a time another man came be- 
 low. Capt. Horn rolled into a bunk and slept. 
 
 Frank strained and worked at his bonds. At first it 
 seemed that he simply made them cut deeper and deeper 
 into his wrists without loosening them in the least. After 
 a time, he began to fancy he was making some progress. 
 
 If he could get his hands free he felt sure he would be 
 able to liberate Hodge. Between them they could make a 
 fight for life and liberty. 
 
 Hours passed. Capt. Horn got up and went on deck, 
 accompanied by the man who had been in the cabin with 
 him. Then the other two men came down and turned into 
 the bunks. They seemed exhausted, and quickly fell 
 asleep. 
 
 Morning dawned. 
 
 With the coming of dawn, Frank succeeded in getting 
 one hand free. Then it was not long before he was en- 
 tirely free, and he hastened to release Hodge. 
 
 Bart was palpitating with excitement. 
 
 "What'll we do, Merry?" he asked, in a whisper. 
 
 "First set the other captives at liberty," said Frank. 
 "We must work lively." 
 
 "Steady, then," warned Hodge. "No matter whom you 
 see, do not utter a cry. Here, tie this handkerchief over 
 your face to your eyes." 
 
 "What for?" 
 
 "So the captives will not raise a cry when they see you." 
 
 Both boys tied handkerchiefs over their faces, and then 
 Frank approached the door. This was bolted and hasped. 
 There was no lock upon it. It did not take Frank long to
 
 2io What Became of Bart. 
 
 shoot back the bolt and release the hasp. Then he slowly 
 opened the door, and looked into the small room beyond. 
 
 An old man was sitting helplessly in the corner, and a 
 young girl, pale and wan, with tangled curls of yellow, 
 lay on a bunk. The old man raised his head, and the girl 
 looked up. 
 
 Frank recognized them both, and, despite the warning 
 Hodge had given him, came near uttering a shout. 
 
 Before him were Capt. Justin Bellwood and his daugh- 
 ter, Elsie! 
 
 Elsie Bellwood was there Elsie, his old-time friend, 
 who was so dear to him ! She was a captive in the power 
 of those ruffians ! 
 
 That thought was enough to make Frank furious and 
 desperate. He suddenly felt that he was able, single- 
 handed, to conquer all the ruffians on that vessel. 
 
 With his hand he motioned for Capt. Bellwood and 
 Elsie to come forth. They realized that Frank was not one 
 of the ruffians, and Elsie sprang up. 
 
 "Come out here," whispered Frank. "We want you to 
 help us capture this vessel." 
 
 New life and hope sprang up in the heart of the old sea 
 captain. He responded eagerly. 
 
 "Here," whispered Merry, pointing to the sleeping 
 sailors, "watch those fellows, and do not hesitate to crack 
 them over the head if they awaken. Take this stool, Capt. 
 Bellwood, and give it to them if necessary. We are going 
 on deck to tackle Capt. Horn and the other fellow." 
 
 The man nodded. He took the stool and stood ready. 
 Then, to Frank's surprise, Elsie picked up a heavy boot as 
 a weapon and stood over the other man. 
 
 "Come!" whispered Frank. 
 
 With Hodge at his heels, he crept swiftly up the com- 
 panionway. A peep on deck showed him one man at the 
 iwheel, while Capt. Horn was near. The vessel was plan-
 
 What Became of Bart. 211 
 
 ging through a sea of rolling billows, the aftermath of the 
 storm. 
 
 Capt. Horn's back was turned. 
 
 "Now is our time !" hissed Frank, as he tore the hand- 
 kerchief from his face and cast it aside, fearing it might 
 hamper him in some way. 
 
 Then he leaped on deck, with Bart close behind him, 
 and they rushed at the two men. 
 
 The man at the wheel saw them, and uttered a cry. 
 Capt. Horn whirled in a moment. 
 
 With loud shouts the boys rushed forward and Bart 
 grappled with the sailor at the wheel. 
 
 Horn managed to avoid Frank's rush, and Merry saw; 
 him tugging at his hip pocket. That was enough to indi- 
 cate that he was trying to draw a weapon. 
 
 Snatching up a belayingpin, Frank did not hesitate in 
 attacking the ruffian with the black beard, who succeeded 
 in pulling forth the weapon his hand had sought. 
 
 Before Capt. Horn could use the revolver, Frank leaped 
 forward and struck the weapon from his hand. A second 
 blow, delivered with all the strength and skill the young 
 Yale athlete could command, stretched the ruffianly com- 
 mander of the Pirate upon the deck. 
 
 A coil of rope was close at hand, and, with the aid of 
 that, Merry quickly bound the fallen man. Then he has- 
 tened to the assistance of Bart, who was having a fierce 
 battle with the other sailor. 
 
 The two boys succeeded in downing the ruffian after a 
 time, and then they tied him, as they had tied the captain. 
 
 Frank secured Horn's revolver, and Bart obtained a 
 knife from the other sailor. The wheel was set and lashed, 
 and then both hastened below. 
 
 Capt. Bellwood and Elsie were still standing over the 
 sleeping sailors, who had not been disturbed by the encoun- 
 ter that was taking place on the deck.
 
 212 What Became of Bart. 
 
 At sight of Frank, Elsie uttered a cry of amazement and 
 joy, and nearly swooned. That cry aroused the men, but 
 when they sat up one was astonished to find himself looking 
 into the muzzle of a revolver, while the keen blade of a 
 wicked-looking knife menaced the other. 
 
 They were so astonished that they were incapable of 
 offering resistance, and were easily captured. 
 
 Capt. Bellwood's story was simple, but interesting. Be- 
 ing a follower of the sea, it was not strange that he should 
 acquire information purporting to reveal the whereabouts 
 of Kidd's buried gold. His secret was known to another 
 sailor, and that sailor shipped with Capt. Horn. Then 
 Justin Bellwood and his daughter were lured to New York, 
 and induced to board the Pirate, where they became Horn's 
 captives. Horn knew every inch of the sound, and he set 
 about forcing Capt. Bellwood to reveal his knowledge of 
 the supposed hiding place of Kidd's treasure. Capt. Horn 
 also made love to Elsie, nearly driving her mad with fear, 
 so that she attempted to jump overboard, an act that was 
 witnessed by the boys on board the Jolly Sport. 
 
 Fortune had worked in a singular manner to bring about 
 the undoing of Capt. Horn. When the ruffian and his 
 crew were made secure, Capt. Bellwood took command 
 of the Pirate, running her back into the cove where Dia- 
 mond, Browning and Rattleton were stranded. The re- 
 appearance of the black schooner with Merriwell and 
 Hodge on board nearly paralyzed the three lads with 
 amazement. It took considerable explaining to make clear 
 to them how such a thing had come about. 
 
 Capt. Bellwood carried the boys over to New Haven, 
 where he turned Capt. Horn and his crew of ruffians over 
 to the authorities. It may be as well to add here that it 
 afterward developed that Horn was a most notorious sound 
 smuggler. He was tried and convicted and sent to prison. 
 His men all received short sentences.
 
 What Became of Bart. 213 
 
 Justin Bellwood was not able to recover Kidd's treas- 
 ure, although he tried to find it. Filled with superstitions, 
 he sometimes wondered if the treasure had not been spirited 
 away in some uncanny manner on the night that Horn 
 tried to dig it up. 
 
 As for the boys who sailed out of New Haven harbor 
 that warm April day, they had a story to tell that was 
 marvelous, and not even Frank Merriwell's reputation 
 for veracity could make all who heard it believe it fully.
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE LONE FISHERMAN. 
 
 "Look!" 
 
 "Where ?" 
 
 "On the corner. It's another one of them!" 
 
 "It's Browning!" 
 
 "Sure!" 
 
 "What is he doing?" 
 
 "Fishing, by the Lord Harry fishing in the street! 
 That is the most ludicrous spectacle yet. Ha ! ha ! ha !" 
 
 A burst of laughter came from the little band of stu- 
 dents who had been making their way along one of New 
 Haven's principal streets and come upon this astonishing 
 spectacle : 
 
 Bruce Browning sat there on the corner, perched on a 
 high stool, dressed like a fisherman, with a sailor's "sou'- 
 wester" on his head, and rubber boots on his feet, gravely 
 pretending to fish in the street with a pole and line. 
 
 Pedestrians paused to stare, poke each other in the ribs, 
 laugh and chaff the big fellow on the stool, but he did not 
 heed them in the least, calmly continuing to fish, as if he 
 expected at any moment to feel a bite. 
 
 Frank, Hodge, Pierson, Gamp, Griswold and Noon 
 were some of the students who had come upon this sur- 
 prising spectacle while walking along the street. 
 
 Noon was a prominent candidate for the position of 
 catcher on the 'varsity ball team, but Hodge was coming 
 into notice through his work on the freshman nine, and, 
 although he was a freshman, it was rumored that, aided 
 by the influence of Frank, he stood a chance of getting 
 on for a trial.
 
 The Lone Fisherman. 215 
 
 Joe Gamp was a big, awkward boy from New Hamp- 
 shire, who, for all of the time he had spent in college, could 
 not drop the vernacular of the farm. To hear him talk 
 no one could have dreamed he was a college student, and 
 that he stood well in his class. And he stammered out- 
 rageously. 
 
 "Gug-gug-gug-great gosh !" he cried, standing with his 
 hands in his pockets and staring at the fat youth on the 
 stool. "Will somebody tut-tut-tell me what in thunder it 
 mum-mum-mum-means ? First we saw a fuf-fuf-feller 
 walkin' araound with his cuc-cuc-clothes turned wrong 
 sus-sus-sus-side out, then another was bub-bub-bub-barkin* 
 like a dorg, another was tryin' to stand on his head in fuf- 
 fuf-front of the pup-pup-pup-post office, and here's 
 Browning fuf-fuf-fuf-fuf Here is Bur-bub-bub-bub- 
 bub I sus-sus-sus-sus " 
 
 "Whistle, Joe!" laughed Frank. "Whistle, quick. 
 You're going backward, and you'll have to say it all over 
 if you don't whistle." 
 
 Gamp whistled. 
 
 'I sus-sus-sus" whistle "I say here's Browning tut- 
 tut-trying to cuc-cuc-cuc-catch a fuf-fuf-fuf-fuf" whis- 
 tle "a fish in the middle of the sus-sus-street, just as if 
 he was fishin' in the dud-dud-dud-dud" whistle "the 
 deep blue sea. I don't understand what all this bub-bub- 
 business is abub-bub-bout." 
 
 "I didn't know but the first fellow we saw was doing it 
 on a wager," said Bart ; "but now " 
 
 "Those fellows are candidates for some society," ex- 
 plained Pierson. "They have been commanded to do 
 those things, and they dare not disobey if they wish to 
 pass." 
 
 "Is that it?" cried Gamp, who was astonishingly green 
 for a Yale man. "Well, dud-dud-darned if that ain't fuf- 
 fuf-f uf-f unny ! A-haw! a-haw! a-haw!"
 
 216 The Lone Fisherman. 
 
 He had a laugh that was like the braying of a mule, 
 and a passing pedestrian dodged so suddenly that he 
 jumped from under his hat, while an old lady with an 
 umbrella turned and cried : 
 
 "Shoo ! Git away ! Don't you bite me !" 
 
 She waved her umbrella in Gamp's direction and peered 
 fearfully over her spectacles, as if she fully expected to see 
 some fierce wild beast rushing upon her. 
 
 That caused all the other boys to laugh again, while Joe 
 paused, with his huge mouth wide open, and stared in sur- 
 prise at the excited and trembling old lady. 
 
 "Hey?" he cried. 
 
 "Mercy !" gasped the old lady. "I thought so. I thought 
 it was a horse whickerin' for hay." 
 
 Then she hurried on, while the boys, with the excep- 
 tion of Gamp, were convulsed with merriment. 
 
 Joe stared after the old lady's retreating form, gasping 
 for breath. 
 
 "First tut-tut-tut-time I ever was took for a hoss !" he 
 exclaimed. 
 
 "That's a horse on you," chuckled Danny Griswold. 
 
 Despite himself, Bruce Browning had not been able to 
 keep from turning his head a moment to see what all the 
 excitement was about. As he did so, a street urchin slipped 
 out quickly and hitched a dead cat onto the end of the 
 line that lay in the street, losing not a moment in scamper- 
 ing out of sight. 
 
 Bruce pulled up the line to cast it out again, and the cat 
 came with it. 
 
 Then there was another shout of merriment. 
 
 "Browning has met with a cat-astrophe," laughed 
 Frank. 
 
 "He's caught a cat-fish," cried Danny Griswold. 
 
 "Spt ! spt ! Me-e-e-ow ! Ma-ri-ar !" 
 
 Danny Griswold gave vent to a perfect volley of cat-
 
 The Lone Fisherman. 217 
 
 calls, and there was an uproar of mirth around that cor- 
 ner. 
 
 Through it all Browning retained his sober dignity, re- 
 moving the cat from his hook, as if he had captured a fish, 
 and flinging the line out into the street again. 
 
 A policeman, who was sauntering along at a distance, 
 heard the sounds, and came rushing forward. He was a 
 green man on the force, and he had not been many moons 
 on this side of the "pond." He had red hair, and a face 
 that looked like a painful accident. 
 
 "Pwhat's this, Oi .dunno?" he exclaimed, bursting 
 through the crowd and halting so suddenly that he nearly 
 fell over himself when he saw Bruce. "An' now will yez 
 be afther tellin' me pwhat ye're doin' there ?" 
 
 Browning made no reply, but gravely pulled up his line, 
 looked at the hook, as if to ascertain the condition of the 
 bait, and again made a cast into the street. 
 
 The little Irishman grew red in the face. 
 
 "Look here, me foine b'y!" he cried, flourishing his 
 stick ; "it's the magisty av th' law Oi ripresint, an' Oi do be 
 afther axin' ye a quistion. Pwhat are yez doin' there, Oi 
 want to know ?" 
 
 Bruce remained silent. 
 
 The spectators looked on with interest, wondering what 
 the outcome would be. 
 
 The policeman came a bit nearer Bruce, and again 
 shook his stick, crying: 
 
 "Is it a lunathick ye are ? It's a foine spictacle ye do be 
 afther makin' av yersilf. Av ye don't belave it, jist shtep 
 over this way an' take a look at yersilf a-sittin' on thot 
 stool loike a frog on a log. Get down now, ur Oi'll plaze 
 ye under arrist!" 
 
 Browning did not heed. 
 
 "It's me duty Oi'll have to do," declared the officer, as 
 he advanced on the big fellow ; "an' av ye resist me, OdTl
 
 218 The Lone Fisherman. 
 
 have to club th' loife out av yez. It's a lunathick ye are, 
 an' Oi know it. Come along now, to th' station house." 
 
 But as he was on the point of pulling the big fellow from 
 the stool, Browning gave him a look that made him stag- 
 ger. His face worked convulsively, and he looked around 
 for assistance. 
 
 "Pull him in, Paddy!" cried one of several town boys, 
 who had gathered to see the fun, and who felt delighted to 
 see a student placed under arrest. 
 
 "Thot Oi will!" cried the little cop, as he advanced on 
 Bruce. 
 
 He caught the big fellow by the collar and yanked him 
 off the stool in a moment. 
 
 "If it's a bit aff trouble ye're afther givin' me, Oi'll 
 crack yer shkull wid me shillayly," he declared. "Come 
 on, now." 
 
 Browning did not wish to be arrested, so he tried to ar- 
 gue with the officer, but it was useless to talk. 
 
 "It's a lunathick Oi know ye are," said the policeman; 
 "an' it's not safe to let yez run at large." 
 
 "Take your hand off my collar!" said Bruce, sternly. 
 "I have done nothing to cause you to arrest me." 
 
 "Now none av yer thrits to me, ye spalpane !" shouted 
 the policeman. "Coom along!" 
 
 He gave Bruce a yank. 
 
 It was a comical spectacle to see the little red-headed 
 cop yanking about the giant of the college, but it did not 
 seem very funny to Browning. 
 
 "Say," he growled, thrusting his fist under the officer's 
 nose, "if you do that again, I'm going to thump you once, 
 for luck." 
 
 The policeman had a violent temper, and very little 
 judgment. 
 
 "Attimpting to resist arrist, are yez !" he shouted, and
 
 The Lone Fisherman. 219 
 
 then, without another word, he rapped Bruce over the 
 head, bringing the big fellow to his knees. 
 
 Browning had not looked for such a move, and he was 
 so stunned that he could not rise at once, whereupon the 
 policeman lifted his club again, as if to hit him once more. 
 
 The blow did not fall. 
 
 Frank's hand caught the club and held it back, Paul 
 Pierson and Bart Hodge yanked Browning to his feet, 
 Danny Griswold gave the big fellow a shove, and the voice 
 of Ned Noon was heard shouting: 
 
 "Git !" 
 
 This turn of affairs was not at all satisfactory to the 
 town boys, who had been delighted when the officer started 
 to arrest one of the college lads. 
 
 At New Haven there is constantly more or less feeling 
 between the town lads and the students. Sometimes this 
 feeling is so strong that it is not safe for a well-known 
 student to be caught alone in town at a late hour of the 
 night. He is in danger of being stoned, pounded and 
 forced to run for his life. 
 
 At the time of which we write the feeling between the 
 college lads and the "townies" was rather bitter. Thus 
 it came about that, as soon as Browning's friends tried to 
 help him, one of the watching toughs cried : 
 
 "Come on, fellers ! Dey're helpin' der bloke git erway. 
 It's our duty ter stop dat." 
 
 The gang didn't care anything for duty, but they had 
 been called upon to do a thing by their leader, and they 
 'did not hesitate about jumping in to the policeman's aid. 
 
 Thus it came about that, in a very few seconds, a small 
 riot was taking place there on that corner, where, a short 
 time before, all had seemed hilarity and good nature. 
 
 The little cop clung tenaciously to Browning. 
 
 "I call on yez to hilp me arrist this spalpane!" he 
 squealed.
 
 220 The Lone Fisherman. 
 
 "We'll help yer!" declared the leader of the town lads. 
 
 "Yes you will!" flung back Bart Hodge, the hot color 
 of anger rushing to his face. "Yes you will not !" 
 
 Then he went at the leader of the gang, and, before that 
 fellow was aware that he was attacked, Hodge cracked 
 him a blow between the eyes that sent him sprawling. 
 
 The downfall of their leader seemed to infuriate the 
 others. 
 
 "Thump 'em ! Hammer 'em ! Slug 'em !" 
 
 Uttering these cries, the roughs pitched into the college 
 boys. Fists began to fly, and there was a hot time on that 
 corner without delay. 
 
 The little cop rapped for assistance. While he was 
 doing this, BroAvning gave him a twist and a fling that 
 broke his hold and sent him flying into Bart Hodge's arms. 
 
 Hodge was thoroughly aroused. 
 
 "You're the cause of all this trouble, you little red- 
 headed fool !" he grated. 
 
 Then, with a display of strength that was astonishing, 
 Bart lifted the officer and hurled him violently against a 
 stone hitch ing-post. With a gasp and a groan, the police- 
 man dropped down limply and lay on the ground as if he 
 had been shot. 
 
 Bart was astonished by the remarkable manner in which 
 the little man had been knocked out. He paused and stared 
 at the motionless figure, a feeling of dismay beginning to 
 creep over him, for he realized that his ungovernable tem- 
 per had once again led him to do an act that he would not 
 have done in his sober moments. 
 
 "Great Scott !" shakily cried Ned Noon. "You've killed 
 him, Hodge !" 
 
 Bart said nothing, but he felt a pressure about his heart 
 a sickening sensation. 
 
 It seemed that Noon was the only one of the party en-
 
 The Lone Fisherman/ 221 
 
 gaged in the struggle who witnessed Bart's thoughtless act 
 of anger. The others were far too busy among themselves. 
 
 But all realized the officer had rapped for aid, and they 
 knew other policemen were sure to arrive on the spot very 
 soon. 
 
 "Got to run for it, fellows !" panted Griswold, as he put 
 in his best licks. "Got to get away, or we'll all be locked 
 up." 
 
 Hodge plunged in to aid the others. He was a perfect 
 tiger. Not even Frank seemed to fight with such fury and 
 be so effective. Bart bowled the "townies" over as if they 
 were tenpins. 
 
 It was not long before the fight was going in favor of 
 the college men. Then another party of students happened 
 along, and, at sight of them, the town lads promptly scat- 
 tered and ran. 
 
 "Now's the time !" cried Merry. "We want to get out of 
 this in a hurry, fellows." 
 
 Then he saw the officer lying stretched on the ground, 
 and stared at him in surprise. 
 
 "What's the matter with him?" he asked. 
 
 "Nothing!" cried Hodge, feverishly. "He got a crack 
 under the ear, and it knocked him out. He's all right. 
 Come on." 
 
 The college boys lost no further time in getting away. 
 They separated and made their way back to the college 
 grounds with certain haste. 
 
 As if by general consent, they proceeded to Merri well's 
 room. They found Frank there, making himself comfort- 
 able while he studied, as if nothing serious had happened. 
 He welcomed them all as they appeared. 
 
 Pierson was the first, and he was followed by Griswold, 
 jvho strutted proudly as he entered, crying : 
 
 "Did you see me do 'era up, fellows ? Did you see me
 
 222 The Lone Fisherman. 
 
 lay 'em out? Oh, I'm a hot biscuit right out of the 
 bakery!" 
 
 "Quite a little racket, eh, Merriwell," smiicj Pierson. 
 
 "Sure," nodded Frank. "We needed something to stir 
 up our blood. We were getting stagnant here of late." 
 
 Joe Gamp came lumbering in. 
 
 "Dud-dud-dud-dog my cue- cuc-cuc-cats !" he stuttered. 
 "Ain't seen so much fun as that sence I was a fuf-fuf- 
 freshman. But Browning did look comical up on that sus- 
 sus-stool. A-haw! ha-aw! a-haw!" 
 
 Even as Gamp roared with laughter, Bruce came slouch- 
 ing into the room. He sat down and kicked off the rub- 
 ber boots, which were too large for his feet, then he flung 
 aside the "sou'wester," removed his oilskin jacket, and 
 stretched himself wearily on the couch, observing : 
 
 "Fishing is thundering tiresome work." 
 
 "Were you doing it on a wager, old man ?" asked Gris- 
 wold. 
 
 "No," yawned Bruce ; "I was doing it on a stool." 
 
 That was all they could get out of him. It was plain 
 that he did not want to talk about it, and did not mean to 
 talk. 
 
 "Anyway, we did up the townies all right," said Frank. 
 "There was some sport in that." 
 
 "Too much work," grumbled Bruce. "Everything is too 
 much work, and work was made for slaves." 
 
 Ned Noon came in and looked around. 
 
 "Where is Hodge?" he asked. 
 
 Bart was not there, but they fancied he would put in an 
 appearance very soon, so, while they discussed the fight 
 with the "townies,"- they kept looking for Hodge. 
 
 But Bart did not appear. 
 
 "Hope he wasn't pinched," said Frank. "He's so proud 
 that arrest would seem a frightful disgrace to him." 
 
 There was a queer look on the face of Ned Noon.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 HODGE IN DANGER. 
 
 Frank was crossing the campus when a voice called to 
 him: 
 
 "Hey, Merry, hold on ; want to speak with you." 
 
 He looked around, and saw Danny Griswold hurrying 
 toward him. There was a strangely serious look on the 
 face of the little fellow, who was of a jovial nature and 
 seldom inclined to take anything seriously. 
 
 The moment Frank saw Danny's face, he realized some- 
 thing was wrong. 
 
 "What is it, old man ?" he asked, as Griswold came up, 
 panting. 
 
 "They're looking for the fellow who did it." 
 
 "Did what?" 
 
 "Broke his ribs." 
 
 "Broke whose ribs?" 
 
 "The cop's." 
 
 "Why, the little fellow with the red head and liver lace." 
 
 "The one who tried to arrest Browning ?" 
 
 "Same." 
 
 Frank whistled. 
 
 "And his ribs were broken ?" 
 
 "That's it. He says it wasn't the big fellow who did it, 
 but some other chap slammed him up against a stone post 
 and smashed his ribs in. Officers have been here trying to 
 locate the fellow. We're in danger of being pulled up as 
 witnesses or worse." 
 
 "Accused, you mean?" 
 
 "Any of us may be." 
 
 "Well, who did it, anyway?**
 
 224 Hodge in Danger. 
 
 "Hodge." 
 
 Frank started. 
 
 "Hodge?" he cried. "Are you sure, old man?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Then why did you say that?" 
 
 "Noon says Hodge slammed the cop up against the 
 post." 
 
 "Noon says so, eh? Did he see it?" 
 
 "Says he did." 
 
 "And he is talking about it openly?" 
 
 "Don't know about that. He talked to me about it." 
 
 "Anybody else present ?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "I must see Noon." 
 
 Merriwell was aroused, for he realized that Bart Hodge 
 was in danger. Were Hodge arrested for injuring the po- 
 liceman, and should the charge be proved against him, his 
 college career might come to a sudden termination. 
 
 Frank had pulled his friend out of more than one bad 
 hole, and he believed he understood Bart's nature pretty 
 well. Hodge was again on the high road to an honorable 
 career, guided by Merriwell's hand, but to thwart him at 
 the very outset of his college life would mean almost cer- 
 tain ruin. 
 
 Merry's teeth came together with a click when he real- 
 ized the danger that menaced Bart. 
 
 "I'm afraid you made a mistake in introducing that 
 freshman to our gang," complained Griswold. "None of 
 the fellows cared to know him, but they accepted him sim- 
 ply because of your friendship toward him. This is the 
 result." 
 
 Frank was not pleased by Danny's words. They did not 
 sound as if they came from the little fellow's mouth. 
 
 "None of my friends were forced to meet Bart Hodge," 
 he said, quietly. "Plodge and I were schoolmates together,
 
 Hodge in Danger. 225 
 
 and, when he came to Yale, I was not going to Be cad 
 enough to cut him because he is in a lower class than my- 
 self. I am not built that way." 
 
 "Oh, you might have treated him decent, without hav- 
 ing him in your room so much." 
 
 "No, you are mistaken. At Fardale Academy we were 
 roommates. What sort of a fellow would I have been had 
 I shown, when he came to Yale, that he was not wanted in 
 my room ?" 
 
 Danny did not answer the question, but stood grinding 
 his heel into the ground, looking downward. 
 
 "I trust you see plainly enough that I did what any 
 white man should do, Gris?" said Frank, letting a hand 
 fall on Danny's shoulder. 
 
 "Oh, I am not going to set myself up as a judge of 
 your actions," was Griswold's impatient retort. "All I 
 know is what it has brought us to. If I am pulled up and 
 forced to tell what I know about the way the cop was 
 hurt " 
 
 "What will you tell? What do you know? You con- 
 fessed to me that you did not see it." 
 
 Frank cut in rather sharply, giving Griswold a start. 
 Danny looked rattled and flushed. 
 
 "Oh, I didn't see it, but Noon told me " 
 
 "That sort of evidence will not go, old man, and you 
 should know it. Take my advice, and keep still. This 
 business must be hushed up, and it will be the fellow who 
 talks too much that will get us into trouble." 
 
 "What if you are pulled up and questioned? Are you 
 going to swear to a lie ?" 
 
 It was Frank's turn to flush, but the flush was one of 
 indignation. 
 
 "Did you ever know me to lie ?" he asked, sharply. 
 
 "No, but this is different, and " 
 
 "It will not be necessary for me to lie about this in order;
 
 226 Hodge in Danger. 
 
 to shield Hodge. I did not see anything. I did not see 
 the cop injured. I can swear to that, and it's all they'll 
 ever get out of me." 
 
 After a moment of silence, Griswold said : 
 
 "We may be able to protect Hodge by keeping silent, but 
 I want to give you some advice, Merry. I am serious now. 
 Don't grin at me. This is one time in my life when I am 
 not thinking of anything funny, as the fellow said when 
 the surgeons were getting him ready to cut off his leg. 
 If you are wise, you'll let up on one thing you have been 
 trying to do." 
 
 Frank could not help grinning when he thought of tak- 
 ing advice from Griswold, but he tried to look serious, and 
 said: 
 
 "Go on." 
 
 "You have been pushing Hodge for the nine. Is that 
 right?" 
 
 "Well," admitted Frank, "I have been using my influ- 
 ence to get him on, for I know he is a corker." 
 
 "Drop it !" cried Danny, pulling out a package of cigar- 
 ettes and extracting one. "It won't go, and you are going 
 to get the other candidates for the position of catcher down 
 on you. Hodge is a very fresh freshman, and he does not 
 stand a show of getting on the nine this year." 
 
 "I am not so sure of that," said Frank, quietly. "I got 
 on in my freshman year, if you will remember." 
 
 "I know, but circumstances brought that about. Yale 
 was in a hole for pitchers. You did some clever twirling 
 on the freshman nine, and you were tried as a desperate 
 expedient. That is the secret of your getting on the 'var- 
 sity nine your first year in college." 
 
 "Well, Hodge did some clever backstop work last Satur- 
 Iday, when the scrub played the regular nine. He played 
 on the scrub, and he made a better record than either Noon 
 pr Stone, who took turns on the regulars."
 
 Hodge in Danger. 227 
 
 "Oh, that was a chance, and it didn't show his mettle, 
 for there was nothing at stake. He had better opportuni- 
 ties than the other fellows, that's all." 
 
 "Come off !" cried Frank, dropping into slang. "He did 
 better throwing, and he would have caught every man who 
 tried to steal second if the pitcher had not been a little slow 
 in his delivery. As it was, he caught four men, while Noon 
 and Stone caught only one each. He did not have a passed 
 ball, for all that the pitcher was wild as a hawk, and he got 
 three fine hits." 
 
 "Two of which were off you, Merry. That part of it 
 didn't fool anybody. Ha! ha! ha!" 
 
 Frank flushed again. 
 
 "By that I presume that you mean to insinuate that I 
 gave him easy ones, so he might hit it out. Look here, 
 Gris, I have told you that I do not lie. Now I am going 
 to tell you that I did my level best to fool Hodge, for he 
 had told me that he would bat my eye out. I thought I 
 knew his weak points. I gave him a high inshoot, and 
 he got a pretty single off it ; I gave him one round his an- 
 kles, and he lifted it out for three bags. The fellow who 
 says I favored him in the least says something that is not 
 true." 
 
 "Oh, well," said Danny, shortly, "I am not here to talk 
 baseball. Anyway, I don't think Hodge stands a ghost of 
 a show to catch on. Noon is the man who will get there." 
 
 "Nit !" muttered Frank, as Danny walked away, smok- 
 ing.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 NED NOON MAKES AN OFFER. 
 
 What Danny had said to Frank set the latter to think- 
 ing. Up to that time he had not been aware that any of 
 his friends were kicking because of his being chummy with 
 Hodge. 
 
 Had Merriwell been a sophomore and Hodge a fresh- 
 man the situation would have been altered materially, for 
 sophomores and freshmen are natural enemies, and it is 
 regarded as a crime for a soph to be chummy with a fresh. 
 
 On the other hand, there is more or less friendliness be- 
 tween juniors and freshmen. Juniors do everything they 
 can to encourage freshmen in their struggle against the 
 sophomores, even going so far as to marshal them for their 
 rushes and give them points to be observed in their strug- 
 gles with the sophomores. 
 
 It is true that there seldom seems to be any further bond 
 of sympathy between freshmen and juniors than the dis- 
 like of both for sophomores. The discomfiture and down- 
 fall of the freshmen arouses nothing like pity on the part 
 of the juniors ; more often it causes the latter to openly ex- 
 press contempt. 
 
 At first, the apparent friendliness of the juniors leads 
 the unsophisticated freshmen to think the third year men 
 really like them, and have sympathy for them ; but it does 
 not take long for the freshies to discover their mistake 
 it does not take long for them to fTrid out they are a thing 
 quite apart from the juniors in every conceivable manner 
 except their mutual dislike for sophomores. 
 
 Still, it sometimes happens that a junior and a freshman 
 may become chums, while such friendliness between a
 
 Ned Noon Makes an Offer. 229 
 
 freshman and a sophomore would be regarded as a dis- 
 grace to the latter. 
 
 Frank had an independent way ; he did not seem to care 
 for traditions or precedent. He had shown that all along, 
 but never so strongly as since becoming a junior. Almost 
 his first act was to show friendliness toward a freshman 
 bully, after conquering the latter in a fair struggle. This 
 brought forth a howl from those who believed the only 
 proper thing for him to do was to treat the bully with 
 scorn and contempt after downing him. 
 
 But Frank kept calmly on his way, doing what he be- 
 lieved was right, regardless of anything that was said. 
 
 And now that Hodge was in college, he had chosen to 
 accept Bart as a chum. If his former friends did not like 
 it, he could not help it. He knew Bart Hodge's nature, 
 and he knew Hodge would need to be steadied by the hand 
 of a friend after entering college, else he would be certain 
 to fall under evil influences and go wrong. 
 
 Frank had used his influence to get Bart on the 'var- 
 sity nine because he believed Hodge a better backstop than 
 any of the candidates for the position. 
 
 Yale's catcher of the two preceding years had gradu- 
 ated and gone West, which left the position vacant. 
 
 Good pitchers are absolutely necessary on a good ball 
 team, but the work of a good pitcher can be ruined by ft 
 poor catcher. The pitcher shines as the bright, particular 
 star, but it is the work of the man behind the bat, almost 
 as much as the pitcher's own skill, that makes him shine. 
 
 A good catcher steadies and encourages a pitcher at all 
 times, and particularly at such moments as the game is 
 hanging in the balance so that a safe hit or a fumble may 
 win it or lose it. At such a time, if the pitcher has perfect 
 confidence in his catcher, he stands a good show of doing 
 his level best ; but if he lacks confidence, he may think the
 
 230 Ned Noon Makes an Offer. 
 
 game is lost anyway, and fail to exert himself to his ut- 
 most. 
 
 Frank had first pitched to Bart on the old Fardale 
 Academy nine, at which time the Fardale battery was a 
 wonder and a terror to the ball teams of the surrounding 
 country. Fardale had never lost a game with Merriwell 
 and Hodge as the battery. 
 
 On the sporting trip across the continent, Frank found 
 occasion to pitch to Bart again, and he discovered that 
 Hodge had lost none of his cunning. Merriwell's "Yale 
 Combine" played against the regular Fort Worth profes- 
 sionals, Fort Worth having the famous "Dad" Morse in 
 the box, and beat them by the remarkable score of two to 
 one. 
 
 In this game the throwing and batting of Hodge was a 
 feature, and Frank Merriwell was delighted to find Hodge 
 in old-time form. On the following day, Merriwell and 
 Hodge had acted as battery for Fort Worth, the Texans 
 easily defeating the Little Rocks, who were the leaders 
 of the Southern League. 
 
 Frank had the Fort Worth papers containing records of 
 the games, and he had placed them before the baseball 
 committee and the captain of the 'varsity nine, calling at- 
 tention to the fact that in the two games Hodge had not 
 had a passed ball, had not made an error, had obtained 
 seven assists, six hits and two scores. A record to be 
 proud of, considering the fact that he was in company that 
 was considered very fast. 
 
 But Hodge was a freshman, which counted against him 
 in the eyes of the committee. The other candidates for the 
 position were a sophomore, a junior and a senior. It was 
 acknowledged that the senior had slight show of getting 
 on. It was not his first attempt to get under the bat. He 
 had played an outfield position one year, and had been 
 substitute catcher one year, but this counted against him, if
 
 Ned Noon Makes an Offer. 231 
 
 anything, for he had never done anything particularly 
 brilliant. 
 
 The other two men, however, Ned Noon, the junior, 
 and Roger Stone, the sophomore, stood a fair chance of 
 making the team. It was whispered about that Noon had 
 some sort of "pull" with the committee, and he was almost 
 sure to catch on, for all that it was thought Capt. Hardy 
 favored Stone. 
 
 Hodge was called "MerriweH's candidate," and, for all 
 of Frank's popularity, for all of the fact that he was 
 looked on as the mainstay of the nine that season, it was 
 agreed that Bart did not have much show of making the 
 nine. 
 
 Frank, however, persisted in his attempt to get Bart on. 
 Up to the time of his talk with Griswold he had not sus- 
 pected the feeling that existed in relation to Hodge. Now 
 he saw it all, and he realized that Bart was in double 
 danger. 
 
 "He has injured a policeman, and, should it become 
 known, some of his enemies might hold it over him. I 
 must have a talk with him." 
 
 Frank started for Farnham Hall without delay. 
 
 Just outside the wide doorway, before putting his foot 
 on the steps, he paused, brought to a sudden halt by the 
 sound of voices within. 
 
 "Noon !" he thought. 
 
 Then he heard another voice. 
 
 "And Hodge !" he added. 
 
 The rivals were standing just within the doorway, talk- 
 ing earnestly. Frank could see the back of Bart's coat. 
 
 The first words that reached his ears caused Frank to 
 stop thus suddenly. 
 
 "I tell you that you are in for it, Hodge. You knocked 
 the cop out, and it will go hard with you if the job is fas- 
 tened upon you."
 
 232 Ned Noon Makes an Offer. 
 
 "Well, I can't help it if it does," said Bart, and there 
 was a sullen sound in his voice. "I didn't mean to hurt the 
 little runt, but it was my confounded quick temper that 
 caused me to fling him up against the post." 
 
 "You made a fool of yourself," declared Noon, with a 
 sneering inflection. 
 
 "Well, I don't need to have you come and tell me of 
 it!" cried Bart, angrily. 
 
 "If it is known that you did the job, you stand a good 
 show of being dropped from Yale with a dull thud." 
 
 Not a sound from Hodge. 
 
 Merriwell was no eavesdropper, and he started to ascend 
 the steps ; but he dropped back and stood still, brought to 
 a stop by Noon's next words. 
 
 "I am the only fellow of our crowd who saw you fling 
 the cop up against the post. The others were too busy at- 
 tending to the 'townies.' If I keep still, you stand a good 
 chance of escaping; but, if I tell, you are a goner. That 
 makes it plain enough that I can wind you up in a moment 
 if I want to." 
 
 Frank would have given something to be able to see the 
 expression on Bart's face when those words were spoken, 
 but he could not do so. Breathlessly he awaited Hodge's 
 r retort. 
 
 "So that is your game, is it ?" grated the voice of Mer- 
 ry's Fardale chum. "Well, I swear, I did not think it of 
 you, and I haven't liked you, either !" 
 
 "You are shooting off too soon," hastily said Noon. "I 
 didn't say I had any game at all, but I wanted you to un- 
 derstand just where you stood. You can do me a favor. 
 Of course, I would not be mean enough to go back on a 
 fellow who did me a favor. Instead of that, I would pro- 
 tect him, if necessary, by swearing one of the 'townies' 
 knocked out the cop." 
 
 "I do not ask that mudh of my friends, much less of
 
 Ned Noon Makes an Offer. 233 
 
 you !" flashed Hodge. "If you want to blow on me, go 
 ahead. All I can say is, that I'll punch the face off you 
 if you do !" 
 
 "You wouldn't get the chance," declared Noon. "You'd 
 be pulled for assaulting an officer in performance of his 
 duty, and it would go hard with you." 
 
 Again Hodge was silent. 
 
 Once more Merriwell was on the point of ascending the 
 steps, when Noon began again : 
 
 "There is no reason why we should be enemies, Hodge. 
 We should be friends " 
 
 "Not by a long distance !" exclaimed Bart, contempt in 
 his voice. "I know you now too well for that, Ned Noon ! 
 We can't be friends." 
 
 "Oh, have it as you like ; but you'll find it for your good 
 not to make an enemy of me." 
 
 Hodge uttered a scornful exclamation. 
 
 "Oh, you needn't turn up your nose !" cried Noon ; "for 
 you'll have to pull it down again. I see I've got to talk 
 straight to you. You make me tired ! For a freshman you 
 put on too many airs. What I want to say is this: If it 
 wasn't for Merriwell's influence, you would not have a 
 ghost of a show to get on the nine. As it is, you do not 
 stand much chance, but " 
 
 "But you are worried," sneered Bart. "That is re- 
 markable." 
 
 "You do not stand much chance," Noon repeated ; "but 
 I shall stand a better show if you retire, for the only man 
 against me who is at all dangerous will be Stone. It is 
 easy enough for you to get out. You can tell Merriwell 
 lhat you have decided not to play, anyhow. That will 
 settle it, if you stick to it. If you do that, I'm ready to 
 swear that I saw one of the 'townies' flop the little cop up 
 against the post"
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 FRANK TALKS PLAINLY. 
 
 Merry listened breathlessly to hear what Hodge would 
 say to that. 
 
 There was a few seconds of silence, during which 
 Frank fancied he could hear Bart breathing heavily. 
 Then Hodge spoke, and the scorn and contempt in his voice 
 was withering. 
 
 "You have proved yourself to be just the cheap cur that 
 I thought you were at first!" he said. "Nobody but a 
 dirty dog would try to get the best of a rival in such a 
 manner !" 
 
 Frank felt like crying out, "Good for you !" but clasped 
 a hand over his mouth and held back the words, while he 
 laughed softly with intense satisfaction. 
 
 Noon uttered a curse. 
 
 "Do you dare to talk to me like that, you miserable 
 freshman !" he grated. "Why, I'll I'll " 
 
 "What will you do?" asked the voice of Hodge, trem- 
 bling with eagerness. "I wish you would do something! 
 I'd like to have you lift your hand to me, Noon ! I'd take 
 delight in soaking you just once, and I do not feel like it 
 as long as you keep your hands down. Oh, do put 'em 
 up ! I don't know but I'll let you hit me once, if you will !" 
 
 Frank laughed out loud, but the excited lads within the 
 doorway did not notice it. 
 
 "That's Hodge the same old Hodge !" thought Merry. 
 "The blood in his body is boiling now. He would eat 
 Noon." 
 
 "Oh, so you're a fighter!" sneered Noon. "Well, I am 
 not going to fight with you. I would not disgrace myself
 
 Frank Talks Plainly. 235 
 
 by fighting with such a fellow as you are. But I want 
 your answer." 
 
 "You shall have it. Here it is !" 
 
 A second later, Noon came tumbling down the steps, as- 
 sisted by Bart Hodge's boot, which struck with violence 
 beneath Ned's coattail, fairly lifting the fellow off his feet. 
 feet. 
 
 "That's my answer!" called Hodge, from the doorway. 
 "Now, go ahead and do your worst, you dirty sneak !" 
 
 Noon picked himself up, cursing bitterly. One of his 
 hands was cut and bleeding, and the left knee of his pants 
 was torn. 
 
 "That settles your hash !" he snarled, shaking his fist at 
 Bart, and failing to observe Merriwell in his rage. "I'll 
 cook you for that !" 
 
 He turned away, and, with a biting laugh, Hodge dis- 
 appeared, ascending the stairs. 
 
 Frank started after Noon, quickly overtaking him. 
 
 "I want to speak with you," he said, quietly. 
 
 Noon started and turned pale. He was tying a handker- 
 chief about his injured hand. 
 
 "What do you want ?" he huskily asked. 
 
 "Hold on a minute, and I will tell you." 
 
 "I don't want to stop here," said Ned, looking around. 
 "I have fallen and torn my trousers, besides hurting my 
 hand here. If you wish to talk to me, you know where 
 to find my room." 
 
 "I am not going up to your room," said Frank, quietly ; 
 "and I am going to talk to you now. What I have to say 
 will not detain you long." 
 
 "All right, go ahead," snapped Ned, scowling. 
 
 "I happened to see you when you took your tumble," 
 said Frank, still speaking smoothly and serenely. "I know 
 all about it, for I overheard by accident some of the con- 
 versation between you and Hodge,"
 
 236 Frank Talks Plainly. 
 
 Noon's face turned paler than it had been, and he bit his 
 lip. Then, with a sudden effort at bravado, he snapped : 
 
 "Well, what of it?" 
 
 "I heard your threat to blow on Hodge." 
 
 "What of that?" 
 
 "You will not blow." 
 
 "By the eternal blazes, I will!" cried Noon, his eyes 
 glaring. "I will get even with that fellow 1" 
 
 "You will do nothing of the sort." 
 
 "Who will prevent me?" 
 
 "I will!" 
 
 The eyes of the two met squarely. For some moments 
 Ned tried to look straight at Frank, but, after a little, his 
 eyes drooped, but he sneered : 
 
 "You? I know you are the chum of that sneaking 
 freshman, but I fail to see how you can keep me from 
 blowing on him." 
 
 "I'll tell you how," came quietly from Frank. "If you 
 blow on him, I am going to blow on you." 
 
 "What do you mean by that?" 
 
 "I mean that I will tell what I know what I over- 
 heard. I will tell how you tried to frighten Hodge into 
 giving up the attempt to make the nine. How you threat- 
 ened to blow on him about the affair with the cop if he 
 didn't withdraw, and how he booted you out of Farnham 
 Hall, as you deserved. How do you like that ?" 
 
 "It won't save Hodge," muttered Noon, sullenly. 
 
 "Perhaps not; but it will cook you. How much show 
 do you think you will stand when it is known that you 
 resorted to such an expedient to get a rival out of the way ? 
 You will be branded as a sneak, and your friends will 
 avoid you." 
 
 Noon was whiter than ever. 
 
 "I don't know," he said*, "perhaps my word is as good 
 as yours."
 
 Frank Talks Plainly. 237 
 
 "Perhaps so. If you think so, go right ahead and see 
 where you land. I'll go you ten even that you strike on 
 the back of your neck. I know you will not make the 
 nine. You will defeat yourself by your own meanness." 
 
 Frank was talking plain. He believed it was necessary 
 to talk thus to a fellow like Ned Noon. He felt that Noon 
 could not be shamed into abandoning his plot against 
 Hodge, but he might be brought to do so through fear. 
 
 Ned ground his teeth, for he began to realize that Mer- 
 riwell was right in saying he could do so much. Frank 
 had influence, and he would be believed. 
 
 "I am giving it to you straight, Noon," said Merry. 
 "Have a little reason. Do you want to knock yourself out 
 just to down a rival ? You say Hodge does not stand much 
 of a show getting on the nine. Then, if this is the case, 
 you are liable to beat him in a fair and square manner. It 
 strikes me that such a thing would be far better revenge 
 than beating him in a sneaking manner. It would be far 
 better to beat him in an honest struggle than it would to 
 have him withdraw and thus give you a better chance of 
 getting on the nine. Isn't that plain? If you won over 
 him fairly, you would have a chance to crow." 
 
 Frank was talking in his smoothest manner, and he was 
 making his words count. 
 
 "Perhaps you are right," admitted Noon, after a time. 
 "I had not thought of it in that light. But, if I agree to 
 let Hodge alone, you must promise not to tell what you 
 overheard. Will you promise?" 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "Then it's a bargain." 
 
 Soon after they separated. 
 
 Frank sought the officer who had been hurt, and found 
 him in the hospital. The little Irishman di9 not recognize 
 'Frank as one of the students.
 
 238 Frank Talks Plainly. 
 
 "Mr. O'Farrel," said Frank, "I wish to speak with you 
 concerning a matter of importance." 
 
 O'Farrel gave Merry a close scrutiny. 
 
 "Pwhat's thot ye want to spake about?" he asked, sus- 
 piciously. "It's yersilf Oi dunno at all, at all." 
 
 "My name is Merriwell," said Frank, "and I am a stu- 
 dent." 
 
 A look of anger came into the face of the injured cop. 
 
 "An' is thot pwhat ye are ?" he cried, glaring at Merry. 
 "May th' ould b'y floy away wi' all studints, yersilf in- 
 cluded ! Divvil a bit av good are they at all, at all. Look 
 at me, mon ! Oi'm here fer doin' av me duty an' attimptin' 
 to arrist wan av thim spalpanes, bad cess to him !" 
 
 "That is what I wished to see you about, sir," said 
 Merry, in a manner that seemed to indicate that he had 
 something he wished to say to O'Farrel in confidence. 
 
 "Well, now, me b'y, Oi dunno pwhat ye want ter see 
 me about thot fer. There's some av thim hillions thot Oi'll 
 make sorry they iver bothered wid Patsy O'Farrel in th' 
 discharge av his duty. Here Oi am in bid, wid me body 
 bruised, an' it's a miracle that none av me bones are 
 broken." 
 
 Frank started slightly. 
 
 "It was fortunate that none of your bones were 
 broken," he said. 
 
 "But me back is spraint so it pains me th' whole toime," 
 said O'Farrel, hastily. 
 
 "I believe it was thought at first that some of your ribs 
 were broken?" 
 
 "Yis, Oi thought so mesilf, but th' docthers say Oi'm 
 not thot bad hurrut." 
 
 Frank drew a breath of relief, feeling thankful, indeed, 
 for this knowledge. 
 
 The little cop began to scowl again, and pucker up his 
 homely face.
 
 Frank Talks Plainly. 239 
 
 "So it's a studint ye are?" he exclaimed. "Well, Oi 
 dunno thot Oi want to talk wid ye at all, at all." 
 
 "But I know something you may desire to know, Mr. 
 O'Farrel." 
 
 "Oi'm not sure av thot." 
 
 "I understand you are anxious to learn just who it was 
 that threw you against the post and injured you?" 
 
 "Pwhat av thot ?" 
 
 "Perhaps I can tell you." 
 
 An eager look came into the face of the man on the cot. 
 
 "Av ye can do thot " he began; then he stopped 
 
 short, showing suspicion. "Pwhy should ye be afther 
 doin' such a thing ?" he asked. "Is it not a studint ye said 
 ye wur?" 
 
 "Yes ; but I might tell you what you want to know, just 
 the same." 
 
 "Divil a bit ye will ! Thim studints shtick by ache ither 
 too well fer anything loike thot. It's foolin' me ye're 
 troying to do." 
 
 "You are hasty in your conclusions, sir," said Frank, 
 calmly. "I know that, as a rule, students stand by each 
 other; but there are exceptions to every rule. Now it is 
 possible that, for some very good reason, I may wish to 
 divulge to you the name of the fellow who laid you up. It 
 is possible that he is an enemy of mine, and I am taking 
 this means to hurt him." 
 
 "Is thot it?" said O'Farrel, slowly, again keenly scru- 
 tinizing Frank's face. "Oi'll confiss Oi didn't take ye fer 
 thot sort av a chap at all, at all." 
 
 "You can't always tell what a man will do by the looks 
 of his face," laughed Frank, flushing. 
 
 "An' ye want to blow on another studint ?" 
 
 "Well, I saw a part of your encounter witK the stu- 
 dents, and I know who it was that did you up. If you are
 
 240 Frank Talks Plainly. 
 
 going to make it hot for him, it is possible that I will tell 
 what I know." 
 
 "Oh, Oi'll make it hot fer th' spalpane ! An Oi'll make 
 it hot fer th' rist av th' gang! They intherfered wid an 
 officer in th' discharge av his duty, an' a sorry piece av 
 business it will be fer thim!" 
 
 "How long will you be laid up, do you know?" 
 
 "A week, th' docthers say." 
 
 "Perhaps two weeks?" 
 
 "Oi can't afford thot. Oi have me family to support." 
 
 "How much is your salary a month ?" 
 
 O'Farrel told Frank. 
 
 "And you may lose half a month's wages. That is 
 tough." 
 
 "Sure an' it is !" 
 
 "Now, Mr. O'Farrel," said Merry, in his most suave 
 manner, "there is such a thing as a misfortune that is a 
 blessing in disguise. You have no accident policy, and you 
 need money. How would you feel if you were to receive 
 during the time that you are idle a sum every week double 
 your regular salary, besides having all your bills paid ?"
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 FRANK AND THE POLICEMAN. 
 
 O'Farrel gasped. 
 
 "Here! here! here!" he cried; "don't be afther tryin* 
 any av yer funny thricks on me ! Oi won't shtand fer it !" 
 
 "There is nothing funny about this ; it is sober, serious 
 business. Although you have not been long on the force, 
 Mr. O'Farrel, you have distinguished yourself by your 
 courtly bearing, your utter fearlessness and your polite- 
 ness to the ladies. You have been a bright and shining star 
 on the New Haven force, shedding brilliant effulgence 
 around you, so that, although in your modesty you were 
 not aware of it, you were regarded with admiration and 
 esteem by a large number of citizens. Whenever you were 
 on night duty, the belated citizen who passed over your 
 beat felt that he was safe, for he knew you were a terror 
 to footpads. In the daytime the ladies went blocks out of 
 their way in order to have you escort them across the 
 street. The moment it was known that you had been in- 
 jured, there was general sorrow and indignation. Then it 
 was that your friends showed themselves, and they have 
 raised a fund to be paid you as long as you shall be in- 
 capacitated for work." 
 
 O'Farrel nearly lost his breath. 
 
 "In inca Pwhat's thot mane?" he gurgled. 
 
 "It means as long as you are unable to perform your 
 duties." 
 
 "Is thot it? Oi didn't know but it wur th' name av 
 some new disease. You don't be afther tellin' me thot 
 th' citizens av New Haven are goin' to pay me fer bein* 
 hurted?"
 
 242 Frank and the Policeman. 
 
 "Exactly that." 
 
 "Oi'll belave it whin Oi receive th' money." 
 
 "Here is your first week's payment," said Frank, pro- 
 'ducing a roll of bright new bills and dangling them be- 
 fore the officer's eyes. 
 
 "Let me fale 'em," said O'Farrel, reaching out. 
 
 "Wait a bit," said Frank, putting the money behind his 
 back. "There is a condition. You can do a certain person 
 a favor." 
 
 "Oi thought there wur something behind all thot. 
 [Pwhat shall Oi do?" 
 
 "Keep your mouth shut." 
 
 "Kape me mouth shut ? How ?" 
 
 "About the manner in which you were hurt. Tumble? 
 Catch on?" 
 
 O'Farrel looked doubtful. 
 
 "Oi dunno," he confessed. "Will ye be afther makin* 
 it a bit plainer?" 
 
 "That's easy. Certain persons in New Haven friends 
 to you are interested in the chaps who were concerned 
 in this unfortunate affair. They are also interested in 
 you. They do not wish you to bring harm to the stu- 
 dents, and they do not wish you to be at any loss on ac- 
 count of that unfortunate encounter." 
 
 The injured man looked still more bewildered. 
 
 "It's big worruds ye are afther usin' now," he said, 
 hazily. "Oi'm worse mixed thin Oi wur before." 
 
 "I am trying to make it plain that it is for your interest 
 not to push this matter. Doctor says you are not much 
 hurt. It was a boy who hurt you. You are an officer, and 
 you do not want it known that a boy without a whisker on 
 his face did you up. Some folks might think you were no 
 good. The ladies who have walked blocks out of their 
 way to have you assist them across the street would turn 
 their backs on you. The citizens who have felt perfectly
 
 Frank and the Policeman. 243 
 
 safe while passing along your beat at night would feel safe 
 no longer. Burglars and footpads who have trembled at 
 the mention of your name would sneer at you. You would 
 fall into deep disgrace. It is more than likely that you 
 would be fired from the force as inefficient." 
 1 O'Farrel blinked and gasped again. 
 
 "Begobs ! Oi niver thought av thot," he muttered. 
 
 "You can see it plainly enough now. You must state 
 that the fellow who slammed you against the post was a 
 giant six feet four. Say he caught you from behind. 
 Say another fellow hit you with a baseball bat. Say you 
 are satisfied you were mistaken in thinking them students. 
 Say they must have been hoodlums of the town." 
 
 "An' pwhat do Oi get f er thot ?" 
 
 "This !" 
 
 Again Frank flourished the money before Patsy O'Far- 
 rel's greedy eyes. 
 
 "You get this now," declared Frank. "You get as much 
 more next week. You get another lot the next week, if the 
 doctor says you are not fit to go back to duty." 
 
 "Begorra ! it's a timptation." 
 
 "No temptation; an act of friendship on the part of 
 your friends. And your friends are working for your 
 ,good." 
 
 'Twhat av they bring th' spalpane that did it before 
 me?" 
 
 "You must fail to recognize him. That is easy. You 
 might say you never saw him before. You might call at- 
 tention to the fact that you are an officer who could handle 
 such a boy with one hand. You might become indignant 
 to think that anybody fancied such a boy could do you 
 up." 
 
 "It's a good schame; but Oi'm not sure this ain't a 
 thrap." 
 
 Frank saw that he must allay O'Farrel's suspicions, and
 
 244 Frank and the Policeman. 
 
 he talked his prettiest. When he made the effort, Frank 
 could be extremely suave and persuasive. Never in his 
 life was he more persuasive than just at that time. Occa- 
 sionally he would flourish the bright, new bills before 
 O'Farrel's eyes. 
 
 At last the officer succumbed. He took the money, and 
 then Frank snapped out a little book, saying: 
 
 "Sign here, Mr. O'Farrel." 
 
 "Soign ! Soign pwhat ?" 
 
 "Your name." - 
 
 "Th' divvil Oi will! Ye don't catch me thot way! 
 iWhoy should Oi sign me name, Oi dunno ?" 
 
 "Receipt. That's all. Reads like this: 'Received of 
 Frank Merriwell the sum of twenty-five dollars, in con- 
 sideration of which I agree to his proposal/ That's 
 simple." 
 
 "It looks loike a thrap." 
 
 "No trap." 
 
 "Phwat av ye wur to show thot recate against me ?" 
 
 "You could swear that the proposal was any old thing. 
 If I swore it was something else, your word is as good as 
 mine. As you are an officer, it should be a little better. 
 This is a mere formality a matter of business. I always 
 take a receipt when I pay out money." 
 
 "It's an Oirishman ye ought to be, me b'y," declared 
 O'Farrel, admiringly. "It's a slick tongue ye have in th' 
 head av yez." 
 
 Then he signed the receipt, and Frank left the hospital, 
 feeling well satisfied with the result of his visit. 
 
 "I believe Hodge is safe now," he thought. 
 
 He was right. Somebody "blowed" on Hodge, and 
 Bart was taken before O'Farrel. The injured policeman 
 looked him over, and then positively stated that Hodge was 
 not the one who slammed him against the post. He added 
 that he did not remember Bart at all.
 
 Frank and the Policeman. 245 
 
 Hodge was released. 
 
 Ned Noon swore when he learned of this. 
 
 "Beastly luck !" he grated. "Thought I had fixed it so 
 Pledge would get snapped. That cop must be a fool !" 
 
 Others were taken before O'Farrel, Browning among 
 them, but he failed to say that he recognized one of them. 
 
 The town lads who had been engaged in the affair kept 
 still, fearing they would get into trouble if they came for- 
 ward and told what they knew. 
 
 All were astonished when O'Farrel failed to recognize 
 Hodge, for it was not known that Bart had been saved by 
 the hand of a friend. 
 
 It was a great relief for Hodge, who had feared the out- 
 come of his passionate act. 
 
 As often as possible the regular nine and the "scrub" 
 got out for practice. 
 
 Hodge had not been given a trial on the regulars, for all 
 of his good work on the scrub team. 
 
 "We'll fix that, old man," said Frank Merriwell. "Hag- 
 gerty and Walbert are going to be tried in the box next 
 time, while I am to pitch against the regulars. Haggerty, 
 you know, is the little chap who came here from Williams. 
 He pitched against Yale year before last, and held Old 
 Eli down to seven singles. Without doubt he is a good 
 man. Walbert is an Andover man, who may show up well, 
 although he is rather new." 
 
 "How are you going to fix the regulars?" asked Bart, 
 eagerly. 
 
 "I am going to pick the scrub to suit myself." 
 
 "How will you make up the team ?" 
 
 ''You and I will make the battery, and I shall put 
 Browning on first." 
 
 "What?" shouted Bart, astonished. "You can't mean 
 it?" 
 
 "Why not?"
 
 246 Frank and the Policeman. 
 
 "Why, he is too lazy to draw his breath, to say nothing 
 of playing ball." 
 
 "That's all right. He will play for me." 
 
 "And he will be worse than a wooden man on first bag.'* 
 
 "Not on your life ! I know Browning. He is all right." 
 
 "Can't see how you can say that, Frank. His laziness is 
 something awful. He won't be able to stir out of his 
 tracks to stop a hit or a wild throw." 
 
 "Don't believe yourself, my boy. You seem to have 
 forgotten that he covered first for us when we played 
 against Fort Worth." 
 
 "No, I have not forgotten. But he was in different 
 condition then. He had worked himself down during the 
 trip across the continent. There was some life in him 
 then, but now " 
 
 "You shall see there is some life in him now. I can 
 wake him up, if anybody can, and I'll do it. He will do 
 anything for me." 
 
 "Perhaps he might if he thought it of any importance, 
 but he will not think so about a game against the regulars. 
 He'll say it's simply to give the regulars practice, and he 
 won't stir up." 
 
 "You'll see what he will do after I talk to him. He will 
 surprise you, and you won't be the only one." 
 
 "All right; have your own way. I know you will, no 
 matter what I say. Who are the others ?" 
 
 "Diamond on second." 
 
 "He's all right." 
 
 "Rattleton on third." 
 
 "He's fair, but Flobert is a better man." 
 
 "I'd rather have Rattleton, for he is another fellow who 
 will break his neck, if necessary, for me. I can get out of 
 him all there is in him, and Flobert sulks sometimes." 
 
 "All right. Suit yourself. Who will play short ?"
 
 Frank and the Policeman. 247 
 
 "Haven't decided on that position yet. There are two 
 or three to choose from." 
 
 "Take Fales." 
 
 "WhatFales?" 
 
 "Freshman. Good player. I recommend him." 
 
 "Well, we'll take Fales if you say so." 
 
 "Now, how have you fixed the outfield. Who is in 
 right?" 
 
 "Tom Thornton." 
 
 "Goodman?" 
 
 "Pretty good. I've taken him for his batting. If he 
 could play as well all round as he can bat, he'd be on the 
 regulars." 
 
 "Middle?" 
 
 "Jones." 
 
 "What, the fellow you call Dismal?" 
 
 "Same." 
 
 "Why, he's too sad and slow to play ball !" 
 
 "Wait till you have seen him. He can wake up, and he'll 
 throw almost as well as Ephraim Gallup. If he gets a 
 good chance, he'll surprise somebody." 
 
 "Who's the left fielder?" 
 
 "Joe Gamp." 
 
 Hodge gasped. 
 
 "That beats all !" he cried. "Why, that fellow is a regu- 
 lar blunder-heels. He can't play marbles !" 
 
 "Wait and see. He'll be another surprise, or I'm mis- 
 taken. He is a slugger with a stick, and no mistake. Tried 
 to fool him one day, and he seemed able to rap out any- 
 thing I gave him. He dug 'em out of the dirt with his bat, 
 took 'em two feet off from the base, and reached up into 
 the air and drove 'em out. The pitcher who tries to fool 
 him will drop dead before the game is over." 
 
 "Well," said Bart, slowly, "you have seemed to be a 
 pretty good judge of ball players, old man, but I think you
 
 248 Frank and the Policeman. 
 
 are away off this time. You have named the most con- 
 founded aggregation ever seen around here." 
 
 "The other side will be confounded," smiled Frank. 
 "Wait and see, old man. All I ask of you is to do your 
 prettiest." 
 
 "You may be sure I will."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 OUT OF PRACTICE. 
 
 A large crowd turned out to witness the six-inning 
 game between the 'varsity nine and Frank Merriwell's 
 "scrub" team. Yale was anxious about her ball team, for 
 it was not showing up as well as it should, while Harvard 
 and Princeton were said to be in prime condition. 
 
 Despite his popularity, Frank had enemies in college, 
 and those enemies were circulating the report that his arm 
 was "broken," that he had a "dead wing," and that his day 
 as a pitcher was past. They declared Yale was leaning on 
 a broken reed when it depended on Merriwell to win 
 games. 
 
 There were stories about the new pitchers to be brought 
 out by Harvard and Princeton. They were feared not a 
 little. 
 
 All acknowledged that Yale was in serious need of a 
 first-class backstop. Stone or Noon might develop all 
 right, but the uncertainty about them was wearing. Hodge, 
 Merriwell's candidate for the position, was sneered at. 
 
 When it was known that Merriwell would get up a 
 "scrub" team and play the regulars, Frank's enemies has- 
 tened to say that the time had come when it would be seen 
 how easy he could be batted. They knew that, as a rule, 
 no pitcher who feels secure of his position on the regulars 
 will take the chance of doing himself injury by pitching 
 his level best for a "scrub" team. Generally, he considers 
 it practice enough for the regulars if he pitches fairly well 
 and lets it go at that. Frank's enemies thought that was 
 what he would do. They knew little of his plan to make 
 the regulars hustle to win the game.
 
 250 Out of Practice. 
 
 There was much speculation as to the exact make-up 
 of the "scrub." 
 
 "They say Diamond and Rattleton will play," said 
 Bink Stubbs, speaking to Sydney Gooch. "They are two 
 of Merriwell's particular cronies, you know, but neither 
 one of them can play fast ball." 
 i "What do you care ?" laughed Gooch. 
 
 "Oh, it'll be nuts for me. I hope the boys will hammer 
 Merriwell all over the lot." 
 
 When the "scrub" appeared there were exclamations 
 of astonishment. 
 
 "Whiskers !" cried one. "Is this to be a comedy game ? 
 There's Bruce Browning. He'll go to sleep running 
 bases." 
 
 "Doing what ?" cried another. "You don't suppose he'll 
 run, do you? He wouldn't run for a doctor if a rattle- 
 snake bit him !" 
 
 "Look!" shouted a third. "There's Dismal Jones! 
 Mommer ! But this will be a peach of a game !" 
 
 "And there's Joe Gamp!" gasped a fourth. "When 
 did he ever play ball ? Oh, my ! my ! my !" 
 
 "They've got him to coach!" laughed the first speaker. 
 
 Phil Hardy, captain of the regulars, looked Merriwell's 
 nine over quizzically. 
 
 "Look here, old man," he grinned, drawing Frank aside, 
 "what sort of a job is this?" 
 
 "What?" asked Merry, blankly. 
 
 "We are out here for practice, and we want to play 
 against a team that will give us some." 
 
 "Don't let that worry you. You are going to get all the 
 practice you want, captain." 
 
 "But not with that turnout?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Rats!" 
 
 "iYou'll see."
 
 Out of Practice. 251 
 
 "What's the use to fool ! Why don't you take the regu- 
 lar 'scrub'?" 
 
 "Because I have a better nine." 
 
 Phil saw, with no little surprise, that Frank seemed to 
 mean it. 
 
 "All right," he said ; "but we are not going to play six 
 innings if this gets to be too much of a farce." 
 
 "You may stop any time you like after the third in- 
 ning," smiled Frank. 
 
 "I know you are going to pitch against us," said Phil; 
 "but I don't suppose you fancy you can play the whole 
 game ?" 
 
 "Not at all. You will find there are others." 
 
 "Why don't you take somebody in the place of Brown- 
 ing? He will drop dead getting after a ball." 
 
 "Don't worry about Browning. He's all right." 
 
 "I know he was a good man once, but he has had his 
 day." 
 
 Frank smiled confidently. 
 
 There was a little preliminary practice, as if it was to 
 be a regular match game. Frank got off his sweater and 
 warmed up in earnest, just the same as he would have 
 done had he been preparing to pitch against Harvard. 
 
 The "scrub" took the field first. As they went out scores 
 of students shouted at them sportively, and they were the 
 butt of ridicule. 
 
 "Where did you find 'em, Merriwell?" shouted a voice. 
 "They are a lot of flubs !" 
 
 Frank laughed easily. 
 
 "Wait a little," he advised, "and these flubs will give 
 you apoplexy." 
 
 He looked his men over to see that they were in proper 
 positions, and then, as Cal Jeffers, Yale's heavy-hitting 
 center fielder, came up to the plate, he motioned for Gamp 
 to move a little farther back.
 
 252 Out of Practice. 
 
 This caused some laughter, and a voice cried : 
 
 "What do you want to put him back for, Merriwell? 
 He couldn't catch anything, anyway." 
 
 "Oh, he might by accident," returned Frank, who 
 seemed ready to talk to anybody. "I have known more 
 surprising things than that to happen." 
 
 Stubbs nudged Sydney Gooch. 
 
 "He knows he's going to be hammered," said Stubbs. 
 "See him get the fielders back." 
 
 "I hope they will hit every one he throws !" said Gooch, 
 maliciously, as he fingered his throat, thinking how Mer- 
 riwell's fingers had felt there once on a time. 
 
 Browning had slouched down to first as if going to his 
 own funeral. There was a sad and hopeless look on his 
 face, that made him look even more dismal than Jones. 
 
 Frank turned to look at him, and then burst out laugh- 
 ing heartily. 
 
 "Come, come, Bruce!" he cried. "It isn't quite as bad 
 as that. Wake up, now, for I am going to get into gear 
 and shoot 'em over." 
 
 Browning said nothing, but his face did not grow a 
 yvhit less dejected. 
 
 JefTers poised his bat, and Merriwell faced him. Then 
 the first ball was sent spinning toward the backstop. 
 
 Jeffers knew it was a fine thing to hit the first ball 
 pitched, if possible, as it made a good showing for the 
 batter. He went at this one. 
 
 He hit it! 
 
 Crack ! 
 
 Away the ball sailed, away over the head of the short- 
 stop, away toward left field. 
 
 "I knew he would do it!" cried Bink Stubbs, in de- 
 light. "It is a homer ! Oh, that will nearly break Merri- 
 jweli's heart!" 
 
 Down toward first Jeffers scooted.
 
 Out of Practice. 253 
 
 It was seen immediately that, for all that Merriwell had 
 sent Gamp back, the ball was going far beyond the po- 
 sition held by the left fielder. 
 
 Gamp turned and ran for it, but the effort seemed a 
 waste of energy. The spectators laughed to see the long 
 legs of the country boy working furiously as he raced out 
 after the ball. 
 
 "If he gets those feet going much faster, he won't be 
 able to stop for a week," shouted somebody. 
 
 "What's he think he's going to do?" laughingly ques- 
 tioned another. 
 
 "He's playing chase with himself!" shouted Sydney 
 Gooch. 
 
 Jeffers reached first, and tore down toward second. 
 Surely it was a home run. What a blow for Merriwell. 
 
 The ball was dropping now. Gamp was near it, but he 
 could not touch it. He was looking up, trying to locate 
 it. He looked over his shoulder and saw the ball. 
 
 Then he made a last spurt that astonished everybody. 
 Still the ball was passing far over his head. 
 
 Safe? 
 
 Not quite! 
 
 Gamp was tall, and he was running swiftly. With a 
 mighty leap, he went into the air after the ball, still going 
 in the same direction. He reached far up with both hands 
 and 
 
 More than a hundred spectators caught their breath. 
 Some rubbed their eyes in amazement. Some muttered ex- 
 clamations of astonishment. 
 
 The ball had struck in Joe Gamp's hands ! 
 
 "He's got it !" 
 
 "He's caught it !" 
 
 "Hooray! hooray!" 
 
 A few cheered, but the most of those who witnessed the 
 phenomenal catch were dumb with amazement.
 
 254 Out of Practice. 
 
 For Gamp held the ball, having robbed Jeffers of one 
 of the prettiest hits ever seen on that ground. 
 
 Frank Merriwell laughed. 
 
 "Well, that's pretty good for a lumber-heels," he said, 
 with satisfaction; "but I expected something of the kind 
 from him." 
 
 Cal Jeffers was disgusted when the coacher at third 
 stopped him. He could not believe he was out. 
 
 "What's the matter with you?" he angrily cried. "It's 
 a home run !" 
 
 "Ought to have been," said the coach ; "but that long- 
 legged farmer caught it. See, he's just throwing it in." 
 
 "He must have picked it up," said Jeffers. 
 
 "He did," nodded the coach; "picked it up in the air. 
 Finest catch I ever saw." 
 
 "What he made the finest catch you ever saw ? Come 
 off! This is a jolly !" 
 
 But Jeffers found it was no jolly, for the umpire de- 
 clared he was out, and he walked in to the bench, railing 
 at the luck. 
 
 Bink Stubbs was gasping for breath. It was some time 
 before he could say a word, and then he faintly cried: 
 
 "Take me home to mommer ! It always makes me sick 
 to witness a frightful accident like that." 
 
 "Of course it was an accident," said Capt. Hardy, who 
 was not playing, although on hand in a suit. 
 
 "Of course nothing of the sort," laughed Frank Mer- 
 riwell. "Might just as well say it was an accident that 
 Jeffers hit the ball, and I do not claim that." 
 
 "We know that wasn't an accident," cried Sydney 
 Gooch, getting behind a knot of students as he shouted the 
 words. 
 
 "That's right," nodded Bink Stubbs, laughing as if it 
 was a joke; "that wasn't an accident. Merry is easy. 
 They'll hammer him out of the box."
 
 Out of Practice. 255 
 
 He said this openly, but Frank knew him well enough 
 to understand that it was intended for a sneer. Bink 
 Stubbs seldom joked. 
 
 Frank paid not the least attention to the cries of his 
 enemies, but caught the ball, which was flung in to him, 
 and took his position in the box.
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 IN THE GAME. 
 
 The regulars had been so dazed by Gamp's marvelous 
 catch that not a man had moved toward the plate, so the 
 umpire was forced to call: 
 
 "Batter up!" 
 
 Hal Faunce was the next man on the list. He left the 
 bench and picked out a bat. 
 
 "I'm going to do the same trick Jeffers did, just to see 
 if that farmer out there in left garden can repeat his trick," 
 declared Faunce. "Look out for me, Merriwell." 
 
 "That's right," cried a voice from the crowd of specta- 
 tors; "line her out, Fauncie. Jeffers showed how easy 
 Merriwell is to-day. Anybody can hit him." 
 
 Frank continued to smile, but, mentally, he exclaimed: 
 
 "Think so, my fine fellow, if you like ! I'll have to see 
 what I can do. I know Hal Faunce's weakness, and I'm 
 going to lay for him." 
 
 He sent in a "coaxer" to start with, but Faunce did not 
 try to repeat Jeffers' trick by lining out the first one 
 pitched, and the umpire called a ball. 
 
 The next one was high, and the umpire called another 
 ball. 
 
 "Merry doesn't dare to let him hit it," shouted some- 
 body. 
 
 Frank smiled, motioning for Hodge to come under 
 the bat. 
 
 Bart walked down and put on a mask. He had not 
 smiled during all the excitement. His face was unmoved, 
 and he made a strong contrast to Frank Merriwell, who 
 looked as pleasant as if he were witnessing a free show.
 
 In the Game. 257 
 
 Taking his place close under the bat, Bart signaled for 
 an out drop. 
 
 Merry shook his head, immediately assuming a position 
 which Hodge understood to mean that he would deliver a 
 high inshoot. 
 
 In order to make the others believe he was doing all 
 the signaling, Bart made a fake signal, which did not mean 
 anything at all. 
 
 With his greatest speed Frank sent a ball whistling 
 through the air. To Faunce it looked like a high straight 
 one, and he could "feast on that kind." 
 
 He struck with all his strength, but the only resistance 
 met by his bat was that of the air, and it was such a sur- 
 prise that Faunce was thrown off his feet. 
 
 Plunk ! the ball was held in Bart Hodge's glove. 
 
 "One strike," called the umpire. 
 
 "Here ! here ! here !" laughed Frank. "Don't be trying- 
 to throw yourself at the ball, Fauncie. That won't do. Hit 
 it with the bat." 
 
 Faunce picked himself up, looking red and disgusted. 
 
 "Oh, I'll hit it next time !" he savagely declared. "I'll 
 knock the peeling off it !" 
 
 "That's right," nodded Frank. "Knock the stitches out 
 of it if you can. I don't believe you can." 
 
 Some one in the crowd groaned derisively. 
 
 "Hello!" said Merry, with perfect good nature. "Your 
 friends are groaning for you now, Hal. They know you 
 have no show to get a hit. Take my advice and wait for 
 two more balls. Perhaps I can't get 'em over, and you will 
 get a life on four." 
 
 "Oh, you go to Chicago !" flung back Faunce, nettled. 
 "I'm going to hit her next time, and you want to get off 
 the earth if it comes your way." 
 
 "All right, let her go." 
 
 Bart was ready, and Merry sent another ball flying ovetr
 
 258 Jn the Game. 
 
 the plate. It was another high inshoot, and Faunce 
 swung again, missing it as cleanly as before, and nearly 
 throwing himself down a second time. 
 
 "Two strikes," called the umpire. 
 
 Frank laughed heartily, but Hodge was as mirthless 
 and stern as before. 
 
 "What is he doing with you, Faunce?" cried Danny 
 Griswold, from the seats. "He seems to be making a 
 monkey of you." 
 
 "I'd make a monkey of you if I had you by the neck, 
 you little runt!" muttered the batter, under his breath. 
 
 Frank saw that Faunce was so angry that he trembled, 
 and he felt that it would be easy to strike the fellow out. 
 
 He was right, for he sent in a third high inshoot, and 
 the batter went after it just as hotly as he had gone after 
 the others, missed it, and was out. 
 
 "Sorry for you, old man," said Frank, quietly. "Don't 
 believe I can work that on you again." 
 
 "I know you can't !" snapped Faunce, as he walked to the 
 bench. 
 
 "Costigan, come up and take your medicine," laughed 
 the scorer. 
 
 Joe Costigan, the left fielder, who had played third the 
 season before, advanced to the plate. He was a stocky 
 fellow, a reliable man, and a good hitter. It was said that 
 he had no weak points at the bat. 
 
 Merry gave him a high swift one, and Costigan let it 
 pass for a ball. Then Frank made the same motion, but 
 sent in a slop drop. Costigan tried to get under it, struck 
 too quick, and missed it. 
 
 "One and one," called Capt. Hardy. "Merry is easy 
 fruit for you, Joe." 
 
 "I am not so sure of that," muttered Costigan. "I have 
 seen him fool too many good men to think him easy." 
 
 Frank feared Costigan more than he had Faunce, al-
 
 In the Game. 259 
 
 though the latter was the more brilliant hitter. Costigan 
 was not puffed up with too much confidence and he was as 
 steady as a mill. 
 
 "I'd give something to strike him out," thought Merri- 
 well. 
 
 He tried to "tease" the batter, but Costigan would not 
 bite, and two more balls were called. 
 
 "Now you have him in a hole, old man," cried Phil 
 Hardy. "He's forced to put it over." 
 
 Frank thought swftly just then. Which had he better 
 do, put it over or try a "fooler ?" That was a question of 
 some moment just then. He knew well enough that Costi- 
 gan was the kind of fellow who would take four, instead 
 of breaking his back for a hit, and laugh as he trotted 
 down to first. 
 
 But there was something else to be considered. Costigan 
 had seen considerable of Merriwell's pitching, and he 
 knew Frank was at his best when forced to send them over. 
 Merry had great control, and no one was better aware of it 
 than Joe Costigan. Frank decided that Costigan would 
 think that the next one was sure to be straight over and 
 swift. 
 
 "He will try to line it out if it looks good," decided 
 Frank. 
 
 Then he made a delivery that seemed to put all the 
 speed possible into the ball, which started as if to go 
 straight over the plate. 
 
 Frank had made no mistake in his reasoning. Costigan 
 bit, but, as it was an outcurve, he did not touch the ball. 
 
 "Two strikes !" 
 
 Bart tossed the ball back to Frank. 
 
 Costigan looked disgusted, and Capt. Hardy cried: 
 
 "It would have been a ball if you had waited." 
 
 No one knew that better than Costigan himself. 
 
 Without delay Frank sent in another. This time it was
 
 260 In the Game. 
 
 an outcurve, but it was started straight at the batter. 
 Costigan was a trifle mixed and he started back. Too late 
 he saw what kind of a ball it was, and weakly swung his 
 bat at it. 
 
 He missed. 
 
 "Three strikes man is out," called the umpire. 
 
 Hodge flung down his mask and sent the ball rolling 
 down toward the pitcher's box, while Merriwell and his 
 "scrub" team came in from the field. 
 
 "Who said they would bat me out of the box?" laughed 
 Merry. 
 
 "Wait," grinned Bink Stubbs, trying to appear pleasant 
 and jovial. "The game has just begun." 
 
 "That was crafty work, Merriwell," complimented 
 Capt. Hardy. "I will give you the credit of that." 
 
 "Thank you," said Frank, pleasantly. "Jeffers gave me 
 a shock, and that made me brace up." 
 
 "That farmer out there on the left lawn gave all of us 
 a shock," said Hardy. "How did he catch that ball ?" 
 
 "With his hands," smiled Frank. 
 
 "I didn't think he caught it with his feet, but there was 
 a time that it seemed as if he had just as good show to 
 catch it with his feet as with his hands. How did you 
 know he could play ball ?" 
 
 "Oh, I've talked with him considerable, and I discov- 
 ered that he knew all the fine points of the game. Then he 
 told me that he used to play on a strong country team up 
 in New Hampshire sort of a league team." 
 
 "Huah!" grunted Hardy. "That would bar him from 
 playing with Yale, even if he should prove fast enough. 
 Without doubt he has taken pay for playing." 
 
 "I don't know about that." 
 
 "It would make him a professional, if he had. Say, how 
 about that Fort Worth business? I understand you and
 
 In the Game. 261 
 
 Hodge played with the team down there. Were you paid 
 for it?" 
 
 "Not a cent." 
 
 Hardy looked relieved. 
 
 "I was afraid you had taken pay," he said. "If you 
 had been that foolish, we would be in a scrape, for you 
 might be barred as an amateur, you know." 
 
 "And that would give some of my very particular friends 
 great satisfaction," smiled Frank. "But you need not let 
 that worry you at all. We played with Fort Worth for 
 the sport of it, and did not receive a cent for doing so." 
 
 By this time the regulars were in the field. Ned Noon 
 was behind the home plate, with little Haggerty, the Wil- 
 liams man, in the box. 
 
 Jones was the first batter up for Merriwell's side. He 
 looked sad and heartless as he advanced to the plate. 
 
 Haggerty flung his cap on the ground by his side. He 
 stood with his little legs spread, chewing gum rapidly and 
 grinning. He was a pleasant little fellow. 
 
 Ned Noon came up under the bat at the very start. It 
 was plain he was going to show what he could do. 
 
 Haggerty sent in a pretty one, and Jones stared in sur- 
 prise when the umpire called a strike. 
 
 "Too bad !" he sadly muttered, with a shake of his head. 
 "Didn't know it was going over." 
 
 Some of the spectators laughed at him. 
 
 "Look at the ball, Dismal," cried one, "and you will 
 make it weep." 
 
 Haggerty grinned and poised himself again. He made 
 a round arm flourish, and sent in an outcurve. 
 
 Jones struck, but he could not reach the ball by a foot. 
 
 "Two strikes !" 
 
 The spectators began to laugh. 
 
 "Wait," smiled Frank. "He may hit it all right."
 
 262 In the Game. 
 
 But Dismal was a trifle rattled, and he missed the third 
 one, striking out. 
 
 "Oh, say, Merrry!" exclaimed Capt. Hardy, who was 
 sitting on the bench at Frank's side; "this is going to be 
 too much of a farce." 
 
 "Oh, I don't know !" was Frank's careless retort. "You 
 can't tell about that yet. You fellows may hold us fairly 
 good play, so that there will be some interest in the game. 
 Don't get discouraged as soon as this." 
 
 "Come off! You know what I mean. That gang of 
 yours hasn't a show against us." 
 
 "Really! And you did not score the first time at bat! 
 Your crust surprises me, old man." 
 
 "We didn't score because that jay from New Hampshire 
 caught a ball by accident, and you struck out the next two 
 men. You can't keep that up." 
 
 "I don't know about that, either." 
 
 "Say, you make me tired !" came warmly from the cap- 
 tain's lips, for he was aroused. "If you keep on, I'll go in 
 and take a hand myself." 
 
 "Do it ! It will be jolly sport to strike you out, captain." 
 
 "Don't get the swelled head, Merriwell ! Don't think you 
 can strike everybody out! That is what spoils a good 
 pitcher." 
 
 "You are right, Hardy," nodded Frank, seriously. "The 
 pitcher who is forever trying to strike out every batter who 
 faces him soon kills himself. It is the man who holds them 
 down to small hits who makes the success." 
 
 Hardy nodded, cooling down somewhat. 
 
 "That is sensible talk," he said. "I was afraid you had 
 a bug in your nut. A fellow with a bug is N. G." 
 
 Tom Thornton followed Jones. One strike was called 
 on him, and then he cracked out a hot one, which the short- 
 stop fumbleri long enough to let the batter reach first
 
 In the Game. 263 
 
 Then, to the surprise of all, Joe Gamp took his place on 
 the coaching line near first. 
 
 "I swear if he isn't going to coach!" cried a voice. 
 "Well, this will be a riot !" 
 
 "A-haw! a-haw! a-haw!" roared Gamp, slapping his 
 thigh. ''If this ain't the gug-gug-gug-greatest pup-pup- 
 pup-pup-pup-picnic I ever struck ! Why, this is more fun 
 than chasin' a yallar cuc-cuc-caow all over a forty-acre pas- 
 ture lot ! A-haw ! a-haw ! a-haw !" 
 
 That laugh was infectious, others caught it, and the 
 crowd roared. 
 
 "Fun !" shouted Harry Rattleton, from a position on the 
 coach line over by third. "It's more fun than bodging 
 dullets I mean dodging bullets." 
 
 Hodge was the third man to come to the bat. 
 
 Noon believed he knew Bart's weakness, and he mo- 
 tioned for a slow drop. 
 
 Haggerty faced the batter. 
 
 "Nun-nun-nun-now you're off!" shouted Gamp to the 
 runner. "Pup-pup-pup-play away off. He can't cuc-cuc- 
 catch you in a year! Oh, what a good time! A-haw! 
 a-haw! a-haw!" 
 
 Haggerty snapped the ball over to first, but Thornton 
 got back all right, and Joe Gamp roared again. 
 
 "It is a farce, isn't it ?" smiled Frank, speaking in Capt. 
 Hardy's ear. "My team seems to be having fun with 
 yours, old man." 
 
 "Oh, wait some," advised Hardy. "You will laugh out 
 of the other side of your mouth in a minute." 
 
 "Just keep that little cuss tut-tut-tut-throwing, Tom," 
 said Gamp. "Pup-pup-pretty soon he'll get excited and 
 tut-tut-tut-throw it a mile." 
 
 But Haggerty did not make another attempt to catch' 
 the runner. He suddenly sent in a straight one for Bart, 
 making it high.
 
 264 In the Game. 
 
 Bart struck at it and missed. 
 
 Frank was surprised, for Hodge, as a rule, could hit 
 high ones. 
 
 "Oh, he is easy," cried Ned Noon, derisively. "We'll 
 have him going after sky-scrapers in a minute." 
 
 "So that is the man you have been recommending, 
 Merriwell," said Capt. Hardy. "And he wastes his 
 ' strength on a ball like that. Any boy would have known 
 that was a rod too high." 
 
 "Wait a little yet," advised Frank. "He may be a trifle 
 anxious just now, for he knows everybody is watching 
 him. I'll wager my life that he shows up all right di- 
 rectly." 
 
 "He hasn't done anything in the game yet." 
 
 "He hasn't been given a chance, has he?" 
 
 "Well, not much of a chance," Hardy was forced to 
 confess. 
 
 Down by first Joe Gamp was stammering and haw-haw- 
 ing, and it was jjlain that his talk was getting Haggerty a 
 little nervous. The grin had vanished from the face of the 
 pitcher, and his jaws were working convulsively over the 
 chew of .gum. He tried Hodge on a low drop, but Bart let 
 it pass. Then he sent in a rise, and Hodge went for it. 
 
 To the surprise of both Haggerty and Noon, Hodge 
 hit the ball. It was a frightful crack, and away flew the 
 sphere toward left field. 
 
 "Run !" roared the coachers, and Hodge raced down to 
 first, while Thornton went flying toward second.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 MERRIWELL'S NINE LEADS. 
 
 "Costigan will get it !" cried several voices, as the stocky 
 left fielder raced back after the ball. 
 
 "He can't reach it!" cried others. 
 
 "Gamp ought to be out there now," shouted somebody. 
 
 The coachers yelled and motioned for the runners to 
 keep right on, for it was plain that the ball was going over 
 Costigan's head. 
 
 Thornton dashed over second and made for third. He 
 was running fast, but Hodge seemed to fly. 
 
 "Watch Hodge cover ground," called Frank in Capt. 
 Hardy's ear. "How is that for running?" 
 
 Hardy did not say a word, but he was astonished, for 
 he did not dream Hodge could run so fast. Frank Merri- 
 well was a swift man on the bases, but it seemed that Bart 
 Hodge was getting along quite as fast as Frank could. 
 
 Costigan strained every nerve to get under the ball, and 
 made a flying leap into the air for it, but it was just beyond 
 his reach, and he did not even touch it. 
 
 "Gamp would have caught it," somebody declared. 
 
 While the left fielder was chasing the ball, which went 
 bounding along the ground, the runners were making a 
 streak round the diamond. When Thornton passed over 
 third, Hodge was halfway between second and third. 
 When Thornton crossed the plate, Hodge was close at 
 his heels, and both men scored. 
 
 "Th-th-th-thutteration !" shouted Joe Gamp, in delight. 
 "Ain't this a ju-ju-jolly time ! A-haw ! a-haw ! a-haw !" 
 
 Capt. Hardy looked disgusted. Was it possible Frank 
 Merriwell's remarkable "scrub" team was going to hold
 
 266 Merriwell's Nine Leads. 
 
 the regular's good play? It would be a standing joke in 
 the college. 
 
 "Come, Haggerty!" he cried, sharply; "you'll have to 
 brace up. We're out here for practice, and not to fool 
 away our time." 
 
 Haggerty flushed, but said nothing. He had not 
 thought of fooling, and he did not relish being called down 
 in such a mannner. 
 
 Ned Noon was the most disgusted man on the field. Be- 
 neath his breath he muttered bitterly. 
 
 "Such beastly luck!" he muttered. "Think of Hodge 
 getting a home run the first time up! It is frightful! I 
 must do something to attract attention to me." 
 
 He wondered what he could do, but resolved to watch 
 his opportunity. Unfortunately for Noon, Haggerty was 
 a trifle rattled, and that made him wild. 
 
 Fales was the next batter up. Haggerty was so wild 
 that Fales might have obtained four balls, but he struck 
 at two poor ones. Then, with the score standing two 
 strikes and three balls, Fales struck again at an inshoot 
 and missed. 
 
 Right there was where Noon's hard luck came in, for 
 Haggerty had crossed signals with him. Noon had ex- 
 pected an outdrop, but it was a high inshoot. Ned made 
 a desperate attempt to stop it, but simply got his hands on 
 it, and it went caroming off to one side, while Fales ran 
 for first and made the bag all right. 
 
 "Look here, Noon," came sharply from Capt. Hardy's 
 lips, when Ned had recovered the ball and thrown it ia, 
 "you must get a brace on. What are you under the bat 
 for?" 
 
 "It wasn't my fault," declared Ned. "Haggerty crossed 
 signs with me." 
 
 That made Capt. Hardy angry with Haggerty, and he 
 called him in to the bench, sending Walbert out.
 
 Merriwell's Nine Leads. 267 
 
 Walbert had not warmed up, and what he had seen 
 made him feel a trifle nervous. This was not like a practice 
 game. It seemed to be a game for blood. 
 
 The spectators realized that the fate of more than one 
 player depended on their work in that game. Capt. Hardy 
 was merciless, and he would not hesitate to lop off the 
 head of any man he considered weak. He had no favo- 
 rites, and he was fearless in the way he handled the team. 
 His power was great, as he was manager, as well as cap- 
 tain. 
 
 Rattleton followed Fales. He popped up an easy one 
 to shortstop who got under it and dropped it purposely, 
 trying to draw Fales off first to make a double. But Fales 
 knew that trick, and he hugged the bag. 
 
 Rattleton was out. 
 
 Diamond came next. He hit a hot one straight at Wall- 
 ing, the third baseman, and it was gathered in, putting the 
 side out. 
 
 But at the end of the first inning, the score stood 2 to O 
 in favor of the "scrubs." 
 
 "Now, I do hope they'll get on to Merriwell," muttered 
 Sydney Gooch, who was looking very serious. "This is 
 not the kind of fun I came out to see." 
 
 "Same here," admitted Bink Stubbs. "But it can't con- 
 tinue. Merriwell's gang has had a streak." 
 
 The first man up for the regulars got a fine safe hit. 
 
 Both Gooch and Stubbs brightened. 
 
 "Ah! what did I tell you!" said Harris. "I knew it 
 would come. Now, if the others will keep it up." 
 
 He did not know that Frank had given the batter a 
 good one, hoping he would get a single. Frank wanted 
 Hodge to have a chance to show his throwing. 
 
 Merry was sure the runner would be sent down to sec- 
 ond for a steal if he was given a show. He did not pretend 
 to hold the fellow close to the bag, believing it a good plan
 
 268 Merriwell's Nine Leads. 
 
 to let him get a start, for it would make Bart's throwing 
 show up all the better if the man should be caught. 
 
 Diamond knew what was coming, for he understood that 
 Merry was working to show Bart up, and he hugged close 
 to second. 
 
 As Merry had anticipated, the batter made a false swing 
 when the ball was pitched, hoping to bother Bart, while 
 the runner scooted for second. 
 
 Hodge gathered in the ball, and then, without stirring 
 from his tracks, sent it shooting down toward second like 
 a bullet. 
 
 It was a low throw, and it seemed that it must strike 
 the ground before it got to second; but there was force 
 behind that ball, and it did not fall. 
 
 "Slide! slide!" yelled the coachers. 
 
 The runner slid. 
 
 Diamond came in just right to take the ball about two 
 feet from the ground, and then he "nailed" it on to the 
 back of the sliding base-runner, catching him at least two 
 feet from the bag. 
 
 "Man is out," announced the umpire. 
 
 Frank laughed, and the spectators applauded. 
 
 "Good boy, Hodge !" cried Danny Griswold, to the sur- 
 prise of Frank. "That was a beautiful throw." 
 
 "Oh, those things will happen now and then," sneered 
 Ned Noon. "He might throw wild next time." 
 
 This did not come with good grace from Ned's lips, as 
 he and Bart were rivals, but he was so overflowing with 
 spleen that he could not hold it back. 
 
 "It was a good throw," nodded Capt. Hardy. "I didn't 
 think he had a chance to catch the man after the s-tart 
 Merriwell gave him. If Hodge can keep up the work he 
 has been doing " 
 
 He did not finish, but there was a deep significance in 
 the hiatus.
 
 Merriwell's Nine Leads. 269 
 
 The next batter obtained a single, and again a man was 
 given a chance to play off first by Merriwell, who seemed 
 remarkably careless. 
 
 Down he went for second on the first pitched ball. 
 
 "He'll make it?" 
 
 "Hodge can't stop him !" 
 
 "He's a runner!" 
 
 "See him scoot !' 
 
 "He's fairly flying." 
 
 Hodge did not seem to get excited in the least, but he 
 made a quick, sharp throw for second. 
 
 Again Diamond came in and took it on the run. Again 
 the runner slid. Again Jack bored the ball into his back. 
 And again 
 
 "Man is out !" cried the umpire. 
 
 "Hodge is all right!" said several voices. "He is 3 
 corker to throw !" 
 
 Bart was arousing admiration by his cool, steady work. 
 Ned Noon saw this, and ground his teeth in fury. 
 
 It was Noon's turn to come to bat. He advanced, re- 
 solved to do something or drop dead in the attempt. 
 
 A gleam entered Frank Merriwell's eyes. He gathered 
 himself. Two men had been allowed to hit; but if Ned 
 Noon got a hit he would earn it. Then Merriwell sent 
 them over with all kinds of twists and curves. Ned was 
 fooled. He fannned three times, flung his bat to the ground 
 and uttered a curse. 
 
 The regulars had failed to score in their half of the sec- 
 ond inning.
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 A GOOD FINISH. 
 
 Walbert did his prettiest. He struck out one of the 
 "scrub," and then the bases were filled. It looked like 
 several more scores for Merriwell's side. 
 
 Walbert set his teeth and pitched. He realized that he 
 was working for a place on the 'varsity nine, and never 
 had he done better. He struck out another man. Then 
 the next batter sent a long one straight out to the center 
 fielder, who gathered it in and the inning ended. 
 
 The spectators were greatly interested, for it was a hot 
 game, something they had not expected. They began to 
 chaff the regulars. Some of them said Merriwell's team 
 was the right one to represent Yale on the diamond that 
 season. 
 
 Browning had not been given much work, but, to his 
 own surprise, he was wide awake. The excitement of the 
 game had aroused him from his lethargy. 
 
 Up to the close of the fourth inning the score stood 2 to 
 O in favor of the "scrub." Merriwell's men did not seem 
 able to obtain another score, although they came near it 
 several times. 
 
 In the fourth inning, aided by a hit, a fumble and a 
 dropped ball, the regulars ran in one score. Then Merri- 
 well put on steam, and shut them off. 
 
 The fifth inning proved a whitewash for both sides, and 
 the sixth began with the game standing 2 to I in favor of 
 Merriwell. 
 
 The regulars were first to bat, and Capt. Hardy had a 
 talk to them. He told them they must beat the "scrub." 
 He told them it would be a disgrace to be beaten by the
 
 A Good Finish. 271 
 
 "scrub." He told them they were playing- for something 
 more than the game, and they understood him. Several 
 of them were playing for positions on the nine. 
 
 Merriwell resolved to do his best to keep the regulars 
 from making another score. He was laughing when he 
 went into the box, but there was a serious purpose in his 
 heart. 
 
 Gooch and Stubbs were two very disgusted fellows. 
 
 "This isn't what we came out to see," muttered the 
 former. 
 
 "Not much !" said Stubbs. "Why, the 'varsity nine can't 
 play marbles ! Harvard and Princeton will walk all over 
 'em. I'll bet on it." 
 
 "Is it always luck ?" asked Gooch, hesitatingly. 
 
 "Of course it is !" snarled Stubbs. 
 
 The last inning began, and the two haters of Merriwell 
 watched it in despair. 
 
 The first man up was out on an easy one to Rattleton, 
 who lined it across to Browning. Bruce gathered it in, 
 smothering it in his glove and yawning at the same time. 
 
 The next man got a hit. He could not steal second, for 
 he did not dare try, as Hodge had caught every man who 
 tried it. But the following man hit the ball to Fales, who 
 fumbled it, and then threw wild to first. 
 
 Over second scooted the runner, and he reached third 
 ahead of the ball. 
 
 That placed a man on second and one on third. 
 
 Stubbs and Gooch brightened up. 
 
 "Here's where they win the game!" cried the former. 
 
 Frank continued to smile. He did not seem at all 
 anxious. 
 
 The next batter obtaind two balls and then had a strike 
 called on him. He hit the next one and once more it shot 
 straight at Fales.
 
 272 A Good Finish. 
 
 The man on third took a desperate chance and scooted 
 for home. 
 
 Fales saw the runner going, and he was so anxious to 
 stop that score that he fumbled again. He got the ball at 
 last and threw home, but it was a bit too late, for the man 
 had scored. 
 
 The game was tied. 
 
 Then Frank was in earnest, and the way he pitched was 
 a surprise to the two men who faced him. They did not 
 even foul the ball, and both struck out. 
 
 The sixth inning closed with the score a tie. Frank was 
 anxious to play another inning, but Capt. Hardy seemed 
 satisfied. 
 
 He said such practice was too much like business, and 
 the game was over. 
 
 But the "scrub" was hilarious over the result. It was 
 almost equal to beating. 
 
 Some time after the game Frank and Capt. Hardy were 
 seen talking together on the campus. 
 
 Ned Noon was strolling along when he saw them. From 
 the fence Bink Stubbs called to him : 
 
 "What do you think?" 
 
 "I don't think," returned Ned, sourly. "It's too muchi 
 trouble." 
 
 "See those chaps over there?" and Bink jerked his 
 thumb toward Frank and Phil. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Merriwell is cooking your goose." 
 
 "I suppose so. Well, let him cook it. I'll get back at 
 him some time !" 
 
 "That's the talk!" said Stubbs, approvingly. "I hope 
 you'll do it, too !" 
 
 Noon sauntered on. 
 
 That evening Hodge came hurrying into Merriwell't 
 room, a look of satisfaction on his face.
 
 A Good Finish. 273 
 
 "Old man," he cried, with unusual enthusiasm, "I want 
 to thank you ! You have worked it !" 
 
 "Worked what?" 
 
 "Got me on for a trial." 
 
 "On the nine?" 
 
 "Yes, Capt. Hardy told me just now that I am to have 
 a trial in the game against Williams next Saturday." 
 
 Frank sprang to his feet. 
 
 "Congratulations, old chum!" he cried, extending his 
 hand. "I wanted you behind the bat, and, if you are given 
 a fair show, you will stay there. We have worked to- 
 gether before, and we'll try it again for the sake of old 
 Yale dear old Yale!" 
 
 Bart clasped the extended hand. It was a warm clasp, 
 the clasp of true friendship. 
 
 On Saturday the ball game came off. There was a tre- 
 mendous crowd on hand to witness the game and not a 
 little betting on the result. 
 
 At first matters seemed to go against Yale and more 
 than one groan of dismay went up. 
 
 Capt. Hardy was very anxious to win and made such a 
 desperate two-base run in the sixth inning that he dropped 
 down utterly exhausted, much to his friends' surprise. 
 
 But after that occurrence the Yale team braced up. 
 Frank never worked better and Hodge did equally well, 
 and at the conclusion the score stood 4 to 5 in favor of 
 Old Eli. 
 
 "We won, but it was close," said Bruce Browning. 
 
 And all realized that this was true the score was alto- 
 gether too close for comfort considering the heavy games 
 still to be played.
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 MORE BASEBALL TALK. 
 
 "Poor old Yale !" said Ben Halliday, mournfully. 
 
 "Poor old Yale !" echoed Dismal Jones, with something 
 like a sob. 
 
 "Oh, what's the use of squealing before we know 
 whether we are hurt or not ?" cried Puss Parker. "Old Eli 
 has a way of coming out on top at the last moment." 
 
 "It's a mighty slim show she has now," said Pink Pooler, 
 and it almost seemed that there was something like satis- 
 faction in his voice. "If she can't do better than beat little 
 Williams by one score, what can she do against Prince- 
 ton? Nat Finch is one of the finest amateur pitchers in 
 this country, and he will make monkeys of Yale's ordinary 
 batters, while our best men will stand a poor show against 
 him." 
 
 "How did Princeton get hold of such a fellow ?" asked 
 Halliday. 
 
 "I don't know, but I am willing to bet something that 
 his tuition does not cost him anything." 
 
 "If we could prove that we could end his career as a 
 pitcher in the college league," said Halliday. 
 
 "But it can't be proved," said Pooler, quickly, "and so 
 Princeton has us by the neck." 
 
 "I wouldn't bet that way if I could get odds," grunted 
 Bruce Browning, as he came loafing up to the fence on 
 the Yale campus, where the little knot of lads were holding 
 the earnest discussion. "Princeton is not so many, and 
 Finch is not the only shirt in the laundry. He can be 
 done up."
 
 More Baseball Talk. 275 
 
 "He'll never be done up by Yale," declared Pooler, light- 
 ing a cigarette. 
 
 "Look here, man !" cried Ben Halliday, turning sharply 
 on Pink, "what is the matter with you? You talk as if 
 anxious for Princeton to beat Yale." 
 
 "That's so," nodded Jones, giving Pooler a sour look. 
 
 "You ought to know better than that," said Pink, pro- 
 testingly ; "but I have got eyes, and I do know something 
 about baseball. When Yale has a struggle to beat little 
 Williams in a practice game, she is not going to stand 
 much of a show in the college league." 
 
 Browning grunted. 
 
 "Huah! Yale has a way of starting out weak at the 
 beginning of the season and making a rattling finish. You 
 forget that, Pooler." 
 
 "No, but that does not happen every time." 
 
 "Pretty near it." 
 
 "There was a time, not so many moons agone," began 
 Dismal Jones, in his queer way, "when it was thought that 
 Yale's one weak point was behind the bat." 
 
 "That's been settled," said Browning. 
 
 "Oh, I don't know," grinned Pooler. 
 
 "What's the matter with Hodge?" quickly asked Halli- 
 day. 
 
 "It was his pretty work that saved the game with Wil- 
 liams," declared Parker. 
 
 "That's once," said Pooler, meaningly. 
 
 "Merriwell says he can do it right along." 
 
 "Merriwell says many things." 
 
 "And you can bet your life that what he says goes!" 
 came with unusual warmth from Browning. "I've seen 
 Hodge work before, and he's all right." 
 
 "They say he has a nasty temper," said Pink. "Some- 
 times he gets mad and sulks." 
 
 "Merriwell can handle him any time."
 
 276 More Baseball Talk. 
 
 "It's always Merriwell, Merriwell, Merriwell !" sneered 
 Pooler. "He is a good man, but most of the fellows seem 
 to think he's a phenom. It makes me tired !" 
 
 "He has done some phenomenal work," said Parker. 
 "Take the football game with " 
 
 "Oh, that's ancient history ! You fellows don't seem to 
 get over that football game." 
 
 "He did some fine twirling last season." 
 
 "And spoiled his arm in the last hard game he pitched." 
 
 "It didn't look that way when he pitched for the 'scrub' 
 against the regulars, and made a draw game of it. It 
 struck me that he was in fine trim." 
 
 "He worked for all there was in him that day," declared 
 Pooler, "and I have it straight that he has been tending 
 his arm since then as if it were a sick baby. He does it 
 up in arnica and witch hazel, and keeps it bandaged all 
 the time. He wasn't in condition to go in and save the 
 Williams game." 
 
 "He didn't have to," grunted Browning. 
 
 "He was needed badly enough. It was Hodge's three- 
 bagger in the ninth that brought in two scores when two 
 men were out, and saved the game. I claim that hit was 
 an accident. That being the case, it was an accident that 
 beat Williams. If Merriwell could have gone in and saved 
 the game, why didn't they put him in ?" 
 
 "I'll tell you why," said Parker. "They were saving him 
 and they wanted to test the stuff in Haggerty and Wal- 
 bert." 
 
 "You know Haggerty said he knew the weak points of 
 almost all the Williams men," said Halliday. "That was 
 why he was kept in so long." 
 
 "Well, Williams didn't do a thing to Mr. Haggerty !" 
 grinned Pink. "He was hammered beautifully, and they 
 used Walbert fully as bad. Anyone with sense will say 
 those two men are no good, and surely it isn't sense to
 
 More Baseball Talk. 277 
 
 think Merriwell can pitch every game for Yale and give 
 us a winning team." 
 
 "It doesn't strike me you know much about pitchers and 
 pitching," yawned Browning. "If you did, you would not 
 be in such a hurry to judge Haggerty and Walbert by 
 their first game. The best pitchers have streaks when any- 
 body can hit them, and those streaks come when they are 
 lease expected. There is nothing so unreliable as a first- 
 class baseball pitcher. He may win a dozen hard games, 
 and then, for no apparent reason, lose one that everybody 
 considers dead easy." 
 
 Pooler knew this was true, but he felt the sting of the 
 big fellow's slowly drawled words, and he snapped: 
 
 "I'll guarantee that I know as much about baseball as 
 you do. You did play on the 'scrub' with Merriwell, but 
 you didn't have any work. If you had well, you are not 
 the most wide-awake man in college." 
 
 Pooler felt that he was safe in making this talk, for 
 Browning would not exert himself sufficiently to resent 
 it by personal violence. 
 
 Beyond a grunt, Bruce did not seem to resent it at all. 
 
 Parker hastened to say something. 
 
 "I don't think there is any reason why we should be 
 frightened because Princeton put up a good game against 
 the New Yorks to start off with, while we made a poor 
 showing against Williams. That doesn't settle it." 
 
 "Last year New York beat the packing out of us at 
 the Polo Grounds," said Halliday, "but we won the college 
 championship just the same." 
 
 "That only goes to show how much stronger Princeton 
 is than we are." 
 
 "It goes to show that you can't tell what Yale will do 
 by the way she starts off." 
 
 "I'll tell you this," said Bruce ; "Hodge works much bet- 
 ter .with Merriwell in the box than with anybody else.
 
 278 More Baseball Talk. 
 
 Everybody says he played great ball last Saturday. He 
 will play much better next Saturday, for Merriwell will 
 pitch then." 
 
 "The battery isn't the whole nine," said Pooler. "Hodge 
 and Merriwell can't do the batting, base-running and field- 
 ing for all the others." 
 
 Joe Gamp came hurrying toward the little knot. He was 
 excited and breathless. 
 
 "I say, bub-bub-boys," he stammered, "have you heard 
 the latest nun-nun-nun-nun-nun " 
 
 "Whistle, Joe !" cried Halliday and Parker, together. 
 
 The excited lad began again : 
 
 "I say, bub-bub-boys, have you heard the latest nun- 
 nun-nun-nun I say, bub-bub-boys, have you heard the 
 
 lul-lul-lul-lul I say, bub-bub-bub-bub I sus-sus- 
 
 sus-sus-sus " 
 
 "Whistle quick, Joe," cried Halliday. "You are going 
 backward, and you won't be able to start at all in a minute. 
 
 Joe began the third time : 
 
 "I sus-sus-sus-sus" whistle "say boys, have you 
 heard the latest nun-nun-nun-nun" whistle "the latest 
 news ?" 
 
 "We're not liable to hear it if we wait for him to tell 
 it," muttered Pooler, scornfully. 
 
 "What is the latest news ?" asked Parker. 
 
 "Phil Hardy, cuc-cuc-cuc-captain of the Vuv-'vuv-' var- 
 sity nine " 
 
 "What about him ?" asked several. 
 
 "Cuc-cuc-cuc-cuc" whistle "can't pup-pup-pup-play 
 any more this sus-sus-sus-sus" whistle "this season!" 
 shouted Gamp. 
 
 Cries of astonishment broke from the boys. Browning 
 seemed to awaken from the trance that was on him, and he 
 grasped Gamp by the arm, taking hold so strongly that 
 Joe cringed,
 
 More Baseball Talk. 279 
 
 "What's that you say?" demanded the big fellow, 
 fiercely. 
 
 "Phil Hardy can't play any more this season?" ques- 
 tioned Parker. 
 
 "Did you say that?" demanded Halliday. 
 
 Gamp nodded. 
 
 "Dud-dud-dud-doctor said so," he declared. 
 
 "Whew !" whistled Pooler. "That knocks the backbone 
 out of the 'varsity nine." 
 
 No one paid any attention to him, but Browning 
 growled at Gamp. 
 
 "How do you know this ? Are you sure it's straight ?" 
 
 "Sus-sus-Sile Blossom told me, and he is Hardy's ch- 
 ch-chum." 
 
 "Then it is straight, for Uncle Blossom never jokes," 
 said Bruce, in deep dismay. 
 
 There was general consternation among the fellows 
 gathered there at the fence. 
 
 "Poor old Yale!" exclaimed Halliday, for the second 
 time. 
 
 "Poor old Yale!" again echoed Dismal Jones. 
 
 "Now," said Pooler, "it is a sure thing that Yale does 
 not stand a show in baseball this season." 
 
 Bruce Browning turned savagely upon Pink so sav- 
 agely that Pooler was startled. 
 
 "You make me sick !" growled the big fellow. "You're 
 always croaking! You have been stuck good and hard 
 betting against Yale, and I hope you'll be stuck again if 
 you bet against her this year!" 
 
 "That's all right," said Pooler, sullenly. "I have a 
 right to my convictions. I'd like to see Yale win as well 
 as anybody, but my good judgment tells me she can't 
 win." 
 
 "Your good judgment is not worth a hoot ! It has told
 
 2 So More Baseball Talk. 
 
 you she could not win before, but she has won just the 
 same." 
 
 "Perhaps it's not so bad," said Parker. "Why, Hardy 
 is in the pink of condition. Why should any doctor forbid 
 his playing?" 
 
 "He's been having queer spells lately whenever he's 
 got excited and worked hard," said Halliday. "In the 
 Williams game, you know, he fell limp as a rag in Jeffers' 
 arms after making a hot run for two bases. It didn't 
 seem that he'd be able to get his breath again. They 
 fanned him and turned water on him till they came near 
 drowning him." 
 
 "That was the first time I ever saw anything out of 
 the way with the fellow." 
 
 "What is the matter with him, anyway?" asked Pooler. 
 "Why has the doctor ordered him not to play?" 
 
 "Heart tut-tut-trouble," explained Gamp. "He's liable 
 to drop dead some tut-tut-time when he exerts himself 
 too much." 
 
 The boys looked at each other in doleful silence. The 
 news had cast a deep gloom over them. 
 
 "Who'll be captain now?" said Halliday. "You ought 
 to know, Parker." 
 
 "How should I know ?" asked Puss. "I don't have any- 
 thing to do with the management of the team. It's all I 
 can do to play first base." 
 
 "Well, who do you think stands the best chance?" 
 
 "Frank Merriwell." 
 
 Pooler started and scowled. 
 
 "I hope they won't be fools enough to put him in !" he 
 said. "His head is swelled enough now. He'll feel so 
 big that he won't be worth anything if he is made cap- 
 tain." 
 
 "Oh, how can vou say that !" exclaimed Sidney Gooch,
 
 More Baseball Talk. 281 
 
 who had joined the crowd. "Mr. Merriwell is such a 
 splendid fellow!" 
 
 Sidney was a hypocrite. No one in college hated 
 Frank more than Gooch, but he pretended to admire 
 Merry greatly. In his sneaking ,vay he lost no oppor- 
 tunity to injure Frank, but he never came out openly like 
 an honorable foe. 
 
 Of the two fellows, Pink Pooler was far the more 
 manly, but that was not saying much for him. 
 
 Bruce Browning was angry. He grasped Pooler by 
 the collar and shook him till his teeth rattled together. 
 
 "You envious whelp!" roared the big fellow. "You 
 know Frank Merriwell is not troubled with the swelled 
 head. What you deserve is a punch in the jaw, but I'd 
 be ashamed if I gave it to you, so you get off without it." 
 
 Then he gave Pooler a fling that sent the fellow stag- 
 gering. 
 
 All were astounded by this display of energy on Brown- 
 ing's part, for it was a rare thing that anything <could 
 arouse him. 
 
 But Bruce was loyal to Frank Merriwell. He had been 
 Frank's foe when Merry first came to Yale, but, when he 
 was dropped a class and found himself received in a 
 manly manner by Merriwell, he suddenly changed from a 
 foe to a stanch friend. 
 
 No one but Frank seemed able to handle the big, lazy 
 fellow, but Merriwell could do anything with Bruce. He 
 even succeeded in inducing him to play first base on the 
 "scrub" ball team, and Browning had not made a single 
 error. 
 
 Pooler ground his teeth together and gave Browning a 
 fierce look, but he let it go at that, for he knew the big 
 fellow was strong as a giant. 
 
 "Merriwell will make a good captain," said Ben Halli- 
 day. "He has a knack of getting more out of a lot of
 
 282 More Baseball Talk. 
 
 fellows than anybody I know. If they put him in Hardy's 
 place, the nine will not suffer." 
 
 "It wouldn't surprise me a bit if you were right," 
 purred Sidney Gooch. 
 
 "I am not going to give up that Hardy can't play at 
 all till I hear it from his lips," said Parker. 
 
 "You may as well give it up," declared a voice, and 
 Bart Hodge joined the group. "It is straight goods, fel- 
 lows. I've just had a talk with Capt. Hardy." 
 
 They turned eagerly to the dark-faced, proud-looking 
 lad, and plied him with questions. All he could tell them 
 was substantially the same as they had learned from 
 Gamp. Capt. Hardy had been examined by competent 
 physicians, and he had been ordered to drop baseball and 
 refrain from all kinds of violent exertion. 
 
 "It's a shame!" groaned Jones. "Just at this time Yale 
 can't afford to lose a single good man." 
 
 "Don't you worry a bit," said Hodge. "If Merriwell is 
 made captain of the team, Yale will not lose anything. I 
 know Phil Hardy is a dandy, but Frank Merriwell is 
 another." 
 
 Somebody laughed scornfully and shortly. 
 
 Hodge looked round quickly, his face flushing crimson. 
 
 "Laugh!" he exclaimed. "I know what I am talking 
 about! I have traveled with Frank Merriwell, and he is 
 all right." 
 
 "From his head up," said a voice. 
 
 "Oh, it's you, is it, Pooler. Well, you are the one I'd 
 expect would make such a remark." 
 
 Pooler strode forward, scowling blackly. 
 
 "Why, you miserable fool!" he snarled; "do you dare 
 talk to me like that? I'll I'll " 
 
 Hodge looked Pink straight in the eyes. 
 
 "I am going to tell you now that I do not think but 
 little of you, Mr. Pooler," he said. "You are always
 
 More Baseball Talk. 283 
 
 croaking. Now you are howling about Yale's ball team. 
 I'm willing to bet fifty dollars that Yale beats Princeton 
 next Saturday, and I'll bet fifty more she wins the college 
 championship." 
 
 Pooler was digging down into his pockets. 
 
 "Money talks !" he cried. "It's a shame to rob a fool, 
 but I can't stand everything. Here is my money. I'll 
 put it in the hands of Gooch." 
 
 "Put it in Halliday's hands and I will cover it," said 
 Hodge, hotly. 
 
 "All right. I'm not fussy. Halliday suits me. 
 
 The money was staked and covered.
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 THE DOUBLE SHOOT. 
 
 "You have speed to burn, Merry," cried Bart Hodge, 
 as he rounded up on catching a ball that had come flying 
 like a bullet from Frank's hand. "There must be powder 
 behind those whistlers." 
 
 Frank laughed. His hat, coat and vest were off, and 
 he was perspiring freely. Together with Bart, he was 
 putting in a little practice. Frank was in the pink of 
 condition. His eyes were clear and bright, his complexion 
 almost girlish in its pink-and-white, while his legs, arms, 
 muscles, all were firm and hard. The flesh of his arm, 
 from which the sleeve was rolled back, was white as 
 marble. 
 
 "Some of the fellows who have been croaking about 
 your 'dead wing' will drop dead when they see you shoot 
 'em over," said Hodge, his face glowing with enthusiasm 
 and earnestness. 
 
 "There are always croakers, Bart," said Frank, indif- 
 ferently. "A fellow is a fool if he permits them to bother 
 him." 
 
 "They make me thundering mad." 
 
 "Mustn't notice them." 
 
 "Can't help it." 
 
 "Can if you try." 
 
 "No. I am not built like you." 
 
 "It all comes of practice. If you keep trying, in a short 
 time you get so you do not notice it at all. Get on to this 
 twist, old man." 
 
 Then iank made a jumping motion with his body, but
 
 The Double Shoot 285 
 
 held his feet on the ground, and sent in a ball that made 
 Bart blink and gasp. 
 
 "Talk about chain-lightning!" cried Hodge. "Why, 
 that one was a regular dodger ! How'd you do it, Frank ? 
 or did my eyes fool me?" 
 
 Merriwell laughed heartily over Bart's surprise. 
 
 "I call that my double shoot," he explained. "I'll give it 
 to you again." 
 
 Bart tossed back the ball, and Frank carefully wound 
 his ringers round it; then made the jumping motion, 
 sending it whizzing through the air again. 
 
 This time Hodge dodged and let it go past. 
 
 "Scissors!" he cried. "That fooled me. I thought it 
 was going the other way. It took a queer shoot on the 
 last end." 
 
 Again Frank laughed. 
 
 "That was the double curve the other way," he said. 
 
 Hodge trotted back to the netting and got the ball. As 
 he came down with it, he said : 
 
 "I'd like to know when you got onto that quirk. I've 
 heard of 'zigzag curve pitching,' but I never took any 
 stock in it. I don't see how it is possible to give a ball 
 two notions, so it will curve in and then turn and curve 
 out without stopping." 
 
 "I discovered the trick by accident," confessed Frank. 
 "It's a hard one, and no man can use it much, for it will 
 knock the stuffing out of his wrist if he does. You know 
 a drop-ball pitcher soon uses himself up. Well, this is 
 worse on a fellow than pitching the drop." 
 
 "What does it do?" 
 
 "Makes the back of the wrist lame, right here," and 
 Frank touched the spot. "There is a snap to it that does 
 the job. The motion of the ball when it leaves the fingers 
 gives it one curve, and the other curve is given to it by 
 the snap of the wrist."
 
 286 The Double Shoot. 
 
 "Say, Merry." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Don't tell anybody about this." 
 
 "Don't worry." 
 
 "Because if you do, they won't believe it. There's not 
 one old ball player in a hundred who will believe any 
 pitcher can make a ball curve in and out without 
 stopping. There is such a thing as an outdrop, but a 
 double-shoot Great Scott ! it will be the sensation of the 
 season !" 
 
 "I don't propose to use it much." 
 
 "I should say not!" 
 
 "It will be a great thing on some occasions." 
 
 "You bet! Why, it'll paralyze a batter! He'll think 
 he's got 'em." 
 
 Frank pitched two more of those queer curves, and 
 then stopped, saying he did not dare to follow it up, for 
 fear of hurting his wrist. 
 
 "Look here, Merry," cried Bart ; "you'll have to let me 
 know when you are going to do that, or I'll have a passed 
 ball sure. And I want to know what the final curve will 
 be, too. Can you pitch a rise and a drop the same as 
 you do this in and out?" 
 
 Frank shook his head. 
 
 "I have tried all sorts of ways, but I can't pitch a ball 
 that will have a double motion up and down. Some fel- 
 low may strike it some time, but I am inclined to think it 
 an impossibility." 
 
 "Did you ever see a pitcher who could pitch a double- 
 shoot before you?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Who?" 
 
 "Billy Mains."
 
 The Double Shoot. 287 
 
 "Who's Billy Mains?" 
 
 "He's a tall, angular Yankee from somewhere down in 
 Maine Windham is the town, I believe." 
 
 "Where did you see him?" 
 
 "With the Bostons." 
 
 "I don't remember him." 
 
 "He was not given a fair trial. He pitched the last 
 three innings of the opening game at Boston between 
 Boston and Baltimore last season. The first Baltimore 
 batter to face Mains thought he had the jim-jams, sure, 
 for Mains started an outshoot, and, while the batter 
 stood with his stick poised, expecting the ball would pass 
 two feet beyond the plate, the sphere curved in round his 
 neck and glanced off the end of his bat. The fellow was 
 so astonished he dropped his bat and fell down himself 
 trying to get out of the way after the ball had passed. 
 He may have thought from the curves it had that it might 
 turn round and come back his way. I was sitting in the 
 grand-stand directly behind the catcher, so I plainly saw 
 the double curve of the ball. A hundred others saw it, 
 and half of them uttered cries of astonishment. One old 
 man said he had been following baseball for seventeen 
 years, but never had he seen anything like that before. 
 Right then I resolved to find out how to make that curve, 
 and I have been working at it ever since. One day, when I 
 wasn't thinking of it, I happened to throw an out with 
 a peculiar snap of my wrist. I saw it take the double 
 curve, and I was lucky enough to remember just how I 
 did it. After that I kept at it till I was sure of throwing 
 it when I wanted to. but I tried it so much I came near 
 knocking my wrist out." 
 
 "That's it !" cried Bart. "That's how the story started 
 that you had a 'dead wing.' The fellows knew you had 
 lamed your arm, but they did not see how you did it with 
 the amount of throwing you did."
 
 288 The Double Shoot 
 
 "The wonder to me now is that I did not lame it more. 
 I was working at it altogether too much." 
 
 "This Mains, what became of him ?" 
 
 "Oh, he has been in the New England League and the 
 Eastern League since his trial with Boston." 
 
 "Do you consider him a good man?" 
 
 "He has one bad fault." 
 
 "What's that?" 
 
 "He's wilder than a hawk at times, and he is liable to 
 weaken or go to pieces when the batters fall on him. But 
 for that, he is fast enough for the National League. I 
 consider him a better man than lots of pitchers in the 
 National League, and he will get there some day, too." 
 
 "I should think his double-shoot would land him in 
 the big league." 
 
 "I don't believe he can control it, and, after he uses 
 it, he seems to get wild right away. It knocks him out." 
 
 "Isn't it going to do that with you, Merry?" 
 
 "Can't tell," confessed Frank. "If it does, I won't 
 use it except on a pinch at the very last end of a game 
 when everything depends on striking out a good batter. 
 It will be valuable if I don't use it more than three or 
 four times for the season." 
 
 Hodge nodded. 
 
 "It might save the championship. Nobody can tell. 
 What do you know about Nat Finch, the new Princeton 
 man?" 
 
 "Nothing, save what I have heard in the way of gos- 
 sip and what I have read in the papers." 
 
 "Everybody seems to think he's a terror." 
 
 "He must be a good man, or he would not have such 
 a reputation. But he will have his bad days, like the 
 rest of us." 
 
 "We can't expect to win the pennant on his bad days/*
 
 The Double Shoot. 289 
 
 "Not much. Harvard is not making such a blow as 
 Princeton, but she will put a strong team in the field." 
 
 "What do you know about Harvard?" 
 
 "I know she will be in it with both feet. To-day I con- 
 sider Harvard fully as dangerous as Princeton." 
 
 "She is not generally considered so." 
 
 "I know it, but Harvard is coming in these days. I'll 
 tell you something. If Yale does not win the pennant this 
 year, Harvard will." 
 
 Hodge was surprised, arid he showed it ; for, like others, 
 he had regarded Princeton as Yale's most dangerous 
 rival. Never before had he heard Frank so freely ex- 
 press an opinion as to the situation. 
 
 Bart knew Frank well enough to feel confidence in 
 his judgment on baseball. 
 
 "Where is Harvard's strong point?" he asked. 
 
 "The whole team," declared Frank. 'They are not 
 making a great howl over one pitcher, for they have two 
 good men left over from last season, besides any new 
 men that may develop. Reports from Cambridge say 
 they are putting in plenty of practice. They are getting 
 in team work, and team work pays. A nine of brilliant 
 individual players will often be slaughtered by an inferior 
 nine simply because the latter is well up in team work. 
 Yale should have more practice in team work, I think." 
 
 "Perhaps you'll have a chance to take charge of her 
 practice. You know Phil Hardy is out of it, and " 
 
 "There's very little chance for me," said Frank, quietly. 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 "Because the only way I would accept the position is on 
 certain conditions, and the committee will never agree to 
 those conditions."
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 RATTLETON'S WARNING. 
 
 Hodge felt no little curiosity to know what those condi- 
 tions were, but, as Merriwell did not show an inclination 
 to state them, he refrained from asking questions. 
 
 Bart had begun to understand Frank very well, and he 
 could tell when Merry wished to talk and when he chose 
 to be silent. With rare good judgment, Hodge seldom 
 attempted to induce Frank to talk when he showed a 
 disposition to be reticent. 
 
 Merriwell rolled down his sleeve and picked up his coat. 
 He felt that he had practiced quite enough for the time. 
 
 Just then Harry Rattleton entered the park and ap- 
 proached hurriedly, his face betraying no small amount 
 of excitement. 
 
 "I want to Merry you, see I mean I want to see you, 
 Merry," he spluttered. 
 
 "All right," smiled Frank. "Here I am. Take a good 
 look at me." 
 
 "Want to tell you something." 
 
 "I will listen." 
 
 Harry cast a quick glance at Bart. 
 
 "Want to tell it to you privately," he said. 
 
 Bart turned and strolled away, pulling on his coat. 
 
 "Fire away," said Frank. "No one will hear you." 
 
 Rattleton seemed troubled about beginning. He stam- 
 mered some, and then burst forth : 
 
 "Don't you do it, Merry don't you do it ! It's a put up 
 job ! Don't you do it !" 
 
 "If you'll tell me what it is," smiled Frank, "I may be 
 able to tell you if there is any danger that I will do it."
 
 Rattleton's Warning. 291 
 
 "They're going to try to run you in." 
 
 "How run me in ? Arrest me ?" 
 
 "No, no! Run you in captain of the nine." 
 
 "Oh, is that what you are driving at?" 
 
 "Yes. I am dead on to the grooked came I mean the 
 crooked game !" 
 
 Harry was so excited that he twisted himself badly. 
 
 "What is the crooked game?" asked Frank. "You are 
 talking in enigmas." 
 
 "It's a plot !" 
 
 "What kind of a plot?" 
 
 "A plot to put you in disgrace." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "Everybody most seems to think the team we have now 
 stands no show of winning the pennant." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "That's why they want to run you in captain." 
 
 "Think so?" 
 
 "Know so. I'm willing to bet Phil Hardy paid that 
 doctor something to forbid him from playing. Hardy is 
 a sharp one. He saw Yale stood no show, and he was 
 sick. He wanted to get out, and he took that way of 
 crawling." 
 
 Frank shook his head. 
 
 "I don't want to think that of Hardy," he soberly said. 
 "I don't want to think any man that much a sneak. No, 
 Rattles, you are dead wrong about Phil." 
 
 "I'm red (light I mean dead right!" excitedly de- 
 clared Harry. "You have too much confidence in human 
 nature. You never will think a man crooked till it is 
 proven for you, and then you don't like to believe it." 
 
 "What's the use?" said Frank, quietly. "I dislike to 
 have my confidence in human nature shattered I refuse 
 to have it shattered. I know there is more good than bad 
 in the world. The person who is forever looking for the
 
 292 Rattleton's Warning. 
 
 bad is the one who never sees the good, and he has no 
 one but himself to blame. I am no pessimist." 
 
 "But you are a thundering fool sometimes !" blurted 
 Rattleton. "I don't care a continental if you punch my 
 head for saying so, but you are a fool sometimes!" 
 
 Instead of showing anger at these plain words, Frank 
 beamed in a sunny manner, his red lips parting to show 
 his gleaming white teeth. 
 
 "You are jolly original to-day, old man," he said, 
 merrily. "You surprise me." 
 
 "Oh, say!" snapped Harry. "There isn't anything to 
 laugh about. I am in earnest. Now, look here, Frank, I 
 want to tell you something. By chance I heard some of 
 your particular admirers talking about you." 
 
 "Who were they?" 
 
 "Gordan, Gooch, Pooler, Paulding and Marline." 
 
 "Marline's all right." 
 
 "I should think so!" burst forth Harry. "He's the 
 fellow who was going to kill you !" 
 
 "In a fair duel." 
 
 "Oh, he's a bloodthirsty dog!" 
 
 "He has seemed friendly enough since our encounter." 
 
 "Hasn't dared be any other way. He was in the gang, 
 and he doesn't like you any too much. He thinks you 
 are holding your head too high, and he'd like to see you 
 taken down several pegs." 
 
 "Well, what were they saying?" 
 
 "Saying Hardy got out because he saw Yale did not 
 have a show this season. Saying that you would be made 
 captain, and that you'd get all the blame for Yale's hard 
 luck. They laughed over it like fiends. Oh, they were 
 having a jolly time to think how it would pull you down." 
 
 Frank's lips closed and were pressed together. A hard, 
 resolute look settled on his face, and still he smiled. There 
 was confidence in that smile, and there was scorn in it.
 
 Rattleton's Warning. 293 
 
 "My enemies have thought the same thing about many 
 things I have taken part in," he said, quietly. 
 
 "But this is different," Rattleton declared. "I tell you 
 this is a plot, and I believe Phil Hardy is in it. He knew 
 they would put you in captain, and that is why he got out. 
 There's no more trouble with his heart than there is with 
 mine." 
 
 "He has the doctor's certified statement." 
 
 "That's nothing. Bet he had to pay for it." 
 
 Still Frank refused to believe that. He had known 
 Hardy but a short time, but he believed the fellow on the 
 level. Phil had played fast ball on the team the season 
 before, although he had not been friendly with Merriwell, 
 who was one of the regular pitchers. He had been chosen 
 to captain the nine, as well as manage it, and, with few 
 exceptions, the choice was considered a good one. It did 
 not seem possible now that because Yale had not turned 
 out as strong a team as usual, Hardy had weakened and 
 resorted to a trick to get out of his position of responsi- 
 bility. 
 
 "You must remember, Rattles," said Frank, "that he 
 had a bad spell in the game last Saturday." 
 
 "Made it." 
 
 "Then he is a corking actor." 
 
 "He didn't fool me." 
 
 Still Frank refused to be convinced. 
 
 "There is little danger that I'll be put in captain of 
 the nine," he said. 
 
 "There is every danger of it. You are the very man 
 who will be offered the place." 
 
 "But the committee will not accept my terms." 
 
 "Your terms?" 
 
 "That's what I said." 
 
 "Why, you " 
 
 "I shall have a proposal to make to them."
 
 294 Rattleton's Warning. 
 
 Harry did not have such scruples about questioning 
 Frank as troubled Hodge. His curiosky was aroused. 
 
 "What sort of a proposal will you make?" he asked. 
 
 Frank did not answer the question, for, at that mo- 
 ment, another man entered the park, saw Merriwell, and 
 approached him swiftly. 
 
 "Hardy!" exclaimed Frank. 
 
 "Hardy!" cried Rattleton, softly. "He's up to some- 
 thing now. Look out for him, Merry ! Don't be trapped,"
 
 CHAPTER XLJV. 
 
 CAPT. MERRIWELL. 
 
 Phil Hardy was an honest-looking fellow, and it was 
 not remarkable that Merriwell did not believe him the 
 crafty chap Rattleton represented him to be. 
 
 He came forward swiftly. 
 
 "You are the very man I am looking for, Mr. Merri- 
 well/' he said. 
 
 "Well, you have found me," smiled Frank. 
 
 "I thought I might find you here when I found you 
 were not in your room or on the campus. You are wanted 
 at a meeting of the directors of the ball team." 
 
 Rattleton gave Frank a warning look. 
 
 Hardy took hold of Merriwell's arm and led him away, 
 while Hodge and Rattleton followed. 
 
 "It's a shame to drag Merry into this!" spluttered 
 Harry. 
 
 "Into what?" asked Bart, innocently. 
 
 "Why, don't you know? They're after him to be cap- 
 tain of the 'varsity nine in Hardy's place." 
 
 "That's good." 
 
 "Good !" cried Harry. "It's a conspiracy a plot an 
 outrage ! That's what it is !" 
 
 "Oh, come off ! What are you driving at, anyway ? Are 
 you nutty?" 
 
 "Not a bit of it, Hodge. I tell you it is a plot to hurt 
 Frank ! He's a fool if he lets them pull him into it after 
 what I have told him ! But, for all of his shrewdness 
 about most things, he is easy sometimes. He wants to 
 think everybody white. He is the kind of fellow who will 
 let a chap walk all over him and then play the friend to 
 that sort of a cur. That's where he makes his mistake."
 
 296 Capt. Merriwell. 
 
 Now Hodge was aroused, for Rattleton had touched 
 him on a tender spot. 
 
 "You are wrong !" cried Bart, flushing. "No man walks 
 all over Frank Merriwell. You never knew a fellow to 
 get the best of Merriwell and hold his advantage. Frank 
 is a fighter, and his worst enemies agree on that point, 
 but he fights fair. He will not take an unfair advantage 
 of his meanest and most sneaking enemies, and, for that 
 yery reason, the worst enemies he has respect him." 
 
 "Rot !" 
 
 "There is no rot about it. I know, for I was his enemy 
 once, and I did everything in my power to injure him. 
 I did not hesitate to resort to any sort of expedient, no 
 matter how mean and sneaking. I did some very mean 
 things, but still I could not get the best of Frank Merri- 
 \vell. Sometimes I thought I had him, but I always found 
 out my mistake. When I got him down I was unable to 
 hold him. It made me furious, for I have a temper of 
 my own and a little pride. I was fierce enough to kill 
 him." 
 
 "Well, what does that prove?" impatiently asked 
 Harry. 
 
 "Wait. I am not through. What I want to tell you is 
 this: The more I tried to hurt Merriwell in a sneaking 
 manner the lower I sunk in my own estimation, for I 
 found that he knew what I had done, and yet he refused 
 to get back at me in the same way, although he had op- 
 portunities enough. He would not lower himself to fight 
 me with the same kind of weapons I was using. At 
 first I thought him afraid of me " 
 
 "That's it! that's it!" cried Rattleton. "That's just 
 what they think of him when he goes easy with them." 
 
 "But I learned better than that after a time," Hodge 
 went on. "I found out he was not afraid at all. It was
 
 Capt. Merriwell. 297 
 
 not cowardice, but it was courage. He was willing to fight 
 me fairly while I took any mean advantage of him, and 
 still he was not afraid I would get the best of him in the 
 end. He felt himself my match, and I began to feel 
 that he was a better man than I in every way. That was 
 what hurt me most. I did not like to think that the fellow 
 I hated was more honorable than I ; I did not like to think 
 he would scorn to strike me a foul blow, knowing all the 
 while that I had struck him many such blows. I was 
 forced to confess to myself that he was a squarer man 
 than I, and that hurt me more than anything he could 
 have done to me. It is the same with his enemies now. 
 They know he is white, and they feel that they are sneaks. 
 That galls them. 
 
 "Let Frank Merriwell alone, Rattleton. He has a level 
 head, and he can take care of himself." 
 
 "Oh, you don't understand the situation now !" cried 
 Harry, showing impatience. "That is plain enough. 
 Frank is so square he would not dream anybody could 
 pull him into the trap that is set for him. Now look here, 
 Hodge, I want you to understand that I am just as much 
 Merry's friend as you are, and I don't l&e to see him 
 trapped. I have warned him, but I'll bet he'll let them 
 fool him just the same." 
 
 "It's seldom he is fooled, old man. It may seem for 
 a time that he is fooled, but, in the end, it turns out the 
 other party is the one fooled." 
 
 "It can't turn out that way this time. I have been in 
 college longer than you, Hodge, and I know something 
 about what I am driving at. The Varsity nine is in a 
 bad way this season. It is weaker than it has been be- 
 fore in six years, while Princeton and Harvard are 
 stronger. Yale's stanchest supporters say she has no show 
 of winning the pennant. Now, right here is where the 
 trick comes in. Phil Hardy is captain and manager. He
 
 298 Capt. Merriwell. 
 
 knows he will be blamed more or less for the fizzle Yale 
 is bound to make, and he gets out in a hurry " 
 
 "By his doctor's orders." 
 
 "Bah ! Fake ! Trickery ! Can't fool me that way ! Doc- 
 tor's fush! I talk what I'm knowing about I mean I 
 know what I'm talking about. It was a trick. Hardy 
 wanted to get out, and he took that way. Now, Merriwell 
 is to be pulled in to fill the place, so all the blame may be 
 piled on his shoulders. I've told him the whole business, 
 and he will go in with his eyes open." 
 
 "If you have told him, don't worry about him," said 
 Bart, quietly. "He won't be caught." 
 
 "That's what Hardy is after him for. I heard him 
 say the directors of the ball team wanted to see him." 
 
 "That's all right. They will not trap Frank Merriwell. 
 Don't let that worry you." 
 
 But Bart could not impart this feeling of confidence to 
 Harry. They got on to the same car with Hardy and 
 Merriwell, and Rattleton was uneasy and nervous all the 
 way back to the college. 
 
 Harry wanted to get another word with Frank before 
 the latter went before the directors, but Hodge held him 
 back. 
 
 "I tell you to let him alone," said Bart, sharply. "I 
 should resent it if you kept after me in such a manner." 
 
 "You needn't worry!" snapped Harry. "I wouldn't 
 keep after you at all. If I took the trouble to warn you 
 once, I'd let you go after that." 
 
 "Surely Frank Merriwell is as shrewd as I am." 
 
 The afternoon exercises were over. On the campus 
 were gathered knots of students, all of whom seemed to 
 be eagerly discussing something of general importance. 
 
 "They know what is up," said Harry. "They are talk- 
 ing baseball." 
 
 He was right. Almost the sole topic of conversation
 
 Capt. Merriwell. 299 
 
 on the Yale campus that afternoon was the baseball 
 situation. The outlook for Yale was so dark that the 
 most hopeful felt the shadow of gloom. Right on top of 
 the loss of Capt. Hardy, Bink Stubbs had been conditioned, 
 so that he must give up playing or take the chance of 
 being dropped a class. The general feeling seemed to be 
 that Yale's nine was all to pieces. 
 
 The appearance of Merriwell in company with Phil 
 Hardy caused a stir. 
 
 "There goes the lamb to the slaughter," laughed Walter 
 Gordan, who was in the midst of a little gathering of 
 Merry's old-time foes. 
 
 "Wouldn't it be moah propah to say the cawfe?" 
 drawled Willis Paulding, with a weak attempt at wit. 
 
 "Oh, he made himself a big gun by his work on the 
 football team last fall," said Pooler, with a grin of satis- 
 faction; "but he'll lose it all if he takes Hardy's place 
 on the nine." 
 
 "He can't get Hardy's place," said Walt Forrest. 
 
 "Hey?" cried the others. "What do you mean by that? 
 It's what they want him for." 
 
 "I guess not," grinned Forrest. 
 
 "Really?" questioned Sidney Gooch, in his smooth, in- 
 sinuating way. "Why, that is what I heard." 
 
 "They may want him to be captain of the nine," said 
 Forrest; "but he can't have Hardy's place. He will be 
 substitute captain, and that is all. Besides that, Hardy was 
 manager. I know for a fact that the directors intend to 
 keep Hardy in manager just the same, so Merriwell will 
 be under him." 
 
 "And I know for a fact," said Pooler, "that Phil Hardy 
 has no intention of remaining manager. He knows bet- 
 ter than that. Don't take that boy for a fool." 
 
 "You think just what?" 
 
 "He wants to get out of it entirely,"
 
 3oo Capt. Merriwell. 
 
 "Because he thinks Yale has no show?" 
 
 "Sure." 
 
 "Aw! I think that is wight, don't yer 'now," "drawled 
 Paulding. "Some verwy fine fellows in Hawvard. I 
 weally think they awe going to win this yeah." 
 
 No one paid any attention to Willis, for his opinion 
 was not regarded as important. 
 
 "If Hardy gets out, Merriwell will be manager," said 
 Walter Gordan, who was green with envy, although he 
 was trying to hide it. 
 
 "Not on your life!" laughed Forrest. "The directors 
 will attempt to manage the team themselves, and I pity 
 the poor devil of a captain. He'll get it in the neck on 
 all sides." 
 
 This caused a general laugh, for these fellows rejoiced 
 to think of the trouble Frank Merriwell would get into. 
 
 "Weally," said Willis, again attempting to call some 
 attention to himself, "I am wuther glad Hawvard has a 
 show this yeah. I do not think it propah faw Yale to 
 win all the time, deah boys." 
 
 "Oh, rats!" cried Gordon. "Harvard hasn't a show. 
 It will be Princeton this year." 
 
 The others nodded. 
 
 "Finch will make monkeys of our poor fellows," said 
 Pooler, with an attempt at dolefulness. 
 
 "What's the matter with you?" exclaimed Forrest. 
 "You want to see Yale defeated?" 
 
 "Oh, really I protest !" cried Pooler. 
 
 "Still, as long as Merriwell has anything to do with 
 the Yale team, it will give you satisfaction to see Yale de- 
 feated. You can't deny that," said Forrest. 
 
 "Oh, I'd rather see Yale win, for all of Merriwell, but 
 I do not have so much sympathy with her when she loses 
 if he plays." 
 
 "Say I" cried Forrest, "I want you to think of one little
 
 Capt. Merriwell. 301 
 
 thing. Yale seldom loses at anything when Frank Merri- 
 well is in the game. He seems to be Old Eli's mascot." 
 
 "Of cawse, it's all beastly luck," put in Paulding. "He 
 doesn't really have any more to do with it than any other 
 good man would." 
 
 "You may think as you like about that," said Forrest, 
 evasively; "but you must confess that he seems to bring 
 Yale good luck. We thought she was a dead duck at 
 football last fall, but he put new life and snap into the 
 team, and Yale came out on top." 
 
 "He can't do that with the ball team," said Gordan. 
 "There's where he'll meet his Waterloo." 
 
 "Let's see, Gordan," said Forrest, "I believe you and 
 Merriwell were rivals for pitching honors the first year 
 in college. He got on to the 'varsity nine, and you got 
 left. Ha, ha ! You haven't admired him since." 
 
 Gordan flushed. 
 
 "Oh, it wasn't that," he declared ; "but he thinks he is 
 so much. That's what makes. me sick." 
 
 "We all have our reasons for not loving him," said 
 Pooler. "It's no use to talk about that. The worst thing 
 I wish him now is that they make him captain of the ball 
 team." 
 
 Rattleton and Hodge drifted from knot to knot of the 
 students on the campus, finding all were talking baseball. 
 The events of the last few hours had stirred up the 
 "sports" wonderfully. 
 
 Rattleton was excited and nervous. He was waiting for 
 the reappearance of Frank Merriwell. 
 
 On the other hand, Hodge seemed unusually cool and 
 unconcerned. Bart smiled whenever he heard fears ex- 
 pressed as to the result of the struggle for the pennant, 
 and he smile^more when some one declared Yale did not 
 have a show. 
 
 It was generally known that the directors meant to
 
 302 Capt. Merriwell. 
 
 appoint Merriwell captain of the nine, but there were not 
 a few who declared Frank was too wise to accept the 
 position at that late hour and under such unfavorable cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 An hour passed. It was growing dark swiftly. Lamps 
 were sending gleams of light from the windows of the 
 quad. It was a mild spring night, and voices could be 
 heard calling from the open windows. Over in South 
 Middle a banjo was plunk-plunking. There were bursts 
 of laughter now and then. Some fellow was whistling 
 "Maggie Murphy's Home." 
 
 Still the "sports" lingered on the campus, waiting for 
 Hardy and Merriwell to appear. 
 
 Rattleton was so nervous he could not hold himself still 
 three seconds at a time. Hodge was not disturbed in the 
 least. 
 
 "Here they come!" 
 
 Somebody uttered a cry. The former captain of the 
 nine was seen approaching, with Frank Merriwell at his 
 side. He was seen to grasp Frank by the arm and draw 
 him toward the largest collection of students near the 
 fence. Other students made a rush for that spot. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said Phil Hardy, speaking clearly and 
 distinctly, "I wish to introduce to you my successor, Mr. 
 Merriwell, who is now captain and manager of the 'var- 
 sity nine."
 
 CHAPTER XLV. 
 FRANK'S TERMS. 
 
 "Three cheers for Capt. Merriwell !" 
 
 "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" 
 
 "Three more for Manager Merriwell!" 
 
 "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" 
 
 The pent-up feelings of the crowd burst forth in a wild 
 roar of satisfaction. 
 
 "Now," rang out the clear voice of Charlie Creighton, 
 as he scrambled up on the shoulders of two strong fellows 
 and waved his cap in the air, "now give three cheers for 
 plain Frank Merriwell, the whitest man, the truest sport, 
 and the best all-round athlete in Yale ! Wake 'em up !" 
 
 They did. The feeling of enthusiasm that seized upon 
 them just then was intense, and they cheered and cheered 
 again. 
 
 The windows of the quad filled. The news spread, and 
 the cheering became general. 
 
 Harry Rattleton was numb with dismay. 
 
 "Manager and captain!" he gasped. "Gracious!" 
 
 Bart Hodge was palpitating with satisfaction. 
 
 "Manager and captain !" he cried. "Hurrah !" 
 
 On the outskirts of the crowd that had gathered so 
 swiftly about the new captain was Walter Gordan, eating 
 his heart out with envy. 
 
 "Oh, it's just his infernal luck!" Walter whimpered. 
 "Hear the fools cheer for him ! It's all they know !" 
 
 "Let them cheer now," Pink Pooler muttered in Gor- 
 dan's ear. "The cheering will turn to groans after a few 
 ball games have been played." 
 
 "I don't know," said Forrest, who had caught Pink's 
 words. "He has been shrewd enough to get himself ap-
 
 304 Frank's Terms. 
 
 pointed manager, as well as captain. There is no telling 
 what he may do with the team." 
 
 "It's too late for him to make it a winner," said Pooler, 
 with satisfaction. "It takes time to build up a winning 
 nine." 
 
 Frank's friends crowded about him, shaking his 
 hand and congratulating him, with a few exceptions. 
 Some of his friends were not enthusiastic over his ap- 
 pointment. Harry Rattleton was one of them. A few 
 others thought the same as Harry about it. 
 
 But these were but few of the crowd that swarmed 
 about Merry. Of course, some of those who shook his 
 hand and expressed their delight were hypocritical, but 
 the most of them were sincere. 
 
 Frank was modest. He smiled and said : 
 
 "Thank you, fellows. You are more than kind. It does 
 one good to know he has such friends." 
 
 Harry Rattleton groaned. 
 
 "It seems to me Merry is getting to be a soft thing!" 
 he muttered. "They have made a mark of him this time, 
 and he walked into the trap with his eyes open." 
 
 Harry was disgusted. He had warned Frank, but 
 Frank had not heeded the warning. From what he had 
 overheard, Rattleton was sure it was a trap to injure 
 Frank. 
 
 For a little while Harry was so disgusted that he went 
 off by himself and declared he was glad of it, and that he 
 hoped they would soak it to Frank. 
 
 Then he was ashamed of himself for wishing ill luck to 
 such a friend, and he felt like punching somebody's 
 head. 
 
 It was about this time that Andy Emery, on the way to 
 his room, saw Rattleton standing all alone in a dejected 
 attitude beneath one of the big elms. 
 
 "Hey, there, Rattles!" called Emery, coming close
 
 Frank's Terms. 305 
 
 enough to recognize Harry in the twilight. "What are 
 you sulking here for? Why aren't you making merry 
 along with Merriwell's other friends?" 
 
 Harry looked at Andy and scowled. The scowl was 
 wasted in the gloom, for Emery did not see it. 
 
 "What's the matter with you?" asked Emery, coming 
 closer. "You should be happy to know Merriwell is 
 captain, even if Yale does not stand a show of win- 
 ning." 
 
 "Now, you want to be careful !" growled Harry, 
 fiercely. "I'm in no mood for your jokes ! I'll bet you 
 something Yale does win! They can't beat Frank Mer- 
 riwell!" 
 
 "Come off !" laughed Emery. "He's made a chump of 
 himself this time, and everybody knows it." 
 
 "That's a lie!" snarled Rattleton. "And I won't 
 stand to have anybody call Frank Merriwell a chump 
 before me!" 
 
 Then he let fly his right hand, struck Emery on the chin 
 with his fist, and knocked the fellow down. 
 
 The moment Rattleton did this he was sorry. It seemed 
 he did it without thinking. 
 
 Emery was dazed and astounded. He had always re- 
 garded Rattleton as a peaceable sort of fellow, but 
 now 
 
 "What in blazes do you mean ?" he gasped, lifting him- 
 self upon his elbow. 
 
 In a moment Harry was kneeling beside the fellow he 
 had struck. 
 
 "Forgive me, Emery, old man!" he cried, his voice 
 quivering with shame and regret. "I didn't know I was 
 going to do it honest, I didn't ! I did it before I thought ! 
 I'm half crazy, anyway! You know I wouldn't do such a 
 thing purposely ! Let me help you up !" 
 
 "Get out!" said Emery, sharply. "I can get up my-
 
 306 Frank's Terms. 
 
 self. You are not to be trusted! It must be you have 
 been drinking!" 
 
 "Not a drop. But I think I am dind of kaffy I mean, 
 
 kind of daffy! If I hadn't been Say, old man, hit 
 
 me ! I'll take it all right. Soak me a good one ! Knock 
 me down!" 
 
 Emery was on his feet, and Harry was begging to be 
 struck in turn. Andy looked at him in amazement, and 
 then turned away, gently rubbing the spot where Rat- 
 tleton's knuckles had struck. 
 
 "You are daffy!" Emery flung over his shoulder. "You 
 ought to be in an asylum." 
 
 Harry stood still and stared after Emery till he was 
 gone. Then an almost irresistible desire to shed tears as- 
 sailed the excited fellow, who was completely unstrung. 
 
 He hurried to his room and locked himself in, feeling 
 that he never wanted to see anybody again. 
 
 Deep down in his heart Harry Rattleton was one of the 
 truest of Frank Merriwell's friends. His affection for 
 Frank was of the most intense nature, and, being some- 
 what excitable, he had become hysterical over the misfor- 
 tune he believed had befallen Merry. He would have done 
 anything to keep Frank from walking into the trap. He 
 was proud of Frank's record at Yale, and he felt sure this 
 meant the ruin of the proud reputation Merry had won. 
 
 Harry got hungry after a time. He began to realize it, 
 and he became aware of the fact that he had not eaten din- 
 ner. Then he decided to go out to a restaurant somewhere 
 and have something all alone by himself. He would be 
 alone in his misery. 
 
 He was slinking along the streets like a whipped dog 
 when somebody blocked his path, and a voice cried : 
 
 "Here he is, fellows ! We won't have to go to his room 
 for him. It's a streak of luck." 
 
 Harry's heart gave a thump as he recognized Merri-
 
 Frank's Terms. 307 
 
 well's voice. He looked up, and saw three fellows before 
 him. They were Merry, Hodge and Browning. 
 
 "Come," said Frank, locking arms with Harry. "We 
 had started out to have a little feed when I thought of you, 
 and we turned back to get you, if you have not eaten." 
 
 At first Harry thought he would lie thought he would 
 say he had just eaten, so he might get away. But when 
 he tried to say so, the words stuck in his throat. So 
 Merry had thought of him, and they were coming to hunt 
 him up and take him out. He choked, and there was a 
 blurr before his eyes. 
 
 "You are very good," he said, weakly, "but " 
 
 "There is no but about it," said Frank, in his hearty, 
 whole-souled manner. "If you have not eaten, you must 
 come along and have a square feed ; if you have eaten, you 
 must come along just the same and watch us fill our sacks. 
 Line up, fellows, and close in on him." 
 
 Hodge took Rattleton's arm, and Browning fell in be- 
 hind, lazily observing: 
 
 "He's in for it now. Escape is impossible." 
 
 So they bore him away to a first-class restaurant, where 
 they had a little private dining room all to themselves, and 
 Merriwell ordered an elaborate spread, and they pitched 
 into the food and ate like the hearty, hungry fellows they 
 were. 
 
 As he ate, Harry's heart warmed. Frank was jollier 
 than ever before. He laughed and joked, he told stories 
 that caused the others to shout with laughter. He was the 
 prince of good fellows, that was sure. Still, Harry could 
 not help thinking what a shame it was that he had been 
 trapped. 
 
 Hodge was unusually talkative, although his talk was of 
 a serious nature. Browning managed to crack a joke now 
 and then, and he was able to eat and laugh as heartily 
 as anybody.
 
 308 Frank's Terms. 
 
 Not a word did any of them say about Merriwell's new 
 position of responsibility till the meal was over and their, 
 appetites satisfied. 
 
 Then Browning produced cigarettes and offered them 
 to the others, laughing as he did so. 
 
 No one accepted a cigarette. 
 
 "I don't suppose anybody will object if I smoke," said 
 Bruce, as he selected one. 
 
 "Yes," said Frank, quietly, "I shall object, old man." 
 
 With no little surprise, Browning saw Merriwell was in 
 sober earnest. 
 
 "Great Scott!" he exclaimed. "Why should you ob- 
 ject?" 
 
 "I have a very good reason. I may want you before 
 the season is over." 
 
 "Want me?" cried Browning. "What for?" 
 
 "First base." 
 
 "Come off!" 
 
 "I am in earnest." 
 
 "Why, I am too fat, Frank I am not in condition. 
 Such a thing is ridiculous !" 
 
 "You are large, but you might be fatter than you are. 
 I know you can train down swiftly. A week of hard work 
 will pull you down at an astonishing rate." 
 
 Bruce groaned. 
 
 "It might ; but I should not live through it," he said, as 
 he struck the match and prepared to light the cigarette. 
 
 Frank blew out the match and took the cigarette from 
 Browning's fingers. 
 
 "I am talking business to you now," he said, almost 
 sternly. "You are going to work systematically to-mor- 
 row to work off your flesh, for I may want you on the 'var- 
 sity nine. When you are in condition, you are a better man 
 than Parker on first, while Parker is a better man than
 
 Frank's Terms. 309 
 
 Faunce in the field. One trouble with the nine is that ser- 
 eral of the men are not playing in their proper positions/' 
 
 "But you are not going to have the nerve to switch 
 them around ! You will not have the crust to fire some of 
 them and take on new men ?" 
 
 "Won't I? Wait and see. You know I am manager, 
 as well as captain. I considered everything before I told 
 the directors what I would do. They wanted me to be 
 captain, while they retained the management of the nine. 
 I said 'Nit !' I told them that, if I became captain, I must 
 be manager also, and that I must have absolute and thor- 
 ough control of the team. I must have the authority to 
 do just as I pleased, with nobody to forbid me." 
 
 "Good for you!" cried Hodge, while Rattleton bright- 
 ened up and showed great interest. 
 
 "It staggered them at first," smiled Frank. "They 
 thought I had a crust. They tried to induce me to agree 
 to their terms, but I would not. Then they had a fight 
 among themselves, for some were against giving me so 
 much rope. I waited quietly till the smoke of battle 
 cleared away, and then I found they were ready to accept 
 my terms. So I am manager, as well as captain, and I am 
 going to run things just as I please. If I make a fizzle oi 
 it, no one else will be to blame." 
 
 "That's the stuff!" exclaimed the enthusiastic Hodge. 
 
 Harry shook his head, but said nothing. 
 
 Frank saw the movement, and quickly asked : 
 
 "What's the matter, Rattles? Come, come! You are 
 off your trolley. Everything is all right." 
 
 "I'm afraid everything is all wrong," said Rattleton, 
 gravely; "but I warned you, and you went into it with 
 your eyes open." 
 
 "Yes, but I went in on my own terms. I'll make an 
 overturning in the nine."
 
 310 Frank's Terms. 
 
 "It's too late for that." 
 
 "I don't think so." 
 
 "Besides, the material is not here to make a corking 
 nine. You can't make a first-class ball team out of second- 
 class material." 
 
 "I believe the material is here," said Merry, quietly; 
 "but I do not think it is all on the nine. I got Hodge on, 
 and now I am going to have Browning." 
 
 "Oh, come, Merry!" gasped Bruce. "I'll do almost 
 anything for you, but I can't torture myself to work off 
 flesh in a hurry. Besides, I could not get enough off 
 
 "You can get off enough in ten days so you will be 
 able to play ball all right. I want you for your batting. 
 Batters count. You are a good hitter, and the team is 
 weak at the bat. It's no use, Bruce ; I want you, and am 
 going to have you. You must quit drinking beer and smok- 
 ing cigarettes. You must go into training to-morrow, and 
 you must work hard to get off superfluous flesh. One 
 week from Saturday you go on the nine." 
 
 It was useless for Browning to beg; Merry had de- 
 cided, and the big fellow could not get out of it. 
 
 "I wouldn't do it for any other man living," declared 
 the lazy student; "but I suppose I'll have to for you. You 
 are a perfect tyrant, anyway. What you say goes." 
 
 "And what he says is right," declared the confident 
 Hodge. 
 
 "Then I will say right here," spoke Frank, with quiet 
 assurance, "that Yale will have a nine that will be the 
 surprise of the season. We are going after that pennant, 
 and Princeton and Harvard will have to hustle to win." 
 
 Hodge nodded. He was thinking of Merriwejrs mar* 
 velous double-shoot.
 
 Frank's Terms. 311 
 
 "They can't touch it," he muttered. 
 
 "Eh?" said Browning. "What's that? Touch what?" 
 
 "You'll see," said Hodge, his eyes gleaming. "Frank 
 
 says the Yale team will be a surprise, but I know what 
 
 will be a still greater surprise."
 
 CHAPTER XLVI. 
 PRINCETON'S STARTER. 
 
 The opening game of the college league was on. Yale 
 and Princeton were drawn up for the first struggle on the 
 grounds of the latter nine. Yale was in the field, with 
 "Stew" Walbert in the box. The preliminary practice was 
 all over, and the umpire was opening a box to extract a 
 brand new ball. 
 
 Haggerty and Merriwell were on the bench in uniform. 
 Browning was on the bench in citizen's clothes. Merri- 
 well showed no signs of nervousness. Browning was 
 placid as a spring morning. Haggerty fidgeted. 
 
 Yale was not well represented by "rooters" from New 
 Haven. There was one lonesome little knot huddled on the 
 bleachers, trying to look happy and confident, but making 
 a sad failure of it. 
 
 Yale men had stayed away. They felt that their team 
 had no show at all, and they did not have the heart to go 
 down to Princeton and root against a sure thing. 
 
 But there was plenty of blue in the grand stand. The 
 young ladies there showed that they admired the boys 
 from Connecticut, and they were not afraid to show their 
 colors. 
 
 But the orange and black predominated even there. It 
 seemed to be everywhere. Princeton had a strong team, 
 and men of good judgment were confident she would start 
 off a winner, flukes not taken into consideration. 
 
 Walbert was pale as he faced the first Princeton bat- 
 ter. He had seen long Joe Varney before, and he knew 
 the "gangling" left fielder of the "Tigers" was a "lacer." 
 
 iWalbert took a little time to look over the ground near
 
 Princeton's Starter 313 
 
 his feet. He planted his toe on the rubber plate, and then 
 wound up with an eccentric movement of the arm, and! 
 shot in a "twister." 
 
 Varney went after the very first one, and got it ! 
 
 Crack ! and away flew the ball toward right field, while 
 the Princeton lads opened up at the crack of the bat. 
 
 "Hurrah! hurrah! Tiger sis-s-s! boom! ah!" 
 
 It was a hit. Everybody saw that in a moment, for 
 Hal Faunce could not gather it in, although he sprinted 
 for it. 
 
 Down to first raced Varney. He was an exuberant fel- 
 low, and he flapped his long arms, like the wings of a 
 rooster, and crowed hoarsely as he stood on the bag. 
 
 That caused another roar to go up. Coachers were on 
 hand, and they began rattling off their talk as soon as the 
 ball was returned to the pitcher. 
 
 Walbert tried to grin derisively, but there was a sick 
 expression on his face. 
 
 Bruce Browning grunted. 
 
 "Another one like that will break his heart, Merriwell," 
 he said. "He may be a good man when things are going 
 his way, but he can't stand grief." 
 
 Frank said nothing. He sat there as if taking very 
 little interest in the game, but he was watching Walbert 
 closely. 
 
 Beverage, Princeton's short, was the second batter. He 
 laughed as he came to the plate ; he laughed in Walbert's 
 face. The Tigers were full of confidence. They had 
 heard all about Yale's weak points, and they were look- 
 ing for a snap. 
 
 Walbert resolved that Beverage should not get a hit off 
 the first ball pitched to him, so he sent him an outcurve 
 that a four-foot bat could not have reached. 
 
 The ball was so wide that Hodge had to fling himselt 
 after it, and he lost his footing.
 
 314 Princeton's Starter. 
 
 A great cry of delight and mingled derision went up. 
 
 Varney was scudding down to second, and Hodge was 
 on his knees. But Bart had stopped the ball, and now he 
 turned. Without attempting to get upon his feet, he drew 
 back his arm and sent a liner flying toward second base. 
 
 It was possible that every one but Frank Merriwell was 
 surprised by this attempt of the catcher to throw to second 
 while on his knees. A shout of contempt and merriment 
 went up. 
 
 That shout turned to one of astonishment, for they saw 
 the ball fly through the air like a bullet, seeming to shoot 
 on a dead line for second. It did not seem that a man 
 could make such a throw while on his knees. It did seem 
 like a miracle. 
 
 The coachers were so astounded that they forgot to 
 shout for the runner to slide, and Varney, who had seen 
 Bart fall when he went after the ball, believed there was 
 no need of taking a chance of hurting himself by sliding. 
 
 Wintz, Yale's second baseman, came running toward the 
 bag to cut Varney off. He acted as if he expected to take 
 a throw, but Varney laughed aloud. 
 
 "Can't fool me that way," he said. "The trick is stale." 
 
 But, a moment later he nearly fainted, for something 
 shot before him and struck with a plunk in Wintz's hands. 
 Then the second baseman touched the runner, while Var- 
 ney was still four feet from the bag. 
 
 Varney stopped on second and turned quickly. He was 
 in time to see Wintz snap the ball to Walbert and hear the 
 umpire cry : 
 
 "Runner is out !" 
 
 Varney was dazed. 
 
 "Who threw that ball?" he gasped. 
 
 "The man behind the bat, of course," laughed Wintz.
 
 Princeton's Starter 315 
 
 "I know Better!" cried Varney. "He couldn't do it! 
 He was down ! It passed him. Some outsider threw it in. 
 It is a blocked ball." 
 
 But the umpire motioned for him to come in, and it 
 dawned on him after a time that in some marvelous man- 
 ner the Yale catcher had thrown the ball to second. 
 
 Hodge was cheered, and the wearers of the orange and 
 black joined in the ovation he received. The little group 
 of Yale men fairly split their throats howling their delight. 
 
 Pooler was one of the party from Yale, but he did not 
 cheer as fiercely as the others. He was disgusted, as well 
 as astonished. 
 
 Walt Forrest shouted in Pink's ear : 
 
 "That is a feather in Merriwell's cap. Hodge has done 
 good work all along, but that throw was phenomenal. He 
 is bound to become one of the greatest college catchers 
 ever known." 
 
 "Rot!" grunted Pooler. "He'll make a fluke sometime 
 that will take the wind out of his sails. He can't keep it 
 up always." 
 
 Pooler had not been able to get many bets, as he had 
 wished to bet on Princeton, and everybody else seemed to 
 want to bet the same way. However, he had obtained a 
 few by giving big odds, and all he regretted was that he 
 could not get more. 
 
 When Browning saw Hodge throw Varney out at sec- 
 ond he lay back with a deep sigh of satisfaction, and it 
 must be confessed that Frank Merriwell breathed easier, 
 for it had seemed that the runner was sure to make the bag 
 safely. 
 
 When the shouting was over, Walbert again faced the 1 
 batter. It seemed that he had gained fresh confidence, for 
 he got two strikes on Beverage right away. Then he 
 tried to "coax" the batter, and soon the score stood three 
 balls and two strikes.
 
 316 Princeton's Starter. 
 
 Then Walbert put one over, and Beverage sent it whis- 
 tling through the Yale short as if nobody was there. It 
 ;was a two-bagger, and the Tigers howled their delight. 
 
 After that, a hit and an error filled the bases. Then 
 Walbert went "up in a balloon," for he could not find the 
 plate, and he forced two runs. 
 
 Haggerty had been warmed up before the game began, 
 and now Frank lost no more time in taking Walbert out 
 and putting the little Williams man in his place. 
 
 "What's that mean, anyway?" growled one of the Yale 
 rooters. "Why doesn't Merri well go in ? Is he too lazy ?" 
 
 "He doesn't dare !" declared Pooler. "He knows Prince- 
 ton is out for blood, and he doesn't want to pitch a losing 
 game." 
 
 "I don't believe that!" cried Charlie Creighton. "I 
 don't believe Frank Merriwell is a coward." 
 
 "Well, you won't see him pitch to-day, if he can help it." 
 
 Haggerty flung his cap on the ground by his side, held 
 the ball up before him with both hands, suddenly jerked 
 it toward him, humped his back in a queer manner, and 
 sent it whistling over the plate. 
 
 The batter fined it out. The first ball the little fellow 
 pitched had been met squarely and sent flying toward left 
 field. 
 
 The man on third held the bag and watched Joe Costi- 
 gan get under the ball. Costigan did get under it, waited 
 for it and dropped it! 
 
 Then the man on third came scudding home, while the 
 others moved up a bag each, and again the bases were full. 
 
 "That is what comes of playing a man out of position," 
 thought Frank. "Costigan is a fine third baseman, but he 
 is no fielder." 
 
 But he did not say a word aloud.
 
 Princeton's Starter. 317 
 
 Haggerty did his level best, and succeeded in striking 
 out the next man. 
 
 The Yale rooters cheered feebly. 
 
 The next batter put up a long fly, which Cal Jeffers 
 captured after a hard run, and the first half ended with 
 Princeton "three to the good."
 
 CHAPTER XLVII. 
 
 FRANK IN THE BOX. 
 
 "That is easy," said Charlie Creighton, hopefully. "Our 
 boys will tie that without a struggle." 
 
 But he was mistaken. Nat Finch, the Princeton won- 
 der, did not do a thing but strike out three men in succes- 
 sion, while the great crowd roared its delight. 
 
 "That settles it!" said Pooler. "Those are three top- 
 enders, the best batters on the team. If he can make mon- 
 keys of them like that, what will he do with the weak 
 batters ?" 
 
 The rooters were silent. They were discouraged. Not 
 a few of them wished themselves back to New Haven. 
 
 Frank was the only one who seemed calm and unruffled. 
 Bart Hodge was pale. 
 
 "That fellow Finch is a wizard, Merry !" he huskily ex- 
 claimed. "I don't believe anybody else can fool Cal Jef- 
 fers like that. Why, Jeffers is a hitter !" 
 
 "That's right," nodded Frank, quietly. "But there is a 
 question." 
 
 "Eh? What sort of a question?" 
 
 "Can Finch hold this up?" 
 
 "He has a reputation." 
 
 "I don't care. I'll go you something that he slumps 
 before the game is over. He is a strike-out pitcher. He 
 likes to do that trick, as it attracts attention to him. That 
 is what will count against him." 
 
 "We don't have one show in a thousand unless you peel 
 off and get into the game." 
 
 "That is foolishness."
 
 Frank in the Box. 319 
 
 "Not a bit of it. He has taken fhe wind out of the 
 fellows." 
 
 Frank sent Haggerty into the box again. The little 
 fellow dreaded what was before him, but he went out re- 
 solved to do his best. 
 
 The first man up got a hit, while the next man got first 
 on balls. Then the two tried a double steal, but Hodge 
 shut the fellow off at third with an easy throw, and Wall- 
 ing came near making it a double by a snap throw to 
 second. 
 
 Then another man got a hit, which left a man on first 
 and third, the one on second only getting one base on the 
 hit, as he stumbled and fell when he ran. 
 
 "A hit means a score!" roared a voice from the midst 
 of the Princeton rooters. 
 
 "It may mean two scores," cried another voice. "Mur- 
 phy will steal second on the first ball pitched." 
 
 Hodge called Haggerty up, and they whispered to- 
 gether, while the Princeton crowd guyed them. 
 
 Haggerty sent in a high ball on his next pitch, and 
 Murphy, who was on first, shot toward second. 
 
 Hodge made a motion to line the ball down to second, 
 and, as Stubbs was not playing in for a short throw and a 
 return to the plate, the man on third started toward home. 
 
 Hodge did not throw to second. With a snap he 
 wheeled toward third, and sent the ball whistling at Wall- 
 ing, who was hugging the bag. 
 
 The runner saw the trick, stopped short, and tried to get 
 back to the bag. 
 
 Over his shoulder sped the ball, and he saw he was 
 caught between the bases. He tried to dodge back and 
 forth along the line, but Walling ran kim down and pinned 
 him. 
 
 Two men were out.
 
 320 Frank in the Box. 
 
 Thus far Yale had kept Princeton from scoring on the 
 second inning, but it had not been by work in the box. 
 
 Now the men in yellow and black fell on Haggerty 
 fiercely. They hammered him to right, to left, and to cen- 
 ter. With two men out, they ran in three more scores in 
 a hurry. 
 
 Before the third score was made, Frank Merriwell was 
 out of his sweater and warming up. When the third 
 man crossed the plate, he walked into the diamond, and 
 Haggerty, sick at heart, came out of the box. 
 
 Frank was greeted with a cheer. The Yale men cheered 
 him, and Princeton men clapped their hands, for he was 
 well known and admired for his prowess. 
 
 His face was quite calm as he went into the box. 
 
 Pink Pooler sneered : 
 
 "Here is where Mr. Merriwell takes his medicine. Oh, 
 Princeton has won the game now! Yale can't get six 
 scores off a fellow like Finch." 
 
 Nobody said a word. All seemed to feel that Pooler 
 was right. 
 
 Merry remembered how Billy Mains had paralyzed the 
 Baltimore batter by sending in a double-shoot for the first 
 ball, and he resolved to try it on the Princeton man. Bart 
 signaled for a drop, but Frank gave him a signal that 
 told his decision to use the double-shoot at the very start. 
 
 Having taken plenty of time, Merriwell sent in a 
 "smoker." The ball made a sharp outcurve, and then 
 curved inward so quickly that it passed fairly over the 
 outside corner of the plate, although it had looked like a 
 wild one. 
 
 "One strike!" cried the umpire. 
 
 The batter dropped his stick and stared at Merriwell, 
 while cries of astonishment came from the grand stand. 
 
 The face of Bart Hodge was calm a'nd cold as ice. while
 
 Frank in the Box. 321 
 
 liis nerves were steady as a clock, although they Haft Seefl 
 badlv shaken till Frank entered the box. 
 
 "Have I got 'em?" muttered the batter, as he rubbed 
 his eyes and picked up his bat. 
 
 "What's the matter?" sharply asked the captain of the 
 team. "Why did you drop it ?" 
 
 "You should have seen that ball !" returned the man at 
 the plate= "It had more curves than a corkscrew ! I'll bet 
 he can't do it again." 
 
 Not a word did Frank say, but again he assumed a po 
 ti'.ion that told Hodge he would pitch a double-shoot. 
 
 This time he started it with an in, and it changed to an 
 out, just as the batter leaped back to get out of the way. 
 
 Over the outside corner of the plate passed the ball. 
 
 ''Two strikes!" cried the umpire. 
 
 The batter was dazed. 
 
 "I'd give a hundred dollars to know what kind of twists 
 he is getting onto that thing !" he muttered. "Never saw 
 anything like that before." 
 
 After that he felt that he could not tell where the ball 
 was coming. The next one started with an outcurve, but 
 the batter feared it might twist in somehow, for all that 
 such a thing seemed utterly impossible, so he fanned the 
 empty air trying to hit it, and was out. 
 
 Frank had pitched three balls and struck the man out. 
 
 "Now, fellows," said Frank, as his men gathered around 
 him near the bench, "if you will keep cool and think you 
 can hit Finch, you will hit him all right before you quit. I 
 am going to try to hold them down hard. If we can make 
 some scores in any possible way, we stand a fair shot at 
 this game yet." 
 
 "That's rot!" said Hal Faunce. "We do not stand & 
 ghost of a show. I can't hit Finch, and I don't 
 fthe rest of vou can."
 
 322 Frank in the Box. 
 
 Without showing the least excitement, but speaking 
 very coldly, Merry said : 
 
 "Faunce, go into the dressing- room and get out of that 
 suit. Browning will put it on if he can get into it." 
 
 "What ?" cried Faunce, harshly. "What do you mean ?" 
 
 "I do not propose to put a man up against Finch who 
 feels sure he can't hit the fellow. It's a waste of time." 
 
 "You are going to lay me off?" growled Faunce. 
 
 "Yes," said Frank, and turned away. 
 
 Cursing under his breath, Faunce started toward the 
 dressing room. Frank motioned for Browning to follow, 
 and Bruce obeyed. 
 
 It happened that Faunce was a big fellow, and the suits 
 were loose, so that there was a chance for Browning to 
 get into the one worn by the angry right fielder. 
 
 The game went on. 
 
 Bink Stubbs came to the bat and fanned out easily. 
 Then Walling came up and popped an easy fly into the 
 air, so Finch gathered it in and got an out to his credit. 
 
 Wintz was the next batter. He did not try to slaughter 
 the ball, but he got up against it fairly, and sent it out to- 
 ward short. Beverage should have picked it up, but he 
 made a fumble, and Wintz succeeded in reaching first 
 ahead of the ball. 
 
 "Here is where we start," said Frank. 
 
 But Parker, the next man, batted a liner straight at 
 Murphy, who took it easily. 
 
 Still not a hit had been obtained off Finch. 
 
 Frank went into the box, prepared to make a fight to 
 keep Princeton from rolling up a score. He could not use 
 his great double-shoot often, but he resolved to use it at 
 critical times. He could control it in a marvelous manner, 
 so it was not dangerous to use. 
 
 The first man up managed to find the ball. It was not 
 a hit, but he got first on an error by Wintz.
 
 Frank in the Box. 323 
 
 Then Merry toyed with the next batter, while the anx- 
 ious runner was held close to first, without daring to try 
 a steal. At last the batter tried to bunt, but Frank appre- 
 hended the trick, and ran in the moment he pitched the 
 ball. 
 
 Down toward third rolled the ball. Merry got it 
 ahead of Walling, scooping it up with one hand, and 
 turned, throwing it with the same motion that picked it 
 from the ground. 
 
 Down to second sped the ball. It got there ahead of 
 the runner, and Wintz snapped it to first quick as a flash. 
 
 It was a double play ; both men were out. 
 
 Then the Yale rooters took heart and cheered. Once 
 more not a few of the Princeton men were generous 
 enough to give a hand. 
 
 Frank was not trying to make a brilliant record on 
 strike-outs, but he was holding his opponents down on hits. 
 
 The next man up struck out, however, and then Yale 
 once again came to the bat. 
 
 For the next three innings the score remained just the 
 same ; Princeton had made six, while Yale had not been 
 able to score, although Merriwell, Hodge, Browning, Jef- 
 fers and Wintz obtained good hits. Finch, however, was 
 keeping the hits scattered, and the cloud of gloom had set- 
 tled thickly over the few Yale rooters huddled on the 
 bleachers. 
 
 Merriwell was toying with Princeton's best batters. 
 Whenever it looked as if a good man had Merriwell in a 
 hole, he would "put on steam," send in one or two more 
 of those baffling double-shoots, and strike the man out. 
 
 The rooters growled. Why hadn't Frank gone in at 
 the start? Then it might have been different. Now the 
 game was lost beyond recovery. 
 
 "That shows what a fine manager he is," sneered 
 Pooler.
 
 324 Frank in the Box. 
 
 In the sixth inning Yale seemed in just as bad luck as 
 ever. The first two men up went out, and then Hodge 
 came to the bat. There was fire in Bart's eye. He waited 
 for a good one, and then smashed it out for one of th? 
 longest drives of the day, landing on third before the out- 
 fielders could get the sphere back into the diamond. 
 
 Merriwell was the next batter. He was very particular 
 in the selection of a wagon-tongue bat, and, when he came 
 up, he resolved to bring Bart in if possible. 
 
 Finch was shooting them over like bullets. He tried to 
 strike Frank out, and that was where he made his mis- 
 take. Merry picked out a good one, found it, met it, and 
 sent it humming. 
 
 In came Hodge, while Frank made two bags with ease. 
 
 The Yale rooters brightened up. 
 
 "What's this? What's this?" cried Charlie Creighton. 
 "They have dropped on Finch at last ! Now they will hit 
 anything he sends over the plate." 
 
 The Yale yell was heard, and the little bunch of rooters 
 did their best to encourage the players. 
 
 Finch was astonished by Merriwell's success. Suddenly 
 he lost some of the supreme confidence that had buoyed 
 him up all the while. Yale had scored at a time when a 
 whitewash seemed sure. What was going to happen next ? 
 
 Cal Jeffers came to the plate. He had been placed at 
 the head of Yale's batting list because of his qualities as a 
 hard, sure hitter. 
 
 Hodge and Merriwell had secured hits, and Jeffers 
 looked as if he meant to do the same. 
 
 Finch fiddled with the ball, while two Yale coachers 
 shouted from opposite sides of the diamond. He pitched 
 twice and had two called balls on him. Jeffers stood 
 calmly waiting for a good one. 
 
 Finch decided to put on his greatest speed and cut the
 
 Frank in the Box. 325 
 
 outside corner of the plate. He did, and Cal Jeffers 
 swung his bat. 
 
 It did not seem that Jeffers put any force into that hit, 
 but the ball went skimming down between short and sec- 
 ond so fast that no one could touch it, and it placed Jeffers 
 on second, while Merriwell scored with ease. 
 
 Two for Yale ! 
 
 The rooters broke loose in earnest. This was better 
 than they had expected. 
 
 And big Bruce Browning was at the bat ! 
 
 Now Bruce seemed very much awake. He had barely 
 been able to pull on Faunce's suit, and it looked as if he 
 might split open the shirt or the trousers at any moment. 
 
 Finch was nervous ; he showed it. His confidence had 
 dropped in an astonishing manner. 
 
 "It's too bad," said Pink Pooler, who showed some 
 symptoms of uneasiness. "Why didn't the fellows do this 
 before ? Now it is too late." 
 
 "It's never too late to mend," said Dismal Jones, sol- 
 emnly. "There is a chance for you." 
 
 Finch resolved to worry Browning, but he made a mis- 
 take with the first ball he pitched. Without intending to 
 do so, he sent that ball over close to the ground. 
 
 Browning hit it, and rapped out a daisy-cutter that en- 
 abled him to get first, while Jeffers, by the most brilliant 
 running, crossed third and came home on a slide, getting 
 in the score. 
 
 "There's half of it !" screamed Jack Diamond, from the 
 bleachers. 
 
 His voice was drowned by the Yale cheers. 
 
 Right there Finch went entirely to pieces. He became 
 so wild that the next two men got a base on balls, and the 
 bags were all taken. Then Walling rapped one to Prince- 
 ton's third baseman. It should have been an easy out, but 
 the man was so anxious to pick it up cleanly that he jug-
 
 326 Frank in the Box. 
 
 gled it, tossed it into the air, caught it, threw it to first, 
 and put it away over the head of the baseman. 
 
 Browning had scored, Costigan followed him, and Bink 
 Stubbs made a slide for third. 
 
 The right fielder was the man who got the ball. He 
 shot it to first, and first sent it across to third. It was an- 
 other wild throw. The whole Princeton nine seemed "up 
 in the air." 
 
 Stubbs scrambled up, hearing the coacher yelling for 
 him to make for home. He did so. His short legs fairly 
 twinkled as he tore down the line, and he crossed the plate 
 ahead of the ball. 
 
 Then the Yale rooters yelled, and shrieked, and cheered 
 till it seemed they were crazy, for the score was tied!
 
 CHAPTER XLVIII. 
 
 VICTORY ! 
 
 Another pitcher was set to warming up right away, al- 
 though it was as much the fault of the infield players as 
 of Finch that Yale had tied the score. Finch saw the man 
 getting ready to go in, and that helped take the sand out 
 of the fellow. He gave the next batter a base on balls, and 
 then Parker got a hit that brought Walling home and 
 gave Yale the lead. 
 
 It was a happy crowd of rooters who wore the blue just 
 then. A few minutes before it had seemed that Yale did 
 not have a show in the game. At the beginning of the 
 inning Yale had not scored, and Princeton apparently had 
 a snap. Now Yale was one score in the lead. 
 
 The students from New Haven acted like maniacs. 
 They howled like so many savages, they sung, they 
 thumped each other, they laughed and shrieked. 
 
 There was one who did not shout. It was Pooler. He 
 looked very ill. 
 
 "Too bad !" he grated. "Is it possible Merriwell and 
 Hodge are going to be the cause of beating me again ! Oh, 
 Merriwell is poison to me ! His man, Hodge, started the 
 ball rolling, and he followed it up. Then those Princeton 
 puppies acted like a lot of children ! It's awful !* 
 
 He wiped the cold sweat from his face. 
 
 "Here's to good old Yale, drink it down!" sang the 
 rooters. 
 
 Finch dallied for time. He wanted to get out of the 
 box, for something told him Yale would keep risrht ^n pil- 
 ing up scores while he remained in.
 
 328 Victory ! 
 
 The Princeton captain sent out a new pitcher, and Finch 
 dropped the ball willingly. 
 
 The new man pitched a very slow ball. It was a great 
 change from the speed of Finch, and the batter popped up 
 an easy fly to the infield, which retired Yale at last. 
 
 But the rooters were jubilant, and the players were 
 hopeful. 
 
 "Now, fellows," said Frank, as the men went out into 
 the field, "we must be steady and hold them down. If we 
 can do it, this game belongs to us." 
 
 But it did not take him long to discover that the men 
 were too anxious. Walling let an easy hit go through him, 
 and the batter reached first. Stubbs dropped a hot 
 bounder, and two men were on bases. Wintz made a wild 
 throw to third, and the bases were filled without Princeton 
 having made a hit. 
 
 The Princeton rooters were warming up. 
 
 They were doing their best to rattle Merriwell. 
 
 Frank did not believe in working for strike-outs, but he 
 began to realize that the time had come when strike-outs 
 counted. He trimmed the next batter's whiskers with an 
 in, he pulled him with an out, and he paralyzed him with 
 a double-shoot. 
 
 "Three strikes batter out," decided the umpire. 
 
 "Got to do it twice more," thought Merry, while Hodge 
 nodded at him encouragingly. 
 
 He did. With astonishing ease, apparently, he made the 
 next two men fan, and Princeton had not scored. 
 
 Yale held the lead. 
 
 As Frank came in to the bench, Hodge met him and 
 said: 
 
 "It was beautiful work, Merry ! It was grand ! Keep it 
 up. You must win this game in the box. The team can't 
 be trusted." 
 
 "I will do my best," said Frank, quietly.
 
 Victory ! 329 
 
 He did. Although Yale was unable to make another 
 score, Frank held Princeton down so she could not recover 
 her lead, although she filled the bases in the ninth, and 
 made a desperate bid for a score. For the last time in the 
 game, Merry used the double-shoot, and the last Princeton 
 man fanned gracefully. 
 
 It was all over but the shouting. Yale had won, and the 
 little crowd of loyal rooters were weak from their vocal 
 efforts, but happy so happy! 
 
 Without doubt, the most wretched man in New Jersey 
 that day was Pink Pooler. He hated Frank Merriwell, he 
 hated himself, he hated everybody and everything. The 
 victorious shouts of the Yale men made him sick at heart, 
 and he slunk away by himself. 
 
 The news was sent to New Haven by wire. The score 
 had been sent out by innings, and at the end of the fifth 
 inning, with the score six to nothing in Princeton's favor, 
 a deep cloud of gloom hung over the Yale campus. The 
 only hope of the most hopeful was that Yale would man- 
 age to get in one run and save a shutout. 
 
 When the result of the next inning came in everyone 
 seemed paralyzed with astonishment. They could not be- 
 lieve the defenders of the blue had made seven runs in a 
 single inning. It seemed utterly ridiculous. They thought 
 it was a hoax. Some bets were made that it was not right. 
 
 And, when the game continued and ended, and they 
 knew for a certainty that Yale had won, there was a wild 
 scene on the Yale campus. To snatch victory from defeat 
 in such a manner was enough to set the Yale men wild. 
 
 "Where is Finch ?" was the cry. "Oh, he had his trou- 
 bles in the sixth ! Our boys didn't do a thing to him !" 
 
 It was a remarkable game; the score board told that. 
 A hundred fellows said they would have given anything 
 had they seen it. They were regretful when they thought
 
 3}o Victory ! 
 
 How they had regained away because they thought Yale 
 did not have a chance to win. 
 
 Everybody talked baseball, and Frank Merriwell's name 
 was on everybody's tongue. It was generally believed that 
 he was responsible for the marvelous manner in which 
 Yale had won. 
 
 "You may bet your life he did most of the pitching," 
 chuckled Paul Pierson. "Princeton did not score after 
 the second inning. I'll bet something Merriwell pitched 
 the last seven innings of that game." 
 
 It was a happy crowd of players and rooters who took 
 the train for New York that night. Some Princeton men 
 came down and saw them off. 
 
 "It's all right, fellows," called the Tigers. "You won 
 by a fluke. Next time Finch will paralyze you. He is a 
 dandy !" 
 
 "What's the matter with Merriwell?" cried Charlie 
 Creighton. "You did not make a score off him. How do 
 you like that delirium tremens curve of his ?" 
 
 "It's a bird!" was the answer; "but we'll eat it next 
 time." 
 
 "Oh, I don't know ! Finch is a dandy, but what's the 
 matter with Merriwell?" 
 
 "He's all right!" shouted the jolly lads on the railway 
 station. 
 
 "You bet he is !" flung back the Yale men on the train. 
 "Three cheers for Merriwell !" 
 
 "Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" 
 
 Then the train drew out of the station. 
 
 It was one of those glorious hours that comes to every 
 college lad who admires the manly game of baseball. And 
 it seems remarkable that any live American boy with warm 
 blood in his body can fail to love the game with all his 
 soul.
 
 CHAPTER XLIX. 
 
 FIGHTING A GANG. 
 
 "Merriwell won the game." 
 
 That was the report brought back to New Haven by the 
 victors, and Frank was more of a hero than ever. 
 
 There was one man who came back with a heart over- 
 flowing with bitterness. Pink Pooler had made bets right 
 and left that Yale would not win the pennant that season. 
 He had offered all sorts of odds, and he felt that he would 
 be in a bad hole if Yale did win. 
 
 Yale played Harvard on Yale field to follow the Prince- 
 ton game. Now that the blue had won over the orange 
 and black there were enough fellows with money to bet 
 that Yale would down Harvard. 
 
 Pooler had received a "straight tip" that Harvard was 
 coming with a powerful team, and he raked every dollar 
 he could raise to back her as a winner. 
 
 Pooler firmly believed Yale had won the Princeton game 
 by a fluke. Harvard must come out ahead in the game 
 on the following Saturday. If not by fair means well, 
 there would be a way to fix it ! 
 
 Much talk was made about Merriwell's double-shoot. 
 Hodge was enthusiastic over it. He declared Merry 
 would paralyze the Harvard men with that curve. 
 
 Frank retired Hal Faunce from the team. He put Puss 
 Parker in right, and placed Bruce Browning on first. 
 Then he pulled in Joe Costigan from left field and restored 
 him to third base, the position he had played the previous 
 season. 
 
 "Who will he play in left?" 
 
 That was an open question. He practiced with both
 
 332 Fighting a Gang. 
 
 Gamp and Walling in that position. Walling showed up 
 poorly, while Gamp, tall, "gangling" and awkward, made 
 some remarkable catches. Walling was placed on the 
 bench, and Gamp was installed in left. 
 
 Old players looked on aghast. Surely Merriwell was 
 crazy. Gamp was not a practical man. Browning might 
 go to sleep on first. What sort of a team was Frank get- 
 ting together? 
 
 Merry did not pay any heed to what was being said. He 
 took his team out for practice every day. He worked 
 them hard. He drilled them on team work. He had them 
 so -everyone understood the code of signals which he in- 
 troduced. 
 
 Pooler went out day after day to see them practice. He 
 was deeply interested, and not a few fellows believed his 
 interest came from patriotic motives. 
 
 He was sizing up the nine, and, as the day for the game 
 with Harvard approached, he became more and more 
 nervous. 
 
 "I can't lose this time !" he thought. "It will ruin me ! 
 Merriwell is the moving spirit of the whole team. With 
 him out of the way, Harvard would have a walk-over." 
 
 With him out of the way ! 
 
 That thought kept running in Pink's head. How could 
 Merriwell be disposed of so he could take no part in the 
 game against Harvard? 
 
 Pooler fell to scheming. He formed plan after plan, 
 but discarded them all. He thought of trying to drug 
 Frank on the field, but that had been tried too many times. 
 It was dangerous, and it might not prove successful. 
 
 "No," he decided, "I will see that he is cooked in ad- 
 vance." 
 
 He went into town, and was seen talking with some lads 
 who seemed rather disreputable in appearance. 
 
 Friday came. Among the first to reach the park fbr
 
 Fighting a Gang. 353 
 
 practice was Merriwell and Hodge. Frank was going to 
 pitch to Bart a while before all the team assembled on the 
 field. 
 
 It happened that Bart and Costigan were the first to get 
 out of the dressing room, and Frank was left putting on 
 his shoes. He finished his task, and rose to his feet. As 
 he did so, the door opened and a rough-looking chap 
 dodged in. 
 
 "Hello!" exclaimed Frank, in surprise. "Who are 
 you, and what are you doing here ?" 
 
 The fellow caught up a bat and swung it aloft. 
 
 "Shut up!" he hissed. "If you holler, I'll split your 
 head open!" 
 
 Then he gave a sharp whistle. 
 
 Frank knew that whistle was a signal, and he instantly 
 realized crooked work was a-foot. With his eyes he meas- 
 ured the distance to the intruder. An instant later, he 
 made a catlike spring, caught hold of the bat, twisted it 
 from the fellow's hand, and had him by the collar. 
 
 "You infernal sneak!" he cried. "What is your game? 
 I am onto you!" 
 
 The door came open with a bang. 
 
 "Come on, fellers !" cried the first fellow to enter. "We's 
 got him all alone ! We kin fix him !" 
 
 Five or six young ruffians started to swarm in at the 
 door. They had heavy sticks, and it was plain they meant 
 to do Merriwell harm. 
 
 The one Frank had by the collar tried to give him a 
 swinging blow, but, quick as a flash, Merriwell caught 
 him up and flung him straight at the gang in the doorway ! 
 
 The human catapult struck the foremost of the ruffians 
 and nearly swept them off their feet. Before they could 
 recover, Merry caught up the bat and charged them. 
 
 Mercilessly he belabored them over the shoulders. 
 Once or twice he cracked one on the head.
 
 234 Fighting a Gang. 
 
 They howled with terror and disgust, and Frank soon 
 drove them from the dressing room. He slammed the 
 door, barred it, and held them out successfully till some of 
 the other players arrived on the field and came to his 
 rescue. 
 
 The gang, seeing they had been baffled in their attempt, 
 lost little time in getting away. 
 
 "I'd give something to know who put them up to the 
 job," said Frank. "I am sure they were hired to do me 
 up. If I had not tumbled and acted in a hurry, they would 
 have done it all right." 
 
 Hodge was indignant. 
 
 "I'll wager something I can tell just who put them up 
 to the game," he said. 
 
 "Name him." 
 
 "Pink Pooler." 
 
 "What makes you think so?" 
 
 "Pooler hates you. He bet me fifty dollars Yale would 
 lose the game with Princeton. I beat him at that, and I 
 know that was not all the money he had on the game. He 
 has put up everything he could rake that Yale will not 
 win the pennant. If Yale wins, Pooler is ruined. If he 
 didn't hire that gang to do you up, I don't know." 
 
 "I hate to think it of him, but I remember now that he 
 did stand in with some of my enemies who have been 
 driven to leave college. I'll keep my eyes open for him in 
 the future." 
 
 "You won't make a mistake if you do." 
 
 The story of the attempt to knock out Merriwell caused 
 no small excitement, for Frank had hundreds of friends, 
 and all Yale seemed to look to him as the Moses who 
 might lead them out of the wilderness. 
 
 The time of the game with Harvard rolled round at last, 
 and the boys from Cambridge came down in force. Root- 
 ers with powerful lungs and tin horns galore were on hand.
 
 Fighting a Gang. 335 
 
 Yale was at home, and she was stuffed full of courage, 
 for all of the queer team Frank had got together. 
 
 Yale started off like winners, making two scores in the 
 first. But, not to be outdone, Harvard managed to get 
 in two on two scratch hits and as many errors. 
 
 Then both pitchers settled down, and not another score 
 was made for six innings. 
 
 In the seventh Harvard scored. In the eighth Yale tied 
 her. In the ninth Yale got another and took the lead. 
 
 Then was the time for Frank Merriwell to show the 
 timber he was made of, and he did so. Then it was that 
 his double-shoot came into use, and won the game by fool- 
 ing three of Harvard's best batters so they all struck out. 
 
 Yale had won the first two games of the series with 
 Princeton and Harvard, and was fairly on the road to the 
 pennant. 
 
 Pink Pooler felt like murdering Frank Merriwell. He 
 took no part in the jollification that night, but kept at a 
 distance, listening with burning heart to the songs and 
 cheers of the hilarious students. 
 
 That night he realized that he was a traitor in every 
 sense of the word, and he was more bitter at heart than 
 ever before. 
 
 "Frank Merriwell is responsible for it all," he kept de- 
 claring. "He has the greatest luck! Sometime he will 
 have the luck to get it in the neck. Those fellows made a 
 failure of the attempt to knock him out before the game, 
 but they got away with my money, for they would not 
 attempt thn job unless I paid in advance." 
 
 Although Frank knew he had enemies in Yale, he was 
 not aware there was one quite so desperate and dangerous 
 as Pink Pooler. 
 
 And, despite all his enemies, with the aid of his double- 
 shoot, he succeeded in piloting the Yale team to victory 
 that season. The feat stands on record as most remark-
 
 336 Fighting a Gang. 
 
 able, for it was generally acknowledged that never had 
 Yale put a poorer team in the field at the opening of the 
 season. 
 
 It was generally agreed that she won almost all of her 
 games in the box. 
 
 THE END.
 
 BEST OF ALL BOYS' BOOKS 
 
 THE FAMOUS 
 
 Frank Merriwell Stories 
 
 By BURT L. STANDISH 
 
 No modern series of tales for boys and youths has 
 met with anything like the cordial reception and popu- 
 larity accorded to the Frank Merriwell Stories. 
 
 There must be a reason for this and there is. Frank 
 Merriwell, as portrayed by the author, is a jolly, whole- 
 souled, honest, courageous American lad, who appeals 
 to the hearts of the boys. He has no bad habits, and 
 his manliness inculcates the idea that it is not necessary 
 for a boy to indulge in petty vices to be a hero. Frank 
 Merriwell's example is a shining light for every ambitious 
 lad to follow. 
 
 Twenty-four volumes ready 
 
 Frank Merriwell's School Days Frank Merriwell's Skill 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Chums Frank Merriwell's Champions 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Foes Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Trip West Frank Merriwell's Secret 
 
 Frank Merriwell Down South Frank Merriwell's Loyalty 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Bravery Frank Merriwell's Reward 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Races Frank Merriwell's Faith 
 Frank Merriwell's Hunting Tour Frank Merriwell's Victories 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Sports Afield Frank Merriwell's Power 
 
 Frank Merriwell at Yale Frank Merriwell's Set-Back 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Courage Frank Merriwell's False Friend 
 
 Frank Merriwell's Daring Frank MerriwelPs Brother 
 
 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 
 
 (i)
 
 THE MOTOR POWER SERIES 
 
 Donald Grayson's Famous 
 Motor Stories for Boys & 
 
 Mr. Grayson is an accomplished writer of up-to-the- 
 minute juvenile stories which are eagerly read by 
 modern American lads. 
 
 In his new series, his characters have exciting adven- 
 tures with every kind of motor-driven machines motor 
 cycles, automobiles, aeroplanes and submarines. 
 
 You may readily see what a vast field for adventures 
 Mr. Grayson has chosen. 
 
 Now Ready 
 
 BOB STEELE'S MOTOR CYCLE 
 
 BOB STEELE ON HIGH GEAR 
 
 BOB STEELE FROM AUTO TO AIRSHIP 
 
 BOB STEELE AFLOAT IN THE CLOUDS 
 
 BOB STEELE'S SUBMARINE CRUISE 
 
 BOB STEELE IN STRANGE WATERS 
 
 BOB STEELE'S MOTOR BOAT 
 
 BOB STEELE'S WINNING RACE 
 
 BOB STEELE'S NEW AEROPLANE 
 
 BOB STEELE'S LAST FLIGHT 
 
 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 
 
 (2)
 
 BOYS OF LIBERTY LIBRARY 
 
 NEW SERIES of splendid tales of the wonderful and 
 li stirring adventures of boys who fought in The Revolu- 
 tionary War, The French and Indian Wars, and Naval 
 Battles of 1812. 
 
 The stories are written in an intensely interesting style, and no 
 boy can read them without being aroused to the highest pitch of 
 patriotic enthusiasm. 
 
 We give herewith a list of titles now ready. Read the first and 
 you will want to read all the others. I2mo. Cloth, handsomely 
 bound. 
 
 PAUL REVERE. By John De Morgan. 
 
 THE FIRST SHOT FOR LIBERTY. By John De Morgan. 
 
 FOOLING THE ENEMY. By John De Morgan. 
 
 INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH. By Joha De Morgan. 
 
 THE HERO OF TICONDEROGA. By John De Morgan. 
 
 ON TO QUEBEC. By John De Morgan. 
 
 FIGHTING HAL. By John De Morgan. 
 
 MARION AND HIS MEN. By John De Morgan. 
 
 THE YOUNG AMBASSADOR. By John De Morgan. 
 
 THE YOUNG GUARDSMAN. By John De Morgan. 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE LIVELY BEE. By John De Morgan. 
 
 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. Lounsberry. 
 
 A CALL TO DUTY. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 
 
 IN GLORY'S VAN. By Lieut. Lounsberry. 
 
 THE TRADER'S CAPTIVE. By Lieut. Louneberry. 
 
 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 i8ia. By C. C. Hotchkis*. 
 
 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 is 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 
 
 BY 
 
 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, 5O cents 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 tory 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 McConnick. 
 
 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. Orion. 
 
 The adventures of a young inventor of a 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)
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 
 
 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 
 
 Return tt 
 
 )rary from which it was borrowed.
 
 A 000 034 444 o