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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Frank Merriwell's Son, by Burt L. Standish
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Frank Merriwell's Son
+       A Chip Off the Old Block
+
+Author: Burt L. Standish
+
+Release Date: May 3, 2008 [EBook #25316]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRANK MERRIWELL'S SON ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: The Merriwell Series No. 137 Frank Merriwell's Son By
+Burt L. Standish]
+
+
+Frank Merriwell's Son
+
+OR,
+
+A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
+
+BY
+
+BURT L. STANDISH
+
+Author of the famous MERRIWELL STORIES.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+STREET & SMITH CORPORATION
+PUBLISHERS
+79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York
+
+Copyright, 1906
+By STREET & SMITH
+Frank Merriwell's Son
+
+(Printed in the United States of America)
+
+All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign
+languages, including the Scandinavian.
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER I.          A NEW LIFE.
+CHAPTER II.         THE BIRTHMARK.
+CHAPTER III.        ON THE VERANDA.
+CHAPTER IV.         A MAID OF MYSTERY.
+CHAPTER V.          THE SURPRISE.
+CHAPTER VI.         THE FACE IN THE WATCH.
+CHAPTER VII.        A BLACK SAMSON.
+CHAPTER VIII.       THE SUBSTITUTES.
+CHAPTER IX.         SPARKFAIR'S HIT.
+CHAPTER X.          A MOONLIGHT MEETING.
+CHAPTER XI.         THE TRUTH.
+CHAPTER XII.        A HEART LAID BARE.
+CHAPTER XIII.       THE PLEDGE OF FAITH.
+CHAPTER XIV.        THE SIGNAL FOR SILENCE.
+CHAPTER XV.         KIDNAPED!
+CHAPTER XVI.        FOR THE SAKE OF OLD DAYS.
+CHAPTER XVII.       A CALL TO THE "FLOCK."
+CHAPTER XVIII.      A MAN OF THE PEOPLE.
+CHAPTER XIX.        AN INTRUDER.
+CHAPTER XX.         OLD FRIENDS EN ROUTE.
+CHAPTER XXI.        AT MERRY HOME.
+CHAPTER XXII.       ANOTHER PILGRIM.
+CHAPTER XXIII.      IN THE NOOK.
+CHAPTER XXIV.       ON THE CLIFF.
+CHAPTER XXV.        A STARTLING DISCOVERY.
+CHAPTER XXVI.       A LIVELY GAME.
+CHAPTER XXVII.      MURILLO'S FAREWELL.
+CHAPTER XXVIII.     A COMPACT.
+CHAPTER XXIX.       THE PROOF.
+CHAPTER XXX.        THE EDUCATED HORSE.
+CHAPTER XXXI.       A CHALLENGE.
+CHAPTER XXXII.      A HARD PROPOSITION.
+CHAPTER XXXIII.     THE VOICE OF THE TEMPTER.
+CHAPTER XXXIV.      A TROUBLED MIND.
+CHAPTER XXXV.       REMORSE.
+CHAPTER XXXVI.      A FRIEND WORTH HAVING.
+CHAPTER XXXVII.     A PROTEST.
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.    A CONFESSION.
+CHAPTER XXXIX.      JOLTS FOR BULLIES.
+CHAPTER XL.         A DETERMINED FRONT.
+CHAPTER XLI.        THE HOUR AND THE MAN.
+
+
+
+
+FRANK MERRIWELL'S SON.
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+A NEW LIFE.
+
+
+Lizette, the French nurse, came softly and lightly down the stairs and
+found Frank Merriwell pacing the library floor, while Bart Hodge and
+Elsie Bellwood talked to him soothingly.
+
+"Madame will see you now, saire," said the nurse, with a little curtsy.
+"Ze doctaire he is gone now some time. Madame she is comforterbill. She
+say she see you--alone."
+
+Frank was all eagerness to go. He bounded up the stairs, two at a time,
+scarcely heeding the white-capped nurse, who hurried after him, softly
+calling:
+
+"Not on ze rush, saire. You make ze rush, you gif madame ze start."
+
+"That's so," muttered Merry, checking himself at the head of the stairs
+and waiting for the cautious nurse. "Lizette, lead the way."
+
+The girl, stepping softly as a cat, gently opened a door for him, thus
+revealing a chamber where the light was softened by drawn window shades.
+Within that chamber Mrs. Merriwell reclined amid the snowy pillows of a
+broad bed.
+
+"Ze mastaire is here, madame," said the nurse, as Frank entered.
+
+In a moment Merry was bending over his wife.
+
+Something small and pink, in a soft white garment, nestled on her arm.
+It uttered a weak little cry--the cry of a new life in the great
+seething world--which was sweet music to the pale woman on the bed and
+the anxious man who bent over her.
+
+"Oh, Frank," murmured Inza, "he's calling to you! He knows his father
+has come."
+
+Merriwell kissed her lightly, softly, tenderly. Then, with that
+indescribable light in his eyes, he gazed long and fondly at the babe.
+
+"It's a boy, Inza!" he murmured. "Just as you wished!"
+
+"Just as I wished for your sake, Frank," she said. "I knew you wanted a
+son. This is the happiest moment of my life, for I have given him to
+you."
+
+"A son!" exclaimed Frank softly, as he straightened up and threw his
+splendid shoulders back. "Why, think of it, Inza, I'm a father--and you
+are the dearest, sweetest, handsomest, noblest little mother in all the
+world!"
+
+The nurse ventured to speak.
+
+"Madame is so well! Madame is so strong! It is wonderful! It is grand!"
+
+"You've been very good, Lizette," said Inza. "We'll not forget it."
+
+The nurse retired to the far end of the room, where she stood with her
+back toward the bed, pretending to inspect and admire a Donatello upon
+the wall.
+
+Frank took the chair beside the bed and found Inza's hand, which he
+clasped in a firm but gentle grasp.
+
+"What shall we name him?" he asked.
+
+"Why, haven't you decided on a name, dear?"
+
+"Without consulting you? Do you think I would do such a thing, Inza?"
+
+"The name that pleases you will please me," she declared. "What shall it
+be, my husband?"
+
+"Why not the name of my most faithful friend? Why not call him Bartley
+Hodge Merriwell?"
+
+"If that satisfies you, he shall be called by that name."
+
+Somehow Frank fancied he detected a touch of disappointment in her
+voice.
+
+"But you, sweetheart--haven't you a suggestion to make?"
+
+"If you would like me to make one."
+
+"You know I would, Inza."
+
+"Then let Hodge be his middle name. Let's call him Frank Hodge
+Merriwell. The initials are the same as your own. Bart will be pleased,
+and to me the baby will be little Frank."
+
+"Fine!" laughed Merry, in great satisfaction. "That is settled. That
+shall be his name. Hello, there, Frank Merriwell, the younger! I'll make
+an athlete of you, you rascal! I'll give you such advantages to start
+with as I never had myself."
+
+"No matter what you give him, no matter what you do for him," murmured
+the happy mother, "he can never become a better or nobler man than his
+father."
+
+Frank kissed her again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE BIRTHMARK.
+
+
+"Where are Bart and Elsie, Frank?" asked Inza.
+
+"They're in the library."
+
+"I want them to come up. Tell Lizette to call them."
+
+The soft-footed nurse flitted from the room, and a few moments later
+Elsie Bellwood and Bart Hodge appeared. Hodge followed Elsie with an air
+of reluctance and confusion, which caused Inza to smile.
+
+In a moment the golden-haired girl was bending over the bed, caressing
+her bosom friend, and murmuring soft words of affection.
+
+"You're such a brave, brave woman, Inza!" she exclaimed. "Oh, you make
+me feel like a coward!"
+
+"Come here, Hodge," urged Frank, drawing his friend round to the other
+side of the bed. "Here's the boy. Here he is--Frank Hodge Merriwell."
+
+"Frank Hodge Merriwell?" echoed Bart, fumbling for Merry's hand and
+grasping it with an almost savage grip. "You've given him my name?"
+
+"We did it--both of us together, old man."
+
+"Merry, I--I don't know what--to say," stammered Bartley. "You've
+completely upset me. It's the greatest honor----"
+
+"There, there," smiled Frank, "don't splutter and mumble like that, old
+fellow. You don't have to say a word. Just make a bow to the new-born
+king."
+
+Elsie was not one to gush, but, with clasped hands and flushed face, she
+expressed her admiration for the child.
+
+"You ought to feel proud, Bart," she said. "You ought to feel almost as
+proud as Frank."
+
+"Proud?" laughed Hodge. "Why, I--I---- My chest has expanded three
+inches in the last thirty seconds. Proud? I'll bet my hat won't fit me!
+He's a star, the little rascal!"
+
+"He has ze star on his left shouldaire," said Lizette. "Shall I show it,
+madame? Shall I show zem ze beautiful mark?"
+
+"Please do," said Inza.
+
+The nurse loosened the child's clothes and exposed the small, shapely
+shoulder. There, at the very base of the arm, was a small, perfectly
+formed pink, five-cornered star.
+
+"I was right!" cried Hodge. "There's been a wonderful addition to the
+universe! A new star has risen!"
+
+"It's a birthmark," said Frank.
+
+"Oh, isn't it very strange!" breathed Elsie. "It gives me a
+superstitious feeling of awe. It seems to me that he is marked by fate
+to be something grand and wonderful."
+
+"It was so good of you, Elsie, to come to me when I wanted you,"
+breathed Inza. "And Hodge--he traveled so far."
+
+"Oh, everything is coming as smoothly as possible at the mines,"
+declared Bart. "There's a first-class foreman at both the Queen Mystery
+and the San Pablo. I could leave as well as not, and the old trains
+couldn't run fast enough to bring me here after I received the wire from
+Frank, saying that Elsie would be here. You bet I was glad to shake the
+alkali dust out of my clothes."
+
+"You've done great things for me at the mines, Bart," said Merry.
+"Everything now seems to be going right for me everywhere in the world.
+The Central Sonora Railroad is practically completed, and the San Pablo
+is paying enormously. But these are not things to speak of on an
+occasion like this."
+
+After a few minutes Bart and Elsie retired, the nurse took the baby, and
+Frank lingered a while longer at the side of his wife.
+
+On returning to the library, Elsie stood at one of the large windows and
+looked out upon the grounds and across the broad road toward the
+handsome buildings of Farnham Hall. There was a strange expression of
+mingled happiness and regret on her fair face. Something like a mist
+filled her eyes.
+
+Hodge came up behind her and put his arms round her.
+
+"A penny for your thoughts, Elsie," he said.
+
+"I don't think I could express them in words," she confessed. "Do you
+think me a jealous person, Bart?"
+
+"Jealous?" he exclaimed. "Far from it!"
+
+"But I am--I'm jealous. I'm dying of envy."
+
+"You--you jealous--of whom?"
+
+"Inza. Look how all the best things of life have come to her. She has a
+grand husband, who is doing a magnificent and noble work. Look at those
+splendid buildings. Every one acknowledges now that Frank has done and
+is doing more for the upbuilding and the uplifting of American boys than
+any person has ever before done in all history. Inza is his wife, and
+they have a son."
+
+Bart's arms dropped at his sides, and he turned away.
+
+In surprise, Elsie turned and saw him move from her. In a moment she had
+him by the arm.
+
+"What is it, Bart?" she exclaimed, in dismay.
+
+He shook his head, seeming unable to speak.
+
+"Tell me what it is. Tell me what I did to hurt you," she commanded.
+
+He faced her again, looking deep into her blue eyes.
+
+"You called up the past, Elsie," he said, in a low tone. "I can't forget
+that once I thought Frank loved you--and you loved him. You've confessed
+a feeling of jealousy toward Inza."
+
+"Oh, no, no, no!" she said quickly. "You didn't understand me,
+Bart--truly you didn't! It was not the sort of jealousy you mean. I'm
+not jealous of her because she is Frank's wife--never! never!"
+
+He seemed puzzled.
+
+"Then what did you mean--what did you mean?" he asked.
+
+"Why, can't you understand? Can't you see how it is? Fortune or fate, or
+whatever you may call it, has been against me--against us, Bart. Have
+you forgotten how we planned on a double wedding? Have you
+forgotten----"
+
+"Forgotten?" cried Hodge. "I should say not! It was the bitterest
+disappointment of my life! You know I urged you, Elsie--I used every
+persuasion in my power."
+
+"But I could not consent. I was an invalid, and I feared my health would
+never return."
+
+"It has returned, little sweetheart. You're well again. You're stronger
+and handsomer than ever before in all your life. You put me off then,
+but you can't do it now! I won't let you!"
+
+"You mean that----"
+
+"I mean that when I left Mexico I made a resolve--I swore an oath. If I
+go back there--if Frank wants me to go--you will go with me."
+
+"Bart!"
+
+"You must go with me," he repeated.
+
+"Must?"
+
+"I have said it. Look here, Elsie, I know you're not jealous of Inza
+because Merry is rich."
+
+"Oh, no, no!"
+
+"As a rule, I have told you everything, my girl, but I now confess that
+there is one thing that I have not told you. I have a secret."
+
+"A secret from me?"
+
+"Yes, a secret from you. You heard Frank state how well the San Pablo is
+paying. You heard him say that I had been faithful in my work for him.
+Perhaps you do not know that ere we entered into an agreement by which I
+took charge of his two mines and acted as overseer for both of
+them--perhaps you do not know that we nearly quarreled."
+
+Elsie looked astounded.
+
+"Nearly quarreled?" she exclaimed.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Why, how could you?"
+
+"Because he insisted on a certain condition in our agreement. Because he
+insisted that, after a lapse of time and at the completion of the
+Mexican railroad, I should accept a third interest in the San Pablo
+Mine. I fought against it. I told him it was not right. I even
+threatened to quit and have nothing to do with the work he wished me to
+perform. He was inexorable, unyielding. I pointed out that my service
+was not worth what he offered. I showed him that he could get
+experienced and expert men to do the work for an infinitesimal part of
+what he proposed to give me. He asserted that he was not giving me this
+merely for my labor, but on account of past favors and things I had done
+for him which could not be paid for in money. Even though I did not
+permit him to force me into consenting to take this share of his mine, I
+finally remained and did my best. I arrived in Bloomfield three days
+ago. The day I reached here he placed a paper in my hands. That paper
+makes me one-third owner of the San Pablo. I'm rich, Elsie. The future
+is assured for me and for you. That very day I went to the town clerk
+and had another paper made out. Here it is."
+
+He took a document from his pocket, opened it, and placed it in her
+hands.
+
+"Why--why, what----" faltered Elsie.
+
+"It's a marriage license," said Bart. "I've made all arrangements, and
+to-morrow, God willing, you and I will be made man and wife."
+
+It was even as Hodge had said. On the morrow, at her request, they were
+married in Inza's chamber.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+ON THE VERANDA.
+
+
+It was a beautiful sunny morning some three weeks later.
+
+Inza and Elsie sat on the broad veranda of Merry Home, while Lizette,
+the nurse, trundled the baby up and down beneath the shady trees on the
+broad lawn.
+
+Over at the east of Farnham Hall a group of laborers, among whom were
+fully twenty of the Farnham boys, were completing the foundations for
+Merriwell's new manual-training school building.
+
+A glimpse of the distant athletic ground showed a number of boys hard at
+work on the track and the baseball field.
+
+There was a look of serene happiness on Inza's face, while Elsie was
+positively rosy. After chatting a while, they sat some moments in
+silence, busy with their own thoughts. Finally their eyes met, and Inza
+laughed.
+
+"No one would ever dream now that you were at one time determined to be
+an invalid, Elsie," she said.
+
+"Determined to be?" exclaimed Elsie. "Why do you use that word, Inza?"
+
+"Why, you remember that I laughed at you--you remember I told you a
+hundred times that you would be well and strong again."
+
+"Yes, you were most encouraging, Inza, and I'll never forget how
+faithfully you stuck by me. Still, there were reasons why I feared for
+my future health."
+
+"Silly reasons."
+
+"Oh, no, Inza; not silly. You can't call them that. You know my mother
+was never strong, and she finally became a chronic invalid."
+
+"But your father----"
+
+"Oh, he was a rugged man."
+
+"You know it's said that girls generally take after their fathers and
+boys after their mothers."
+
+"But in my case it was different. A thousand times my father told me how
+much I looked like my mother. I had a picture of her, and I could see I
+was becoming more and more like her every day."
+
+"You're a person who worries, Elsie. When things are not going just
+right you give yourself over to fears for the future. I have absolute
+courage and faith."
+
+"Oh, I know my failing," admitted the golden-haired bride. "You and
+Frank were made for each other. You're both courageous and trustful.
+Frank has done marvels for Bart in the way of giving him unwavering
+confidence and courage. You know Bart used to be quick-tempered,
+resentful, and inclined to brood. He has learned, through Frank's
+example, to overcome such failings, and he's now almost as confident
+and optimistic as Frank himself. I think Bart will help me in that
+respect."
+
+"We're both extremely fortunate," said Inza gravely. "If other girls
+could have such good fortune, this world would be a happy place. You are
+going to stay with us this summer?"
+
+"Oh, I don't know. Bart thinks it his duty to return to the mines. If he
+goes, I shall go with him."
+
+"But Frank says Bart will not be needed there for three months, at
+least. You're not going to settle down to live in Arizona or Mexico,
+Elsie?"
+
+"Oh, I don't expect we'll live there all our lives," was the smiling
+answer. "But while duty keeps my husband out there, I shall remain with
+him."
+
+"That's fine--that's splendid! But Frank says there is no reason why
+Bart should spend more than five or six months of the year at the mines.
+Frank wants you to have a home in the East--here in Bloomfield."
+
+"Oh, I hope we may!" cried Elsie. "I'm sure Bart would like that."
+
+"Then you'd better make your plans for it. There's a fine building lot
+down the road, and Frank owns it. You know you were married so suddenly
+we had no opportunity to make you a wedding present. If you can induce
+Bart to build, Frank and I have decided to give you that lot as a
+wedding present."
+
+Elsie sprang up, her eyes dancing, flung her arms round Inza's neck, and
+kissed her repeatedly.
+
+"It's too much--too much!" she cried.
+
+For a few moments their words and laughter were mingled in such
+confusion that the record would produce a senseless jumble. Finally
+Elsie sat down, appearing utterly overcome.
+
+"Oh, what a glorious world!" she murmured. "What a grand, inexpressible
+thing real true friendship is! Still, such a gift is----"
+
+"Now don't feel that this is a case of charity," laughed Inza. "I want
+you here--we want you here. Bart doesn't need charity. His interest in
+the San Pablo makes him independent. He could buy a building lot
+anywhere he chose in Bloomfield; but it happens Frank owns the best lot
+near us, and our selfish desire to have you close by is one motive for
+the present."
+
+"Selfish, Inza? There never was a selfish bone in you or in your
+husband. I understand and appreciate the spirit of the gift, and I'm
+sure Bart will. Oh, won't it be the finest thing to plan our new house,
+to watch while it is being built, to furnish it, and finally to move
+into it and start with a real home of our own!"
+
+Again they were silent.
+
+Amid the trees birds were calling, mate to mate. A proud redbreast
+danced across the lawn, pausing to capture a fated insect, then flew up
+into one of the trees to feed its mate upon a nest.
+
+Elsie was watching the maid, now bending over the carriage and crooning
+softly to the baby.
+
+"Did you ever notice how queerly Lizette does her hair, Inza?"
+
+"Yes, I've noticed," was the answer. "There are several queer things
+about her. Her skin is strangely dark, almost as if stained, and I know
+she makes up her eyebrows. Sometimes I've noted that her French, when
+she speaks in her own language, is anything but correct, yet she seems a
+girl of some education. Her intonation is occasionally a trifle
+different from that of most French people I've met."
+
+"But she's very faithful."
+
+"Yes, she is very faithful and very kind with the baby. But I believe
+Lizette has a secret."
+
+"A secret?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Why do you think that?"
+
+"Occasionally she looks at me in the most peculiar manner. I've caught
+her looking that way several times. Once I discovered her glaring at
+Frank's back in a way that was almost savage."
+
+"How singular! What do you suppose it means?"
+
+"Oh, I don't know, unless it may be that she envies Frank and me. It may
+be that some time she was disappointed by an unfaithful lover."
+
+"Poor girl!" breathed Elsie. "If such is the case, I think I realize how
+she feels. But look, Inza, here come the boys now. They're coming over
+from the Hall."
+
+The "boys" were Frank and Bart, who were approaching side by side, two
+splendid specimens of American manhood.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+A MAID OF MYSTERY.
+
+
+Frank and Bart waved their hands and lifted their hats. Hodge dashed up
+the veranda steps to join his wife, while Merry paused to bend over the
+baby carriage.
+
+"Why, he's wide awake," laughed Merry, as he surveyed the baby. "He's
+chipper and bright as a new-minted dollar, but he isn't raising much of
+a racket."
+
+"Oh, he has ze most splendid tempaire for ze baby zat I evaire see,"
+said Lizette. "He no make ze cry, ze squawk, ze squeal all ze time, like
+some babeez. When he is hungaire he hollaire some. Zat is naturaile."
+
+"Quite," laughed Merry. "When I'm hungry I'm inclined to put up a holler
+myself. Hey, hey, toddlekins, you're getting a dimple!"
+
+He touched the baby's cheeks, and the tiny hands found and grasped his
+finger. A moment later that finger was in the baby's mouth.
+
+"Hold on, you cannibal!" protested Frank, in great delight. "You're
+trying to eat your own father! Haven't you any heart or conscience!
+Haven't you any feeling for your dad! I believe he's hungry now,
+Lizette. I believe he's perishing! Lizette, you're starving him!"
+
+"Oh, oh, monsieur!" cried the nurse. "I nevaire starve heem. He have all
+he need. You gif heem too much he git ze colic--he git ze cramp. You
+make heem sick. You know how to feed ze big boys to make zem strong and
+well, but you know not how to feed ze baby. You leave it to Lizette. She
+takes ze perfect care of heem."
+
+"I fancy that's right, Lizette," said Merry, straightening up and
+looking at her. "You've proved that you know your business. I'll
+remember you well, my girl. But, say, Lizette, what makes you do your
+hair so queerly? What makes you hide your ears with it?"
+
+The nurse seemed confused, and bowed her head until he could not see her
+face fairly.
+
+"Oh, maybe I have ze very ugly ear, monsieur. Eef not zat, mebbe I like
+ze way I do ze hair. You know one time ze many girl do ze hair zis way
+like Cleo de Merode."
+
+"Well, you don't need to advertise yourself, and that was one of Cleo's
+advertising dodges. Have you a brother?"
+
+"A brothaire?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Why you ask it?"
+
+"Because there's something wonderfully familiar in your appearance.
+Because I've either seen you before or some one very much like you. Have
+you a brother?"
+
+"I have not ze brothaire."
+
+"Then it must be a coincidence, but somehow I seem to remember dimly a
+boy who looked like you. I may be mistaken."
+
+"I have neither the brothaire nor the sistaire. I am all alone in ze
+world, monsieur. I have ze hard time to geet ze living once. It gif me
+ze great work."
+
+"Well, don't worry about that any more, my girl. We need you right here
+at Merry Home."
+
+Inza was calling to him, and Frank hastened up the steps.
+
+"I didn't expect you'd be able to come so soon, Frank," said his wife,
+as he drew his chair close to hers.
+
+"Oh, I arranged it to get off early this forenoon. Hodge has been
+helping me. Diamond and Browning are still hard at work keeping the boys
+pegging away."
+
+"Everything is going well at the school?"
+
+"Things couldn't go better. I don't know a boy who hasn't made great
+improvement, although some have done far better than others. Each day it
+seems that they take hold of the work with fresh enthusiasm and energy."
+
+"You've got a great baseball bunch there, Merry," said Hodge. "I don't
+wonder they trimmed everything in their class hereabouts. As a pitcher,
+that fellow Sparkfair is the real article."
+
+Frank nodded.
+
+"You're right. Sparkfair is a wonder."
+
+"But I can't quite fathom him," confessed Hodge. "If ever I saw a
+deceptive young scoundrel, it's that chap. At times he's so meek and
+modest that he dazes me. At other times he's so flippant and forward
+that I want to collar him and shake him out of his clothes. I wouldn't
+know how to deal with him, Frank."
+
+"In some respects it was a problem with me," confessed Merry; "but
+fortunately I struck on the proper course. Once I found out how to
+manage, it was not hard to handle Sparkfair. He raised a lot of dust
+when he first landed at Farnham Hall. It didn't take him long to get
+arrested as a highwayman, and right on top of that I had to kill a fine
+horse in order to keep the horse from killing Sparkfair. He's as full of
+queer quirks and unexpected moves as an egg is full of meat. If there's
+a practical joke perpetrated, I generally look for Sparkfair at the
+bottom of it. About nine times out of ten I find him there. Still, he's
+not malicious, and in a case of emergency I believe I can depend upon
+him to be on the right side. For instance, when the boys started a
+rebellion against manual labor Sparkfair refused to join them, and it
+was his scheme that put a prompt and ludicrous end to the rebellion."
+
+"I think he's a splendid boy," said Inza. "I took a liking to him the
+first time I saw him."
+
+"He's done a great deal in the way of helping young Joe Crowfoot along,"
+said Frank.
+
+"There's another marvel!" exclaimed Bart. "If any one except you were to
+tell me that your Indian boy has made such astonishing progress from
+savagery to civilization in such a brief time, I'd disbelieve the yarn.
+I've been giving him points on his work behind the bat. He grasps
+everything almost instantly."
+
+"He's remarkably apt," nodded Merriwell. "With his whole soul he's
+determined to learn everything the white man can teach him. Old Joe
+swore the boy to this obedience, and young Joe has never faltered or
+hesitated. Still, I know he is sometimes consumed with a longing for the
+wild life that's natural to one of his race. At times he wanders alone
+in the fields and woods. He takes pleasure in following the trail of any
+wild animal if he happens to find such a track. As a trailer, I believe
+he's almost as wonderful as a bloodhound."
+
+The conversation wandered on to other topics, and finally Inza spoke of
+the wedding gift to Bart and Elsie. Hodge seemed quite overcome and
+unable to express himself.
+
+"Not a word, old fellow!" cried Frank, glancing at his watch and rising
+quickly. "Come on if you're going into town with me."
+
+"Are you going into town?" asked Inza.
+
+"Oh, we won't be gone long," smiled Merry. "It's a little matter that
+requires attention. Perhaps we'll bring back a surprise."
+
+"Oh, now you've aroused my curiosity!"
+
+"I intended to."
+
+"Aren't you going to tell me what it is?"
+
+"Then it wouldn't be a surprise."
+
+"But I can't wait."
+
+"Just like a woman," chuckled Merry. "Give them a hint of a surprise in
+store for them, and they'll badger you to death until they spoil the
+surprise. Let's take flight, Bart. Let's get away before the girls coax
+it out of us."
+
+He snatched a kiss and sprang down the steps, followed by Hodge.
+
+"I think you're real mean!" cried Inza. "You just wait and see if I
+don't play it back on you! I'll have a secret some time and keep it from
+you!"
+
+"Impossible!" said Merry. "No woman ever kept a secret."
+
+"Especially from her husband," put in Hodge.
+
+"Oh, you'll see--you'll see!" threatened Inza.
+
+But the two laughing young men disappeared round the corner.
+
+"Now, I'd just give anything in the world to know what they're up to,"
+said Inza. "Aren't you dying to know, Elsie?"
+
+"I am, but still I think I'll survive," was the answer.
+
+Proceeding to the stable, Merry called Toots, who promptly appeared,
+jerking off his cap and bowing as he showed his teeth in a grin.
+
+"How'd do, Marsa Frank--good mawnin', sah," he said. "How'd do, Mist'
+Hodge? What ken Ah do fo' yo' dis lubly mawnin'?"
+
+"Hitch the span into the surrey," said Merry. "I want you to drive us to
+the station."
+
+While the colored man was hitching up, Frank and Bart talked.
+
+"I heard some of the things you were saying to that French nurse girl,
+Merry," said Hodge. "You seem to have an idea that you've seen her
+before."
+
+"I can't get over the feeling," confessed Frank. "Still, it doesn't seem
+so much as if I'd seen her as it does seem that I've seen some one like
+her."
+
+"You asked her if she had a brother?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"She said no?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Do you think that she told you the truth?"
+
+"I had no reason to think otherwise."
+
+"You trust her?"
+
+"She seems perfectly trustworthy to me."
+
+"Well, you may be right. In old times I was forever suspecting some one
+you trusted. In most cases I was wrong, and I suppose I am wrong this
+time."
+
+"Then you suspect Lizette?"
+
+"I have a queer feeling about that girl. I can't give my reasons for it,
+Merry. Still, after you were through talking with her a little while ago
+and you started up the veranda steps, I saw her give you a queer look
+behind your back."
+
+"What sort of a look?"
+
+"I can't describe it. She just flashed you one daggerlike glance with
+those black eyes."
+
+"Oh, well, that meant nothing. Are you ready, Toots?"
+
+"Yes, sah, all ready, sah. Git right in, gemmans. Whoa dar, Flossie!
+Don't yo' git so nimpatient! Stop yo' dancin', old girl. You're gittin'
+Dick all fretted up."
+
+Frank and Bart sprang in and took the rear seat. In a moment Toots was
+on the front seat, and the horses clattered out of the stable.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE SURPRISE.
+
+
+The eastbound express drew up at Bloomfield station. Among the
+passengers who got off was a slender, grave-faced young fellow, who
+carried a satchel, and whose hand was grasped almost as soon as his foot
+reached the depot platform. It was Frank Merriwell's old friend, Berlin
+Carson.
+
+"How are you, Berlin, old boy!" cried Frank, shaking that hand warmly.
+"Here's Hodge."
+
+Bart Hodge followed Frank in giving the traveler a handshake.
+
+"By George, I'm glad to see you, Carson," he said.
+
+The young man's grave face brightened and a look of seeming sadness
+vanished from his eyes as he surveyed Merry and Hodge.
+
+"Glad doesn't express it with me," he said. "I can't find words,
+fellows. By Jove! you're both looking fine and happy as lords."
+
+"Hodge ought to look happy." chuckled Merriwell. "Just married, you
+know."
+
+"Elsie Bellwood----"
+
+"You've named her," nodded Frank. "She's the bride."
+
+"Congratulations, Bart, old boy!" said Carson, again wringing the hand
+of Hodge.
+
+"But hasn't Frank put you onto the other event?" asked Bart. "There's a
+new Merriwell in Bloomfield."
+
+"A new Merriwell?"
+
+"Three weeks old."
+
+"And you never sent me word, Frank!" said Berlin, with a slightly
+injured air.
+
+"How could I? Didn't know your address. Last I knew you were not on the
+ranch."
+
+"No, I haven't stayed on the ranch much since father's death and
+since----"
+
+Carson broke off abruptly, as if his lips had nearly uttered something
+he did not care to speak about.
+
+"You were en route when I received your wire, Berlin," explained Merry.
+"You couldn't expect me to answer it, you know."
+
+"Of course not. It's all right, Merry."
+
+Merriwell led Carson toward the waiting surrey. Toots was standing on
+the platform, holding the horses.
+
+"I believe you've met Toots, Berlin," said Frank.
+
+"How'd do, Mist' Carson--how'd do, sah?" bowed Toots, his cap promptly
+coming off his kinky head. "Long time since Ah've seen yo', sah, an' Ah
+don' beliebe Ah'd known yo'. Yo's monstrous changed--monstrous changed."
+
+"I suppose I have changed, Toots," said Berlin.
+
+It was true, and both Frank and Bart had taken note of it. Carson was
+much thinner, and there was a certain wan and weary look about him.
+
+Merriwell had arranged that his assistants, Browning and Diamond, who
+were also old schoolfellows of Carson's, should be at Merry Home when
+Berlin reached there. And there was a great handshaking and much
+exclaiming over his appearance.
+
+"I salute the little mother!" said the Westerner, as he bent over Inza's
+hand and kissed it. "And the bride, too!" he exclaimed, as he greeted
+Elsie. "Merriwell, Hodge, let me shake hands with you again! My grip
+must say the things my lips cannot."
+
+"Where's the baby?" questioned Frank.
+
+"Lizette has taken him in," answered Inza. "He's asleep now. Oh, this
+was a surprise, Frank! I'm still angry at you, and yet I'm glad you
+didn't tell me."
+
+"And that's like a woman, too," smiled Merry. "Come, Carson, I'll show
+you your room. You look pegged out, but a wash-up and something to eat
+will brace you. Later on we'll have a royal chat over old times. Then
+I'll show you through Farnham Hall and around the grounds."
+
+Berlin was left in his room, off which there was a bath. Instead of
+hastening to wash up when Merry was gone, Carson sat down on a chair,
+and the expression of weariness crept back into his sad eyes.
+
+"And I might have been as happy myself!" he murmured. "I suppose it was
+not to be. I know I'm a fool, but I can't forget--I can't forget!"
+
+After a few moments he arose and made preparations to descend.
+
+At the head of the stairs he came face to face with Lizette, who was
+coming up. He gave her a glance, then stopped as if turned to stone.
+Like a flash he seized her arm.
+
+"Bessie!" he exclaimed; "Bessie, you here?"
+
+Lizette fell back against the wall, her face gone white and her lips
+parted. Her free hand fluttered up to her heart, and for a few moments
+she was speechless. Finally she forced a little laugh.
+
+"Oh, how you frighten me, monsieur!" she exclaimed. "You catch me so
+queek by ze arm, and your feengaires hurt!"
+
+Carson released his hold, but blocked her path.
+
+"Bessie?" he repeated, but this time there was a note of inquiry in his
+voice.
+
+The girl seemed bewildered, but she shook her head.
+
+"Zat is not my name, monsieur. It is Lizette. I am ze nurse."
+
+"That face! Those eyes!" breathed the agitated young man. "That voice,
+also! Bessie, you cannot deceive me!"
+
+"You gif me ze fear," said the nurse, shrinking away. "You look so very
+strange. Why you glare at me wiz ze eye? Why you keep calling me
+Bess-ee?"
+
+"Are you not Bessie--my Bessie?"
+
+"You haf ze very strange idea in your mind, saire. I nevaire saw you
+before."
+
+Berlin Carson was like one dazed and utterly bewildered. To all
+appearances he had badly alarmed the girl. As he faltered in seeking
+further words, she suddenly brushed past him and fled, her soft-falling
+feet making no sound.
+
+For fully three minutes Carson stood there without speaking. Finally,
+with his hand on the banister, he started to descend the stairs.
+
+"Am I deceived?" he whispered huskily. "No, by Heaven, it is she!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE FACE IN THE WATCH.
+
+
+At lunch Carson was strangely silent and abstracted. The raillery of his
+friends failed to awaken him into anything like liveliness. He smiled a
+bit at their jokes and chaffing, but any one could see those smiles were
+forced.
+
+"I should say it was high time you got away from the wild and woolly
+West!" cried Jack Diamond. "I've heard that loneliness on the ocean or
+the plains makes a man gloomy, and, by Jove! I believe it's true."
+
+"Cowboys and cattlemen are not gloomy," returned Carson. "As a rule,
+they're a jovial, good-natured set, who thoroughly enjoy a joke or a bit
+of humor. It's not loneliness on the plains that affects me, if there's
+anything the matter with me."
+
+"Anything the matter with you?" rumbled Browning. "Why, in the old days
+you were always light-hearted. This is the first time I've ever seen a
+depressed mug on you."
+
+"Let me alone, and I presume I'll come out of it," said the young
+Westerner. "I'm sorry if I'm casting a shadow on an otherwise happy
+gathering. I didn't mean to."
+
+"Oh, you're all right, Carson. I should say your liver might be out of
+kilter. You need something to stir it up."
+
+"If there's anything that will stir up a man's liver more than a
+hundred-mile jaunt on horseback, I'd like to know what it is. I've been
+taking plenty such jaunts this spring. Although I haven't been at the
+ranch for a month, I was there when the snow came off, and rode the
+range with the rest of the boys to find out how our cows had come
+through the winter."
+
+"Don't suppose you've been troubled any more by cattle thieves since the
+demise of that fake Laramie Dave?" questioned Merriwell.
+
+"No, we put an end to the business in our parts. We had you to thank for
+it. You were the one who discovered how our brand of the B. S. was being
+turned into the Flying Dollars brand. You stopped cattle stealing in the
+Big Sandy region."
+
+"Things were hot around there for a while, weren't they, Berlin?"
+laughed Frank.
+
+"I haven't heard about this," said Diamond. "What's the story?"
+
+Carson looked disturbed.
+
+"I don't like to tell it," he confessed. "Still, I don't suppose Frank
+would give himself proper credit if he should tell you. Did you ever
+hear of Laramie Dave, the rustler?"
+
+"My dear fellow, I've been living on the other side of the pond so long
+that I haven't heard of anything taking place out in your part of this
+country. Who was this Laramie Dave?"
+
+"The worst rustler known in recent years. He carried on most of his
+operations on the big ranches to the north of us. He operated
+extensively in Wyoming and in Montana. At last the cattlemen became
+exasperated and made things hot for him up there. Next we knew Laramie
+Dave was said to be getting in his work in Colorado. We lost cattle
+right along on the Big Sandy, and the Bar S people had the same trouble.
+The Flying Dollars people also made a similar complaint. The Flying
+Dollars Ranch was owned by Colonel King.
+
+"There was an old feud between my foreman and the foreman of the Flying
+Dollars. I was with Merry in Denver when I received word that the
+rustlers were hitting us hard, and I struck out for the Big Sandy, Frank
+accompanying me. We found our fences were being cut everywhere, which
+permitted our cattle to stray or to be driven off. We rode over our
+ranch, took a look at the Bar S cattle, and visited the Flying Dollars.
+
+"The night following our visit to the Flying Dollars Merry sat up
+scrawling on a piece of paper in an aimless way, while I went to bed. He
+woke me from a sound sleep by uttering an exclamation of triumph. I
+think I growled at him, but he made me get up, and there on the paper he
+had drawn the different brands of the three ranches, the Bar S, the Big
+Sandy, and the Flying Dollars. He had combined all three brands into
+one. He showed how either the Bar S or the B. S. could be turned into
+the Flying Dollars by having the latter brand burned over them. But
+every one in those parts respected Colonel King. No one had ever dreamed
+that he was concerned in the rustling. Nevertheless, Merry's detective
+work put us on the right track, and in the end we learned beyond
+question that King was stealing and rebranding our cattle. His
+assertions that he was losing cows were lies.
+
+"The climax came when a posse of officers and detectives cornered
+Laramie Dave, and some lead was pumped into him. Colonel King was a
+gray-haired, respectable-looking man, while Laramie Dave wore long black
+hair and a drooping mustache. But Laramie Dave's mustache was false, and
+his long black hair was a wig which covered the white hair of Colonel
+King. King was the real cattle thief. He was not, however, the real
+Laramie Dave, who was still up in Wyoming somewhere. He had simply made
+himself up to look like Laramie Dave, in order that the genuine rustler
+might get credit for the cattle stealing.
+
+"That's the whole story."
+
+"Sounds like a romance or a bit of fiction," observed Diamond. "Don't
+suppose such business could be carried on in the West at the present
+time."
+
+"We put an end to it as far as Colorado is concerned," nodded Carson.
+"Merry deserves the credit for rounding up the last of our big cow
+thieves."
+
+"Let me see," murmured Merriwell, "Colonel King had a daughter, didn't
+he? What became of her, Berlin?"
+
+Carson shook his head.
+
+"No one knows," he replied. "She disappeared after her father's death."
+
+After lunch they again sat on the veranda and chatted a while. Finally
+Frank, Bruce, and Jack went over to Farnham Hall, to attend to their
+duties there.
+
+"Show Berlin over the grounds, Hodge," said Merry, as he was leaving.
+"I'll take him through the buildings myself later on."
+
+Hodge and Carson strolled about that afternoon, first visiting the
+picnic grove and from thence turning toward the lake and the boathouse.
+At the boathouse they rested a while, for the spot was cool and
+inviting.
+
+"I'd like a camera," said Carson. "Jingoes, Bart, a fellow could get
+some great views here! The scenery is soothing. That's the word for it,
+soothing. It gives me a feeling of rest."
+
+"Then take your time and rest as much as you like," said Bart. "Since
+coming here I've had my first opportunity in months to rest. I never
+fancied there was a lazy streak in me, but I'm getting lazier and
+lazier every day. I'm afraid it would spoil me to hang around here long.
+I wouldn't have any relish for Arizona alkali or Mexican dust and
+sunshine."
+
+They sat in one of the boats that drifted beside the boathouse float,
+Carson dabbling his fingers in the water.
+
+"It is a lazy spot," he murmured. "I should think Merriwell's boys would
+get the tired feeling."
+
+"Oh, some of them do," smiled Hodge; "but Frank won't let them loll
+around long enough for it to become chronic. He keeps them up and
+doing."
+
+After they had been there nearly an hour, Bart felt for his watch and
+found he had left it at the boathouse.
+
+"What time is it, Carson?" he asked.
+
+The young Westerner drew forth a hunting-case watch and opened it.
+
+"Nearly three," he said. Then he sat staring at the watch.
+
+But Bart observed it was not the face of the watch at which his
+companion was gazing with a dreamy, far-away look in his eyes. Leaning
+forward a bit, Hodge discovered that on the reverse side of the open
+front case there was a pictured face--that of a girl.
+
+Finally, with a faint sigh, Carson closed the watch and slipped it into
+his pocket.
+
+"You and Frank are very fortunate, very happy, Bart," he said. And
+again began dabbling in the water with his fingers.
+
+"I know your secret now," thought Bart. "There's a girl behind it. By
+Jove! Berlin, old man, you're hard hit."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A BLACK SAMSON.
+
+
+The sound of boyish voices at a distance finally aroused them.
+
+"It must be the baseball squad over on the field," said Bart. "Don't you
+wish to go over, Carson?"
+
+"Eh? Did you speak to me?" asked Berlin, glancing up from the pellucid
+water.
+
+"Hear those chaps over on the field?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"We haven't looked that field over, you know. It's very interesting. You
+haven't begun to inspect things yet, my boy. You want to see how Merry
+has fitted up for all sorts of sports here. You ought to see the
+bathhouse and the little clubhouse, the stand, the track, the diamond,
+and the field in general."
+
+"I suppose so."
+
+Carson displayed very little desire to move.
+
+"Well, come on," urged Hodge.
+
+Without protest Berlin stepped from the boat to the float and followed
+Bart. In a short time they were on the athletic field.
+
+"What do you think of it?" asked Hodge, with a sweep of his hand. "Just
+take a good look."
+
+"It's a splendid field, I should say; but I don't see where the people
+are coming from to fill that stand over yonder."
+
+Bart laughed.
+
+"That does look like a problem, doesn't it. The stand is almost large
+enough for a city race track. All the same, it has been crowded more
+than once this season."
+
+"It doesn't seem possible."
+
+"Certainly it doesn't."
+
+"Why, it looks as if the stand could accommodate the whole of Bloomfield
+and have room to spare."
+
+"Merry doesn't draw on Bloomfield alone. There are lots of towns around
+here, and they're already hot on athletics. Wellsburg isn't so far away,
+and more than once Wellsburg has sent trainloads of people down here.
+Pittston is larger than Bloomfield, and Pittston has the fever. I
+understand the citizens of this little town thought Merry crazy when he
+built that stand. They've changed their minds since."
+
+"No one besides Frank Merriwell could build a stand like that and bring
+out people to fill it in a little country village. His old-time
+magnetism is as strong as ever. He draws people to him. Whatever he
+does, he arouses them, and they come out like magic."
+
+"That's right. This was a sleepy village if I ever saw one. In fact,
+this was the sleepiest burg I ever did see. I was here, you know, before
+Farnham Hall was built. I was here before the old Merriwell house was
+remodeled and turned into Merry Home. This field was an uneven, rocky
+strip of land, and the lake down yonder was half drained, the dam having
+fallen into disuse. The metamorphosis seems almost as surprising as the
+magic changes worked by Aladdin's lamp. Frank is the modern Aladdin. He
+has the lamp hidden somewhere--I'm sure of it."
+
+At the bathhouse they found the big colored man, Jumbo, who bowed most
+respectfully to Hodge.
+
+"Hello, Jumbo," said Bart. "How are your muscles to-day?"
+
+"Well, sah," grinned the darky, "dey am not painin' me so much as dey
+uster was. No, sah! Marsa Frank he sorter finds plenty ob work fo' to
+reduce de pain in mah muscles."
+
+"Berlin," said Bart, "Jumbo is so strong that his muscles actually ache
+unless he can have some strenuous occupation by which to employ
+himself."
+
+The big negro grinned and winked at Carson.
+
+"That was what Ah tol' Marsa Frank when Ah come here," he said. "Ah
+wanted a job as perfesser in de 'cademy mos' monstrous baad. Dat gemman
+friend ob mine, Toots, he done tol' me dar was an openin' for a physicum
+destructor at de 'cademy. So, seem' Ah had all dat strength to spare, Ah
+jes' 'plied fo' de position. It happened Ah was about twenty minutes too
+late. De place was filled, but Marse Frank he gibbed me anudder job. In
+de first place, he made me 'sistant physicum janitor at the 'cademy. All
+Ah had to do was to keep things cleaned up around de place and fro out
+on de back ob dere necks dem fool people what come round to bodder Marsa
+Frank. Ah was so skeered for fear Ah wouldn't qualify fo' de position ob
+'sistant physicum janitor dat Ah jes' scratched gravel night an' day,
+and it wa'n't long before the reduction of the pain in mah muscles begun
+to took place. I was plumb busted when Marsa Frank gib me dat position.
+Ah didn't hab a cent about me. Eber hear ob a coon what didn't hab a
+cent about him? Yah! yah! yah! Well, sah, dat was my condition. Now,
+sah, Ah'ze rich. Ah'ze gut eleben dol's in de bank, an' Ah'ze addin' to
+it continerly, sah--Ah'ze addin' to it continerly. If things keep up an'
+nuffin' goes wrong, Ah'll soon hab mo' money dan dat bloated bond
+holder, old Stranded Royle, an' dey say he's one ob de richest Creases
+dere am outside ob de Raithchils. But Ah ain't nowhere nigh as rich as
+at gemman friend ob mine, Toots. Bah golly! Ah bet dat brack nigger has
+gut pretty nigh a hundred dollars salted away. He suttingly belongs to
+de colored narrerstocracy. If Ah eber 'cumulates as much as dat, Ah'll
+buy a brownstone house in Pillumdelphy an' settle down dar to lib on mah
+income. Ah'd suttinly like to keep mah strength down the rest ob mah
+life a crippin' coupins off'n gover'ment bands. Neber see none ob dem
+gover'ment bands, but, bah jinks! dey mus' be de real stuff. Yah! yah!
+yah!"
+
+At last, to the satisfaction of Hodge, Carson was genuinely amused, and
+he joined heartily in the infectious laughter of the big colored man.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE SUBSTITUTES.
+
+
+After looking through the baths and the cozy little clubhouse, Bart and
+Berlin mounted the stairs to the observation cupola of the latter. From
+this point they could look down on the field or back toward Farnham Hall
+and Merry Home.
+
+"Truly a most fascinating spot. That's a grand old house of Frank's.
+Makes me think of the fine old colonial mansions of the South."
+
+"That was Merry's idea in remodeling it," nodded Hodge. "Although born
+in the North, Frank is a man of the whole country. He's cosmopolitan. He
+has absorbed the spirit of the South, the East, and the West. He's in
+every way what you may call a representative American. There's no
+question about the home atmosphere of those old colonial houses. They
+make one feel sorry for the dinky, finicky, filigree houses built by
+most people in these days."
+
+There was a shout from the baseball field below, and, looking down
+there, they saw several boys scampering round the diamond.
+
+"Somebody made a great hit then," observed Berlin. "It was a homer, and
+evidently the bases were full."
+
+"That's the regular team at bat," exclaimed Hodge. "It's playing the
+second team."
+
+"How many teams are there?"
+
+"Four in all, although beyond the second team the other two are not
+particularly strong. The second team fancies it's as good as the
+regulars, and it has beaten the regulars once. Let's go down."
+
+A few minutes later they walked onto the field, where a hot dispute
+seemed to be taking place. Guy Featherstone, the pitcher of the second
+team, was furiously arguing with the umpire, who threatened to put him
+out of the game.
+
+"Put me out! put me out!" dared Feather. "You're robbing us, anyhow!
+You're giving Sparkfair's bunch everything! You passed Bemis when I had
+him fairly struck out, and that gave Sparkfair a chance to make that
+hit. Before that we had three to one and were trimming them in great
+shape. Now they're two runs ahead of us. I suppose you've fixed it up
+with Spark. He's bound to win, if he has to make a deal with the umpire
+to do it."
+
+Dale Sparkfair, a handsome lad with blue eyes, broke into a merry laugh.
+
+"Featherstone, your head is as light as the front part of your name and
+as thick as the rear end of it," he declared. "You know I'm not given to
+making deals with umpires. All I ever ask for is a square show, and I'll
+have that or take to the warpath."
+
+"Well, what do I get, what do I get?" snarled Feather, showing his
+teeth. "You can't bully everybody, Dale Sparkfair! I demand a square
+show myself. I can tell when I strike a man out. I put the third strike
+over fairly, and Bemis never wiggled at it. Kilgore called it a ball and
+filled the bases."
+
+The umpire was a boy with a queer, crooked mouth, one corner of which
+twisted up while the other drooped.
+
+"You seem to think everybody's crooked, Featherstone," he said angrily.
+"I'm not umpiring this game for fun, but because you--you asked me to."
+
+"I didn't suppose you were another of Sparkfair's sycophants!" flung
+back Featherstone. "You're as crooked as your mouth!"
+
+An instant later, had not Sparkfair and others held them apart, Kilgore
+would have struck Featherstone.
+
+"Stop where you are, both of you!" commanded Dale sternly. "We'll have
+no fighting here on this field."
+
+"He'll have to swallow his words, or I'll punch him for them!"
+
+"I'll play no further with that fellow umpiring!" declared Featherstone.
+"I am going to stop right here, and I think some of the rest feel the
+same. Come on, boys, let's quit."
+
+"The quitters will quit," came from Sparkfair; "but I don't believe
+there are many quitters here, Feather."
+
+Guy walked out and called for his men to follow him off the field.
+
+"I'm with you," said one of them. "I think you're right, Feather, and
+I'm done."
+
+"Yes, take Booby along with you, Feather," said Dale. "I thought likely
+he might hoist the white flag."
+
+"We'll stop the game!" sneered Featherstone. "The team can't play
+without us. Kilgore can forfeit to you, and you may feel as proud as you
+like over your victory."
+
+"Perhaps we'll be able to pick up a pitcher and a second baseman to fill
+the vacancies," said Sparkfair, looking around. "Who'll volunteer? Any
+one will do. We want to finish out this practice game."
+
+"Come, Carson," urged Hodge, "let's you and I go into that game. I'll
+pitch, and you play second."
+
+"I'm all out of practice," said Berlin.
+
+"And I'm not a pitcher, you know," reminded Hodge. "We can limber up and
+have some amusement, anyhow."
+
+He offered their services, and his offer was promptly accepted by the
+second team, not a little to the dissatisfaction and dismay of
+Featherstone.
+
+"I'm the captain of that team," cried Guy, "and I order it off the
+field!"
+
+Bart walked up to the angry boy, placed a hand on his shoulder, and
+looked straight into his eyes.
+
+"I'm afraid you're just what Sparkfair has called you, my son--a
+quitter," said Hodge, in a low tone. "The rest of the boys are going to
+play. You and your friend had better run over to the Hall. Trot along,
+now."
+
+Muttering and growling, Featherstone turned away.
+
+Hodge and Carson removed their coats, vests, collars, and neckties, and
+prepared for business.
+
+"How does the game stand?" asked Bart, as he walked out to the pitcher's
+position.
+
+"Score is five to three against you, and this is the sixth inning,"
+answered Sparkfair. "You have your last turn at bat."
+
+"How many men out?"
+
+"Two."
+
+"Come here, catcher," invited Bart. "I'll have to know your signals."
+
+Walter Shackleton hurried to meet Hodge and explained his system of
+signals. Bart listened and nodded.
+
+"Give me a few minutes to get the kinks out of my arm, Sparkfair?" he
+asked, as he again resumed the position at the pitching plate.
+
+"Sure, sure," smiled Dale. "Go ahead and unbend your wing."
+
+Hodge threw a dozen balls to Brooks at first. Then, with Lander, the
+next batter, standing back, he sent two or three over the plate to
+Shackleton.
+
+"All right," he finally nodded.
+
+"Play!" called Kilgore.
+
+Jake Lander stepped into the batter's box and smashed the first ball
+pitched by Bart. He drove it whizzing past Hodge, who did not have time
+to touch it.
+
+Carson trapped it cleanly, scooped it up, and threw it to Higgins at
+first.
+
+"Out!" shouted Kilgore.
+
+"Great support, Berlin, old boy!" laughed Bart, as the second team
+trotted in, and Sparkfair's nine took the field.
+
+"Now we want to take a little fire out of this bright Spark, boys," said
+Bart. "We need a couple of runs right off the reel. Who's the first
+hitter?"
+
+"I am," answered Sam Higgins.
+
+"What's your position on the list?"
+
+"Third."
+
+"All right. Play your own game."
+
+Higgins stepped out and swiped rather wildly at the first two balls,
+missing them both.
+
+"Make him get it over, my boy!" urged Bart.
+
+With Sam anxious to hit, Sparkfair did his best to "pull" him on wide
+ones, but Higgins let them pass, and three balls were called.
+
+"Now you have him where you want him," came from Hodge. "If he doesn't
+cut the pan, you will saunter."
+
+Sparkfair attempted to cut the pan with a swift one, but Higgins hit it.
+It was a hot grounder to Netterby, who fumbled it long enough for
+Hungry Sam to arrive at first in safety.
+
+Tommy Chuckleson and Sam Scrogg were on the coaching lines.
+
+"We're off again!" shouted Scrogg.
+
+"Off again, on again, gone again!" piped Chuckleson. "It's up to you,
+Balloon! Don't take an ascension!"
+
+Abe Bunderson, nicknamed "Balloon," was the next man to strike. Ere he
+left the bench, Hodge whispered in his ear:
+
+"Bunt, my boy. You know what Joe Crowfoot can do throwing. Higgins can't
+steal. Sacrifice him to second."
+
+Balloon nodded.
+
+He obeyed instructions, bunting rather awkwardly, yet skillfully, and
+sacrificing himself at first, while Higgins took second.
+
+"Hodge next!" called the scorer.
+
+"You're up against it now, Sparkfair," came from Lawrence Graves, as
+Bart stood forth to the plate.
+
+"I'm scared to death!" laughed Dale. "See me tremble! See me vibrate!"
+
+The infielders crept in for a bunt, while Sparkfair pitched a swift,
+high ball.
+
+Hodge attempted to drop the ball just inside the first-base line, but
+made a foul tip, and the sphere plunked into young Joe Crowfoot's mitt.
+
+"Don't pick 'em right off the bat, Joseph," remonstrated Bart. "If you
+get so close, you'll catch the ball before I have time to hit it."
+
+The Indian boy smiled grimly.
+
+"Mebbe that keep you from tying score," he said.
+
+Sparkfair worked cautiously with Hodge, and, as a result, two balls were
+called after this first strike.
+
+"Walking is easier than running, Spark," reminded Bart.
+
+"Then I think I'll let you chase," said Dale. "I hope you chase the ball
+instead of chasing round the bases."
+
+Hodge was watching Dale's every movement. He saw Sparkfair hold the
+ball, covered by his hands, close to his mouth. Evidently the pitcher
+intended to use the spit ball. Nevertheless, something warned Bart that
+Dale had turned the ball over and grasped the dry side. His pretense of
+trying a spit ball was all a bluff.
+
+Whiz! The ball came whistling from Spark's fingers.
+
+Crack! Hodge met it fairly on the trade-mark.
+
+Away, away, away sailed the sphere, passing far over the head of Thad
+Barking, the center fielder, who had turned and was running as fast as
+his legs would carry him.
+
+Guy Featherstone and Booby Walker had paused at a distance to watch the
+game a few moments.
+
+Featherstone uttered a furious exclamation of anger.
+
+"I'm glad he hit that ball, and yet it makes me mad!" he grated. "I
+might have done the same myself. Just look at that--just look at it!
+It's a home run! It ties the score!"
+
+He was right.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+SPARKFAIR'S HIT.
+
+
+Sparkfair sat down on the pitcher's plate and watched Hodge circling the
+bases.
+
+"Hereafter," he observed, with a doleful grin, "I'll put my fielders
+over in the next county when you come to bat."
+
+Bart's hit reminded Dale of Dick Merriwell's first appearance at
+Fardale. He recalled the fact that Dick had come to bat in the ninth
+inning, with two men out, the bases full, and three runs needed to tie
+the score. Merriwell managed to connect with the ball after two strikes
+had been called. He drove it far over Barking's head, clearing the sacks
+and coming home himself, thus winning the game by a single run.
+
+That recollection was decidedly unpleasant to Spark.
+
+"If I get to ruminating on such things, I'll spring a leak and weep real
+tears," he muttered, as he rose to his feet.
+
+From the distance, Guy Featherstone shouted:
+
+"Yah! yah! You're not so much, Sparkfair! You're pie for a real batter!"
+
+With this parting taunt, Feather took Booby Walker's arm and led him
+away, both disappearing into the bathhouse.
+
+Tommy Chuckleson was the next hitter to face Dale. "Why can't I do
+something like that?" exclaimed Chuck. "If I could ever hit the ball
+hard enough, you'd see me making a record round the bases!"
+
+"Just set a few mice after you and you'd make a record, all right,"
+laughed Dale, in return.
+
+Then he proceeded to strike Tommy out in short order.
+
+Lawrence Graves, his face as expressionless as a doormat, came up and
+batted a weak one into the diamond, being thrown out with ease.
+
+The sixth inning ended, with the score tied.
+
+Hedge returned to the pitcher's slab.
+
+"We're going to trim you to-day, Spark," asserted Walter Shackleton, as
+he crouched froglike behind the bat. "There are no quitters on the team
+now."
+
+"Don't alarm me--please don't!" implored Dale. "It's most unkind,
+Shack."
+
+Fred Hollis was the first one up. He batted a grounder through Bubbs and
+reached second. Then came Brooks, who romped to first on an error by
+Netterby, although Hollis was held at second.
+
+"Joseph," said Hodge, as young Joe Crowfoot stepped out, "I know your
+noble grandsire, and for his sake I'm not going to work you very hard
+to-day. I'll let you go right back to the bench in a moment."
+
+"Mebbe so," muttered young Joe. "We see."
+
+Then he picked out a good one and lifted a long fly into the field.
+
+"Hold your bases! hold your bases!" shouted the coachers at Hollis and
+Brooks.
+
+Bunderson, really looking something like a balloon with his round body,
+made a hot run for the ball and pulled it down close to the foul flag.
+
+A moment before the ball struck in the fielder's hands both coachers
+shrieked:
+
+"Run!"
+
+Even as the ball landed in Bunderson's grasp Hollis and Brooks were off.
+
+Abe lost a little time in turning to throw toward second. This lost time
+enabled Brooks to reach the sack safely, while Hollis landed on third.
+
+Crowfoot skipped down to first, hoping his fly might not be caught, but
+he turned back in disappointment.
+
+"I told you I'd let you rest, Joseph, my boy," said Bart.
+
+"You near make bad mistake," retorted the young redskin. "You near guess
+wrong that time."
+
+"I confess it," nodded Hodge. "You gave me a heart throb when you
+smashed the sphere."
+
+"We need these runs, Barking!" called Sparkfair, as the next batter
+walked out.
+
+"It's a deuced poor game, don't you know," said Barking. "I'm really
+getting sore on it, by Jove! I wish they would take up cricket. Mr.
+Merriwell ought to introduce some good English game into this school."
+
+"Hello!" said Hodge; "here's a pickle from Piccadilly. Here's a blooming
+Britisher--in his mind. What are you going to do to me, Johnny Bull?"
+
+Barking was actually flattered. He enjoyed being mistaken for an
+Englishman.
+
+"Aw," he drawled, "it's such a blooming bother to run bases. I rawther
+think I'll walk, don't you know."
+
+He did. In spite of Bart's best efforts Thad waited undisturbed and was
+finally passed to first on four balls.
+
+"If I had my hat with me, I'd take it off to you, Johnny Bull," said
+Hodge. "You're clever--altogether too clever for us poor unsophisticated
+Yanks. How long have you been over?"
+
+"How long has he been over?" sneered Sim Scrogg from third. "Why, he
+never saw the Atlantic Ocean. He was born inland, and he has never yet
+been two hundred miles away from home."
+
+"Play ball, fellows--play ball!" cried Sparkfair. "The sacks are
+charged! The pillows are peopled! Only one out! Now's our time to settle
+this game! The new pitcher is a mark! Bump him, Bubbs!"
+
+Little Bob Bubbs was a clever hitter, and he connected with the ball all
+right this time. He smashed it out on a line, and the crack of ball and
+bat was followed almost instantly by the smack of ball and mitt as Hodge
+pulled the sphere down with his left hand.
+
+Without losing a moment to transfer the ball from the left hand to his
+right, Bart snapped it over to Scrogg at third, catching Hollis off the
+sack, and completing a breathless double play.
+
+For an instant the regulars seemed dazed. For once in his life Sparkfair
+could not find appropriate words, and, silently shaking his head, he
+started for the pitcher's position.
+
+"Ho! ho! ho!" rumbled Sam Higgins, as he lumbered in from first. "Just
+fooling with you, that's all! Just getting your courage up to take some
+of the swelling out of your heads!"
+
+At bat Slick now faced Sparkfair. Oliver pulled his cap down hard on his
+well-oiled hair, smiled a greasy smile, and then struck out.
+
+Carson was the next man.
+
+"I don't believe I can hit a balloon," he muttered to Bart, ere leaving
+the bench. "I'm all out of practice, you know."
+
+"You didn't appear very rusty at the start off," said Bart.
+
+Berlin walked out, fouled the ball twice, and then lined it into left
+for two bags.
+
+"Oh, yes, you're all out of practice!" laughed Bart. "You can't hit a
+bit, Carson!"
+
+He was glad to see Berlin laughing on second.
+
+"The old game's making him forget his troubles," thought Hodge. "That's
+the main reason why I wanted him to play."
+
+"These back numbers seem to be onto your curves, Dale!" cried Bob Bubbs.
+
+"Don't rub it in--please don't!" implored Sparkfair. "The way they slam
+me is simply awful! I did think I could pitch a little, but I'm afraid I
+was deceived."
+
+He knew Scrogg's weakness, however, and, forced Sim to put up an easy
+infield fly, which Hollis handled.
+
+Shackleton batted one into right field, and Carson attempted to reach
+home on it.
+
+Sleepy Jake Lander was very wide awake, and he made a line throw to the
+plate.
+
+Regardless of the fact that he was not in playing uniform, Carson slid.
+Crowfoot was there, however, and he promptly tagged Berlin. Kilgore
+declared it a put-out.
+
+Hodge laughed at Carson and slapped him on the shoulder.
+
+"These kids know how to play the game, old boy," he said. "We mustn't
+forget that Frank Merriwell is their instructor and coach."
+
+Carson joined in the laugh.
+
+"I thought I had that score recorded on the score sheet," he confessed.
+
+In the eighth, with one out and the bases full, Brooks drove in a run.
+
+Two men attempted to score, however, and the second runner was put out
+at the plate. A moment later another man was caught off his sack, making
+the third out.
+
+But the regulars had the lead.
+
+"As a pitcher I don't seem to be a howling success," laughed Hodge. "I
+thought they were going to make half a dozen that trip."
+
+"We've got to get some now," said Carson. "If we don't I see our
+finish."
+
+"There's another inning. We come to bat last."
+
+"But we can't depend on winning out in the last of the ninth."
+
+"That's right; we do need runs."
+
+Once more Sam Higgins was up to lead off, and Bart spoke a few words of
+instruction in Sam's ear.
+
+Higgins picked out an opening in the infield and drove a ball through
+it.
+
+Bunderson bunted once more and was safe on Bubbs' bad throw to first.
+
+"Look out, Spark--look out!" cried the boys. "Here comes Hodge again!"
+
+Sparkfair used all his skill to deceive Bart, and the boy's shoots and
+curves were indeed enigmas. Hodge could not solve them, and a great
+shout went up from the boys as Dale finally struck him out.
+
+Chuckleson lifted a foul that dropped into Shackleton's mitt.
+
+"Two gone, Spark--two gone!" barked Bubbs. "Now you can hold 'em!"
+
+Hodge whispered instructions to Graves. Graves walked out, held his bat
+on his shoulder, and stood like a post while Dale pitched. Somehow the
+very fact that Lawrence seemed so utterly unconcerned appeared to rattle
+Dale, who finally passed him to first, filling the bases.
+
+"Too bad Slick is next," muttered Scrogg, as Oliver took his turn at
+bat.
+
+Slick drove a sharp grounder at Netterby, who booted it into the
+diamond, and a run came in before the ball could be recovered.
+
+Oliver was safe on first, and the sacks were still full.
+
+The score was tied once more. Carson walked out and laced out a handsome
+single, which brought in two runs.
+
+"How Featherstone would rejoice had he lingered!" muttered Sparkfair.
+"They're getting away with this game. I must stop it--I will!"
+
+In spite of this determination, another error let in still another run,
+and Sim Scrogg reached first.
+
+At last Sparkfair found a victim, and Shackleton fanned.
+
+Still, to most of the boys the game seemed lost, for the second team had
+a lead of three runs.
+
+"It's our last chance, fellows," said Dale gravely. "No fooling now. No
+sacrificing. We've got to hit the ball."
+
+Barely had he uttered these words when an inspiration came to him. He
+called his players about him.
+
+"Fellows," he said, "neither Scrogg nor Higgins are swift in handling
+bunts. We won't try sacrificing, but we'll try bunting, with the idea of
+bothering them. Don't bunt the ball where Hodge can handle it. Drop it
+toward first or third. Lead off, Crowfoot."
+
+Young Joe stepped out and bunted handsomely, dropping his bat and
+scooting down the base line like a flash. Scrogg was seconds too late in
+securing the ball and sending it to Higgins. Crowfoot was safe.
+
+Thad Barking followed with an equally successful bunt.
+
+Hodge called Higgins and Scrogg in a bit.
+
+"Look out for those tricks," he warned.
+
+Bubbs glanced toward Sparkfair inquiringly. Dale nodded.
+
+Bubbs followed with the third bunt, while Crowfoot and Barking moved up.
+Nevertheless, Scrogg managed to secure the ball and throw Towser out.
+
+Netterby attempted to bunt, but popped up a little fly to Hodge and
+followed Bubbs to the bench.
+
+"I rather guess it's all over," said Higgins. "The bunting game didn't
+work."
+
+Bemis looked doubtful, but Sparkfair still held to his instructions.
+Hiram obeyed and laid down a bunt on the line toward first.
+
+Unseen by any one, Scrogg hooked his fingers into Crowfoot's belt and
+held him at third. The Indian boy was angry and came near hitting Sim.
+
+Hodge secured the ball too late to throw Bemis out, and the sacks were
+full once more. Crowfoot appealed to Kilgore, but the umpire had not
+seen Scrogg's trick and refused to penalize the second team on that
+account.
+
+Sparkfair was given a hand as he walked out to the plate. Once more Dale
+thought of Dick Merriwell's feat on his first appearance at Fardale. The
+situation was nearly the same. Two men were out, the bases were full,
+three runs were needed to tie the score, and four to win.
+
+"You'll have to check them, Bart," said Carson.
+
+Hodge did his best with Sparkfair, and it began to look as if he would
+succeed in striking Dale out, for Spark missed two benders.
+
+But Dale did not strike out. He finally found a ball that suited him and
+"found it good." It was a duplicate of Hodge's drive over center field.
+The regulars whooped with joy as runner after runner came galloping over
+the plate. They yelled like Indians as Sparkfair tore round the bases
+and came in from third. Four runs were secured, and once more the first
+team, had a lead of one tally.
+
+"That's where you got even with me, Sparkfair!" called Hodge.
+
+"I had to do it," laughed Dale. "You struck me out before."
+
+With the sacks cleared, Hodge seemed invincible, for he quickly settled
+Lander's hash.
+
+The game was not over, for the second team had another chance.
+Nevertheless, Sparkfair was at his best, and the three batters who faced
+him went down, one after another.
+
+Hodge was the first to congratulate Spark.
+
+"You're a good man in an emergency, and such men win games," he said.
+
+"Thanks," smiled Dale. "Don't mind my blushes. I simply love to blush."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+A MOONLIGHT MEETING.
+
+
+In truth, the game had livened Carson up and taken his thoughts from
+unpleasant things.
+
+The remainder of the afternoon was fully occupied, for Merry showed
+Berlin through the buildings and explained the methods of the school.
+
+At dinner Carson seemed much brighter and joined in the talk and
+laughter. After dinner he accompanied Frank and Inza to see the baby.
+Little Frank was sound asleep, and one of the maids was watching over
+him.
+
+"Where's Lizette, Maggie?" asked Inza.
+
+"Th' poor crather do have a headache," answered Maggie. "She axed me
+would Oi look afther th' choild whoile she rested a bit."
+
+"A headache? That's strange. Lizette has told me she never had an ache
+or a pain in all her life."
+
+"Did yez notice, ma'am, if she touched wood whin she said it?" asked
+Maggie.
+
+"I didn't notice."
+
+"Thot's it, thot's it," declared the maid, with conviction. "Oi'm not
+superstitious, but Oi nivver brag about mesilf thot Oi don't touch wood.
+Mark me worruds, whin a person boasts and fergits to touch wood,
+something happens to thot person. I nivver knew it to fail."
+
+"A fine baby, Frank," said Berlin, as he stood looking at the child.
+"You ought to be proud of him."
+
+"No peacock was ever prouder," laughed Merry. "We hope to make a star of
+him, eh, Inza?"
+
+"Oh, the star--the birthmark!" exclaimed Inza. "Can't you show it to Mr.
+Carson without waking the baby, Maggie?"
+
+"Oi kin try, ma'am."
+
+The maid gently slipped the clothes from the baby's left shoulder and
+revealed the tiny, perfectly formed pink star.
+
+"Wonderful! wonderful!" declared Berlin. "Why, one would think it
+stamped there. I never saw anything so perfect in all my life. Frank,
+Inza, that child is marked for something great."
+
+"Let us hope you're right," said Merry.
+
+That night, after retiring to his room, Carson sat a long time at the
+open window, gazing out through the whispering trees toward the fall
+moon that was rising in the east. The old feeling of sadness and
+disappointment stole over him and gave him a sensation of uncontrollable
+loneliness in the world.
+
+"I suppose I was mistaken about Lizette," he finally muttered. "I shall
+be able to tell when I see her again. I hoped to see her when they took
+me to look at the baby. Rather strange she wasn't there. Still, I
+presume it's true that she had a headache."
+
+Finally he undressed, donned his pajamas, and got into bed.
+
+Sleep did not come readily at his command. His brain was busy with many
+thoughts. He recalled the old days at college, when he first met Frank
+Merriwell. In those happy days ere meeting Bessie he was heart-free and
+care-free. It seemed so long ago--so long ago. It was something like a
+dream. Dimly he recalled the classroom, the campus, and the field. He
+saw his youthful comrades gathering about him at the old fence in the
+dusk of a soft spring evening. He heard their light talk and careless
+laughter. He heard them singing beneath the windows of the dormitories.
+He heard them cheering on the field as Old Eli battled for baseball
+honors or struggled to win new gridiron glory.
+
+Ah, those were happy days, Carson, my boy! They were the happiest you
+have ever known. You did not appreciate those glorious days as they were
+passing, but you appreciate them now, and the memory is a precious one.
+Can such happy days as those ever again be yours?
+
+Then he recalled old times on the ranch. He thrilled as he remembered
+his first meeting with dark-eyed Bessie. How she had bewitched him! How
+she had puzzled and fascinated him! At the very first he had felt her
+fascination dangerous, yet it was so delightful that he did not mind the
+danger.
+
+Thinking of Bessie, he finally fell asleep and dreamed of her. On the
+bed he tossed restlessly, murmuring her name. He seemed to see her near
+at hand, yet gliding away before him as he vainly sought to overtake
+her. She turned her bewitching face and smiled at him alluringly.
+Desperately he strove to reach her, but always she kept just beyond his
+grasp. Yet she beckoned him on with her smile and with her hypnotic
+eyes. Finally, in mad desperation, he made one last great leap and
+seized her. He had her now! She was his! She could not get away! In that
+moment of triumph a marvelous metamorphosis took place, and as his arm
+bound her to his side he beheld her transformed into a boy. She was no
+longer Bessie, but young Tom King, reckless, taunting, derisive, and
+mocking.
+
+In that mysterious way of dreams, he now beheld himself gazing down upon
+a dying man, who lay stretched upon the ground, a bullet having passed
+through his body. He knew the man. It was Colonel King, the cattle
+rustler, who had carried on his criminal work disguised as Laramie Dave.
+There were other men standing about--armed men. The sheriff was there
+with his posse. At last, through the revelation and information
+furnished by Frank Merriwell, this cattle stealer had been captured and
+shot. And now he was gasping his life away, and soon his stain-spotted
+soul would stand naked before the judgment bar above.
+
+Through his dream--if dream it was--a voice sounded, cutting him to the
+heart. That voice cried, "You have killed him, you devils!" Then young
+Tom King threw himself on his father's prostrate body, weeping bitterly.
+Carson attempted to lift the boy, but once more before his eyes a change
+took place, and Tom King became Lizette, the French nurse.
+
+He awoke, shaking in every limb, with cold perspiration on his face.
+
+"Did I dream," he hoarsely muttered, "or did I live the past over
+again?"
+
+There was no more sleep for him. He rose and went to the window. The
+cool night beckoned to him. The soft moon smiled at him. The whispering
+leaves said, "Come out, come out."
+
+Carson dressed, softly descended the stairs, and left the house.
+
+He filled his lungs and stretched his arms. The moon had mounted into
+the eastern sky, and there were deep shadows beneath the trees. The
+restless young man walked amid those shadows.
+
+Suddenly he paused, startled by the sound of voices. Near at hand two
+persons were talking. One voice, hoarse, harsh, suppressed, was that of
+a man. The other was a woman's voice.
+
+"What does it mean?" thought Carson. "Who is here at this hour? I must
+know--I'll investigate."
+
+Cautiously he stole forward, keeping deep within the shadows. He had not
+proceeded far before these words, spoken by the woman, came distinctly
+to his ears:
+
+"I cannot--I will not do it!"
+
+An instant later a shadowy figure came rustling toward him. It was the
+woman, and she was right upon him ere she discovered the silent man who
+stood there beneath the trees. With a little gasp, she turned and fled
+on. A patch of moonlight, shimmering through the branches, had shown him
+her face.
+
+The face of Lizette!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE TRUTH.
+
+
+His first impulse was to follow her. Then he stopped and stood waiting
+for the man. The man did not come.
+
+"Where is he? who is he?" speculated Berlin.
+
+After a time Carson turned toward the house.
+
+"She's in her room long ere this," he thought.
+
+But close by the wall a shadow lingered, and, as he approached, this
+shadow suddenly moved forward and confronted him.
+
+"What is it you do here?" demanded the voice of Lizette. "I know you see
+me. I know you hear sometheeng. Why you watch me? _Mon Dieu!_ would you
+hurt a poor girl?"
+
+Carson took a firm grip on himself and was deliberate in speaking.
+
+"Why should I wish to hurt you?" he asked. "You have done no harm, have
+you?"
+
+"Oh, no, no, no! I haf done notheeng!"
+
+"Then why do you fear?"
+
+"You watch me. You follaire me."
+
+"If you have done nothing wrong, you need not fear to be watched."
+
+"But it is not honerable to play ze spy on a girl."
+
+"I did not do so intentionally. I could not sleep, and I came out here
+to get the air. It was wholly by chance that I ran across you. Who was
+with you?"
+
+"No one, monsieur."
+
+"Tell me the truth," commanded Berlin, still in that calm, deliberate
+tone.
+
+"It is ze truth."
+
+"Think again. You place me in the awkward position of contradicting a
+lady. You were talking with a man."
+
+"No."
+
+"But I heard him."
+
+"What deed you hear?" she fiercely demanded, as she clutched his arm.
+"Tell me what deed you hear heem say?"
+
+"Then you acknowledge there was a man?"
+
+"Oh, what is ze use to deny! _Oui_, _oui_, zere was ze man!"
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"Perhap maybe he is my lovaire. Perhap he has promised me to marry."
+
+For one instant Berlin seemed on the point of losing all his assumed
+self-control. His hands shook, and he made a move as if he would seize
+her roughly. He checked this movement just in time.
+
+"Your lover, eh?" he said. "Well, what sort of a lover is he who meets
+you in this sort of a manner at night? Why doesn't he see you like a
+man, instead of sneaking around this way? Your lover, girl? What right
+have you to have a lover other than myself? You call yourself Lizette,
+and you speak with an accent, but I know you are Bessie King. I did
+think I might be mistaken, but now I'm positive there is no mistake. I
+am right. You are Bessie!"
+
+She threw back her head and laughed softly.
+
+"I hear ze madame say you are not well, monsieur," she said. "I theenk
+ze madame is right. It must be een your head. I am vary, vary sorree for
+you. You should not become so much excited."
+
+"I knew you were a wonderful actress, Bessie, but you astonish me still.
+When you lived on the Flying Dollars Ranch you took delight in acting a
+part."
+
+"What is ze Flying Dollairs Ranch?"
+
+He paid no heed to the question.
+
+"Yes, you were a great actress even then," he went on. "Colonel King had
+a beautiful daughter, and he was supposed to have a son--a harum-scarum,
+reckless lad, who went galloping over the ranges with the cowboys, roped
+cattle, took part in round-ups, and did all sorts of things like that.
+This boy was known as Tom King. Colonel King's foreman, Injun Jack, had
+a grudge against Frank Merriwell and swore to kill him. He found his
+opportunity and attempted to shoot Merriwell. In order to save
+Merriwell's life young Tom King shot Injun Jack. It was thought that
+Jack had been instantly killed. But while Colonel King lay dying a few
+hours later and Tom King was weeping over his father, Injun Jack
+appeared and made a revelation that astounded every one. The boy who had
+been known by that name was Bessie King, the colonel's daughter. You are
+that girl."
+
+Again Lizette tried to force a laugh.
+
+"It is so strange a crazee notion," she said.
+
+"Why keep it up?" demanded Berlin. "You must realize you cannot fool me,
+even though, by the change in your appearance, by doing your hair in a
+peculiar manner, penciling your eyebrows and staining your skin, you
+have deceived Merriwell himself. He did not know you as I knew you. Look
+at me, Bessie. Have your eyes shown you no change in me? Have you not
+seen how altered I have become since your disappearance? I never knew
+how much I loved you until you had vanished and I could not find you. I
+have searched everywhere, and every hour since your vanishing has been
+an hour of restless torture for me. It seems to me that I loved you,
+Bessie, as no man ever loved a girl before. You gave me no opportunity
+to declare my love, but I declare it now. It's as strong as it was
+then--and stronger. I swore I would find you some time. I vowed you
+should be mine. I have found you, and I intend to keep that vow. What's
+this, little girl--you're weeping? You won't deny me longer? You are
+Bessie--Bessie, my own!"
+
+"Yes," she answered chokingly, "I am Bessie!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+A HEART LAID BARE.
+
+
+It was the truth at last. His heart leaped madly. But when he reached
+for her she started back.
+
+"Don't touch me!" came huskily from her lips. "You must not!"
+
+"Mustn't?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Why, Bessie, I still----"
+
+"You can't forget that I am the child of a cattle thief--a criminal!"
+
+"That's not your fault, little girl. I can forget it. I have forgotten
+it."
+
+"It's impossible," she declared, shaking her head.
+
+"Such talk is folly, Bessie. Your father's misdeeds should not blight
+your life. I will not have it so! You were innocent."
+
+She turned her face toward him, and those wonderful dark eyes looked
+sadly into his. There were tears trembling on the long lashes.
+
+"You know I'm not foolish, Berlin Carson," she said, in a strangely
+hardened tone. "In the old days on the ranch I was no soft-hearted,
+light-headed girl."
+
+"You were the most bewitching and fascinating creature the Colorado sun
+ever shone upon. There was always a mystery about you, and it bound me
+with a magic spell. The years since I saw you last have made that spell
+more potent and powerful."
+
+"Still, I'm the daughter of a man who rustled cattle. He did not rustle
+them in the good old-fashioned way. Instead of that, he stole them after
+the manner that a sneak thief picks a pocket. He did his work by
+altering the brands. He posed as another man. He sought to lay all the
+blame on the shoulders of Laramie Dave, a known rustler."
+
+"Why talk of that, Bessie?"
+
+"I lived on the Flying Dollars Ranch. Dressed as a boy, I rode the range
+with my father's cattlemen, who helped him rustle. Do you think I knew
+nothing of what was taking place? Do you think I was silly enough and
+soft enough to be deceived? You must understand that I knew my father
+was a criminal."
+
+Carson shivered a little, but it was not because of the cool night air.
+In all the weeks and months since her vanishing, in all his thoughts of
+her, this thing had never occurred to him. He had regarded her as the
+innocent, unfortunate daughter of a bad man.
+
+Now, however, he sought an excuse for her.
+
+"He was your father, and you had to protect him. You could not betray
+your own father. You must have suffered."
+
+"You're too kind, too generous," she hoarsely explained. "It was no
+effort on my part to keep his secret. I knew what business he followed
+long years before I ever saw you. I knew it long before he purchased the
+Flying Dollars. Down in Texas he was a rustler, but, unlike other
+rustlers, he did not squander his money. He saved it and sent me to
+school. In a boarding school I was regarded as the daughter of a wealthy
+ranchman. I was popular with my girl schoolmates. No one of them ever
+suspected that my father was a cattle thief and that I knew it."
+
+"For Heaven's sake, stop!" commanded Carson. "Don't seek to degrade
+yourself in my eyes! Don't try to turn me against you in this manner!"
+
+"I'm simply telling you the truth, Berlin Carson. Do you wonder why I
+vanished after my father's death? Do you wonder why I never faced you
+again? You knew a part of the miserable truth. Had I been compelled to
+see you again, I knew I would tell you all, and I likewise knew what
+that meant."
+
+"What it meant?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You thought----"
+
+"I knew it would shock you beyond words. I knew the effect it must have
+upon you. I could not bring myself to meet you, well knowing that you
+would shudder and shrink from me."
+
+He lifted his hand.
+
+"No, no, never!" he declared. "You were wrong, Bessie. You were
+frightfully mistaken. The trouble was that you did not understand
+me--you did not know me."
+
+"It cannot be that you----"
+
+"I should have pitied you, and I should have loved you all the more,
+even as I do now," he asserted. "Why not? It was not your fault that
+your father was a criminal. Of course you had to keep his secret. It was
+a cruel fate that placed you in such a position."
+
+"Wait a little longer," she urged. "You must know the truth, every bit
+of it. I admired my father. I loved the danger and the thrill of that
+wild life. Not only did I know what he did, but more than once, in the
+darkness of night, I aided him and his men in their work. I was dressed
+as a boy, and only Injun Jack and my father knew I was not a boy. Now
+you know what sort of girl you have fancied you loved. I mingled with
+those men, those desperadoes, who were profane as pirates--who were, in
+a sense, the pirates of the great plains. A fine life for an innocent
+girl! Have you forgotten that my hands are stained with human blood?
+Have you forgotten it was my bullet that killed Injun Jack?"
+
+"That was one of the bravest deeds of your life. Only for that, Frank
+Merriwell would be dead. Only for your nerve and bravery in shooting
+that ruffian, one of God's grandest men would have been murdered in
+cold blood. Since my college days I have loved and admired him above all
+other men. When you saved his life by taking another worthless life you
+did a noble deed. Had you not fled, I would have married you at the
+earliest possible moment. I am ready now, Bessie."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE PLEDGE OF FAITH.
+
+
+Still it seemed impossible for her to believe. She put out her hand
+toward the near-by wall of the house, as if seeking support. When he
+offered to give her that support, she continued to hold him at bay.
+
+"You're a noble boy, Berlin," she whispered. "You will make a noble
+husband for some girl."
+
+"For you."
+
+"No, not for me."
+
+"Then you do not love me! You never loved me!" he panted. "You were
+toying with me! You were deceiving me! It was a part of your amusement!
+You knew you had fascinated me and bewitched me, and it gave you
+pleasure to toy with me! Ah, this hurts more than everything else!"
+
+"I did care for you," she asserted faintly.
+
+"You did care--in a way, perhaps."
+
+"You never told me that you loved me."
+
+"Because you would not give me a chance. I never told you in words, but
+my eyes told you so a hundred times."
+
+"I've seen others who talked with their eyes and kept silent with their
+lips."
+
+"And you thought me like them?"
+
+"Well--no. You were different; I acknowledge that."
+
+"But you thought me fit only to flirt with. That was it. You took
+delight in arousing the fire in my heart that you might see it glowing
+from my eyes. You're like them all. They love to play with fire. They
+love to lead a man on and then throw him down. But I didn't think you
+just like every other girl. I thought you different."
+
+"You have learned that I was different, but in a way you did not
+suspect."
+
+"Then you confess you were toying with me, deceiving me?" he bitterly
+exclaimed.
+
+A little while before she had sought to turn him against her by telling
+all the truth. When that effort failed and he suddenly accused her in
+this manner, she had fancied she saw the way to accomplish her purpose
+with a falsehood. But now that she was face to face with it she faltered
+and could not lie.
+
+"I tell you I did care for you--I cared for you more than words may
+express. My fear in those days--and it was the only fear I had ever
+known--was that you would learn the truth about me and despise me. Do
+you remember the day that you brought Frank Merriwell to the Flying
+Dollars? Do you remember that you were left alone in the little library
+and in a book you found some verse I had written? I used to write poetry
+in those days. Those verses were entitled 'My Secret.' I was angry when
+I found you had read them, and I tore them up. I can quote the first
+stanza."
+
+In a low musical voice she repeated the following lines:
+
+    "When he comes riding up the valley
+      I watch from my window nook;
+    My cheeks burn hot, my heart is throbbing
+      For a single word or look
+    To tell me that he loves me truly,
+      But fear his lips will not be
+    Unsealed to whisper low the story
+      That means so much to me.
+
+"It's poor poetry, Berlin--poor poetry; but it expressed the longing of
+my heart. And your lips remained sealed!"
+
+Now he would have seized her and crushed her to his heart, but with
+astonishing strength she clutched his wrists and held him back.
+
+"My lips are unsealed now!" he panted.
+
+"It's too late!" she cried, in a weak, heartbroken tone; "too late!"
+
+"Why is it too late? How can that be?"
+
+"One thing you have forgotten. You found me here playing a part. Do you
+think I'm pretending to be a French nurse merely as a whim--merely as an
+amusement?"
+
+"I can't understand that," he confessed. "Why is it?"
+
+She forced a laugh that was wholly without merriment.
+
+"Perhaps this is only one of many parts I have played. You called me an
+actress. I am--an actress on the stage of life. I intended that no one
+should ever again recognize me as the daughter of Colonel King. I found
+it necessary to work--to make my living somehow. Had I appeared here as
+Bessie King, do you think Frank Merriwell would have trusted me? Do you
+think I would be an inmate of his home? Oh, no, Berlin. I had to
+disguise myself to deceive him, and it was necessary to play my part
+well. Even when I did my best I realized he knew he had seen me before
+some time, somewhere. Once he questioned me. Once he asked me if I had a
+brother. He was very, very near discovering the truth then. Do you think
+I can have any feeling of friendliness for this man Merriwell? Do you
+think I can forget that it was through him my father met his fate? Only
+for Frank Merriwell the real truth might have remained a secret. In time
+the cattle stealing would have ceased. My father would have sold the
+Flying Dollars, and we would have gone elsewhere. But Merriwell came,
+and his discovery brought the sheriff and his posse. Sometimes when I
+have thought of this I've longed to kill Frank Merriwell. More than once
+I have said to myself, 'His life is yours, for you saved it once.'"
+
+"You should put aside such thoughts and feelings, Bessie. You cannot
+blame Frank. He was my friend. I brought him to the Big Sandy. Our
+cattle were being stolen. As my friend, he did his best to aid me."
+
+"Oh, I suppose it's wrong, but a person brought up as I have been finds
+it hard to distinguish right from wrong. Many of the things people
+recognize as right seem wholly wrong to me. Would you have a wife with
+such a distorted conscience, Berlin Carson?"
+
+"Let me be your guide," he pleaded. "Let me teach you the right."
+
+"I tell you it is too late!"
+
+Words seemed useless, and he stood there gazing at her helplessly,
+almost hopelessly. A sudden thought struck him like a blow, and he
+almost reeled.
+
+"There is another!" he hoarsely whispered. "Ah, ha, that's it! I've
+struck the truth at last! It's that man--the man you met to-night! Speak
+up, Bessie! Tell me who he is! By Heaven, you shall tell me!"
+
+"I will--in time," she promised. "Wait, Berlin--please wait!"
+
+"I've waited too long already. Have I waited simply to find another man
+in my place?"
+
+"Wait a little longer," she urged. "I have promised to tell you all, and
+I will. Can't you trust me a little longer, Berlin? Please--please trust
+me a little longer!"
+
+She held out her hands in pleading, and a moment later, ere she could
+check him, he had seized her and was holding her to his heart.
+
+"Yes, yes," he panted, "I will trust you, Bessie--I'll trust you with my
+very life!"
+
+Their lips met, and then----
+
+The heavens fell!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE SIGNAL FOR SILENCE.
+
+
+Lizette was hammering at Frank Merriwell's door.
+
+"Wake up, monsieur!" she cried. "_Mon Dieu_, it is such a terrible
+theeng! Queek! queek! Do come, monsieur!"
+
+Her knock and her cries brought Frank forth in pajamas.
+
+"What is it--what's the matter?" he demanded.
+
+The voice of Hodge was heard questioning the cause of the disturbance,
+and Bart came forth from another room.
+
+Lizette seized Merry's arm.
+
+"Oh, come queek!" she implored. "I see it from my window. I have ze bad
+headache so long I cannot sleep. Zen I geet up and sit by ze window. I
+look out and see some one walking beneath the trees. When he walk in ze
+moonlight I see it is ze Monsieur Carson. Zen all at once--oh, ze
+terrible theeng!"
+
+"Go on!" commanded Frank. "All at once--what?"
+
+"I see ze ozzer man--just ze glimpse. I see heem run out queek and soft
+behind Monsieur Carson. He lift his hands. He strike Monsieur Carson
+with sometheeng, and Monsieur Carson he fall down and lie so still on ze
+grass. Zen ze ozzer man he run away."
+
+It did not take Frank long to go leaping down the stairs, and Hodge
+followed him closely. They tore open the door and rushed out. Within the
+shadow at the corner of the house they stumbled over a prostrate figure.
+
+Frank dropped on his knees.
+
+"It's Berlin!" he hoarsely exclaimed. "Heavens! is he dead?"
+
+"Hardly that, Merry," came a faint whisper, as Carson stirred in Frank's
+arms. "What was it that fell on me? It seemed as if the moon came down
+and burst upon my head. I saw a flash of fire and heard a frightful
+explosion. What happened to me?"
+
+"Some one struck you down from behind. Lizette saw it from her window.
+She was sitting at the window and saw you walking here on the lawn. She
+saw the man rush upon you and knock you senseless."
+
+"Lizette?" muttered Carson. And then again in a queer tone he said:
+"Lizette?"
+
+"Yes, she saw it."
+
+"From--her--window?" questioned Berlin.
+
+"From her window," repeated Frank. "Have you been robbed, Carson? The
+ruffian must have been a robber. I presume he went through your
+pockets."
+
+"I don't know," muttered the young Westerner thickly.
+
+"Let me see," said Frank. "He didn't take your watch, and here's your
+purse. Why, this is singular! I wonder if he saw Lizette. I wonder if
+she uttered a cry and frightened him away."
+
+"Let's find the whelp!" snarled Hodge.
+
+"First let's find out how badly Carson is hurt. Let's get him into the
+house."
+
+Together they lifted Berlin and assisted him to the house between them.
+
+Inza was calling from the head of the stairs to know what was the
+matter.
+
+"Lie to her, Merry," said Hodge. "Don't let her get excited. Wait, I'll
+do the lying. I'll quiet her and Elsie."
+
+He hastened up the stairs.
+
+Carson sat on a chair and felt of his head with both hands.
+
+Frank struck a light, and he examined to see how badly his friend was
+injured.
+
+"Here's a bad bump," he said; "but I don't believe your scalp is broken.
+Looks as if you'd been struck by a sandbag."
+
+"Whatever it was, it put me out of commission mighty quick," mumbled
+Berlin. "Goodness! my head aches a whole lot. I'm weak a-plenty."
+
+They heard Bart telling Inza and Elsie that a man had been seen prowling
+around outside. Hodge was concealing the fact that anything had happened
+to Carson. He urged them to go back to their rooms.
+
+"No need of frightening them over me, Merry," muttered Berlin. "I'm all
+right. My head is too thick to be easily cracked."
+
+"Tell me just how it happened," urged Merry.
+
+"Didn't Lizette tell you?"
+
+"Yes, but I thought she might be mistaken in her excitement. Did you see
+any one? Did you see who struck you?"
+
+"No, I didn't see him."
+
+"Nor hear him?"
+
+"Nor hear him, Frank. I heard nothing. It's doubtful if I'd heard a clap
+of thunder just then."
+
+"Eh, why not?"
+
+"Oh, well, you see I was--I'd been--I'd been--thinking," faltered
+Carson.
+
+"How did you happen to be out there?"
+
+"Couldn't sleep. Went out to get the air."
+
+"Well, let me doctor that bump. Sit right still; I'll take care of you."
+
+Merry hurried away, soon returning with a bowl of cool water and a
+sponge. He also had some sort of soothing liniment.
+
+Hodge returned while Frank was at work over Berlin.
+
+"Managed to calm the girls down and sent them back to bed," he said.
+
+Then he took something from his pocket, clicked it, and looked it over.
+
+"What's that?" asked Merry.
+
+"My pistol," answered Bart grimly. "I'm going out to look for the gent
+who did this little job."
+
+"Don't go alone. Wait till I get Carson fixed, and I'll be with you."
+
+"And that will give him plenty of time to get away. We've given him too
+much time already, Frank. Don't worry about me. I'll take care of
+myself, and I'll take care of him if I find him."
+
+Bart went out.
+
+"Are you feeling better, Carson?" questioned Merry.
+
+"Oh, I tell you I'm all right," was the answer, as Berlin tried to force
+a laugh.
+
+"Who could be prowling round here?" speculated Frank. "I wonder if a
+burglar was trying to break in."
+
+"That must be it," said Carson quickly. "Did Lizette describe the man?"
+
+"No. She said she barely saw him as he rushed out behind your back and
+struck you."
+
+"It's strange that Bessie should----"
+
+Carson checked himself.
+
+"Bessie?" questioned Frank.
+
+"I mean Lizette," Berlin hastened to say. "My thoughts are all in a
+jumble. Don't mind me if I get mixed up. I'm all right now, Merry."
+
+"If you need a doctor----"
+
+"I don't. You've done everything a doctor could do."
+
+"Then if you're all right, I think I'll go out and look around for
+Hodge."
+
+Carson rose to his feet a trifle unsteadily.
+
+"I'm going with you," he declared.
+
+"You'd better not," Merry advised.
+
+"I must--I want to."
+
+"You're still weak."
+
+"Oh, no; I'm strong enough. Just see, Frank, I can walk all right."
+
+"Come on, then," said Merriwell.
+
+All around the grounds they searched, finally finding Hodge, who stated
+that he had seen no trace of any one.
+
+"The rascal made good his escape," said Frank. "I'll notify the sheriff
+first thing in the morning. A while ago there were some burglaries in
+surrounding towns. Perhaps the crooks have decided to operate in
+Bloomfield."
+
+"And it was natural they should pick out your house first, Merry," said
+Carson.
+
+They turned toward the house and paused again beneath the very tree
+where Berlin had stood when he heard the mingled voices of Lizette and
+the unknown man. As Frank and Hodge were talking, Carson turned away and
+walked a short distance toward the house. Stepping out from beneath the
+trees, he looked up.
+
+In an open upper window a face appeared, distinctly shown by the
+moonlight.
+
+It was Lizette.
+
+He gazed up at her, and she looked down at him. Then she leaned forth
+from the window, lifted one hand and pressed a finger to her lips.
+
+He understood the signal and nodded.
+
+She vanished, and he saw her no more that night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+KIDNAPED!
+
+
+The following day Lizette seemed strangely overcome--almost
+prostrated--by what she claimed she had beheld from her window the
+previous night. Professing that she was quite ill, she kept to her room
+a great deal, permitting Maggie to care for the baby.
+
+Carson was restless and nervous, and in his face his friends observed a
+strange look of eagerness, which at times gave place to an expression of
+triumph or of doubt. His injury proved to be comparatively slight.
+
+Frank reported the presence of the prowler and the attack on Carson to
+the local authorities.
+
+Somehow an atmosphere of unrest and uncertainty, a sensation of
+expectation in the face of some unforeseen calamity, seemed to hover
+over Merry Home.
+
+It was nearly mid-afternoon, and Inza was on the veranda, with Elsie
+near, when Maggie appeared, looking puzzled and frightened.
+
+"Shure, ma'am," she said, "Oi wish ye'd come up and take a peep at the
+choild."
+
+"Is anything the matter with little Frank?" exclaimed Inza, hastily
+rising. "Is he ill, Maggie?"
+
+"Nivver a bit," answered the girl. "He's slaping loike a top."
+
+"But what is it? You look so queer."
+
+"It's quare Oi feel, ma'am. Oi left him in his little bed a whoile ago
+to take a bit av a breath, which Oi naded. Whin Oi came back he was
+there, all roight, all roight, but it's moighty odd he looks to me."
+
+Inza followed Maggie to the chamber where the child lay asleep.
+
+"Lift the window shade and let in the light," she said.
+
+It happened that Frank came over to the house a few moments later to get
+a book he needed, and he was startled when his wife, pale and shaking,
+came flying down the stairs, seized him by the arm, and panted:
+
+"Come, Frank--this minute! Come quick! The baby!"
+
+Believing the child seriously ill, Merry lost no time in following his
+wife. They found Elsie beside the crib. The baby lay there wide awake,
+looking at them in a wondering way as they stooped above him.
+
+"Why, he doesn't seem to be ill, Inza," said Merry. "You frightened me.
+I thought he was dying."
+
+She clutched his arm with a grip that was almost frantic in its
+astonishing strength.
+
+"Look at him!" she hoarsely cried. "Look close!"
+
+"What is it, Inza? What do you see?"
+
+"His hair--can't you see the change?"
+
+"The change?"
+
+"Yes, yes! His hair is lighter!"
+
+"Lighter?"
+
+"Yes, lighter than little Frank's! And his eyes--his eyes are blue!
+Frank's were brown!"
+
+"Great heavens, it's true!" burst from Merriwell. "What does it mean,
+Inza? What sort of juggling in this?"
+
+"Frank Merriwell, that's not our child!"
+
+He staggered as if struck a terrible blow.
+
+"Not our child? Then, who---- What child is it? Where did it come from?
+You must be mistaken, Inza!"
+
+"I'm not! I know my own baby boy!"
+
+"The star--look for the star!" shouted Merriwell.
+
+Almost fiercely he seized the baby's garments and with one movement tore
+them from the tiny shoulder.
+
+The mark of the star was not there!
+
+Merriwell straightened up and stood for a moment like a man turned to
+stone. In that moment, however, while he outwardly seemed so inactive
+and dumfounded his brain was working swiftly.
+
+"Where's Lizette?" he demanded, and his voice was calm and cold.
+
+"Where's Lizette, Maggie?" panted Inza, turning on the now thoroughly
+frightened servant.
+
+"In her room, ma'am, Oi suppose," was the answer.
+
+"Find her," said Frank. "Bring her here instantly."
+
+Maggie rushed away and soon returned with the announcement that Lizette
+was not in her room.
+
+By this time Inza was so frightened that she was threatened with
+hysterics. She almost fought Elsie, who was seeking to calm her.
+
+"Let me talk to her, Elsie," said Frank.
+
+He grasped his wife firmly yet gently, holding her and looking straight
+into her eyes.
+
+"Look at me, Inza--look at me," he commanded. "Look me in the eyes."
+
+Even in her frantic condition she could not disobey him. Tremblingly
+Elsie looked on, seeing Merry gaze intently into his wife's dark eyes.
+
+"Inza," said Frank, in that same calm, masterful tone, "you must be
+quiet. You must trust me. I've never failed you yet. I'll not fail you
+now. That is not our child, but I will find little Frank and bring him
+back to you. Sit here!"
+
+He lifted her bodily and placed her in a big easy-chair. Again he gazed
+intently into her eyes, and beneath that gaze she rapidly grew calmer.
+
+"You know I'll do what I have said I would, Inza--you know it."
+
+"Yes," she huskily whispered, "I know it, Frank--but I'm almost
+distracted--I'm almost crazy! Don't lose a moment!"
+
+"Wait calmly and confidently when I'm gone. I'll have to leave you. When
+I return I'll place little Frank in your arms."
+
+He kissed her.
+
+A moment later he was gone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+FOR THE SAKE OF OLD DAYS.
+
+
+A man and a woman were making their way through a strip of timber where
+the shadows were thick. They were almost running, the man being in
+advance. He carried a bundle, from which at intervals came a strange,
+smothered cry, like the wailing of an infant.
+
+"Oh, Selwin, Selwin," gasped the woman, "I can't keep this up! I'm ready
+to drop now! Can't you go a little slower?"
+
+"And have those human hounds overtake us?" snarled the man. "Curse them!
+They're like bloodhounds on the scent! I've tried every trick to turn
+them off our track. I've doubled and turned, I've crossed ledges and
+waded streams, but I fear to hear them behind us any moment!"
+
+"You were mad, Selwin--mad!" gasped the weary woman, whose garments were
+tattered and torn, and whose hands and face were scratched and bleeding.
+"I told you how it would be! I told you we could not carry this mad
+scheme through!"
+
+"I will carry it through!" he grated. "If we can keep away from them
+until darkness falls, they'll be unable to follow us farther."
+
+"But the whole country will be aroused! We can't escape! I say it was
+madness!"
+
+"How in the devil did they find it out so soon?"
+
+"I knew they would--I knew it! The other child----"
+
+"Looked enough like this one to pass muster for a few hours, at least,"
+he interrupted. "Satan take the brat! Hear it squall!"
+
+Again a smothered cry came from the bundle.
+
+"Don't hurt it!" pleaded the woman. "Don't handle it so roughly!"
+
+"Hurt it? Furies! I'd like to strangle it! Here's a path. We'll follow
+that."
+
+The path soon brought them into an old wood road, and they mounted a
+wooded hill, the woman desperately stumbling along at the heels of the
+man. On the hillside they came upon a deserted hut. Through the trees
+they could see the sun sinking redly in the west.
+
+"Oh, stop, Selwin--stop a little while!" entreated the fatigued woman.
+"Let's rest here."
+
+He halted and scowled as he stood in thought.
+
+"They should be somewhere over to the northeast," he said. "I wonder if
+I could see them from the top of the hill. I'll try it. Here, take the
+brat, Bessie. I'll be back in a few minutes."
+
+He tossed the bundle into her arms, whirled and rushed away up the hill.
+
+The woman sat down on the trunk of a felled tree. She opened the bundle
+and gazed sadly, almost lovingly, on the face of an infant. The little
+eyes looked up at her, seemed to recognize her, and something like a
+smile came to the child's face.
+
+"Poor little Frank! poor little Frank!" she breathed. "It's a shame--a
+brutal shame! Oh, why did I ever consent! Even though I have hated your
+father, I love you! It's drink that's turned the brain of Selwin
+Harris!"
+
+The baby began to fret and cry.
+
+"You're hungry, darling," muttered the woman. "Oh, what brutes we are!
+What a wretched thing I am! I've always been bad, and I always will be.
+Still, a noble man loves me. Oh, Berlin, Berlin, you will despise me
+now! Even though you loved me through all the past and for all of the
+past, you'll scorn and despise me now! Well, what does it matter? You
+found me at last, and you forced the truth from my lips; but it was too
+late--too late!"
+
+Bitter tears of mingled sorrow and shame welled into her eyes and
+blinded her. They fell from her cheeks upon the cheeks of the fretting
+child.
+
+"Oh, Frank--oh, little honey boy!" she sobbed. "I hope you may never
+live to know such wretchedness as I have known! Better that you should
+die now! Better you had never been born! Why was I born? Why was I set
+adrift in this wretched, wicked old world? Not one thing in life has
+ever gone right with me!"
+
+A crashing sound gave her a start, and she saw the man returning on a
+run. As he passed a corner of the old hut one foot seemed to break
+through the ground, and he went down. With some difficulty, he drew
+forth his leg from a hole into which he had plunged. Pausing, he looked
+down into that hole, and far beneath he caught a faint mercurylike
+glitter.
+
+"An old well," he muttered. "The brush and deadwood had fallen over the
+mouth of it and hidden it. I came near dropping in there myself."
+
+"Are you hurt, Selwin?" called the woman.
+
+"No," he answered; "but I came mighty near falling into a trap."
+
+As he approached her she observed a look on his face that gave her a
+shuddery chill.
+
+"Let me take the child," he said.
+
+"No; I'll carry him a little while. Did you see anything of the
+pursuers?"
+
+"See them?" he snarled. "Curse them, yes!"
+
+"They're still on our track?"
+
+"Following it like hounds--like hounds! There are four of them. I know
+Merriwell and Hodge. The other two are boys. One of the boys is leading,
+and he runs, stooped forward, with his eyes on the ground. No Indian
+ever followed a trail more accurately than he has followed ours."
+
+"No Indian?" cried the woman. "You say he is a boy. Then it must be
+young Joe Crowfoot! I've seen him. He's one of the boys at Merriwell's
+school. He is a full-blooded Indian."
+
+"That accounts for it!" rasped the man. "That explains my failure to
+deceive them. The rest of the pursuers are far away on the main road. I
+saw them. They're in a carriage. Give me that child, Bessie."
+
+He sought to take the baby from her.
+
+"What are you going to do?" she asked, her hand shaking as she put it up
+to hold him off.
+
+"There's only one thing to be done. If we're captured with the child in
+our possession, we go to the jug. If the child is not in our possession
+and cannot be found, we can swear we know nothing about it. The other
+one----"
+
+"You're still mad, Selwin Harris! Would you murder this helpless
+infant?"
+
+"Murder?"
+
+"Yes. There's murder in your heart--in your face! I see it!"
+
+"Look here, Bessie; there's only one show for us to escape. That kid has
+encumbered me frightfully. I couldn't help you. That child out of the
+way, I can help you. We'll dodge them until it gets dark. I'll drop the
+brat into that old well and pull the brush over the opening. I can do it
+so that the well will not be found. We'll go back a short distance on
+our tracks and then turn off. They'll turn at the same point and follow
+us. There's no time to waste. Let me have the brat."
+
+She fought him with all her strength.
+
+"Never! never! never!" she panted. "You'll have to kill me first!"
+
+In a moment or two he realized that, unless he beat or choked her into
+unconsciousness, he could not take the infant from her.
+
+"You're a fool--you always were!" he raged.
+
+"Yes, I'm a fool!" she flung back. "I was a fool to ever have anything
+to do with you! Back yonder somewhere in the carriage that is following
+us is a man who loves me--a noble, manly, honest man. I knew him first,
+and he would have married me. Had I not run away from him, I'd be his
+wife to-day, and I'd be an honest woman."
+
+"You--you an honest woman!" flung back the ruffian, with a sneering
+laugh. "You an honest woman--the daughter of a cattle thief!"
+
+"Laugh! Sneer! Taunt me! Fling my disgrace in my face! And you're the
+man I once thought I loved! I thought I did! Ha! ha! ha! You've called
+me a fool. It's true! I thought I loved you; but now I hate you--I hate
+you!"
+
+"Oh, rats! You're playing to the gallery now, Bessie. Well, we'll have
+to move--we'll have to hike lively. The sun is almost down. The shadows
+are growing thicker. Will darkness never come?"
+
+"It's come for me!" she groaned. "It's in my heart! It's in my soul! For
+me it is the eternal, never-ending night of sin, disgrace, and shame!"
+
+He clutched her arm and dragged her on. Again they stumbled and lunged
+and tore their way through the shadowy woods. To their right the sun had
+dropped beyond the far-away hills, flinging a last reddish glow up into
+the highest sky, and this glow seemed temporarily to lighten the whole
+forest. Through a boggy spot they floundered. Through a jungle they
+thrust themselves. And at last, as the reddish sky was fading and
+turning to lead, they came upon a rutty, winding country road. Darkness
+shut down quickly.
+
+A light gleamed ahead of them. It came from the window of a house.
+
+Hitched to a fence corner in front of the house was a horse, attached to
+an old wagon.
+
+The man paused beside the wagon.
+
+"Get in!" he commanded.
+
+"What are you going to do?"
+
+"Get in! I'm going to take this team. Somebody who is calling at that
+house left it standing here. It was left for us."
+
+He lifted her into the wagon, sprang to the head of the horse, unhitched
+the animal, and a moment later was by the woman's side. The horse was
+reined around into the road. The man seized the whip and a moment later
+the sound of the animal's hoofs mingled with the rattle of the wagon
+wheels.
+
+"Night at last!" cried the desperate kidnaper. "Now we'll dodge them
+somehow!"
+
+"You cannot dodge them, Selwin," said the woman. "I feel that we're
+hurrying straight into their clutches."
+
+"Why, you fool, they're behind us! I tell you we'll dodge them now. Why
+in blazes did I ever bother to take that other brat from the poorhouse
+where its mother died? It was your plan to substitute one child for the
+other, Bessie. I wanted to steal Merriwell's kid in the first place.
+Furies take him! I swore years ago to strike at his heart when the time
+came. He was responsible for the death of my brother. They were at Yale
+together, this Merriwell and poor old Sport. Merriwell disgraced Sport
+by exposing him as a card sharp. Sport sought to get even. He followed
+Merriwell to England, and in England he died. In his last letter to me
+he wrote that he had a premonition of his fate. He said he felt sure
+that Merriwell would do him up at last."
+
+"Did Frank Merriwell kill him?"
+
+"Oh, just the same as that. I believe Sport was killed in some sort of
+an accident while he was running away from Merriwell. I've waited a long
+time, but I've struck at last. Satan take this hill!"
+
+He lashed the horse, and the animal went galloping up the road that
+wound over the hill.
+
+Suddenly, at a turn of the road, two fiery eyes burst into view, and
+through the night came the wild shriek of an automobile horn.
+
+With an oath, the man sought to rein to one side of the narrow road.
+
+The fiery eyes were right upon them.
+
+There was a crash. The wagon was struck and smashed. Man, woman, and
+child were hurled into the ditch.
+
+Chester Arlington, a lad who, despite his father's wealth, had been
+dismissed from school, stopped his machine ten rods farther on.
+
+"Are you hurt, June?" he asked, addressing his sister, who numbered Dick
+Merriwell and Dale Sparkfair among her admirers.
+
+"No, I'm not hurt," answered the girl, who was sitting beside him. "But
+I believe you've killed some one, Chester! I told you that you would!
+Oh, it's terrible! Let's go back and see."
+
+Arlington removed one of the oil lamps from his car, and they started
+back toward the scene of the collision.
+
+Another wagon came over the brow of the hill and stopped. From a
+distance in the opposite direction came a sharp signal whistle that was
+answered by one of the three persons in the wagon.
+
+"That's Merry!" exclaimed Berlin Carson, as he leaped out. "I wonder
+what's happened here. Somebody's smashed up."
+
+Two minutes later young Joe Crowfoot, Frank Merriwell, Bart Hodge, and
+Dale Sparkfair arrived. They found a horse, with the shafts of a smashed
+wagon attached, calmly grazing by the roadside. The wrecked wagon was in
+the ditch. Near by lay the body of a man. A few yards away sat a woman,
+holding an unharmed child in her arms.
+
+"We've got them, Frank!" said Berlin Carson, as he took the lamp from
+Arlington's hand and turned the light on the face of the prostrate man.
+"Here's the wretch who did it! Do you know him?"
+
+Merry looked down.
+
+"He's dead!" said Frank.
+
+"I think his neck was broken," exclaimed Carson. "I don't believe he
+realized what happened after the automobile struck the wagon. Do you
+know him, Frank?"
+
+"I've seen that face before. Yes, I think I know him. His name--his name
+is Harris! That's it! Why, his brother was at Yale! You remember Sport
+Harris, Carson?"
+
+"Sure!" breathed Berlin.
+
+Merriwell seized the child, and the woman surrendered it to him.
+
+"I'm wicked!" she said. "Put me in prison! But I saved your child's
+life when Selwin Harris would have taken it!"
+
+"Lizette, why did you do this thing?" asked Merry. "What was that man to
+you?"
+
+"He was my husband," she replied. "I'm not Lizette. That's not my name.
+I deceived you because he commanded me to. Put me in prison! I hope they
+keep me there till I die!"
+
+Carson's hand found that of Merriwell.
+
+"Merry," he said huskily, pleadingly, "this poor girl is Bessie King. I
+loved her once. It's dead now, all the love I knew. She has been more
+weak than sinful. You have your boy safe in your arms. You'll take him
+back to Inza. You'll keep your promise to her. We were old comrades at
+college. I would have done anything for you then, and I would do
+anything in my power for you now. For my sake let this poor woman
+go--for my sake, Frank!"
+
+There was a hush. Frank stood there in silence for such a long time that
+every person seemed to hear the beating of his own heart.
+
+At last Merriwell spoke.
+
+"For your sake I will, Berlin," he said.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+A CALL TO THE "FLOCK."
+
+
+Protected from arrest by the pity of Berlin Carson, whose love for her
+was as dead as was the man she had acknowledged as her husband, Bessie
+left behind her the home which, for several hours, she had plunged in
+grief and anxiety. An examination of the infant which had been kidnaped
+showed that it had sustained no injury, and, filled with a spirit of
+thankfulness, Frank and Inza Merriwell resolved that the little
+foundling which had been substituted for their baby son should be placed
+in a more worthy home than was afforded by the asylum from which it had
+been taken. In a few days such a home was found, and the infant which
+had inspired Frank and Inza with such feelings of consternation when
+they had discovered that it was not their own, was committed to the
+kindly care of a prosperous and honest young farmer and his wife, who
+were childless, and who lived only a few miles from the Merriwell home.
+
+But it did not take long for the sympathetic eyes of Frank and Inza to
+see that the ardent love of Berlin Carson for the young woman, who had
+proved herself to be unworthy of him, though now extinguished, had left
+him moody and disinterested in the future.
+
+And so one evening, Inza, laying a hand on one of the arms of her
+husband, said gently:
+
+"We must do something for Berlin, Frank. It is wrong for a man to brood
+so over a misfortune as he is doing. Is it not possible for us to do
+more to enliven him and cause him to think less of his disappointment
+and the shock he has received?"
+
+Frank shook his head thoughtfully.
+
+"I scarcely see what more we can do, Inza," he replied. "Men are unlike
+women. The grief of a woman may yield to the sympathetic words and
+actions and cheerful influence of friends, but when a man has some great
+trouble--especially if he be a strong man--it is best that he should
+have an opportunity to make his fight against depressing influences
+alone. He must have time to think it out. All references to his sorrow
+are likely to irritate him, and evidence of the pity of others galls his
+pride. No, no, Inza, there is little that you and I can do, I fear. Let
+us do our best to surround him with a cheerful atmosphere, and----"
+
+"That is precisely what I mean, Frank. Now, I have a plan. Several weeks
+ago I heard you say that one day you might find it possible to have
+around you here many of the members of what you are so often wont to
+call your 'old flock'--your old school and college mates, and some of
+your old friends from the Southwest. Why do you not make an effort now
+to get them here?"
+
+Frank gave a little start, and then smiled thoughtfully.
+
+"I will think it over, Inza," he said.
+
+Early the next morning Frank sent out a number of telegrams to his old
+friends. To these telegrams he received replies in the course of the
+next twenty-four hours.
+
+And thus it came to pass that the pilgrimage to Merry Home began.
+
+Several days later, in a parlor car of the eastbound express were four
+young people who had traveled far. They were Ephraim Gallup; his wife,
+Teresa; Barney Mulloy, and a charming and vivacious Spanish girl,
+Juanita Garcia, Teresa's bosom friend. The men were old friends of Frank
+Merriwell.
+
+All wore sensible traveling suits, and, in spite of the long journey,
+they appeared to be little fatigued. There was an expression of
+eagerness and impatience on the face of Gallup, and Mulloy seemed in a
+similar mood.
+
+"By gum, we're gittin' back into God's country ag'in!" exclaimed the
+lanky Vermonter. "Arter bein' buried down there in Mexico so long it
+seems jest like heaven."
+
+"Do they be afther callin' this a fast expriss?" burst from Mulloy.
+"Faith, but it crawls loike a shnail, so it does. Will we iver reach
+Bloomfield? It's itchin' Oi am to put me hands on Frankie Merriwell."
+
+"Eet ees so glad I shall also be to see Seńor Merriwell," laughed
+Teresa.
+
+"Hey?" cried Gallup, giving her a look of mock reproof. "Naow yeou be
+keerful, young woman! I ain't fergut that you was kinder smashed on him
+once."
+
+At this his wife laughingly protested her innocence.
+
+"Nevvier, nevvier after I knew you loved me, Ephraim," she declared.
+"One time I theenk you do not care. Then I geet so very angry. Then I
+make eyes at ze handsome Seńor Merriwell. I do eet to see how you like
+that. Eet make you geet to your job on. Eet make you set your tongue
+loose and say the word I want you to say. Seńor Merriwell he not care
+one snap for me. I know eet. Do you theenk Teresa ees the foolish girl?"
+
+"Not a hanged bit of it!" chuckled Gallup. "She was the slickest little
+article I ever run up ag'inst. I guess yeou're right, Teresa. I guess
+yeou kinder waked me up when you flung them goo-goo eyes at Frank. Fust
+time in my life I ever felt that way, but, by ginger! I wanted to swat
+him on the jaw. Great Hubbard squashes, wasn't I in love then!"
+
+His wife frowned.
+
+"Een love then?" she exclaimed. "You not be so much so now, ah?"
+
+"Thunder! I'm ten times wuss now than I was then, and you know it,
+Teresa. Didn't I coax and beg and hang on like a dog to a bone to git
+you to come East with me to visit Frank?"
+
+"It was the baby," breathed Teresa. "The question was to breeng the baby
+or to leave eet with eets grand-fathaire. I know he take the most
+splendeed care of eet. He have the nursees watch all the time, and he
+watch heemself. He know how to care for the baby most beautiful."
+
+"That's right," nodded Gallup, "the old don is a rappin' good baby nuss.
+It's the funniest thing in the world to see him doddling round with a
+baby in his arms. And to think that he used to be a red-hot
+revolutionist, and called the Firebrand of Sonora! As a fighter, he was
+a rip-tearer. As a baby nuss he's the greatest expert that ever wore
+men's trousers."
+
+"Begob, the don is all roight, all roight," agreed Barney. "The only
+gint who iver downed him was Frankie Merriwell. Instid av layin' it up
+against Frankie, and lookin' for revinge, the way people ginerally
+suppose Mexicans and Spaniards do, the don shook hands, and became wan
+av Frankie's bist friends."
+
+Ephraim leaned forward to pat his wife's cheek.
+
+"Your old dad is a jim-hickey, Terese," he said.
+
+Juanita had been smiling, and now she laughed outright in a rippling,
+musical manner.
+
+"What ees eet you laugh at, Juanita?" demanded Teresa.
+
+"Oh, eet ees the way the Yankee man he keep on making love," answered
+the girl. "One time I theenk I despise every gringo. One time I theenk
+maybe perhaps if I find one who have the great likeeng for me--eef he be
+handsome, eef he be good--I theenk maybe--perhaps----"
+
+"Oh! oh! oh!" cried Mrs. Gallup laughingly. "Eet ees the great change of
+the mind. Maybe you meet lots of good-lookeeng young man at Seńor
+Merriwell's. We make the marriage for you."
+
+"Oh, no," protested Juanita. "That ees the way they do in Mexico. I like
+the way the American girl do. She make her own marriage. She catch the
+man she want. She not have to take the one her people say she must
+marry. No one for me ees to make the match."
+
+"Hooroo for you!" cried Barney. "Thot's the stuff! It's a diclaration of
+indepindince! Oi wonder who'll be at the reunion, Ephie?"
+
+"I dunno," answered Gallup, shaking his head. "Merry's telegram said
+there'd be a lot of the old flock there. I'll be all-fired glad to see
+'em. Wonder how the fellers have prospered. I hope they've all done as
+well as we have, Barney."
+
+"Av they have," nodded Mulloy, "the most av thim should be satisfied.
+It's a clane little pile av money we made in thot railroad business,
+Ephraim."
+
+"You bate!" chuckled the Vermonter. "Take us together, Barney and we
+make a hull team, with a little dog under the wagon."
+
+"As a business partner," said the Irishman, "Oi'll take a down-east
+Yankee ivery toime. Begobs, Ephie, ye know how to do business all
+roight, all roight!"
+
+"And as a railroad construction boss," grinned Gallup, "yeou're right up
+to date, Barney. Yeou handled your end of the business slick as a
+whistle while I was lookin' arter my end. I wonder what they're stoppin'
+here for?"
+
+The train was pulling up at a junction. On questioning the porter, they
+learned that there would be a stop of nearly twenty minutes while other
+cars were taken on from another route.
+
+Gallup proposed that they should step out on the platform and get some
+air. Neither Teresa nor Juanita seemed anxious to do this, so Ephraim
+and Barney left them in the car.
+
+The junction was a bustling little town, and there was a great deal
+going on in the vicinity of the station.
+
+Mulloy and Gallup lighted cigars and promenaded the platform.
+
+At the far end they observed a group of men and boys surrounding a
+person who stood on a small square box, making a speech. This person
+was bareheaded, and his hair was unusually long and disheveled. He was
+dressed in a loose suit of light-colored clothes, wore a negligee shirt,
+with a soft turndown collar, and had no vest. His back was toward Barney
+and Ephraim as they approached.
+
+"Begorra! it's natural he looks," muttered the Irishman.
+
+"Gol-dinged if that ain't right!" agreed Gallup. "Somehow his voice
+sounds kinder nateral, too."
+
+They paused at the edge of the group to listen.
+
+"Friends and brothers," cried the speaker, in a clear, sad voice, "I
+presume many of you heard me speak on your public square last evening.
+Still it is possible that some of you were not there to listen to my
+words, to hear my warning of the great coming clash of the classes. It
+is as inevitable as the sinking of yonder sun to-night and its rise
+again to-morrow. With a prophetic eye I look into the future and behold
+the day when labor shall have its rights. That day is coming as surely
+as the sun continues to rise in the east. The iron hand of Capital would
+hold it back, but that cruel iron hand cannot, Joshua-like, stay the
+course of the sun nor stem the tide of human progress.
+
+"Every intelligent person within the sound of my voice knows it is true
+that the rich are growing richer and the poor are becoming poorer. The
+accumulation of stupendous fortunes in the hands of individuals
+threatens the very foundations of our government. Time was when a man
+worth a million was supposed to be immensely rich. To-day the possessor
+of a single million is looked on with scorn and contempt by our
+multimillionaires. Ten millions, twenty millions, fifty millions--aye,
+even a hundred millions are now accumulated by individuals. This money
+belongs to the masses, the laborers who have earned it by the sweat of
+their brows."
+
+"Hear! hear!" "That's right!" "Hooray!" cried the crowd.
+
+Mulloy had gripped Ephraim's arm.
+
+"Ivery word av thot has a familiar sound to me," muttered the Irishman.
+"Oi've heard thot talk before and from the same lips."
+
+"My friends," continued the speaker, "we are all brothers. Justice to
+one and all of this great human family should be our motto.
+Unfortunately for me I was not born of the masses, as the royal knights
+of labor are now called by the American aristocrats of boodle. By birth
+I was supposed to be exalted above the lower strata of humanity. My
+parents were wealthy. My father gave me an education to be a slave
+driver over the common people. His blood runs in my veins, but my heart
+is not of his heart. In his eyes I have become disgraced because I dared
+boldly claim the street laborer, the man with the hoe, the man with the
+pick and shovel, the man with the sweat of honest toil on his brow--I
+have dared to claim him as a fellow man and brother.
+
+"I have traveled from coast to coast, and I have lived in the poorest
+quarters of New York, Chicago, and other great cities. My heart has bled
+at the sufferings of the poor people who are wearing their wretched
+lives away in toil for a most wretched sustenance. The friends I once
+knew have turned from me and called me a socialist, an anarchist. They
+call us anarchists because we sympathize with the downtrodden
+masses--because we prophesy the coming of the great struggle that shall
+emancipate these masses. We are not anarchists, but we are proud to be
+called socialists. Anarchy is disorder and ruin. Socialism is order and
+equal rights for all. Let them point the finger of scorn at us. What
+care we? But let them beware, for the great earthquake is coming."
+
+Mulloy and Gallup had forced their way through the crowd, and even as
+the speaker uttered these words Barney gave him a terrible slap on the
+back, while Ephraim kicked the box from beneath his feet.
+
+"The earthquake do be come, begorra!" shouted Mulloy. "Greg Carker, ye
+bloody old socialist raskil, Oi have yez in me hands, and Oi'm going to
+hug yez till ye holler!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+A MAN OF THE PEOPLE.
+
+
+Carker was almost smothered in the powerful arms of the delighted Irish
+youth.
+
+To the crowd, however, it seemed that a violent assault had been made on
+the orator. In that crowd were many who sympathized with the socialistic
+speaker or were pronounced socialists themselves. These persons grew
+excited immediately, and a dozen of them sought to push forward to
+Carker's assistance. They reached for Mulloy and Gallup with savage
+hands or sought to smite the two young men with clenched fists.
+
+"Great hemlock!" exclaimed Ephraim, as he thrust aside the outstretched
+hands or warded off blows. "What in thutteration's the matter with this
+bunch of lunatics!"
+
+"Down with them--down with the aristocrats!" snarled the angry crowd.
+
+"Whoop! Hooroo!" shouted Barney Mulloy, releasing Carker. "Is it a
+schrap thot do be on our hands, Oi dunno? Begorra, it's so long since
+Oi've been consarned in a real fight that me blood tingles with pleasure
+at the thought av it."
+
+By this time Carker recognized the sun-tanned young man who had
+interrupted his speech. As quickly as possible he flung himself in front
+of the excited crowd, threw up his hands, and shouted:
+
+"Stand back! stand back! They're my friends!"
+
+"Gott in Himmel!" gurgled a German. "Did not they you attackt? Dit ve
+not see them py our eyes as they didid it?"
+
+"I tell you they're my friends," persisted Carker.
+
+"They hit-a you! They grab-a you!" shouted an Italian. "They stop-a you
+from making the speech!"
+
+"It's all right," persisted the young socialist. "I had finished my
+speech. I tell you to keep back! Stand off! The man who touches them is
+not friendly toward me. He's not friendly toward socialism."
+
+"Vale," said the German, "uf you put it to us up dot vay, it vill a
+settlement make."
+
+Then he turned and faced the crowd, pushing many of them back with his
+pudgy hands as he shouted:
+
+"Stood avay nearer off! Don't push up so far close! Dit you not hear our
+prother say they vas his friendts alretty?"
+
+The excitement of the crowd rapidly subsided. Carker spoke to them
+calmly, explaining that the two young men who had brought his speech to
+such a sudden termination were his bosom comrades of old times, even
+thought they might not be thoroughbred socialists.
+
+"Where the dickens did you two boys come from?" he finally demanded, as
+he once more turned toward Ephraim and Barney, grasping their hands.
+"Oh, it's good to see you again, fellows!"
+
+"Begorra, to see yez is a soight for sore eyes and to hear yez is music
+to deaf ears!" chuckled Barney Mulloy. "You're the same old rabid
+champeen av the downtrodden masses. You're still pratin' away about the
+coming of the great earthquake."
+
+"That's right, by gum!" grinned Gallup. "But, say, why didn't yeou warn
+the people of Frisco before they gut shook up?"
+
+"When I speak of the great coming earthquake," said Carker, "you know
+I'm talking figuratively. But you haven't answered my question. Where
+did you chaps come from?"
+
+"Right up from old Mexico," replied Ephraim. "We've been down there, me
+and Barney, a-helpin' put through the new Central Sonora Railroad. The
+old road's finished, and we're takin' a vacation now, with a big bank
+account to our credit and plenty of the long green in our pants
+pockets."
+
+"Tainted money! tainted money!" exclaimed Greg dramatically. "You've
+been laboring for a heartless corporation. These great railroad
+companies have made their wealth by robbing the downtrodden masses."
+
+"Ye don't say!" grinned Barney. "The money we have made may be tainted,
+but the only taint I've discovered about it is 'tain't enough."
+
+"Oh, you're still frivolous and thoughtless, both of you," asserted
+Greg, with a shake of his bushy head. "You can't seem to realize the
+fact that in these degenerate days there are no longer opportunities for
+men to rise from the lower ranks to positions of competence,
+independence, and power. The great corporations and trusts are killing
+competition and holding the masses down. A boy born in the lower walks
+no longer has a chance to get out of that strata of existence."
+
+"It's rot ye still talk, me fri'nd," declared Barney. "Oi think th'
+chances are as good as they iver were, and a lot betther, av anything."
+
+"If yeou're right," put in Ephraim, "'tain't the great corporations and
+trusts alone that are to blame. It's the labor organizations that say
+every workingman, no matter whether he's capable of great things or is
+just an ordinary dub, shall take a sartain scale of wages. That kills
+ambition and keeps young fellers of ability and genius from risin'. Yes,
+siree, it sartinly does."
+
+"Oh, your mind is too narrow to grasp all the phases of this great
+question," asserted the young socialist, with a sweep of his hand. "I
+wish you'd prove to me that young men still have a chance to rise in
+these days. Show me an example."
+
+"Me bhoy, ye moight take a look at Barney Mulloy," suggested the smiling
+Irishman. "It's something loike tin thousand clane dollars he's made in
+th' last year. Thot he's done in Mexico."
+
+"And when yeou git through lookin' at him," suggested Gallup, "yeou
+might cast an eye round in my direction. Me and Barney have been
+partners, and, by jinks! I've cleaned up ten thousand, too."
+
+For a moment Carker seemed a bit staggered, but he quickly recovered.
+
+"What's ten thousand in these days? What's that but a drop in the bucket
+when your big magnates accumulate millions upon millions?"
+
+"Well, me bhoy," laughed Barney, with a comical twist of his mug, "tin
+thousand will do for a nist egg. Wid thot for a nist egg, we ought to
+hatch out enough to kape us from becomin' objects of charity in our ould
+age."
+
+"A man is foolish to waste his time in argument with such chaps as you,"
+said Greg, with a shrug of his shoulders. "Are you on this train?"
+
+When they replied that they were, he explained that he was there to take
+the same train. Within the station he secured his battered old suit
+case, which he had left there.
+
+"Have yeou a seat?" asked Gallup.
+
+"Why, I expect to get a seat on the regular passenger coach," answered
+Carker.
+
+"You kin git a seat in our car, I guess," said Ephraim. "Not more'n half
+the seats was taken."
+
+At the steps of the parlor car Greg halted.
+
+"Are you riding in this car?" he asked.
+
+"Shure," nodded Barney.
+
+"Then I'm sorry," said the young socialist. "I can't ride with you."
+
+In a breath both Mulloy and Gallup demanded to know why.
+
+"Parlor coaches are made for aristocrats," explained Greg. "I'm one of
+the masses. I'm democratic. I ride with common people in the common
+coaches."
+
+"Begorra, ye'll roide in this car av we have to kidnap yez!" shouted
+Mulloy. "Av you're too close-fisted to buy a sate yersilf, Oi'll pay for
+it!"
+
+This touched Carker's pride.
+
+"You hurt me by such words, Barney," he protested. "Close-fisted! My
+boy, do you know I've given away nearly all my ready money in the last
+six months to the needy and suffering? I've seen big, fat-stomached,
+overfed men lolling in their parlor-car seats while weak invalids,
+wretched and faint from the strain of trouble, have sat in the common
+cars. Do you think I could be selfish enough to spend my money for my
+own comfort and luxury, knowing that such poor people might be suffering
+on this train?"
+
+"Yer heart's all roight, Greg, ould bhoy," explained Barney; "but ye'll
+foind thot yer pocketbook isn't big enough to alleviate all th'
+suffering thot ye'll discover in the world. Come on, Ephraim, we'll put
+him on this car or l'ave him dead on the platform."
+
+They seized Carker and forced him up the steps. In a moment he ceased to
+resist and permitted them to push him into the car.
+
+"All right, boys," he muttered regretfully, "as it's you, and we haven't
+seen each other for so long, I'll put aside my scruples and travel in a
+parlor car to-day."
+
+They found Teresa and Juanita chatting in Spanish, quite unaware of what
+had taken place on the station platform. Carker was introduced to Mrs.
+Gallup and her young friend. He removed his hat, flung back his mane of
+hair, and bowed before them with the grace of a true gentleman.
+
+"Mrs. Gallup," he murmured, "it's the pleasure of my life to meet the
+wife of my old friend and comrade. And to meet Mrs. Gallup's friend,
+Seńorita Garcia, is scarcely a smaller pleasure."
+
+"How beauteeful he do talk!" murmured Juanita.
+
+There was a strange flash in her dark eyes as she surveyed the young
+socialist. With his long hair, his pale classical face, his sad poetic
+eyes, he was indeed a handsome fellow of a type seldom seen. The fact
+that his clothes were unconventional in their cut and that he wore a
+negligee shirt with a soft wide collar detracted not a whit from his
+striking appearance.
+
+The train soon pulled out, and when the conductor came through a seat
+was secured for Carker, who restrained Mulloy with an air of dignity
+when Barney attempted to pay the bill.
+
+"I'm not quite busted myself," asserted Greg, with a faint smile, at the
+same time producing a roll of bills.
+
+The conductor was paid and passed on. Then they settled down for a
+sociable chat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+AN INTRUDER.
+
+
+Turned from his socialistic theories and arguments into a different
+channel, Carker proved to be a most delightful conversationalist and
+companion. He was educated, cultured, and witty, although evidently
+lacking in humor. Possibly this came from the fact that he had so long
+and so earnestly regarded and meditated on the somber side of life. He
+seemed to fascinate Juanita, who listened intently whenever he spoke.
+
+"What you do, seńor, when you travel so much?" inquired Teresa. "You
+leave Seńora Carkaire at home?"
+
+Carker smiled sadly.
+
+"There is no Seńora Carker," he answered.
+
+"Oo!" cried Teresa. "You are not marreed?"
+
+"No," replied Greg, "I'm not married."
+
+"That ees so singulaire!"
+
+"Veree, veree," murmured Juanita.
+
+"It may seem singular," admitted Carker, "but a man like me, who has
+pledged his life to humanity, has little right to get married."
+
+"I do not see why you say that," said Juanita.
+
+"Perhaps I cannot make my reason plain to you, but there is an excellent
+reason. A man who marries should have a home. And a man who has a home
+should live in it. If I had such a home and was bound to it, I could not
+travel and carry on my life-work. I could not drag my wife around over
+the country, and it is not right for a married man to leave his wife
+alone a great deal."
+
+"Gol rap it, Greg," exclaimed Ephraim, "I don't believe that's your real
+reason for not gittin' married! I'll bet some gal throwed you down!"
+
+"Well, perhaps you're right," admitted the young socialist. "You can't
+blame her if she did."
+
+"Why not can we blame her?" questioned Juanita. "Deed she have the other
+lovaire? Oh, ha! ha! Seńor Carkaire! Maybe eet ees not nice to laugh, to
+joke, to speak of eet. I beg the pardon, seńor."
+
+She had seen a shadow flit across his face and vanish.
+
+He forced a laugh.
+
+"If there was another man," he said, "I'm conceited enough to think I
+might have captured the prize in spite of him had I been willing to
+sacrifice my principles and renounce my socialistic beliefs."
+
+"Oh, the girl she not have you because of that?" breathed Juanita. "Eet
+ees veree strange."
+
+"Not so very strange," he asserted. "We'll say that she was a lady. Now
+it is a fact that nearly all ladies are extremely conventional in
+everything. They have a horror for the bizarre and the unconventional.
+They are shocked by the man who declines to be hampered with the fashion
+in clothes and in similar things. I could not fall in love with a girl
+who was not a lady."
+
+"Begorra, you're an aristocrat at heart!" cried Mulloy. "Ye can't git
+away from it, me bhoy, no mather how much ye prate about socialism and
+th' brotherhood av mon."
+
+"Still I protest you do not understand me."
+
+"By gum!" muttered Gallup; "it don't seem to me that yeou are right
+'bout the gals. Yeou kinder stick for the sort that's been born in the
+higher strata of life, as yeou call it. Ain't thar a hull lot of mighty
+smart ones that come out of the lower strata somewhere?"
+
+"Oh, I admit that most of the brainy women and most of the brainy men
+come from the lower strata. Nevertheless, such women are not ladies."
+
+"Begobs, ye make me tired!" cried Mulloy. "What you nade, Greg, is a
+dhoctor to look afther your liver."
+
+"Mebbe the best doctor," grinned Gallup, "would be a girl he'd fall in
+love with and who'd fall in love with him. I guess she could cure him.
+If he happened to run across the right one and she axed him to give up
+his career and stop rampin' round over the country, I'll bet a good big
+punkin he'd cave in right on the spot."
+
+"You're wrong," denied Carker. "No matter how much I cared for a girl,
+I could not give up my career. There was one once who asked me to give
+it up. She married another man."
+
+He smiled as he made the confession, but in his eyes there was a look
+which told of the great sacrifice he had made.
+
+"Mebbe you think you're doing a great work for humanity," observed
+Ephraim; "but, by ginger! I kinder think that Frank Merriwell is doing a
+greater work."
+
+"What is he doing?"
+
+"Haven't you heard 'bout it?"
+
+"No. I haven't heard from Merriwell in the last year or more. The last I
+knew of him he was accumulating a fortune in mining. Like other men in
+these degenerate times, he had turned his great abilities to the
+mercenary task of amassing wealth. I was sorry when I heard this, for I
+had expected other things of him."
+
+"Sorry, was ye?" snapped Ephraim.
+
+"Sorry and disappointed," said Greg, shaking his head.
+
+"Waal, now, you want to come right along with us to Bloomfield. We'll
+show you what Frank Merriwell's doing with that money he's accumulated.
+Ain't you ever heard 'bout his School of Athletic Development?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Waal, I guess that'll interest ye some, by jinks!"
+
+"Tell me about it."
+
+As clearly as he could, Ephraim explained the plan of Merry's new
+school. Carker listened with a show of interest until the Vermonter had
+finished.
+
+"Well, I'm glad he's doing some good," said Greg. "Still, this is of
+minor importance compared with the great work in which I'm engaged."
+
+"You go to grass!" almost snarled Ephraim. "Great fiddlesticks! Why,
+Frank is making real men of growing boys. He's making good, strong,
+healthy men that kin go out and successfully fight their way through
+life."
+
+"Life should not be a battle," asserted the socialist. "Every man's hand
+should be outstretched to help a needy fellow man. This old-fashioned
+theory that human life is bound to be a battle is all wrong. We are one
+great body of brothers, bound together by a universal tie."
+
+"Choke off roight where ye are," commanded Barney. "Oi'm yer fri'nd,
+Greg Carker, but Oi'll hit ye av ye sling any of that socialist talk at
+us! Ye've r'iled me now. Oi must have a shmoke to soothe me narves."
+
+"Me, too," grinned Ephraim, as they both rose. "You'll 'scuse us for a
+little while, won't ye, girls? We'll jest step into the smokin'
+compartment."
+
+"You may have the excuse if you weel leave Seńor Carkaire to entertain
+us," murmured Juanita.
+
+"I'll remain here," nodded Greg. "I don't smoke."
+
+"Gol ding him!" growled Ephraim, as he followed Barney into the smoking
+compartment. "He's a bigger crank than ever! He's gittin' wuss and
+wuss!"
+
+"What he nades is a girrul to marry him and straighten him out,"
+declared the Irish youth.
+
+Five minutes after the departure of Eph and Barney a slender, black-eyed
+man, with a small dark mustache, came sauntering through the car. As he
+reached the spot where Carker was talking to Teresa and Juanita he
+stopped short, uttered an exclamation of satisfaction, and lifted his
+hat, bowing with a triumphant smile.
+
+"Ah, Seńorita Garcia," he jubilantly said, "you take the flight from me,
+but I have found you."
+
+"Jose Murillo!" exclaimed Juanita. And there was dismay and fear in her
+voice.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+OLD FRIENDS EN ROUTE.
+
+
+"_Si, seńorita_," laughed the stranger, "Jose Murillo."
+
+"Where deed you come from?"
+
+"The train on wheech I travel from the West eet join this train back at
+the junction."
+
+Teresa's eyes were flashing. She rose and confronted the young Mexican.
+
+"Seńor Murillo," she said, in Spanish, "you have annoyed Juanita enough.
+You have no right to follow her. You have threatened her. You have
+frightened her. If you are the gentleman you profess to be, you will
+leave her alone."
+
+He showed his white teeth in a smile.
+
+"I am a man with a purpose," he retorted, in the same language. "I love
+Seńorita Garcia! Her father promised that she should be my wife!"
+
+"Her father is dead," said Teresa, "and that promise no longer binds
+her. In Mexico you sought to force her into a marriage. We are not in
+Mexico now. We are in the United States. It's different here. My husband
+is close at hand. If you do not leave us, I'll call him. He will protect
+us from you."
+
+"Pardon, seńorita," said Carker, also speaking in Spanish. "Permit me to
+offer my protection. I will see that this man gives neither you nor
+Seńorita Garcia further annoyance."
+
+He rose and placed himself squarely before Murillo.
+
+The Mexican glared fiercely at Greg.
+
+"Gringo dog!" he sneered. "Who are you that offers your protection to
+these ladies?"
+
+"I am their friend, seńor, and the friend of Mrs. Gallup's husband.
+It'll be a good thing for you if you move along and move at once."
+
+Murillo laughed.
+
+"You miserable gringo!" he exclaimed. "Do you think you can frighten me?
+Do you think you can drive me away with words? I have followed that girl
+a very long distance. She belongs to me by the promise of her father.
+She cannot run away from me! I will have her!"
+
+"Look here, Seńor Murillo," retorted Greg quietly, "if you don't move
+along, I'll throw you out of that window!"
+
+The Mexican fell back, and his hand was thrust into his bosom.
+
+"Touch me, and you'll regret it!" he hissed, keeping his black eyes
+fastened on Carker.
+
+"Is it a knife or a pistol you have in your hand?" questioned Greg
+quietly. "I know you've reached for one or the other. All the same I'll
+make good by throwing you out of the window if you don't pass on!"
+
+Teresa grasped Carker's arm and whispered in his ear:
+
+"Wait! Here come the boyees!"
+
+Ephraim and Barney were returning from the smoking compartment. The
+moment they saw Murillo they hurried forward, realizing that something
+unpleasant was taking place. Gallup uttered a cry of exasperation as he
+recognized the Mexican.
+
+"Look here, Barney," he exclaimed, "here's old Wan! Consarn his pate,
+he's followed Juanita!"
+
+"Begorra, we'll have to soak the persistint gint in the neck!" burst
+from the young Irishman.
+
+Murillo backed away a bit, and his hand came forth from his bosom. It
+grasped a small shining revolver.
+
+"Touch me, you gringo curs, and I'll keel you!" he threatened.
+
+A stalky, broad-shouldered young man, wearing a broad-brimmed Stetson
+hat, came down the aisle behind the Mexican. There was a certain breezy,
+Western air about this broad-hatted stranger. He gave one sharp look at
+Murillo, and a moment later he had the threatening Mexican in a grip of
+iron. One of the stranger's hands shot over Murillo's shoulder and
+grasped the revolver, turning the muzzle toward the roof of the car.
+
+"A popgun like that is a whole lot dangerous for fools to play with,"
+observed this person who had interrupted. "You ought to be turned over
+some one's knee and spanked a-plenty. That's whatever!"
+
+"Great Juniper!" squawked Ephraim Gallup, flourishing his arms with a
+wild gesture of delight. "It's Buck--it's old Buck, by gum!"
+
+"Hooroo, Badger, me bhoy!" laughed Barney. "Wherever did yez come from
+so suddint, Oi dunno?"
+
+"In truth, it is my old college mate from Kansas!" breathed Carker.
+
+Badger had twisted the pistol out of Murillo's fingers, with one hand
+while he easily held the Mexican helpless with the other hand. Badger
+was a big man. He stood six feet tall, and every inch of him was put up
+for strength and endurance. He was a fine-looking man, too, bronzed and
+weather-beaten, as if he had seen much outdoor life, yet having a
+certain atmosphere of ease and refinement about him which proclaimed him
+no ordinary cow-puncher or laborer. There was command and
+self-confidence in every glance of his eyes, in every movement of his
+person. In spite of his youth, a critical, discerning stranger would
+have pronounced him a man of much experience who feared nothing made of
+flesh and blood.
+
+Murillo snarled at the Kansan in Spanish:
+
+"_Santissima! Caramba! Caraj----_"
+
+Like a flash Badger snapped the revolver out through the open window,
+and his hand closed on the throat of the furious Mexican, cutting the
+vile word short.
+
+"Here, you low-mouthed spawn of sin," grated the big Westerner, "there
+are ladies present! If you use that word before them, I'll shut off your
+wind a-plenty and let it stay shut! You hear me murmur!"
+
+Murillo made one last furious struggle, but it was quite ineffectual,
+and he finally subsided, lying limp in the grasp of the big man.
+
+"Who is this greaser coyote?" asked Badger, as he relaxed his hold on
+the man's throat, allowing him to catch a painful breath. "Whatever was
+he doing a-pulling a popgun that fashion?"
+
+"Oh, he ees the veree bad man, seńor!" exclaimed Teresa. "He annoy my
+dear friend, Juanita! He follow her all the way from Mexico! He threaten
+her eef she do not marry heem!"
+
+Badger took a look at Juanita, and something like a gleam of admiration
+came into his big brown eyes.
+
+"Juanita, you sure have my sympathy a-plenty," he observed. "You don't
+want to marry him?"
+
+"Oh, no, no, seńor!" replied the frightened girl.
+
+"Well, then I opine I'll drop him out of the window. That may jar him
+some."
+
+A second later Murillo, kicking and gasping, clawing at the air, had
+been lifted like an infant by Badger, who seemed on the point of hurling
+him headlong through the open window.
+
+"Santa Maria! Mercee!" begged the frightened wretch. "Spare me, seńor!
+Spare me, good seńor! Eef you throw me through the window, eet will keel
+me!"
+
+"And that wouldn't be any great loss to the world, I judge," said the
+man from Kansas.
+
+But now Juanita interfered.
+
+"Oh, please do not throw heem from the train, seńor!" she implored.
+"Even eef I do despise heem, I should not weesh to see heem keeled."
+
+Badger chuckled.
+
+"Well, on condition that the gent will promise a whole lot that he'll
+quit bothering you, I'll let him off and won't throw him out of the
+window. Speak up, you whining, chattering gopher! Make the promise
+instanter, or out you go!"
+
+"Oh, I promeese, seńor--I swear!" came from the frightened Mexican.
+
+"Swear by all your saints," commanded Badger.
+
+"By all the saints, I swear!" gasped Murillo.
+
+"If I let you go now, you'll keep away from the seńorita in future?
+You'll never trouble her again?"
+
+Murillo choked, but his fear caused him to take the oath.
+
+Badger dropped the wretch in an upright position, turned him down the
+aisle, gave him a start, and said:
+
+"Don't look back! Keep on going just as far as you can go on this train!
+Get into the rear car, and if you show your cowardly mug around here
+again, I'll kick you clean up through the top of your hat! You hear my
+promise, I opine."
+
+Murillo heard it, and he kept on going until he had vanished from the
+car.
+
+Barney Mulloy fairly quivered with laughter.
+
+"Be heavins, Badger," he chuckled, "ye know how to handle a shnake! It's
+a relation to St. Pathrick ye are, and he drove all the shnakes out av
+Oireland. Hereafther you're St. Buck, begobs!"
+
+"St. Buck is a heap good," laughed the Westerner, as he shook hands with
+his old friends, removed his broad-brimmed Stetson, and made a sweeping
+bow to the girls. "Mrs. Badger has a right jolly way of calling me angel
+sometimes, but, on my word, I can't discover even a pimple of a wing
+anywhere about me. But, say, people, however is it I find you all here
+together? Wherever are you bound for?"
+
+"Bloomfield," answered Barney and Ephraim, in chorus.
+
+"We're taking Carker along with us," explained Gallup. "We're all going
+to see old Frank at Bloomfield, by jinks!"
+
+"Well, that's right fine," nodded Buck. "I'm bound for Bloomfield
+myself. Mrs. Badger and a friend are in the next car. Say, Winnie will
+be a heap surprised to see you boys. I'll lead her in. No, I have a
+better idea than that. We'll all hit the trail for the other car and
+descend on her in a bunch. There are plenty of empty seats in there, and
+we can have a right jolly old time."
+
+In his breezy, commanding way he gathered them all up and led them into
+the next car, which had been attached to the train at the junction
+recently left.
+
+Mrs. Badger--the Winnie Lee of the old days at Yale--was dozing in her
+chair when Buck came down upon her and awoke her by grasping her
+shoulder and giving her a shake.
+
+"Waugh!" cried he. "Part the curtains of your peepers, Winnie, and
+observe this bunch of Injuns."
+
+Mrs. Badger's companion was a slender young woman in a brown traveling
+suit. She was rather pretty in a supercilious way, but she showed
+questionable taste in a display of jewels while traveling.
+
+"Oh, Buck, how you startled me, you great bear!" exclaimed Winnie. "What
+is it? Who is it?"
+
+"Take a survey," directed the Kansan, with a sweep of his hand. "Here is
+our friend Gallup from Vermont, and that Frenchman, Mulloy, who was born
+somewhere in the north of Ireland."
+
+"Oh, Ephraim Gallup! Oh, Barney Mulloy!" cried Winnie, in delight, as
+she sprang to her feet and grasped the hand of each.
+
+"And you don't want to overlook Professor Gregory Carker, whose
+earthquake predictions must have been unheeded by the people of Frisco.
+Here he is, Winnie."
+
+"Greg Carker!" burst from Winnie, as she shook hands with the young
+socialist. "Why, Greg, you're as handsome as a poet! You remind me of
+pictures of Lord Byron."
+
+"Begobs, Ephie," whispered Mulloy, "we'll have to hold him and cut his
+hair! It's his hair that the ladies are shtuck on. No mon who predicts
+earthquakes has a roight to wear such ravishing hair."
+
+At the mention of Carker's name Winnie Badger's companion had started
+and was now sitting bolt upright, staring at Greg and smiling.
+
+Ephraim proudly introduced his wife and Juanita to Winnie.
+
+While this was taking place Carker observed Winnie's friend. In a moment
+his face turned paler than usual, his eyelids started wide apart, and he
+lifted one hand with a movement of surprise and consternation. She
+looked straight into his eyes and continued to smile.
+
+The others noted this. There was a hush, and all eyes were turned on the
+two.
+
+Finally Carker's lips parted.
+
+"Madge!" he breathed. And then after a moment, during which his bosom
+heaved, he repeated: "Madge!"
+
+"Why, how do you do, Greg!" she laughed, extending her hand. "This is
+perfectly delightful! This is a most unexpected pleasure! I never
+dreamed of seeing you, Greg!"
+
+"Why, this is queer!" exclaimed Winnie Lee. "So you know my friend, Mrs.
+Morton, do you, Gregory?"
+
+"I know her," came huskily, from Carker's lips. "I know her very well."
+
+"Oh, yes," gushed the young woman, "we are old friends--dear old
+friends."
+
+Juanita had fallen back behind the others. Her hands quivered a bit, and
+her white teeth were sunk into her lower lip. In a whisper she breathed
+to herself:
+
+"This is the woman!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+AT MERRY HOME.
+
+
+On arriving in Bloomfield, they found Frank Merriwell at the station
+with carriages to accommodate them all.
+
+Imagine their feelings as they once more greeted their old comrade and
+leader. Even Buck Badger, the big breezy man of command, seemed to take
+a second place in the presence of Frank.
+
+Many of the Bloomfield citizens had somehow learned that several of
+Merry's friends were coming on that train, and, as a result, there was a
+gathering at the station. The curious ones stared at Merriwell's old
+flock, and it was generally remarked that these friends of Frank were
+"all right."
+
+Eli Given, Uncle Ed Small, and Deacon Elnathan Hewett were there in a
+triangular group, and they nodded and chuckled and shook hands with each
+other as Frank shook hands with the members of his old flock.
+
+"Purty 'tarnal good-looking people, Eben," said Eli. "Look at that big
+feller with the wide hat that has the leather band round it. There's a
+real man for ye."
+
+"Yep," nodded Eben, leaning on his crooked cane and looking the party
+over. "He's a man, the hull of him, but even at that I don't cal'late he
+quite comes up to our Frank. What do you think, deacon?"
+
+"Boys," said Elnathan, "I ain't never yit seen the man that comes up to
+our Frank. All Bloomfield is proud of him to the bustin' point, and they
+ought to be."
+
+"By jinks!" grinned Eli; "that tall feller jest introduced one of the
+dark-eyed gals as his wife. Wush! but she's a beaut! He's homelier than
+a barn door with the paint washed off, but she's a peach. Wonder how he
+ever ketched her."
+
+"She's Spanish, or French, or something ferrun," asserted Uncle Eb. "I
+heerd her say something in some outlandish language to that other
+dark-eyed gal."
+
+"Speakin' 'bout good-lookers," put in the deacon, "what's the matter
+with the one the big feller pushed for'ard as his wife? I don't guess
+Frank needed no introducin' to them, for it seems to me that he's met
+'em both before."
+
+"But, my jinks," gasped Eben, "look at the sparklers in the ears of that
+one in brown! S'pose them is real dimints? If they me, I bet they cost
+much as twenty-five dollars apiece!"
+
+"Twenty-five?" said the deacon, with an intonation of contempt. "You
+ain't no judge of dimints, Eben! I bet they cost thirty!"
+
+"Most of them seem to know Frank's nigger, Toots," said Eli. "Look at
+him show them ivories and nod and bow. By jinks! he'll snap his head
+off if he keeps that up. See that mouth of his'n stretch! The corners
+are going to pass each other at the back of his neck in a minute. If he
+keeps on, he'll lose the whole top of his head. It'll jest naturally
+crack right off."
+
+"Well, well, boys, this makes me feel mighty good, myself," said the
+deacon. "Never used to be no sech things as this going on here in our
+town. I tell you if I wasn't a temperance man, I feel so good I'd jest
+go down to Applesnack's store and open up two or three bottles of ginger
+ale."
+
+"A little hard cider for me," laughed Uncle Eb. "Rufus has it in his
+storeroom. I know where we kin git at the keg, boys, and I think we
+better celebrate ourselves."
+
+"That's a good idee, Eben," said Eli. "We'll all go over to the grocery
+and wash the dust out of our throats with Applesnack's cider."
+
+"Now, boys," protested the deacon, "I don't think I'd better go. If it
+should come out, people would talk. I think I'll keep away."
+
+"No, ye don't! No, ye don't!" declared Given, as he grasped one of the
+deacon's arms. "Git hold of his other wing, Eben. We'll lead him up to
+the keg and pour it into him, if we have to. There won't nobody see us,
+deacon. We'll be in the back room, and we'll have Rufus shet the door. I
+guess you kin trust us, can't ye? I guess you ain't afraid we'll go
+round tellin' folks 'bout it, are ye? You know we're your friends,
+don't ye?"
+
+"Course I know it," retorted the deacon. "But it's some agin' my
+principles, boys. It ain't jest right."
+
+"Oh, fudge!" laughed Uncle Eb. "On a grand occasion like this you'd
+better set them air principles aside a little while. Frank is gittin'
+them into the carriages now. We'll see them off, and then we'll stroll
+over to Applesnack's and have jest one little taste of that cider."
+
+"Let's start a cheer for Frank Merriwell and his friends as they go,"
+suggested the deacon.
+
+The others caught at this eagerly, and, as a result, when the carriages
+started away from the station, the villagers on the platform, led by the
+three "old boys," gave an irregular but hearty cheer for Frank Merriwell
+and his friends. Frank turned a laughing face toward them and waved his
+hand.
+
+"The people around here seem a-plenty stuck on you, Merry," observed
+Badger, who was in the carriage with him.
+
+"Oh, I have lots of friends in Bloomfield," answered Frank. "I had
+enemies enough at the start, but my worst enemies--the most of
+them--have turned into friends."
+
+"Same old story," said the Kansan. "It was that way at college. You
+always made your strongest friends out of your bitterest enemies.
+Browning, for instance, was an enemy at the start, and I certain didn't
+cotton to you any at all. We had some hot old times in those days,
+Merry. That's whatever!"
+
+"Hot old times! Grand old times!" came from Frank's lips. "I often think
+of them. You'll find Browning, Diamond, Hodge, and Carson at the house.
+And away back in the days at Fardale, long before I met you, Buck, Bart
+Hodge was a bitter enemy. Browning and Diamond are two of my instructors
+in the A. S. of A. D. Hodge is my overseer at the mines. Bruce and Jack
+have had their hands full this afternoon rushing the boys through the
+regular work in order that they might get off for the afternoon. Hodge
+and Carson have been helping. I've kept Carson at work during the last
+week or so. It was necessary. Certain unpleasant affairs of his put him
+in a bad way, and the only thing was to take up his mind by work. I
+haven't given him much time to think and brood."
+
+"I opine we've got a brooder with us in the carriage behind," said
+Badger, in a low tone. "Carker shows it in his face and eyes."
+
+"Oh, he's still suffering mentally over the troubles of the masses, I
+suppose," said Frank.
+
+"There's something beyond that--something that has affected him still
+worse," explained Buck. "You noticed Winnie's chum, Mrs. Morton?"
+
+"Of course I noticed her," smiled Frank. "Didn't you introduce me? She's
+rather pretty."
+
+"Well, to the surprise of both Winnie and myself, we discovered on the
+train when Madge and Greg met that there had been some sort of an old
+love affair between them. I reckon that's two-thirds the trouble with
+Carker."
+
+Over the bridge rumbled the carriages. As they rolled past Applesnack's
+store the grocer and several of his friends stood on the steps and waved
+a salute at them. All these villagers were smiling as if the reunion
+gave them almost as much enjoyment as it gave Frank and his old flock.
+
+After leaving the village they soon came in sight of the buildings of
+Farnham Hall. These structures, located on a splendid site, brought
+exclamations of astonishment and pleasure from all who had not seen them
+before.
+
+Then they saw Merry Home setting back amid the tall trees which
+surrounded it. The old Colonial house seemed to open its arms to them in
+welcome.
+
+And on the veranda were Inza, Elsie, Jack Diamond, Bruce Browning, Bart
+Hodge, and Berlin Carson.
+
+It's impossible to describe adequately the meeting as the newcomers left
+the carriages and were greeted by those waiting for them. The chatter
+and laughter of the girls made merry music, but for the most part the
+young men shook hands in silence, looking deep into one another's eyes
+and letting the grasp of their fingers express the emotions their lips
+could not speak.
+
+The two colored men, Toots and Jumbo, together with the young Irish man
+of all work, who had also acted as a driver, took the turnouts round to
+the stables, where the three of them joined hands and did a crazy dance.
+
+"Bah golly, Jumbo, you big stiff," cried Toots, as he struck the huge
+darky a resounding blow on the back, "Ah'ze the happiest nigger in dis
+hull unumverse! Wasn't dat de finest-looking bunch ob people yo' eber
+set yo' homely eyes on, Jumbo? Bah golly! dat's de kind ob folks Marsa
+Frank trains round wid. Ain't dem gals jes' de slappinest good-lookers
+yo' eber see?"
+
+"Now don' yo' git familiar talkin' 'bout Marsa Frank's lady friends!"
+warned Jumbo. "Ah'ze a friend to you, Toots, but dis familumarity don'
+sot well on mah stomach."
+
+"Aw, go on dar, you big brack jollier!" yapped Toots. "Ah'ze known Marsa
+Frank eber since he was knee high to a grasseshopper. Ah guess Ah knows
+mah place. He's tol' me more'n once, 'Toots, yo'se a gemman distinctive
+ob yo' color.' Dar ain't no udder nigger dat could gib Marsa Frank a
+piece of device de way Ah can. He'd took it off'n me when he'd up and
+slam any udder brack sassbox right ober de crannyum whack-o! Don' yo'
+git no notion, Jumbo, jes' beca'se Ah injuiced Marsa Frank to gib yo' a
+job, dat yo' ken hab de same familiar acquaintance wid him dat Ah has.
+Now back up an' look arter dem hosses! Git onto yo' job befo' Ah
+discharges yo'!"
+
+"Well, wouldn't dat ar gib a ring-tailed elephant a cramp!" muttered
+Jumbo warmly, as he went about his work.
+
+An hour after the arrival at Merry Home the visitors were ushered into
+the large, light, airy dining room, where they found seats at a long
+table. There were servants enough for the occasion, and everything was
+served promptly.
+
+Mrs. Morton sought to secure a seat at Greg Carker's side, but in a
+clever manner Carker had avoided such proximity to her, without seeming
+to do so intentionally. Instead of having her at his elbow, it was
+Juanita who sat there.
+
+"Well, seńorita," said Carker, smiling on her, "what do you think of
+Frank Merriwell's home and his friends?"
+
+"Oh, eet ees the most splendeed theeng I evaire see," she murmured. "Eet
+makes me feel so happy for you all."
+
+"Happy?" said Carker, regarding her closely. "Why, I fancied you were
+looking rather unhappy. To me you seemed downcast. Has anything occurred
+to make you sad?"
+
+"Oh, eet ees that I am so far from home--perhaps," she answered. "Why
+deed you not seet by the beauteeful lady you meet again one time more
+on the train?"
+
+"Whom do you mean?"
+
+"The friend of Seńorita Badgaire. I theenk she ees so veree pretty. She
+ees marreed, eh?"
+
+He shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Yes, she's married," muttered Carker.
+
+"You are sorree?"
+
+"Sorry?"
+
+"_Si, seńor._ Eef she was not marreed, perhaps you would beside her
+seet."
+
+"I don't think so--at least, knowing her as I do now. Still, I don't
+blame her. I'm the cause of it all."
+
+"You feel veree, veree bad?"
+
+"I'll be honest with you, seńorita--I can't tell whether I feel very bad
+or not. I have felt rather upset, I confess. But, my dear girl, human
+nature is peculiar. It's a strange thing, but I believe most men and
+most women take melancholy delight in feeling themselves to be martyrs.
+We all delight to moan over lost loves. That is the poetry in our
+natures. Occasionally we spend our time grieving over some lost love
+that reason and good judgment tells us would have come to naught under
+any circumstances. I hope Mrs. Morton is happy and satisfied. Perhaps
+you'll think me fickle, seńorita, but let me confess to you the fact
+that I'm not feeling as much like grieving as I was--before I met you."
+
+For a few moments Juanita did not seem to grasp his meaning, but when
+she did the soft, warm color mounted to her cheeks, and her confusion
+was plainly evident.
+
+On the opposite side of the table Gallup nudged Teresa, who had been
+placed at his left.
+
+"Hey, Teresa," he whispered, "get onto Carker. Gol rap him! He's making
+hay in a hurry."
+
+"What ees eet you mean to make the hay?" questioned Teresa, puzzled. "To
+me it seem that he make the love. He talk so verree low that nobody
+except Juanita hear what he say, and Juanita she blush."
+
+"That's right," chuckled Ephraim, "and, by Jim! Mrs. Morton is looking
+daggers and hoss pistols."
+
+Then he lifted his voice and addressed Carker.
+
+"Hold on there, Greg!" he called. "You can't eat your soup with your
+fork! Why don't you use a spoon?"
+
+It was Carker's turn to be confused, but he forced a laugh.
+
+"I have a lamentable habit of becoming abstracted in pleasant company,"
+he said.
+
+"Evidently you find your company extremely pleasant, Mr. Carker,"
+observed Mrs. Morton, with a little toss of her head.
+
+"Extremely is not quite the word, madam," he replied, with a bow.
+"Absorbingly pleasant is far better."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+ANOTHER PILGRIM.
+
+
+At intervals during the meal the sound of plaintive, doleful music
+floated in through the open windows.
+
+"Sounds like a baby squawking," observed Ephraim Gallup.
+
+"Begobs! Oi thought it was some wan playing on bagpoipes," observed
+Barney Mulloy. "Oi wonder whativer it can be, Oi dunno?"
+
+Frank listened.
+
+"To me it sounds like a cross between a clarinet, a flute, and a
+piccolo," he smiled. "Some one is trying to furnish music for this
+festive occasion."
+
+He called one of the servants and asked her to find out the origin of
+the peculiar doleful music.
+
+In a few moments the girl returned and quietly explained that a
+wandering musician had halted on the lawn and was performing on some
+sort of a wind instrument.
+
+"He's a bery funny-lookin' maan, Mr. Merriwell," grinned the girl. "He
+suttinly am wearin' de oddest clo'es Ah eber seen. An' he's round an'
+corperlous, wid de biggest fat cheeks when he blows, an' a yeller
+mustache dat keeps wigwaggin' all de time."
+
+Frank thrust his hand into his pocket, brought out a silver half dollar
+and put it in the colored girl's palm.
+
+"Give him this, Liza, and tell him to jog along," he said quietly.
+
+But after Liza had performed the commission and returned to the dining
+room the doleful notes of the wind instrument continued to float in
+through the open windows.
+
+"The wandering minstrel is bound to give you your money's worth, Merry,"
+laughed Jack Diamond.
+
+Although they lingered at the table fully an hour after that, the
+musician continued to play outside during all that time, with brief
+intervals of rest.
+
+Finally, when dessert was over and they had chatted and gossiped a
+while, Frank proposed that they should move to the veranda.
+
+As the jolly party came out upon the veranda they discovered the
+musician. He was a portly young German, and he stood on the lawn, with a
+battered old carpetbag between his feet, while he blew at a wheezy flute
+with such vigor and vim that his eyes threatened to pop out of his head.
+
+"He certainly is working overtime," observed Diamond.
+
+"I'd like to know the name of his tailor," chuckled Browning. "His
+clothes certainly fit him handsomely--in spots."
+
+"Anyhow they touch the high places," came from Badger.
+
+Frank Merriwell paused on the veranda steps and scrutinized the musician
+intently.
+
+"Fellows," he said, "that chap looks familiar to me. I've seen him
+before. I know him."
+
+Bart Hodge's hand dropped on Merry's shoulder.
+
+"You're right, Frank," he said. "We both know, him--we all know him."
+
+An instant later Merry sprang down the steps, rushed forward and seized
+the flute player.
+
+"If you need any assistance," called Gallup, as he descended to the
+lawn, "I'll help you kill him, Merry."
+
+"Hans Dunnerwurst!" cried Frank, as he grasped the hand of the German
+and shook it delightedly. "I thought I knew you!"
+
+The stranger seemed nearly pumped out of breath. As soon as he could
+speak he retorted:
+
+"Uh-ha! I pelieft you vould knew me uf you recognitioned me. How you vos
+alretty, Vrankie? It peen a long dime since ve med up py each udder,
+ain'd it? I knew der lufly musig vot I vos discouragin' to you vould
+pring de houze oudt uf you bretty quick. Yah! I knew you coot not stand
+der delightfulness uf id forefer. _Ach Himmel!_ How der flute does luf
+to blay me! Id peen der grandest instrument dot efer found me der vorld
+in."
+
+Several of the party had followed Frank down the steps and surrounded
+Dunnerwurst. They greeted him warmly, seizing his hand and shaking it.
+
+But suddenly the Dutchman caught sight of Gallup. With a whoop of joy,
+he grabbed up his carpetbag and started for the Vermonter.
+
+"Oh, Ephie, Ephie!" he squawked, rushing forward and embracing Gallup,
+who was nearly upset by this impetuosity. "You vos so glad to see me dot
+I coot almost cry right avay alretty quick now!"
+
+"Waal, gol dern my punkins!" exploded Ephraim. "It sartinly is old
+Hans!"
+
+"Oldt Hans? Oldt Hans?" yelled Dunnerwurst indignantly. "Who vos you
+callin' oldt Hans mit such carelessness? Py Chiminy! I peen not more
+than a year younger as you vos yourselluf! Don'd you git so bersonal in
+my remarks!"
+
+Then he saw Barney Mulloy, who was standing near, a broad grin on his
+face.
+
+With a howl, Hans flung the carpetbag and the flute straight up into the
+air.
+
+"Id vos Parney!" he shouted. "Id vos dot Irish pogtrotter!"
+
+Then the carpetbag came down, struck Hans on the head and knocked him to
+a sitting position on the grass.
+
+"Sarves ye roight for torturin' our ears wid thot croupy flute, ye
+bologna sausage!" laughed Mulloy.
+
+"Pologna sissage! Pologna sissage!" howled Hans. "You vos chust as
+sauciness as I efer vos! Vy don'd I learnt some manners dot vould make a
+chentleman uf you!"
+
+Together, Mulloy and Gallup seized the Dutchman, one by each arm, lifted
+him part way to his feet and then permitted him to fall back with a
+thud.
+
+"Look out there, boys," laughed Frank, "you'll dent the ground!"
+
+"Mine cootness!" gurgled Hans. "The ground dented me alretty soon! Don'd
+put my hands on you again!" he ordered, as his friends once more offered
+assistance. "Don'd try to pull der ground avay from me! I vill dood it
+mineselluf. I vill got up mitoudt nopody's resistance."
+
+Puffing and grunting, he finally rose to his feet, wiped the
+perspiration from his face, and stood there, bowing and smiling in a
+manner that was little short of distressing.
+
+Frank led the Dutchman up the steps and presented him to the ladies.
+Hans' effort at suave politeness as he bowed with his hand over his
+heart was most laughable.
+
+"Mine cootness! vos dot Inza Purrage?" he gurgled. "I used to think she
+vos der most peautiful girl vot efer seen me, but, so hellup me sour
+krout, she vos sixdeen times prettier-lookin' than efer!"
+
+"You're the same old flatterer, Hans," said Inza; "but you mustn't try
+to flirt with me now. I'm married, you know."
+
+"Vy dit you hurriness so much? Vy dit I not vait for you?" he demanded.
+
+"Here's Elsie, Hans."
+
+"Vot, dot--dot angel vomans mit der golden hair her head all ofer?"
+
+"She's now Mrs. Hodge," explained Bart.
+
+Hans struck himself a furious blow on the chest and staggered.
+
+"Dere I vos again!" he groaned. "Oh, vot a terrible misdake for her!
+Elsie Pellwood--und she iss now Elsie Hotch? By Chiminy! you vos a lucky
+poy, Part; but I don'd blame her when I see tears in her eyes because
+she knows I vos not marreed mineselluf."
+
+"You come here," invited Gallup, as he grasped Hans' arm and turned him
+toward Teresa. "I jest want to knock you daown to my wife. Mrs. Gallup,
+this hot dog is my old friend, Hans Dunnerwurst, that I've told ye about
+more'n once."
+
+"Oo!" murmured Teresa; "I am charmed to meet Seńor Dunnerwierst."
+
+Hans seemed speechless as he bowed and bowed, keeping his eyes on Teresa
+all the while. Finally he turned, seized Gallup by the shoulder, pulled
+him down, and hissed in his ear:
+
+"How dit you dood id? You vos so homely dot a clock coot stob you, und
+you haf marreed up py a curl dot vords coot not found my tongue for
+expressment."
+
+"Waal," chuckled the Vermonter, "if you want to express your tongue,
+send it to the Adams Express Company."
+
+"Maype I think dot vos a coot choke!" sneered Hans. "You alvays vos so
+funny, Ephie, dot you caused me puckets uf tears to veep."
+
+Frank presented Juanita and Mrs. Morton, and when it was all over Hans
+sank on a chair, quite overcome.
+
+"How did you happen to show up at such an opportune time, Dunnerwurst?"
+inquired Merry.
+
+"Vun veek ago," answered the Dutchman, "vile the flute vos learning to
+blay me in Cinsanity, Ohio, a newsbaper reads me apout Vrang Merriwell's
+great School Athletic Envelopment uf. My mint made me up to come right
+avay soon as der car fare coot raise me. Und here I vos."
+
+"Well, you're welcome to Merry Home. You just fill out the party. You
+make it complete. This is indeed a great reunion of the old flock. Tell
+us what you are doing, Hans."
+
+"Dit you not heard me on der flute play? I vos a musiga. Der heart uf me
+vos so full uf musig alretty dot I haf to play it oudt to keep from
+pursting vide open."
+
+"Here comes some more visitors, Merry," called Diamond. "I think we know
+them."
+
+With their arms linked together, three old men were approaching rather
+unsteadily.
+
+Merry instantly recognized Eli Given, Uncle Eb Small, and Deacon Hewett.
+As the trio turned in from the road their feet somehow became tangled,
+and all three went down sprawlingly. Uncle Eb sat up and made a whack at
+Eli with his crooked cane, crying shrilly:
+
+"That's the second time you've tripped me!"
+
+"Don't blame it on me, you doddering old fossil!" flung back Given.
+
+"Peace, boys--peace!" remonstrated the deacon, waving his hands in the
+air. "Raise not your voices in harsh words and brawling. I don't think
+any one tripped you, Eben. I've noticed myself that the ground is rather
+unsteady. I think we're feeling a few left-over tremors from the Frisco
+earthquake."
+
+"Mebbe you're right, deacon," said Uncle Eb, seeming pacified. "Kin you
+tell me jest how them earthquakes work? Do they make things go round in
+a circle? I've been noticin' durin' the last few minutes that the trees
+and fences were all floatin' round us."
+
+"If we brace ourselves and walk carefully," said Elnathan, as he rose
+and swayed a bit, "I think we'll have no further difficulty in getting
+along. Permit me to assist you, Eben."
+
+But when he tried to lift Uncle Eb up he lost his balance, fell heavily
+on Small and flattened him out.
+
+"This is really astonishing," muttered Frank, repressing his laughter
+with difficulty as he started down the steps.
+
+"Oh, what's the matter with them, Merry?" asked Inza.
+
+"Now don't get worried, dear," he answered, over his shoulder. "The sun
+is very warm to-day, and I'm afraid they're suffering from it. We must
+get them into the shade before they have sunstroke. Come on, fellows."
+
+Assisted by the boys, the three old men were lifted to their feet and
+escorted into the shade beneath the spreading trees in front of the
+house.
+
+Uncle Eb poked Elnathan in the ribs with his cane.
+
+"Come on now with that speech, deacon," he urged. "You're the
+speechmaker of the party."
+
+Elnathan cleared his throat.
+
+"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "this is a grand and glorious day.
+This is the day when that grand and glorious bird, the American eagle,
+should plume itself with pride and utter a scream that could be heard
+from the Pacific to the Atlantic, from the Gulf to the Canadian border."
+
+"Hooray! hooray!" piped Eli Given. "That's the talk, deacon. Spatter it
+on thick!"
+
+"We are sons of free men," continued Elnathan, making a gesture that
+nearly caused him to lose his balance. "The Declaration of Independence
+and the Emancipation Proclamation made us all free and equal. If there
+be one among you who is not stirred by this glorious thought, let him
+hide his head in shame. This is the day on which the whole country
+rejoices at the birth of liberty. Let the cannons boom! Let the rockets
+siz! Let the pinwheels whiz! And let the popcorn pop!"
+
+"Hold on, deacon--hold on!" interrupted Uncle Eb. "That's your last
+year's Fourth of July speech. That don't seem 'zactly 'propriate to this
+occasion."
+
+"Now you back up, Eben," commanded Given. "You let him spout. It sounds
+purty good to me, whether there's any sense to it or not."
+
+"What was I sayin'?" asked the deacon. "Where did I leave off? You
+kinder interrupted my train of discourse, Eben. Mebbe I'd better stop."
+
+"There's a lady coming to join our party," said Bart Hodge. "I think
+it's your wife, Eli."
+
+"My w-h-a-t?" gasped Eli Given, actually turning pale. "Where is she?
+Great scissors! If she ever gits her hands on me now, I see my finish!"
+
+A woman, with a sunbonnet dangling by the strings tied beneath her chin,
+was coming down the road in a hurried manner. With some difficulty Eli
+finally discovered her.
+
+"That's Mrs. Given as sure as Adam ett the apple!" he exclaimed. "I
+don't believe she's seen me. Boys, I've gut to go, and I've gut to go in
+a hurry, too."
+
+"Well, don't you think I'm goin' to hang around for her to git holt of
+me," said Uncle Eb, as he started toward the corner of the house,
+hobbling along as fast as his legs and his cane could carry him.
+
+"I think perhaps I'd better go, too," muttered the deacon, as he
+followed Eben's example.
+
+In spite of the start of his companions, Given passed them on a run and
+turned the corner, making straight for the stable. The three old chaps
+legged it into that building and disappeared from view.
+
+Nevertheless, Mrs. Given had seen them, and she was not far behind when
+they vanished through the wide-open door. She found Uncle Eb propped up
+with his cane, standing in a dark corner of a box stall.
+
+"Eben Small," she said, as she shook her fingers in his face, "you're a
+disgrace to the community! Now, not a word! Don't speak! I know what
+you've been doing, you and my husband and Elnathan Hewett! You've been
+drinking hard cider at Rufus Applesnack's store! I'm going to take Eli
+home, and I'll give him a dressing down he won't soon forgit! I tell ye
+not to speak! You ain't gut nuthin' to say!"
+
+She then lifted her voice and called for her husband to come forth. As
+there was no response, she looked into the crib, and there she found
+Elnathan curled up, pretending to be fast asleep.
+
+"Deacon Hewett," she said, "you've posed as an example to the community.
+Now don't snore! I know you're awake! You can't fool me? So you will
+continue to snore, will ye?"
+
+There was a squawk from the deacon, for she had seized him by the nose
+and given it a twist that brought him upright in the crib.
+
+"Where's my husband?" she demanded. "Don't speak! Don't say a word! I
+want to know where my husband is!"
+
+"Well, how kin I tell you if I don't speak?" snarled the deacon. "I
+dunno where he is, anyhow! Go 'way and lemme alone! This hot weather is
+giving me an awful headache."
+
+"Oh, you've got a headache, have ye? Well, that's retribution, Mr.
+Hewett. You ought to have a headache. You've led my husband astray. He's
+a temperance man."
+
+"Me lead him astray!" groaned Hewett. "Why, 'twas him and Eben that
+coaxed me over to Applesnack's store."
+
+"Now don't you tell me that, you sinful old hypocrite! Eli never touches
+hard cider unless somebody induces him to do so. And I know Eben don't
+drink it on account of the effect on his rheumatiz."
+
+"That's right, mother!" piped a weak, small voice from beneath the crib,
+as Eli poked his head out. "The deacon is all to blame!"
+
+"Oh, there you be!" she snapped, as she pounced on him and pulled him
+forth. "Now you git up here and march home!"
+
+Having pulled him to his feet, she took a firm grip on his ear and led
+him from the stall and out of the stable.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+IN THE NOOK.
+
+
+That afternoon was to be long remembered by all the visitors at Merry
+Home. It passed pleasantly in spite of the fact that Hans insisted on
+"rending a selection" on the flute and seemed rather disappointed and
+downcast when they begged him not to play any more.
+
+"Der musig haf no heart for you," he complained. "Maype you vould like a
+popular song to sing to me. I vill gif you 'Efrybody Vorks Poor Vather.'
+Yes? No?"
+
+"Don't yez do it, Hans," entreated Barney. "We have suffered enough
+already."
+
+"Und id vos such a peautiful song!" moaned Dunnerwurst. "I understandt
+der author uf dot song got only fife hundret dollars for writin' id."
+
+"Waal," drawled Gallup, "maybe it was his first offense. Did he pay the
+fine?"
+
+"Fife hundret dollars vos a small amoundt," said Hans. "Still I vould
+like to add it py my 'lefen dollars and seventeen cents vot I haf my
+pocket in."
+
+"How much would that make in all?" questioned Gallup. "You always was a
+rippin' good mathematicker, Hans, though seems to me you did git a
+little balled up in substraction. If you've gut eleven dollars and
+sixteen cents in your pocket, and I should take five dollars away from
+you, whaot would be the result?"
+
+"You vould be carried avay an ambulance in," said the Dutchman promptly.
+
+Carker had bestowed a great deal of attention on Juanita. Although she
+pretended not to notice this, Mrs. Morton was waiting her opportunity,
+and it came when Greg strolled away alone beneath the trees. In a few
+moments she made an excuse and followed him. Finding him seated on a
+rustic bench in a little nook, she uttered an exclamation of pretended
+surprise over discovering him there.
+
+"Why, Greg," she fluttered, "are you here?"
+
+He rose at once.
+
+"Yes, I'm here," he answered. "I beg your pardon, Mrs. Morton, if I
+alarmed you. I'll not bother you if you wish to sit here."
+
+"Oh, you foolish boy!" she laughed, placing her hands on his breast and
+pushing him back on the seat. "Sit down. Isn't this a delightful place!
+We're all alone here by ourselves, and nobody can see or hear us."
+
+She placed herself at his side.
+
+"It might be somewhat embarrassing for you if any one should discover us
+here," said Greg.
+
+"Embarrassing for me? What a foolish idea! You always were a foolish
+fellow, Greg Carker."
+
+"You've told me so before."
+
+"And told you the truth."
+
+"I presume you still think so. You thought me foolish because of my
+socialistic beliefs. You used to make sport of me. I haven't forgotten
+that."
+
+"The trouble with you, Greg, is that you take things too seriously. You
+never can see a joke. If any one plays a joke on you, you're offended,
+and you try to get even. You've been getting even with me to-day."
+
+"In what manner?"
+
+"By the way you made eyes at that insipid creature, Juanita."
+
+"I wouldn't call her insipid if I were in your place," he remonstrated.
+"It doesn't seem nice of you, Madge--I mean Mrs. Morton."
+
+"Oh, call me Madge. There is no reason why you should be so extremely
+formal. I knew you before I met George Morton."
+
+He shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"I thought I knew you," he retorted, "but I discovered I was mistaken."
+
+"Why do you say that?"
+
+"Because it is true."
+
+"I don't believe you ever cared for me, Greg."
+
+"And I know you never really cared for me. If you had, you'd not have
+cast me over as you did for Morton."
+
+"But I couldn't do anything with you, Gregory. You persisted in throwing
+your life away."
+
+"In what manner?"
+
+"In becoming a socialist. In lecturing on socialism in defiance of your
+father's wishes and my entreaties. Your father threatened to cut you off
+without a dollar."
+
+"I believe he's made a will in which I am given the liberal sum of one
+dollar," said Carker. "So you see he has not quite cut me off without a
+dollar. The money made all the difference with you, Madge. Morton was
+wealthy. I had nothing in the world, and no particular prospects. You
+married Morton."
+
+"Well, a girl has to look out for herself in these days."
+
+"But you pretended that you loved me."
+
+"I did," she declared earnestly. "I loved you then, Greg, and I've loved
+you ever since."
+
+Again he shrugged his shoulders, and a low laugh came from his lips.
+
+"You don't believe me!" she exclaimed. "If you only knew how much it
+hurt me to see you smiling into the eyes of that Spanish girl! Oh, I
+longed to choke her!"
+
+"How do you think I felt when you dropped me and became George Morton's
+wife?"
+
+"I'd never done that had you been sensible. Had you promised your father
+that you'd give up socialism, I'd have clung to you through everything,
+Gregory. You know socialism is so ridiculous! And socialists are the
+skuff and rabble of humanity. All the cranks and crackbrains are
+socialists."
+
+"Every great thinker since the world began has been called a crank. I
+admit that there are many undesirable persons allied with the
+socialists, but because of that the great principles of the party cannot
+be condemned. The theory of socialism is founded on the rock of justice
+and----"
+
+"Oh, I've heard all that before, Gregory. Don't talk it any more. How
+can you blame me if I did not wish to marry a penniless man absolutely
+without prospects?"
+
+"I don't blame you," he said. "At the same time, Madge, I hate to think
+that you married George Morton simply for his money. I hate to think you
+deceived him in such a manner."
+
+"Oh, George was a good fellow, and money is an absolute necessity,
+Gregory. Had I possessed a fortune, it would have been different. The
+mere fact that your father had cut you off would have made no difference
+to me then. It makes no difference to me now."
+
+"But it's too late now, Madge."
+
+"Oh, no, it isn't too late."
+
+He drew back from her, and the look she saw in his eyes brought a sudden
+flush to her cheeks.
+
+"You think me bold. You think me forward," she hastily said. "Long ago
+you made me confess that I loved you. Do you think I forgot you? Oh,
+no; there's been never a day since we parted that I've not longed to see
+you again."
+
+In spite of her hand on his arm, he rose to his feet.
+
+"This won't do, Madge," he said calmly. "You're a married woman. What if
+your husband should hear you speaking such words to me?"
+
+She was on her feet also.
+
+"My husband--why, Gregory,--don't you know--haven't you heard? I have no
+husband!"
+
+"You--have--no--husband?"
+
+"No. I'm a widow. I've just come out of mourning. George has been dead
+more than a year."
+
+Carker seemed turned to stone. She was standing squarely in front of
+him, and she placed both her hands on his arms, looking up into his
+eyes.
+
+"I supposed you knew," she murmured. "He left me in comfortable
+circumstances, and there is now no reason why I should worry about the
+future. If your father is unrelenting, it can make but little difference
+to us. Even though we may not agree about socialism, I'll let you have
+your way. Everything has come out right at last, Greg. Isn't it
+splendid!"
+
+Before he realized her intention, one of her arms slipped round his
+neck.
+
+At that moment Juanita Garcia passed the entrance to that little nook
+and saw them. She did not pause, but, pale-faced and wide-eyed, hurried
+silently on.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+ON THE CLIFF.
+
+
+During the remainder of the day Juanita avoided Greg Carker.
+
+Evening came. Within the house the boys were singing the old college
+songs to the accompaniment of a piano as Juanita stole away alone and
+listened a long time from a corner of the veranda. Tears dimmed her
+eyes, and she whispered soft words to herself.
+
+"I know I'm a veree fooleesh girl," she said. "I cannot help eet. Eet
+ees not to be that he should care for me."
+
+Her heart throbbed with bitter disappointment. She left the house behind
+and wandered away through the dusky June night. Crossing the road and
+the fields, she came at last to Ripple Lake, on the edge of which she
+lingered while the moon crept up in the east.
+
+"I ought to return," she murmured. "If they mees me, they will become
+alarmed. But I cannot go back there yet--I cannot go back!"
+
+Her restless spirit led her round the shore of the lake until she
+finally found herself on a bluff that rose from the water's edge. The
+moon was now behind her back. At the brink of the bluff she peered over
+into the shadow below.
+
+A footstep startled her.
+
+With a smothered cry, she turned and found herself face to face
+with--Jose Murillo.
+
+"It is you, Juanita!" he exclaimed, in Spanish. "All day I have waited
+and watched for the opportunity to speak with you!"
+
+"Seńor Murillo, why did you come here? You promised----"
+
+"What is a man's promise to a gringo!" he retorted. "Did you think they
+could frighten Jose away from you? No, no, Juanita!"
+
+"But I do not want to see you."
+
+"You're a foolish girl. Why are you so determined against me? Your
+father gave me his promise----"
+
+"It will do you no good to speak of that, seńor. I tell you now for the
+last time that I do not care for you--I never can. If you are a
+gentleman, you will bother me no more. I'm going back now."
+
+He placed himself before her.
+
+"Not yet!" he exclaimed.
+
+"You cannot stop me, seńor!"
+
+"Oh, yes, I can, seńorita. Don't fancy I've followed you all the way
+from Mexico to be baffled so easily. The Murillos are determined men. I
+have resolved that you shall be mine!"
+
+"Never!"
+
+"That word is easy to speak. What have I done that you should despise
+me?"
+
+"You say the Murillos are determined men. They are, likewise, bloody
+men. I know not why my father favored you. I do know that my mother
+feared all Murillos, even as I fear you."
+
+"It is good for a woman to have a husband whom she fears and respects."
+
+"In this case fear and respect do not go together, seńor. I have no
+respect for you."
+
+"Then I will teach you respect when you are mine."
+
+"That opportunity will never be given you. Look, seńor, we stand at the
+edge of this cliff. The water is very close at hand. I wish you to
+understand me. Rather than become your wife, I'd leap into that water. I
+cannot swim."
+
+"Leap!" he exclaimed. "I will leap after you, and I cannot swim!"
+
+"Are you mad?"
+
+"It is madness perhaps, seńorita, but it is the madness of love. You
+must understand me now. You must understand how useless it is to fly
+from me. Once I thought you cared for another man. Once I was jealous of
+Emmanuel Escalvo. He never knew how close he walked with death. When I
+learned you did not care for him I put away my knife. There can be no
+others--unless you have met him within a few hours. I am satisfied that
+there is no other."
+
+With sudden indiscretion and defiance, she exclaimed:
+
+"You're wrong, Seńor Murillo! There is another!"
+
+He uttered a sudden curse.
+
+"Who is the man? Tell me his name, and he shall have what Emmanuel
+Escalvo escaped!"
+
+She was frightened by her folly.
+
+"Who is the man?" he snarled, suddenly seizing her. "Speak quick--speak
+at once!"
+
+"You hurt me, seńor!" she panted, striving to break from his grasp. "Let
+me go!"
+
+"I will not! I have you now, and I'll keep you! I'll never let you go!"
+
+"I beg your pardon," said a quiet voice, "but I think you're mistaken."
+
+Jose Murillo found himself sprawling on the ground. He looked up, and in
+the moonlight he saw Gregory Carker offering Juanita support.
+
+"Oh, why deed you come?" panted the girl. "Now he weel know! He weel
+keel you!"
+
+Snarling like an angry dog, Murillo leaped to his feet. The moonlight
+shimmered on a blade he had whipped from his bosom.
+
+"This ees the man!" he panted triumphantly, as he sprang at Greg.
+
+Carker flung up his arm, and Murillo's knife slashed his sleeve from
+shoulder to elbow.
+
+In a twinkling Greg had closed with the Mexican, grasping the man's
+wrist and holding him in an effort to keep him from using the knife.
+
+Juanita sought to interfere, but the cool, determined young American
+warned her back.
+
+"Leave this man to me," he said.
+
+"He has the knife!"
+
+"But I don't think he'll use it," said Carker, as he backheeled Murillo.
+
+In a moment they were down, twisting and squirming and writhing on the
+ground.
+
+With her hands clasped, and her lips parted, Juanita looked on, standing
+ready to do her best should she see Murillo free his knife hand.
+
+Carker had once been an athlete. He was not now in the best condition,
+but, nevertheless, he was stronger than his foe, and he finally pinned
+Murillo to the ground.
+
+"Drop that knife!" commanded Greg, seeking to force the weapon from the
+Mexican's fingers.
+
+In this attempt he had almost succeeded, when of a sudden Murillo
+squirmed away, rolled over and over and scrambled up.
+
+Carker rose on the brink of the cliff and again faced the man. Murillo
+came at him with a leap, making a savage slash with the knife. Carker
+dodged just in time and thrust out his foot. Over that outthrust foot
+the Mexican tripped. Straight forward he plunged, with a cry and a
+splash, into the water below.
+
+"Perhaps a cold bath will do him good," observed Carker, breathing a
+trifle heavily.
+
+Juanita seemed ready to faint.
+
+"Oh, seńor, you are the brave man!" she breathed. "Oh, my heart eet beat
+so for you! I have such a terrible fear that he would keel you!"
+
+Carker felt a strange thrill that ran over him from head to feet.
+
+"Would you have cared so much?" he asked hoarsely.
+
+"Eet would have keeled me, too, seńor!" she answered. "The lake--I
+should have leaped into eet! Like Murillo, I cannot swim."
+
+"Like Murillo, eh?" exclaimed Greg. "Then the fellow can't swim? Well, I
+think it's up to me to pull him out."
+
+He stripped off his coat, ran some distance away to a point where he
+could descend to the water's edge and made his way along the foot of the
+little bluff. Peering into the shadows, he called in vain to the
+Mexican.
+
+Out beyond the point where the cliff shadow lay on the water there were
+tiny shimmering waves, but in that shadow he could see nothing.
+
+"I'm afraid this is rather a serious matter for Jose Murillo," he
+muttered. "Had I realized the scoundrel couldn't swim, I'd followed him
+into the lake and pulled him out. I take it he's gone."
+
+Juanita called to him from above:
+
+"Can't you see him, Seńor Carkaire?"
+
+"Don't be alarmed, Juanita," he answered. "I'm coming back there. I'll
+be with you in a moment."
+
+He took one last look in search of the Mexican.
+
+"I had to defend myself," he thought. "I'm sorry I was concerned in it,
+but I think Jose Murillo will trouble Juanita no more."
+
+She was waiting in a trembling anxiety as he reappeared. He picked up
+his coat and put it on.
+
+"Deed you find heem?"
+
+"Not a trace," answered Carker. "He must have sunk like a stone. It's an
+unfortunate affair, Juanita, but you have no further cause to fear that
+man. Come, little girl, I'll take you back to the house. Give me your
+arm."
+
+Timidly she clung to his arm, and they turned their steps toward Merry
+Home.
+
+"Do you believe in fate?" asked Carker.
+
+"Si, seńor. Eet was fate that I should meet Seńor Murillo as I deed."
+
+"And it was fate that led me here. I have been seeking an opportunity to
+speak with you all the afternoon. You would not give me a chance. Every
+time I approached you ran away from me. Why did you do so, Juanita?"
+
+"Why deed you weesh to speak with me?"
+
+"I had something I wished to say. Juanita, I can't seem to find the
+words. I presume I'm rather excited. That's natural under the
+circumstances. It was something about you that bewitched me. It must
+have been your eyes."
+
+"Oo, what ees eet you say, seńor? You theenk I do not know sometheeng.
+On the train you tell of the girl who would not marree you--the girl who
+marree the other man. You meet her in the car with Seńora Badgaire. I
+know! I know! She ees the one! You luf her!"
+
+"I may as well make a clean breast of it," said Carker. "I thought I did
+once. She gave me the shake, Juanita. It's all over now."
+
+"How can you say that? You theenk me a foolish girl to believe you? Wait
+and I weel tell you what I see. This afternoon you meet her in the
+little retreat of the shrubbery. I deed not know you were there. I walk
+out alone. I pass the place. I see you with her."
+
+"That was unfortunate--for me. I presume it looked like an appointment.
+It was an accident, Juanita. It's all over between Mrs. Morton and
+Gregory Carker."
+
+But the girl remembered how she had seen them standing there looking
+into each other's eyes, while the woman's arm was on Carker's shoulder.
+
+"Wait, seńor!" she panted. "Many time I have been told all the Americans
+are deceivers. I know what I see with my eyes. Juanita ees no longer a
+child."
+
+"Oh, won't you listen? Won't you take my word?"
+
+"I weel not leesten now," she declared. "Some time when you prove to me
+that you no longer care for her, maybe I weel leesten. I must have the
+proof, seńor."
+
+"I'll prove it somehow!" vowed Carker.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+A STARTLING DISCOVERY.
+
+
+Having escorted Juanita back to the house, Carker called Frank aside and
+told him what had happened at the lake.
+
+"I'm afraid I'm responsible for a dead Mexican," said Carker. "I think
+Murillo was drowned."
+
+"It's unfortunate that you are concerned in it," said Frank; "but
+Murillo will be no great loss to the world. Nevertheless we'll do our
+duty and report the affair to the authorities without delay."
+
+Making an excuse to the rest of the party, Frank and Greg walked into
+the village, found Bill Hunker, the constable, and told him precisely
+what had taken place.
+
+"The Mexican pulled a knife on ye, did he, young feller? Well, consarn
+them Mexicans! I've allus heerd they was dangerous critters. 'Cordin' to
+your story, you wan't none to blame in this affair. So the dod-rabbited
+critter kinder went in swimmin' arter that, did he? Think he's drowned,
+do ye? Um-her! I don't s'pose it'll do no good for us to go fishin' for
+him to-night. I'll git some fellers and drag for him in the mornin'.
+Don't s'pose you want him to soak there in your lake, Mr. Merriwell, and
+spile the water. We'll dig him out and bury him in the pauper's lot, if
+nobody don't claim his carkiss. I judge there'll be a settin' of the
+coroner's jury on the case, but I kinder guess you needn't worry, young
+man. A Mexican that tackles a woman gits what he desarves if he's
+drownded same as this one. Don't you worry. Don't you fret. I s'pose
+this'll make plenty of talk for the boys at Applesnack's to-night. I was
+over there a while ago and hung around a-listenin' to Cy Tellmore
+yarnin' it until he made me sick and I had to git out. I swan that man
+can lie more inside of five minutes than any human critter that ever
+breathed."
+
+Frank smiled.
+
+"Cyrus has a vivid imagination," he observed.
+
+"'Magination? 'magination?" squawked Hunker. "Mebbe that's what you call
+it, but I'd give it a stronger name than that. When I tell him about
+this affair I bet a squash he'll have some kind of a story 'bout
+drowndin' seventeen Mexicans all in a bunch. Say, have any of your folks
+down that way seen anything of Eli Given this arternoon?"
+
+"Why," answered Frank, "we saw Mr. Given, Mr. Small, and Deacon Hewett
+shortly after midday."
+
+"Er-haw! haw! haw!" laughed Hunker. "I reckon the whole town seen 'em,
+too. Say, they hit up Applesnack's cider barrel, and the stuff fixed
+'em--it suttinly fixed 'em. They were corned for keeps. Went through
+town a-hoorayin' and a-whoopin' for you and for all your friends. Said
+they was goin' down to show their good feelin's toward ye. Applesnack
+and a few of the boys tried to keep 'em away, but 'twan't no use. Ten
+minutes arter they went down the road Mis's Given come lookin' for Eli,
+and some one told her where he'd gone. She hit the trail, and next we
+saw she was marchin' him back through town, with Uncle Eb and the deacon
+peggin' along behind, lookin' as meek and meechin' as wet cats.
+
+"I dunno what happened arter Mis's Given gut Eli home, but he broke out
+ag'in and took to the woods or somewheres, and she ain't been able to
+find him. She was so all-fired mad that she come to me and wanted him
+'rested. I had hard work to persuade her not to have him jugged. 'Course
+if it had been some feller who was inclined to git on a tear and raise
+thunder, I'd 'a' jest gone out and muckled onto him and shoved him into
+the lockup. But I did kinder hate to lock Eli up.
+
+"I went over to Uncle Eb's lookin' for him, and there was Eben out in
+the woodshed a-snoozin' on a hoss blanket. Took me 'bout fifteen minutes
+to wake him up. He didn't know nuthin' 'bout Eli, so I went over to
+Deacon Hewett's. Er-haw! haw! haw! The deacon's wife had him on the
+lounge a-bathin' his head with cold water and a-holdin' smellin' salts
+to his nose. She said he'd been took sick sudden and was havin' a
+crackin' headache. She was in for callin' the doctor, but the deacon he
+wouldn't have it. He jest laid on the lounge and groaned and kept
+sayin' he was a poor sinful worm of the earth.
+
+"When I left Mis's Hewett she follered me outside, pulled me by the
+sleeve and kinder looked shamed and downcast and asked me did I believe
+the deacon had been drinkin'. She said he told her he jest took a little
+medicine when the headache fust struck him. I didn't give him away. I
+looked s'prised and shook my head and told her he wasn't a drinkin' man,
+so 'course there wan't no question on that p'int. But we're kinder
+worried 'bout Eli. If he don't turn up before long, we're goin' to send
+out searchers for him."
+
+"You needn't bother to do that, Bill," said a mild, mournful voice, as a
+dusky figure came round the corner of the house. "I'm all right. I'm
+purty well straightened out now, and I guess I'll go back home and
+kinder quiet mother's narves. You see she was rather excited and
+disturbed over the affair, and she wouldn't let me rest arter I gut to
+the house, so I sneaked off into Silus Cobb's barn, crawled into the
+haymow and slept a while. It was dark when I woke up, and I didn't know
+jest where I was. 'Twixt you and me, I'm going to tell Rufe Applesnack
+what I think of him. That cider was the most violent stuff I ever put
+down my woozle. It had an awful kick. I s'pose me and Eben and Elnathan
+are disgraced in Bloomfield for the rest of our lives. I don't think
+I'll show my head outside of the house for a month."
+
+Frank slapped the downcast old man on the shoulder and tried to brace
+him up, but Given was so depressed that he refused to cheer up in the
+slightest.
+
+"Think you can find your way home, Eli?" asked Hunker.
+
+"Well, I'm over seven and I'm sober now," was the answer. "Don't you
+fret 'bout me. I'll git home, all right."
+
+Bright and early the following morning Hunker and several villagers
+appeared at Merry Home and asked leave to use Frank's boats in the
+search for the body of the Mexican.
+
+After breakfast Merriwell and a number of his friends went over to the
+lake and found the searchers at work.
+
+Hunker reported that they had discovered no trace of the missing man.
+Carker, Hodge, and Merriwell launched a boat from the boathouse and
+joined in the work.
+
+"It was on this cliff here that we had the encounter," explained Greg,
+as they rowed back and forth beneath the bluff. "The man's body should
+be here somewhere. There seems to be no particular current at this spot
+to carry it away. I think we'll find Jose Murillo within thirty yards of
+this locality."
+
+There was a harsh, unpleasant laugh, and a voice cried:
+
+"Seńor Carkaire ees right. Jose Murillo ees witheen thirtee yards of
+heem thees minute."
+
+Looking up in astonishment, the trio in the boat beheld the Mexican
+standing on the brink of the cliff. His clothes were somewhat wrinkled
+and soiled, seeming to need cleansing and pressing. But the man was
+there in the flesh, grinning at them in a malicious, triumphant manner.
+
+Greg Carker smothered an exclamation of amazement.
+
+"Evidently you were mistaken in thinking the man drowned," said Frank
+quietly. "We've had all this trouble for nothing."
+
+"Oh, eet ees not so easee to keel Jose Murillo!" sneered the rascal.
+"Where he fall in the lake the water ees not so deep. He stand up, with
+hees head out. He walk to the shore. He see Carkaire look for heem, and
+he keep steel. Now he look for Carkaire. Better have a care, gringo, for
+Jose Murillo weel find the time to strike you yet! _Adios!_ He weel see
+you lataire!"
+
+The man turned and hurried away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+A LIVELY GAME.
+
+
+When the Farnham Hall baseball team came out for practice that afternoon
+they found another team on the field. This team was dressed in blue
+suits, and on the breast of each shirt was a large white letter M.
+
+Frank Merriwell had found these old suits stored away and brought them
+forth. At sight of them his friends were seized with the old-time
+enthusiasm for the great American game, and it did not take them long to
+get into the suits and onto the field.
+
+"What's this?" cried Dale Sparkfair, as he surveyed Merry's team. "We
+seem to have intruders here. We'll have to put them off the field, boys.
+We'll have to do them up."
+
+Hans Dunnerwurst paused, with his hands on his hips, and stared at Dale.
+Half a dozen persons shouted at the Dutchman, but he failed to heed
+their warning, and a ball thrown at him struck him on the head, bounding
+off.
+
+"Hey!" squawked Hans. "Who threw me at dot brick? Vos dot der vay you
+vill dood us upness? Py Chiminy! You fellers vant to vade right in und
+let it try you. I pelief ve can play paseball all aroundt yoursellufs.
+You vos challenched to meet us a game into. Yah! Vill you exception dot
+challench?"
+
+"Where's the interpreter?" asked Spark.
+
+"Der vot?"
+
+"The interpreter."
+
+"Vot you vant py him?"
+
+"You need some one to interpret your conversation, my Irish friend."
+
+"Irish? Irish?" yelled Hans, in exasperation. "Don'd you callt
+mineselluf Irish! Parney Mulloy vos der only Irishman der party into,
+und he vos der greenest pogtrotter dot efer come der Emerald Isle oudt
+uf."
+
+"G'wan, yer Dutch chaze!" said Barney. "Go talk to yersilf. Nobody
+understands yez at all, at all."
+
+"If you're looking for practice, Dale," said Frank, "perhaps we can
+accommodate you. We feel like playing a little baseball ourselves."
+
+"Yah!" put in Hans, who declined to be repressed. "Ve pelief der game uf
+paseball can play us some. Der practice vos oudt uf us a whole lot, but
+all der same ve vill dood our pest to dood you up. Between der acts I
+vill gif you a melodious selection der flute on. Der flute brought me
+vid it to der paseball groundt."
+
+"Av you attimpt to toot thot flute, Oi'll hit ye wid a bat!" growled
+Mulloy.
+
+"Oh, you vos chealous--you vos chealous pecause der flute coot not play
+you!" sneered Dunnerwurst. "As Spokeshire observations, 'Show me der man
+who haf not music into his soul alretty, und I vill show you a son uf a
+gun dot vos fit for blotting assinations, general defiltry und all
+padness.' Dot vos you, Parney Mulloy."
+
+The idea of playing a practice game with Merry's team delighted the
+Farnham Hall lads, and arrangements were quickly made.
+
+"I presume you'll give us a show, Mr. Merriwell," said Sparkfair. "Are
+you going to pitch?"
+
+"I don't think I'll start the game," said Merry.
+
+"I vill pitch mineselluf," announced Hans. "I vos der createst paseball
+pitcher dot efer seen you."
+
+Sparkfair flipped a coin, and the choice of innings fell to Merry.
+
+"We'll take the field," said Frank. "Go behind the bat, Hodge.
+Dunnerwurst will pitch. You'll play your old position at first,
+Browning. Diamond will cover second, and we'll have Mulloy on third.
+I'll play short."
+
+"The middle lawn for me," announced Ephraim Gallup.
+
+"That's all right," nodded Frank. "Badger will take left field and
+Carson right field."
+
+When the players had taken these positions Dunnerwurst held up his hand
+and asked permission to pitch a few over the plate.
+
+"Chust gif me the privilege of letting my arm limber me up, vill you?"
+
+"Go ahead," laughed Sparkfair.
+
+Hodge adjusted the body protector and pulled on the big catching mitt.
+
+"Keep open your eye for der curf uf der ball," warned Hans. "Uf I use
+too much speed for you, chust let me tell you so."
+
+He presented a comical spectacle as he flourished, his arm with a
+windmill motion and delivered the ball to Bart. It was high and wide,
+but Hodge cuffed it down.
+
+"Ho! ho!" shouted the Dutchman. "Did dot rise see you? Vosn't it a
+peauty, Part?"
+
+"That was a great rise!" said Hodge. "Better try a drop next time. Get
+'em lower."
+
+On receiving the ball Hans made another flourishing motion, shut his
+eyes, and threw the sphere with great force straight at the ground in
+front of him.
+
+"Mine cootness!" he gasped. "I vill haf to look oudt for dot drop. It
+vos a corker."
+
+"Better start off with a straight ball," advised Hodge. "Give these
+youngsters a show. They can't hit your curves, Hans."
+
+"I pelief me," nodded Dunnerwurst soberly. "Your advice vill took me."
+
+A few moments later he announced that he was ready, and Bob Bubbs
+stepped out as the first batter.
+
+Hans hit Bob with the first ball pitched, and Kilgore, who was umpiring,
+sent Towser to first.
+
+"Vy did you not dotge?" demanded Dunnerwurst, in exasperation. "Any vun
+vould pelief der ball did not see you coming. Vos you plind your
+eyesight in?"
+
+"Oh, I knew I couldn't hit," chuckled Bubbs, "so I got hit. That's part
+of the game."
+
+"Veil, mebbe dot vos so, but you don'd pelief it. Der next man vill haf
+something different to did."
+
+Netterby was the next man.
+
+After pitching a ball behind Net's back and another one over his head,
+Hans managed to get one across the pan.
+
+Net hit it and drove it out of the diamond, although Mulloy made a
+desperate effort to reach it.
+
+"Vat vos you goot for, you Irish pogtrotter?" demanded Hans. "Vy did dot
+ball not stop you?"
+
+"G'wan! g'wan!" retorted Barney. "It was a clane hit, Dutchy."
+
+"You dood not pelief it. I vill haf to struck efry patter oudt. Der vos
+no udder vay when a pitcher gets dot kind of rotten suppordt."
+
+Hiram Bemis stood forth to the plate and waited until Dunnerwurst had
+pitched four balls.
+
+The bases were filled, and Hans began to growl at Kilgore.
+
+"Vere did der umpiring efer learn you?" he demanded.
+
+"Gol ding it!" shouted Ephraim Gallup from the field. "Yeou didn't git
+one of them balls within four feet of the pan! Yeou can't pitch! Yeou
+never could! Better let me go in and show 'em haow to pitch."
+
+"Go avay pack and sit down," advised Hans derisively. "You vould dood a
+lot uf goot uf you vould pitch, vouldn't you!"
+
+"If I couldn't do better than yeou're doing naow, I'd never play another
+game of baseball!" retorted Gallup.
+
+"He's envious," said Sparkfair. "Don't listen to him. I know you'll
+strike me out. You can't help it."
+
+The first ball pitched to Spark happened to be just where he wanted it.
+He met it squarely and drove it Over Carson's head in right field.
+
+It was a clean three-bagger, and three runs came in.
+
+"Well, I think that will about do for you, Hans," said Frank. "Come in
+here, Gallup, if you want to show what you can do."
+
+Ephraim promptly accepted the invitation and came galloping in from the
+field.
+
+"You vill be a peach!" sneered Hans, as he passed Gallup. "I vos ashamed
+for you alretty soon."
+
+"I can't do any worse than you done if I tried a month!" retorted
+Ephraim.
+
+After warming up a bit, Gallup pitched to Hollis.
+
+Fred dropped a Texas Leaguer over the infield, and Sparkfair scored.
+
+Dunnerwurst whooped derisively.
+
+Then came young Joe Crowfoot, who also connected with the ball, lacing
+it out cleanly for two bases.
+
+Hollis scored from first.
+
+"They seem to be hitting you, Ephraim," observed Frank.
+
+"Jest wait a minute," observed Gallup. "I ain't settled down yet."
+
+Jack Lander wearily dragged his feet out to the plate, stood there with
+his eyes shut and permitted Kilgore to call two strikes on him.
+
+"I've gut him," thought Ephraim. "He's in a trance."
+
+Gallup attempted to put another one straight over, but to his
+consternation Lander woke up, hit the ball a crack and drove it skimming
+along the ground out of the diamond.
+
+"You vos a dandy--you vas a dandy!" squawked Dunnerwurst.
+
+Perspiration started out on Ephraim's face, and he looked decidedly
+annoyed. His annoyance reached a climax when Brooks landed on the ball
+for two bases, scoring Crowfoot and Lander.
+
+"I guess that's enough for me, Frank," said Ephraim, as he walked out of
+the box. "I kinder judge you'll have to go in yourself. Them fellers has
+made seven runs, and there ain't a tarnal man out."
+
+"Yes, it's about time for you to go in, Merry," nodded Hodge.
+
+Frank thought so himself.
+
+Gallup retired to his regular position in center field. Dunnerwurst
+took right field, and Carson came in to play short.
+
+Merry entered the box. And Thad Barking astonished every one by lacing
+out a clean single.
+
+Following this Bob Bubbs put up a foul, which was captured by Hodge.
+Brooks was caught off his base, and the agony ended when Netterby struck
+out.
+
+Merriwell's team came to bat, facing the handicap of seven runs.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+MURILLO'S FAREWELL.
+
+
+In the meantime at least twenty boys from the academy had gathered to
+watch the game.
+
+Gregory Carker appeared, escorting Inza, Elsie, Winnie Badger, Teresa
+Gallup, Mrs. Morton, and Juanita Garcia.
+
+"Now we've got to play real baseball, fellows," laughed Frank, as Carker
+escorted the ladies into the stand, where they took the most convenient
+seats. "The girls will be ashamed of us if we continue this monkeying.
+Start it up, Hodge. You're the first batter."
+
+Bart Hodge stepped out, picked out one of Sparkfair's curves and smashed
+a hot grounder at Bubbs, who gathered the ball up cleanly and whipped it
+across to Brooks.
+
+"Out at first!" announced Kilgore.
+
+"Oh, Bart! Bart!" cried Elsie laughingly. "Can't you do better than
+that?"
+
+He shook his head as he walked back to the bench.
+
+"Your turn next, Mulloy," said Frank.
+
+Sparkfair seemed to be in good trim, for he whipped over a couple of
+benders which fooled Barney, who missed them both.
+
+"Vait till der pat gets holdt uf me," muttered Dunnerwurst. "Der ball
+nefer coot hit dot Irishman."
+
+Barney struck out.
+
+"Don'd some more fun make uf me," advised Hans.
+
+There was a hush as Frank Merriwell picked up a bat and stepped into the
+box.
+
+"Now something vill see you," observed Dunnerwurst, in a low tone. "Der
+ball vill hit him a mile."
+
+Sparkfair did his best to deceive Merry, but finally put one over, and
+Frank drove it far into the field.
+
+Hiram Bemis covered ground rapidly as he raced for the ball, but no one
+fancied he could catch it. Making a final desperate spurt, Hi leaped
+into the air and pulled the globule down.
+
+It was the third out, and Merry's team had not scored.
+
+"I'm sorry for you, Mr. Merriwell," laughed Sparkfair, "but we can't
+afford to let you have this game now. It would be simply awful after
+getting seven runs in the first inning."
+
+"The game is young," reminded Frank.
+
+Having escorted the ladies to seats, Gregory Carker deliberately placed
+himself at the side of Juanita Garcia.
+
+"Oh, Greg," called Madge Morton, "come here. I have something to show
+you."
+
+"Excuse me just now," he answered, "I'll come directly. The seńorita is
+telling me something."
+
+Then he whispered to Juanita:
+
+"Tell me something quick."
+
+"Why do you not go, seńor?" she asked.
+
+"I prefer to remain here."
+
+"But you weel have to go."
+
+He shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Oh, I'll have to be polite, but I shall return."
+
+"She weel not let you."
+
+At this moment Mrs. Morton rose and changed her seat, placing herself at
+Carker's side as she laughingly observed:
+
+"Don't let me interrupt you. When the seńorita has finished I will take
+a little of your time--just a little."
+
+Juanita flashed her a look.
+
+"I am sure Seńor Carkaire weel geeve you the time now," she said. "Eet
+ees not important what I have to say."
+
+Madge had a delicate gold chain about her neck, and to the end of this
+chain was attached a small locket. This locket she now displayed, asking
+Carker if he remembered it.
+
+"I think I do," he answered.
+
+"I should think you would!" she laughed. "You gave it to me. Don't you
+think it a pretty little locket, seńorita?"
+
+"Veree," answered Juanita.
+
+"Yes," said Madge, with a sigh, "Gregory gave me this little trinket.
+He gave me something else. Let's see if I can open it."
+
+She succeeded in opening the locket, and again held it up before Carker.
+
+"See," she went on, "it's your picture, Greg--your picture and mine.
+I've worn this locket every day since you gave it to me."
+
+"Oo!" murmured Juanita, with just the least touch of malice. "Deed you
+show eet to your husband, seńora?"
+
+Mrs. Morton shrugged her shoulders and lowered the corners of her mouth.
+
+"He saw it," she replied. "We had more than one little disagreement over
+it. He threatened to take it away from me."
+
+Carker was decidedly uncomfortable. Glancing toward Juanita, he observed
+that her cheeks were flushed and she seemed decidedly disturbed.
+
+"It was rather a piece of folly on my part," he said. "You know a man
+gets foolish at times, Mrs. Morton."
+
+"Oh, Mrs. Morton!" exclaimed Madge. "How formal you are, Gregory! You
+were not nearly so formal yesterday. You were not nearly so formal when
+I met you alone."
+
+Her eyes were on Juanita as she uttered these words. She saw the girl
+bite her lip.
+
+"Eet ees a veree strange game thees baseball," said Juanita, turning to
+Teresa. "Do you understand eet?"
+
+"Never mind her," said Madge Morton, pulling at Carker's sleeve. "Why do
+you pay her so much attention?"
+
+"Do you wish to know?" he asked, in a low tone. "Then I'll tell you. I'm
+in love with her."
+
+The woman looked at him with incredulous eyes, then threw back her head
+and laughed.
+
+"More of your folly, Greg," she said. "You always were a silly chap. In
+love with that girl? Don't be foolish, my boy. She's nothing but a kid."
+
+"I don't like that word kid."
+
+"Oh, I suppose you think it very unladylike to use such slang. Children
+like this girl are amusing, but only unsophisticated boys and doddering
+old men fall in love with them. You're neither, Greg Carker."
+
+"No, I'm neither. I'm old enough to know my own mind."
+
+"I don't think you do. You're bewitched by her eyes and her way of
+talking. Her dialect sounds rather cute to you. Don't be foolish, Greg."
+
+"Mrs. Morton, I tried to make you understand yesterday. There was a time
+when I believed I cared a great deal for you. That's all over now. You
+chose your own course, and you have no one save yourself to blame
+because there is now in my heart not the least spark of anything like
+love for you."
+
+"You may think there's no spark, but I believe the embers are still
+smoldering and I propose to fan them into a flame."
+
+"Evidently you don't understand men, Mrs. Morton. I don't think a woman
+ever yet caught a man by telling him what she proposed to do. It's a
+man's nature to pursue. He loves the chase. Let's watch this baseball
+game."
+
+With the greatest difficulty, she repressed her annoyance and anger.
+
+The game was progressing, and with Frank Merriwell in the box it became
+decidedly interesting. The second inning passed with neither side
+securing a score.
+
+At the opening of the third inning Jose Murillo appeared on the field,
+attired in a fresh suit and looking cool and dapper. He carried a light
+cane and wore a straw hat. Glancing around, he discovered the ladies in
+the stand, lifted his hat, made a graceful bow, and showed his teeth in
+a smile.
+
+To the astonishment of every one, the Mexican entered the stand and
+approached the party. Juanita Garcia was agitated and frightened.
+Seizing Carker's arm, she whispered:
+
+"Don't let heem come near me!"
+
+"I'll look out for him," promised Greg.
+
+Murillo bowed low before them.
+
+"I beg pardon for thees eentrusion," he murmured. "Eet happens that I
+know Seńora Gallup and Seńorita Garcia. I am a man of impulse. I do
+manee theengs I afterward regret. I presume Seńorita Garcia has been
+annoyed by me, and now I weesh to ask her pardon. I have taken the time
+to considaire. I have thought eet all ovaire. Eet ees no use. When a
+girl een thees country decides that she weel not have anytheeng
+whatevaire to do with a man, he may as well gif eet up. Eet ees my
+decision to geeve eet up. I am going back to Mexico. I shall leave
+to-morrow. I have come to bid Seńorita Garcia _adios_."
+
+"I don't beleef heem! I don't beleef heem!" whispered Juanita, cowering
+close to Carker's side. "He ees lying!"
+
+"I think you have decided wisely, Murillo," said Greg. "If I were in
+your place, I'd git. In fact, unless you do git, I've decided to swear
+out a warrant for your arrest. I've decided to make complaint against
+you for attacking me with a deadly weapon."
+
+Jose made a gentle gesture with his hand.
+
+"Some day in the future perhaps we weel settell that, Seńor Carkaire,"
+he said. "Save yourself the trouble to swear out the warrant. I shall
+go."
+
+With another sweeping bow, he turned and left the stand.
+
+"Oh, I don't like this game at all!" exclaimed Mrs. Morton. "I never did
+like baseball. I think I'll go to the house."
+
+She likewise left the stand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+A COMPACT.
+
+
+Madge Morton overtook Jose Murillo.
+
+"A word with you," she said. "We are far enough from the field so that
+we'll not be seen if we step aside beneath the trees."
+
+"Eet ees a pleasure," he bowed, although his face wore a puzzled
+expression.
+
+Beneath the trees the woman turned and faced him squarely.
+
+"There's a girl back yonder that you're smashed on," she said.
+
+He shook his head.
+
+"What ees eet to be smashed?"
+
+"Oh, I mean you're struck on her--you're in love with her. It's that
+little soft-spoken, black-eyed chit."
+
+"You mean Seńorita Garcia?"
+
+"Yes, that's the girl. You've followed her here all the way from
+Mexico."
+
+"Eet ees right. I have follaired her."
+
+"Now what do you propose to do? Are you going to quit? Are you going to
+throw up your hand? Are you going to lay down?"
+
+Again he shook his head.
+
+"Eet ees not plain to me what you mean, seńorita."
+
+"I'm married--at least, I have been. Call me seńora, if you don't
+choose to call me Mrs. Morton. Are you going to give that girl up? Are
+you going to let her baffle you? You're a man of determination. I
+understand you had trouble with Gregory Carker last night."
+
+"_Si, si, seńora._ Eet ees lucky for heem I deed not reach heem with my
+knife. I weel reach heem yet!"
+
+She clutched his arm.
+
+"No," she cried, "you must not! I love him! I'm going to marry him!"
+
+"Ees eet true?" gasped Murillo, in surprise. "I thought he was----"
+
+"Oh, he has a silly notion that he cares for your black-eyed Juanita.
+He's mistaken, that's all. Keep her away from him a week, and he'll
+forget her. Give me a week, and I'll win him back again. Instead of
+trying to harm him, why don't you carry off the girl?"
+
+"How can eet be done?"
+
+"She's afraid of you. If you can get her away from here, I think she
+will cow down and do anything you say. I don't believe she has real
+courage. I'll help you."
+
+"How?"
+
+"Let me think. You must take her away to-night. Bring a carriage. Stop
+near Merry Home, but far enough away not to be discovered. Come to the
+house at an hour past midnight. You know the back way? If you don't, you
+can find it. I'll be waiting for you. I'll let you in, and I'll help
+you take that girl out of the house."
+
+He looked at her with an expression of mingled doubt and admiration.
+
+"You are a woman," he said. "How you dare to do such a theeng?"
+
+"Dare?" she hoarsely cried. "I dare anything in a case like this!"
+
+"But how can we take her out? She raise the disturbance."
+
+"Oh, no, she won't. I know her room. She sleeps alone. A little
+chloroform will quiet her. Leave the matter to me. Will you come? Do you
+dare? If you haven't the courage to play this game, say so."
+
+"I haf the courage!" cried Murillo suddenly. "I weel be there! Eef eet
+ees a trap, look out for me! I am not the man who forgets!"
+
+"Save your breath," said the woman. "Don't bother to threaten me. I'll
+see you again to-night."
+
+Then she turned and walked back to the athletic field, rejoined the
+party in the grand stand, announced that she had changed her mind about
+watching the game, chatted, laughed, and appeared wholly care-free and
+at ease.
+
+Not until the fifth inning could Merriwell's team score against the
+Farnham Hall lads. It was mainly Sparkfair's wonderful pitching that
+kept Frank and his friends from circling the bases. Dale had splendid
+speed, dazzling shoots, and masterly control. In the fifth the Merries
+tried the bunting game and filled the bases, with only one out. Badger
+then came up and smashed out a fine two-bagger, driving in three runs.
+
+Sparkfair then struck out Carson and Dunnerwurst. Although the head of
+Frank's batting order came up in the sixth and Hodge reached third, no
+scores were secured. In the seventh Gallup crossed the pan with a run.
+
+Neither side could secure a tally in the eighth, and the ninth inning
+opened with Merriwell's team three runs behind the youngsters.
+
+"Oh, we've got you!" laughed Sparkfair. "We haven't been able to make a
+run since the first inning, but those seven scores were enough."
+
+"Yah," said Dunnerwurst "Dot Ephraim Gallup he didid der pizness. Der
+game threw him avay."
+
+"Gol dinged if yeou've gut anything to say!" rasped the Vermonter. "Yeou
+started all the trouble."
+
+"Uf Frankie had let der pitcher's plate stay py me a vhile longer, it
+vould haf peen different. Der ball was chust gittin' control uf me ven
+he tookt me oudt."
+
+Farnham Hall did not score in the first half of the ninth.
+
+Diamond was the first batter up for the Merries, and he laced out a
+clean single.
+
+"That's the stuff!" cried Frank. "Only three scores! We'll get 'em right
+here!"
+
+Browning lifted a fly to left field, and Bemis scooped it. Diamond
+reached second. Gallup dropped a Texas Leaguer over the infield, and
+Buck Badger walked out With a bat on his shoulder.
+
+"It peen up to you, Padger!" cried Dunnerwurst. "See vot you coot dood
+py der ball."
+
+At this juncture Sparkfair issued his first pass, and Badger walked,
+filling the bases. Berlin Carson tried to drive in some runs, but popped
+up an infield fly and was out. Then Hans Dunnerwurst started forth.
+
+"Oh, crackey!" groaned Ephraim Gallup. "It's all over naow!"
+
+"Yah, it vos all ofer," nodded Hans. "A home run vill knock me. Der game
+vos seddled."
+
+It is probable that almost every one expected to see Hans strike out.
+After making two strikes, the Dutchman secured a clean single, on which
+Diamond and Gallup scored.
+
+"Dot vos a mishdake," declared the Dutchman. "Der ball meant to strike
+me twice as far as dot."
+
+There was great anxiety on both sides as Bart Hodge walked out.
+
+"You can dood it, Hotch!" shouted Hans.
+
+Bart smashed the second ball pitched him, driving it out on a line.
+Little Bob Bubbs thrust out his left mitt, and the ball spanked into it.
+It stuck there.
+
+The game was over, and Sparkfair's team had defeated the Merries by a
+single run.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+THE PROOF.
+
+
+Gregory Carker never knew exactly why he rose in the night and stole out
+of his room with catlike steps. He had a vague idea that he would move
+silently in order not to disturb or awaken any one sleeping in the
+house.
+
+Near the head of the stairs he paused and backed into a shadowy corner.
+
+Two persons came up the stairs. One of them bore a candle which
+flickered and flared, the fitful light showing her features plainly.
+
+It was Madge Morton. She was deathly pale, and the hand that held the
+candle shook like that of a person with the palsy. Behind her was a man.
+As she reached the head of the flight she paused, turned to this man,
+and whispered:
+
+"Follow me closely. The girl's room is two doors to the left."
+
+Carker saw the man's face, and he recognized Jose Murillo.
+
+Forth from his nook leaped Greg, seizing Murillo as the Mexican placed
+his foot on the last stair. Mrs. Morton gave a gasping cry of dismay,
+dropped the candle, and fled. The candle did not go out. Although it
+fell on its side, it continued to burn fitfully.
+
+At the head of those stairs a sharp, savage struggle took place. The
+Mexican uttered a smothered oath and sought to produce his knife.
+
+"Thees time I fix you, Carkaire!" he panted.
+
+The dim light of the candle gleamed on the blade. Greg Carker tore
+himself free and struck a swinging blow which landed on Murillo's jaw.
+The Mexican crashed to the foot of the stairs, where he lay groaning
+while the aroused household flocked to the spot.
+
+"What is it, Carker? What the dickens is the matter?" demanded Frank, as
+he seized Greg's shoulder.
+
+Carker had picked up the candle and was holding it in his hand.
+
+"I think we'll find a man at the foot of these stairs," he said, his
+voice not quite steady in spite of his effort to command himself.
+
+They did find a man down there. Jose Murillo had struck on his own knife
+and was seriously wounded. Doctor Schnitzle was promptly brought over
+from Farnham Hall, but after taking a look at Murillo's wound, he turned
+and whispered to Frank:
+
+"Maype he vill last vun halluf hour, but it iss not to be expectioned.
+It vos der end uf him."
+
+The doctor was right. To the end Murillo protected his accomplice,
+claiming he had broken into the house by himself, with the intention of
+carrying Juanita off.
+
+And Gregory Carker said nothing.
+
+The following day, however, Carker found an opportunity to speak
+privately, as he supposed, with Mrs. Morton. He followed her from the
+house and stopped her at a point where there was little likelihood that
+they would be seen.
+
+"You'll take the next train out of Bloomfield," he said. "I thought you
+might have good sense enough to take the first one, but you don't seem
+inclined to go without being invited."
+
+"Oh, Greg----"
+
+He put up his hand.
+
+"Stop where you are," he said. "Not a word from you. You let that sneak
+into the house last night. You're responsible for the whole miserable
+tragedy."
+
+"But you will not expose me--you will not tell them?"
+
+"No, I'll say nothing about it--in case you take the next train."
+
+"You despise me! I see it in your face!"
+
+"You're right, I do. I despise you most thoroughly, and I pray it may
+never be my misfortune to see your face again."
+
+"Oh, that girl--that wretched black-eyed----"
+
+"And you may stop there," interrupted Carker. "You refer to Juanita. I'm
+going to marry her."
+
+"I suppose you are. I'd like to strangle her!"
+
+"You'll not be given an opportunity. I'm going to ask Mr. Merriwell to
+have a rig hitched up right away. It will take you to the station. Make
+any excuses you choose or no excuses whatever--but you're going. Better
+hurry back to the house now and pack up. Go on!"
+
+She saw words were useless, and, therefore, she turned and hurried away
+toward the house.
+
+Carker stood there, his right elbow in his left palm, his chin resting
+on his hand. He heard no sound and was unaware of any one's presence
+until a hand touched his arm.
+
+With a start, he found himself face to face with Juanita. There was a
+strange rapturous light in the girl's eyes.
+
+"I asked for the proof," she whispered. "You gif eet to me when you deed
+not know I was there behind the shrubberee. I hear you tell her she must
+go. I hear you tell her that you--that you--that you----"
+
+"That I'm going to marry you," said Carker, taking both her hands in
+his. "I mean it, Juanita. I've decided on my course in the future. If
+I'll quit lecturing on socialism and suppress my thoughts and theories
+in that line, Carker, senior, will give me a lift in the world. He'll
+change his will if he becomes satisfied that I've reformed. I'm a
+socialist, Juanita, and I shall always remain a socialist. But, perhaps,
+I've been a little too rabid--perhaps I've been a little too rank.
+Socialism is all right, but home is a great deal better. I'm going to
+have a home of my own, and I'm going to have you for the chief director
+of that home. I think I'll be satisfied to settle down with you there to
+anchor me. I'm going to kiss you now, Juanita."
+
+"Oh, Gregoree----" she murmured.
+
+His lips smothered the remainder of the protest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+THE EDUCATED HORSE.
+
+
+Honk! honk! honk!
+
+Frank glanced over his shoulder.
+
+"Automobile coming, Bart," he said. "She's raising a cloud of dust.
+Better give her plenty of room."
+
+Frank and Bart were out for a morning horseback ride through the
+country. After a dash of an hour or more, they had turned back and were
+now in sight of Farnham Hall and Merry Home.
+
+Bart's mount began to dance and lunge.
+
+"Whoa, Pansy--whoa, lady," he said soothingly. "She doesn't fancy buzz
+wagons a great deal, Merry."
+
+"She never did," replied Frank, "but she'll get used to them. They're
+growing thicker every day. I've ordered one myself."
+
+"Honk! honk! honk!" sounded the automobile horn close behind them.
+
+With a purring of the valves, a soft panting from the exhaust, and a
+whir of wheels, a huge red machine flew past them in a cloud of dust.
+
+"Forty miles an hour," said Hodge, blinking his eyes and turning his cap
+brim down to the cloud of dust. "That's some speed for these roads,
+Merry."
+
+"And I'll guarantee they'll go through town like that," returned Frank.
+"Whew! Some of these machines ought to have a sprinkler attachment."
+
+"They're stopping," said Bart. "By George! they're turning into your
+place. Did you know any one in the car?"
+
+"Got only a glimpse of them, and they seemed to be strangers to me."
+
+"That's a flyer they have. What make is it, do you know?"
+
+"It's a French machine, I believe. It looks to me like a Mercedes."
+
+"Are you going to have an imported machine, Frank?"
+
+"Oh, no. I'm satisfied with the best American makes. A good American
+machine is better adapted for our roads than any of the crack
+foreigners."
+
+"How do you make that out?"
+
+"It's simple enough. In France they have grand roads everywhere. Their
+machines are made for such roads, and on such roads they can fairly fly.
+In this country we have a few fairly good roads, but the majority of our
+highways are wretchedly bad. The American makers have built machines
+adapted for such roads, and on these roads our better-made motor cars
+are superior to anything we can bring across the water."
+
+"But I understand that most of the American machines are fakes. I've
+been told they are far from perfect."
+
+Frank laughed.
+
+"The perfect automobile has not been made, and I doubt if it ever will
+be," he answered. "The honest American manufacturers who know their
+business are making honest machines. It's true that there are a host of
+fakers in the business. It's true that nearly seventy-five per cent of
+the machines turned out at the present time are built for the sole
+purpose of making money for the manufacturers. The American public has
+not yet been educated to the point of discerning between the fake and
+the honest article. Nevertheless they're learning mighty fast, and
+within a very few years the fakers are bound to reach the end of their
+ropes and go to the wall. Unless they change their methods, five years
+from now one-third of the concerns now doing business will no longer be
+in the field. Ten years from now a half of the present manufacturers
+will be out of it."
+
+"That sounds a little pessimistical for you."
+
+"Oh, no, Bart; it's optimistical. I'm confident that the sharks and
+sharpers will fail and the honest concerns will endure and prosper. The
+automobile has come to stay. There is no question about that. The
+majority of the present-day buyers are going to be defrauded, and many
+of them will become disgusted. In purchasing a machine I've not relied
+on my own judgment, but I've sought the advice of friends who were
+competent to advise. I hope and I believe that I've got my money's
+worth. Here we are, and there are the gentlemen of the red bubble
+talking with some of the fellows."
+
+The machine stood on the driveway in front of the house, with the
+chauffeur still in his seat. Two of the four men had stepped out of the
+car and were talking with Buck Badger, Ephraim Gallup, and Barney
+Mulloy. Mrs. Merriwell was with a group of her friends on the veranda.
+
+Badger waved his hand as Frank and Bart turned in at the wide gate.
+
+"Here are some gents what are looking for you, Merry," called the
+Kansan.
+
+Frank clattered up and drew rein, but Bart's horse was frightened and
+shied at the machine. Hodge gave the little mare a touch of the spur and
+reined her toward the automobile. After a time he succeeded in bringing
+her close to it and guiding her round it, although she snorted and
+fretted and betrayed great alarm and excitement.
+
+"You countrymen will have to kill off a few of your skittish horses,"
+observed a stout, sandy-mustached man, one of the two who had left the
+car. "If you don't, they're liable to kill you."
+
+"I don't think there's any great danger of that as long as a man knows
+how to handle them properly," said Frank, as he patted the neck of his
+own horse. "Dick was afraid of automobiles, but I've succeeded in
+eliminating that fear, and you can see how he behaves now."
+
+"You never can be sure what a horse will do," returned the stout man.
+"There never was one yet that had an ounce of brains. They're all
+fools."
+
+"Do you think so?" smiled Merriwell. "Of course you have a right to your
+opinion, but I don't believe many people will agree with you. I've seen
+horses which were more intelligent than many men."
+
+"Bah! bah!" retorted the stranger. "They can't reason. They can't think.
+All they know is enough to eat and work. The best horse in the country
+is none too good to pull a plow."
+
+A queer twinkle flashed in Frank's eyes.
+
+"Perhaps I can convince you of your mistake, sir," he said. "I don't
+happen to know your name, but----"
+
+"My name is Basil Bearover. This young man here"--with a jerk of his
+thumb toward Badger--"informs me that you are Frank Merriwell."
+
+"Yes, I'm Frank Merriwell, Mr. Bearover. We were speaking of horses. Now
+I'll admit that Pansy yonder hasn't been properly educated. In time I
+hope to improve her greatly. In time I hope to teach her to perform a
+few simple mathematical problems, although I doubt if she'll ever be
+able to talk."
+
+"Huh?" blurted Bearover. "Mathematical fudge! Able to talk? What sort of
+rot are you trying to give me, young man?"
+
+"Have you never seen a horse that could add, subtract, multiply, and
+divide?" asked Merry, with pretended surprise.
+
+"No, sir, I never have, nor has any one else."
+
+"Wait a moment before you make such a confident statement. Now this
+horse of mine can do all those little things and still other things a
+great deal more surprising. I'll prove the truth of my statement to you.
+Hey, Dick--Dick, my boy, give me your attention. Now, sir, I wish you to
+do a little sum for me. Are you ready? Are you listening? Are you
+attentive?"
+
+The horse nodded its head as if in answer to these questions.
+
+"Very good, Dick," said Frank. "I'll give you a small sum in addition.
+How many are two and two?"
+
+The horse lifted its forward right foot and struck the ground four
+times.
+
+"That's right, Dick--that's right," laughed Merry, patting the
+creature's neck. "Now we'll take a little example in subtraction. If we
+subtract five from ten, how many have we left?"
+
+The horse struck the ground five times with its foot.
+
+"That's right again, Dick. Let's see what you can do in multiplication.
+Three times two make how many?"
+
+Six times the horse struck the ground.
+
+"You're right up to the mark this morning, Dick," said the animal's
+master. "We'll finish up with a little subtraction. If we take seven
+from fourteen, how many will be left?"
+
+Seven times Dick pawed the ground.
+
+"There you are, Mr. Bearover," nodded Merriwell. "Are you satisfied that
+even horses have brains?"
+
+"I'm satisfied that you've trained that critter to do a few tricks," was
+the answer. "You must think I'm purty dull witted. Why, you begun with
+an example that made the horse paw the ground four times. Your next
+question required five strokes of the critter's foot. Then came six, and
+you followed it up with seven. Come, come, Mr. Merriwell, you're not
+dealing with chumps. I've seen horses that could do them little things,
+but it's no sign of brains. You're on the critter's back. By training
+it, you could git it so it would paw the ground every time you pressed
+your knee against its shoulder. Git off the horse and stand away; then
+let's see what it will do. Then let's see you make it do sums in
+addition, subtraction, and so forth."
+
+"Very well," said Merry, as he dismounted, dropping the bridle rein on
+Dick's neck. "We'll see what he'll do in that manner."
+
+He stroked the horse's muzzle, and the animal placed its head on his
+shoulder.
+
+"Dick," said Frank, "this doubting Thomas thinks it's all trickery. He
+can't believe that you're a finished mathematician. We must convince
+him, Dick. Now be careful and give your answers correctly. Stand where
+you are, sir."
+
+Frank retreated fully ten feet. With his hands on his hips and a smile
+on his face, he said:
+
+"We'll take a simpler sum in addition, Dick. You understand this is
+addition, old boy. Two and one make how many?"
+
+The horse lifted his foot and struck the ground three times.
+
+"Let me give him a question," grinned Bearover. "Let's see if he'll
+answer me."
+
+"Oh, very well," said Frank. "Dick, do you see this gentleman here? Take
+a look at him. He's going to give you a problem, and you must answer it.
+I trust he'll make it a simple one. You haven't been brushing up in
+mathematics lately, and a difficult problem might bother you a little.
+Will you kindly make it a simple question, Mr. Bearover?"
+
+"Oh, yes; oh, yes," chuckled the stout man, "I'll make it simple enough.
+Let's see if your wonderful horse can tell us how many ten and five
+added together be."
+
+The horse stood quite still for a moment and did not lift its foot.
+Instead of that, the creature seemed to be eying Basil Bearover with a
+look of disdain. Finally a most astounding thing happened, for Dick's
+lip curled back, exposing his teeth, and from his mouth there seemed to
+issue these words:
+
+"Any blamed fool would know that ten and five make fifteen!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+A CHALLENGE.
+
+
+Basil Bearover's usually florid face turned pale, and the man actually
+staggered.
+
+The horse tossed its head, wrinkled its upper lip, and seemed to grin.
+
+"That gave the big bear a jolt," he apparently observed.
+
+Bearover's companion was a husky-looking young Irishman, and he now
+seemed on the point of taking flight. He was even paler than Bearover,
+and his teeth actually chattered together.
+
+"Holy saints!" he gasped. "The divvil is in the beast! It spakes."
+
+"Don't get excited," smiled Merry. "I told you Dick was an educated
+horse. I think I've proved my statement. Now, Dick, my boy, you'll
+follow Bart and Pansy round to the stable and permit Toots to look after
+you. I'll see you at the usual hour this afternoon and give you your
+lessons in algebra and Latin. Be a good boy, Dick. Trot along. Ta! ta!"
+
+"Ta! ta!" answered the horse, as it turned away. "Look out for the big
+bear. He thinks he's a sharper, but he's only a common lobster."
+
+With a whisk of his tail and a flirt of his heels, Dick followed Pansy
+and disappeared round the corner toward the stable.
+
+Basil Bearover pulled himself together and took a deep breath.
+
+"Say," he huskily remarked, "have you a little something bracing round
+this place? I'd like a small nip of whisky after that."
+
+"I'm sorry," answered Frank, "but I don't keep it in the house. I
+haven't a drop of liquor of any kind round the place."
+
+"Be Heaven!" exclaimed the Irishman. "I nade a drink meself."
+
+Bearover placed a hand on his companion's shoulder.
+
+"Tell me, McCann," he said, "did you hear that horse speak? I must have
+dreamed it. I must be getting in a bad way."
+
+"It was no dream, Mr. Bearover," was the answer. "I heard it meself. The
+baste talked as plain as any man could spake."
+
+"Jerusalem!" exploded the stout stranger, as if struck by an idea. "That
+animal ought to make a fortune for its owner. What'll you take for that
+horse, Mr. Merriwell?"
+
+"You can't buy him, sir," was the quiet answer. "Do you think I'd be
+heartless enough to sell Dick after spending all this time in educating
+him and getting him trained to such a high point of perfection? Why, it
+would break the poor creature's heart."
+
+"I'll give you a thousand dollars for him," offered the man, thrusting a
+hand into his breast pocket and producing a pocketbook.
+
+"Put up your money," said Frank. "I tell you that you can't buy him.
+Why, if I should sell that horse to you, just as likely as not he'd be
+so disgusted and angry that he'd never speak again. You know it's no
+small matter for a horse to talk. It isn't natural for them. It could
+only be produced by a mighty effort, and the most natural thing in the
+world would be for the creature to relapse into dumbness if transferred
+to another owner."
+
+Bearover looked disappointed as he slipped the pocketbook back into its
+resting place. Glancing around, he observed that the young man near at
+hand and the young ladies on the veranda were all smiling and laughing
+as if highly amused. Their suppressed merriment gave him a resentful
+feeling, and suddenly his face flushed, while an expression of anger
+came into his small eyes.
+
+"You're purty smart, young man--purty smart," he said. "You think you
+fooled me, don't ye? Well, you didn't. I happen to know how you done the
+trick. You're a ventriloquist. The horse didn't talk. I was jest testing
+you to see if you would try to soak me by selling the critter to me."
+
+Bearover fibbed, for, although he had finally hit upon the truth, it
+was an afterthought conjured up by the laughter of the spectators.
+
+"Do yer mean to say the horse didn't spake?" demanded the Irishman. "I
+heard it meself--I tell ye I heard it meself!"
+
+"That's all right, McCann!" rasped the big man. "Perhaps you've never
+seen a good ventriloquist do a turn, but I have. That horse can't talk
+any more than a cow or a dog or any other dumb creature can."
+
+"Vale," observed Hans Dunnerwurst, who stood Bear, with his hands thrust
+deep into his trousers pocket, "it took it a long time to found you
+oudt. Dot hoss peen a good 'rithmeticker uf he coot talk or not. Yah!"
+
+"You've had your fun with me, Mr. Merriwell," said Bearover, ignoring
+the Dutchman; "but I hope to have a little sport with you later. I've
+driven over from Wellsburg this morning for the express purpose of
+seeing you."
+
+"What can I do for you, sir?" asked Merry.
+
+"I understand you have a baseball team here."
+
+"Do you mean my Farnham Hall team?"
+
+"I don't know what you call it."
+
+"Well, I have a ball team made up of youngsters. They are able to put up
+quite a game."
+
+"What sort of youngsters?"
+
+"Boys--my pupils at the Hall."
+
+"But I ain't referring to that kind of a team. I mean your regular
+team--I mean the one you play on."
+
+"Oh, that's different."
+
+"You've got such a team here, ain't ye?"
+
+"As you see, a lot of my friends are visiting here just now. I can't say
+that we have a regular organized team."
+
+"They told us in Wellsburg you had, and that's why I took the trouble to
+come here. I'm manager of the Rovers, the strongest independent team of
+this country. We're making a tour by automobile and playing the best
+teams we can get up against. I have a big seven-seated car at Wellsburg,
+and that machine, together with this one, carries my men from place to
+place. We made arrangements to play Wellsburg to-day and to-morrow. We
+were to have a guarantee of three hundred dollars and sixty per cent. of
+the gate receipts. When we gut into Wellsburg last night we found that
+the team had disbanded and the manager skipped out. That leaves us
+without a game to-day and to-morrow. We're looking for a game. This is
+Mike McCann, captain of my team."
+
+The young Irishman nodded and touched his cap brim.
+
+"Go on," invited Merriwell.
+
+"I've always had a desire to meet you," continued Bearover. "You have a
+big reputation as a baseball man. I'd like to play you in Wellsburg for
+a purse."
+
+"Evidently you're out for the dust," said Frank.
+
+"It takes money to run a team."
+
+"Your team is composed of professionals, isn't it?"
+
+"They're all salaried players."
+
+"Just a bit out of our class. We're straight amateurs."
+
+Besides the chauffeur, a rather sad-faced, somber-looking man was
+sitting in the car. This man now arose with a languid air and stepped
+out.
+
+"I told you how it would be, Bearover," he said, with a slight drawl.
+"Merriwell has made his reputation by defeating second-class amateur
+teams. I didn't think he'd have the sand to play a nine like the
+Rovers."
+
+"Who is this gentleman?" asked Frank.
+
+"This is Casper Silence, the backer of the Rovers," explained Bearover.
+"Mr. Silence, Mr. Merriwell."
+
+"How do," nodded Silence, as he adjusted his nose glasses and surveyed
+Frank from head to foot. "I presume the report that you're a back number
+may have some truth in it. A great many pitchers use themselves up in
+their prime. You look all right, but I take it your arm is gone."
+
+"Well, now," retorted Frank, "you place me in a rather embarrassing
+position, Mr. Silence. I don't feel like cracking up myself, you know."
+
+"Waugh!" snorted Buck Badger, unable to keep still longer. "I certain
+opine you're still in the ring, Merry. I judge it wouldn't take you
+long to show this gent that you're no back number."
+
+"You're a prosperous young man," said Silence, still addressing Frank.
+"Such being the case, if you have a team here, why not play us in
+Wellsburg for a small purse? If you're the wizard we've heard you are,
+you can make a little money while you're having the enjoyment of a game.
+A purse of five hundred dollars would be all right. It would suit us.
+We'll play you to-morrow. What do you say?"
+
+"I say no, sir," answered Frank. "If we were to play you for such a
+purse, we would immediately become professionals, like yourselves. We
+have no desire to be classed as professionals, and therefore I decline
+your proposition."
+
+"Just as I thought," nodded Silence. "I've seen amateurs before who took
+refuge behind such an excuse. Well, if you'll not play us for a purse,
+will you play us with the agreement that the winning team takes the
+entire gate proceeds?"
+
+"Not in Wellsburg."
+
+"Eh? Why not in Wellsburg?"
+
+"Because I have a better baseball ground yonder within sight of this
+house. Because at the present time I have a house party here, and we're
+not looking for baseball games. If your team of Rovers will come here
+and meet us on my field, we'll give you a game to-morrow, I think. What
+do you say, boys?"
+
+"You pet my life ve vill!" shouted Dunnerwurst.
+
+"By gum, that'll suit me!" came from Gallup.
+
+"I'm with you, Merry!" said Carson.
+
+"You know you can depend on me!" rumbled Browning.
+
+"Begorra, it will suit me clane down to the ground!" came from Mulloy.
+
+"Waugh!" exploded Badger. "You can bank on the whole bunch of us, Frank.
+That's whatever!"
+
+"But what inducement have we to come here?" demanded Bearover. "This is
+a little dried-up country town, and we couldn't turn out a hundred and
+fifty people to see that game. We've gut to make expenses somehow."
+
+"If you decide to play us here, and the weather's favorable, I'll
+guarantee a thousand paid spectators. It's a safe guarantee, and in all
+probability there'll be two or three thousand persons here. I'll have
+the game announced by the Wellsburg _Herald_. I'll see that it is
+advertised in the neighboring towns. We do not depend on Bloomfield
+alone for our spectators. They come in from all the surrounding towns.
+We'll play with the understanding that the winning team takes the entire
+gate receipts. If we win, we'll donate the money to some charitable
+purpose. If you win, you may do whatever you please with it."
+
+"Will you make a written guarantee that there'll be at least a thousand
+paid admissions?" asked Bearover.
+
+"With the weather favorable," assented Frank.
+
+The manager of the Rovers turned to Silence.
+
+"What do you say, Casper?" he asked. "We haven't any game for to-morrow,
+and we can't arrange one unless we accept this man's terms."
+
+Silence shrugged his shoulders, lighted a cigarette, and stepped back
+into the car.
+
+"Go ahead, Bearover," he drawled. "Make any arrangements you please."
+
+"All right, Merriwell," said the manager, "we'll play you. Draw up that
+agreement in regard to the gate receipts, and we'll sign it."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+A HARD PROPOSITION.
+
+
+Directly after lunch Frank had Toots harness a span of fast steppers,
+attach them to the double-seated surrey and bring the team round to the
+front door.
+
+Merriwell, Mulloy, and Gallup sprang into the surrey, waving adieus to
+the jolly party that had gathered on the veranda to see them off.
+
+"Which way, Marsa Frank?" asked Toots, as they reached the gate.
+
+"To Wellsburg," answered Merriwell, "and get us there in a hurry. Show
+us what these ponies can do over twenty miles of good country road."
+
+"Yes, sah," grinned the colored man, "Ah'll let de hosses out a notch or
+two, sah, jes' as soon as we git frough de village."
+
+It was a beautiful drive to Wellsburg over an unusually level and
+well-made strip of road. The distance was covered in good time, and the
+team finally stopped in front of the Wellsburg Bank.
+
+"Take the team round to the Franklin Square Hotel, Toots," directed
+Merry. "See that the horses are properly cared for. We'll drive back in
+time for dinner."
+
+Mulloy and Gallup followed Frank into the bank. Merry called for the
+cashier. When the gentleman appeared and greeted him cordially, Frank
+said:
+
+"Mr. Casin, I wish to introduce two of my friends, Mr. Barney Mulloy and
+Mr. Ephraim Gallup."
+
+"Glad to know you, gentlemen," bowed the cashier, as he shook hands with
+both.
+
+"These young men wish to become depositors in your bank," explained
+Merriwell. "They both have an account with the Phoenix National Bank,
+but it is their intention to close out that account and transfer the
+money to this bank."
+
+"We'll be very pleased to have Mr. Mulloy and Mr. Gallup as depositors,"
+bowed the cashier.
+
+"They will each give you a check on the Phoenix Bank," said Frank. "I'll
+indorse those checks, if that will make it satisfactory to you, sir."
+
+"Wholly satisfactory, Mr. Merriwell," asserted Casin.
+
+Mulloy and Gallup produced check books and proceeded to draw checks at a
+standing desk used for that purpose by depositors. These checks were
+made payable to the Wellsburg First National Bank, and Merriwell
+indorsed both of them. Casin himself received the checks, and Frank
+observed a slight expression of surprise on his face as he noted the
+sums for which they were drawn.
+
+"Ten thousand dollars each," he said. "Is that right?"
+
+"Yes, sor," answered Barney, "thot's right, sor. It's within two hundrid
+av all Oi have in the Phoenix Bank. Oi'll use up the remainin' two
+hundrid av Oi see fit by drawin' on it, but for the prisint Oi think
+Oi'll let it remain there as a nist egg. Oi've noticed nist eggs are
+moighty foine things to hav', av ye kept thim warm. They sometoimes
+hatch out all roight, all roight."
+
+No one had noticed the quiet entrance of a man, who stood unobtrusively
+near, listening to the talk. With a yawn, this man now advanced, saying:
+
+"I beg your pardon, gentlemen. I presume it's very rude, but I need some
+change right away in order to pay a sum to a man who wishes to catch a
+train. I've been unable to get this hundred-dollar bill changed. Would
+you mind if the cashier stopped long enough to change it for me?"
+
+The speaker was Casper Silence, backer of the Rovers baseball team.
+
+"Niver a bit do we moind," answered Barney. "It's all roight, sor; go
+ahead."
+
+"Yes, go ahead," nodded Gallup. "We've gut loads of time."
+
+Silence pushed the hundred-dollar bill through to the cashier, who
+glanced at it critically, asked what sort of change he desired and then
+gave, at his request, five tens and ten fives.
+
+"I'm very much obliged, gentlemen--very much obliged," said Silence,
+bowing to Mulloy and Gallup. "I hope I haven't interfered with you, Mr.
+Merriwell."
+
+"Not in the least," answered Frank.
+
+"Do you think we'll have good weather for the game to-morrow?"
+
+"The indications are that the weather will be all right."
+
+"And are you still confident that we will be able to bring out a
+thousand people or more?"
+
+"Quite confident," laughed Frank. "One of my errands in Wellsburg is to
+get a notice of the game into a newspaper here. I thought of looking Mr.
+Bearover up for the purpose of obtaining some facts concerning the
+Rovers, which might interest the newspaper readers."
+
+"I can give you any information you desire," said Silence. "In fact, I
+have it here on this printed slip. Here's a whole history of the team
+and the players who make up the team. You'll see we've lost no games
+this season. If you'll read this slip through, you'll learn beyond
+question that our players form the most remarkable independent baseball
+organization ever assembled in this country."
+
+While talking he had produced a leather pocketbook, from which he took a
+printed slip at least six inches long. This he handed to Frank.
+
+As Silence opened the pocketbook both Mulloy and Gallup observed that it
+was well stuffed with bank notes, and the one on top proved to be
+another hundred-dollar bill.
+
+"I don't wish to take up your time, Mr. Merriwell," said Silence, in his
+languid, drawling manner, "but I'll just run over the players so that
+you'll understand who they are and get an idea of the records they have
+made. You met Mike McCann, our shortstop. He's from Charleston, of the
+South Atlantic League, and he knows the game from A to Z. Toby Mertez,
+our right fielder, is a New England Leaguer, having played on the
+Nashua, N. H., team last year. Jack Grifford, our center fielder, is
+from Youngstown, the champions of the Ohio-Pennsylvania League. Hoke
+Holmes comes from Birmingham, in the Southern League. 'Peep' O'Day is
+the old National Leaguer, who was supposed to be down and out, but he
+astonished every one by his work with Jersey City, in the Eastern
+League, last year. He's our third baseman. Bill Clover, who covers the
+second sack, comes from Portland, of the Pacific Coast League. Sim
+Roach, who gambols in our left garden, is from Los Angeles, of the same
+league. 'Bang' Bancroft was the second catcher of the champion Pueblo
+team, in the Western League. Bancroft obtained the nickname of Bang
+through his slugging year before last. It's possible you've never heard
+of 'Mitt' Bender, our crack pitcher. He's been playing independent
+baseball, but the Boston Americans were hot after him this year. I had
+to open up handsomely in order to hold him. Our second pitcher is Mike
+Davis, who's had much more experience than Bender, but who can't pitch
+more than one game a week and do his best. When we go up against a light
+team we use Toby Mertez in the box and save both Bender and Davis. Now I
+think you understand the sort of team we have."
+
+"Well," said Frank, "unless your men are has-beens they ought to make a
+hot combination."
+
+"We haven't a has-been in the bunch," asserted Silence quietly. "I think
+you'll find the combination hot enough to suit you, Mr. Merriwell. I
+understand you've never been batted hard. I understand that no team has
+ever obtained more than eight or ten hits off you in a game. We have an
+aggregation of hitters, and the chances are you'll get a proper good
+drubbing to-morrow."
+
+"You alarm me," said Frank. "Like any other pitcher, I have been bumped
+in my time."
+
+"In that case the experience may not seem so unpleasant to-morrow,"
+drawled Silence. "Fifteen or twenty hits are nothing for the Rovers.
+We've averaged ten hits through the whole season."
+
+"Oi'll bet a hundrid dollars ye don't git tin hits to-morrow!" exploded
+Mulloy, unable to keep silent longer.
+
+"I'll have to take that bet," said the backer of the Rovers.
+
+"Oh, no," interposed Frank; "I object. I don't think there'll be any
+betting as far as my players are concerned. Keep your money in your
+pocket, Mulloy."
+
+Silence smothered a slight yawn behind his hand.
+
+"I'm sorry you're so frightened, Merriwell," he said. "I'm sorry you
+haven't any more nerve. That hundred dollars would help me along in
+defraying expenses."
+
+"Waal, gol derned if he don't figure it aout that he'd have the hundred
+cinched if he made the bet!" spluttered Gallup.
+
+"I should consider it as good as mine the moment the money was posted,"
+nodded Silence. "As long as we can't make a little wager, I'll move
+along and pay off the gentleman who is waiting for me. See you
+to-morrow. Good day."
+
+He bowed himself out and leisurely walked away.
+
+"Dod rap him!" snapped Gallup. "I'd like to take some of the conceit
+aout of him! We've gut to beat them Rovers to-morrer, Merry! If we
+don't, I'll be the sorest feller you can find in seventeen States and
+seven Territories!"
+
+"I don't know where you'd discover so many Territories," laughed Frank.
+"We'll do our best to beat them, boys; but we're not in good practice,
+you know."
+
+"Begorra, we've been practicin' ivery day for a week!" came from Mulloy.
+
+"That sort of practice isn't like regular games," reminded Merry. "We
+need to play a few games in order to get into first-class form."
+
+The cashier now passed out a little bank book to each of the depositors,
+and followed it up with check books for their use.
+
+"Well, gentlemen," he said, "I hope this is the beginning of a long and
+pleasant acquaintance between us. Mr. Merriwell is one of our most
+valued depositors. He's doing a great work for the little town of
+Bloomfield. We regret very much he's not a citizen of Wellsburg.
+Bloomfield should be proud of him. I know it is proud of him. Wellsburg
+is proud of him, too. The whole county--the whole State is proud of
+him."
+
+"By gum! I kinder think yeou've narrered it daown too narrer, Mr.
+Carson," said Ephraim. "I kinder guess the whole blamed country is proud
+of him."
+
+"I stand corrected," laughed the cashier. "I realize his fame extends
+much farther than the borders of our State. Yes, I believe you're right,
+Mr. Gallup--I believe the whole country is proud of Mr. Merriwell as a
+representative young man of to-day."
+
+After leaving the bank Frank said:
+
+"I have some business of my own to look after now, and I need a witness.
+One of you might come along with me."
+
+They both volunteered, but he explained that both were not needed,
+although they might come if they chose. Mulloy insisted on accompanying
+him.
+
+"Waal, then, by hemlock," said Gallup, "I'll kinder ramble raound over
+taown and see the sights. Arter being buried daown in Mexico for the
+biggest part of a year, it seems all-fired good to git where there's
+people movin', street cars runnin', and plenty doin'. Where'll I meet
+yeou, boys?"
+
+"Meet us at the Franklin Square Hotel at four o'clock," answered Merry.
+"We'll be ready to start within ten minutes after four."
+
+Not more than five or ten minutes after parting from Frank and Barney,
+Gallup came face to face with a man who stepped squarely in front of him
+and held out a pudgy hand.
+
+"How do you do," said this man. "I'm glad to see you, young fellow. Saw
+you drive through with Merriwell. Did he bring that wonderful educated
+horse with him?"
+
+It was Basil Bearover, the manager of the Rovers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+THE VOICE OF THE TEMPTER.
+
+
+Gallup grinned.
+
+"That was a hoss on yeou, wasn't it, mister?" he said.
+
+"Would have been if I'd bought the beast," confessed Bearover, with
+seeming good nature. "Your Mr. Merriwell must be a very clever chap."
+
+"I guess he's all right, by gum!" nodded Ephraim. "They don't git ahead
+of him much."
+
+"He's been very successful, hasn't he?"
+
+"You bet."
+
+"Too much success is liable to swell the head of so young a man. It does
+him good to be taken down a notch now and then."
+
+"I ain't never seen nobody that could take him daown."
+
+"Well, we'll have to let him down a little to-morrow."
+
+"Don't yeou believe it. Yeou fellers are caountin' on carryin' off that
+game, ain't ye? Waal, by jing! ye'll have to go some if ye do."
+
+"Our boys can go some. In order to give you a show, I think we'll put in
+our second pitcher against you."
+
+"Yeou take my advice and put in the best pitcher yeou've gut. He won't
+be none too good."
+
+"You have a lot of confidence in your team."
+
+"I've gut confidence in Frank Merriwell. I know what he can do on the
+slab, and, with Bart Hodge behind the bat, he'll show yeou some twists
+and shoots that'll make ye blink."
+
+Bearover laughed gurglingly, his fat sides shaking.
+
+"Why," he said, "they tell me in this town that Merriwell has some kind
+of a curve which twists like a snake. They say it curves in and out.
+Whoever heard such rot!"
+
+"Didn't yeou ever hear before this abaout Frank Merriwell's double
+shoot?"
+
+"Ho! ho! ho!" laughed Bearover. "Double shoot? Ho! ho! ho! Is that what
+he calls it? Come, now, young man, don't try any more talking-horse
+tricks. There isn't no such thing as a double shoot. The spit ball is
+the nastiest thing to hit that ever was invented. It's the only new
+thing except Mathewson's 'fade-away.' I don't take any stock in the
+stories about Mathewson's fade-away. According to the yarns told, he has
+something that might be called a double shoot or a double curve, but I
+notice the batters are hitting him this year the same as usual. I think
+we'll make Mr. Merriwell very weary with his double shoot to-morrow
+afternoon."
+
+"You kin think as much as yeou like. There ain't nothing to prevent
+yeou from thinking. We've heard all abaout your players. Happened to
+meet old Stillness a while ago at the bank.
+
+"Old Stillness?"
+
+"Yep. Ain't that his name? Stillness, Stillness--I mean Silence. He's
+sort of a betting gentleman, ain't he?"
+
+"Oh, he's always looking for good things. He's ready to risk his money
+backing his team."
+
+"He come mighty near losing a hundred to-day."
+
+"How was that?"
+
+Gallup explained.
+
+"Then Frank Merriwell doesn't countenance betting?" questioned Bearover.
+
+"He's plumb sot agin' it," answered Ephraim. "He don't believe in any
+sort of gambling."
+
+"But evidently some of his friends are inclined to take a chance."
+
+"Oh, yeou git some of the fellers stirred up, and they kinder fergit
+Frank's prejudice. Rub 'em agin' the fur, and they'll chuck up their
+last dollar."
+
+"That's good sporting blood," nodded Bearover. "I don't suppose you ever
+bet?"
+
+"Oh, I don't go raound lookin' for bets. I 'low it ain't jest good sense
+for anybody to resk money on onsartinties. Speckerlation and gamblin'
+has ruined lots of folks."
+
+"But a little wager on a baseball game, or any game of chance or skill,
+adds spice to it," suggested the manager of the Rovers. "It makes it all
+the more interesting."
+
+"There's interest enough in any good clean baseball game without
+betting," declared Ephraim. "I suppose your team is made up of clean
+players? They play the game on its merits, don't they?"
+
+"Oh, yes," nodded the manager, "they play the game on its merits. At the
+same time they're good scrapping players, and they're out for every
+point that belongs to them. That's the only way to win. None of the boys
+like to be robbed."
+
+"Waal, they ain't to blame for that."
+
+Bearover produced a cigar case.
+
+"Have a smoke," he invited.
+
+"Don't keer if I do, thank you," said Ephraim, as he accepted a cigar.
+
+"You're a pleasant sort of chap," said the manager of the Rovers, as he
+bit off the end of a cigar and slipped the case back into his pocket.
+"Wait a minute, I have a match. Here you are." He held the light for
+Gallup.
+
+"Purty good weed that," observed Ephraim, as he puffed at it. "'Spect
+that ain't no five-center. Must be ten straight or three for a quarter,
+anyhow."
+
+"These are Silence's special cigars. He buys them by the box. They cost
+him twenty dollars a hundred."
+
+"Whew!" breathed Gallup, taking the cigar out of his mouth and looking
+at it admiringly. "That's twenty cents apiece. I've paid that price out
+West now and then, but I never heard of any one paying it in this part
+of the country, where cigars ought to be reasonable. Guess this is just
+abaout as good a piece of tobacker as I ever stuck in my face."
+
+"I'm glad you appreciate it. We're pretty near the hotel. Let's drop in
+and have a drink."
+
+"Much obleeged," said Ephraim, "but I don't drink. That's one of the bad
+habits I ain't never picked up."
+
+"Well, you can come along and take something cooling. It's pretty hot
+to-day. There'll be some of the boys in the billiard room at Priley's.
+You can meet them and look them over. If you don't care to drink, that's
+your business, and I'll guarantee you won't be urged."
+
+"Waal, that's pretty decent of you, Mr. Bearover," said Ephraim,
+permitting the stout man to take his arm and lead him away.
+
+In a few minutes they arrived at Priley's Hotel, known in Wellsburg to
+be the "hang out" of the sporting class.
+
+"We're stopping here," explained the baseball manager. "The Franklin
+Square is said to be the best place in town, but it's a little too stiff
+for the boys. They can enjoy themselves here without feeling it
+necessary to put on style in the dining room. You know some of the
+fellows are inclined to eat with their knives. Such manners might shock
+the aristocratic patrons of the Franklin Square."
+
+In the billiard room they found a number of young men playing pool or
+looking on. Several of these proved to be members of the Rovers baseball
+nine, and Bearover introduced them to Gallup.
+
+The bar opened off the billiard room, and Ephraim was finally led to it,
+but he persisted in his resolution to drink nothing intoxicating. A
+seltzer lemonade satisfied him, while his companion took whisky.
+
+When they returned to the billiard room they found Casper Silence there.
+The backer of the Rovers was telling, with a great deal of disdain, how
+he had nearly induced Barney Mulloy to make a wager, but had been
+baffled by Merriwell's interference.
+
+"I've heard a great deal about the nerve of this youngster Merriwell,"
+said Silence, "but it's my notion he's got a yellow streak in him. His
+courage is mythical."
+
+Instantly Gallup bridled.
+
+"Yeou ain't gut no right to say that, mister!" he cried hotly. "Yeou
+don't know what yeou're talking abaout! I've had dealings with all sorts
+of human critters in my career. I've handled niggers, dagos,
+Scandinavians, Turks, Chinamen, Swedes, French-Canadians, and
+Heaven-knows-what. I've seen Western bad men and gun fighters galore. I
+happen to know that Frank Merriwell has gut more nerve than any hundred
+men I've ever run acrost, if they was all rolled into one. There ain't
+no squealer abaout him, you bet. He didn't bet, and he didn't 'low
+Barney Mulloy to bet because it is ag'inst his principles. It wasn't
+because he was afraid Barney would lose that hundred."
+
+Silence smiled wisely.
+
+"I wouldn't be impolite enough to contradict you, my friend," he said.
+"At the same time, you must permit me to have my own opinion of the
+matter. It strikes me that Mulloy was mighty willing to hide behind the
+fine principles of Mr. Merriwell. He was a little hot when he so rashly
+proposed to bet, and he gladly took water as soon as Merriwell spoke up.
+It saved him a hundred. We're going to trounce your team to-morrow in
+handsome style. We won't leave you in shape to do any boasting for some
+time to come."
+
+"Yeou git aout!" shouted Gallup. "You couldn't beat us in a year with
+Frank Merriwell in the box. You ain't built right!"
+
+At this the ball players present joined Silence in a burst of laughter.
+
+"We'll rub it into ye, Mr. Gallup," said Mike McCann. "We'll wipe up the
+earth with ye."
+
+"I'd like to find some one who had nerve enough to make a little bet on
+your team," said Silence. "Of course I don't expect any of you fellows
+will dare risk a dollar."
+
+"Dad rap ye!" snapped Gallup. "I'll make a bet! Yeou needn't go tell
+Frank nuthin' abaout it, but I'll bet yeou something. I'll bet anything
+yeou want to bet, and I don't keer a hang haow much it is! Yeou jest
+name the amount, and I'll kivver it!"
+
+He smashed his fist down on a billiard table as he made this
+announcement.
+
+"Why, you're a real sport!" chuckled Silence. "You're a reckless chap,
+aren't you! If I should say a hundred dollars, you'd wilt in your
+boots."
+
+Ephraim's blood was boiling now.
+
+"You kin say one hundred dollars or ten hundred dollars or ten thousand
+dollars!" he almost yelled. "I've gut the money, and I tell ye I'll
+chuck it up! I know yeou've gut a wad in your pocket, for I've seen it.
+Pull it out! Put it up! I'll go ye!"
+
+"Drive him into his boots, Mr. Silence!" hissed Mike McCann. "You'll see
+him squawk in a minute."
+
+Silence produced his pocketbook.
+
+"As long as you're such a courageous young man," he said, "we'll test
+you. I am carrying quite a roll with me. It's a little habit I have. I
+might accidentally drop into a good warm poker game and need it. What
+was that highest figure you named? Did you say ten thousand dollars? I
+believe I have something like that right here. We'll make it ten
+thousand. Will you call the proprietor of the hotel, McCann? I think
+he's in the office. He'll hold the money for us."
+
+Even then Gallup did not believe Silence in earnest. He took it as a
+bluff and continued to "make a front."
+
+"Put it up, put it up," he nodded. "I'm right here. I'm waiting to see
+that money stuck up."
+
+Mike McCann hurried into the office and returned directly, followed by
+Fred Priley, the hotel proprietor.
+
+"Mr. Priley," said Silence, "this young man has been making some betting
+talk. You know we're going to play Frank Merriwell's team to-morrow at
+Bloomfield. It's doubtful if the gate money will cover our expenses. For
+that reason I've been looking around to make a little wager on that
+game. This chap says he'll bet anything from one hundred dollars to ten
+thousand dollars. Let me see if I can dig up ten thousand."
+
+With perfect coolness, he opened a pocketbook and counted out ten
+one-thousand dollars, which he handed to Priley.
+
+"That leaves me a hundred or two," he said, "which will carry me over
+until I get my roll back and this gentleman's long green with it."
+
+With a sneering smile, he turned and regarded Gallup.
+
+"I've put my money up," he said. "Now let's see you do the same
+thing--or squeal."
+
+Gallup swallowed down a lump which had risen in his throat.
+
+"Derned if I ever squealed in my life!" he snarled. "I've gut ten
+thousand right in the Wellsburg Bank, and I'll draw a check on it jest
+as soon as I kin make it aout!"
+
+"Oh, no," laughed Silence, "that won't do. I can't accept your check. I
+want to see the money."
+
+"Mebbe yeou think the check ain't no good? Didn't yeou come into the
+bank and see me deposit the money?"
+
+"Yes, I saw it. But you're aware, I presume, that the law would not
+enforce the payment of that check in case you lost your wager and I
+attempted to collect. You might stop payment at the bank, and I could
+whistle for my money."
+
+"Yeou don't think I'd do anything like that, do ye?"
+
+"I don't propose to take any chances, Mr. Gallup," said the man, as he
+glanced at his watch. "There are now exactly ten minutes before the bank
+closes. If you're earnest we'll accompany you to the bank, and you can
+draw your money."
+
+"Mebbe they won't have ten thousand on hand to pay a check of that
+bigness."
+
+"Then you can exchange your own check for a bank check. If you do that,
+you can't stop payment on the bank's check in case you lose. Let's have
+all these little matters properly arranged in advance. Will you do
+that, or are you going to squeal?"
+
+"I never squealed in my life!" repeated Ephraim, with a snarl. "Come
+on--come on to the bank! We'll fix it!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+A TROUBLED MIND.
+
+
+Ephraim found that Casper Silence was very much in earnest. There was no
+bluff about the man's proposal to bet ten thousand dollars, and Gallup
+was not the sort of chap to back down after making such talk.
+
+Naturally the cashier at the bank looked surprised when Gallup asked for
+a bank check in exchange for his own check, drawn for the full amount of
+his deposit. Mr. Casin, however, did not ask questions, but made out the
+bank check and passed it to Ephraim.
+
+In the presence of witnesses this check was placed in the hands of Fred
+Priley to cover the ten thousand dollars posted by Silence.
+
+Casper Silence took pains to examine the bank check, over which he
+nodded and smiled, returning it to Priley.
+
+"That's all right, I fancy," he said. "It ought to be as good as gold
+coin."
+
+Then he turned to Ephraim with pretended admiration.
+
+"Young man, you've got genuine sporting blood," he said. "You've got
+nerve. I can't help admiring your nerve, although I fear your judgment
+is rather poor. I hope you won't feel the loss of that little sum, in
+case you do lose it, which you certainly will."
+
+"Oh, I guess I could stand it," retorted the Vermonter.
+
+"I presume you could, Mr. Gallup. You're young and energetic, and you
+may live long enough to accumulate ten thousand more dollars."
+
+"Don't yeou fret abaout me!" snapped Gallup, in exasperation.
+
+"You quite misunderstand," smiled Silence. "I'm not fretting about you
+in the least. Far from it. I was seeking to give you a little
+compliment. Better tell your friends of the great Merriwell baseball
+team to do their level best to-morrow. Better tell them what it means to
+you if your team loses."
+
+"I won't tell them nuthin' of the sort!" growled Gallup. "I don't
+propose to say a hanged word abaout it, and yeou'll obleege me if you
+keep your mouth shet, too! If Mr. Merriwell found it aout, he'd be hot
+under the collar and give me a good dressing daown."
+
+"Oh, very well," agreed Silence, "I'll say nothing. It's a small matter
+to me."
+
+Silence, Bearover, and Priley bade Gallup good day and left for Priley's
+Hotel. Ephraim watched the proprietor of the Rovers as the man sauntered
+away.
+
+"Yeou're a gol-dinged gambler, that's what yeou be!" muttered the
+Vermonter. "Yeou're a man that's allus lookin' for suckers, and yeou
+think yeou've ketched one naow. Waal, mebbe yeou have, but we'll see
+abaout that. I kinder guess yeou're due to bunt up ag'inst a red-hot
+surprise to-morrer. You won't feel so fine and sarcastic arter that
+game."
+
+Nevertheless Gallup was troubled by an unpleasant feeling that he had
+been reckless and imprudent to an almost reprehensible degree. Like many
+another man, he had attempted to call a bluff only to find that the
+other chap was not bluffing.
+
+With his hands thrust deep into his pockets, the down-easter stood on
+the sidewalk and stared after Silence until the man turned a corner and
+disappeared. He saw the baseball proprietor laughing as he talked to his
+companions, every gesture and every expression indicating that Silence
+was absolutely confident he would win the bet.
+
+"A man is a blamed fool to have anything to do with critters of his
+caliber," was Ephraim's decision. "I feel like I'd kinder lowered myself
+somehow. Thutteration! what if we should lose that game?"
+
+A cold chill ran over him.
+
+"Of course it's possible," he said, "but I don't 'low it's probable.
+Even Frank Merriwell can be beat sometimes. My jinks! wouldn't it be
+awful if things should go wrong! Whew!"
+
+He fished out his handkerchief and mopped his face with it.
+
+At last Gallup was beginning faintly to realize the extent of his folly.
+
+Although he continued strolling around the town, he found no further
+pleasure in the sights of Wellsburg. In vain he sought to turn his mind
+from the thoughts of the coming contest between the Merries and the
+Rovers and the possibility of defeat for Frank's team. Never before had
+he been troubled by such doubts, and fears. Finally he sought the
+Franklin Square Hotel, in the lobby of which he was sitting in moody
+meditation when Frank and Barney appeared.
+
+"Is it a trance you're in, Oi dunno?" cried Mulloy, as he gave Gallup a
+sharp nudge. "Wake up, me bhoy!"
+
+"Eh?" grunted Gallup, looking up and starting to his feet. "Why, hanged
+if I noticed yer when yeou come in!"
+
+"Your mind seemed to be far away," observed Merry. "You actually looked
+troubled and careworn. What's the matter, Eph?"
+
+"Not a thing--not a blamed thing," declared Gallup, forcing a sickly
+smile to his face.
+
+"What were you thinking about so glumly?"
+
+"Oh, nuthin'. I was jest kinder meditatin' on the fact that most folks
+are 'tarnal fools, and I guess I'm abaout the biggest fool I know."
+
+"That's hardly like you. You're not usually troubled with such
+thoughts."
+
+"He's gitting older and wiser, Frankie," chuckled Mulloy. "Oi think he's
+becomin' acquainted wid himself."
+
+"Yeou ain't gut nuthin' to say!" snapped Eph. "Yeou wanted to make a bet
+with Mr. Silent, didn't ye?"
+
+"Oi did," nodded Barney. "Av it hadn't been for Frankie to kape me
+sinsible, Oi'd cracked up me money on the shpot. It's Frankie whot's got
+the livel head, Gallup. The rest av us are chumps, begobs!"
+
+"I guess, by gum, that's correct!" nodded Eph. "The older I git, the
+bigger chump I become."
+
+"What's it all about?" laughed Merry.
+
+"Oh, nothing, nothing," again asserted the Vermonter. "I was jest kinder
+meditatin' on some of my foolish breaks. I don't believe I know enough
+to paound sand."
+
+"I can't understand what's made you so pessimistic concerning yourself.
+A man who can make ten thousand dollars of his own accord at your age
+and salt it away where it's safe has no right to be ashamed of himself."
+
+"Who knows whether it's safe or not?" muttered Eph.
+
+"It's pretty safe in the Wellsburg Bank, old man. You needn't worry
+about that. I think I'll find Toots and have the horses hitched up.
+We'll strike out for Bloomfield right away."
+
+Mulloy lingered with Gallup as Frank turned away.
+
+"Whativer is atin' yez, Ephie?" demanded Barney. "Phwoy don't yez spake
+up and tell the truth?"
+
+"Haow do yeou know I ain't told the truth?" asked Gallup, with mingled
+offense and shame.
+
+"Oi've bunked with yez for a year. Oi've known yez under all sorts of
+circumstances, me laddie buck, and I can tell when you're spakin' the
+whole truth and whin you're tryin' to hide something. Oi'm yer fri'nd,
+Eph, and ye know it. Phwoy don't ye spake out and make a clane breast av
+it? Phwat's the mather?"
+
+"I don't like to have nobody stomp on my co't tail," mumbled the
+Vermonter. "When a man rubs me the wrong way it kinder riles me, and I'm
+pretty apt to resent it. Yeou'd made a bet with old Silence if Frank
+hadn't happened araound, wouldn't ye?"
+
+"Oi would," confessed Barney. "Oi'd been just chump enough to go him for
+any owld sum up to foive hundrid dollars. All the same, Ephie, thot was
+foolishness on my part."
+
+"What's a feller goin' to do when one of these top-lofty critters comes
+araound a-rubbin' it into him?" demanded Gallup. "Nobody likes to have
+'em a-sneerin' and a-chucklin'. I like to shet them kind of folks up and
+shet 'em up good and hard. I've seen old Silence sence we left the
+bank."
+
+"Phwat?" gasped Mulloy, a sudden light breaking upon him. "Ye don't mane
+it, Ephie? Begorra, ye've been bettin' on the game!"
+
+"That's jest what I have," nodded Gallup grimly. "Arter yeou and Frank
+went off and I went to roamin' araound I run up ag'inst the big bear.
+He give me a cigar, and we went into Priley's Hotel. He wanted me to
+have a drink with him, but I didn't take nuthin' intoxicatin'. Silence
+was there, with a whole lot of them baseball fellers. They was makin' a
+lot of talk abaout haow they'd trim us to-morrer. They gut my blood to
+b'iling, and I told 'em a few things. That critter, Silence, begun to
+give me the laugh. He said us fellers made a lot of talk, but we didn't
+have sand to back it up. Dod bim him! I guess I showed him I had sand!"
+
+"Ephie," said the young Irishman soberly, "you and Oi are a little too
+suddin in making back talk to thim kind av crathers. Shtill Oi can't
+blame yez, my bhoy."
+
+"Don't yeou tell Frank nuthin' abaout it, Barney," entreated Gallup. "I
+wouldn't have him find aout for anything."
+
+"Thot's the bad part av it, Gallup--thot's kaping a secret from Frankie.
+It's doing something we know he wouldn't countenance."
+
+"I guess that's what made me feel so rotten mean abaout it."
+
+"How much did yez bet wid him? Did yez put up a hundrid?"
+
+"More'n that."
+
+"Two hundrid?"
+
+"More'n that."
+
+"Begobs, ye did plunge, my bhoy! Well, it won't break yez av we should
+happen to lose."
+
+"I dunno abaout that," half groaned Gallup.
+
+Barney looked puzzled and somewhat excited.
+
+"How much did yez bet, Ephy?" he asked. "Tell me the truth, old mon.
+Spake up."
+
+"'Sh!" hissed Gallup. "Don't say another word! Here comes Frank!"
+
+Merriwell rejoined them.
+
+"We'll start right away, boys," he said. "Toots will have the team round
+in less than five minutes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+REMORSE.
+
+
+As they were passing Priley's Hotel Casper Silence hailed them.
+
+"Pull up, Toots," said Merry. "Let's see what he wants."
+
+The colored boy stopped the horses, and Silence came out.
+
+"One point, Mr. Merriwell," he said. "We haven't decided on the umpire
+for that game."
+
+"It's generally understood that the home team furnishes the umpire, I
+believe," returned Frank.
+
+"That's a matter of accommodation. In this case it won't be any
+particular accommodation for us."
+
+"Is that so?"
+
+"That's right. If you don't mind, we'll furnish the umpire."
+
+"What if I do mind?"
+
+"Why should you?"
+
+"I happen to have a good man who will officiate for us. He knows the
+game, and I know him."
+
+"But I don't know him," protested Silence.
+
+"I give you my word that he is square."
+
+"I've been told such things before. I've had plenty of experience, Mr.
+Merriwell, and I know the sort of square umpires to be found through the
+country."
+
+"I've had a few experiences myself," returned Frank, "and I confess they
+were not pleasant ones. I've been up against crooked umpires more than
+once. Nevertheless I promise you I'll supply a man who is thoroughly
+honest and conscientious."
+
+"It doesn't satisfy me. You'll supply one of your friends, of course."
+
+"That's right," nodded Frank.
+
+"I shall have to object, sir," said the proprietor of the Rovers. "It
+would be the most natural thing for your friend to favor you in close
+decisions."
+
+"It might seem a natural thing, but I've often observed that the most
+conscientious umpires are so very careful that frequently they give
+their own friends the worst end of a deal."
+
+Silence shrugged his shoulders and laughed languidly.
+
+"I don't think that happens very often," he said, "and I wouldn't expect
+it to happen in this case. If it should, you'd be sore. On the other
+hand, if your friend gave you all the close points, we'd be sore. Let's
+get around that. Let's take a man who will have no particular interest
+in either team. Let's have an umpire from somewhere outside of your
+town."
+
+"No," returned Frank firmly; "I'll furnish the umpire. I did not seek
+this game. You came to Bloomfield looking for it, and if you're not
+satisfied with the arrangements I'll make, you can easily cancel the
+engagement."
+
+"I don't want to cancel it. All I want is an umpire who'll give both
+teams a fair show. Now I understand they have such a man here in
+Wellsburg--a chap who is capable of handling a game right up to the
+mark. His name is Bowers."
+
+Merriwell laughed.
+
+"I happen to know this Bowers," he said. "I've seen him work, and the
+recollection is hardly a pleasant one. He does know the game, but he can
+be influenced. That's putting it in a mild fashion. I have reasons to
+believe that Bowers deliberately tried to give my Farnham Hall team the
+short end of a game played here in this city. No, sir, I'll not accept
+Bill Bowers."
+
+"Well, we can find some one else."
+
+"Don't put yourself to the trouble. I've told you I would supply the
+man, and I've guaranteed his honesty. If you don't like that, you're at
+liberty to cancel."
+
+"Why not have two umpires? We'll furnish one, and you may furnish the
+other."
+
+Under most circumstances Frank would have accepted this proposition
+without demur. Just now he had a feeling that Silence was determined to
+obtain some advantage in the umpire. He knew Greg Carker to be honest
+from his head to his feet, and therefore he resolved not to yield a
+point to the proprietor of the Rovers.
+
+"There'll be only one umpire, Mr. Silence," he said. "It's useless to
+argue over that point."
+
+Casper Silence frowned.
+
+"You're an obstinate young man!" he exclaimed. "I think we'll have to
+call that game off."
+
+"Oh, very well," smiled Merry, "we'll cancel the engagement now, and
+I'll step in here and telephone the Wellsburg _Herald_ to that effect."
+
+"That's right, Frank," put in Gallup, "don't fool with 'em a bit."
+
+Silence gave the Vermonter a queer look.
+
+"You seem rather anxious, my friend," he drawled. "No doubt you'd like
+to have the game canceled. You appear to be frightened. No, we won't
+cancel it, Merriwell; we'll accept your umpire. But I want to give you
+fair notice now that we'll stand for no partiality on his part. We'll
+have a fair show, or we'll make trouble. If he tries to rob us, he'll
+get thumped."
+
+It was Frank's turn to laugh.
+
+"I wouldn't advise you or any of your players to attempt to thump any
+one on Farnham Field," he said. "If you do, you'll precipitate a riot,
+and I don't believe you'll like what'll happen. Don't threaten me, Mr.
+Silence. I don't like it, and I may take a fancy to cancel the game
+anyhow."
+
+"Oh, go ahead!" sneered Silence. "I know you're frightened! Cancel it if
+you like, and I'll tell the facts to the Wellsburg _Herald_. I want you
+to understand that this game means something to me."
+
+"Indeed! Why, yesterday you entered into an agreement to play in
+Bloomfield with the greatest reluctance. You didn't seem to think it
+would pay you."
+
+"It won't pay as far as the gate receipts go. Of course we expect to
+take the entire gate money, but I'm not fussing about that. I've made a
+little wager on this game, and I propose to win it."
+
+"Is it possible you found some one in Wellsburg who was willing to back
+us against your professional team?" questioned Merry.
+
+"Oh, yes, I found some one in Wellsburg who was willing to do that,"
+answered the man, again glancing toward Gallup.
+
+Ephraim was worried, for he feared that Silence would break his
+agreement not to tell about the bet. He frowned and shook his head a
+bit, without being observed by Frank.
+
+"I've promised you a square deal, Silence," said Merriwell. "If you'll
+take the trouble to inquire, you'll find plenty of people in this little
+city who will assure you that I always keep my word. We're due home at
+dinner, and we'll have to drive along. Good day, sir."
+
+Toots chirruped to the horses, and they were off.
+
+"I don't fancy going back on an agreement with any one," observed
+Merry, "but I'm rather sorry that we made arrangements to play that
+team. Those men are professionals, and they're not in our class. It's
+evident Silence is a gambler. Gambling ruins any sort of a game. The man
+who bets money is liable to take 'most any questionable advantage in
+order to win. Betting is bad business anyway you look at it. It ruins a
+man's fine principles."
+
+"Yeou don't think that allus happens, do ye, Frank?" asked Gallup.
+"Don't yeou believe some decent fellers bet occasionally?"
+
+"Oh, yes, occasionally. But the man who gets into it in a small way is
+pretty sure to keep it up. If he wins, it baits him on to repeat. If he
+loses, he feels that he must take another chance to get even. I saw many
+bad results of gambling both at school and at college. At Yale lots of
+young fellows who had no right to do so made bets on baseball, football,
+and other games. In most instances the money they risked had been
+supplied by their parents. They knew their parents would not countenance
+gambling, yet they gambled. It was not honorable. No man has a right to
+risk money on which any other person has a claim. Now, for instance,
+you, Ephraim, would have no right to risk your money on an uncertainty
+of this sort. You're married. You have a child. Both your wife and child
+have claims on the money you possess. Were you to wager that money and
+lose it, you would be robbing them of their just rights. I presume
+you've thought of this matter?"
+
+"Never thought of it that way," mumbled the Vermonter huskily. "S'pose I
+should put my money into some sort of business and lose it. Would that
+be robbin' Teresa and the youngster?"
+
+"That's a different thing. Business is business. No man has a right to
+plunge into a reckless venture, but if it seems legitimate and he has
+investigated it carefully, he cannot be blamed if the venture proves a
+failure. The best and shrewdest men sometimes fail in business
+enterprises. I've never yet seen a genuine gambler who was thoroughly
+upright, conscientious, and respected by decent people. I have seen
+gamblers who were honest to all appearances, but they were not
+respected. There's something degrading in gambling. The man who gambles
+is compelled, as a rule, to associate with a class of men who have no
+standing in respectable society. He places himself on their level. Now,
+you, Ephraim, would not care to be estimated on the same level as Casper
+Silence. He's not a man you would invite to your home, introduce to your
+wife, and dine with at your table."
+
+"Not by a blamed sight!" growled the Vermonter.
+
+"Another bad feature of gambling is the effect on the individual who
+indulges in it. It spoils his taste for legitimate money making. If he's
+successful for a time as a gambler, the regular methods of making money
+seem tame and insipid to him. Very few, if any, thoroughbred gamblers
+ever accumulate a fortune or a competence and retain it. Once the germ
+of gambling gets into their blood, they never quit. Let them make a
+small fortune, and they're determined to double it. Let them make a
+large fortune, and they still pursue gambling for the excitement there
+is in it. In the end, nine out of ten go broke. If others depend On
+them, they bring hardship and suffering upon those dependent ones. Most
+gamblers die poor."
+
+"It's logic, begobs!" put in Mulloy.
+
+"You both know," pursued Frank, "that the loss of a few hundred dollars
+on a baseball game would not mean a great deal to me. I might have made
+a wager with Casper Silence. Had I lost the bet, it would not have
+brought immediate hardship or deprivation on any one. It was not the
+mere loss of a hundred or a thousand dollars that restrained me. It was
+the principle of the thing--I looked at that. I figured this thing out
+years ago, and that's why I've been opposed to gambling. More than once
+I've been tempted to set aside my scruples when some blatant,
+loud-mouthed chap has challenged me and shook his money in my face. Such
+a thing stirs my blood. It's mighty unpleasant to have one of these
+chaps accuse me of lacking nerve. I have one consolation, however. It's
+not a sign of nerve or courage to be led into anything wrong through the
+taunts of another. Usually it's a sign of cowardice. The boy who does a
+hazardous and unwise thing simply because a companion dares him to do it
+is the one who lacks nerve. He lacks nerve to say, 'No, I won't.'"
+
+"I guess yeou're right, Frank," confessed Gallup dolefully. "By hemlock!
+I've been dared into a lot of tomfool things in my day. Next time
+anybody tries it on me I'm goin' to remember what yeou've jest said.
+I'll say no, by thutteration, and I'll say it mighty laoud, too!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+A FRIEND WORTH HAVING.
+
+
+They arrived at Merry Home in time to wash up and sit down to dinner
+with the rest of Frank's jolly house party.
+
+"It peen some red-hot paseball practice we put into us this afternoon,
+Frankie," said Dunnerwurst. "Py Chorge! Der game vill play us to-morrow
+on."
+
+"We'll have to play the game to win, boys," said Merry. "This Rover
+baseball team is no ordinary wandering aggregation. It's composed of
+professionals with records."
+
+He then told them about the players who made up the Rovers. There were
+many exclamations of surprise, for these men were known by reputation to
+nearly all of Frank's friends.
+
+"Waugh!" cried Badger. "It's a whole lot plain We're going to have a hot
+rustle to-morrow. I'm seething to get into that game. That's whatever!"
+
+"It'll seem like old times," rumbled Browning.
+
+"I hope you're not worried about the game, Frank?" questioned Diamond.
+"We've been practicing team work for a week, and we ought to do a good
+turn at it."
+
+"Oh, I'm not worrying," smiled Merry. "We can't win every game we play.
+There's something in being good losers."
+
+Hodge frowned.
+
+"Never heard you talk like that before, Frank," he said. "Seems to me
+you think we're going to lose."
+
+"Dot game vill nefer lose us der vorld in!" cried Dunnerwurst. "How coot
+it dood it? Vill der ball not pitch you to-morrow, Frankie? Vid you der
+box in, der game vos as good as skinched. Yah!"
+
+Ephraim Gallup had little to say, and his appetite seemed unusually
+poor. Teresa noticed this, and she began to worry about it.
+
+"You must be seek, Ephraim," she whispered. "You do not eat enough to
+keep the bird alive."
+
+"I'm allus that way jest before a baseball game," he declared. "Don't
+yeou mind it, Teresa. Don't yeou pay no 'tention to me. I'm all right."
+
+After dinner, however, she drew him aside and persisted in questioning
+him.
+
+"There ees sometheeng on your mind," she said. "You cannot fool your
+Teresa."
+
+"Oh, fudge!" exclaimed Gallup. "There ain't nuthin' on my mind. I ain't
+gut mind enough for that. I'm too big a dratted fool, Teresa."
+
+"I nevaire hear you talk that way before. Ees eet the babee? That must
+be the trouble, Ephraim--you worree about the babee."
+
+"Thutteration! I don't believe I've thought of the baby in twenty-four
+hours."
+
+"Oo, how could you be so cruel not to theenk of the babee?" murmured his
+wife. "I theenk of eet efry hour. I hope you are not going to be seek,
+Ephraim."
+
+"Bless ye, Teresa, I couldn't get sick if I wanted to. Jest yeou let me
+alone, and I'll be all right. Guess I've gut a case of fan-tods."
+
+"What ees them fan-tods? Ees eet the same as the malaria I hear you say
+they have sometimes een the United States?"
+
+"Nope. The fan-tods are something like the blues. A feller gits them
+when he realizes he's one of the biggest chumps walkin' raound on two
+laigs."
+
+She could get nothing more out of him, and finally she sought her
+friend, Juanita Garcia, to whom she confided her fears that Ephraim was
+on the verge of a sick spell.
+
+Gallup wandered off by himself and strolled around the grounds, with his
+head down and his hands in his pockets, occasionally muttering and
+growling in a disgusted manner.
+
+Barney Mulloy found an opportunity to follow Ephraim.
+
+"Come on, Eph," he said, slipping an arm through Gallup's, "let's you
+and Oi go for a warruk. You nade it, my bhoy--you nade it."
+
+"If yeou'll jest take me daown to the lake and kick me in, I'll be much
+obleeged to ye, Barney," said the Vermonter.
+
+"It's moighty bad you're faling, Oi dunno?"
+
+"By gum! I oughter feel bad. Yeou heard Frank talking about jest sech
+gol-dinged chumps as I be. He made me so tarnal disgusted with myself
+that I wanted to find a hole and crawl into it. The trouble was that I
+didn't know where I could find a hole small enough."
+
+"It's a livel head Frankie has, Ephie."
+
+"You bet your boots!"
+
+"Whin he got through talkin' Oi was ashamed to think Oi'd ever even
+contimplated makin' a bet."
+
+"And I was the blamed idiot that done the betting, Barney! I thought I
+was kinder showin' my nerve. Naow I know I didn't show much of anything
+but foolishness. Barney, I'm married. I've got one of the finest little
+women that ever stood in shoe leather. And the kid--by gum! the kid's a
+ripper! Together me and yeou have made a pretty good thing in that
+railroad business. I was brung up on a farm in Vermont. It was called a
+pretty good farm, too. My old man was reckoned well off in that
+community, but his whole farm wasn't wuth more'n half what I've made in
+the last year. It took him years of hard diggin' and scratchin' to git
+that place and clear it of debt. Daown in them parts a man that's wuth
+ten thousand dollars is reckoned slappin' rich. They make every cent
+caount there, Barney. If them folks want anything that costs a dime and
+they kin git along any way without it, they git along without it and
+save the dime. That's what they call New England thrift. My dad had to
+scratch gravel pretty hard to send me to school. I helped aout some
+myself, but I'd never gut my schoolin' if he hadn't pinched and saved
+for me. Naow here I be, wuth more money in my own right than he's ever
+been able to scratch together in his life, and I'm jest darned fool
+enough to resk that money on a game of baseball. I kinder cal'late we're
+goin' to win that game, but it's jest as Frank says--we may lose it. If
+we do, where'll I be?"
+
+"Howld on, Ephie--howld on!" exclaimed the young Irishman. "Tell me
+something, my bhoy."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"How much did yez bet on thot game?"
+
+"If I tell ye, I want yer to promise never to say nuthin' abaout it to
+Frank. If I win that bet, I'm goin' to give every cent of my winnings to
+some charitable institution. I mean it, by ginger! If I win that bet,
+yeou'll never ketch me in a scrape like this ag'in if I live to be four
+thousand years old."
+
+"Thot's a good resolution to make, Ephie. Ye know you can trust me.
+Oi'll say nivver a worrud about it to Frankie. How much did yer bet?"
+
+"Ten thousand dollars."
+
+Mulloy came near falling in his tracks. He caught Gallup by the arm and
+held on to support himself.
+
+"Tin thousand?" he gasped. "Tin thousand dollars? Ye don't mane it!"
+
+"That's jest what I bet. Dad bim me for a fool!"
+
+"Howly saints! It's crazy ye were, Ephie!"
+
+"Call me anything yeou want to."
+
+Barney was completely overcome. He realized that Gallup had spoken the
+truth, and now he understood why his old comrade had appeared so worried
+and broken up.
+
+"Oi don't blame yez for wearing a face a yarrud long, Ephie," he said.
+"Tell me how it happened, me bhoy."
+
+Gallup related the particulars. As he told how Silence had sneered and
+mocked, the young Irishman began to grow warm.
+
+"It's roight Frankie is about betting," said Mulloy; "but divvil a bit
+different could Oi have done mesilf, Ephraim. It's wake and feeble
+crathers we are. Gallup, me bhoy, Oi'm your side parthner. We're going
+to do our bist to win thot game to-morrow. But if we lose, so help me,
+Oi'll nivver spake to yez again unless we take half the money Oi have in
+the Wellsburg Bank! Oi'll divvy with ye to me last cint. Now do brace
+up, Ephraim. It's not broke ye'll be. Ye'll have plenty av time to think
+what a thunderin' fool ye've made av yersilf. But let's not cry over it
+now."
+
+"I couldn't take half of your money, Barney. That wouldn't be right. No,
+sir, I'll never do that."
+
+Gallup clenched his fist and pushed it up under Ephraim's nose.
+
+"Ye'll take it or Oi'll knock the stuffin' out av yez!" he said. "Ye'll
+take it or ye'll have a doctor to bind up yer wounds. Thot's sittled.
+Come, now, let's go back to the house and make belave we're happy.
+To-morrow we'll play baseball loike the divvil himsilf!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+A PROTEST.
+
+
+The morning paper from Wellsburg arrived in Bloomfield at seven o'clock.
+Before the coming of Frank Merriwell to Bloomfield this morning paper
+had been able to boast of barely a dozen regular subscribers or
+purchasers in the little town. Now, however, things were different, and
+Bloomfield took fully fifty copies of the paper each morning. The
+formerly indifferent citizens had become eagerly anxious to get the
+paper as soon as possible after its arrival each morning in order to be
+posted on the county and State news.
+
+The increasing circulation in Bloomfield had been noted by the editor of
+the _Herald_, who wisely decided to have a regular correspondent in that
+town who would furnish a daily news letter. This correspondent had
+faithfully reported the reunion of Frank Merriwell's old flock and the
+doings of the house party at Merry Home.
+
+Between eight and nine o'clock each forenoon Frank found a short period
+of rest from his duties at Farnham Hall. On the morning following the
+arrangements for the ball game with the Rovers he jogged into town in
+company with Hodge and called at the post office for his mail.
+
+Something unusual seemed to be taking place at the post office. More
+than a dozen villagers were assembled there in two or three groups, all
+of them talking earnestly and some appearing decidedly excited. Merry
+observed that many of them held Wellsburg _Heralds_ in their hands.
+
+"What's up, Frank?" questioned Hodge. "Suppose the advertisement of that
+game to-day has kicked up all this disturbance?"
+
+"I can't tell," answered Merry. "Perhaps we'll find out."
+
+As they stepped inside they heard a tall, thin-lipped man declaiming in
+a sharp, rasping voice:
+
+"You'll find out, neighbors, that my predictions will come true. They're
+coming true already. The spirit of frivolity and sin is running riot in
+this town. Wickedness is rampant. Staid and respectable citizens are
+losing their dignity. Good church members are becoming afflicted with
+this worldly spirit. And who's to blame for it all--who's to blame?
+There's only one man. He's created this indescribable change. The
+foolish ones have regarded him as a public benefactor, but I insist that
+he's doing untold harm. He brought about the downfall of Brother Hewett,
+who was respected and revered by every one in Bloomfield for years.
+You're afraid of him--that's what's the matter. You don't dare to speak
+out and express yourself. Now I'm not afraid of him. I am ready to
+denounce him in public. I'm ready to denounce him to his face. You know
+who I mean. His name is---- Er, hum! How!"
+
+"Good morning, Deacon Crabtree," said Frank, as the speaker stammered
+and hemmed, having ceased abruptly in his remarks. "I notice that, as
+usual, you are denouncing sin and wickedness. Bloomfield should be proud
+of the fact that it has one man who makes no compromise with iniquity.
+Evidently you stand firmly rooted on the rock of righteousness."
+
+"Yes, sir--yes, sir, that's right," said Crabtree. "I'm not one of these
+whiffle-minded creatures who changes his opinion every time the wind
+changes."
+
+"That's a very good thing," nodded Merriwell. "I haven't much patience
+with people who are so extremely changeable. At the same time, it must
+be admitted there is some truth in the saying that only mules and fools
+never change their minds."
+
+Jeremiah Crabtree turned red in the face.
+
+"Is this a jab at me, young man?" he snapped. "Are you personal in your
+remarks?"
+
+"I hope you won't take it as personal unless it happens to hit your
+case, Mr. Crabtree. People seldom care to wear clothes that do not fit
+them. What has happened now that's caused all this commotion and talk?"
+
+"Mebbe you haven't seen the _Herald_ this morning."
+
+"I confess I haven't."
+
+"Well, you'd better read it. If you'll look in the second column on the
+first page you'll find something about a great ten-thousand-dollar
+baseball game that's going to take place in Bloomfield to-day."
+
+"A ten-thousand-dollar game?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Don't you know anything about it?"
+
+"Well, I'm aware that there's to be a baseball game here this afternoon.
+I was not aware it was to be a ten-thousand-dollar game."
+
+"Well, look at that--look right there!" snapped Crabtree, holding up the
+paper and pointing a long bony finger at an article in the second
+column. "Notice the heading in big black type. Notice it says that Frank
+Merriwell's own baseball team will play the Rovers, the champion
+independent team of the country, for ten thousand dollars."
+
+Merry smiled.
+
+"I think that's an exaggeration," he said. "I think that's simply an
+advertising dodge, Mr. Crabtree."
+
+"Do you mean to say you ain't made no arrangement to play this team for
+a sum of money? Do you mean to say there ain't been no betting on the
+game? This article distinctly states that one of your friends, and a
+player on your team, has made a wager of ten thousand dollars that
+you'll beat the Rovers."
+
+"I mean to say I know nothing whatever of such a wager, and I do not
+believe that a bet of that sort has been made. I was in Wellsburg
+yesterday and gave the _Herald_ certain information to be used in
+advertising this game, but I assure you I gave them no information
+concerning a wager of that sort. On the face of it the yarn appears
+decidedly preposterous. I think Bloomfield citizens are generally aware
+of the fact that I am opposed to betting in any form."
+
+"I know you've always claimed you was," said Crabtree, with a sneer;
+"but, 'cordin' to some of the things I've heard about ye, you've been a
+mighty sportin' young feller in your day. You've lived pretty high for a
+youngster, and you've had dealings with sportin' people. They tell me
+you don't drink, you don't gamble, you don't swear, and you don't do any
+of them things; but I fail to understand how any man can associate with
+persons who do drink and swear and gamble without acquiring such habits
+himself. Now, sir, it's a well-known fact that professional ball players
+are generally dissolute and disreputable. These Rovers are
+professionals--they claim to be. When you play ball against them you
+sort of put yourself in their class."
+
+"Well, not exactly, Mr. Crabtree," denied Frank. "I presume you are
+aware that a number of college baseball teams play games early every
+season with teams of the National and American Leagues. Yale usually
+plays the New York Nationals in New York. The Yale team is made up of
+non-professional college men, amateurs in good standing. They do not
+become professionals by engaging in a game with the New York Nationals.
+I don't care to discuss this matter with you, Mr. Crabtree. I simply
+give you my assurance that I know nothing whatever of this
+ten-thousand-dollar wager, and I am satisfied that no such wager has
+been made. The story is intended to arouse excitement and interest, with
+the evident purpose of bringing out a crowd of spectators to witness the
+game."
+
+"Then it's a fraud and a deception!" cried Jeremiah, flourishing the
+paper in his right hand and shaking his clenched left hand in the air.
+"It's a falsehood--a barefaced lie! It's an imposition on the public!
+You're concerned in it, sir! You can't get out of it! If you don't know
+anything about it, you're concerned just the same."
+
+"I fail to see how you make that out."
+
+"When you make an agreement to play them professionals you knew what
+sort of men they were. If they've originated this yarn for the purpose
+of deceiving people, you're responsible because you've had dealings with
+them."
+
+"That's rather far-fetched, Mr. Crabtree."
+
+"Nothing far-fetched about it."
+
+"If I should purchase a horse of you for a hundred dollars, and, in
+order to increase the apparent value of that horse, with the idea of
+selling him to some one else, I should go around informing people I had
+paid three hundred dollars, would you be responsible in any way? Do you
+feel that in any manner you would be party to the falsehood?"
+
+Rufus Applesnack had been listening to the talk, and now he gave
+Crabtree a jab in the ribs.
+
+"He's gut ye, deacon--he's gut ye!" chuckled the grocery man. "He's gut
+ye right where the wool is short!"
+
+"I fail to see it! I fail to see it!" rasped Crabtree. "There ain't no
+similarity in the two cases. My mind is made up on the point, and I
+don't propose to change it."
+
+"Which sorter reminds me of the mule Mr. Merriwell mentioned a few
+minutes ago," declared Applesnack, as he turned away.
+
+Frank secured his mail and was leaving the post office, when outside the
+door he came face to face with Owen Clearpath, the new parson of the
+village church.
+
+"I'd like to have a word with you, Mr. Merriwell," said the parson;
+"just a word."
+
+He drew Frank aside, while Hodge waited.
+
+"I don't see how Merry keeps his patience and temper in dealing with
+these hide-bound yokels," muttered Bart.
+
+Clearpath seemed confused and ill at ease. He hemmed a little while
+Merry waited quietly for him to speak.
+
+Suddenly the young minister began, as if forcing himself with a great
+effort to say something he regarded as decidedly disagreeable.
+
+"You know, Mr. Merriwell," he said, "that I hold you in the highest
+estimation. You know I'm considered by the members of my church and the
+people of this town generally as a liberal preacher. In fact, I'm
+entirely too liberal to suit some of the church members. You've done a
+splendid work for Bloomfield, and you're doing a splendid work. I'm
+proud of you, sir."
+
+"It isn't necessary to sugar coat the pill, parson," smiled Frank. "Just
+hand it out to me, and I'll swallow it."
+
+"Well, you know there's been several unpleasant, not to say sensational,
+occurrences in this town of late. I don't suppose you're to blame for
+everything that has happened. I have insisted that you could not be
+blamed for the unfortunate misstep of Brother Hewett, who was tempted to
+take a little more hard cider than was really good for him. Your
+detractors have insisted that the deacon was led into this action
+through his exuberance over the arrival of your friends. Some of them
+have tried to hold you responsible for Brother Hewett's temporary
+downfall."
+
+"I'm very sorry the deacon did such a thing," asserted Frank. "I hope
+you've not been too harsh with him, parson."
+
+"I haven't mentioned the matter to him. I've thought it best to
+overlook it, for I'm certain he feels deeply humiliated and downcast. I
+know for a fact that he's heard of it from other quarters. I've tried to
+show him that my confidence is unshaken."
+
+"Which I believe was a very wise course to pursue."
+
+"Another thing that caused a great sensation was the unfortunate death
+of that Mexican who broke into your house some ten days ago. There have
+been all sorts of rumors about that affair. I'm positive the facts were
+given to the coroner's jury, who failed to find any one save Murillo
+responsible."
+
+"No one could feel more disturbed over the matter than I have," said
+Frank.
+
+"You see your enemies are inclined to use such matters against you, if
+possible. A number of persons have come to me this morning and shown me
+an item in the Wellsburg _Herald_."
+
+"I've just seen that item," said Frank. "Let me assure you, parson, that
+so far as I have the slightest knowledge, I'm positive there's not a
+word of truth in the statement that a ten-thousand-dollar wager has been
+made on the result of the baseball game to be played this afternoon."
+
+Clearpath looked relieved.
+
+"I'm glad to hear you say that," he breathed. "I decided to ask you
+about it. Have I your authority to deny the truth of that statement?"
+
+"You may say I gave you my word that I knew nothing whatever of the
+matter."
+
+"I'll do so, sir--I'll do so. If you think the game will be clean and
+respectable, I may decide to witness it myself."
+
+"It's not my intention to permit anything on Farnham Field that may not
+be witnessed by you, by any lady, or by any child in town. I hope to see
+you at the game this afternoon, parson."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+A CONFESSION.
+
+
+Ere leaving the village Frank called on Bill Hunker, the constable.
+
+"Mr. Hunker," he said, "I need your services this afternoon. I want you
+at the baseball ground, and you had better bring along five or six good
+husky assistants. Let them all have authority as deputies. Every man
+will be paid regular wages for special service."
+
+"Be you lookin' for trouble?" asked Hunker.
+
+"No, I'm not looking for it," smiled Frank. "I'm determined that there
+shall be no trouble. I have a premonition that we'll see an unusually
+large crowd, and I'm confident the crowd will contain a rough element.
+It is my purpose to suppress any symptoms of disorder."
+
+"All right," nodded Hunker; "I'll be there with the boys. You can depend
+on me."
+
+Frank was right in believing the game would bring out an astonishing
+number of spectators. That afternoon all roads seemed to lead to
+Bloomfield. With the opening of the gates an hour before the time for
+the game to begin, a stream of spectators commenced pouring on Farnham
+Field. This stream grew steadily in volume.
+
+Hunker and his companions, with their badges prominently displayed, were
+on hand at the gates and held the impatient crowd in check. The ticket
+sellers and ticket takers were kept busy as bees.
+
+The stand soon became packed to suffocation, while the temporary seats
+which had been erected overflowed before either team appeared on the
+field. Frank had taken the precaution to have ropes stretched for the
+purpose of holding the crowd back. It was well that he did so.
+
+Thirty minutes before the hour set for the game two large touring cars
+brought the Rovers onto the field. They were received with cheers. A
+party of Farnham Hall boys escorted them from the cars to the dressing
+rooms reserved for them.
+
+In the meantime, Merriwell and his players were making ready for the
+contest. When they were prepared to go out Frank called them around him.
+
+"Boys," he said, as he looked them over, "it's going to be a hard game,
+and I hope every man is prepared to do his best. Before we go out I have
+a question to ask. You know there's a report that a wager has been made
+on the result of this game. The Wellsburg _Herald_ made the statement
+that some one of this team has wagered ten thousand dollars with Casper
+Silence. I've regarded the yarn as preposterous. At the same time, I've
+decided to ask you, one and all, frankly and fairly, if you know
+anything about such a wager. Do you know anything about a wager of any
+sort? If there's any one present who knows, it's up to him to speak out
+here and now."
+
+A few moments of dead silence followed. Then Ephraim Gallup, pale and
+agitated, pushed Barney Mulloy aside and stepped forward.
+
+"I guess, by gum, it's up to me, Frank," he said. "I don't blame yeou
+for thinkin' yeou didn't have no friend here who was chump enough to
+make such a bet. I'm the chump."
+
+"Vot vos dot?" gasped Hans Dunnerwurst. "You don'd pelief me! Dit ten
+thousand dollars pet you, Ephie? Mine cootness cracious sakes alife! You
+vos a spordt!"
+
+"I'm a tarnal fool!" mumbled Gallup. "I know it."
+
+"Then you did make a bet, Ephraim?" said Frank, unable to repress his
+feeling of dismay.
+
+"Yes, I done it! I hope the whole blamed bunch will kick me! I ain't
+goin' to make no excuses, but when that critter, Silence, tried to rub
+it into me I gut so tarnal hot-headed that I right up and told him I'd
+go him for any old figger. I didn't s'pose he'd make it so large. Your
+talk abaout betting has made me so all-fired disgusted with myself that
+I jest want to jump off the earth."
+
+"This is bad business--bad business," muttered Frank. "Give me all the
+particulars, Gallup."
+
+Ephraim did so.
+
+When the Vermonter had finished, Merry drew a deep breath.
+
+"You can't afford to lose that bet, Gallup," he said. "What are you
+going to do with the money if you win?"
+
+"Do with it? Dad birn it, I'll burn it up!"
+
+"That would be still more foolish. If you lose, you will be down to bed
+rock again."
+
+"Yes, I'll be jest abaout the same as busted."
+
+"Divvil a bit av it!" cried Barney Mulloy. "Gallup is me owld side
+parthner. Av he loses, Oi'll divvy wid him."
+
+"But he mustn't lose," said Frank. "Philanthropists in Wellsburg are
+endeavoring to raise money to found a hospital for consumptives. There's
+an ideal location some ten miles from Wellsburg. If you win, Gallup,
+would you donate your winnings to the hospital fund?"
+
+"Yeou bet I will!" cried Ephraim eagerly. "I'll give 'em every cent of
+it!"
+
+"That's good," nodded Frank. "Now, boys, we're going into this game to
+win it. If we ever played ball in our lives, we're going to play it
+to-day. I think and hope this experience will teach Gallup the folly of
+betting. I shall use all the skill I possess in the game, and I want you
+boys to back me up. We can't lose! We won't lose!"
+
+Although his words were spoken in a quiet tone, they aroused something
+in every listener that stirred his blood and caused it to leap in his
+veins.
+
+"That's right! that's right!" they cried. "We'll win to-day!"
+
+"Come on," said Merry, "we'll go out now."
+
+As he marched onto the field, with his friends and comrades following at
+his heels, the great crowd rose and uttered a roar of welcome.
+
+"Batting practice, fellows," said Frank. And they went at it at once.
+
+Three minutes later the Rovers, in tigerish suits of yellow and black,
+trotted out from their dressing rooms.
+
+Back of the ropes near first base a tough-looking crowd of Wellsburgans
+greeted the professionals with a cheer.
+
+"Eat 'em up, McCann!" howled a husky fellow with a broken nose. "Take
+some of the conceit outer this Merriwell to-day! He's been crowing over
+Wellsburg long enough!"
+
+Merry glanced around and saw Hunker, with several of his assistants,
+gathering in the vicinity of this tough crowd.
+
+"Bill is onto his job," muttered Frank. "If there's any disturbance
+those fellows will make it."
+
+The Rovers took the field for practice. They handled themselves like
+professionals, and many of their clever catches or stops elicited
+exclamations of wonderment and applause.
+
+Casper Silence and Basil Bearover approached Frank.
+
+"Where's your umpire, Merriwell?" demanded Bearover.
+
+Merry looked round and motioned to Gregory Carker. Carker promptly
+stepped forward.
+
+"Here he is," said Frank.
+
+Bearover placed himself in front of Carker, at whom he glowered.
+
+"See here, young man," he said, "we want no monkey business to-day. If
+you don't give us what's coming to us, you'll get into trouble in short
+order. We know how to deal with crooked umpires."
+
+"Evidently you do not know how to deal with gentlemen," said Greg.
+"You'll get your due and not a whit more. Bullying and browbeating will
+not give you an advantage."
+
+"Oh, you're rather a stiff-necked young man, ain't ye?" growled the big
+bear. "Let's understand the ground rules before we begin. How about a
+wild throw into the crowd, Merriwell?"
+
+"Perhaps we'd better make a rule that such a throw will give the base
+runner the privilege of advancing one base and no more," suggested
+Frank.
+
+"That's satisfactory to us," nodded Bearover. "Do you think you can keep
+the crowd off the outfields?"
+
+"I have six officers here for the purpose of handling this crowd. Not
+only will I see that the spectators do not intrude on the outfields, but
+I'll guarantee that those officers will suppress any riot or
+disturbance. They have full authority to arrest any one who attempts to
+make trouble here to-day."
+
+Casper Silence yawned and lighted a cigarette.
+
+"There won't be any disturbance unless you chaps try to steal this
+game," said Bearover.
+
+"We don't have to steal games," returned Merry, quick as a flash. "We
+can win them."
+
+Silence smiled scornfully as he breathed forth a whiff of smoke.
+
+"That may have been your experience in the past," he observed, "but
+you're up against a different proposition to-day, young man."
+
+"Will you give your batting order to our scorer?" asked Bearover.
+
+"You'll find our scorer sitting yonder," said Merry. "He'll give you the
+batting order."
+
+"One more point," suggested Silence. "You seem determined to have things
+pretty much your own way here. I know it's customary for the home team
+to take its choice of innings. In this case it's possible you may be
+able to concede a point and give us the choice."
+
+"Why, certainly," replied Frank, with a smile. "You may choose."
+
+"Then we'll let you bat first."
+
+A few minutes later the Rovers came in, and Merry's team trotted onto
+the field.
+
+The scorers recorded the batting order of each team as follows:
+
+
+MERRIES.            ROVERS.
+
+Mulloy, 3d b.       McCann, ss.
+Hodge, c.           Mertez, rf.
+Merriwell, p.       Grifford, cf.
+Badger, 2d b.       Holmes, 1st b.
+Diamond, ss.        O'Day, 3d b.
+Browning, 1st b.    Clover, 2d b.
+Gallup, cf.         Roach, lf.
+Carson, lf.         Bancroft, c.
+Dunnerwust, rf.     Bender, p.
+
+
+Practice was soon over, and Merry called his team in.
+
+Again the Rovers trotted onto the field.
+
+Greg Carker broke open a box and tossed out a snow-white ball. Bender
+caught the ball with one hand and promptly proceeded to soil it by
+rubbing it on the grass outside the pitcher's box.
+
+"Play ball!" called Carker clearly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+JOLTS FOR BULLIES.
+
+
+Bender was a thin, sinewy, long-armed, hatchet-faced chap, who looked
+like an Indian. He had "traveled in fast company" for years, but was
+said to be a hard man to handle, having jumped more than one contract
+and being of a sullen and revengeful disposition.
+
+Bancroft, the catcher, was a rather stocky individual, inclined to be a
+trifle too fat. The general observer decided him out of condition and
+unfit for baseball. His position under the bat was awkward, and his face
+wore an expression of blankness, which seemed to indicate a lack of that
+quick wit and keen intelligence to be found in every exceptional
+baseball player.
+
+Nevertheless, Bang Bancroft was one of the cleverest players on the
+Rovers. He was a great short-arm thrower to bases. He could bat like a
+fiend, and he had a knack of coaching and steadying a pitcher which
+brought out the best there was in any slab artist who "handed 'em up" to
+him.
+
+McCann, shortstop and captain of the team, was a fighting Irishman with
+a peppery temper and a bullying disposition. This chap had a trick of
+bulldozing umpires and opposing players, and he generally played what
+is commonly called "scrappy baseball."
+
+The other members of the team took their cues from McCann, and their
+aggressiveness was made apparent almost before the first ball was
+pitched over the plate.
+
+"Here's a mark, Bender!" cried McCann, as Mulloy stepped out with his
+bat. "Eat him up!"
+
+"Come on, Mitt," came from O'Day, "burn a few hot ones over! Make him
+dizzy!"
+
+"Get back from the plate!" rasped Bender, as Barney took his position.
+"Get back, or you'll get hit!"
+
+"Hit him if he crowds," came from Holmes; "but don't kill him. You know
+you killed one man last year and broke another man's jaw."
+
+"Go ahead and hit him," came from Clover. "He's Irish, and you can't
+kill him."
+
+Frank Merriwell's eyes began to gleam with a peculiar light and his lips
+tightened.
+
+"They fancy they're up against a lot of youngsters they can intimidate,"
+he thought. "They mean to frighten us at the start."
+
+Again Bender motioned for Mulloy to move back from the plate.
+
+"Pitch the ball, me fri'nd--pitch the ball," said Barney. "Oi'm in me
+box, and I'll shtand here."
+
+An instant later Bender delivered the ball, deliberately snapping a
+swift one straight at Mulloy.
+
+Barney might have dropped to the ground and thus avoided being hit, but,
+instead of doing so, he leaned far forward, with his left shoulder
+advanced and his right shoulder held well back. In this manner he
+escaped being hit fairly by the ball, which glanced from the back of his
+right shoulder.
+
+"Take your base!" called Carker promptly.
+
+Instantly there was a howl of protestation from the crowd back of first
+base.
+
+McCann made a rush at Carker.
+
+"Call him back!" snarled the captain of the Rovers. "He didn't try to
+dodge that ball! He didn't try to get out of the way!"
+
+"The pitcher hit him deliberately," said Greg calmly. "He was threatened
+before the ball was pitched. Get back into your position."
+
+McCann placed his hands on his hips and glared at Carker.
+
+"Who are ye tellin' to git back?" he rasped. "Do ye know who ye're
+talkin' to, young feller?"
+
+"I'm talking to you," said Greg, in the same calm manner. "If you don't
+get back in your position and play the game, I'll put you on the bench."
+
+"What?" shouted the Irishman. "Put me on the bench--you put me on the
+bench? I'd like to see you do it!"
+
+Greg pulled out his watch.
+
+"I'll give you just thirty seconds to get into your position and go on
+with this game," he said.
+
+"If you put me on the bench, I'll take my team off the field!"
+threatened McCann.
+
+"And I'll forfeit the game to the home team," retorted Carker. "Twenty
+seconds. You have ten seconds more."
+
+McCann turned and retreated to his position, growling and muttering in
+an ugly manner.
+
+"Play ball, boys!" he called. "We can win the game, even if the umpire
+is against us!"
+
+Basil Bearover hurried to the bench of the home players and grasped
+Frank Merriwell by the shoulder.
+
+"Is this the kind of square deal you promised us?" he demanded.
+
+Merry rose, turned, and faced the man.
+
+"What's the matter?" was his question. "You know Mulloy was entitled to
+his base."
+
+"But your umpire threatened to put one of my men out of the game."
+
+"He has authority to put any player out of the game. He can't fine the
+men, but he can order them off the field if they raise a disturbance and
+make back talk to him. If one of my players should rush at him the way
+McCann did, I should expect him to put the man on the bench or off the
+field. If he didn't do it, I'd do it myself. You know Bender threw that
+ball at Mulloy to drive him back from the plate, and you also know that
+Mulloy was in his proper position."
+
+"Aren't we going to have any sort of a square deal here?" gurgled
+Bearover furiously.
+
+"You're going to have as square a deal as you ever received in all your
+career, but you're not going to bulldoze the umpire or any one else on
+this field."
+
+"If we don't get what we want, we'll stop the game in the very first
+inning," threatened Bearover.
+
+"You can stop it by refusing to play," said Frank. "You heard Carker
+tell McCann that he would forfeit the game if he did such a thing. It
+will be all over in short order in case you or your captain pulls the
+team off the field."
+
+"But look at this crowd! You'll disappoint this crowd! You'll have to
+refund the gate money!"
+
+"Which I'll do," said Merriwell. "I'll refund every cent that's been
+taken at the gate. Did you read the Wellsburg _Herald_ this morning? If
+so, Mr. Bearover, I presume you saw a little item regarding a
+ten-thousand-dollar bet. Now, if such a bet has been made, and you lose
+this game through forfeit, you'll likewise lose the bet. It may not cost
+you anything, but it will cost Mr. Silence ten thousand dollars. I don't
+think you'll take your team off the field to-day."
+
+Bearover was purple with anger.
+
+"Look at that bunch of boys back of first," he directed. "If you are not
+careful, Mr. Merriwell, they'll waltz onto the field and wipe up the
+earth with you and your team and the umpire."
+
+"I don't think they will," said Frank. "At the present time they're
+being watched by six deputies, every man of which carries a billy and a
+pair of handcuffs. In case your tough crowd from Wellsburg attempts to
+make a disturbance, the ringleaders will find themselves in Bloomfield
+lockup. We've made preparations for you and your paid thugs, Mr.
+Bearover."
+
+While this conversation was taking place Bender had pretended to busy
+himself in tying a shoestring, which he untied and retied several times
+before it seemed satisfactory to him.
+
+"If you can win this game squarely, Bearover, you'll win it," said
+Frank; "but you'll never win it through intimidation and bulldozing. Now
+don't bother me any more. Better keep on your own side and let your men
+play the game. They'll have to play the best game they know if they want
+to win."
+
+All this was quite unexpected by the "big bear" and his companions.
+Feeling that he was up against an unusual proposition, Bearover returned
+to the visitors' bench, where Silence was somewhat nervously smoking a
+cigarette.
+
+Bart Hodge was in position to strike. Bender whipped the ball over.
+Hodge let it pass.
+
+"One strike!" announced Carker.
+
+Bender's curve had carried the ball over the outside corner.
+
+The visiting pitcher followed this up with a sharp drop, which came down
+across Bart's shoulders. Again Bart declined to swing.
+
+"Two strikes!" cried Carker.
+
+Bart did not kick. He did not even frown, although he realized he had
+failed to swing at two fair balls.
+
+The next ball was wide. Then followed a high one.
+
+Hodge hit the next ball and put up an infield fly, which was easily
+captured by McCann. Mulloy had promptly returned to first as soon as he
+realized the ball was going to the infield.
+
+Frank Merriwell received an ovation from the crowd as he stepped out
+with a bat in his hand. He held the bat in a position which was a signal
+for Mulloy to attempt to steal on the first ball pitched.
+
+Merry swung at the ball, but was careful not to hit it. Mulloy went down
+to second.
+
+Bancroft made a sharp short-arm throw. Clover took the ball handsomely,
+and Mulloy was tagged as he slid.
+
+"Out!" announced Carker.
+
+"Why, the kids think they can steal on ye, Mitt!" sneered McCann, while
+the Rovers, with the exception of Bender, shouted with laughter.
+
+Two men were out, and there was a strike on Merriwell. Bender tried to
+pull Frank with a couple of wide ones. Failing in this, he whipped over
+a sharp shoot.
+
+Merry fouled it.
+
+"Foul ball--two strikes!" came from Carker.
+
+The tough crowd back of first howled with satisfaction.
+
+"Strike him out, Bender!" they cried. "Show him up!"
+
+Bender followed with a drop, but it was a ball, and Frank declined to
+swing at it.
+
+"Three balls," said the calm, clear voice of the umpire.
+
+"A valk vill take you, Frankie!" cried Dunnerwurst, from the coaching
+line. "He vill made you a present to der virst pase. Yah!"
+
+Bender pretended to kick a pebble from beneath his feet. Suddenly,
+without any preliminary swing, he sent over a swift straight ball.
+
+Smash!
+
+Merriwell nailed the ball on the trade-mark.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL.
+
+A DETERMINED FRONT.
+
+
+Frank drove the ball out on a line and reached second base by sharp
+running.
+
+"Vale! vale! vale!" spluttered Dunnerwurst, as he danced round like a
+huge fat toad. "Dot peen too pad! It vos an awful surprise dot der ball
+dit not make a home run vor him!"
+
+"Naow we're started, gol ding it!" shouted Gallup excitedly, as he
+pranced out to coach. "Let's keep her a-goin', fellers!"
+
+Ephraim was in a wildly excited condition. He felt himself tingling and
+shaking all over. At one moment he was hot and burning, and the next
+moment he was cold and shivering.
+
+Buck Badger looked dangerous to Bender. The solid, stocky,
+square-shouldered Westerner seemed like a man who would hit the ball a
+terrible crack if he hit it at all.
+
+In the stand, sitting amid the ladies of Merriwell's house party, was
+Winnie Badger, whose eyes gleamed with pride as she watched her husband.
+
+"I hope Buck will get a hit," she murmured. "He used to hit well."
+
+"Oo, eet ees the strange game!" exclaimed Teresa Gallup. "What ees eet
+Ephraim ees doing now? Does he have to hollaire so loud?"
+
+"He's a coach," explained Elsie.
+
+"A coach?" questioned Teresa. "Why, the coach ees sometheeng for a horse
+to pull. Ees Ephraim sometheeng for a horse to pull?"
+
+"He isn't just that sort of a coach," laughed Inza. "He's out there to
+give Frank instructions about running bases."
+
+"Oo!" murmured Teresa. "Does he know more about the way bases to run
+than Frank knows?"
+
+"Perhaps not," smiled Inza. "But you see the runner can't keep watch of
+the ball and the players while he's running. He can't tell just what
+every one is doing if he has to pay attention to himself. A coach can
+tell him what to do."
+
+Juanita Garcia had not spoken since the beginning of the game, but now
+she ventured to ask:
+
+"What ees eet Seńor Carkaire he play? He keep saying: 'One ball! One
+strike! Two ball! Two strike!' but he do nothing else."
+
+"He's the umpire. He is the judge who gives the decisions."
+
+"Oo!" breathed Juanita. "He ees the judge! He ees the magistrate! Then
+he must know everytheeng about the game. He must know more than every
+one else. Eet ees splendeed! I am so proud of Seńor Carkaire!"
+
+Suddenly Winnie Badger clapped her hands, uttered a cry of delight, and
+started up.
+
+Buck had hit the ball.
+
+A moment later Winnie's joy turned to dismay, for, with a leap, O'Day
+thrust out his gloved left hand and caught Badger's liner. It was the
+third put-out, and Merry was left on second.
+
+"That's playing ball!" roared the man with the broken nose. "Now get
+after Frank Merriwell, and send him to the stable! Put the blanket on
+him! Polish him off!"
+
+The Rovers trotted in, while the home team took the field.
+
+Casper Silence lighted a fresh cigarette as the players in yellow and
+black settled down on the bench.
+
+"Beyond question you faced the four leading batters of that team,
+Bender," said the proprietor of the visitors. "You know now what
+Merriwell and Badger can hit. If O'Day had not made a great catch,
+Merriwell would have scored."
+
+"Oh, I'll get onto their style of hitting, all right," nodded Bender.
+"Neither of those chaps will touch me next time."
+
+Bearover was speaking to McCann.
+
+"We want to make some runs in this inning, Mike," he said. "If we can
+roll up a few tallies, it ought to discourage the youngsters. It's not
+easy to bluff them, but we may be able to get their tails down, and an
+uphill game is a hard game for any team to play. Start us off, McCann."
+
+The captain of the visitors walked out and hit the first ball pitched to
+him, although it was fully six inches higher than his shoulders. The hit
+was a sharp drive into the field, and Carson took it on the first bound
+and promptly sent it to Badger, which held McCann at first.
+
+Frank believed Mertez would try to bunt, and he kept the ball high.
+Mertez fouled the first one, and a strike was called.
+
+McCann was forced to return to first after getting a big start toward
+second.
+
+Merry fancied he saw a signal exchanged between the batter and the base
+runner. Something told him McCann would try to steal.
+
+Nevertheless, Frank appeared careless in permitting the captain of the
+Rovers to get a lead off first. When he pitched, however, Merry whistled
+the ball over high and wide so that it came into Bart's hands in such a
+manner that Hodge was in perfect position to throw to second.
+
+McCann was scooting down the line.
+
+Bart threw to second.
+
+Badger covered the sack, took the ball and tagged McCann as the runner
+was sliding.
+
+It was a close play, but Buck caught McCann as the latter's hand was
+fully six inches from the bag.
+
+"Out at second!" declared Carker.
+
+There was a hush as the runner scrambled to his feet.
+
+"What?" roared McCann, rushing at Carker and seizing him in a fury. "Did
+you call me out, you chump? What do you mean?"
+
+He swung Greg round roughly.
+
+Frank promptly reached for the back of McCann's neck. His fingers closed
+there, and he sent the fellow reeling to one side.
+
+"Hold on, Carker," he said, as Greg started to speak. He realized it was
+the umpire's intention to put McCann out of the game.
+
+There were indications that the crowd of toughs contemplated rushing
+onto the field.
+
+Bill Hunker sprang in front of those men and roared:
+
+"I'll put the irons on the first son of a gun who ducks under that
+rope!"
+
+That stopped them.
+
+McCann was livid with fury. It seemed that he meant to spring at
+Merriwell, who stood calmly facing him.
+
+"Hold on, you!" said Frank, shaking a finger at the captain of the
+Rovers. "I want to say just one word, and then you may come at me if you
+feel like it. I kept the umpire from putting you out of the game. You
+were out at second, and you know it. If you lift your hand against
+Carker during the remainder of this game or make any insulting talk to
+him, I'll back him up if he orders you off the field. Perhaps your team
+can get along without you. Perhaps it will be better off without you.
+Take the matter into consideration."
+
+On the temporary bleachers a crowd of Farnham Hall lads, led by Dale
+Sparkfair, gave a cheer for Merry.
+
+As this cheer died away Uncle Eb Small rose in the stand, waved his
+crooked cane, and shrilly cried:
+
+"That's right, Frank--that's jest right! We're here to see a game of
+baseball and not a fight! All the same, if them fellers start a row,
+we'll back you up to the finish! We know you're a gentleman on the
+baseball field and off it. You've gut the sympathy of every decent man
+here."
+
+"That's right! that's right!" came from all sides of the field.
+
+Basil Bearover stepped out from the bench and called McCann's attention.
+
+"Play ball, Mike," he said. "We can win, anyhow. Let the umpire alone."
+
+Muttering to himself, the captain of the Rovers walked in from the
+field.
+
+Things simmered down at once. At last the visiting players and the
+sympathizing crowd of thugs realized that the sentiment of the crowd
+would not tolerate such conduct as McCann's. The Merries were not
+frightened by it, and Frank had prepared to quell any outbreak of
+ruffianism.
+
+Toby Mertez tried hard for a hit, fouling the ball a number of times.
+Finally he put up a high foul, which Hodge gathered in.
+
+Grifford was regarded as one of the heaviest and surest hitters among
+the visitors. Nevertheless, to his astonishment, he missed the first two
+balls pitched by Frank, although both crossed the pan. Two wide ones
+followed, and then Hodge called for the double shoot.
+
+Merry threw his great curve for the first time that day, and again
+Grifford missed.
+
+"Three strikes--you're out!" rang forth Carker's decision.
+
+The first inning was over.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI.
+
+THE HOUR AND THE MAN.
+
+
+Casper Silence succeeded in repressing his anxiety and disappointment as
+inning after inning passed and neither side secured a run.
+
+The Rovers had fancied ere beginning the game that it would be an easy
+thing to down Merriwell's team. They had believed Frank's reputation as
+a pitcher to be exaggerated. They were confident of their batting
+ability, but gradually that confidence weakened before the wonderful
+boxwork of Merriwell, who seemed in his best form. Fortunately most of
+the decisions against the visitors were not close, and there were few
+excuses for kicks had McCann and the men been inclined to keep it up.
+
+Ephraim Gallup could not throw off his feeling of anxiety and
+nervousness, and he was thankful as the innings passed and no
+opportunity came for him to display what he could do in the field. At
+bat he was a failure. In past days Gallup had batted well, but to-day
+Merriwell's wisdom in placing him far down on the batting order became
+apparent as the Vermonter continued to strike out. In the sixth inning
+Ephraim had a chance to drive in a run, for, with two men gone, the
+Merries pushed a runner round to third.
+
+Again Ephraim struck out.
+
+"You vos a peach uf a hitter--I don'd pelief!" sneered Dunnerwurst.
+
+"Gol dinged if I could hit a haouse!" muttered Gallup. "I'm jest abaout
+the rottenest thing that ever swung a bat! I wish I was to hum on the
+farm!"
+
+In the last of the seventh the Rovers had their opportunity. With one
+man out, they landed a runner on the third corner. The next hitter
+succeeded in lifting a short fly to center field.
+
+Gallup made a wonderful run for the ball, but muffed it, although it
+struck fairly in his hands. As Ephraim dropped the ball the runner at
+third started for the plate.
+
+Now Gallup had a reputation as a thrower. Many a time from deep center
+he had cut off a man at the plate. With remarkable quickness for one who
+seemed so awkward he caught up the ball and lined it to Hodge.
+
+Had Ephraim taken more time it would have been better for him. His
+anxiety caused him to throw with too much haste, and, as a result, the
+ball passed fully ten feet over Bart's head.
+
+The runner scored.
+
+Before Hodge could recover the ball and return it to the diamond the man
+who had hit it was safe on third.
+
+Basil Bearover slapped Casper Silence on the shoulder.
+
+"We've got them now!" he chuckled. "They'll never get a run off Bender!
+The game is ours! You've won that ten thousand!"
+
+"It looks that way," replied Silence, as he produced a fresh cigarette
+and lighted it. "It's a pretty good thing for me that we have got them.
+I counted on winning this game a great deal easier than this. Had we
+lost, I'd been practically busted. I'm afraid the Rovers would have been
+compelled to disband."
+
+Imagine the feelings of Gallup. After making that throw Ephraim walked
+round and round in a circle for at least half a dozen times.
+
+"That's abaout the most expensive gol-darned fool thing I ever done!" he
+mumbled to himself. "Waal, by gum, I deserve it! Any man that's fool
+enough to bet every dollar he's gut in the world on a baseball game
+oughter lose. I don't keer a rap for myself, but Frank was right in
+saying I had no business to throw away money that my wife and kid has a
+claim on. I guess this will teach me a lesson. I won't be able to look
+Teresa in the face arter this game is over."
+
+He was aroused by Merry's voice calling him to take his position and
+play ball.
+
+"Better put a baby in my place, Frank." he said dolefully. "Any blamed
+fool could do better'n I'm doing to-day. I guess I've lost the game."
+
+"The game isn't over yet," said Frank grimly. "We'll play it out."
+
+The Rovers secured no more runs in that inning. Nevertheless, Bender had
+no difficulty in blanking the Merries in the first of the eighth.
+
+In the last of the eighth just three men faced Merriwell. He struck them
+all out.
+
+"It's all over!" cried Mike McCann, with a grin, as the Rovers again
+took the field. "This finishes it!"
+
+Frank was the first man up.
+
+In spite of Bender's skill Merriwell cracked out a clean single. Badger
+followed with a bunt that advanced Merry to second. Buck was thrown out
+at first.
+
+Diamond tried hard for a hit, with Frank leading off second ready to do
+his best to score.
+
+Jack finally drove a grounder into the hands of McCann, who whistled it
+over for a put-out.
+
+"Two gone!" shouted the captain of the Rovers. "Only one more to git,
+Bender, me boy!"
+
+A few of the disappointed spectators began to leave the field.
+
+The first two balls pitched by Bender were strikes, Browning touching
+neither of them. Then the pitcher tried some wide ones on the big first
+baseman of the Merries. Bruce had a good eye, and he let the wide ones
+pass.
+
+Two balls were called. Bender attempted to curve one over, but missed
+the plate by fully six inches.
+
+"Three balls!" came from Carker.
+
+"Smash it if he puts one over!" called Frank.
+
+Browning gripped his bat and stood ready.
+
+The crowd was silent and breathless.
+
+Bender tried to put a speedy ball across Bruce's shoulders, but it was
+far too high.
+
+"Four balls--take your base!" cried Carker.
+
+"The best thing you could have done, Mitt," laughed McCann. "Here comes
+the tall jay, and he never made a hit in his life."
+
+Ephraim Gallup's hands were trembling as he picked up a bat and walked
+out. His legs were weak, and there was a mist before his eyes.
+
+"I'll never touch it!" he whispered to himself. "There's too much
+depending on it; I can't do it!"
+
+As if from a great distance he seemed to hear Frank Merriwell crying:
+
+"Just a little single, Ephraim! You never failed in a pinch in all your
+life! You can't fail now!"
+
+Those words seemed to brush the mist from Gallup's eyes, and something
+like confidence crept back into his heavy heart.
+
+Nevertheless he merely fouled Bender's first shoot.
+
+"One strike!"
+
+The next ball was far too high, but Gallup swung at it and missed.
+
+"Two strikes!"
+
+"All over! all over!" whooped McCann.
+
+The spectators in the stand and on the bleachers were standing.
+
+"I knowed I couldn't do it!" thought Gallup.
+
+Once more he heard Frank calling to him.
+
+"For Teresa and the baby!" cried Merriwell. "Lace it out, Gallup! Get
+against it!"
+
+For Teresa and the baby! Those words rang through Ephraim's brain. Was
+it possible he was going to prove himself a miserable failure under such
+circumstances? With only himself to consider he might fail, but he had
+believed himself capable of great things for the sake of Teresa and the
+baby. He was capable of great things! He knew it now, and suddenly his
+hands were steady as iron. There was not the slightest quiver of his
+nerves. His eyes were clear, and his face wore a look of confidence as
+he watched Bender prepare to deliver the ball.
+
+The pitcher started the ball wide, but, with a sudden break it took an
+inshoot across the plate.
+
+Gallup knew he was going to hit the ball when he swung at it. He hit it
+fairly and squarely with all the strength and skill that he possessed.
+It brought a wild roar from the crowd as the ball went sailing out on a
+line about fifteen feet from the ground.
+
+Apparently Grifford would have little trouble in catching the ball. He
+changed his position a foot or two and prepared to take it. Just before
+it reached him he made a sudden backward move and then leaped
+desperately into the air, thrusting up his hand.
+
+Instead of dropping, as Grifford had expected, the ball held up in a
+marvelous manner and passed fully two feet beyond his reach as he made
+that leap. It finally touched the ground and went bounding away, with
+Grifford rushing after it as fast as he could race over the turf.
+
+The white chalk of the base lines seemed to spin out beneath Gallup's
+feet like a thread as he literally flew over the ground. He heard a
+sound like the roaring of many waters. It was the joyous shouting of the
+great crowd as Merriwell crossed the plate and Diamond came speeding in
+from third.
+
+Gallup did not realize that these two runs put the Merries in the lead.
+He was determined to score if possible. As he came up from second he saw
+Hans Dunnerwurst dancing like a clown and furiously waving his arms,
+while he yelled:
+
+"Ephie, you vos a tandy! Ephie, you vos a peach! Ephie, I luf you! Dot
+score vill git you, und don'd nobody forgit him! Mine cootness, dot vos
+der most peautiful home run you efer saw in my life!"
+
+A homer it was, for Gallup reached the pan ahead of the ball, which
+Grifford had returned to the diamond.
+
+Frank seized Ephraim by the hand as he came over the plate. The rest of
+the team rushed at the Vermonter, hammering him joyously over the head
+and shoulders, much to the agitation of Teresa, who feared her husband
+had done some terrible thing and that his friends were beating him on
+that account.
+
+Bender looked sick and weary as Carson seized a bat and rushed out to
+the plate. The pitcher delivered an easy one, which Berlin drove into
+left field. Roach took the ball on the run, and this made the third out.
+
+Casper Silence was like a caged tiger as the Rovers gathered at the
+bench.
+
+"Get in here and win this game, you slobs!" he hissed. "If you don't,
+this team disbands to-night!"
+
+Against Frank Merriwell's pitching there was no chance for them,
+however. As in the previous inning, only three men faced Merry, and all
+three struck out.
+
+Gallup overtook Frank ere the excited crowd that rushed onto the field
+could reach Merry.
+
+"It's ten thousand for the consumptives' home at Wellsburg, by ginger!"
+laughed Ephraim.
+
+"Remember your promise, Gallup," said Frank, as he seized the
+Vermonter's hand. "You'll never bet again."
+
+"Never again!" vowed Ephraim.
+
+Then, like Merriwell, he was caught up by the rejoicing spectators, who
+triumphantly bore these two heroes of the game around the diamond, while
+they cheered themselves hoarse.
+
+When Merry at last had been successful in freeing himself from the grasp
+of jubilant admirers, he joined Inza and the ladies who had watched the
+game from the stand. Frank and his wife had fallen a little behind the
+others as they were approaching the house, and they were speaking
+quietly when a heavy slap on Frank's back caused him to turn around
+quickly. He was confronted by Berlin Carson.
+
+"A great game, Merry, old man!" exclaimed Berlin enthusiastically. "By
+Jove! that wing of yours has lost none of the tricks that enabled it to
+send team after team to the bad in the old days at Yale. And
+Gallup--Gallup! What a wallop that was he gave the ball in the last, eh?
+Great Cćsar, I feel almost as exultant over it as if I had made it
+myself, but I'm more than half inclined to believe that it was something
+you called to him that put him on his mettle. What was it, Merry?"
+
+But before Frank had an opportunity to speak, Bart Hodge, who was
+several paces distant, called Berlin's name.
+
+"See you later--see you later, Merry," laughed Berlin, as he patted
+Frank on the back and broke away.
+
+Then, with almost boyish lightness, he ran in the direction of Hodge.
+
+Frank and Inza looked after him smilingly. Inza laid a hand on one of
+her husband's arms.
+
+"These last few days appear to have made quite a difference in Berlin,"
+she said.
+
+"Yes, Inza," replied Frank, as he pressed his wife's hand, "yes, and the
+fact that the old chap is a boy again is due to that suggestion of
+yours. Had it not been for you, the 'old flock' would not have been
+here, casting over Merry Home the glamour of the good old times. The
+spirit which our old friends have invoked is one that could not be
+resisted even by faithful old Berlin Carson, who had learned to love,
+and since has learned to forget, the unfortunate young woman who tried
+to rob Frank Merriwell of his son."
+
+"And, after all, it is Frank Merriwell's son whom we have to thank for
+the happiness which these last few weeks have brought," Inza murmured
+softly.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+No. 138, the next thrilling tale to appear in the MERRIWELL SERIES is
+"Dick Merriwell's Team Mate," by Burt L. Standish.
+
+
+
+
+BOOKS FOR YOUNG MEN
+
+MERRIWELL SERIES
+
+Stories of Frank and Dick Merriwell
+
+Fascinating Stories of Athletics
+
+A half million enthusiastic followers of the Merriwell brothers will
+attest the unfailing interest and wholesomeness of these adventures of
+two lads of high ideals, who play fair with themselves, as well as with
+the rest of the world.
+
+These stories are rich in fun and thrills in all branches of sports and
+athletics. They are extremely high in moral tone, and cannot fail to be
+of immense benefit to every boy who reads them.
+
+They have the splendid quality of firing a boy's ambition to become a
+good athlete, in order that he may develop into a strong, vigorous,
+right-thinking man.
+
+_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_
+
+1--Frank Merriwell's School Days         By Burt L. Standish
+2--Frank Merriwell's Chums               By Burt L. Standish
+3--Frank Merriwell's Foes                By Burt L. Standish
+4--Frank Merriwell's Trip West           By Burt L. Standish
+5--Frank Merriwell Down South            By Burt L. Standish
+6--Frank Merriwell's Bravery             By Burt L. Standish
+7--Frank Merriwell's Hunting Tour        By Burt L. Standish
+8--Frank Merriwell in Europe             By Burt L. Standish
+9--Frank Merriwell at Yale               By Burt L. Standish
+10--Frank Merriwell's Sports Afield      By Burt L. Standish
+11--Frank Merriwell's Races              By Burt L. Standish
+12--Frank Merriwell's Party              By Burt L. Standish
+13--Frank Merriwell's Bicycle Tour       By Burt L. Standish
+14--Frank Merriwell's Courage            By Burt L. Standish
+15--Frank Merriwell's Daring             By Burt L. Standish
+16--Frank Merriwell's Alarm              By Burt L. Standish
+17--Frank Merriwell's Athletes           By Burt L. Standish
+18--Frank Merriwell's Skill              By Burt L. Standish
+19--Frank Merriwell's Champions          By Burt L. Standish
+20--Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale     By Burt L. Standish
+21--Frank Merriwell's Secret             By Burt L. Standish
+22--Frank Merriwell's Danger             By Burt L. Standish
+23--Frank Merriwell's Loyalty            By Burt L. Standish
+24--Frank Merriwell in Camp              By Burt L. Standish
+25--Frank Merriwell's Vacation           By Burt L. Standish
+26--Frank Merriwell's Cruise             By Burt L. Standish
+27--Frank Merriwell's Chase              By Burt L. Standish
+28--Frank Merriwell in Maine             By Burt L. Standish
+29--Frank Merriwell's Struggle           By Burt L. Standish
+30--Frank Merriwell's First Job          By Burt L. Standish
+31--Frank Merriwell's Opportunity        By Burt L. Standish
+32--Frank Merriwell's Hard Luck          By Burt L. Standish
+33--Frank Merriwell's Protégé            By Burt L. Standish
+34--Frank Merriwell on the Road          By Burt L. Standish
+35--Frank Merriwell's Own Company        By Burt L. Standish
+36--Frank Merriwell's Fame               By Burt L. Standish
+37--Frank Merriwell's College Chums      By Burt L. Standish
+38--Frank Merriwell's Problem            By Burt L. Standish
+39--Frank Merriwell's Fortune            By Burt L. Standish
+40--Frank Merriwell's New Comedian       By Burt L. Standish
+41--Frank Merriwell's Prosperity         By Burt L. Standish
+42--Frank Merriwell's Stage Hit          By Burt L. Standish
+43--Frank Merriwell's Great Scheme       By Burt L. Standish
+44--Frank Merriwell in England           By Burt L. Standish
+45--Frank Merriwell on the Boulevards    By Burt L. Standish
+46--Frank Merriwell's Duel               By Burt L. Standish
+47--Frank Merriwell's Double Shot        By Burt L. Standish
+48--Frank Merriwell's Baseball Victories By Burt L. Standish
+49--Frank Merriwell's Confidence         By Burt L. Standish
+50--Frank Merriwell's Auto               By Burt L. Standish
+51--Frank Merriwell's Fun                By Burt L. Standish
+52--Frank Merriwell's Generosity         By Burt L. Standish
+53--Frank Merriwell's Tricks             By Burt L. Standish
+54--Frank Merriwell's Temptation         By Burt L. Standish
+55--Frank Merriwell on Top               By Burt L. Standish
+56--Frank Merriwell's Luck               By Burt L. Standish
+57--Frank Merriwell's Mascot             By Burt L. Standish
+58--Frank Merriwell's Reward             By Burt L. Standish
+59--Frank Merriwell's Phantom            By Burt L. Standish
+60--Frank Merriwell's Faith              By Burt L. Standish
+61--Frank Merriwell's Victories          By Burt L. Standish
+62--Frank Merriwell's Iron Nerve         By Burt L. Standish
+63--Frank Merriwell in Kentucky          By Burt L. Standish
+64--Frank Merriwell's Power              By Burt L. Standish
+65--Frank Merriwell's Shrewdness         By Burt L. Standish
+66--Frank Merriwell's Set Back           By Burt L. Standish
+67--Frank Merriwell's Search             By Burt L. Standish
+68--Frank Merriwell's Club               By Burt L. Standish
+69--Frank Merriwell's Trust              By Burt L. Standish
+70--Frank Merriwell's False Friend       By Burt L. Standish
+71--Frank Merriwell's Strong Arm         By Burt L. Standish
+72--Frank Merriwell as Coach             By Burt L. Standish
+73--Frank Merriwell's Brother            By Burt L. Standish
+74--Frank Merriwell's Marvel             By Burt L. Standish
+75--Frank Merriwell's Support            By Burt L. Standish
+76--Dick Merriwell At Fardale            By Burt L. Standish
+77--Dick Merriwell's Glory               By Burt L. Standish
+78--Dick Merriwell's Promise             By Burt L. Standish
+79--Dick Merriwell's Rescue              By Burt L. Standish
+80--Dick Merriwell's Narrow Escape       By Burt L. Standish
+81--Dick Merriwell's Racket              By Burt L. Standish
+82--Dick Merriwell's Revenge             By Burt L. Standish
+83--Dick Merriwell's Ruse                By Burt L. Standish
+84--Dick Merriwell's Delivery            By Burt L. Standish
+85--Dick Merriwell's Wonders             By Burt L. Standish
+86--Frank Merriwell's Honor              By Burt L. Standish
+87--Dick Merriwell's Diamond             By Burt L. Standish
+88--Frank Merriwell's Winners            By Burt L. Standish
+89--Dick Merriwell's Dash                By Burt L. Standish
+90--Dick Merriwell's Ability             By Burt L. Standish
+91--Dick Merriwell's Trap                By Burt L. Standish
+92--Dick Merriwell's Defense             By Burt L. Standish
+93--Dick Merriwell's Model               By Burt L. Standish
+94--Dick Merriwell's Mystery             By Burt L. Standish
+95--Frank Merriwell's Backers            By Burt L. Standish
+96--Dick Merriwell's Backstop            By Burt L. Standish
+97--Dick Merriwell's Western Mission     By Burt L. Standish
+98--Frank Merriwell's Rescue             By Burt L. Standish
+99--Frank Merriwell's Encounter          By Burt L. Standish
+100--Dick Merriwell's Marked Money       By Burt L. Standish
+101--Frank Merriwell's Nomads            By Burt L. Standish
+102--Dick Merriwell on the Gridiron      By Burt L. Standish
+103--Dick Merriwell's Disguise           By Burt L. Standish
+104--Dick Merriwell's Test               By Burt L. Standish
+105--Frank Merriwell's Trump Card        By Burt L. Standish
+106--Frank Merriwell's Strategy          By Burt L. Standish
+107--Frank Merriwell's Triumph           By Burt L. Standish
+108--Dick Merriwell's Grit               By Burt L. Standish
+109--Dick Merriwell's Assurance          By Burt L. Standish
+110--Dick Merriwell's Long Slide         By Burt L. Standish
+111--Frank Merriwell's Rough Deal        By Burt L. Standish
+112--Dick Merriwell's Threat             By Burt L. Standish
+113--Dick Merriwell's Persistence        By Burt L. Standish
+114--Dick Merriwell's Day                By Burt L. Standish
+115--Frank Merriwell's Peril             By Burt L. Standish
+116--Dick Merriwell's Downfall           By Burt L. Standish
+117--Frank Merriwell's Pursuit           By Burt L. Standish
+118--Dick Merriwell Abroad               By Burt L. Standish
+119--Frank Merriwell in the Rockies      By Burt L. Standish
+120--Dick Merriwell's Pranks             By Burt L. Standish
+121--Frank Merriwell's Pride             By Burt L. Standish
+122--Frank Merriwell's Challengers       By Burt L. Standish
+123--Frank Merriwell's Endurance         By Burt L. Standish
+124--Dick Merriwell's Cleverness         By Burt L. Standish
+125--Frank Merriwell's Marriage          By Burt L. Standish
+126--Dick Merriwell, the Wizard          By Burt L. Standish
+127--Dick Merriwell's Stroke             By Burt L. Standish
+128--Dick Merriwell's Return             By Burt L. Standish
+129--Dick Merriwell's Resource           By Burt L. Standish
+130--Dick Merriwell's Five               By Burt L. Standish
+
+In order that there may be no confusion, we desire to say that the books
+listed below will be issued during the respective months in New York
+City and vicinity. They may not reach the readers at a distance
+promptly, on account of delays in transportation.
+
+
+To be published in January, 1926.
+
+131--Frank Merriwell's Tigers            By Burt L. Standish
+132--Dick Merriwell's Polo Team          By Burt L. Standish
+
+
+To be published in February, 1926.
+
+133--Frank Merriwell's Pupils            By Burt L. Standish
+134--Frank Merriwell's New Boy           By Burt L. Standish
+
+
+To be published in March, 1926.
+
+135--Dick Merriwell's Home Run           By Burt L. Standish
+136--Dick Merriwell's Dare               By Burt L. Standish
+137--Frank Merriwell's Son               By Burt L. Standish
+
+
+To be published in April, 1926.
+
+138--Dick Merriwell's Team Mate.         By Burt L. Standish
+139--Frank Merriwell's Leaguers          By Burt L. Standish
+
+
+To be published in May, 1926.
+
+140--Frank Merriwell's Happy Camp        By Burt L. Standish
+141--Dick Merriwell's Influence          By Burt L. Standish
+
+
+To be published in June, 1926.
+
+142--Dick Merriwell, Freshman            By Burt L. Standish
+143--Dick Merriwell's Staying Power      By Burt L. Standish
+
+
+
+
+A CARNIVAL OF ACTION
+
+ADVENTURE LIBRARY
+
+Splendid, Interesting, Big Stories
+
+For the present the Adventure Library will be devoted to the publication
+of stories by William Wallace Cook.
+
+The fact that one man wrote all of these stories in no way detracts from
+their interest, as they are all very different in plot and locality.
+
+For example, the action in one story takes place in "The Land of Little
+Rain;" another deals with adventure on the high seas; another is a good
+railroad story; others are splendid Western stories; and some are
+mystery stories. All of them, however, are stories of vigorous adventure
+drawn true to life, which gives them the thrill that all really good
+fiction should have.
+
+_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_
+
+
+1--The Desert Argonaut               By William Wallace Cook
+2--A Quarter to Four                 By William Wallace Cook
+3--Thorndyke of the Bonita           By William Wallace Cook
+4--A Round Trip to the Year 2000     By William Wallace Cook
+5--The Gold Gleaners                 By William Wallace Cook
+6--The Spur of Necessity             By William Wallace Cook
+7--The Mysterious Mission            By William Wallace Cook
+8--The Goal of a Million             By William Wallace Cook
+9--Marooned in 1492                  By William Wallace Cook
+10--Running the Signal               By William Wallace Cook
+11--His Friend the Enemy             By William Wallace Cook
+12--In the Web                       By William Wallace Cook
+13--A Deep Sea Game                  By William Wallace Cook
+14--The Paymaster's Special          By William Wallace Cook
+15--Adrift in the Unknown            By William Wallace Cook
+16--Jim Dexter, Cattleman            By William Wallace Cook
+17--Juggling with Liberty            By William Wallace Cook
+18--Back from Bedlam                 By William Wallace Cook
+19--A River Tangle                   By William Wallace Cook
+20--Billionaire Pro Tem              By William Wallace Cook
+21--In the Wake of the Scimitar      By William Wallace Cook
+22--His Audacious Highness           By William Wallace Cook
+23--At Daggers Drawn                 By William Wallace Cook
+24--The Eighth Wonder                By William Wallace Cook
+25--The Cat's-paw                    By William Wallace Cook
+26--The Cotton Bag                   By William Wallace Cook
+
+
+In order that there may be no confusion, we desire to say that the books
+listed below will be issued during the respective months in New York
+City and vicinity. They may not reach the readers at a distance
+promptly, on account of delays in transportation.
+
+
+To be published in January, 1926.
+
+27--Little Miss Vassar               By William Wallace Cook
+28--Cast Away at the Pole            By William Wallace Cook
+
+
+To be published in February, 1926.
+
+29--The Testing of Noyes             By William Wallace Cook
+30--The Fateful Seventh              By William Wallace Cook
+
+
+To be published in March, 1926.
+
+31--Montana                          By William Wallace Cook
+32--The Deserter                     By William Wallace Cook
+
+
+To be published in April, 1926.
+
+33--The Sheriff of Broken Bow        By William Wallace Cook
+34--Wanted: A Highwayman             By William Wallace Cook
+
+
+To be published in May, 1926.
+
+35--Frisbie of San Antone            By William Wallace Cook
+36--His Last Dollar                  By William Wallace Cook
+
+
+To be published in June, 1926.
+
+37--Fools for Luck                   By William Wallace Cook
+38--Dare of Darling & Co             By William Wallace Cook
+39--Trailing The Josephine           By William Wallace Cook
+
+
+
+
+RATTLING GOOD ADVENTURE
+
+SPORT STORIES
+
+_Stories of the Big Outdoors_
+
+There has been a big demand for outdoor stories, and a very considerable
+portion of it has been for the Maxwell Stevens stories about Jack
+Lightfoot, the athlete.
+
+These stories are not, strictly speaking, stories for boys, but boys
+everywhere will find a great deal in them to interest them.
+
+_ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_
+
+
+1--Jack Lightfoot, the Athlete            By Maxwell Stevens
+2--Jack Lightfoot's Crack Nine            By Maxwell Stevens
+3--Jack Lightfoot Trapped                 By Maxwell Stevens
+4--Jack Lightfoot's Rival                 By Maxwell Stevens
+5--Jack Lightfoot in Camp                 By Maxwell Stevens
+6--Jack Lightfoot's Canoe Trip            By Maxwell Stevens
+7--Jack Lightfoot's Iron Arm              By Maxwell Stevens
+8--Jack Lightfoot's Hoodoo                By Maxwell Stevens
+9--Jack Lightfoot's Decision              By Maxwell Stevens
+10--Jack Lightfoot's Gun Club             By Maxwell Stevens
+11--Jack Lightfoot's Blind                By Maxwell Stevens
+12--Jack Lightfoot's Capture              By Maxwell Stevens
+13--Jack Lightfoot's Head Work            By Maxwell Stevens
+14--Jack Lightfoot's Wisdom               By Maxwell Stevens
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+[Transcriber's Note: There was no table of contents in the original
+edition. A table of contents has been created for this electronic
+edition.
+
+Advertisements have been moved from the front of the text to the back.
+
+In addition, the following typographical errors from the original
+edition have been corrected.
+
+The subtitle has been changed from "A CHIP OF THE OLD BLOCK" to "A CHIP
+OFF THE OLD BLOCK".
+
+In Chapter VIII, "his sytem of signals" has been changed to "his system
+of signals".
+
+In Chapter XIV, a missing period has been added after "'What's that?'
+asked Merry".
+
+In Chapter XXI, "Didn't you introduce me." has been changed to "Didn't
+you introduce me?"
+
+In Chapter XXIV, "should she see Murilla free his knife hand" has been
+changed to "should she see Murillo free his knife hand".
+
+In Chapter XXXI, a missing period has been added after "Why, it would
+break the poor creature's heart".
+
+In Chapter XXXVII, "on the first page youll find something" has been
+changed to "on the first page you'll find something".
+
+In Chapter XXXVIII, a missing quotation mark has been added after "we'll
+go out now."
+
+In Chapter XXXIX, "Clever took the ball handsomely" has been changed to
+"Clover took the ball handsomely".
+
+In Chapter XLI, "A great came, Merry, old man!" has been changed to "A
+great game, Merry, old man!"
+
+In the list of Frank Merriwell novels, "Frank Merriwells' Victories" has
+been changed to "Frank Merriwell's Victories".
+
+A blank line has been removed from the middle of the paragraph beginning
+"In order that there may be no confusion..."
+
+In the description of the Adventure Library, "Spendid, Interesting, Big
+Stories" has been changed to "Splendid, Interesting, Big Stories".]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Frank Merriwell's Son, by Burt L. Standish
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRANK MERRIWELL'S SON ***
+
+***** This file should be named 25316-8.txt or 25316-8.zip *****
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