Frank Merriwell fancied he had hit upon a scheme to stop the card games from which he could not remain away. Being a skilled ventriloquist, he was the author of the dismal groans and the mysterious voice that had so alarmed the boys.
Bart was not in the secret, and so he wondered, when he heard Frank chuckling to himself, after they had safely reached their room and were getting into bed.
For several days the "gang" was disconsolate, having no place in which they could play a game of cards without fear of detection at any instant.
Frank Merriwell seemed restored to his usual jolly self. He laughed and joked, and did not seem worried over anything.
But the "gang" would not remain long without a place in which to play cards.
One day Frank received an invitation to "sit into a little game" that evening.
Snell tendered the invitation.
Merriwell's face clouded instantly.
"Why, there is no place to play, is there?"
"Sure!" was the reply. "You didn't suppose we'd be knocked out so easy, did you?
"Where do you play?"
"Come along with Hodge to-night, and he will show you. You have been there before."
But Frank did not come along.
Three nights he knew of Bart rising and stealing out of the room. Then there was an interval of two nights, during which Bart, plainly too much used up to stand the strain, or else out of money, remained in his bed.
When Hodge arose again, and prepared to go out, he heard a stir in Merriwell's alcove.
"Are you awake, Frank?" he asked, softly.
"Yes," was the reply, "and I am going with you."
Bart hesitated. He was tempted to undress and return to bed, but he had received his money from home that day and, having lost heavily the last time he played, he was anxious for "satisfaction."
"I'm not Merriwell's guardian," he thought. "I guess the fellow is able to take care of himself."
So he told Frank to dress fully for going out, and to take his shoes in his hand.
Together they crept from the room, slid along the corridor, watched a favorable moment to get past the sentinel, and finally found their way into a room where the "gang" was waiting.
There was much whispered satisfaction when Merriwell was known to be with Hodge.
Then the window was softly opened, and one by one the boys descended the fire-escape, which ran past that window. The last one out closed the window, having arranged it so it could be readily opened from the outside.
Behind the messhall they sat down on the ground and pulled on their shoes.
It was a cool, starry night,
"I rather fancy I know where we are bound," said Frank.
"Where?" asked Bart.
"To the old boathouse, down the cove."
"Sure. You are a good guesser, old man."
Then the thought came to Frank that it would be a good thing for Fardale Academy if that boathouse should burn to the ground. It was there plebes generally received their first hazing, and there most of the fights between the cadets took place.
To the boathouse they went, and this night luck ran against Frank, for he lost heavily.
"There," he said, as he and Bart were returning together, "I can stay away from the game now, and no one will have a right to accuse me of meanness, for I have dropped more than I made at both of the other games I have been in."
"That's right," assured Bart, "you may do as you like now, and I'll fight the fellow that dares open his trap about it."
But Frank had taken the false step that leads to others, and he was to find it no easy thing to keep away from the game that fascinated him so. For a little time he succeeded, but he was uneasy and in a bad way so long as he knew a game was going on. Night after night he heard Bart dress and slip out, and the longing to accompany him grew and grew till it was unbearable.
"What's the matter with Merriwell?" one of his classmates asked of another. "He was making right along at one time, and we all thought he would head the class, but now he is making an average of less than 2.5."
"Oh, he is flighty," replied the other. "Do you notice that he doesn't seem to be as jolly and full of fun as he was once."
"I believe he is in some kind of trouble," declared the first. "He doesn't ever get a max lately."
By way of explanation, let us state, a "max" was the highest mark obtainable, or 3; 2.9 or 2.8 was considered first class, 2.5 was really good, 2 was fair, and below that it fell off rapidly too, which meant utter failure.
Frank was, indeed, in trouble. He found it impossible to keep away from the poker parties, and so, one night after Bart had departed, being unable to sleep, he got up and followed his roommate again.
Gage and Snell were rejoiced, for they saw they had Merriwell fairly within the meshes. All that was needed now was to close the net carefully and draw it tighter and tighter about him, till there was no possible escape.
This trick was accomplished with consummate skill. Frank's luck seemed to have deserted him, but at first his losings were just heavy enough to provoke without alarming him. Sometimes he would win a little, and then he would fancy his luck had turned, but the tide soon set the other way.
Made angry by his petty losses, he followed the game with dogged persistency. And those petty losses soon began to grow larger and larger. His money melted away rapidly, and still fortune frowned on him.
In vain Hodge counseled his friend to drop the game and stay away. Such advice was now wasted on Frank, and it made him angry.
"It's too late!" he hotly declared. "I am going to see the thing through!"
And so the meshes of the snare closed around him.
In vain Gage and Snell tried to get hold of some IOU's with Frank Merriwell's name on them. Frank's money was exhausted, and he stopped playing suddenly. Gage offered to loan him money, but he had not forgotten the past, and not a cent of Gage's cash would he touch.
Then Snell tried it, but was no more successful.
This made them both angry.
"Confound the fellow!" said Gage, fiercely. "We've got him badly tangled; but he seems to have taken the alarm, and I'm afraid he will break away."
"We must not let him do so," said Snell. "If we lose our fish now, we'll never land him."
"What can be done?"
"That is for us to study out."
And so they set about plotting and trying to devise still other schemes to disgrace Frank, and drive him from the academy.
In the meantime, a feeling of revulsion had seized Frank Merriwell. Of a sudden he had perceived whither he was drifting. He realized what false steps he had already taken, and he was heartily ashamed of himself.
Among his treasures was a medal of honor presented to him by Congress for twice saving the life of Inza Burrage, a pretty girl who lived in Fardale, and whose brother, Walter, was a cadet at the academy. Once he had fought a mad dog with no weapon but a clasp-knife, and kept the creature from biting Inza, and once he had saved her from death beneath the wheels of the afternoon express, which flew through Fardale village without stopping.
Coming across this medal where he kept it choicely deposited, it suddenly brought to him an overwhelming feeling of self-abasement and shame.
What would Inza Burrage think of him if she knew of his weakness—knew that he was playing cards for money, and making associates of such fellows as Gage and Snell?
It was true that she did not know either Gage or Snell for what they really were at heart, but Frank did, and there really seemed no excuse for him.
He tried to excuse himself by saying he had been led into temptation through Hodge, but, in another instant he felt meaner than before.
"You ought to be ashamed, Merriwell!" he told himself. "You have all the influence in the world over Hodge, if you use your power skillfully, and, instead of trying to shoulder the blame on him, you should be disgusted with yourself for making no attempt to save him from such company and such practices!"
Then he thought of the money he had lost. How could he stop without making an effort to win it back? If he could have one good streak of luck and win enough to make himself square, he would stop.
This very desire to "get square with the game" has been the ruin of more than one promising youth.
So he told himself over and over that he would stop as soon as he "got square."
Saturday came round. Inza Burrage had sent him word through her brother that she would visit Belinda Snodd that afternoon, and he might see her there, if he cared to call.
Belinda Snodd was the daughter of John Snodd, a rather queer old fellow, who ran an odd sort of boarding-house for summer people who visited the Cove, on which Fardale Academy was situated. Snodd each year boarded a number of applicants for admission to the academy until they had prepared themselves for examination and been accepted or turned away. Frank had boarded there when he first came to Fardale, and so he knew the family well.
But how could he meet Inza that afternoon? He was in no mood to meet her. She had regarded him as a hero—as being very near perfection. If she knew the truth——
"I can't do it!" Frank muttered. "Not till I face about squarely can I see her again."
But, as the afternoon came round, he was seized by a great longing to catch a glimpse of her, at least. Mechanically he began dressing, as if he were going to call on her.
Hodge was reading a book. He flung it aside, with an impatient exclamation that was followed by a yawn.
"I'm tired of that old thing!" he cried. "I am tired of everything!"
"You need a rest, Bart," said Frank. "You are not getting enough sleep."
"I am getting as much as you. I say, Frank, don't you think living is a bore, anyway?"
"Not when a fellow lives right."
"Right? What do you mean by that? Isn't a chap to have any sport?"
"Yes; but there are two kinds of sport—so called. One is healthy, invigorating, delightful, like baseball and football, for instance. The other is fascinating, injurious, debasing, like poker."
Bart stared at Frank a moment, as if he were somewhat puzzled, and then said:
"I guess you are right, old man. I hadn't ever thought of it just that way before. I'd swear off and try to keep away from the game, if I wasn't in so deep."
"You have lost quite an amount lately."
"Yes, I have been knifed deep. Gage has astounding luck."
"Do you think it is all luck?"
Bart looked surprised.
"Why, to be sure. The fellow plays a square game."
"Why should he? You know, as well as I, that he is not square by nature."
"That's right; but his cards are cut every time, and he doesn't know enough to put 'em up."
"There are other ways of cheating besides putting the cards up."
"That's true, but I do not believe Gage is on that lay. He simply has beastly big luck."
"Perhaps."
"You do not think so?"
"I do not know. You will remember that Gage has no particular love for either of us, and we have both lost heavily."
"Do you mean to quit playing?"
"Possibly."
Hodge looked doubtful, for he now understood how strong must be the temptation for Merriwell to follow the game.
Frank completed dressing, and left the academy. He turned his footsteps in the direction of Snodd's, but still he had no intention of going there. Keeping under the brow of the hill, he passed around to a large grove in the rear of Snodd's buildings.
It was early October now, and the air was bracing and exhilarating, for all the afternoon was mild. The trees were flaming with color, and the leaves had begun to sift down. In the grove squirrels romped and chattered.
It seemed good to Frank to get away alone under the shadow of the trees. New strength and new life came to him, and new resolves and determinations formed themselves unsought and unbidden in his mind. He felt that it was a privilege and a blessing to be alive.
Had he felt free to meet Inza then, he would have been quite happy.
He flung himself down beneath a great tree at the edge of the grove, where he could see Snodd's buildings. For a long time he lay there, thinking and dreaming.
Suddenly he started up. Three figures were leaving the buildings and coming toward the grove. He saw they were three girls, and he instantly recognized one of them as Inza. The others were Belinda Snodd and one of the village girls, with whom Frank was slightly acquainted, Mabel Blossom, generally known as May Blossom.
"They are coming here!" exclaimed Frank. "They must not see me!"
He arose hastily, and scurried away into the grove, and he did not stop till he had reached the shore. There he sat down amid some rocks, and remained a long time, as it seemed to him.
But he could not resist the temptation to steal back and see if the girls were still in the grove. He finally arose and did so.
As he passed through the grove and came out near the old picnic-ground, he suddenly halted and stepped behind a tree, for he had come upon two persons in earnest conversation.
They were Inza Burrage and Leslie Gage!
Instantly a surge of jealousy swept over Frank Merriwell. How did it come about that Gage had met Inza there? Was it by appointment?
Belinda Snodd and May Blossom were in plain view a short distance away, and Wat Snell was trying to make himself agreeable to them.
Without intending to eavesdrop, Frank paused there a moment, unconsciously listening. He heard Inza say:
"The others cannot hear you now, Mr. Gage, so you can tell me the important thing you have to reveal."
"I don't know as you will be pleased to hear it," said Gage, with an attempt at great apparent sincerity, "for it is about your friend, Frank Merriwell, and you will not like to hear anything unpleasant of him."
Inza drew herself up proudly.
"You cannot tell me anything of Mr. Merriwell that will make me think less of him," she declared, her dark eyes flashing.
That was enough to chain Frank to the spot; he could not have slipped away then had he desired to do so.
"Perhaps not," said Gage, with a significant smile, "but I think I can."
"How has Frank Merriwell ever injured you that you should be slandering him behind his back?"
For an instant this staggered Leslie, like a blow in the face, but he swiftly recovered.
"Oh, Merriwell has never injured me, and I haven't the least thing in the world against him," he said, smoothly; "but I do take an interest in you, and it makes me sorry to see you so absorbed in a fellow utterly unworthy of your friendship—utterly unworthy to be spoken to or even noticed by you."
Gage spoke rapidly, for he saw she was eager to interrupt him. Her face grew pale, and she stamped one small foot angrily on the ground, as she flung back:
"This is not the first time you have tried to injure him, and you should be ashamed! Why, he saved you from the Eagle's Ledge, after you had fallen over Black Bluff."
"Which was exactly what any fellow would have done for another under similar circumstances. That is not to his credit. I beg you to listen. It has taken me some time to make up my mind to tell you the truth—to warn you, and now I must. To begin with, Merriwell comes of an uncertain family, although, I believe, he has an uncle who has some money, and that uncle is paying the fellow's way through Fardale Academy."
"What do I care about his family, so long as I know him to be a noble fellow! You forget, sir, that he has twice saved my life!"
"No, I have not forgotten. I do not blame you for being grateful, but you must know the whole truth about him. Frank Merriwell is a gambler—he plays cards for money."
"I don't believe it!" were the words that came from Inza's lips, and sent a thrill of shame through the lad behind the tree.
"But it is true, and I can prove it. I will prove it, too! If I prove it to your satisfaction, Miss Burrage, will you cut the fellow, and have nothing to do with him in the future?"
Frank leaned forward, holding his breath, eager to hear the answer.
It came promptly and decisively:
"No!"
Gage caught his breath.
"Do you mean to say you will still be friends with a regular gambler like Merriwell?" he asked.
"I do not believe Frank Merriwell is a gambler—you can never make me believe it!"
"But I will bring proof."
"Even then I will believe your proof is hatched up against him."
This made Gage lose his head.
"Why, you are awfully stuck on that cad!" he cried. "You are altogether too fine a girl for him!"
He suddenly caught her in his arms, and tried to embrace her. She struggled, and cried out for help.
Like a panther, Frank Merriwell bounded from behind the tree. He caught Gage by the collar, and tore Inza from his grasp. Then Frank's fist shot out, landing with a sharp spat right between Leslie's eyes. A second later Gage came in violent contact with the ground.
"Frank!" exclaimed Inza, as he supported her.
Wat Snell and the two girls with whom he had been talking had witnessed the entire affair. They now came hurrying toward the spot.
"The miserable cur!" cried Frank. "I will——"
"Don't touch him again!" urged Inza. "Oh, you struck him an awful blow!"
In truth Frank had given Gage a heavy blow, and it was some seconds before the fellow made a move. Snell helped him sit up. Leslie put his hand to his head, and stared in a dazed way at Frank.
"Are you hurt much, old man?" asked Wat, sympathizingly.
"I guess not," mumbled Gage. "What did he strike me with?"
"His fist."
"Why, it seemed like a rock!"
Wat helped him to his feet, and the two stood glaring at Frank, who regarded them with supreme scorn.
"Shall we sail in and do him up?" asked Wat, excitedly.
"Yes," said Leslie; "we will give him a good drubbing."
Instantly Frank placed Inza to one side, and boldly faced the two young rascals.
"I don't believe you both can whip me, the way I feel just now," he cried. "I think I can give you more fight than you want, so just sail right in."
They hesitated. There was something about Merriwell's look and bearing that seemed to warn them against attacking him. To Wat Snell it suddenly seemed quite probable that Frank would prove more than a match for both of them.
"There are ladies present," he said, hastily. "We cannot fight in the presence of ladies."
"Very thoughtful!" came scornfully from Frank's lips. "Possibly the ladies will step aside long enough for us to settle this little matter."
"Oh, don't fight with them, Frank!" pleaded Inza. "There are two of them, and——"
"That is not enough. I am good for two such sneaking scoundrels as they are! Don't worry about me."
"Hear the blowhard!" sneered Snell.
Frank seemed on the point of springing toward him, and Wat hastily dodged behind Leslie, saying:
"Give it to him, Les, if he wants to fight!"
This showed how much Gage could depend on Snell in a scrimmage, and the former instantly decided that it was not best to try to get revenge on Merriwell just then.
"There will be no fighting here," he said, loftily, "but I shall not forget Merriwell's blow, and he shall pay dearly for it. I will make him wish he had not been so free with his fist."
"As for you, Miss Spitfire," turning to Inza, "you must feel proud to have a friend in a fellow of his class! Do not forget what I told you about him and——"
"Silence, sir!" cried Inza, contemptuously. "You had better go away at once. I wouldn't believe such a contemptible creature as you under any circumstances!"
"All right, all right," growled Gage, scowling blackly. "You will find out in time that I told the truth. This is not the end of this matter. Come, Wat, let's go. If I stay any longer, I'll have to whip Merriwell before all of the present company."
So the delectable pair moved away together, and Gage's revengeful heart was made still more bitter by the ringing laugh of scorn Inza Burrage sent after them.
When Frank parted from Inza that afternoon, he had made a free and full confession of his fault. She had listened with pained surprise, almost with incredulity, but she had not shown the scorn that Frank felt he fully deserved. However, she had exacted a pledge, which he had freely given, and, returning to the academy, he felt that he was himself once more. His step was elastic, his heart was light, and he whistled a lively strain.
That evening he had a long talk with Bart.
"Come, Bartley," urged Frank, "drop this card-playing, and give attention to your studies."
Bart was in a bad mood, as he had been much of the time lately, and he laughed harshly.
"You're a fine fellow to give that sort of advice when you cannot keep away from the game yourself!" he said.
"But I can keep away," came quietly and decidedly from Frank's lips.
"Prove it."
"I will. I am not going to play any more. I have been a fool, and I am ashamed of it."
"That is easy enough to say, but—— Well, we will see what we will see."
"You doubt my ability to keep away from the game?"
"Haven't I reason to do so?"
"You surely have. But look here, Bart; you know as well as I the kind of fellows we are running with when we play cards with that gang. Neither you nor I care to call Gage and Snell our particular friends."
"That's right."
"And Harris is a kind of uncertain fellow—neither one thing nor another."
"Sure."
"Sam Winslow hasn't enough stamina to resist temptation of any sort."
"Go on."
"Harvey Dare is a pretty decent chap, but he doesn't care a rap what people think or say of him."
"Well?"
"Hans Dunnerwust has been inveigled into the game, and I am going to do my best to make him break away."
Bart drew a deep breath.
"Go ahead, Frank," he said, "and I hope you may succeed in your missionary work. You didn't name my failings, but I have them, or they have me, for I can't break away from them."
"You can if you will try. Make a desperate effort, Bart. Think how differently you are situated than I, who was born with a passion for gambling."
Bart rose impatiently.
"Drop it, old man," he growled. "I've lost too much to knock off now. I am going to play to-night."
"To-night? Why, it is Saturday night!"
"Yes."
"If you begin playing, you will not stop before Sunday comes in."
"Perhaps not."
"You don't mean to say that you are going to play on Sunday?"
"The better the day, the better the deed," mocked Bart.
Frank said no more, but he formed a firm resolution. He would find a way to save his roommate and break up the card game. Gage and Snell were welcome to all they had won off him, but he would bring their career to an end.
How was he to do it?
Surely he could not report them, for that would place him beneath a ban among the cadets.
He studied over the problem.
That night, when Hodge arose to slip away, Frank got up also, and began to dress. Bartley heard him, and was surprised.
"Where are you going, Frank?" he whispered.
"With you," was the quiet reply.
"But I thought——"
Hodge stopped; he would not say what he thought. But he told himself that he had known all along that Frank could not keep away.
They got out of the academy, and made their way to the old boathouse, where the company was already assembled.
Gage and Snell were there, but neither of them spoke to Frank.
Bart sat into the game immediately, but, to the general surprise, Frank declined.
"I am short, and I don't feel like playing to-night," he said. "I've got a book I want to read, and it wasn't possible for me to have a light in quarters, so I came along."
He declined all offers of money, and sat down to read the book. He turned his back to the table, so the light fell on the pages from over his shoulder, and in a short time he seemed too much absorbed in the book to observe anything that was going on.
The game became very warm. It was without limit, and Hodge lost from the first. Both Gage and Snell were winning steadily.
Still Merriwell seemed to read on calmly. But he was not reading a great deal. In the palm of one hand he had a small mirror concealed. By the aid of this mirror, he was watching the movements of Gage and Snell.
And he was making some very interesting discoveries!
At length there came a large pot. Hodge and Gage stayed in and raised till every one else fell out. Hodge took one card; Gage, who was dealing, took two.
Then there was betting such as had never before been known in that old boathouse.
Hodge's face was pale, and he refused to call, for he believed his time to get square had come. He put in his "paper" for more than fifty dollars, after his money was exhausted.
Finally the game came to an end, and Gage proclaimed himself the winner.
He started to take the money lying on the table. Like a leaping tiger, Frank Merriwell came out of his chair, whirled, thrust Leslie's hands aside, and pushed the money toward Bart.
"Not this evening, Mr. Gage!" he said. "I am onto your little game, and it won't work any more with this crowd!"
The boys sprang to their feet.
"What do you mean?" asked Gage, hoarsely, his face very pale.
"I mean that you are a sneak and a cheat!" said Frank, deliberately. "I mean that you are too mean and contemptible for any honest fellow in this academy to ever have anything to do with! I mean that you have deliberately robbed your companions by means of crooked appliances made for dishonest gamblers! That is exactly what I mean, Mr. Gage."
Leslie gasped, and managed to say:
"Be careful! You will have to prove every word, or——"
"I will prove it! I have been watching you, and I have seen you repeatedly make the pass that restores cut cards to their original position. I have seen you hold back at least three of the top cards in dealing, and give them to Snell or take them yourself. Those cards will be found to be skillfully marked, and that pack is short. Boys, count those cards!"
The cards were counted, and the pack proved to be four cards short.
"Here is one of the gambler's appliances of which I spoke," said Frank, thrusting his hand under Leslie's side of the table and wrenching away something. "It is a table hold-out, and it contains the four missing cards. This is the kind of a fellow you are playing cards with, gentlemen."
The faces of the boys were black with anger, Wat Snell being excepted. Seeing his opportunity, Snell quickly slipped away, and before he could be stopped, had bolted from the boathouse.
Gage took advantage of the excitement to make a break for liberty, and he, too, got away.
"What a howling shame!" said Harvey Dare, in disgust. "We'd tar and feather them both. Anyway, they'll have to get out of the academy."
The boys who had put money into the game were given what they had invested. The rest was turned over to Hodge. It made his losing nearly square.
"This settles me," he said, grimly. "I am done playing. No more of this business for me."
"Stick to that, and you will be all right," said Frank Merriwell, in a low tone.
Leslie Gage knew what must follow. The story was bound to spread among the cadets, and he would find himself scorned and shunned. He immediately ran away, and it was reported that he had gone to sea.
Wat Snell had not the nerve to run away, but he found himself the most unpopular fellow at the academy, shunned by the cadets generally, and regarded with contempt.
The exposure of Gage's crookedness broke up the poker parties for that season, at least; and Frank was happy, for he had saved himself and rescued Hodge and Hans Dunnerwust.
But he was happiest in receiving the approbation of Inza Burrage, who learned, through her brother, what Frank had done.
"Sh!"
"What's up?"
"There's a carmine haze on the moon."
"That's clear as mud! What's the racket?"
"You room next to Mulloy and Dunnerwust?"
"Yes."
"Well, you will hear the racket just about the time taps sound."
"But I want to know what's up," persisted the second speaker, whose curiosity was aroused. "Has somebody put up a job on those two marks, Mulloy and his Dutch chum?"
"You've guessed it."
"Who?"
"Guess again."
"Merriwell."
"Right. Take your place at the head of the class."
This hasty and guarded conversation was carried on between two plebe cadets who had met in a corridor of the academy "cockloft." The first speaker was a jolly-faced little fellow, whose name was Sammy Smiles, and whose companions had failed to invent a nickname for him that fitted as well as his real name—Smiles.
The other boy's name was also Samuel, or the first part of his name was Samuel; but the cadets declined to have two Sams among the plebes, and so Samuel Winslow had gradually come to be known as "Poke."
"What's Merriwell up to now?" asked Poke, a look of delighted suspense on his face. "He's making things rather lively round here lately."
"You bet!" grinned Sammy Smiles. "There's more fun in him than there is in a barrel of monkeys."
"But what's he up to now?" reiterated Winslow. "Don't keep a fellow in suspense!"
"He smuggled in a basket of crawfish."
"Well?"
"Well, you don't suppose he got 'em to eat, do you?"
"'Course not. Is he going to make the Dutchman eat them?"
"No, but they may take a few bites out of the Dutchman."
"You don't mean——"
"He's put the crawfish into Dunnerwust's and Mulloy's beds."
"Jeewhiz!"
Poke clapped a hand over his mouth, and looked round hastily. Then he asked:
"How could he do it? Beds ain't made up till after tattoo, and he wouldn't have time to——"
"Tattoo sounded fifteen minutes ago. It doesn't take Mulloy more than two minutes to make up his beds. Hans is slower, but I hustled 'em both up to-night. I dodged into their room the instant tattoo sounded, and told 'em Gray wanted 'em both to come to his room, but they mustn't come till after their beds were made, for they might stay till it was too late to make the beds before taps. They both hustled up the beds, and then skipped over to see Gray. Merriwell was watching, and he didn't lose more than an hour getting that basket of crawfish into their room, and stowing the lively little birds in the beds. Oh, my! won't there be a howl when they yank themselves into bed!"
Sammy Smiles doubled up with suppressed laughter. He was convulsed at the thought of what would happen when the Dutch boy and the Irish lad hastily jumped into their beds.
"Merriwell takes the cake," Poke declared, with a chuckle. "He's been on a regular frolic for the last week, and he can invent more kinds of fun than any fellow living—besides himself."
"That's right," agreed Sammy. "Frank is a dandy! Things would be rather dull here this winter if it wasn't for him."
"Well, he'll never let them get dull, and I believe he is the best fellow that ever lived!"
"Right again," nodded the other lad, with a moment of seriousness. "Merriwell is the prince of good fellows, and there's not a white man in the academy who wouldn't fight for him. I know some fellows are down on him, but that's pure jealousy. They're sore because he has become so popular. I don't believe he cares much."
"If he wouldn't stick up for Hodge the way he does——"
"That shows his loyalty. I can't see what he finds to admire in Hodge, though the fellow can fight and play ball. He and Frank do not seem very well matched for roommates. I don't see how Merriwell can keep from working jokes on Hodge all the time. Jingoes! but wouldn't I laugh if he had put some of those crawfish in Hodge's bed!"
This fancy convulsed Sammy again, and, just then, Poke hissed:
"'Sh! Somebody's coming! Skip!"
Both made haste to get into their rooms, and, as Sammy roomed with Ned Gray, he found Barney Mulloy and Hans Dunnerwust being entertained there. Ned was telling them stories, and pretending to be greatly absorbed in their society. As Sammy slipped in, with the inevitable grin on his face, although he was doing his best to suppress it, Ned looked up and asked:
"How's the weather outside?"
"It is settled," replied Sammy, with a meaning wink.
"Do you think it will be a cold night?"
"It will be for some folks."
"When the weather is cold down East, they call it nipping."
"Well, it will be nipping to-night for some people."
"In that case, somebody will have to be stirring."
"That's right."
"Yaw," said Hans, with a lazy yawn, "I pet me your life some folks peen plame fools enough to peen sdirring to-nighd. Dot makes me dired. Vy in dunder don'd dey gid in dere peds und sday dere, ain'd id?"
"Oh, some people don't know enough for that," said Ned Gray. "And then there are people who are afraid to go to bed at this season of the year."
"Vot vos dot? Afrait uf vot?"
"Centipedes."
"Vot vos cendibedes?"
"They are a creature with a poisonous bite, and they are all sizes from the bigness of a pea to one as large as your hand."
"Oh, phwat are yez givin' av us!" cried Barney Mulloy, derisively. "Is it idiots or fools ye take us fer, Oi dunno?"
"Oh, I am telling you the sober truth," declared Ned, with the utmost seriousness, while Sammy Smiles got behind the visitors and stuffed his handkerchief into his mouth to keep from shrieking with laughter. "The centipedes of tropical countries are smaller than our regular winter centipedes, which are sometimes as large as a man's hand. Their bite is deadly poison."
"Dunder und blitzens!" gasped Hans. "I don'd tole you dot!"
"Get away wid yer blarney!" exclaimed Barney, disbelievingly. "Pwhat do yez take us fer, Oi warnt to know? It's nivver a bit do ye shtuff sich a yarrun down aour throats, me b'y."
"You are not compelled to believe it."
"Cintipades in th' winter!" snorted the Irish lad. "Thot bates th' band!"
"Well, you may think what you like, but you may see some of our winter centipedes some time, and then it is possible you will feel that you owe me an apology."
"Vot does cendibedes look like, ain't it?"
"They have long, leg-like claws, and are covered with hard shells."
"Und dey pite?"
"Well, I should say so."
"Put, vy vos some beoples afrait dose cendibedes uf to go to ped? You tole me dot."
"Well, these winter centipedes are great creatures to seek warm corners, and so they get into beds."
Sammy Smiles was ready to roll on the floor. He could not keep his laughter bottled up, and it burst forth in a gurgle, which he quickly changed to a most distressing cough.
"Wan thing is sure," said Barney; "nivver a cintipade is loikely to get inther our beds, fer we make 'em up ache noight, so we'd see th' craythers if they wur there."
"I believe one of them has never been seen in the academy," came seriously from Ned's lips. "The strict discipline of the institution is too much for them, and they keep away."
Barney grinned.
"Thot's all roight, me b'y. Some doay Oi'll tell yez about th' big shnakes we hiv in Oireland. Oi hivn't toime to-night."
"Und I vill dell you apoud der big Injuns vot dere vos der Rhine on, in Shermany," said Hans. "Maype you haf heardt uf dose poem enditled 'Big Injun on der Rhine,' ain'd id?"
"Oh, well, that's all right!" said Ned, with a wave of his hand, as if he was not quite pleased.
Then he looked at his watch, and exclaimed:
"Great Scott! we've got but one minute left in which to undress and get into bed before taps!"
He leaped up and began undressing, and, with exclamations of alarm, the Irish lad and the Dutch boy hustled from the room, losing no time about getting into their own and undressing.
"Did Merriwell fix it?" asked Ned, of Sammy.
"You bet!" was the reply. "Extinguish the flicker, and wait for the general war-dance. It will take place in a very few seconds."
So they extinguished the light, and awaited the outburst that must soon come.