THE SECRET.
Frank was a bit disappointed by the failure of his friends to reach the
Elm Tree Inn that noon.
Grafter lunched with Merry and Hodge. They chatted pleasantly
throughout the meal. The shot putter noted everything that Frank ate.
“Do you conform to a rigid diet?” he asked.
“Not exactly, although I do not eat the things I know are not good for
me.”
“Can you outline a diet that is proper for all athletes in training?”
“I might outline one that would be proper for most athletes, yet not
for all. I have found by experience that human stomachs vary, and it is
an old saw that ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison.’ Still there
are some rules that apply to every one. Certain things must not be
touched by the fellow who proposes to become an athlete.”
“For instance?”
“Tobacco, liquor, coffee.”
“Don’t you think a man may take a small drink with beneficial effect at
times?”
“Never when in health.”
“When not in health——”
“He’s not fit to take part in athletic contests. Liquor may be used as
a medicine when prescribed by a doctor who knows his business.”
“How about the theory that liquor in moderate quantity is a food? You
know that’s the assertion of the most advanced doctors of the present
day.”
Frank nodded and smiled.
“It may be a food,” he admitted; “but it is a most dangerous one. The
person who uses it as a food must acquire an appetite for it. Half a
pint of liquor a day might not seem to harm a strong and rugged man
until he acquired the appetite and desire for it. In the end it might
ruin him. It is something that cannot be tampered with. It should be
let alone by all healthy persons.”
“What’s the secret of your remarkable success in becoming the champion
amateur athlete of America, Mr. Merriwell?”
Again Frank smiled.
“Am I the champion of America?”
“So called by almost every one.”
“Well, there is no great secret about my success. In the first place
I began young. I have been working for years to make myself perfect
physically without overdoing and breaking down. It’s a delicate thing
to know just how much hard work will be beneficial for one, for
overdoing invariably weakens. I have been temperate, and I’ve tried
to live properly. I have no vices that can weaken me. Petty vices are
the ruin of hundreds of would-be athletes. I enjoy life thoroughly
without seeking enjoyment in forbidden paths. All the while I have been
training my body I’ve trained my mind also.
“Mind and body must work together. The chap who wishes to become a
champion must be earnest, sincere, and determined. He must never slight
his work. He must always keep himself keyed up to the finest possible
point. The moment he grows careless or negligent he begins to slump and
go backward. He must have unwavering confidence in himself. It’s hard
for a youngster to be confident in himself without showing conceit, and
then every one wants to kick him. But there is such a thing as absolute
and perfect self-confidence without conceit.”
Grafter seemed a trifle disappointed.
“Have you told me your secret?” he asked.
“I informed you that there was no secret about it. The secret of
success is generally hard work. Veterans will tell you so.”
“But some fellows seem to succeed without working.”
“No man has made great success in this world without working; but you
know for many men work is play. The boy who enjoys work is certain to
be a winner.”
Grafter shook his head.
“I’m afraid,” he confessed, “that I’ll never be much of a winner at
anything, for I do not enjoy work.”
“Learn to enjoy it.”
“How can I?”
“Put your heart into it. Get interested. That’s the trick. Never do
a thing with the simple desire to get it done quickly, but with the
determination to get it done well.”
“That’s good advice, I reckon,” admitted Grafter; “but can you tell
me how it is that you happen to be an all-round champion, yet able
to defeat fellows who have made a special effort to excel in one
particular line?”
“I have told you the whole secret. Other fellows may have been content
to perfect themselves in one or two lines; I have tried to become
perfect in many lines. Some things I like better than others. If I
attempt a thing that I do not like very well, I work at it all the
harder. If I find some other fellow who can do it better than I, then I
set out to do it better than he can, and I never stop until I succeed.
Even then, I generally find still another chap who is my superior and
keep on trying to beat him.”
“But you were specially adapted to become a great athlete. You were
athletic when a boy?”
“I made myself so. I was something of a weakling when born. My mother
expected me to die. I remember hearing her say it was a shame I could
not grow up to be strong and rugged. She even fancied I might have lung
trouble.”
“It doesn’t seem possible!” cried Grafter, surveying Merry’s sturdy
figure.
“When I became old enough to think, I resolved that I would be strong.
I sought to learn how to make myself strong. I discovered the way. Do
you know it is a fact that almost all great athletes and strong men
have been weak children?”
“I did not know.”
“It’s true.”
“But it almost seems that you must hypnotize your opponents in matches.
How is it that you defeat them time after time when they appear to have
the advantage, the same as you did Manton to-day?”
“I grasp the opportunity.”
“The opportunity? Why——”
“In almost everything there comes an opening, or opportunity, that may
be seized with advantage. It came to-day when Manton failed to make his
seventh straight strike. I always watch the other fellow to see when he
weakens. At that point I try to put forth my best efforts. If he slumps
and I succeed, he may lose his nerve. All through life a man must be
ready to grasp the opportunity.”
“And that,” cried Grafter, as if his eyes had suddenly been opened, “is
the secret of his success!”