ON THEIR GUARD.
The other Yale men were out for their evening run when Frank was at last
ready to join them.
He did not try to follow them, for he had been so disturbed by the
excitement of his adventure with the police, that he thought it best to
rest; so when the students returned they found Frank in bed, and no one
disturbed him.
Next morning early he got Rowland and Hill together and explained the
whole affair to them. They were indignant, mad and disgusted all
together.
"We'll send Mellor back to New Haven on the first train!" exclaimed
Hill.
"It would serve him right," added Rowland, "if the faculty should hear
of this and expel him."
"The faculty mustn't hear of it," said Frank, decisively. "The thing
I've worked for most in all of this is to prevent any sort of disgrace,
and if Mellor can be put into condition for making a wrestle, it'll be
better for all of us that he should go into the contest."
"He'll never be able to last a single round," groaned Hill.
"If he should go down at the first catch," said Rowland, "everybody
would suspect that he was out of condition, and then what would come of
it?"
"Well, perhaps he isn't so badly off as you think," suggested Frank. "He
may be able to put up a good front. Let's go down and see how he is."
The suggestion was adopted at once, and the three went down to the
Turkish baths. The assistants who had been feed to look after Mellor
said that the student was asleep on a couch.
Frank and the others went to the sleeping room and stood by the couch
looking at Mellor in silence for a full minute.
As he had been very carefully rubbed and thoroughly steamed the night
before, and as he had been sleeping for many hours, he looked now quite
as well as usual.
The three managers looked at each other and nodded. They understood each
other; it was better that Mellor should be allowed to appear in the
wrestling match that night, even though he was almost surely doomed to
defeat.
They were about to withdraw when the wrestler opened his eyes.
"Hello, boys," he said, suddenly, and he sat up.
"How are you feeling?" asked Merriwell.
"Bully!" replied Mellor, with emphasis. Then his face flushed and he
looked down at the floor.
"I guess you remember what has happened," remarked Hill, contemptuously.
"Yes, I do," responded Mellor.
"What do you think of yourself?" asked Rowland.
"You're a fine man to carry Yale's banner to victory, aren't you!"
demanded Hill, savagely.
"Hold on, fellows," interrupted Frank; "there's no use in rubbing it in.
How did it happen, Mellor?"
"Oh, it's just my confounded foolishness," Mellor replied, with a groan;
"I wanted to see a little bit of city life, but I had no idea of
drinking. I had heard of a place where all sorts of toughs resorted, and
I went in there simply to look on."
"Better have stayed in the hotel," muttered Hill.
"Go on," said Merriwell.
"Well, there was quite a crowd there, and among them were two or three
Princeton students."
"How do you know?"
"Why, I saw the orange colors that they wore, and I heard them offering
bets on Princeton to other men who were standing around."
"Did you speak to them?"
"Not until they spoke to me."
"How did that happen?"
"Why, one of them caught my eye, looked at me sharply, and then asked
politely if my name wasn't Mellor, and if I didn't belong to Yale. I
felt kind of flattered at being recognized----"
"It made you think you were a great man, didn't it?" exclaimed Hill
"Oh, keep still!" said Frank. "Let him tell his story; this is important
to all of us."
Mellor ground his teeth and exclaimed:
"You can't make me feel any worse about this than I feel already."
"We don't want you to make any confession, Mellor," said Frank, gently;
"that isn't what we're after, for, unfortunately, I know only too well
what you'd have to confess to.
"The point we want to get at is, what these Princeton men said, for I'm
inclined to think that there's something of a conspiracy on foot to down
Yale and the other colleges by unfair means."
Mellor looked a little puzzled, but answered:
"After I had admitted who I was, the fellow who spoke to me asked how I
felt about the wrestling match. I told him I was all ready to meet
Princeton's best man, and then he asked if I was betting any money on
it. I shook my head, and he said 'that's right.'"
"What followed?"
"Oh, there were a number of polite remarks, and the crowd got around;
the Princeton men suggested that it would be pleasanter if we were by
ourselves, and I felt that they were right.
"They were so decent about it that I had no hesitation in going into a
back room with them. There they asked if I was taking anything."
"Did you say you were taking everything that came your way?" asked Hill.
"No, I didn't. I told them I was in training, and could take nothing but
Bass' ale."
"Huh!" grunted Hill.
"Did they set up a bottle?" asked Rowland.
"Yes. It was about the dinner hour, at which time I was allowed to take
ale, and I thought that it would do no harm; of course it was wrong--I
admit it now, but at the time I thought a single glass of ale wouldn't
hurt me, and it would be more polite to these chaps to go through the
form of drinking with them. So they had a bottle of champagne, and I
drank ale."
Mellor hesitated.
"You seem to have had your head about you," remarked Frank. "How did you
happen to get to drinking champagne?"
"I don't know," he answered, gloomily; "the ale seemed to make me half
drowsy, whereas usually I don't feel any effect from it at all, and I
guess I thought that a drop of wine would brace me up."
"I see it all!" exclaimed Frank.
The others looked at him inquiringly.
"Knockout drops!" he said.
"By Jove! I bet you're right!" exclaimed Rowland.
"It was anything to get the Yale champion fuddled and they knew well
enough that he wouldn't take more than one glass of ale, so unless I'm
greatly mistaken they drugged his ale and got him completely
unbalanced."
"It's a monstrous outrage!" cried Rowland.
Hill looked contemptuous and said nothing.
Merriwell turned to Mellor with the remark:
"Lie still a while longer and get breakfast when you want it. I'll see
you in your room later, and if you think you're going to be fit, we'll
have you in the contest to-night just the same."
"Great Scott!" cried Mellor, "you wouldn't bar me out of that, would
you?"
"We were thinking of it," said Hill.
"You'll have to pull yourself together, Mellor," said Frank, seriously,
"for unless you can make a good showing we don't any of us want you to
appear."
Mellor bowed his head upon his hands, and the others left him. As soon
as they were out of hearing Hill said:
"Perhaps it's nothing better than could be expected of a freshman, but
anyhow, we've got to bring this matter to the attention of the Princeton
managers at once."
The others agreed, and they went to the Fifth Avenue Hotel, where they
found the Princeton managers at breakfast.
The case was not explained to the Princeton men in full, but enough was
said to make them certain that Yale had reason to suspect a trick on the
part of men wearing Princeton colors.
The indignation of the Princeton managers was too great for expression;
one of them was so hot-headed that he wanted a row at once with
Merriwell for seeming to suggest that Princeton men could be capable of
such treacherous conduct.
Frank hastened to assure him that no Yale man thought such a thing
possible.
"We think some rascals are playing off under Princeton's colors," he
said.
The Princeton managers were sure that this must be the case, for no
students had accompanied them to the city excepting those who were to
take part in the contests.
They declared their intention of keeping their eyes open for men wearing
the Princeton rosettes, and promised to do everything possible to have
such men arrested, if any charge could be brought against them.
So there the matter had to rest. There was no doubt that the Princeton
men were in earnest, and that they would do what they could, but that
did not seem to promise very much.
The scoundrels who were anxious to make money by betting on Princeton
could not be arrested for simply wearing an orange rosette, and there
was no way of preventing further trouble, therefore, except for Yale men
to hang together and take the greatest care not to put themselves in the
way of strangers.
It was agreed by Frank and his companions that nothing should be said to
the contestants about the matter, for fear that they might get nervous,
and so be unfitted for doing their best in the evening's games.
The day passed, therefore, very quietly for the Yale athletes. They went
in a body to a gymnasium and had two or three hours' practice, and in
the afternoon they had a walk through Central Park.
Mellor appeared to be quite himself, except that he was silent, and that
he looked solemn. The other students supposed that this was due to his
anxiety about the wrestling match, and no questions were asked, although
there were a few good-natured jokes about his nervousness.
He took all the jokes quietly, and made no retort.
Nothing happened during the day to give the Yale managers any new
anxiety. They kept their eyes open all the time for a sight of the bogus
Princeton men, but failed to see them.
When at last evening came, and they went up to the Seventh Regiment
Armory for the great contest, they felt that with the possible exception
of Mellor, everything was in as good condition as could be hoped for
Yale victories.