Frank Merriwell's Champions: or, All in the Game

But she did not hesitate; immediately she came forward and held out her hand, saying:

“Mr. Merriwell, I said I would ask your pardon on my knees, but I can’t do it here in the street, and so perhaps you will not expect it.”

“Well, hardly!” laughed Frank. “I don’t know why you should ask my pardon at all.”

“I do! I ask it now, Mr. Merriwell! You were a gentleman, and I know I was not a lady. Oh, I have been so ashamed of myself when I thought it all over and realized what sort of an opinion you must have formed of me!”

“Miss Darling!”

“And I am trying to leave off slang, although I will make a break occasionally – there! I want to thank you for the heroic manner in which you came to my rescue when my clothes were on fire.”

“I am afraid you make too much of that. I fail to see where the heroism came in.”

“That – that fellow you just drove away did not make a move to help me, and he was the nearest of anybody! I don’t care, it was heroic of you!”

“All right,” smiled Frank; “if you are determined to have it that way, I’ll have to let you regard me as a hero.”

She looked him straight in the eyes, and softly said:

“I do!”

After a moment, her eyes drooped before his steady gaze, and he saw she had long lashes that almost touched her cheeks.

“Mr. Merriwell.”

“Yes, Miss Darling.”

“I am afraid it may seem bold, and I know you think me far too forward now – ”

“No, no – I protest!”

“I can’t help it if you do think so. I can’t be strictly conventional at all times. We are standing in the street, where we must attract more or less notice. There is my carriage. Will you ride with me?”

“With pleasure.”

The footman in livery held open the door for them to enter, and then that door closed behind them. The dignified footman ascended to his seat, and the coachman started up the horses. The closed carriage rolled away.

For some moments Frank and Fanny were silent, both seeming embarrassed. At last, he asked her about the burns she had received, and they chatted in a commonplace way for some time.

“Do you know,” he said, “when I heard you scream that night and saw the fire, my heart nearly leaped out of my mouth. I was afraid I could not reach you in time to keep the fire from your face and neck.”

“What if you hadn’t! I’m not a raving beauty now, and it would not have damaged my looks very much.”

“Don’t say that, Miss Darling! It would have been terrible! And you are pretty! I am sincere!”

She gasped for breath.

“Really – really, Mr. Merriwell! It’s impossible! Why, there is Mabel!”

“I know. She is charming, but to my eyes, you are far prettier. Don’t think I am trying taffy, for I give you my word, Miss Darling, that I am not.”

“Why, I – I thought you were dead stuck on Mabel!” cried the wondering girl.

“Not that. I like her, and she has treated me very nicely.”

“Yes, far better than I have; but that night, after you had saved me, I heard the doctor say, that if you did not save my life, at least you had prevented my frightful disfigurement. Oh, you will never know the sensation that came over me then! Such a sense of shame, for I thought how I had treated you. But – but I want to tell you something now, Mr. Merriwell. It is awfully hard for me to say, but I must say it. I did not treat you that way because I disliked you. No! no! no! It was for just the other reason. I liked you too well – there! I thought you did not care anything for me and was all taken up with Mabel, so I tried to get a dab at you every time I could. It was mean – I know it! I didn’t expect you to forgive me, for I am sure I did not deserve it. And then, after all the mean things I had done, you passed all those near me when I was in danger and saved me! I could have died from shame!”

She was sobbing now, although fighting back the tears. He did his best to soothe her, and succeeded very well.

“I think we understand each other very well now,” he said.

The closed carriage rolled on. The coachman pulled down the horses to a slower pace, as if he knew there was no need to hurry. The footman sat up very straight, with folded arms and solemn, dignified countenance, as if such a thing as curiosity had never entered his heart, and he had no thought of the young couple within the carriage.

Yes, they understood each other very well at last.

CHAPTER XXXVII – THE LAST BLOW – CONCLUSION

The gymnasium of the Olympic Athletic Club was crowded. There were seats all around the room, and a roped-off ring in the center. A referee and two judges had been chosen. Hank Burk’s second was Wallace Hegner, his trainer. Tom Jackson had a second who seemed to know his business.

The excitement was at fever heat, for the great match was about to begin. The principals came out and entered the ring, accompanied by their seconds. They wore bath robes, which were soon flung aside. Then the spectators cheered as they saw the two lads stripped to the waist.

On choice by lot the Olympic had secured the bout for themselves; but the guests of the Fairmount were admitted, so all of Frank Merriwell’s friends were there.

But Frank – where was he?

“I can’t understand it,” declared Diamond. “It is most remarkable that he should not be here. I didn’t suppose anything could keep him from this mill.”

Hodge looked worried.

“He will be here,” Bart declared. “You know he has promised a sensation, but I’m afraid he failed in securing the evidence he needs.”

Tang! – the gong sounded.

Burk and Jackson advanced to shake hands.

Then it was that Frank came hustling into the room, looking flushed but triumphant. Hurrying to the ringside, he turned to the spectators and cried:

“This match must be stopped five minutes! I have something to tell you before it goes on!”

There was a murmur of astonishment and disapproval. The audience, their nerves tingling with the desire to see the boxers go at each other, were angered by the interruption.

“You can tell it afterward,” cried a voice.

“No!” came firmly from Frank. “It must be told now, for it concerns this match. I know you all want to see fair play – with a very few exceptions. I tell you now that there is a job here, and I can prove it! This match is fixed!”

What a stir that created! For some moments it seemed that there would be a riot, but the excited spectators cooled down at last, although a dozen voices demanded the proof.

In the ring Hank Burk and Tom Jackson looked at each other in a startled way, while Wallace Hegner’s face grew pale.

“What does he know?” asked Burk in a whisper.

“He can’t know anything,” said Jackson. “He is putting up a bluff.”

Hegner found his voice and demanded that Merriwell be removed from the room. But it was too late, as he soon saw, for the young fellows who had heard his assertion were eager to hear more.

“I know you do not permit betting,” Frank cried; “but there has been betting on this match. Large sums of money have been staked on the result, but a most surprising fact is that the principal backer of Jackson – the one who has furnished most of the money bet on him is the trainer of Burk, Mr. Wallace Hegner!”

Hegner gave a howl and made a rush for Frank, but Bruce Browning was on hand and interposed his massive form, grasping the furious lad by the collar and holding him helpless.

“I will tell you how I know this,” Frank went on, speaking swiftly. “This Hegner has a grudge against me, and, with several of his friends, a gang of thugs, he attacked me the other night. In the fight I secured a handkerchief marked with his initials, and he came very near getting a knife into me. One of the gang was captured, a fellow known as Shiner Gregg. The police have been wanting to get hold of Gregg for some time, and when he fell into their hands they ‘put on the screws.’ As a result of the squeezing the fellow has confessed everything. He told how Mr. Hegner obtained his money to stake on this crooked match. Two weeks ago the jewelry store of Isaac Rosenfeld was entered and robbed. Gregg says Hegner planned the robbery and was one of the four concerned in it.”

“It’s a lie – a downright lie!” screamed Hegner, struggling to reach Frank. “Let me get at him! I will kill him!”

“It is the confession of Shiner Gregg,” said Frank. “He says this match was fixed – that Jackson would win, and Burk would receive good pay for flunking. Here is the proof that I have spoken the truth.”

He whistled, and into the room came six uniformed policemen. They quickly reached the ring, and Hegner, who had fought like a tiger to break from Browning, was collared, handcuffed and taken in charge.

By this time, in some mysterious manner, Burk and Jackson had disappeared. The spectators were furious. They talked of tar and feathers.

Wallace Hegner, limp, white and crushed, was marched away between the officers. As he passed Merriwell he lifted his eyes, but they fell instantly, and his appearance was that of a whipped cur.

Frank’s second blow had been a knockout.

Hegner was held for the Grand Jury, tried and convicted, for overwhelming evidence against him was obtained. As it seemed to have been his first offense, he was given a comparatively light sentence.

Frank pitied the fellow at last, for all the heart and life seemed gone out of him. Never before had Frank struck an enemy such a blow as that.

Burk and Jackson escaped from the Olympic with a portion of their clothes, and they took care to keep in hiding for a long time after that.

It was suspected that the judge had been tampered with, but this was never proved. That several of the Olympic men knew all about the game was certain, but Jackson and one other were the only ones expelled from the club.

Before leaving Philadelphia Frank Merriwell and his party attended a banquet given in their honor by the Fairmount Club. It was a jolly affair, for young lady guests were present and everything passed off finely.

There were speeches and toasts, and the mention of Merriwell’s name always brought a tumultuous burst of applause.

A gay time was had for two days more in Philadelphia, their new-found friends doing everything possible to make the visit a pleasant one.

From the South came news that Harlow had escaped from jail by striking down a keeper. But he had been hit in the head with a club later on, and was now in the hospital.

“He won’t come to trial just yet,” said Frank. “And perhaps it is just as well.”

“And now for Yale!” cried Jack. “Hurrah for old Eli!”

“So say we all of us!” shouted Harry.

And then a roar went up in which all of their new-found friends joined:

“Hurrah for old Eli! Hurrah for the brave boys of the Yale Combine!”

THE END

No. 20. of the Merriwell Series, entitled “Frank Merriwell’s Return to Yale,” gives an account of games, sports, and pastimes, work and study, in all of which Frank shines conspicuously, and retains the admiration of all his old friends.

BUFFALO BILL BORDER STORIES

The Career of the King of Scouts

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Since the Ladies’ Home Journal began the publication of the personal history of William F. Cody, or, as he was better known, Buffalo Bill, that famous old-time scout and plainsman has assumed a new importance in the eyes of Americans. For many years we have been telling the American reading public that no more interesting, native character ever lived. The stories of his adventures as narrated by his friend and chum, Colonel Prentiss Ingraham, are mostly facts, but they are written with such engaging interest that it is impossible to tell where the fact leaves off and fiction begins. Buffalo Bill was a truly great character. Prentiss Ingraham is truly great as an author and between the two they make the books in this line well worth the while of any American who wants to know something of the wild life on the rolling prairies of the Far West.

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1 – Buffalo Bill, the Border King2 – Buffalo Bill’s Raid3 – Buffalo Bill’s Bravery4 – Buffalo Bill’s Trump Card5 – Buffalo Bill’s Pledge6 – Buffalo Bill’s Vengeance7 – Buffalo Bill’s Iron Grip8 – Buffalo Bill’s Capture9 – Buffalo Bill’s Danger Line10 – Buffalo Bill’s Comrades11 – Buffalo Bill’s Reckoning12 – Buffalo Bill’s Warning13 – Buffalo Bill at Bay14 – Buffalo Bill’s Buckskin Pards15 – Buffalo Bill’s Brand16 – Buffalo Bill’s Honor17 – Buffalo Bill’s Phantom Hunt18 – Buffalo Bill’s Fight With Fire19 – Buffalo Bill’s Danite Trail20 – Buffalo Bill’s Ranch Riders21 – Buffalo Bill’s Death Trail22 – Buffalo Bill’s Trackers23 – Buffalo Bill’s Mid-air Flight24 – Buffalo Bill, Ambassador25 – Buffalo Bill’s Air Voyage26 – Buffalo Bill’s Secret Mission27 – Buffalo Bill’s Long Trail28 – Buffalo Bill Against Odds29 – Buffalo Bill’s Hot Chase30 – Buffalo Bill’s Redskin Ally31 – Buffalo Bill’s Treasure Trove32 – Buffalo Bill’s Hidden Foes33 – Buffalo Bill’s Crack Shot34 – Buffalo Bill’s Close Call35 – Buffalo Bill’s Double Surprise36 – Buffalo Bill’s Ambush37 – Buffalo Bill’s Outlaw Hunt38 – Buffalo Bill’s Border Duel39 – Buffalo Bill’s Bid for Fame40 – Buffalo Bill’s Triumph41 – Buffalo Bill’s Spy Trailer42 – Buffalo Bill’s Death Call43 – Buffalo Bill’s Body Guard44 – Buffalo Bill’s Still Hunt45 – Buffalo Bill and the Doomed Dozen46 – Buffalo Bill’s Prairie Scout47 – Buffalo Bill’s Traitor Guide48 – Buffalo Bill’s Bonanza49 – Buffalo Bill’s Swoop50 – Buffalo Bill and the Gold King51 – Buffalo Bill’s Deadshot52 – Buffalo Bill’s Buckskin Bravos53 – Buffalo Bill’s Big Four54 – Buffalo Bill’s One-armed Pard55 – Buffalo Bill’s Race for Life56 – Buffalo Bill’s Return57 – Buffalo Bill’s Conquest58 – Buffalo Bill to the Rescue59 – Buffalo Bill’s Beautiful Foe60 – Buffalo Bill’s Perilous Task61 – Buffalo Bill’s Queer Find62 – Buffalo Bill’s Blind Lead63 – Buffalo Bill’s Resolution64 – Buffalo Bill, the Avenger65 – Buffalo Bill’s Pledged Pard66 – Buffalo Bill’s Weird Warning67 – Buffalo Bill’s Wild Ride68 – Buffalo Bill’s Redskin Stampede69 – Buffalo Bill’s Mine Mystery70 – Buffalo Bill’s Gold Hunt71 – Buffalo Bill’s Daring Dash72 – Buffalo Bill on Hand73 – Buffalo Bill’s Alliance74 – Buffalo Bill’s Relentless Foe75 – Buffalo Bill’s Midnight Ride76 – Buffalo Bill’s Chivalry77 – Buffalo Bill’s Girl Pard78 – Buffalo Bill’s Private War79 – Buffalo Bill’s Diamond Mine80 – Buffalo Bill’s Big Contract81 – Buffalo Bill’s Woman Foe82 – Buffalo Bill’s Ruse83 – Buffalo Bill’s Pursuit84 – Buffalo Bill’s Hidden Gold85 – Buffalo Bill in Mid-air86 – Buffalo Bill’s Queer Mission87 – Buffalo Bill’s Verdict88 – Buffalo Bill’s Ordeal89 – Buffalo Bill’s Camp Fires90 – Buffalo Bill’s Iron Nerve91 – Buffalo Bill’s Rival92 – Buffalo Bill’s Lone Hand93 – Buffalo Bill’s Sacrifice94 – Buffalo Bill’s Thunderbolt95 – Buffalo Bill’s Black Fortune96 – Buffalo Bill’s Wild Work97 – Buffalo Bill’s Yellow Trail98 – Buffalo Bill’s Treasure Train99 – Buffalo Bill’s Bowie Duel100 – Buffalo Bill’s Mystery Man101 – Buffalo Bill’s Bold Play102 – Buffalo Bill: Peacemaker103 – Buffalo Bill’s Big Surprise104 – Buffalo Bill’s Barricade105 – Buffalo Bill’s Test106 – Buffalo Bill’s Powwow107 – Buffalo Bill’s Stern Justice108 – Buffalo Bill’s Mysterious Friend

To Be Published in June, 1921.

109 – Buffalo Bill and the Boomers110 – Buffalo Bill’s Panther Fight111 – Buffalo Bill and the Overland Mail

BUFFALO BILL BORDER STORIES

To Be Published in July, 1921.

112 – Buffalo Bill on the Deadwood Trail113 – Buffalo Bill in Apache Land

To Be Published in August, 1921.

114 – Buffalo Bill’s Blindfold Duel115 – Buffalo Bill and the Lone Camper116 – Buffalo Bill’s Merry War

To Be Published in September, 1921.

117 – Buffalo Bill’s Star Play118 – Buffalo Bill’s War Cry

To Be Published in October, 1921.

119 – Buffalo Bill on Black Panther’s Trail120 – Buffalo Bill’s Slim Chance

To Be Published in November, 1921.

121 – Buffalo Bill Besieged

In order that there may be no confusion, we desire to say that the books listed above, 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.

HORATIO ALGER, JR.

Is the favorite writer of a million boys. Do you realize what this means? His stories are good!

MERRIWELL SERIES

Stories of Frank and Dick Merriwell

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Handsome Colored Covers – Stories of Generous Length

For three generations, the adventures of the Merriwell brothers have proven an inspiration to countless thousands of American boys.

Frank and Dick are lads of high ideals, and the examples they set in dealing with their parents, their friends, and especially their enemies, are sure to make better boys of their readers.

These stories teem with fun and adventure in all branches of sports and athletics. They are just what every red-blooded American boy wants to read – they are what he must read to develop into a manly, upright man.

ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT

1 – Frank Merriwell’s School Days2 – Frank Merriwell’s Chums3 – Frank Merriwell’s Foes4 – Frank Merriwell’s Trip West5 – Frank Merriwell Down South6 – Frank Merriwell’s Bravery7 – Frank Merriwell’s Hunting Tour8 – Frank Merriwell in Europe9 – Frank Merriwell at Yale10 – Frank Merriwell’s Sports Afield11 – Frank Merriwell’s Races

To Be Published in June, 1921.

12 – Frank Merriwell’s Party13 – Frank Merriwell’s Bicycle Tour

To Be Published in July, 1921.

14 – Frank Merriwell’s Courage15 – Frank Merriwell’s Daring

To Be Published in August, 1921.

16 – Frank Merriwell’s Alarm17 – Frank Merriwell’s Athletes18 – Frank Merriwell’s Skill

To Be Published in September, 1921.

19 – Frank Merriwell’s Champions20 – Frank Merriwell’s Return to Yale

To Be Published in October, 1921.

21 – Frank Merriwell’s Secret22 – Frank Merriwell’s Danger

To Be Published in November, 1921.

23 – Frank Merriwell’s Loyalty24 – Frank Merriwell in Camp

To Be Published in December, 1921.

25 – Frank Merriwell’s Vacation26 – Frank Merriwell’s Cruise

In order that there may be no confusion, we desire to say that the books listed above 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.

MARY J. HOLMESCHARLES GARVICEMAY AGNES FLEMINGMRS. GEORGIE SHELDON

Four authors enshrined in the heart of every reader of fiction in America. See the list of their works in the NEW EAGLE SERIES.

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRANK MERRIWELL’S CHAMPIONS ***