CHAPTER XXXV—MERRIWELL’S CLOSE CALL
Frank had quite forgotten his burned hands; there was no time to think of them then. Had both arms been in splints, he would have tried to defend himself just the same.
Down the street came a running figure; up the street came another. They were two of the gang, who had been set to watch for the approach of officers.
Although there were three of the ruffians to one of the boys they had attacked, the gang had been forced to call on the watchers for assistance!
“What’s the matter?” panted one, as he came up. “You’re making an awful racket! Can’t you do them two stiffs?”
“Get at ’em!” ordered the fellow whose coat was turned. “It’ll take all of us to do the job.”
“All of you may not be able to do it,” cried Merry.
But the two fellows who had been on guard were fresh, and they pitched in fiercely. In a short time Bart and Frank found they were being overpowered. They were blinded by blows and beaten breathless, but still they fought.
Hark! What was that? The sound of singing from a distance—the old, familiar song:
“Here’s to good Old Yale—drink it down!
Here’s to good Old Yale—drink it down!
Here’s to good Old Yale,
She’s so hearty and so hale—
Drink it down! Drink it down! down! down!”
From Frank Merriwell’s lips pealed a wild cry—the Yale yell. It echoed along the street, and the distant singing stopped. The cry was answered!
“Help, fellows!”
There was another answer, and soon running feet were heard.
“A thousand furies!” snarled the leader of the ruffians. “Those other fellows are coming!”
Then he made a desperate lunge at Frank, who saw something bright glitter in his fingers. Merriwell avoided the thrust, but heard a cutting sound as the bright instrument slashed his coat.
Frank knew the wretch had struck at him with an open knife, and again he snatched for that handkerchief. This time he caught it and tore it from the fellow’s face.
But the leader of the ruffians turned and ran like a deer. Merry would have followed, but, in trying to do so, he stumbled over one of the gang who had been knocked down.
This fellow grappled with Frank, and then Mulloy, Diamond, Rattleton, Gallup, Browning and Dunnerwust came running up.
“Pwhat’s this?” cried Barney, excitedly. “Is it a schrap, an’ Oi not in it? Did yez ivver see th’ loikes av this!”
“Wal, gol darn it all!” puffed Ephraim. “If this don’t beat all natur! Where’s the rest of um?”
“They ran when they heard you coming,” said Frank; “but I have this chap all right.”
“Shimminy Ghristmas!” gurgled Hans. “Uf I hadn’t peen here before, dem vellers vould peen licked britty queek, ain’d id! Ven I heard dem comin’ they all rund avay off. I pet your life dey known vot vas coot vor mineseluf. Yaw!”
“Blame the luck!” grunted Browning. “Think of running like that and then arriving too late to get into the fight! It’s disgusting!”
“Who were they, Frank?” asked Diamond.
“I think I know the leader, and I have the handkerchief he had tied over his face. As for this fellow—— No, you don’t!”
The one Merry was holding made a desperate attempt to break away, but was prevented.
And, now the fight was over, a policeman approached, saw the crowd, and rapped a call for assistance. Within a minute three officers were on the spot.
Frank and Bart told their story. At first the officers were inclined to discredit it, thinking there had been a street row among those found there by them, but when they saw Merriwell’s captive and obtained a good look at the fellow’s face one of them cried:
“It’s Shiner Gregg! He belongs to the Stone Alley gang.”
Then Frank showed where his coat had been slit open by a knife, told where he was stopping, and satisfied the officers that he was telling nothing but the truth.
Two of the officers took Shiner Gregg to a police station, while another accompanied the boys to the hotel, where he satisfied himself that they had told the truth, and made Merriwell and Hodge promise to appear against Gregg.
After washing up, Frank and Bart found they were not severely scarred; but that it had been a close call for Merry was made evident by the slash in his coat.
“Well,” said Frank, as he held up the coat and looked at it ruefully, “that finished your career, but you did one good job to-night. You smothered the fire that would have burned a very saucy and very attractive young lady. I think I will keep you as a reminder of the occasion.”
“It’s fortunate we were out strolling around after leaving the theatre,” said Rattleton. “We were feeling rather gay, and did not seem to want to turn in so early.”
“New Yorkers say Philadelphia is slow,” grunted Browning; “but I’ll be hanged if it doesn’t seem to be a hot town! I think New Yorkers are sore on the place.”
“Slow,” drawled Ephraim Gallup, with a queer twist of his homely face. “Thutteration! There’s more goin’ on here than there ever was araound aour taown up in Varmont, an’ we uster think that was purty gosh-darn lively sometimes. Once we had a dorg fight, a thunderstorm an’ Jeduthin Blodgett’s chimbney burnt aout, all in one afternoon, an’ I tell yeou things was all fired lively up raound them diggin’s. But I swan Philadelfy has more goin’ on than that ’most any day but Sunday.”
Some of the boys laughed at this, but Hans stared at Ephraim in a bewildered way.
“Dot must peen a lifely down,” he said. “Uf you vos to life there a great vile I oxbect id vould turn my hair gray.”
For a long time the boys talked over the street encounter, and then Frank produced the handkerchief he had snatched from the face of the leader of the ruffians. After looking it over carefully he uttered an exclamation.
“What is it, Merry?” asked Rattleton.
“I have made a discovery,” said Merriwell, with a look of satisfaction, as he restored the handkerchief to his pocket.
“What sort of a discovery?”
“One that may prove of great importance.”
“Don’t be so mysterious about it,” urged Diamond. “Tell us what you have discovered.”
“Wait,” said Frank. “I will tell you later.”
“Do you think you know any of the ruffians who assaulted you besides the one caught?”
“I fancy so. Let’s go to bed now. We can talk this over to-morrow.”
Frank went to bed and slept as well as if nothing serious had happened.
This was not the case with Hodge. His blood had not cooled, and he turned, twisted, muttered and grated his teeth in his sleep. Diamond, who slept with him, got out of bed, went into the room where Hans and Ephraim were sleeping together, awoke the Dutch boy, and sternly ordered him to go into the other room and sleep with Hodge.
Dunnerwust protested some, but as he was stupefied with sleep and being somewhat afraid of the Virginian, he finally obeyed.
Toward morning there was a wild outcry in that room, a thump on the floor and sounds of a struggle. Then Hans was heard calling:
“Hellup! hellup! Somepody gome und took him off! Uf you don’d gome und done dot britty queek he peen sure to kilt himseluf! Hellup! Fire!”
Several of the boys rushed into the room, and when they turned on the light, an astonishing spectacle was revealed.
Hans and Bart were struggling on the floor, all tangled up in the clothes they had dragged from the bed. Hodge was striking out wildly, muttering:
“Come on! come on! We are enough for you! Three to one is small odds! Back to back, Merry! We’ll fight as long as we can stand! They can’t lick us! They never could lick us at Fardale, Merry!”
One of his fists landed on the Dutch boy’s ear, and Hans squawked louder than ever.
“Hoch, I peen gone grazy!” he cried. “Took him off I toldt you! Uf you don’d took him off he vill kilt mineseluf! Murter! Id hurts heem ven he hits me dot vay!”
Frank and Jack grasped them and dragged them apart, but Hodge turned on Diamond and gave him a crack that sent him up against the wall.
“Come on, the whole of you!” he shouted. “You can’t do us up! Give it to them, Merry!”
Hans broke away and tried to crawl under the bed, wildly crying:
“Oxcuse me vile I look vor my vatch! Id might step on somepody uf I don’d took care uf id.”
Merriwell made a leap and caught hold of Hodge, whom he ran up against the wall, where he held him, speaking sharply:
“Steady, Bart, old man! It’s all over! We have cleaned out the whole gang.”
Bart struggled a moment, and then a wondering light came into his eyes, which had been wide open and staring all the while. His hands dropped at his sides, and he ceased to struggle.
“What’s the matter?” he faintly asked.
“You have had a rather lively touch of nightmare,” explained Merry.
“Nighdtmares!” cried Hans from under the bed, in a smothered voice. “Uf he didn’d haf a whole heardt of vild hosses you vos a liar!”
The racket had aroused a number of guests, and the night watchman and two bellboys appeared. It took considerable smooth talk from Frank to convince them that murder had not been attempted in that room, but the curious ones departed at last, although there were mutterings of “disgraceful,” “an outrage” and “ought to be fired.”
Frank laughed when it was all over.
“We’ll be lucky if we are not fired in the morning,” he said.
Hans refused to go to bed with Bart again, when he had been dragged from beneath the bed.
“Uf I done dot, you vos a fool!” he squealed. “I vould peen in dancher uf killin’ me pefore der mornings! Shack Tiamon’, you haf no peesness to done notthing like dot! Id vos an imbosition on me, und you von’t stood id!”
So Diamond was obliged to sleep with Bart, but Hodge did not create any further disturbance. The remainder of the night passed quietly enough.