In his heart Frank Merriwell doubted if Jabez could change his natural inclinations; but, at the same time, he was confident that the course chosen was the proper one, for he did not wish Old Joe to come to harm through his affection for Dick and his desire to punish the boy’s enemy.
There was something about the old redskin that Frank admired. Joe knew little of white men’s laws, and cared less. "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was the law that appealed to him, and in which he firmly believed. To Joe there seemed nothing particularly wonderful in the feat of Dick. For years the old Indian had trained the lad to be fleet of foot, keen of eye, and quick of hand, and it had been his expectation and belief that Dick would excel in feats and games calling for these qualities.
Frank had quickly understood the immense good the training of Old Joe had done the boy, who might have been weak and sickly but for his free, open-air life, with the redskin as his chief tutor.
But Merry saw that there were points Old Joe had neglected, and Dick was far from perfect physically when Frank took him in hand. In a short time Frank had wrought an improvement, but he was keeping the work up at Fardale, seeking to develop his brother into a youth who should be an absolute physical model.
Frank believed he could accomplish the work, though he realized that it could not be brought to a successful conclusion at once. It would take time and patience to make Dick Merriwell as near perfect as possible; but time and patience Frank was ready to give.
At first Old Joe regarded Merry’s work with silent disdain. There was something of a look of scorn in his beady black eyes when he saw the magnificent Yale athlete instructing the boy in the use of dumb-bells and Indian clubs to strengthen and round out certain muscles; but the beady eyes were keen to detect the slightest improvement, and it finally happened that the old fellow nodded and pronounced it "heap good."
It must not be supposed that Frank’s only thought was to make his brother perfect physically. On the contrary, he had entered Dick at Fardale because he was satisfied that the course of mental instruction there would be the very best the lad could obtain.
Fortunately for Dick, he was much like his famous brother in one respect. He had a wonderfully active and retentive mind, so that he could learn almost anything quickly and well when he applied himself fixedly to the task of doing so. Thus it happened that in this respect, as well as others, he was a wonder to his classmates, many of whom, discovering somehow that he had never attended a regular school, had felt positive he would have a difficult time at Fardale, even if he was able to get along at all after being admitted.
Until her death, Dick’s mother had been his tutor, and her instructions were of the very best.
It was with untold satisfaction that Frank Merriwell had taken up the task of developing his brother into perfect manhood; and it was now his great aim in life to make a complete success in this work, into which he had entered with all his heart and soul.