“No, nothing from Bloomfield. I’m sorry as blazes to cut short your stay here——”
“We were going back to Ophir this afternoon, anyhow,” Merry cut in, “so that part of it is all right. Pink, Clan, and I promised the professor solemnly we’d get back to town this evening. He’d be after us if we didn’t go, for that’s the sort of a prof he is. What’s up, Brad? From your looks I should say it was serious business.”
“Oh, not so blamed serious. Step over this way a minute, will you?”
Bradlaugh drew Merriwell to one side and began talking to him in low, earnest tones. As Merry listened, an expression of thoughtful concern could be seen to cross his face.
CHAPTER XIV.
AN ENEMY’S APPEAL.
“You saved a fellow’s life here yesterday, didn’t you, Chip?” Brad asked.
“Clancy and I pulled Jode Lenning out of the water,” Frank answered.
“That’s about the way I’d expect you to tell it. Well, Lenning has asked for a job at the Ophir mine. He hasn’t much left in the way of reputation, and when the super asked my father what to do, pop told him to let Lenning hunt a berth somewhere else. Lenning came straight to pop’s office from the mine. He told pop that he knew he hadn’t done right, but that he had cut loose from his rowdy friends, had turned over a new leaf, and was going to make something of himself. Pop thought that was a pretty good thing to do, and told him so, but couldn’t give him any encouragement. The company had made it a rule not to hire anybody who couldn’t give a clean bill as to character. Lenning wanted to know if somebody couldn’t be responsible for him, and pop answered that it all depended on who the ‘somebody’ was. The next minute pop was almost knocked off his feet.”
Brad paused. “Who hit him?” asked Merry, with a twinkle in his dark eyes.