"I'm agreeable!" answered Blunt cheerily. "Best two out of three," he added, slipping out of his saddle and handing his reins to Randy Harrison. "Hitch, pards, and gather 'round. A diamond in the rough is going up against this polished article from the East. Watch me juggle with him." He threw up his head and roared in a kind of chant: "I'm Barzy Blunt, of the Bar Z Ranch, known to fame as the Cowboy Wonder! Whoop!"
"Whoop!" howled Blunt's three companions, leading the horses back toward the chaparral.
Frank had already begun to strip to the gymnasium clothes which he wore beneath his ordinary apparel as under garments. His sleeveless shirt he took off as well, thus matching the Wonder who was also stripping to the buff.
Merry knew that the cowboys would play fair, as they understood the word. They showed their sportsmanlike spirit by agreeing that Clancy should act as referee.
"If you're ready," said Clancy, "get busy!"
Warily the two wrestlers faced each other. Again, as in the relay Marathon, Merry was contesting with Blunt for the benefit of Borrodaile. And Merry, although the Wonder was a quick and powerful antagonist, was determined to win, and to do it handily.
CHAPTER IX.
A SHARP CLASH.
Barzy Blunt was a splendid specimen of physical development. His shoulders were broad, his chest deep, and there was not an ounce of superfluous flesh on his whole body. Under his clear, white skin the muscles tensed and flowed, as he crouched, and approached and retreated warily, looking for an opening. His movements were swift and graceful, carried out with a precision and certainty that not only claimed, but received, Merriwell's silent admiration.
But if Blunt was a fine specimen of a "homemade" athlete, Merriwell's more scientific training revealed him a shade better on every one of Blunt's points, admirable though they were. If Blunt's appearance suggested excellence, young Frank's spelled perfection. Even the cowboys, Blunt's partisans, could not refrain from exclamations that honored the "polished gem from the East." Nevertheless, the Bar Z fellows kept all their encouragement for their own champion.