“But five hundred is far from being all he will lose. It’s the smallest part.”
“How is that?” asked Frank.
“Why, another gambler happened to be present, and he seemed to know something about you. When I had covered Elrich’s money, this other man asked me if I was dead sure that the fellow who was going to pitch against the Reds was Frank Merriwell, of Yale. I told him I was. He wanted to know how I was sure. I explained that my son attended Yale, and would play with Merriwell’s team. Then what do you suppose happened?”
“Go on,” urged Merry.
“This man turned on Elrich and offered to bet all sorts of money on you, Merriwell. He said he would bet a thousand dollars even that you struck out no less than eighteen men. Elrich took him, and the money went up. Then he offered another thousand dollars even that the Reds would not get more than five hits off you. Elrich took that.”
“Whew!” whistled Frank, while Bart Hodge simply said:
“He’ll win.”
“When the second bet had been covered, the man offered to put up one thousand against two thousand that the Reds did not score at all.”
“And the offer was taken?”
“Yes.”