“Here, gentlemen, is the man who won the game! Three cheers for Jimmy Lee!”
And the Yale men cheered handsomely. Then they gave him a regular Yale yell.
And he thought he was going to die right there from happiness.
Not until the train had rolled away did he come out of a trancelike state. Then somebody told him to wake up, for Frank Merriwell was gone.
“But he’s great!” said King Jimmy. “He’s the greatest feller that ever lived in all the whole world, and I can lick the man who says he ain’t, I don’t care if it is Jim Jeffries!”
CHAPTER XX.
DEFARGE PLOTTING AGAIN.
Although Bertrand Defarge had failed in his attempt to injure Merriwell and prevent him from leading the Yale nine to victory in the South, his malice had in no wise abated, and the team had scarcely returned to New Haven before he was again plotting darkly against the young athlete.
This time he felt confident of success, but he needed assistance to carry out the scheme, which he finally evolved for the undoing of Merriwell. He thought long over the men on whom he believed he could depend, but the list of Frank’s enemies had been considerably thinned and there were few to whom he could look for aid in his dastardly plans or whom he dared to take into his confidence.
At last he decided upon Roland Packard as a safe man, strong in his hatred of Merriwell. With his malicious plot well matured, he sent for Packard, without divulging anything of his purpose, but hinting mysteriously about “mutual interests” and “a man we both hate,” which he was confident would bring Roland to his room even though he might otherwise have ignored the invitation; for Packard was not an admirer of Defarge, and their hatred of Frank was the only common ground between them.
But, as Defarge had hoped, the hint that the man they both were desirous of injuring was the reason for the summons was sufficient.