“Here, fellows!” called Garland; “get in here all of you and give these two tricksters a lesson! Come on!”
“Wait!” cried Havener, stepping to the other side of Merriwell. “Don’t try it, for I shall stand by him!”
“Me, too, boys!” cried Cassie Lee, getting into line with her small fists clinched, and a look of determination on her thin face. “Don’t nobody jump on Frank Merriwell unless I take a hand in the racket.”
The rest of the company were astonished. They realized that Frank had some friends, but it was not until after he had awakened to realize just what the situation meant that Ephraim Gallup drew himself together and planted himself with Merry’s party.
“Whe-ee!” he squealed. “If there’s goin’ ter be a ruction, yeou kin bet I’ll fight fer Merry, though I ain’t much of a fighter. I’d ruther run then fight any day, onless I have ter fight, but I reckon I’ll hev ter fight in this case, if there is any fightin’.”
Immediately Granville Garland became very placid in his manner.
“We didn’t come here to fight,” he said, “but we came here to demand our rights.”
“An’ to sass Frank,” put in the Vermonter. “But, b’gosh! yeou are barkin’ up ther wrong tree when yeou tackle him! He kin jest natterally chaw yeou up.”
Frank still held Fowler against the wall. Now he spoke to the fellow in a low, commanding tone:
“Apologize at once,” he said. “Come, sir, make haste!”