Then the two men sprang at Frank, crying:
“Spotter! Fly cop! Spy!”
That cry was enough to create a sensation in the room.
Merry met their assault, and he quickly got a crack at Vance that sent the fellow spinning.
A hot fight ensued, but Frank was more than a match for the two men. He seemed to avoid their worst blows, and the way he got back at them filled Daisy Blaney with unutterable satisfaction.
“Well, he’s a bird, Gallagher, if he does drink sarsaparilla!” she cried. “He can eat you!”
That infuriated the red-headed fellow, and he plunged into the conflict. He took Frank by surprise, and got in a blow that staggered Merry for a moment.
“Dat fresh eat me!” howled Gallagher. “Well, I guess nit. He’s a soft t’ing, an’ I can do him wid me hands tied behind——”
Just then Frank got at Mr. Gallagher. He feinted, leading the fellow to lift his guard, and then Merry drove in a sledge-hammer blow over the heart that caused the red-headed chap to collapse and lay gasping and groaning on the floor.
It is possible Frank would have come off with flying colors, but the men had been given the impression that he was a spotter or spy who had been sent there for the purpose of making the club trouble, and now at least a dozen persons sailed into him. Before such an onslaught he was unable to stand. He was beaten to his knees, and he would have been trampled under their feet in a few seconds more.