Merry understood, and the few words he uttered were deeply sympathetic and earnest. Then, in a moment, his manner changed. He seized Morgan by both shoulders, gave him a shake, and laughed in a manner that was both encouraging and soothing.
"Why, it's a good thing for a fellow to get a taste of genuine hard luck. It softens him, mellows him, and makes him more sympathetic for other unfortunates—that is, if he's made of the right stuff. Let a chap slip through the world without ever encountering misfortune and he cannot sympathize with those who have to struggle hard to keep their heads above the surface. Besides that, it stiffens and braces the right sort of a fellow to overcome misfortune and rise in the world through his own efforts. I know, Morgan, for I've seen my share of bad luck."
The flickering gaslight revealed the fact that a bit of color came into Morgan's cheeks.
"I—I suppose that's right," he confessed. "But I never dreamed I'd come to—this! It was the suddenness of the fall that took the sand out of me, too. I ought to be ashamed—I am ashamed—for I actually thought of suicide! You see, Merry, no one but Dick here knew I had gone to the bottom like this. I've been writing home, telling all about my good fortune and success. The thought of any one ever finding out what a wretched failure I had made was more than I could endure. I tell you, Merriwell, this town is a bad place for a fellow who happens to fall in with the swift set. It was a fast bunch I dropped into, and I—well, I made a confounded fool of myself. Result, I blew all my money, acquired a taste for champagne, went broke, and I've been drinking beer and whisky since to keep my courage up. Might as well make a clean breast of it. Dick's been staking me lately, and I've been trying to hit it lucky with the ponies in order to get a start. To-day I decided that luck had set in to run against me for fair, and I felt like ending it by cashing in my chips for good."
Morgan seemed to feel a little better after making this confession.
"Glad I had a streak of luck that brought me along at this point," smiled Frank. "You're going to get such foolish thoughts out of your head right away. What you need is a change of air and scene. I can make use of you."
"You can?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Let's sit down a moment. I'll tell you about it."