Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale

by Burt L. Standish

"Give him a black mark for talking," said Baker, with a hearty laugh.

Frank said "Humph!" but nothing else as the students hurried him across the bridge back to land.

He was immensely amused by the experience, and on the way to the society rooms he thought it all out, and came to a conclusion on the matter that was very nearly correct.

At high tide the water in the Quinnepiac River comes almost to a level with the bridge.

The boys always arrange their initiations in such a way that the bridge test shall take place at high tide, and they choose an hour when no trains are due to pass.

Then a small fee persuades the bridge keeper to open the draw. A big, flat-bottomed boat is procured and made fast to the bridge just in front of the open edge.

Half a dozen of the students get into this boat; some of them receive the leaping neophyte in their arms and clap their hands over his mouth so that he shall not cry out.

At the same time other students topple a big log into the water so as to make a splash.

The rest of the farce is carried on as described, with the result of making the waiting neophytes believe that their companion has had a cold plunge into the river.

Time was when the students made the neophytes really jump into the water, but it was found that many a student whose nerve was supposed to be perfectly good, suffered such a shock from sudden contact with the water that he became seriously ill, so that test was modified in the manner described.