“I see,” nodded Frank. “Poor chap! I have a hypnotic influence over him, Skelding, and that was how I was able to conquer him as you see. I never knew I possessed such power till one night a long time ago when, then crazed by drink, he tried to strike me in the back with a knife. I held him helpless and looked deep into his eyes, willing that he should obey me. He did so, and I found I had power to make him do as I chose. But I do not believe that any man has a right under normal circumstances to exercise such a power over another, and I removed the influence from him.
“For a long time I fancied I would never have further trouble with him, and I even hoped that, without another clash, I might make him friendly toward me. It would have given me satisfaction at one time had this resulted. But when I came back to Yale this year I found all the old bitterness in his heart had awakened, and he tried to injure me once more. Then I willed that he should be unable to harm me as long as I kept my power over him. Once more, however, I released him. It must have been since then that he took to drinking absinth.”
“Something must be done to save him, Merriwell, or he will be lodged in a madhouse within a week. But I did not think; perhaps you mean to have him punished for making an attack on your life? Your patience with him must be exhausted.”
“I try to hold my patience with a man just as long as I believe there is any hope for him. But I must confess that Defarge’s case looks hopeless. You have not told me, Skelding, how it happened that the cartridges in his revolver were changed. Who changed them?”
“I did.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“In his room a short time ago. I called there and found him loading the weapon. From what he said I knew he meant to try to shoot you. He went out to the room of another fellow to get a drink. The revolver lay on the table. Beside the box of ball cartridges was a box of blanks. While he was gone I exchanged the ball cartridges for the blanks.”
“And saved my life by doing it. Skelding, you have been my enemy, but by this one act you have wiped out all the past. I have thought pretty hard things of you, but now I am willing to forget everything. Skelding, we may not become friends, but we can shake hands.”