THE MEDAL LIBRARY

FAMOUS COPYRIGHTED STORIES

FOR BOYS, BY FAMOUS AUTHORS

PUBLISHED EVERY WEEK

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This is an ideal line for boys of all ages. It contains juvenile masterpieces by the most popular writers of interesting fiction for boys. Among these may be mentioned the works of Burt L. Standish, detailing the adventures of Frank Merriwell, the hero, of whom every American boy has read with admiration. Frank is a truly representative American lad, full of character and a strong determination to do right at any cost. Then, there are the works of Horatio Alger, Jr., whose keen insight into the minds of the boys of our country has enabled him to write a series of the most interesting tales ever published. This line also contains some of the best works of Oliver Optic, another author whose entire life was devoted to writing books that would tend to interest and elevate our boys.

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To be Published During January, 1905

295—Cris RockBy Capt. Mayne Reid
294—Sam’s ChanceBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
293—My Plucky Boy TomBy Edward S. Ellis
292—Frank Merriwell’s Hard LuckBy Burt L. Standish

To be Published During December

291—By Pike and DikeBy G. A. Henty
290—Shifting For HimselfBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
289—The Pirate and the Three CuttersBy Captain Marryat
288—Frank Merriwell’s OpportunityBy Burt L. Standish
287—Kit Carson’s Last TrailBy Leon Lewis

To be Published During November

286—Jack’s WardBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
285—Jack Darcy, the All-Around AthleteBy Edward S. Ellis
284—Frank Merriwell’s First JobBy Burt L. Standish
283—Wild Adventures Round the PoleBy Gordon Stables
282—Herbert Carter’s LegacyBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
281—Rattlin, the ReeferBy Captain Marryat
280—Frank Merriwell’s StruggleBy Burt L. Standish
279—Mark Dale’s Stage VentureBy Arthur M. Winfield
278—In Times of PerilBy G. A. Henty
277—In a New WorldBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
276—Frank Merriwell in MaineBy Burt L. Standish
275—The King of the IslandBy Henry Harrison Lewis
274—Beach Boy JoeBy Lieut. James K. Orton
273—Jacob FaithfulBy Captain Marryat
272—One of Horatio Alger’s Best Stories.
271—Frank Merriwell’s ChaseBy Burt L. Standish
270—Wing and WingBy J. Fenimore Cooper
269—The Young Bank ClerkBy Arthur M. Winfield
268—Do and DareBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
267—Frank Merriwell’s CruiseBy Burt L. Standish
266—The Young CastawaysBy Leon Lewis
265—The Lion of St. MarkBy G. A. Henty
264—Hector’s InheritanceBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
263—Mr. Midshipman EasyBy Captain Marryat
262—Frank Merriwell’s VacationBy Burt L. Standish
261—The PilotBy J. Fenimore Cooper
260—Driven From HomeBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
259—Sword and PenBy Henry Harrison Lewis
258—Frank Merriwell In CampBy Burt L. Standish
257—JerryBy Walter Aimwell
256—The Young RanchmanBy Lieut. Lounsberry
255—Captain Bayley’s HeirBy G. A. Henty
254—Frank Merriwell’s LoyaltyBy Burt L. Standish
253—The Water WitchBy J. Fenimore Cooper
252—Luke WaltonBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
251—Frank Merriwell’s DangerBy Burt L. Standish
250—Neka, the Boy ConjurerBy Capt. Ralph Bonehill
249—The Young Bridge TenderBy Arthur M. Winfield
248—The West Point BoysBy Lieut. Frederick Garrison, U.S.A.
247—Frank Merriwell’s SecretBy Burt L. Standish
246—Rob Ranger’s Cowboy DaysBy Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
245—The Red RoverBy J. Fenimore Cooper
244—Frank Merriwell’s Return to YaleBy Burt L. Standish
243—Adrift in New YorkBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
242—The Rival Canoe BoysBy St. George Rathborne
241—The Tour of the Zero ClubBy Capt. R. Bonehill
240—Frank Merriwell’s ChampionsBy Burt L. Standish
239—The Two AdmiralsBy J. Fenimore Cooper
238—A Cadet’s HonorBy Lieut. Fred’k Garrison, U.S.A.
237—Frank Merriwell’s SkillBy Burt L. Standish
236—Rob Ranger’s MineBy Lieut. Lounsberry
235—The Young CarthaginianBy G. A. Henty
234—The Store BoyBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
233—Frank Merriwell’s AthletesBy Burt L. Standish
232—The Valley of MysteryBy Henry Harrison Lewis
231—Paddling Under PalmettosBy St. George Rathborne
230—Off for West PointBy Lieut. Fred’k Garrison, U.S.A.
229—Frank Merriwell’s DaringBy Burt L. Standish
228—The Cash BoyBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
227—In Freedom’s CauseBy G. A. Henty
226—Tom Havens With the White SquadronBy Lieut. James K. Orton
225—Frank Merriwell’s CourageBy Burt L. Standish
224—Yankee Boys in JapanBy Henry Harrison Lewis
223—In Fort and PrisonBy William Murray Graydon
222—A West Point TreasureBy Lieut. Frederick Garrison, U.S.A.
221—The Young OutlawBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
220—The Gulf CruisersBy St. George Rathborne
219—Tom Truxton’s Ocean TripBy Lieut. Lounsberry
218—Tom Truxton’s School DaysBy Lieut. Lounsberry
217—Frank Merriwell’s Bicycle TourBy Burt L. Standish
216—Campaigning With BraddockBy Wm. Murray Graydon
215—With Clive in IndiaBy G. A. Henty
214—On GuardBy Lieut. Frederick Garrison, U.S.A.
213—Frank Merriwell’s RacesBy Burt L. Standish
212—Julius, the Street BoyBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
211—Buck Badger’s RanchBy Russell Williams
210—Sturdy and StrongBy G. A. Henty
209—Frank Merriwell’s Sports AfieldBy Burt L. Standish
208—The Treasure of the Golden Crater,By Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
207—Shifting WindsBy St. George Rathborne
206—Jungles and TraitorsBy Wm. Murray Graydon
205—Frank Merriwell at YaleBy Burt L. Standish
204—Under Drake’s FlagBy G. A. Henty
203—Last Chance MineBy Lieut. James K. Orton
202—Risen From the RanksBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
201—Frank Merriwell in EuropeBy Burt L. Standish
200—The Fight for a PennantBy Frank Merriwell
199—The Golden CañonBy G. A. Henty
198—Only an Irish BoyBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
197—Frank Merriwell’s Hunting TourBurt L. Standish
196—Zip, the AcrobatBy Victor St. Clair
195—The Lion of the NorthBy G. A. Henty
194—The White MustangBy Edward S. Ellis
193—Frank Merriwell’s BraveryBy Burt L. Standish
192—Tom, the BootblackBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
191—The Rivals of the DiamondBy Russell Williams
190—The Cat of BubastesBy G. A. Henty
189—Frank Merriwell Down SouthBy Burt L. Standish
188—From Street to MansionBy Frank H. Stauffer
187—Bound to RiseBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
186—On the Trail of GeronimoBy Edward S. Ellis
185—For the TempleBy G. A. Henty
184—Frank Merriwell’s Trip WestBy Burt L. Standish
183—The Diamond HuntersBy James Grant
182—The Camp in the SnowBy William Murray Graydon
181—Brave and BoldBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
180—One of the 28thBy G. A. Henty
179—The Land of MysteryBy Edward S. Ellis
178—Frank Merriwell’s FoesBy Burt L. Standish
177—The White ElephantBy William Dalton
176—By England’s AidBy G. A. Henty
175—Strive and SucceedBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
174—Golden RockBy Edward S. Ellis
173—Life at SeaBy Gordon Stables
172—The Young MidshipmanBy G. A. Henty
171—Erling the BoldBy R. M. Ballantyne
170—Strong and SteadyBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
169—Peter, the WhalerBy W. H. G. Kingston
168—Among Malay PiratesBy G. A. Henty
167—Frank Merriwell’s ChumsBy Burt L. Standish
166—Try and TrustBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
165—The Secret ChartBy Lieut. James K. Orton
164—The Cornet of HorseBy G. A. Henty
163—Slow and SureBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
162—The PioneersBy J. F. Cooper
161—Reuben Green’s AdventuresBy James Otis
160—Little by LittleBy Oliver Optic
159—Phil, the FiddlerBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
158—With Lee in VirginiaBy G. A. Henty
157—Randy, the PilotBy Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
156—The PathfinderBy J. F. Cooper
155—The Young VoyagersBy Capt. Mayne Reid
154—Paul, the PeddlerBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
153—Bonnie Prince CharlieBy G. A. Henty
152—The Last of the MohicansBy J. Fenimore Cooper
151—The Flag of DistressBy Capt. Mayne Reid
150—Frank Merriwell’s SchooldaysBy Burt L. Standish
149—With Wolfe in CanadaBy G. A. Henty
148—The DeerslayerBy J. F. Cooper
147—The Cliff ClimbersBy Capt. Mayne Reid
146—Uncle NatBy A. Oldfellow
145—Friends Though DividedBy G. A. Henty
144—The Boy TarBy Capt. Mayne Reid
143—Hendricks, the HunterBy W. H. G. Kingston
142—The Young ExplorerBy Gordon Stables
141—Ocean WaifsBy Capt. Mayne Reid
140—The Young BuglersBy G. A. Henty
139—Shore and OceanBy W. H. G. Kingston
138—Striving for FortuneBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
137—The Bush BoysBy Capt. Mayne Reid
136—From Pole to PoleBy Gordon Stables
135—Dick CheveleyBy W. H. G. Kingston
134—Orange and GreenBy G. A. Henty
133—The Young YagersBy Capt. Mayne Reid
132—The Adventures of Rob RoyBy James Grant
131—The Boy SlavesBy Capt. Mayne Reid
130—From Canal Boy to PresidentBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
129—Ran Away to SeaBy Capt. Mayne Reid
128—For Name and FameBy G. A. Henty
127—The Forest ExilesBy Capt. Mayne Reid
126—From Powder Monkey to AdmiralBy W. H. G. Kingston
125—The Plant HuntersBy Capt. Mayne Reid
124—St. George for EnglandBy G. A. Henty
123—The Giraffe HuntersBy Capt. Mayne Reid
122—Tom BraceBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
121—Peter TrawlBy W. H. G. Kingston
120—In the Wilds of New MexicoBy G. Manville Fenn
119—A Final ReckoningBy G. A. Henty
118—Ned NewtonBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
117—James Braithwaite, The SupercargoBy W. H. G. Kingston
116—Happy-Go-Lucky JackBy Frank H. Converse
115—The Adventures of a Young AthleteBy Matthew White, Jr.
114—The Old Man of the MountainsBy George H. Coomer
113—The Bravest of the BraveBy G. A. Henty
112—20,000 Leagues Under the SeaBy Jules Verne
111—The Midshipman, Marmaduke MerryBy W. H. G. Kingston
110—Around the World in Eighty DaysBy Jules Verne
109—A Dash to the PoleBy Herbert D. Ward
108—Texar’s RevengeBy Jules Verne
107—Van; or, In Search of an Unknown Race,By Frank H. Converse
106—The Boy KnightBy George A. Henty
105—The Young ActorBy Gayle Winterton
104—Heir to a MillionBy Frank H. Converse
103—The Adventures of Rex StauntonBy Mary A. Denison
102—Clearing His NameBy Matthew White, Jr.
101—The Lone RanchBy Capt. Mayne Reid
100—Maori and SettlerBy George A. Henty
99—The Cruise of the Restless; or, On Inland Waterways,By James Otis
98—The Grand ChacoBy George Manville Fenn
97—The Giant IslandersBy Brooks McCormick
96—An Unprovoked MutinyBy James Otis
95—By Sheer PluckBy G. A. Henty
94—Oscar; or, The Boy Who Had His Own Way,By Walter Aimwell
93—A New York BoyBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
92—Spectre GoldBy Headon Hill
91—The Crusoes of GuianaBy Louis Boussenard
90—Out on the PampasBy G. A. Henty
89—Clinton; or, Boy Life in the CountryBy Walter Aimwell
88—My Mysterious FortuneBy Matthew White, Jr.
87—The Five Hundred Dollar Check,By Horatio Alger, Jr.
86—Catmur’s CaveBy Richard Dowling
85—Facing DeathBy G. A. Henty
84—The Butcher of CawnporeBy William Murray Graydon
83—The Tiger PrinceBy William Dalton
82—The Young EditorBy Matthew White, Jr.
81—Arthur Helmuth, of the H. & N. C. Railway,By Edward S. Ellis
80—Afloat in the ForestBy Capt. Mayne Reid
79—The Rival BattalionsBy Brooks McCormick
78—Both Sides of the ContinentBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
77—The Perils of the JungleBy Edward S. Ellis
76—The War Tiger; or, The Conquest of China,By William Dalton
75—The Boys in the ForecastleBy George H. Coomer
74—The Dingo BoysBy George Manville Fenn
73—The Wolf Boy of ChinaBy William Dalton
72—The Way to Success; or, Tom RandallBy Alfred Oldfellow
71—Mark Seaworth’s Voyage on the Indian Ocean,By William H. G. Kingston
70—The New and Amusing History of Sandford and Merton,By F. C. Burnand
69—Pirate IslandBy Harry Collingwood
68—Smuggler’s CaveBy Annie Ashmore
67—Tom Brown’s School DaysBy Thomas Hughes
66— A Young VagabondBy Z. R. Bennett
65—That TreasureBy Frank H. Converse
64—The Tour of a Private CarBy Matthew White, Jr.
63—In the Sunk LandsBy Walter F. Bruns
62—How He WonBy Brooks McCormick
61—The Erie Train BoyBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
60—The Mountain CaveBy George H. Coomer
59—The Rajah’s FortressBy William Murray Graydon
58—Gilbert, The TrapperBy Capt. C. B. Ashley
57—The Gold of Flat Top MountainBy Frank H. Converse
56—Nature’s Young NoblemenBy Brooks McCormick
55—A Voyage to the Gold CoastBy Frank H. Converse
54—Joe Nichols; or, Difficulties OvercomeBy Alfred Oldfellow
53—Adventures of a New York Telegraph Boy,By Horatio Alger, Jr.
52—From Farm Boy to SenatorBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
51—Tom TracyBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
50—Dean DunhamBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
49—The Mystery of a DiamondBy Frank H. Converse
48—Luke Bennett’s Hide-OutBy Capt. C. B. Ashley, U.S. Scout
47—Eric DaneBy Matthew White, Jr.
46—Poor and ProudBy Oliver Optic
45—Jack Wheeler; A Western StoryBy Capt. David Southwick
44—The Golden MagnetBy George Manville Fenn
43—In Southern SeasBy Frank H. Converse
42—The Young AcrobatBy Horatio Alger, Jr.
41—Check 2134By Edward S. Ellis
40—Canoe and CampfireBy St. George Rathborne
39—With Boer and Britisher in the Transvaal,By William Murray Graydon
38—Gay Dashleigh’s Academy DaysBy Arthur Sewall
37—Commodore JunkBy George Manville Fenn
36—In Barracks and WigwamBy William Murray Graydon
35—In the Reign of TerrorBy G. A. Henty
34—The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green,By Cuthbert Bede, B. A.
33—Jud and Joe, Printers and PublishersBy Gilbert Patten
32—The Curse of Carnes’ HoldBy G. A. Henty
31—The Cruise of the Snow BirdBy Gordon Stables
30—Peter SimpleBy Captain Marryat
29—True to the Old FlagBy G. A. Henty
28—The Boy BoomersBy Gilbert Patten
27—Centre-Board JimBy Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
26—The CryptogramBy William Murray Graydon
25—Through the FrayBy G. A. Henty
24—The Boy From the WestBy Gilbert Patten
23—The Dragon and the RavenBy G. A. Henty
22—From Lake to WildernessBy William Murray Graydon
21—Won at West PointBy Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
20—Wheeling for FortuneBy James Otis
19—Jack ArcherBy G. A. Henty
18—The Silver ShipBy Leon Lewis
17—Ensign MerrillBy Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
16—The White King of AfricaBy William Murray Graydon
15—Midshipman MerrillBy Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
14—The Young ColonistsBy G. A. Henty
13—Up the LadderBy Lieut. Murray
12—Don Kirk’s MineBy Gilbert Patten
11—From Tent to White HouseBy Edward S. Ellis
10—Don Kirk, the Boy Cattle KingBy Gilbert Patten
9—Try AgainBy Oliver Optic
8—Kit Carey’s ProtégéBy Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
7—Chased Through NorwayBy James Otis
6—Captain Carey of the Gallant Seventh,By Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
5—Now or NeverBy Oliver Optic
4—Lieutenant Carey’s LuckBy Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
3—All AboardBy Oliver Optic
2—Cadet Kit CareyBy Lieut. Lionel Lounsberry
1—The Boat ClubBy Oliver Optic

The Radium of All Humor

Search the world over and you cannot find more genuine, original humor than that contained in “Comical Confessions of Clever Comedians.”

This little volume has been compiled after the fashion of a continuous performance. There is an All-Star Cast, or we might say a regular “Whoop-De-Doo,” introducing such well known comedians as DeWolf Hopper, Francis Wilson, Lew Dockstadter, Frank Daniels, Dave Warfield, Joe Weber, and others. Just imagine what there is in store for the reading public when a glance at the title page reveals the fact that DeWolf Hopper, the hero of “Wang,” is the editor or manager of this All-Star Vaudeville Company.

Issued in a very attractive cloth binding. Price, 75c. postpaid.

Street & Smith, Publishers, 238 William St., New York City

FRANK MERRIWELL
ON THE ROAD

OR

The All-Star Combination

BY

BURT L. STANDISH

AUTHOR OF

“The Merriwell Stories”

STREET & SMITH PUBLISHERS

79-89 Seventh Avenue, New York

Copyright, 1898

By STREET & SMITH

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Frank Merriwell on the Road

FRANK MERRIWELL ON THE ROAD.

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CHAPTER I.
A LUDICROUS MEETING.

“Stop dot tonkey!”

Boom-te-boom-te-boom-boom!

The bass drummer of the band at the head of “Haley’s All-Star Combination and Mammoth Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company” did not miss a beat when the three “fierce and terrible untamed Siberian bloodhounds” darted between his legs in pursuit of the escaping donkey.

But when the fat Dutch lad, who had been leading the donkey, attempted to follow the dogs, there was a catastrophe.

The excited Dutch lad struck the drummer squarely, and the drummer uttered a yell of astonishment and terror. Into the air he flew, down he came, and—boom! bang! slam he went through the head of the drum.

“Shimminy Gristmas!”

The Dutch boy was startled by the havoc, but he quickly recovered and started once more in hot pursuit of dogs and donkey.

“Hee-haw! hee-haw!” brayed the donkey, joyously whisking its heels in the air.

“Hear dot tonkey laugh!” shouted the Dutch boy.

The dogs set up a wild baying, and there was no end of commotion on the street along which the parade had been making its way toward the Thalia Theater. Among the spectators, some of the men laughed, while many of the women screamed and made a scramble to get out of the way of the terrible “bloodhounds.”

“Stop dot tonkey!”

The pursuing lad waved his short arms wildly in the air, his face flushed with excitement, his eyes bulging from his head.

The donkey made for a small fruit and cigar store, seeming bent on rushing straight through the large window where the goods were temptingly displayed.

A young man standing near the store placed himself squarely in the path of the little animal, and skillfully caught the dangling halter by which the creature had been led.

The donkey halted abruptly, while the dogs came up and leaped around it, still baying.

Puffing like a pony engine, the Dutch boy dashed up and grasped the donkey’s tail with both hands, shouting:

“Vot der madder vos mit you, ain’d id? I can’t run avay you from uf you vant me to! Now, don’d try any uf my tricks on yourseluf, for uf you do, I vill——Wow!”

Up flew the donkey’s heels once more, and the little beast lifted the fat lad and sent him whirling over in the air.

The creature had seemed to kick with the force of a pile driver, and he fairly flung the Dutch boy into the air.

Down came the lad, plunging headfirst into a garbage barrel that had been standing on the curb, awaiting the arrival of the garbage gatherers.

Into the barrel plunged the boy. Fortunately the barrel was not quite half filled. Down he went till he stuck fast, his fat legs kicking wildly in the air.

The youth who had stopped the donkey now released the animal and started to extricate the boy from the barrel.

A tall, awkward youth, who had been with the parade, forming one of the band, rushed up, brass horn in hand.

“Darn my pertaturs!” he shouted, dropping the instrument. “That ’air donkey will be the death of that feller yit!”

Then he made a grab at the legs of the lad in the barrel and received a kick behind the ear that knocked him over in a twinkling. He struck in a sitting position on the ground, and there he remained, rubbing his head and looking dazed.

The youth who had stopped the donkey succeeded in getting hold of the legs of the unlucky fellow in the barrel, and dragged him out, after upsetting the barrel.

By this time everybody on the street was roaring with laughter, and the donkey joined in with a ridiculous “hee-haw.”

“There, my friend,” said the rescuer, as he released the lad he had extracted from the barrel, “you are all right now.”

The Dutch boy sat up beside his friend who had started to pull him out, and a most wretched spectacle he presented.

“Oxcuse me!” he exclaimed, clawing dirt out of his eyes. “I don’t like dot kindt uf peesness!”

“Waal, what in thutteration did yeou want to kick the head offen me for when I tried to pull yeou aout?” snapped the other lad, glaring at him. “Yeou made me see mor’n four bushels of stars, an’ there’s many’s four hundrud an’ seventeen chime bells a ding-dongin’ in my head naow.”

“Who id vos kicked my headt off you?” spluttered the Dutch boy. “You nefer touched me. Vot der madder vos, anyhow?”

The youth who had extracted the Dutch lad from the barrel laughingly said:

“I see you fellows are up to your old tricks. You are quarreling, as usual.”

“Hey?” cried the tall lad.

“Vot?” squawked the Dutch boy.

“How are you, Ephraim?” laughed the rescuer.

“Jeewhillikins!” yelled the tall youth, jumping to his feet, his face fairly beaming. “Jee-roo-sa-lum! Yeou kin beat my brains out with a feather duster ef it ain’t Frank Merriwell!”

“Shimminy Gristmas!” howled the Dutch boy, wildly scrambling up. “I hope I may nefer see your eyes oudt uf again uf dot ain’t Frank Merriwell!”

“Right,” nodded the rescuer. “I am Frank Merriwell, just as sure as you are Ephraim Gallup and Hans Dunnerwurst.”

“Whoop!” roared Ephraim.

“Wa-ow!” bellowed Hans.

Then they made a rush at the handsome fellow, who had given his name as Frank Merriwell, flung their arms about him, and literally danced as they hugged him.

The spectators looked on in astonishment.

“Oh, great jumpin’ grasshoppers!” shouted the Yankee lad. “Ain’t this the gol dingdest s’prise party I ever struck!”

“I peen so asdonished I vos afraidt you vill die heardt vailure uf britty queek alretty!” gurgled the delighted Dutch lad.

“Break away!” laughed Frank. “You’ll have me off my pins if you keep this up.”

“Gol darned ef I ever saw anybody whut could git yeou offen your pins yit,” declared Ephraim Gallup.

“Yaw, dot vos righdt,” put in Hans. “Nopody peen aple got your pins off you a hurry in.”

“Oh, Jimminy!” squealed the Vermonter. “This is too good to be true!”

“Yaw!” agreed the Dutch boy; “dot vos shust righdt! Id peen too true to peen goot!”

“Haow in thunder is it we find yeou here?” asked the overjoyed Yankee.

“Dot vos vot you’d like to know,” declared Hans. “How id vos you happened to foundt us here?”

“Well, I’d like to know how you two happen to be here,” said Merriwell. “Have you turned showmen?”

“Yaw.”

“Yeou bet.”

“We peen dwo uf der sdars der ‘All-Star Gombination’ in.”

“We’re hot stuff, b’gosh!”

“Efy blays der paratone horns.”

“An’ Hans plays the donkey when the donkey gets sick and can’t come on.”

“Id vos a greadt shnap. We ged our poard vor our glothes.”

“An’ we’re havin’ a high old time travelin’ around over the kentry.”

“Well,” smiled Frank, as they clung to his hands, “I never dreamed of seeing you chaps traveling with a show.”

“We nefer knew vot you had pecome uf since der college left you.”

“An’ we was talkin’ abaout yeou last night.”

“Yaw. We said how you would enjoy yourseluf if dese show vos dravelin’ aroundt mit you.”

“There’s a heap of fun in it, Frank. Whillikins! yeou’d oughter be with us.”

“You come to der theater und let der show seen you to-night,” invited Hans.

“That’s it!” cried Ephraim. “Won’t you do it?”

“Oh, I think so,” smiled Merry. “But I want to see you chaps before that. Have you taken dinner?”

“No.”

“Then take dinner with me, and we will have a jolly time talking over old times. Will you do it?”

“You pet my life!” shouted the Dutch boy.

“By gum, we will!” vociferated Ephraim. “Jest yeou come up to the theater, an’ we’ll be reddy to go with yeou inside of twenty minutes. Come on.”

“All right. Go ahead.”

One of the other members of the company had secured the donkey and dogs. The little donkey was turned over to Hans again, with a warning not to let the creature get away. Ephraim recovered his horn and took his place in the band. The procession formed, the band struck up vigorously, minus the bass drum, and the “All-Star Combination” moved along the street as if nothing had happened.

In fact, this little affair of the escaping donkey and dogs was regarded as an incident that would serve to help advertise the show, and that was exactly what satisfied and pleased Barnaby Haley, owner and manager of the organization.

CHAPTER II.
FRANK AND HIS FRIENDS.

The band played two pieces in front of the Thalia Theater. The man who was handling the “fierce and untamed bloodhounds” skillfully succeeded in getting all three of them into a fight, appearing nearly frightened to death over it. The donkey walked into the midst of the dogs and separated them by taking the aggressor in his teeth and pulling him away, and Barnaby Haley was well satisfied with the advertising he would receive on account of all this.

Frank, looking on, understood that the same things happened in nearly every town visited by the company.

The donkey was to be taken into the theater by the stage entrance, but Hans found a chance to say to Frank:

“Shust vait here till dot theater comes oudt uf me. I vill peen righdt pack a minute in.”

Ephraim induced one of the musicians to take charge of his horn, and remained with Frank.

Hans soon reappeared.

“Now shust you took dot tinner to me,” invited the Dutch lad. “I pelief a square meal can eadt me a minute in.”

“Eat!” cried the Vermont lad. “Why, that Dutch sausage can eat any gol darn time an’ all the gol darn time! Never see northing like him in all my born days.”

“Oh, shust shut yourseluf ub!” cried Hans, quickly. “Your mouth dalks too much mit you. You don’d peen no ganary pird to eadt. You vos aple to ged der oudtside uf a whole lot.”

“Waal, b’gosh! these air howtels we stop at some of um have pritty blamed poor grub,” confessed the Yankee youth. “Their beefsteak is made of luther, an’ their bread might be bought up by ther loaf an’ used fer pavin’-stuns on the streets.”

“Well, I think I’ll be able to give you something to eat that you can digest, but you mustn’t expect too much.”

“We kin eat any old thing with you, Frank,” declared Ephraim. “Why, when we was campin’ aout at Fardale last summer we hed appetites like hosses, an’ it didn’t make no diffrunce whut there was to eat, we jest et it.”

“Yaw,” nodded Hans; “und some uf der things vot vasn’t to eadt we shust eated all der same.”

“But naow we want yeou to tell us haow it happens yeou are here, Frank,” urged Ephraim, as they walked along together.

Frank, who had formerly been a schoolmate of the boys at Fardale Academy, after which he had gone to Yale, briefly explained that he had been forced to leave college on account of the loss of his fortune, and was now making his own way in the world. The boys knew he had left college, but they had not heard he was working on a railroad. Both were astonished.

“Darn my turnups!” cried Ephraim.

“Shimminy Gristmas!” gurgled Hans.

“Whut yeou been doin’ on the railroad?”

“Running an engine,” explained Merry.

“Runnin’ it? Haow?”

“Engineer.”

“Vot?” gasped Hans.

“Come off!” palpitated Ephraim.

“I have come off,” smiled Frank. “I am out of a job now.”

“Haow is that?”

“Railroad made a reduction of wages, there was a strike, big fight over it, rival road scooped all the business, my road went to pieces.”

“An’ naow—whut?”

“The rival road has scooped the road I worked on—absorbed it. A lot of old engineers have taken the places of the men who used to run on the Blue Mountain road. I’ve been trying for a show, but I’m so young they don’t want to give me anything. Looks like I’d have to get out of here and strike for something somewhere else.”

“Waal, that’s too darn bad!” drawled Ephraim, sympathetically. “But haow’d you ever git to be ingineer, anyhaow?”

“Worked my way up. Began as engine-wiper in the roundhouse, got to be fireman, then engineer. Right there came the trouble, and now I’m on the rocks.”

The eyes of the Vermonter glistened.

“If the hanged old railroad hadn’t went up the spaout, you’d bin runnin’ that in a year!” he cried.

“Yaw,” nodded Hans.

“Yeou’re a hummer!” declared Ephraim. “Yeou’ve got lots of git there in ye, an’ that’s whut does the trick. But I swan to man, it must have seemed tough to yeou to have to git right aout an’ work like a Trojan.”

“Yaw,” put in the Dutch boy. “Vork nefer had nottinks to done mit you pefore dot.”

“I don’t see haow yeou brought yerself to it.”

Frank looked grave and not exactly pleased.

“I have always expected to work when the time came,” he asserted. “I hope you didn’t suppose for a moment that I was going to spend my life in idleness?”

“Oh, no, no!” the Vermonter hastily cried; “but yeou wan’t reddy. Yeou was in college an’ havin’ a slappin’ good time. It was mighty rough to have ter break right off from that all to once an’ git out an’ dig fer a livin’.”

“Well,” said Merry, slowly, “I will admit that it was not pleasant at first; but I made up my mind that it was to be done, and I went at it heartily. After a time, I came to enjoy it as I never enjoyed anything before.”

“Whut! Yeou don’t mean to say yeou liked it better than playin’ baseball?”

“Yes!”

“Jee-roo-sa-lum!”

“Better than anything. Work is the greatest sport in the world, for it is a game at which one plays to win the prize of his life. The winning of all other games are tame in comparison with this. It draws out the best qualities in a man, it tests him as nothing else can. Oh, yes, work is the champion sport, and success is the prize for which all earnest workers strive. The man who shirks and fears honest work can never succeed in the world. Determined men will push him aside, and he will be with the losers at the end of the great game.”

Ephraim Gallup clapped Frank on the shoulder familiarly.

“Yeou are yerself, b’gosh!” he cried. “I kin see that yeou are soberer an’ stiddyer, but yeou are Frank Merriwell jest the same. Yeou was alwus sayin’ things like that that no other feller ever thought to say. There ain’t no danger but yeou’ll be with the winner in this game yeou’re talkin’ abaout.”

“Uf der vinners don’d peen mit him they vill peen der wrong side on,” asserted Hans.

“Come in here,” he said, “and I will introduce you to a particular friend.”

He led them into the small fruit and cigar store in front of which he had been standing when the donkey ran away from Hans.

CHAPTER III.
LUCKY LITTLE NELL.

“Hello, Jack!”

Frank saluted the keeper of the store, who proved to be a bright-faced, lame boy.

“Jack,” said Merry, “did you ever hear me speak of Ephraim Gallup?”

“Of course I have!” exclaimed the boy.

“And Hans Dunnerwurst?”

“Yes.”

“Well, here they are.”

“What?”

Jack Norton stared at Frank’s two companions.

“These are the friends of whom I have told you; and this, fellows, is Jack Norton, a hustling young business man of this city. Some day he’ll be one of the greatest retail merchants in the place.”

Jack blushed.

“I’m gol darned glad to see ye!” declared the Vermonter, striding up and grasping the lame lad’s hand. “Anybody Frank Merriwell trains with is all right, an’ I’m ready to hitch hosses with ’um.”

He wrung the young shopkeeper’s hand heartily.

“Yaw,” nodded Hans, waddling up. “You vos plamed clad to seen us, Shack. Shust catch me holdt your handt uf. How you vos alretty yet?”

“Frank has told me about you,” said Jack, “but I never expected to see you.”

“Waal, we’re travelin’ araound with the greatest show on earth.”

“Barnum’s?”

“Not by a long shot! Barnum’s ain’t in it. Haley’s ‘All-Star Combination an’ Mammoth Uncle Tom’s Cabin Company’ knocks ’em all aout.”

“Dot’s vot der madder vos,” agreed Hans. “Dot gompany has dwo ‘Topsys,’ dwo ‘Marks,’ dwo ‘Gumption Cutes’——”

“An’ two jackasses,” grinned the Yankee youth. “One of them leads the other every day in the street parade.”

“Hey?” exclaimed the Dutch youth. “You don’d mean——Say, you vill lick me a minute in uf I say dot again!”

He squared off in a fighting attitude, seeming ready to go at Ephraim.

“There, there!” laughed Frank. “Up to your old tricks, I see. Why, I believe you two fought a duel once at Fardale.”

“We did, b’jee!” nodded Ephraim.

“Mit eggs,” spoke Hans.

“Ripe aigs, at that.”

“Dose eggs couldt smell me vor a veek.”

“It was awful.”

“Yaw; id peen a put ub shob us onto.”

“An’ Frank Merriwell was the feller whut put it up.”

“Yaw. I peliefed I vos all ofer plood mit.”

“So did I.”

“But I nefer knewed pefore dot plood vos so pad to smell uf anybody like dot.”

“We never got even with him fer that sell, Hans.”

“Nefer.”

“Well, we’ll eat enough to-day to square the account. He’ll think he’s run up ag’inst a cyclone.”

“Yaw, we vill done dot, Efy. You haf a greadt headt on me, ain’d id!”

“Well, if I can settle the score that way, I won’t kick,” said Merry. “Is Nellie at home, Jack?”

“Yes, she went home to get dinner. You know one of us has to stay here and keep the shop open. We take turns getting dinner. She will have it all ready when you get there, but she may not have enough, for she won’t know anyone is coming with you.”

“I’ll fix that all right,” said Frank. “There is a restaurant on the corner, and I can get all kinds of stuff there to take out.”

“Can’t yeou shut up to-day an’ come with us, Mister Norton?” asked Ephraim.

“Yaw,” put in Hans, “shust haf der shop shut you up und come along us mit.”

“I’d like to do it,” said the lame lad, “but it might hurt my business, and I believe in looking after one’s business before anything else. Frank has taught me that.”

“He’s alwus teachin’ somebody somethin’,” muttered the Vermonter.

Slam!—open flew the door. Bounce!—in popped a lively boy in a neat suit of clothes.

“Hello, Frank!” he cried. “Goin’ by w’en I seen yer t’rough der window, an’ I t’ought I’d stop an’ speak.”

It was Bob, the newsboy, whom Frank had befriended in his railroad days.

“Hello, Bob!” exclaimed Merry. “On the jump, as usual. How do you like your new position in the broker’s office?”

“Great!” was the instant answer. “Der boss treats me fine, an’ he says w’en I’ve been ter night school long ernough ter have der proper eddycashun, he’ll put me onter der turns of der business. Oh, I’ll be a broker meself some day, see if I don’t.”

Frank introduced Bob to Ephraim and Hans.

“Say, dis is great!” cried the former newsboy. “I’ve heard Frank tell heaps of t’ings about youse chaps.”

He seemed genuinely delighted over the meeting.

“I invited them to dinner,” said Merry. “We wanted Jack to come along, but he can’t close up.”

“How long will it take?”

“Oh, he might be back in three-quarters of an hour.”

“If he kin do it in dat time, I’ll stay right here an’ run dis joint. I kin git back on time den. Go ahead, Jack.”

“Oh, but you are out for your own dinner,” protested the lame boy. “It’s too much to expect you to do all that for me.”

“Not by a blame sight! Youse folks didn’t do a t’ing fer me w’en I was down on me luck, did yer? No, not a t’ing but take me in an’ keep me till I could git somewhere. Now, don’t make any talk about dis t’ing, but jest you skip right along with der odders. Only be sure ter git back in time fer me ter git ter der office.”

Bob settled it that way, and Jack was carried off with Frank and his two friends.

On the way home, Merry stepped into a restaurant and ordered plenty of food, which was given him in a large pail, the pail being wrapped to disguise its real nature.

Little Nell, Jack Norton’s sister, was waiting for Frank to appear when she recognized his familiar step on the stairs. She rose hastily to her feet, but paused to listen.

There were other steps, and she realized that several persons were coming. Wondering what it meant, she waited till the door opened and the four filed into the room.

Then there were introductions.

“I am pleased to meet any of Frank’s friends,” declared the girl. “I am very pleased to see you.”

“That’s right,” nodded the lame boy. “She is pleased to see you. Two weeks ago she could not have seen you had she stood face to face with you as she does now.”

“I don’t toldt you so!” exclaimed Hans.

“Whut was the matter?” asked Ephraim.

“She was blind.”

“Plind?”

“Blind?”

“Yes, stone blind.”

“Jeewhillikins! She kin see all right naow.”

“By a miracle. We were saving money to have her treated by a great oculist in New York, and we had almost enough. One night she got up in a dream and walked out to those stairs. She fell all the way to the bottom, striking on her head. I dragged her up the stairs and got her into bed. The next morning she could see. I believe it was the work of God!”

“It was marvelous!” put in Merriwell. “You see, she was not born blind, but received a blow on the head that injured the optic nerve in some manner so she became blind. Most marvelously, by falling and striking on her head, the shock restored her sight.”

“And the money we had saved we put into our little business,” said Jack.

“Say, you nefer heardt such a peculiar thing as that uf pefore!” cried Hans.

“I doubt if anyone ever did. Nellie, I have brought my friends to dine with me, and here is plenty of food that I bought at the restaurant. All you have to do is get it onto the table.”

“I’ll do that,” laughed the happy girl. “It seems so good to be able to do such work! We will have a delightful dinner! I am so glad you brought them, Frank!”

“There, b’gosh!” exclaimed Ephraim; “that’s whut makes a feller feel right to hum! Naow I know I’ve got right among the kaind of folks I take to.”

“Yaw,” nodded the Dutch boy; “id makes beoble feel like you vos right to home. Oxcuse us uf we make ourseluf so.”

“Go ahead,” invited Frank. “I want you to feel free here.”

CHAPTER IV.
NEWS OF ELSIE.

It was truly a jolly party that sat down to the table when it was spread and everything prepared. Ephraim, Frank and Hans talked over old times, spoke of the jolly days at Fardale, where they had attended school, recalled the struggles, sports, jokes, night raids and hazings.

All too soon the time came when Jack was forced to leave in order to get back to his shop in time to let Bob return to his duties.

“I just hate to go!” he exclaimed. “It seems good to hear you talk about those times. I never had any chance to go to school like that. It must have been such heaps of sport!”

“Say,” cried Ephraim, “looker here, can’t yeou take yer sister an’ go to the show this evenin’?”

“Both of us cannot go, for the shop must be kept open in the evening the same as any other time. Nellie can go.”

“Gosh all hemlock! can’t the thing be fixed somehow so ye kin go together? I’ll see to it that yeou git the best seats in the haouse. Yes by gum! I’ll git one of the boxes fer ye if yeou’ll go.”

“Oh, Jack!” broke from Nellie. “You know I’ve never been to see a real theater show, but now I think my eyes are strong enough to stand the light. Can’t we go?”

“I don’t see how,” answered Jack, regretfully.

“You can fix it with Bob,” said Frank.

“He doesn’t have to work evenings, and you can get him to keep shop.”

“That’s so!” exclaimed the girl, clapping her hands. “Try it, Jack—do!”

The face of the lame lad brightened.

“All right,” he said, “I’ll ask him.”

“And you will go with us, won’t you, Frank?” asked Nellie.

“Oh, I think so.”

“If Inza were here now we’d have a splendid party.”

“Inza!” gasped Ephraim. “Inza Burrage? Has she been here?”

“All the winter. She was visiting a friend. Left a little more than a week ago.”

“Dot vos too pad!” murmured Hans. “She vould haf been deekled to seen me.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t git here afore she went,” said the Vermonter; “but we had the fun of seein’ Elsie Bellwood abaout a month ago, though it wasn’t much fun, come to think of it, she was feelin’ so darn bad.”

Inza Burrage and Elsie Bellwood had been two dear girl friends of Frank in his college days.

Frank sprang to his feet, his face working with excitement.

“Saw Elsie?” he cried, amazed.

“Yaw,” nodded Hans.

“Where?”

“In Bittsburg.”

“Pittsburg?”

“Yaw.”

“Impossible!”

“It’s true,” declared Ephraim.

“But—but I don’t understand it.”

“Whut’s the matter?”

“Why—why, I heard she had sailed with her father for a long voyage.”

“She did.”

“But now she is in Pittsburg? Why, how can that be? It was not many months ago they sailed—some time last fall, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“And they were to be gone a year?”

“Yes.”

“Then something happened?”

“Sure thing.”

“What?”

“You ain’t heered abaout it?”