Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale. Standish Burt L.
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Rattleton dashed past the others, and ran to the fireplace. There was no excuse for a fire in September, but a tiny blaze was there, nevertheless.
Rattleton put his hand upon it instantly, to beat the flame out, and stood up with a partially burned and charred fragment of paper in his hand.
"What are you trying to do?" demanded Ford, indignantly.
"Dock the loor – I mean lock the door," cried Rattleton, excitedly, to Browning.
The latter immediately closed the door, turned the key, and stood with his back to it.
"We'll settle this thing in a hurry," continued Rattleton, shaking the charred paper aloft; "this is a part of Babbitt's examination paper."
"Well, what of it?" asked Ford, angrily; "why shouldn't a man burn up a piece of paper that he's got no further use for?"
"Because you left the paper you've been at work on with your answers in the examination room!" retorted Rattleton, "and this is an extra sheet. It shows what became of the two sheets that Babbitt missed."
Ford looked from one to another of the students and broke into a laugh.
"Well," he said, "I don't feel called upon to make any explanation to you fellows, but as I understand it, your particular friend, Merriwell, will have a good deal to explain."
"By all that's good," exclaimed Diamond; wrathfully, "you'll do the explaining for him."
"Me?"
"Yes, you, you skulking hound! You had those two papers; here's Dismal Jones, to whom you confessed to having got hold of them. You wanted Dismal to take one, hoping that he would give it away to Frank and the rest of us, so that if any exposure came we'd be mixed up in it. I know your sly trick!"
Ford had turned very pale. He sank into a chair, shut his teeth together, and muttered:
"You're doing a good deal of guesswork; but if you're trying to pick a row go right along; I'm not afraid of you."
"We're not here to pick a row, Ford," said Page; "I'm beginning to see through the whole thing.
"You're about the only one, except Merriwell, who knew how the chimney in my room communicated with Babbitt's, and I remember you were coming away from my room at one time when we were coming from dinner. You had been up there then to steal the papers. You managed to work one of them off on Merriwell's desk to-day. Rattleton there has got a part of the other."
"Well, see here," said Ford. "What does it all mean? Ever since there were colleges, students have done their best to get ahead of the faculty, and if I've succeeded, what's the harm? It isn't hurting you fellows, and no student ever tells on another."
He said this with a haughty air, as if to imply that they would be beneath contempt if they should report his doings to the faculty.
"We're not going to do any tell-taleing – I mean tale-telling," blustered Rattleton. "We're here to make you do that."
"What do you mean?"
"I tell you," said Browning, slowly, and there was a dangerous glitter in his eyes, "I'm not above telling tales in a case like this, and if you don't go straight to the dean and tell him the truth, I'll go and lay the matter before him, and what's more, Master Ford, I'll give you such a thumping that you'll carry the marks as long as you live."
Browning spoke quietly, but there was a businesslike ring in his tone that Ford could not misunderstand.
The others were very quiet, and they looked at Ford, awaiting his answer.
"You take a mighty high attitude," he muttered.
"Shut up," muttered Browning, savagely. "I for one won't hear any argument about it; you've got to do what we say, or take the consequences. And to make certain of those consequences, I'm going to give you a licking now!"
Browning pulled off his coat, threw it upon the floor, and advanced upon Ford. The others stood aside, their eyes glistening, and their fists fairly itching to take a share in Ford's punishment.
As to the latter, he retreated to a corner, and placed a chair between himself and Browning.
"Hold on," he said, huskily. "You've got the best of me because there are so many of you – "
"I propose to lick you alone!" interrupted Browning.
"All the same," suggested Dismal Jones, slowly, "when Browning gets through with him, I think the rest of us will take a turn one at a time."
Ford was thoroughly frightened.
"I give it up," he stammered. "You force me to it I'll do what you say, and I guess my standing in the class is good enough, as I never have done anything before this – "
"Never been caught at it," interrupted Diamond, sarcastically.
"Don't waste any talk," said Browning; "he's going with us to the dean's office now; Merriwell is probably there at this minute trying to make Babbitt believe in a student's honor."
Saying this, Browning put on his coat and unlocked the door; then he turned to Ford.
"Come along," he said.
Trembling like a leaf, Ford crossed the room, picked up his hat from the table, and went out into the hall.
The other students followed closely after.
As he came to the stairway Ford made a leap. In his excitement he probably hoped that he might be able to run away from these angry fellows, and possibly escape making the confession that they wished him to make.
With an angry laugh they all leaped after him and caught him as he was two steps down the stairs.
The result was that the whole pack of them went tumbling down the flight and landed with many a bruise in a heap at the bottom.
When they got up Browning had his strong hand clinched in Ford's collar until the miserable rascal was almost choking.
In this way he was fairly pushed across the campus, to the great astonishment of all the students who happened to be there at the time.
He was marched straight up to the dean's office, where the students entered without knocking.
The dean was still talking with Babbitt and Mr. Harding.
Frank, in the adjoining room, wondered what all the commotion was about. The dean wondered, too, and said sharply:
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, what does this mean?"
"It means, sir," said Browning, respectfully, "that an infamous outrage has been attempted, by which an honorable student is made to suffer. Ford will explain."
Ford did explain with many cringing appeals for mercy, and with many protests against the violence with which the students had treated him.
The dean listened with growing indignation, while even Babbitt was stirred to anger against his favorite student.
The upshot of the matter was that Babbitt withdrew his charges against Frank, and even went so far as to make a sort of apology for having suspected him.
Ford's case went before the whole faculty at its meeting that evening, with the result that he was suspended for one year.
"I never was so relieved in my life, Merriwell," said the dean, as he shook Frank's hand, "for if it had been proven that you had done this thing, I am afraid I should have lost all faith in students, but – "
And there was a sly twinkle in his eye.
"I think we shall have to recommend that Prof. Babbitt stuff his chimney with bricks and mortar, or else move to a new room."
"He needn't fear that I shall invade the chimney again," responded Frank; "I'm only too glad that the matter has turned out so that there is no doubt about me.
"Well," said the dean, thoughtfully, "you ought to learn some kind of a lesson out of the experience, I suppose. Let's take it for granted, Merriwell, that you'll give your mathematics a little more attention this year."
Frank, smiling, assured the dean that he would do so, and there the matter ended.
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