Frank Merriwell's Son; Or, A Chip Off the Old Block

by Burt L. Standish

  CHAPTER XXXIII.

  THE VOICE OF THE TEMPTER.

  Gallup grinned.

  "That was a hoss on yeou, wasn't it, mister?" he said.

  "Would have been if I'd bought the beast," confessed Bearover, withseeming good nature. "Your Mr. Merriwell must be a very clever chap."

  "I guess he's all right, by gum!" nodded Ephraim. "They don't git aheadof him much."

  "He's been very successful, hasn't he?"

  "You bet."

  "Too much success is liable to swell the head of so young a man. It doeshim good to be taken down a notch now and then."

  "I ain't never seen nobody that could take him daown."

  "Well, we'll have to let him down a little to-morrow."

  "Don't yeou believe it. Yeou fellers are caountin' on carryin' off thatgame, ain't ye? Waal, by jing! ye'll have to go some if ye do."

  "Our boys can go some. In order to give you a show, I think we'll put inour second pitcher against you."

  "Yeou take my advice and put in the best pitcher yeou've gut. He won'tbe none too good."

  "You have a lot of confidence in your team."

  "I've gut confidence in Frank Merriwell. I know what he can do on theslab, and, with Bart Hodge behind the bat, he'll show yeou some twistsand shoots that'll make ye blink."

  Bearover laughed gurglingly, his fat sides shaking.

  "Why," he said, "they tell me in this town that Merriwell has some kindof a curve which twists like a snake. They say it curves in and out.Whoever heard such rot!"

  "Didn't yeou ever hear before this abaout Frank Merriwell's doubleshoot?"

  "Ho! ho! ho!" laughed Bearover. "Double shoot? Ho! ho! ho! Is that whathe calls it? Come, now, young man, don't try any more talking-horsetricks. There isn't no such thing as a double shoot. The spit ball isthe nastiest thing to hit that ever was invented. It's the only newthing except Mathewson's 'fade-away.' I don't take any stock in thestories about Mathewson's fade-away. According to the yarns told, he hassomething that might be called a double shoot or a double curve, but Inotice the batters are hitting him this year the same as usual. I thinkwe'll make Mr. Merriwell very weary with his double shoot to-morrowafternoon."

  "You kin think as much as yeou like. There ain't nothing to preventyeou from thinking. We've heard all abaout your players. Happened tomeet old Stillness a while ago at the bank.

  "Old Stillness?"

  "Yep. Ain't that his name? Stillness, Stillness--I mean Silence. He'ssort of a betting gentleman, ain't he?"

  "Oh, he's always looking for good things. He's ready to risk his moneybacking his team."

  "He come mighty near losing a hundred to-day."

  "How was that?"

  Gallup explained.

  "Then Frank Merriwell doesn't countenance betting?" questioned Bearover.

  "He's plumb sot agin' it," answered Ephraim. "He don't believe in anysort of gambling."

  "But evidently some of his friends are inclined to take a chance."

  "Oh, yeou git some of the fellers stirred up, and they kinder fergitFrank's prejudice. Rub 'em agin' the fur, and they'll chuck up theirlast dollar."

  "That's good sporting blood," nodded Bearover. "I don't suppose you everbet?"

  "Oh, I don't go raound lookin' for bets. I 'low it ain't jest good sensefor anybody to resk money on onsartinties. Speckerlation and gamblin'has ruined lots of folks."

  "But a little wager on a baseball game, or any game of chance or skill,adds spice to it," suggested the manager of the Rovers. "It makes it allthe more interesting."

  "There's interest enough in any good clean baseball game withoutbetting," declared Ephraim. "I suppose your team is made up of cleanplayers? They play the game on its merits, don't they?"

  "Oh, yes," nodded the manager, "they play the game on its merits. At thesame time they're good scrapping players, and they're out for everypoint that belongs to them. That's the only way to win. None of the boyslike to be robbed."

  "Waal, they ain't to blame for that."

  Bearover produced a cigar case.

  "Have a smoke," he invited.

  "Don't keer if I do, thank you," said Ephraim, as he accepted a cigar.

  "You're a pleasant sort of chap," said the manager of the Rovers, as hebit off the end of a cigar and slipped the case back into his pocket."Wait a minute, I have a match. Here you are." He held the light forGallup.

  "Purty good weed that," observed Ephraim, as he puffed at it. "'Spectthat ain't no five-center. Must be ten straight or three for a quarter,anyhow."

  "These are Silence's special cigars. He buys them by the box. They costhim twenty dollars a hundred."

  "Whew!" breathed Gallup, taking the cigar out of his mouth and lookingat it admiringly. "That's twenty cents apiece. I've paid that price outWest now and then, but I never heard of any one paying it in this partof the country, where cigars ought to be reasonable. Guess this is justabaout as good a piece of tobacker as I ever stuck in my face."

  "I'm glad you appreciate it. We're pretty near the hotel. Let's drop inand have a drink."

  "Much obleeged," said Ephraim, "but I don't drink. That's one of the badhabits I ain't never picked up."

  "Well, you can come along and take something cooling. It's pretty hotto-day. There'll be some of the boys in the billiard room at Priley's.You can meet them and look them over. If you don't care to drink, that'syour business, and I'll guarantee you won't be urged."

  "Waal, that's pretty decent of you, Mr. Bearover," said Ephraim,permitting the stout man to take his arm and lead him away.

  In a few minutes they arrived at Priley's Hotel, known in Wellsburg tobe the "hang out" of the sporting class.

  "We're stopping here," explained the baseball manager. "The FranklinSquare is said to be the best place in town, but it's a little too stifffor the boys. They can enjoy themselves here without feeling itnecessary to put on style in the dining room. You know some of thefellows are inclined to eat with their knives. Such manners might shockthe aristocratic patrons of the Franklin Square."

  In the billiard room they found a number of young men playing pool orlooking on. Several of these proved to be members of the Rovers baseballnine, and Bearover introduced them to Gallup.

  The bar opened off the billiard room, and Ephraim was finally led to it,but he persisted in his resolution to drink nothing intoxicating. Aseltzer lemonade satisfied him, while his companion took whisky.

  When they returned to the billiard room they found Casper Silence there.The backer of the Rovers was telling, with a great deal of disdain, howhe had nearly induced Barney Mulloy to make a wager, but had beenbaffled by Merriwell's interference.

  "I've heard a great deal about the nerve of this youngster Merriwell,"said Silence, "but it's my notion he's got a yellow streak in him. Hiscourage is mythical."

  Instantly Gallup bridled.

  "Yeou ain't gut no right to say that, mister!" he cried hotly. "Yeoudon't know what yeou're talking abaout! I've had dealings with all sortsof human critters in my career. I've handled niggers, dagos,Scandinavians, Turks, Chinamen, Swedes, French-Canadians, andHeaven-knows-what. I've seen Western bad men and gun fighters galore. Ihappen to know that Frank Merriwell has gut more nerve than any hundredmen I've ever run acrost, if they was all rolled into one. There ain'tno squealer abaout him, you bet. He didn't bet, and he didn't 'lowBarney Mulloy to bet because it is ag'inst his principles. It wasn'tbecause he was afraid Barney would lose that hundred."

  Silence smiled wisely.

  "I wouldn't be impolite enough to contradict you, my friend," he said."At the same time, you must permit me to have my own opinion of thematter. It strikes me that Mulloy was mighty willing to hide behind thefine principles of Mr. Merriwell. He was a little hot when he so rashlyproposed to bet, and he gladly took water as soon as Merriwell spoke up.It saved him a hundred. We're going to trounce your team to-morrow inhandsome style. We won't leave you in shape to do any boasting for sometime to come."

  "Yeou git aout!" shoute
d Gallup. "You couldn't beat us in a year withFrank Merriwell in the box. You ain't built right!"

  At this the ball players present joined Silence in a burst of laughter.

  "We'll rub it into ye, Mr. Gallup," said Mike McCann. "We'll wipe up theearth with ye."

  "I'd like to find some one who had nerve enough to make a little bet onyour team," said Silence. "Of course I don't expect any of you fellowswill dare risk a dollar."

  "Dad rap ye!" snapped Gallup. "I'll make a bet! Yeou needn't go tellFrank nuthin' abaout it, but I'll bet yeou something. I'll bet anythingyeou want to bet, and I don't keer a hang haow much it is! Yeou jestname the amount, and I'll kivver it!"

  He smashed his fist down on a billiard table as he made thisannouncement.

  "Why, you're a real sport!" chuckled Silence. "You're a reckless chap,aren't you! If I should say a hundred dollars, you'd wilt in yourboots."

  Ephraim's blood was boiling now.

  "You kin say one hundred dollars or ten hundred dollars or ten thousanddollars!" he almost yelled. "I've gut the money, and I tell ye I'llchuck it up! I know yeou've gut a wad in your pocket, for I've seen it.Pull it out! Put it up! I'll go ye!"

  "Drive him into his boots, Mr. Silence!" hissed Mike McCann. "You'll seehim squawk in a minute."

  Silence produced his pocketbook.

  "As long as you're such a courageous young man," he said, "we'll testyou. I am carrying quite a roll with me. It's a little habit I have. Imight accidentally drop into a good warm poker game and need it. Whatwas that highest figure you named? Did you say ten thousand dollars? Ibelieve I have something like that right here. We'll make it tenthousand. Will you call the proprietor of the hotel, McCann? I thinkhe's in the office. He'll hold the money for us."

  Even then Gallup did not believe Silence in earnest. He took it as abluff and continued to "make a front."

  "Put it up, put it up," he nodded. "I'm right here. I'm waiting to seethat money stuck up."

  Mike McCann hurried into the office and returned directly, followed byFred Priley, the hotel proprietor.

  "Mr. Priley," said Silence, "this young man has been making some bettingtalk. You know we're going to play Frank Merriwell's team to-morrow atBloomfield. It's doubtful if the gate money will cover our expenses. Forthat reason I've been looking around to make a little wager on thatgame. This chap says he'll bet anything from one hundred dollars to tenthousand dollars. Let me see if I can dig up ten thousand."

  With perfect coolness, he opened a pocketbook and counted out tenone-thousand dollars, which he handed to Priley.

  "That leaves me a hundred or two," he said, "which will carry me overuntil I get my roll back and this gentleman's long green with it."

  With a sneering smile, he turned and regarded Gallup.

  "I've put my money up," he said. "Now let's see you do the samething--or squeal."

  Gallup swallowed down a lump which had risen in his throat.

  "Derned if I ever squealed in my life!" he snarled. "I've gut tenthousand right in the Wellsburg Bank, and I'll draw a check on it jestas soon as I kin make it aout!"

  "Oh, no," laughed Silence, "that won't do. I can't accept your check. Iwant to see the money."

  "Mebbe yeou think the check ain't no good? Didn't yeou come into thebank and see me deposit the money?"

  "Yes, I saw it. But you're aware, I presume, that the law would notenforce the payment of that check in case you lost your wager and Iattempted to collect. You might stop payment at the bank, and I couldwhistle for my money."

  "Yeou don't think I'd do anything like that, do ye?"

  "I don't propose to take any chances, Mr. Gallup," said the man, as heglanced at his watch. "There are now exactly ten minutes before the bankcloses. If you're earnest we'll accompany you to the bank, and you candraw your money."

  "Mebbe they won't have ten thousand on hand to pay a check of thatbigness."

  "Then you can exchange your own check for a bank check. If you do that,you can't stop payment on the bank's check in case you lose. Let's haveall these little matters properly arranged in advance. Will you dothat, or are you going to squeal?"

  "I never squealed in my life!" repeated Ephraim, with a snarl. "Comeon--come on to the bank! We'll fix it!"