CHAPTER VI.
A FRESH COUNCIL.
Diamond was in a wretched condition. Hunk Collins, his roommate,procured two slices of fresh beefsteak, and the Virginian had them boundover his eyes, while his face was bathed with soothing and healinglotions; but nothing could soothe his bruised and battered spirit, andCollins said he was kept awake all night by hearing Diamond grind histeeth at irregular intervals.
Even when he slept near morning the Southerner continued to grind hisstrong white teeth.
Collins was dropping off to sleep from sheer weariness when he awoke tofind his roommate astride him and clutching him by the throat.
"This time I'll fix you!" mumbled Diamond, thickly. "I'll kill you,Merriwell--I'll kill you!"
Then he struck feeby at Collins, who rolled over and flung him off. Theygrappled, and it was a severe struggle before Diamond was flung down onthe bed and held.
"What in thunder is the matter with you?" gasped Collins, whose hairwas standing. "I'm not Merriwell! Have you gone daft?"
"Where are we?"
"Why, in our room, of course. Where did you think we were?"
"I didn't know. I was dreaming."
"Well, if you are going to be this way often, I'll have to take out alife insurance policy or quit you."
"Don't mind. I'll be all right in the morning. Oh, hang the luck!"
Then the passionate Southerner turned over with his face toward thewall. Collins smoked a cigarette to quiet his nerves, after which he gotinto bed once more. At intervals he could feel the bed shake, and heknew Diamond was shivering as if he had a chill.
In the morning Diamond was not all right. He was ill in bed, and it wasnecessary to call a physician, although he protested against it. Hiseyes were in wretched shape, but when the doctor questioned him, hepersisted in saying he had injured them by falling downstairs.
Of course he could not appear at chapel or recitations, and he sent inan excuse.
Then Mr. Lovejoy came around to investigate.
Now, Mr. Lovejoy was most mild and lamblike in appearance, and one wouldhave thought never in all his life had he indulged in anything that wasnot perfectly proper.
But appearances were deceptive in the case of Mr. Lovejoy. When astudent at Yale he had made a record, but he had been fortunate, and hewas never detected in anything the faculty could not approve. By thosewho knew him he was regarded as a terror, and by the faculty he waslooked on as one of the most quiet and docile students in college.
When Cyrus Lovejoy became an instructor he did not forget the days whenhe had been a leader in scrapes of all sorts, and he was not inclined tobe prying into the affairs of students under him. Not only that, but hecould be blind to some things he accidentally discovered.
So when Mr. Lovejoy reported that John Diamond's eyes, being naturallyweak, were inflamed by too close application to his studies, especiallyin the evening, no one thought of investigating further. The doctor, itwas said, had forbidden Diamond to attempt to study for several days,and had ordered him to wear a bandage over his eyes.
Two or three evenings after the fight a party of freshmen gathered inMerriwell's room, for they were beginning to realize that Frank waslikely to be a leader among them.
"I say, fellows," cried Dan Dorman, who was sitting on the sill of theopen window, with a cigarette clinging to his lips, "do you know whatDiamond is doing?"
"He's doing his best to cure those beautiful eyes of his," said BandyRobinson.
"I'm giving it to you straight that he was out to-day and went down tothe nearest gun store," declared Dorman. "Collins says he bought aWinchester rifle, a shotgun, two revolvers, a bowie knife, a slungshot,and a set of brass knuckles."
"Wo-o-oh!" groaned Dismal Jones. "Why didn't he purchase a cannon andstart for some battlefield?"
"Look out, Merry," laughed Ned Stover. "He's after your scalp."
"He'll have to get a bigger outfit than that before he takes it,"declared Harry Rattleton.
"How about it, Merry?" asked Bandy Robinson.
"I'll tell you, fellows," said Frank, who was not smoking. "Diamond isnot the fellow to give up whipped very soon. I'm dead sure to hear fromhim again."
"He's a cad," growled Dismal Jones.
"I think you fellows judge him rather harshly," said Frank. "He is aSoutherner, and he looks at many things differently than we do. From hisstandpoint he seems to be right."
"Well, he'll have to get those notions out of his head if he wants tostay in college," airily declared Dan Dorman. "Now, I came here withthe idea of falling into the ways in vogue. Everything goes with me.That's the way to get along."
"I am not so sure of that," Merriwell returned. "A man must have someindividuality. If you do everything everybody wants you to, it won't belong before they'll not want you to do anything."
"Oh, well, what's the use to be always hanging off and getting yourselfdisliked?"
"One extreme is as bad as the other. Now, I make allowances for Diamond,and I am not inclined to believe him such a bad fellow."
Harry Rattleton flung a book across the room.
"Oh, you give me the flubdubs!" he exploded. "Why, that fellow hatesyou, and he means to do you some time. Still you are soft enough to sayhe's not such a bad fellow! It's disgusting!"
"Time will tell," smiled Frank. "All of you fellows must admit that hehas sand."
"Oh, a kind of bulldog stick-to-it-iveness," murmured Stover.
"I'll tell you one thing," said Bandy Robinson; "now that Diamond hasnot blowed, he's going to be backed by some of the leading sophs."
"Eh? What makes you think so?"
"Oh, I've got it straight. Browning has been to see him."
"No! Why, Browning is king of the sophs!"
"And he is jealous of Merriwell."
"Jealous?"
"Sure. He says Merry is altogether too 'soon' for a fresh, and he mustbe taken down. I tell you I've got it straight. He'll put up some kindof a game to enable Diamond to get square."
"Well, this is rather interesting," confessed Frank, showing that he wasaroused. "I'll have to look out for Mr. Browning."
"He's a hard fellow to go against," solemnly said Dismal Jones. "He's aLe Boule man, and they say he may take his choice of the other bigsocieties next year."
"Oh, what's that amount to?"
"It amounts to something here; but then he's a fighter, and he isauthority on fighters and fighting."
"He is too fat to fight."
"They say he can train down in a week. He was the greatest freshmanhalf-back ever known at Yale."
"Half-back--Browning a half-back! Oh, say, that fellow couldn't playfootball!"
"Not a great deal now, perhaps, but he could last year. He'd be on theregular team now, but his father swore to take him out of college if hedidn't stop it. You see, Browning is not entirely to blame for hislaziness. He inherits it from his father, and the old man will notallow him to lead in athletics, so whatever he does must be donesecretly."
Frank was interested. He wondered how a fellow like Bruce Browning couldcome to be know as "king of the sophomores," unless such a title wasapplied to him in derision. Now he began to understand that Browning wassomething more than the lazy mischief planner that he had seemed.
Frank's interest in Browning grew.
"And you say he is backing Diamond?"
"That's the way it looks from the road."
"Well, Mr. Bruce Browning may need some attention. It is he who puts thesophs up to their jobs on us. We ought to put up a big one on him."
"That's right! that's right!"
"Merry," said Jones, "set the complicated machinery of your fertilebrain to work and see what it will bring forth."
"That's right! that's right!"
"I'll have to take time to think it over."
"We have a few soph scalps," grinned Rattleton, pointing to a number ofcaps with which the walls were decorated, all of which had been snatchedfrom the heads of sophomores. "Have the rest of you
fellows done aswell?"
"I have lost two," confessed Dan Dorman. "They seem to single me out aseasy fruit."
"And haven't you made an attempt to get one in return?" asked BandyRobinson.
"I haven't had a good chance."
"If you wait for a good chance you'll never get a scalp. You must snatch'em whenever you can."
"By Jove!" laughed Frank, "this talk about scalps has given me an idea."
"Let's have it!" exclaimed several of the boys in unison.
"Not now," he said. "Wait till I have perfected it."
Roll Ditson strolled in, smoking a cigarette, and said:
"Hello, Merry! Hello, fellows! What's up? Council of war?"
"Just that," said Dan Dorman. "Merry is perfecting a scheme to put ahorse on Browning."
"Eh? Browning? Great Scott! Is that so? He's a bad man to monkey with.Better let him alone, Merry."
Ditson had a patronizing way that was offensive to Frank, who had givenhim numberless digs; but he was too thick to tumble or he deliberatelyrefused to take Merriwell's words as they were intended.
"You'll have to kick him before he knows he's not wanted," Rattleton hadsaid.
"Thank you for your advice," said Frank, with mild sarcasm--"thank youexceedingly! Perhaps you are right."
"Oh, I know I am. I don't want to get the king after me, and I don'tbelieve you care to have him on your trail. He is the most influentialsoph in college. Why, his name is on a table down at Morey's."
Ditson looked around as if his last statement had settled the questionof Browning's vast superiority over all sophomores.
Morey's was the favorite resort of the students, and no freshman couldenter there. It was an old frame house, with low-posted rooms, and thereone could drink everything except beer. No beer could be had at Morey's.
Morey's was headquarters for the Society of the Cup. This cup had sixhandles and was kept in a locked closet. On the cup was engraved inlarge letters the word "Velvet," which is a well-known Yale drink,composed of champagne and Dublin stout, a drink that is mild and soft,but has a terrific "kick."
Besides the word "Velvet," a number of students' names were engraved onthe cup, and no one whose name was not there could ask the proprietor toshow the cup.
The marked tables were two round tables on which names of thefrequenters of the place had been cut in the hard wood. One table hadbeen filled with six hundred and seventy-five names and was suspendedagainst the wall, where it would revolve, and the other tables were fastfilling up.
Merriwell laughed at Ditson's statement.
"I don't see as it is such a wonderful thing for a soph to get his nameon one of those tables," he said. "If you had said that Browning's namewas on the cup, it would have seemed a matter of some consequence."
"It may be, for all I know. Sophs are not in the habit of telling useverything. Steer clear of Browning, Merry, old man."
"Thanks again! You have made me so nervous that I think I will take youradvice."
"That's right, my boy--that's right," nodded Ditson, swelling withimportance. "Always listen to your uncle, my lad, and you will never gowrong."
The other lads seemed rather disappointed, but Merriwell said nothingmore of his scheme to get a "horse" on Browning--that is, he saidnothing more that night.