Frank Merriwell's Races Part 8

about him."

It was not long before the man was able to hear enough to satisfy him that the lads in the next room were anything but friends of Frank Merriwell, and he listened with fresh eagerness.

He heard Ditson come in with the waiter, and caught much of the conversation that followed. Then Ditson sat down, and the plotters lowered their voices.

"That settles it!" exclaimed the man. "I'm goin' right in there and see if they don't want to take me inter the gang. Them college ducks will be jest the fellers to help me in gettin' back at Frank Merriwell."

He got up, left the little room, and went around to the door of the other room. Without stopping to knock, he opened the door and walked in.

"H'waryer," he saluted, as the four lads stared at him in amazement. "My name's Mike Hogan, and I want ter join in with ther push."

"Get out of here, you b.u.m!" cried Hartwick, fiercely. "You are intruding on a private party."

"Hold hard, young feller!" returned the fellow who had given his name as Mike Hogan. "Don't call me a b.u.m! I'm onto your curves, and there ain't no reason why you and me shouldn't be friends."

"Friends!" exclaimed Hartwick--"friends! Well, I prefer to choose my friends."

"And you didn't make much of a success when you chose a young gent here what is named Ditson. Keep yer seat!"

"Press the b.u.t.ton, Harlow, and we'll have this fellow thrown out!" came savagely from Hartwick's lips.

"Wait a minute before you press the b.u.t.ton," urged Mike Hogan. "Do you see this face?"

"Yes."

"It's a peach, now, ain't it?"

"You can consider yourself lucky if it isn't worse than that when you get out of here, my man."

"Don't 'my man' me, young feller! I don't like it! Do yer know who give me this face and these two beautiful eyes?"

"No, and we----"

"Well, I'll tell yer who it was. It was a feller what goes by the name of Frank Merriwell."

"Well, he did a first-cla.s.s job," commented Harris. "That really looks like some of Merriwell's work."

"He done it," nodded Mike. "Nacherlly I ain't got no love to speak of for him. Well, I was in the room next to this just now, and as I was leanin' against the part.i.tion I happened to overhear what you chaps was sayin' in here. From what I heard, I judged you didn't love this Merriwell none to brag about, and I says to myself, 'Mike, if you want to get even, them is the boys to hitch fast to.' Then I got right up and came in here without bein' invited. I hope you'll excuse me, gents, but I couldn't help it under the circ.u.mstances. I had a sort of feller-feelin' for you chaps, and I thought mebbe we might arrange some sort of a deal together that would do this Merriwell, and do him for keeps. I'm not a chap with much education, but I'll bet anything I can hate just as hard as you fellers, and if there's anybody I hate on the earth, it's Frank Merriwell.

"There, now, gents, you have heard what I have ter say, and I hope you'll tumble ter ther fact that I am on the level. This is no case of stringing. I want ter pay back that feller for these two black eyes and this mug. Mebbe you can help me to do it, and I can help you to square yerselves with him at the same time. If that is right, why shouldn't we kinder go into partnerships for a short period? I put the question to yer, and you can do as ye please."

The quartet at the table looked at one another inquiringly and doubtingly. They seemed to hesitate.

"If this man tells the truth, and I should judge that he does, he may be of service to us and we to him," said Sport Harris.

"That's right," nodded Harlow. "If Merriwell gave him that mug and those beautiful eyes, I don't wonder that he wants to get square."

Hartwick was silent. He was looking Mike Hogan over, and he was thinking:

"Is it possible I have fallen to the point where I have to take such a fellow as a comrade? No! It will not be as a comrade. We can use him as a tool, perhaps, and that is what we will do, if we use him at all."

"Sit down," invited Hartwick, suddenly rising and offering Mike his chair. "I'll get another. I want to hear just how you came by those eyes."

Hogan sat down at the table and Hartwick brought a chair from a corner.

"We are all anxious to hear how you came by those eyes," declared Harlow.

"Some gent order drinks, and I will tell ye. Never mind," he cried, as he saw them look at each other knowingly, as if they thought he was trying to work them for liquor, "I'll order, myself! Don't you think for a second that I'm broke!"

Then he flung a small roll of bills on the table before them, reached past Harlow, and pressed the b.u.t.ton. When the waiter appeared, he said:

"Give these gents anything they want, Pete."

"Wot if they orders champagne?" grinned Pete, winking at the boys.

"Then bring it, dern ye!" snarled Hogan, as he grabbed up the roll of money and thrust it at the waiter. "Take the pay out of that and gimme the change."

Drinks were ordered and quickly brought. Hogan paid for them and gave the waiter a quarter as a tip.

"How about it, Pete?" he asked. "Am I all right?"

"Ye're all right, Mike," declared the waiter, promptly; "and the young gents will find that anything you says sticks."

Then he went out.

"Now," said Hogan, "before I begin I want to tell you chaps this: I'm on the make. That is how I happened to get up against this chap Merriwell.

I heard that he paid a cool thousand for that horse of his, and I kinder admitted that a boy who could pay that sum for a horse must be in circ.u.mstances that would permit him to burn money in an open grate. Such a chap was worth my attention. I know horses from their hoofs to the tips of their ears. There ain't much of anything I don't know about 'em.

And I knew Merriwell must be stuck on the horse for which he paid a thousand plunks.

"Well, gents, I'll tell ye my scheme. I kinder thought it would be easy to play the horse doctor, and work Merriwell for a good pot. All that was necessary was to make something ail the horse. Then I went round to the stable where he keeps the critter, after I had first learned the name of one of Merriwell's friends. I wanted to get at the horse, and I knew it wouldn't be easy unless I appeared to be on the inside track with Merriwell. I went round and said I was this friend of Merriwell, and in that way I got into the stall with the horse.

"Don't you care what I done to make that horse lame, but I done it all right. When Merriwell rode out this afternoon the critter went to limpin' under him. When he came back to the stable I was there, but I had changed my clothes and I wore a beard. I introduced myself as a horse doctor, and offered to cure his horse, or not to charge him a dollar. If I cured the critter, which I could do easy, I meant to charge him a hundred dollars, and I thought he'd be fool enough to pay it without a kick."

"That shows you didn't know the kind of a fellow you were trying to fool," said Harris.

"I found that out all right. He wouldn't make any talk with me. Then when I got hot and was going away he suddenly took a notion to stop me.

The first thing I knew he had s.n.a.t.c.hed off my hat and beard, and the hostler recognized me as the same chap as was in to see the horse this afternoon.

"I didn't feel alarmed then," Mike went on, "for Merriwell is a young chap, and I know something about fighting. That is, I thought I knew something about it. I'm not sure about that now. I told him to get out of the way, or I would do him up. I saw my scheme was bu'sted, but I felt sure it'd be some time before he'd find out what ailed his horse.

"That young fool didn't seem at all scared of me. He wouldn't get out of the way and let me go, but he put himself in my way, and then we had it.

When we got through I found that I had it, and I had it bad. There ain't no need to tell just what happened. Take a look at my mug and you'll see for yourself. That young cuss can fight like a tiger!

"But now I'm goin' to get level with him, and don't you fergit it! I'll make him sorry that he ever gave Mike Hogan a pair of black eyes! I'll never be satisfied till I have done him the worst kind of a turn.

"I heard you chaps talkin', and it struck me that we might pull together to do him dirt. That's why I came right in. What do you say to it?"

The boys looked at each other, and then they nodded approval.