"You will have to prove that to the judge," said the officer, with his hand on Frank"s shoulder. "Just now you"ll have to accompany me. If you resist or make any trouble, it will be worse for you."
He produced handcuffs.
"What do you mean to do?" hoa.r.s.ely demanded Diamond, his eyes bulging.
"You"re not going to handcuff him?"
"It is necessary. I am not taking any chances. A chap who will steal a yacht is liable to be pretty desperate."
"I will go along with you quietly," said Frank, paling a bit at the thought of being led shackled through the streets. "I give you my word on that."
"It"s an outrage!" cried Diamond.
"I advise you to keep still," said the officer, sternly. "You may be arrested as an accomplice."
"I don"t care if I am!" came fiercely from Jack"s lips. "I say it is an outrage, and I will stand by it. Mr. Merriwell purchased the yacht and paid his money for it, as he can prove. He is the rightful owner of the boat."
"I am not going to discuss that."
The officer was about to put the irons on Frank, when Jack cut in with:
"Have a little decency about this, Mr. Officer. If you believe this young man such a desperate fellow, call an a.s.sistant. Surely two of you ought to be able to take him to the lockup without handcuffing him."
The policeman was angry, and Frank saw that what Jack was saying was not making things any better, so he asked his friend to be quiet. Then he said something in a low tone to the officer. The latter hesitated.
"Put yourself in my place," said Frank. "You are not sure this charge is true. Think how you would feel to be dragged along the street with irons on your wrists when you had not been guilty of committing a crime."
"And he tells you the truth, sir, when he says he bought the yacht,"
broke in Inza, fearlessly. "I know it! He purchased it of my friend"s brother."
"That is true," spoke up Paula, with sudden braveness. "My brother sold him the yacht. He never stole it! Why, he is Frank Merriwell, of Yale, and everybody knows Frank Merriwell would not steal anything."
She was startled by her own boldness, but her words brought about a good result.
Of course, the arrest of Frank had attracted the attention of all who were in the office of the hotel, among whom were several commercial men.
One of the latter stepped forward quickly.
"Frank Merriwell, of Yale?" he exclaimed. "Is this the famous Yale pitcher? By Jove, it is! I have seen him pitch several games, but I didn"t know him in this yachting suit. Mr. Merriwell, I am glad to see you, but sorry you are in trouble. However, if I can aid you in any way, you may count on me."
"Thank you," said Frank. "It"s pleasant to know I am not quite unknown and friendless down here."
"Unknown!" exclaimed another man. "If you are Frank Merriwell, we all know about you. We have read about you in the papers. You are the best known college man in this country. Officer, I don"t believe this young gentleman is either a thief or a desperado. If he says he will go along with you, I"ll vouch for him."
"If you say so, Mr. Franch----"
"I do. I will be responsible for him."
The officer put his handcuffs out of sight.
"All right," he said. "Come along, young man."
By this time the report had gone abroad that there had been an arrest in the Thorndike, and a crowd was gathering outside the door. In the crowd were a number of excited small boys, for they had heard that the person arrested was the famous Yale football and baseball player, Frank Merriwell.
One of the boys in the crowd saw a friend on the opposite side of the street, and yelled:
"Hey, Charley, get a wiggle on an" come over here! W"at yer t"ink! Ther cop has nabbed that feller we"ve been readin" about--Frank Merriwell!"
"Aw! w"at yer givin" us!" flung back the other.
"This ain"t no fust of April!"
"It"s dead straight, Charley! Frank Merriwell is right here in ther Thorndike, an" Old Briggs has pinched him. Don"t yer want ter see him?"
"Don"t I?" gasped the one across the street, as he bolted from the sidewalk. "I"d rudder see Frank Merriwell than have a season ticket to der ball games!"
And he could not get over quick enough.
By the time the officer was ready to bring Frank out of the hotel, all the men and boys outside knew who had been arrested, and the excitement was great. The crowd grew swiftly, and everybody was eager to get a look at the Yale athlete of whom they had heard such wonderful stories.
The young men of the town were no less excited than the boys. There was scarcely one of them who did not know something about Frank Merriwell and his record, and, even before they could find out why he had been arrested, they denounced the arrest as an outrage.
Another policeman came along and attempted to clear the sidewalk in front of the hotel, but the crowd did not want to disperse.
The officer who had arrested Frank came out with Merriwell at his side, a hand on his arm.
"There he is!" was the cry that went up. "That is Frank Merriwell!"
Jack Diamond, who walked beside Frank, was amazed at the crowd and to hear them call Frank"s name.
"They know you, Merriwell," he said.
"It seems so," said Frank, with a faint smile.
"It"s a shame!" cried one of the young men. "What"s he arrested for?"
"Don"t know," admitted another; "but I"ll bet my clothes he is all right! Frank Merriwell is on the level!"
"That"s so!" shouted twenty voices.
The crowd followed the officer and his prisoner. Somebody proposed a cheer for Frank Merriwell, and it seemed that every human being in that following crowd cheered as loudly as he could.
Then somebody proposed three groans for Old Briggs, the officer, and the crowd groaned in a most dismal manner.
Some of the small boys grew so excited that they kept yelling at Briggs to let Frank go. But they were scarcely less excited than the lads of eighteen or twenty. A dozen of them got together and actually talked of taking Briggs" prisoner from him. In their enthusiasm they might have tried it, but for the coolness of one or two among them.
"It"s a blamed shame to have this thing happen in Rockland!" declared one fellow. "What will Merriwell think of us? He will be dead sore on this town."
"He isn"t a fool," said a cooler head. "If he is all right, it isn"t likely that any harm will come to him. He can"t blame Briggs for doing his duty if there is a warrant for his arrest."
So Frank was marched away to the lockup, but his arrest had created more excitement in the city than any other event since the opening game of baseball in the Knox County League, July Fourth.