Snell understood Merriwell"s meaning and he quailed before the flashing eyes of the boy he had slandered.
"Oh, you can"t scare me with your threats!" he declared, in a weak manner. "I"m not afraid of you, Mr. Frank Merriwell."
"If you had kept still about me," said Frank, "I should not have known you were in this town, but you tried to hurt me in a mean, contemptible manner, and I found you out."
"Never tried to hurt you in any manner."
"How about the lies you have been circulating concerning me?"
"I don"t know what you mean."
"Yes, you do."
"I swear I do not."
"You have been telling that I have signed a contract with Rockland."
"Well, haven"t you?"
"You know I have not! You know I would not do such a thing for any money, as it would disqualify me for the Yale team. But I fancy I see through your crooked game. You thought I might pitch for Rockland because you knew they would offer me more money than Camden possibly could. You judged me by yourself, and you knew you would sell yourself to do anything for money. You sought to turn the college men here against me, so they would carry back the report to their colleges that I had played for money under a signed contract. Then I would be debarred from the Yale team, and your revenge would be complete. Oh, I can read you, Snell--I know the workings of your evil mind! You are wholly crooked and wholly contemptible. What you deserve is a good coat of tar and feathers!"
Frank"s plain words had drawn a crowd about them, and Drayben saw it would not do not to interfere, as the talk could be heard in the parlors.
"This will have to stop," he said, firmly. "I can"t have any more of it in my hotel."
"He is to blame for it all," whined Snell.
The landlord gave him a look of contempt.
"I do not blame him for anything," he declared. "I know you have told the stories he claims. My only wonder is that he did not knock you down on sight."
"I might have done so," said Frank, "but was ashamed to soil my hands on the fellow."
At this, thinking he was not in danger of immediate personal violence, Snell became suddenly bold.
"That is well enough to tell," he said; "but no one will believe it. You will find that you can"t crowd me, Mr. Merriwell."
"I don"t want to crowd you, but I want you to keep your mouth closed as far as I am concerned. If you try to circulate any more lies about me, I shall forget that you are a whining cur, without a spark of courage in your whole body, and I shall give you the drubbing you deserve."
"Bah!" cried Snell.
"As I have discovered the sort of a person you are," said Mr. Drayben, quietly but sternly, "I do not care to keep you in my hotel another hour."
"What?" gasped Snell. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that you are to pack up and get out at once."
"But you can"t turn me out in that manner. This is a public house, and you have no right to turn me out like that!"
"I have the right to refuse to keep rascals and crooks in my house, sir. It is my duty to protect my guests by turning out such persons when their true character is discovered. You will get out as soon as you can."
"Do--do--do you dare call me a rascal and a crook?" gurgled Snell. "Take care, sir!" shaking his finger at the landlord. "My father is a rich man. He is at the head of the Yokohama and Manhattan Tea Company, Mr.
Drayben, and he will make you regret it if you turn me out of your old hotel!"
"I don"t care if your father is the Mikado of j.a.pan or the Mayor of New York!" came from the landlord, who flushed with anger when Snell shook a finger at him; "you will get out of this house in a hurry, just the same."
"You can"t turn me out till after dinner!"
"Can"t I? We"ll see about that!"
"But it"s almost dinner time now."
"That makes no difference. You can"t eat another meal here. Settle and git!"
It was a terrible humiliation for Snell, but he found there was no appeal, and he was forced to settle his bill, pack his traveling bag, and leave the hotel without his dinner.
"I have not liked the appearance of the fellow from the start," said Mr.
Drayben. "He talked too much. If he stayed in the house another week, he would have driven away some of my best guests. You have done me a favor, Mr. Merriwell, by giving me an excuse for getting rid of him."
"He"s a revengeful sneak," said Frank. "He"ll try to get even with me some way."
Jack and Bart decided it was time for them to return to the yacht, and so they left Merriwell at the hotel, surrounded by several members of the Camden ball team, who had come in to see him.
Moslof introduced Frank to the members of the team as they appeared, and Merry shook hands with Slatridge and Putbury, the princ.i.p.al battery of the nine, two men who were red-headed, freckled, slow of movement, slow of speech, and who looked so much alike that in their uniforms one was often mistaken for the other. Cogern, the center fielder of the team, was another big fellow, who was said to be a terrific batter, being valuable for that very reason. Williamson proved to be tall and thin, but "Pop" had a reputation as a pitcher and a hitter. On account of his illness he had not been able to pitch since joining the Camdens, and so he was covering first base. Mower was a professional, and a good man when he attended to business. He played short. Bas...o...b.. a little fellow, with a swagger and a grin that showed some very poor teeth, was change pitcher with Slatridge.
Frank looked the men over. They were a clean-looking set of ball players, and he was favorably impressed with them.
"Why, you seem to have a strong team here," he said to Moslof. "I fancied by what I heard down in Rockland that you had a lot of farmers."
"They know better than that!" exclaimed the manager of the Camdens, flushing. "We gave them a shock by winning from them in our opening game. They thought they had a snap. They have been hustling since then, but we held the lead for a long time. Now we are tied with them for first place, and this game to-day decides who holds the position. If Woods and Makune arrive on the twelve o"clock car, we"ll try to give Rockland a surprise this afternoon."
"Woods is a pitcher, isn"t he?"
"He is, and he"s a good man, too, but his arm is not in the best condition. He hurt it a few weeks ago, and it hasn"t got back yet. All the same, he says he will pitch for us this afternoon--telephoned me to that effect. He"s on the level, and he wouldn"t want to pitch if he didn"t think he could win."
"Then I don"t see why you want anything of me," smiled Frank.
"Woods can play any position," said Moslof, quickly. "With you in the box, we"d have the strongest nine ever seen in this State."
"You have started my baseball blood to boiling," laughed Merry; "but I think I"ll keep my head cool and not play."
At this moment some one announced that the twelve o"clock car was coming, and all hurried out to see if Woods and Makune were on it.
They were. They were met by Moslof, who shook hands with them and then introduced them to Merriwell.
"What?" exclaimed Makune. "Frank Merriwell, the Yale man?"
"The same," confessed Frank.