Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale Part 34

The conductor and the few pa.s.sengers in the car, disturbed by the slight collision, were moving toward the platform to see what was the matter.

Rowe, who was in charge of the party of seniors, immediately picked Frank up and carried him toward the sidewalk.

"Get a move on, boys!" he exclaimed, under his breath. "We must get Merriwell out of sight as quick as possible."

"Shan't I go for a doctor, d.i.c.k?" asked one of them.

"Yes," answered Rowe, hurriedly; "bring him to my room, but keep mum."

One of the seniors sped away down the street, another took hold of Frank with Rowe to help carry him, while the last member of the party fell in behind his companions, determined if they were followed to beat off pursuers.

This action on the part of the seniors might seem rather peculiar to those who are not wholly familiar with secret society matters.

They did not stop to discuss it, for each one of them knew in a flash just what must be done.

Secret societies at Yale are very powerful organizations. In past years there were some efforts to disband them and prevent the students from organizing them.

All these efforts failed; the more the faculty tried to suppress the Greek letter orders, the more firmly the students clung to them, until at last the faculty had to let the societies alone.

The students knew, however, that there were plenty of men in the government of the college who would be glad of any excuse to suppress the societies and no better excuse could be found than the fact that a student had been injured in the course of an initiation.

Therefore, when Frank was knocked in front of the car, Rowe and his companions knew that it would not do at all to let the accident become a matter of public knowledge. So, before the people on the car half realized what had happened, they had carried Frank across the street, got over a fence into the grounds surrounding a private house, and were rus.h.i.+ng along toward a thick clump of shrubbery.

When they were concealed in this they paused for an instant to get their breath and make a hasty examination of the neophyte.

By that time Frank was wholly unconscious. There was a red spot upon his forehead, his clothing was torn and his hands were bleeding a little from scratches.

The wounds and bruises would not have disturbed the seniors particularly, but Frank's unconsciousness gave them genuine alarm.

"We must keep moving!" exclaimed Rowe.

"Let me take my turn at carrying, then," said the one who had been acting as rear guard.

This was done. They proceeded across the lawn, climbed another fence into a garden and, having crossed this, came to another street.

They were now fairly safe from pursuit by the pa.s.sengers on the trolley car, who, as a matter of fact, gave the matter no further thought when they were told by the motorman that the affair was a lot of students'

nonsense.

As it was now very late in the evening the streets were almost deserted and by acting cautiously the seniors succeeded in getting Frank to Rowe's room without interference.

There they laid him upon a bed and hastened to apply restoratives as well as they knew how.

"It would be simply awful if it should prove that he was dead!"

exclaimed Rowe, with a groan.

"He isn't dead," said one of the others; "we'll fetch him around----"

At this moment the student who had gone for a doctor burst into the room bringing the physician with him.

The doctor laid a case of instruments upon the table as he pa.s.sed and bent over the bed where Frank lay. At that moment Frank opened his eyes and, seeing a strange face above him, said in a surprised tone:

"h.e.l.lo, what do you want?"

"Humph!" muttered the doctor, "I thought I was going to have a fine chance to set broken limbs or do some other clever job in surgery. I guess you've cut me out of an operation, young man."

"Hey?" said Frank, trying to sit up.

His bones ached and he gave up the attempt.

"What's the matter, anyway?" he asked.

"How do you feel, Merriwell?" asked Rowe, anxiously.

"Kind of sore," returned the neophyte. "I should think I'd been in a football scrimmage. Oh!"

His eyes brightened as he remembered what had happened to him.

"Something went wrong with the----" he began, intending to say "with the initiation," when he caught sight of the doctor's face.

Seeing that a stranger was present and remembering his instructions to keep the initiation a secret, Frank hesitated an instant and then said:

"Machinery."

"Yes," answered Rowe, understanding the point, "the machinery broke down, but it wasn't our fault."

"I took that for granted," Frank remarked. "How did the car get along?"

The seniors laughed. This question showed them better than anything else could that Frank was not dangerously injured.

"The car seemed to stand it pretty well," Rowe answered. "How is he, doctor?"

"Well," answered the physician, who had been making an examination, "I don't see any evidence of broken bones, and what is more surprising still, the young man's brain doesn't seem to have suffered under the strain to which you have subjected him."

"I can stand more than that!" muttered Frank.

"There's nothing for me to do here," said the doctor. "I should advise him to go to bed and lie still for the rest of the night. If he feels badly in the morning you can send for me."

With this the doctor took himself off. Frank then slowly sat up.

"There are some aches about me," he said, with a wry grimace, "but I suppose the more I talk of them the more black marks I'll get."

"Oh, hang the black marks!" exclaimed Rowe. "There's been initiation enough for you, old fellow, and there isn't a doubt that when the matter is explained to the rest of the 'Pigs,' that you'll be excused from any further test."

"No, siree!" exclaimed Frank, emphatically.

"Eh, what's that?"

"If you think," responded Frank, "that I'm going to do the baby act and crawl out of the rest of the circus you're mistaken."