In the meantime Ephraim had recovered from the shock sufficiently to detect the powerful odor of the stale egg that had struck him.

"Great gum!" he gurgled. "What was that Dutchman's pistol loaded with?

Something must have crawled inter ther pesky thing an' died there!"

"Do you really smell anything?" chuckled Sammy Smiles.

"Do I?" howled the Yankee boy, sitting up and gasping for breath. "I ruther think I do, by gum!"

"You must be mistaken. Being seriously wounded, you imagine it. It is the result of your injury."

"Is that so? Wal," he wildly panted, "if that's ther case, I hope I'll die soon an' git aout of my misery!"

The spectators were convulsed with merriment, and Ephraim began to smell a rat--if, indeed, it were possible to smell anything but the ancient eggs.

"Say!" he snorted, "you fellers don't act like there was anybody dyin'

around here. An' by chaowder! this smell is jest ther same ez I struck when I crawled under dad's old barn to find where the speckled hen was layin', an' crunched up some aigs that hed bin there two or three months. Ef that Dutchman loaded his pistol with a ripe aig an' shot me in the neck, I'll paound the stuffin' aout of him, by gum!"

"Vot vos dot?" roared Hans, also sitting up, and glaring at the Vermonter. "You don'd peen pig enough to bound der sduffin oudt uf nottings!"

"Wal, dern my skin ef I don't show you! Ef I'm mortally shot, it'll be some satisfaction to die thumpin' you, by gum!"

"Keeb avay off!" squawked Hans, as Ephraim began to crawl toward him.

"Keeb avay off, ur I vos goin' to bulverize you britty queek right avay soon!"

"You pulverize, an' be hanged! All I want is to git holt of ye."

Hans began to scramble out of the way.

"Holt on! holt on!" he cried. "Dot don'd peen no fair to sdrike a man mit haluf uf his heat plown off!"

"Your head's all right, only one side of it is plastered over with some yaller stuff. You shot me in the neck, and I'm all kivered with blood, but I kin do ye, jest ther same!"

"Dot vos der gweerest colored plood vot I nefer saw! You don'd peen shot ad all."

"Then, by gum! I'm goin' ter lick ye anyhaow!" and Ephraim scrambled to his feet.

"Vell, you don'd done dot till you catch me, py Shimminy!"

Hans also scrambled up, and immediately took to his heels, with the tall Yankee in hot pursuit, leaving the spectators of this ridiculous duel to exhaust themselves with merriment.

CHAPTER XLV.

ANOTHER KIND OF A FIGHT.

It had already grown quite dark.

The fun for the time being was over, but there was an engagement of quite a different nature to take place.

Barely had the Dutch boy disappeared, with the Vermonter at his heels, when Frank and several others of the party slipped away into the shadows and made for Black Bluff.

Bas...o...b..and a large number of his friends were waiting when Frank arrived, and Merriwell heard the big fellow sneeringly observe:

"He has really come at last! I didn't know but he was going to take water. I was afraid I'd lose the satisfaction of giving him the licking he needs."

Frank bit his lip, and remained silent.

Bart Hodge was on hand, and he was quickly at Frank's side.

"Where have you been?" he asked. "I was beginning to fear Bas...o...b..had put up some kind of a job to keep you away, so he could claim you were afraid to meet him."

"I have been acting as second in another affair," said Frank. "I want you to represent me in this. Will you?"

"You have no need to ask that, for you must know that it will give me pleasure. I want to see you give that big brute the drubbing he merits, so he will keep still for a while. He has been trying to injure you ever since you entered the academy, and he has said here to-night that he proposed doing me up to square an old score after he had finished you. I tried to get him to take me first, for I told him there wouldn't be anything left for me to fight when you were through with him. He said he was going to polish you off easily, and he has been whispering and laughing with that sneaking Reynolds. Somehow, I feel as if they have put up some kind of a job to get the best of you, and that is why they feel so well. You want to be on your guard for tricks, old man."

"I will," a.s.sured Frank, as he began to "peel" for the fight. "Go over and make arrangements with Reynolds. If you can get him to agree to make it a go-as-you-please till the best man whips you will suit me."

"All right; I'll stand for that."

Away went Hodge to consult with Reynolds, and Frank did not dream that he had proposed just the kind of a fight that Bas...o...b..and his second most desired.

The wind was coming in across the bay, and the sea was moaning at the ragged base of Black Bluff, on the heights of which the fight was to take place. There were scudding clouds in the sky, but the night did not promise to be very dark.

It did not take Hodge long to complete arrangements with Reynolds, and he soon returned to inform Frank that it was to be one straight fight from start to finish, with no rests till one or the other whipped.

Frank had not supposed there would be near so many spectators present, and he well knew that the most of those a.s.sembled were fellows who were secretly envious of him because of his popularity, although nearly all had made protestations of friendship in the past.

Frank did not care for the friendship of such fellows, as there was nothing in the world he despised more than a hypocrite. He could respect a foe who was open and frank; but he had no use for anybody who wore two faces.

Fred Davis had not been told where the fight was to take place; but he had scented it in some way, and he came panting to the spot, just as Merriwell and Bas...o...b..were about to meet. He rushed straight to Frank, exclaiming:

"You must not fight on my account! You shall not! You haven't any right to do it! This must stop!"

"Here, Bart," said Merriwell to Hodge, speaking quietly and firmly, "turn this boy over to Mulloy, and tell him to keep Davis from making any fuss."

"But you must listen to me!" cried the little plebe, on the verge of tears. "People sometimes get killed in fights. If you are badly hurt, I'll never forgive myself. Can't I do something to stop it? Why, I will apologize to Bas...o...b.. and----"

"That would simply place you more in contempt, and would not let me out in the least, boy. Take him away, Mulloy," Frank spoke to the Irish lad, who was now at hand. "See that he doesn't get into trouble."

Seeing it was impossible to put an end to the contest, Fred gave up in despair.

Merriwell and Bas...o...b..now faced each other. There was no demand that they should shake hands, and neither offered to do so. The boys formed a circle around them, and, at the word, they leaped at each other and the fray had begun.

Bas...o...b..made an effort to clinch immediately, but Frank landed two blows that sent him staggering. This was an advantage which Merriwell followed up, and Bas...o...b..was forced to keep falling back for some moments, shifting the battle-ground considerably from the point where the struggle began.

Spat! spat! spat! sounded the blows; but it was not always an easy thing to tell who was getting the worst of it.