"Have you?" came from Frank's lips. "Oh, I don't know!"

There was a sudden upward heaving, and the ex-Yale athlete shot up to his feet.

But the man was on his back, and a hand came round and fastened on Merry's throat with a terrible, crushing grip.

Frank realized that he was dealing with a desperate wretch, who would not hesitate at anything. And Merriwell's life was the stake over which they were struggling!

Frank got hold of the man's wrist and tore those fingers from his throat, although it seemed that they nearly tore out his windpipe in coming away.

On his back the fellow was panting, hoa.r.s.ely, and Merry found it no easy thing to dislodge him.

Round and round they whirled. Frank might have shouted for aid, but he realized that his door was bolted on the inside, and no a.s.sistance could reach him without breaking it down.

Besides that, Merry's pride held him in check. There was but one intruder, and he did not feel like shouting and thus seeming to confess himself outmatched and frightened.

They were at a corner of the alcove. The part.i.tion projected sharply there, and, of a sudden, with all his strength, Merry flung himself backward, dashing the man on his back against that projecting corner.

There was a grunt, a groan, and a curse.

It seemed that, for an instant, the shock had hurt and dazed the man, and, in that instant, Merry wrenched himself free.

"Now this thing will be somehow more even," he whispered, from his crushed and aching throat. He whirled to grapple with the fellow, but again the slippery rascal dodged him, leaping away.

Frank followed.

The man caught up a chair, swung it and struck at Merriwell's head with force enough to crush Frank's skull.

Merry could not dodge, but he caught the chair and saved his head, although he was sent reeling backward by the blow.

Had the fellow followed him swiftly then it is barely possible he might have overcome Frank before Merry could steady himself. A moment of hesitation, however, was taken advantage of by the youth.

The chair was tossed aside, and Merry darted after the fellow, who was astounded and dismayed by his persistence.

Round to the opposite side of the table darted the intruder, and across the table they stared at each other.

"Well," said Frank, in grim confession, "you are making a right good fight of it, and I will say that you are very slippery. I haven't been able to get a hold of you yet, though. You'll come down on the run when I do."

The man was standing directly beneath the gas jet which Merry had lighted by pressing the electric b.u.t.ton. Of a sudden he reached up and turned off the gas, plunging the room in darkness. Then, as Frank sprang toward the jet, something swooped down on him, covering his head and shoulders in a smothering manner!

CHAPTER XI.

A MYSTERY TO SOLVE.

Frank realized that some of the clothing from the bed had been torn off and flung over his head. He attempted to cast it aside, but it became tangled so he could not accomplish his purpose as readily as he wished, although he was not long in doing so.

Retreating, he was prepared for an a.s.sault, for it seemed that the masked unknown would follow up the advantage he had gained.

No a.s.sault came.

Frank paused and listened, and, to his amazement, he could hear no sound in the room. Still, he felt that the man must be there, awaiting for an opportunity to carry out the deadly purpose which had brought him into his apartment at that hour.

It was not pleasant to stand there in the darkness, half expecting to feel a knife buried between his shoulders at any instant.

Gradually Frank's eyes became accustomed to the semi-gloom of the room.

Still, he could see nothing that lived and moved. Beyond him was the window, standing open as he had left it, the light wind gently moving the draperies.

"Well," thought Merry, "I wonder how long the fellow will keep still.

He'll have to make a move sometime."

He backed up against the door and stood there, facing the window.

Placing a hand behind him, he took hold of the k.n.o.b of the door, which he found was still locked securely. This a.s.sured him that the intruder had not escaped in that direction.

Merry felt certain that the man was close at hand. He knew he could unlock and unbolt the door and leap out quickly. He could slam the door behind him and lock it, thus penning the man in there. Then he could descend to the office and inform the clerk that he had captured a burglar.

Somehow, he did not feel like doing that; that seemed too much as if he were running away. He did not fancy doing anything that seemed in the least cowardly, even though it might be discreet.

Further than that, however, it was by no means certain that, even though he locked and secured the door behind him after leaping out of the room, he could hold the intruder captive.

In some manner the man had entered that room without disturbing the lock or bolt on the door.

How had he entered?

Frank looked toward the open window, but he knew it opened upon the face of the hotel, four stories from the level of the street, and that settled in his mind all doubts about the window, for he instantly decided that it had not been possible for the masked unknown to get into the room that way.

Had he been in some old colonial house he would have fancied the fellow had gained admittance by means of a panel in the wall and a secret pa.s.sage; but he was in a modern hotel, and it was beyond the range of probability that there were secret pa.s.sages or moving wall panels in the structure.

These thoughts flitted through his mind swiftly as he stood there, trying to hear some sound that would tell him where the intruder was in the room.

All was still.

Below in the street a cab rattled and rumbled along.

The silence was even more nerve-racking than the unexpected appearance of the masked man had been. The mystery of the whole affair was beginning to impress Merry, and a mystery always aroused his curiosity to the highest pitch.

"Take your time, sir," he thought, as he leaned against the door and waited. "I believe I can stand it as long as you can."

Near at hand the door of another room swiftly opened and closed. The sound of hurried footsteps pa.s.sed the door of Merriwell's room.

Frank was tempted to fling open his door and call to the man, but he hesitated about that till it was too late.

"Let him go," he thought. "Perhaps he would have been frightened to death had I called him in here."

The push b.u.t.ton by which he could call a.s.sistance from the office was in the alcove. At this time of night it was not likely there would be anything but a tardy answer to his call should he make it.

But the electric b.u.t.ton which turned on and ignited the gas was also in the alcove.