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1. Which of the following statements describes actions the first congressional government
undertook in 1789?
A) The Judiciary Act of 1789 established thirteen district courts whose decisions
would not be subject to review by the Supreme Court.
B) George Washington asked Congress to abolish the departments of foreign affairs,
finance, and war.
C) The Judiciary Act of 1789 gave state courts jurisdiction over federal issues.
D) George Washington established a cabinet––or body of advisors––and an
administrative bureaucracy under the president's control.

2. Approval by Congress and ratification by the states of the Bill of Rights had which of
the following outcomes?
A) The establishment of a clear formula for balancing state and federal power
B) A guarantee of all men's right to vote for their political leaders
C) An easing of Americans' fears of an oppressive national government
D) The Constitution became the nation's legal and political foundation

3. Alexander Hamilton's 1789 financial plan for the United States included which of the
following items?
A) The federal government's assumption of state war debts
B) The elimination of the U.S. national debt
C) A progressive system of personal income taxes
D) The eradication of paper currency

4. Why was Hamilton's financial plan so controversial?

A) It lined the pockets of wealthy investors and speculators.
B) It required Congress to recompense those who originally owned Confederation
securities.
C) The plan neglected the growing importance of manufacturing internationally.
D) Its proposed national bank was blatantly unconstitutional.

5. To win votes for his financial plan, Hamilton made which of the following concessions?
A) Raising the price of western lands sold by the government to settlers
B) Agreeing to support Jefferson in the 1796 presidential election
C) Supporting a high tariff on foreign cotton
D) Proposing that the nation's new capital be built in the Upper South

Page 1
 6. The critical disagreement that led to the emergence of political parties in the mid-1790s
was based on which of the following issues?
A) Jay's Treaty
B) Hamilton's financial plan
C) Interstate trade
D) Slavery

7. Thomas Jefferson's vision for the future of the United States included which of the
following ideas?
A) Industrialized urban centers at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution
B) Expansion of the institution of slavery to the West
C) Western territories populated by independent yeomen farm families
D) A rejection of scientific farming in favor of agricultural traditionalism

8. Which statement was true of George Washington's 1793 Proclamation of Neutrality?

A) Earnings from shipping rose spectacularly as a result of it.
B) Jefferson and Hamilton disagreed over the need to issue the proclamation.
C) It resulted in France barring American shippers from the West Indies sugar trade.
D) It prevented American merchants from trading with any European country at war.

9. Which of the following statements characterizes the American reaction to the French
Revolution?
A) Only American politicians welcomed the French Revolution and the creation of a
more democratic republic in 1792.
B) Many Americans praised the egalitarianism of the French republicans and began to
address one another as “citizen.”
C) The majority of Americans ignored it, thankful that they were separated from
European turmoil by the Atlantic Ocean.
D) Strongly religious Americans praised the new French government because of its
embrace of traditional Christianity.

10. Which of the following served as a catalyst for the 1794 domestic insurgency known as
the Whiskey Rebellion?
A) Farm foreclosures
B) High interest rates
C) An excise tax
D) The Panic of 1793

Page 2
11. Which of the following describes Jay's Treaty of 1795?
A) The treaty upheld Americans' right to ship French goods on American ships.
B) It required the British to withdraw their troops from forts in the Northwest
Territory.
C) It required British merchants to fully compensate Americans who had prewar
claims.
D) The treaty established the pro-French direction of American foreign policy.

12. Which of the following individuals would have been unlikely to gravitate toward the
Republicans in the late 1790s?
A) South Carolina rice plantation owner
B) Wealthy New York banker
C) New England subsistence farmer
D) Scots-Irish settler in Tennessee

13. Why was Toussaint L'Ouverture a significant figure in the 1790s?

A) L'Ouverture became the first president of the new French Republic.
B) The leader negotiated with John Jay to create the terms of the Jay Treaty.
C) He led black Haitians in their fight to seize control of Saint-Domingue.
D) L'Ouverture solicited a loan and bribe from American diplomats in France.

14. Which of the following is true of the U.S. election of 1796?

A) President Washington wanted to seek a third term on the Federalist ticket.
B) Republicans won a majority in the House of Representatives and Senate.
C) Jefferson refused the pleadings of Republicans to stand for election.
D) John Adams won the vote and continued a pro-British foreign policy.

15. Which of the following events was the Federalists' response to the Republicans'
criticism of their policies in the 1790s?
A) The Alien and Sedition Acts
B) The XYZ Affair
C) The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
D) War with France

Page 3
16. The Naturalization, Alien, and Sedition Acts had which of the following outcomes in
the United States in the 1790s?
A) It became illegal to publish insults or malicious attacks against Congress or the
president.
B) The John Adams administration jailed over a thousand pro-Republican newspaper
editors.
C) The residency requirement for American citizenship was shortened from fourteen
years to five years.
D) Democratic ideals embodied in the Declaration of Independence were strengthened
dramatically.

17. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which were set forth in 1798, supported which
of the following positions?
A) Repealing the neutrality laws of the 1790s
B) States' right to judge the legitimacy of national laws
C) The defeat of Hamilton's debt payment program
D) The right of secession for states dissatisfied with the Union

18. Which of the following statements most accurately characterizes U.S. relations with
France during the late 1790s?
A) Americans' gratitude for French aid in the American Revolution led to cordial
relations.
B) The United States cut off trade with France and authorized Americans to seize
French ships.
C) The expulsion of the French agents known as X, Y, and Z calmed American
anti-French sentiments.
D) Continuing hostility toward England led Americans to initiate secret trade
relationships with the French.

19. Why did Thomas Jefferson call his election to the presidency the “Revolution of 1800”?
A) He removed Federalists and installed all new government officials.
B) There was no true majority, so the Supreme Court determined his victory.
C) He subsequently filled the Supreme Court with Republican justices.
D) The government changed peacefully despite bitter partisan conflict and foreign
crisis.

Page 4
20. The 1783 Treaty of Paris addressed Native Americans living in the Old Northwest in
which of the following ways?
A) It stipulated that Native tribes would be supervised by the British until 1793.
B) The treaty established tribal homelands west of the Appalachians.
C) It assigned control of all tribes to a joint British-American agency.
D) The treaty did nothing to protect Indian lands or independence.

21. Washington's secretary of war, Henry Knox, favored which of the following approaches
to Native Americans?
A) Extermination
B) Relocation
C) Appeasement
D) Assimilation

22. Indians ceded much of Ohio and acknowledged American political sovereignty in which
of the following treaties?
A) Treaty of Paris
B) Treaty of Greenville
C) Jay Treaty
D) Treaty of Ghent

23. Which of the following best characterizes the Native American response to the white
assimilation effort in the Midwest in the late eighteenth century?
A) Many Native Americans repudiated white missionaries and forced Christian
converts to participate in Native rituals.
B) Most Indian women accepted white farming practices because they could produce
a greater yield more easily.
C) Nearly all Native Americans joined religions such as that of Handsome Lake,
which blended Christian and Native beliefs and rituals.
D) Nearly all Native Americans accommodated to these campaigns to avoid future
warfare with whites.

24. Who led the conservative Senecas, who condemned assimilation and demanded a return
to ancestral customs?
A) Chief Red Jacket
B) Tenskwatawa, “The Prophet”
C) Tecumseh
D) Lalawethika

Page 5
25. The southern migrants who moved along the coastal plain toward the Gulf of Mexico
between 1790 and 1820 originated in which of the following areas?
A) New England
B) Upstate New York and central Pennsylvania
C) The Chesapeake region
D) North and South Carolina

26. Which of the following statements describes migrants who left New England during the
1790s?
A) They moved in family or community groups.
B) This group frequently moved to southern states.
C) New Englanders typically relocated to northeastern Ohio.
D) They funded their moves through joint-stock companies.

27. Which of the following was true of New Englanders' westward migration during the
1790s and 1800s?
A) Almost 800,000 New Englanders lived in a string of settlements stretching from
Albany to Buffalo, and many others had traveled on to Ohio and Indiana.
B) New Englanders typically bought land in upstate New York from wealthy Dutch
owners who were partitioning their vast estates.
C) So many immigrants were eager to sell their new farms and move even farther west
that the price of land dropped steadily.
D) Farmers who had fled declining prospects in the East often found themselves at the
top of a new economic hierarchy in the West.

28. In 1801, Jefferson responded to the Barbary States' threats against American shipping
by
A) refusing tribute payments, retaliating against renewed Barbary attacks, then
working out a diplomatic solution involving much lower tribute payments.
B) announcing that it was too expensive to maintain the navy that the Federalists had
built to deal with this threat and that it would be cheaper to pay a higher tribute.
C) ordering a naval bombardment and the landing of U.S. Marines, who destroyed the
Barbary States' capacity to harass American shipping.
D) “showing the flag” through a token bombardment of the Barbary States but, in the
end, continuing to pay the same tribute.

Page 6
29. Which of the following phrases describes the federal judiciary at the time Thomas
Jefferson became president in 1801?
A) Understaffed and lacking direction
B) Sympathetic to the Republican Party
C) Packed with hostile Federalists
D) Dominated by impartial judges

30. Why was the decision in the case Marbury v. Madison (1803) of great importance in
American history?
A) It marked the onset of a period of frequent declarations by the Supreme Court that
laws enacted by the Republican-dominated Congress were unconstitutional.
B) It marked the first occasion on which the Supreme Court declared that it had the
power to rule national laws unconstitutional.
C) President Jefferson used the public backlash against this decision to purge the
federal judiciary of Federalists and to attempt to impeach Chief Justice Marshall.
D) In refusing to uphold Marbury's right to his commission, Chief Justice Marshall
established an implicit political alliance with President Jefferson.

31. Jefferson's administration demonstrated its disagreement with Hamilton's philosophy by

A) ending the excise tax.
B) reducing the protective tariff.
C) abolishing the national bank.
D) implementing the Embargo Act.

32. Why was Pinckney's Treaty of 1795 significant?

A) The treaty lowered the price of western lands, making them affordable to farmers.
B) Through this treaty, the English stopped arming the Indians around the Great
Lakes.
C) Through this treaty, Jefferson and Madison negotiated the Louisiana Purchase.
D) The treaty opened the Mississippi River and New Orleans to American trade.

33. Which of the following statements characterizes federal land price policies in the
Northwest Territory during 1790–1820?
A) The Federalist administrations dropped the minimum price per acre in order to
encourage speculators to purchase larger tracts of land.
B) Jeffersonian Republicans raised the price to $2 per acre and the minimum purchase
requirement to 320 acres.
C) Jeffersonian Republicans passed laws that made it easier for farm families to buy
land.
D) Jeffersonian Republicans doubled the price per acre to discourage speculators from
buying up most of the federal land.

Page 7
34. Why did Thomas Jefferson decide to attempt to purchase New Orleans in 1801?
A) France refused to allow American farmers to ship their products through the port,
in violation of the Pinckney Treaty.
B) He feared that racial violence in Haiti would spread to the American continent via
French New Orleans.
C) Great Britain wanted to use the port as a military staging point for its conquest of
French and Spanish islands in the Caribbean.
D) Napoleon Bonaparte had announced a plan to establish a French empire in North
America.

35. Which of the following describes Jefferson's approach to the opportunity to purchase
Louisiana in 1802?
A) In keeping with his strict constructionist view of the Constitution, Jefferson jumped
on the opportunity.
B) Jefferson delayed so that he could obtain a constitutional amendment allowing
presidential land purchases.
C) Unsure of the extent of his presidential powers, Jefferson procrastinated until
Congress forced him to act.
D) The opportunity led Jefferson to revise his view of the presidential powers granted
by the Constitution.

36. Which of the following took place in response to the Jefferson administration's purchase
of Louisiana?
A) Southern Federalists conspired with Aaron Burr and General James Wilkinson to
capture the region and establish it as a separate nation.
B) Some New England Federalists devised a plan to secede from the Union and
establish a northern confederacy.
C) Most Federalists became Republicans.
D) Many Native Americans poured into the region.

37. What was the immediate cause of the illegal duel in which Vice President Aaron Burr
killed Alexander Hamilton in 1804?
A) Hamilton's affair with Burr's wife
B) Hamilton's decision to support Jefferson and oppose Burr in the 1800 election
C) Burr's accusation that Hamilton was leading a Federalist secession plot
D) Hamilton's accusation that Burr was aiding a plot to destroy the Union

Page 8
38. Why did Thomas Jefferson dispatch the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804?
A) Jefferson hoped to establish an effective American claim to the Louisiana
Territory.
B) The president needed to lay the groundwork for establishing Indian schools in the
region.
C) He wanted a report on the physical features and the plant and animal life of the
Louisiana Territory.
D) He asked them to identify areas into which the Ohio and New York Indian tribes
could be relocated.

39. As a result of the Embargo Act of 1807, the American economy

A) suffered little damage because American merchants ordered their ships to trade
only between neutral ports.
B) fell into a slump and the American gross national product dropped by 5 percent.
C) suffered little damage because northeastern merchants smuggled their goods out
through Canada.
D) suffered considerably less damage than did the economies of both France and
Britain.

40. Which of the following statements describes the Federalists' response to the War of
1812?
A) Almost all Federalists supported the war out of patriotism and a desire to acquire
eastern Canada from Britain.
B) Most Federalists reluctantly supported the war because public opinion favored it
and they wanted to win in the upcoming midterm elections.
C) Federalists such as Daniel Webster welcomed the high tariff brought by the war
because it would help New England industries.
D) Most Federalists strongly opposed the war, and some in Massachusetts met to
consider amending the Constitution to prevent similar future wars.

41. Why was the American victory at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 significant?
A) The battle revealed that most American soldiers did not accept the peace treaty.
B) It showed that American guerrilla fighters could still defeat the British troops.
C) It restored national pride and made Andrew Jackson an American hero.
D) The battle persuaded British diplomats to finally sign the peace treaty.

Page 9
42. Which of the following was an outcome of the postwar election of 1818?
A) The Federalists exploited voters' discontent with the economic downturn and the
War of 1812, making strong gains in the House and regaining control of the Senate.
B) Federalist Governor Morris of New York astonished the country by announcing
himself an enthusiastic Republican and winning election to the Senate.
C) Federalists were soundly beaten, with the Republicans winning margins of
approximately five to one in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
D) Federalists and Republicans officially disbanded their parties, announcing that “the
time for partisan politics had ended.”

43. In which of the following actions did President James Madison contradict the traditional
philosophy of Republicans?
A) Endorsing and signing Henry Clay's Bonus Bill
B) Cutting the federal budget significantly
C) Approving the Judiciary Act of 1801
D) Supporting the creation of the Second Bank of the United States

44. Which of the following factors made the critical contribution to the Federalist Party's
downfall?
A) Their failure to pay off the national debt
B) Washington's principle of neutrality
C) The adoption of many of their policies by Republicans
D) The establishment of a national bank

45. Which of the following cases is properly paired with its corresponding decision?
A) Fletcher v. Peck—states may not tax federal institutions
B) Gibbons v. Ogden—national government controls interstate commerce
C) McCullough v. Maryland—sanctity of contract
D) Dartmouth College v. Woodward—judicial review

46. Which of the following stipulations was included in the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819?
A) Spain ceded Florida to the United States.
B) Britain agreed to limit its naval forces in the Great Lakes.
C) The 49th parallel became the border between Canada and the United States.
D) Britain reimbursed American shippers for wartime damages.

Page 10
47. Which of the following was true of the “Era of Good Feeling”?
A) There was apparent political harmony.
B) It saw a rise in nationalism and an end to sectionalism.
C) There was an absence of economic debate in this period.
D) Americans embraced state loyalties rather than national ones.

48. For this question, refer to the following excerpt.

It is universally known that the causes for which we declared war are no obstruction to
peace.
The practice of blockade and impressment having ceased by the general pacification of
Europe, our government is content to leave the principle as it was. . . .

We have no further business in hostility, than such as is purely defensive; while that of
Great Britain is to humble or subdue us. The war, on our part, has become a contest for
life, liberty and property—on the part of our enemy, of revenge or ambition. . . .

What then are we to do? Are we to encourage him by divisions among ourselves—to
hold out the hope of a separation of the states and a civil war—to refuse to bring forth
the resources of the country against him? . . . I did think that in a defensive war—a
struggle for all that is valuable—that all parties would have united. But it is not
so—every measure calculated to replenish the treasury or raise men is opposed [by New
England] as though it were determined to strike the “star spangled banner” and exalt the
bloody cross. Look at the votes and proceedings of congress—and mark the late spirit . .
. that existed in Massachusetts, and see with what unity of action every thing has been
done [by New England] to harass and embarrass the government. . . .

To conclude—why does the war continue? It is not the fault of the government—we
demand no extravagant thing. I answer the question, and say—it lasts because Great
Britain depends on the exertions of her “party” in this country to destroy our resources,
and compel “unconditional submission.”
Thus the war began, and is continued, by our divisions.

Hezekiah Niles, Niles' Weekly Register, January 28, 1815

The passage above best serves as evidence of

A) public debates about territorial expansion.
B) U.S. attempts to dominate the North American continent.
C) resistance from state governments in response to federal attempts to assert
authority.
D) the nation's transformation into a more participatory democracy through the
creation of various political parties.

Page 11
49. For this question, refer to the following excerpt.

It is universally known that the causes for which we declared war are no obstruction to
peace. The practice of blockade and impressment having ceased by the general
pacification of Europe, our government is content to leave the principle as it was. . . .

We have no further business in hostility, than such as is purely defensive; while that of
Great Britain is to humble or subdue us. The war, on our part, has become a contest for
life, liberty and property—on the part of our enemy, of revenge or ambition. . . .

What then are we to do? Are we to encourage him by divisions among ourselves—to
hold out the hope of a separation of the states and a civil war—to refuse to bring forth
the resources of the country against him? . . . I did think that in a defensive war—a
struggle for all that is valuable—that all parties would have united. But it is not
so—every measure calculated to replenish the treasury or raise men is opposed [by New
England] as though it were determined to strike the “star spangled banner” and exalt the
bloody cross. Look at the votes and proceedings of congress—and mark the late spirit . .
. that existed in Massachusetts, and see with what unity of action every thing has been
done [by New England] to harass and embarrass the government. . . .

To conclude—why does the war continue? It is not the fault of the government—we
demand no extravagant thing. I answer the question, and say—it lasts because Great
Britain depends on the exertions of her “party” in this country to destroy our resources,
and compel “unconditional submission.”
Thus the war began, and is continued, by our divisions.

Hezekiah Niles, Niles' Weekly Register, January 28, 1815

Which of the following debates or movements in the nineteenth century and early
twentieth century represents a parallel to the issues described in the excerpt above?
A) The considerable home front opposition faced by both the Union and the
Confederacy as they mobilized to wage the Civil War
B) The rise of an often violent nativist movement, aimed at limiting immigrants'
influence and power
C) The highly visible campaign that abolitionists mounted against slavery
D) Questions about America's role in the world, argued between imperialists and
anti-imperialists

Page 12
50. For this question, refer to the following excerpt.

It is universally known that the causes for which we declared war are no obstruction to
peace. The practice of blockade and impressment having ceased by the general
pacification of Europe, our government is content to leave the principle as it was. . . .

We have no further business in hostility, than such as is purely defensive; while that of
Great Britain is to humble or subdue us. The war, on our part, has become a contest for
life, liberty and property—on the part of our enemy, of revenge or ambition. . . .

What then are we to do? Are we to encourage him by divisions among ourselves—to
hold out the hope of a separation of the states and a civil war—to refuse to bring forth
the resources of the country against him? . . . I did think that in a defensive war—a
struggle for all that is valuable—that all parties would have united. But it is not
so—every measure calculated to replenish the treasury or raise men is opposed [by New
England] as though it were determined to strike the “star spangled banner” and exalt the
bloody cross. Look at the votes and proceedings of congress—and mark the late spirit . .
. that existed in Massachusetts, and see with what unity of action every thing has been
done [by New England] to harass and embarrass the government. . . .

To conclude—why does the war continue? It is not the fault of the government—we
demand no extravagant thing. I answer the question, and say—it lasts because Great
Britain depends on the exertions of her “party” in this country to destroy our resources,
and compel “unconditional submission.”
Thus the war began, and is continued, by our divisions.

Hezekiah Niles, Niles' Weekly Register, January 28, 1815

During the period from 1800 to 1820, the arguments described in the excerpt above
created the strongest divisions between the
A) North and the Midwest.
B) South and the Midwest.
C) Democrats and the Whigs.
D) Federalists and the Democratic Republicans.

Page 13
Answer Key
1. D
2. C
3. A
4. A
5. D
6. B
7. C
8. A
9. B
10. C
11. B
12. B
13. C
14. D
15. A
16. A
17. B
18. B
19. D
20. D
21. D
22. B
23. A
24. A
25. D
26. A
27. A
28. A
29. C
30. B
31. A
32. D
33. C
34. A
35. D
36. B
37. D
38. C
39. B
40. D
41. C
42. C
43. D
44. C

Page 14
45. B
46. A
47. A
48. C
49. A
50. D

Page 15
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
 The eyes of Inza Burrage were glowing and she could scarcely
keep from cheering herself.
“Didn’t I tell you, Elsie!” she cried. “I knew what would happen!
Both Frank and Bart are playing splendidly. Bart kept Hopkins from
scoring that time, and then Frank made a goal for his own side.”
Elsie had brightened up, but she was quivering, while the color
came and went in her cheeks.
“It’s awfully exciting!” she murmured. “I didn’t think it would be
so exciting!”
“It’s a beautiful game,” said Inza; “and not enough is made of it
in this country. The United States should not permit Canada to hold
such a long lead in such a fine game.”
“Fred Fillmore didn’t stop Frank that time.”
“Hardly!”
“I wonder why he dislikes Frank so? I know he does dislike him.”
“Of course he does. He tried to lay it onto Frank when he and
Tom Hackett came home intoxicated after that trip to the road house
out on the Pimlico Road. I didn’t believe him; I knew he was lying.
He and the other fellows tried to get Frank and Bart full, but they
were fooled, and Fred has been holding a grudge ever since.”
“I think he would hurt Frank, if he could.”
“I have an idea that Frank can take care of himself.”
Hopkins had hoped to keep the visitors from scoring, and the
whole team was rather sore over the success of the Merries.
Following this there was quite a period during which neither goal
was in imminent danger. Hopkins took the offensive and kept it up,
but each time the ball drew close to the Merries’ net some of the
defenders sent it away.
The home team grew more and more persistent. Woodin rushed
the ball down the field repeatedly, or made beautiful passes to the
vicinity of the visitors’ goal.
Finally the locals closed in for a united attack, and both Hodge
and Ready were kept busy.
 During the five minutes of play that followed in the first half
Hopkins made another try to score; but Frank’s players succeeded in
baffling the attack.
Finally the whistle sounded.
The first half ended with the score three to one in favor of the
locals.
 CHAPTER XXVII.
A HOT SECOND HALF.

“I haven’t found the opening, Tom,” said Fillmore, in a low tone,

as he and Hackett rested during intermission. “It will come, though.”
“Shame they got that goal!”
“That’s right, it was a shame. Know how it happened?”
“Why, Merriwell just run right round the whole of you fellows.”
“I turned my ankle just as I was jumping to check him,” lied
Fillmore. “If it hadn’t been for that he’d never got past me.”
“I thought it was remarkable you should let him dodge you that
way.”
The Harvard and Yale students were singing in chorus when the
players returned to the field. They sang:

“For Merry’s a jolly good fellow,

Merry’s a jolly good fellow,
Merry’s a jolly good fellow,
Which nobody can deny.”

“Wouldn’t that make you sick!” growled Fillmore. “Merriwell gave

Harvard more trouble than any other ten Yale men when he was in
college, yet here are those Harvard chaps joining the Yale gang in
singing his praises.”
The teams lined up, and once more Vernell proved his skill at
centre by drawing the ball from Hackett, much to the disgust of the
latter.
 The first half had been lively; the second half was hot. Both
teams went into it fiercely, straining every nerve. Up and down the
field flew the ball. Woodin made some splendid runs. Fillmore
distinguished himself by taking the ball out of Morgan’s stick just as
Dade was on the point of trying for goal. At times it was difficult to
follow all the rapid plays.
Still it was some time before either side forced the goal guards to
sweat. Hodge was the first one compelled to work hard, and he
made five difficult stops in rapid succession, causing the spectators
to cheer him loudly.
Frank laughed softly.
“Good old Bart!” he muttered. “I knew I had picked the right man
to guard the net. Reckon Onslaw knows it now.”
Onslaw had advised Frank to use Wilson.
It was Ready who passed the ball to Thatcher.
Thatcher tried to advance it, but was pocketed by two of the
Hopkins defenders. Neither Morgan nor Wilkins was in position to
take the ball, so Thatcher was compelled to pass it back to
Merriwell.
It was a poor throw, for Mowry was nearer the ball and seemed
sure to get it.
How Frank covered ground so fast no one seemed able to tell,
but, running like the wind, he thrust out his stick and took the ball
just as Mowry was on the point of catching it.
A yell of delight went up from his many admirers.
“Wake up, there, you fellow!” shouted a man. “You didn’t catch
it, did you! Ha! ha! ha!”
Kellogg came at Frank, but Merry easily avoided him, holding his
club high and swaying it as he ran.
Lowe, however, managed to force Merry off to one side.
Frank passed to Onslaw.
A moment later there was a grand scrimmage in front of the
Hopkins goal, in which a number of men of both teams were
engaged. Fillmore was in it, and he found his opportunity. He
smashed Onslaw across his bare shins with the stick, and the
Harvard man went down.
The whistle blew.
Fillmore protested regret. Onslaw said nothing. His shins were
rubbed and patched up and he re-entered the game.
Not three minutes later there was another scrimmage, for once
more Frank secured the ball and ran with it to a position where he
could try for goal. Brisbane stopped the ball and drove it away.
Players of both teams went after it and there was a mix-up,
Merriwell being in the midst of it.
Fred Fillmore got into it. They saw a stick sweep through the air.
The blow, as it landed on a player’s head, was heard in the stand.
Again the whistle blew.
Frank Merriwell was prone on the ground with his scalp cut open.
Fillmore had a broken stick, and he was bending over Merriwell,
proclaiming his regret.
Inza Burrage started up, but she saw Frank rise to a sitting
posture, and she sat down again, although her face was deathly
white.
“Fred Fillmore did that intentionally,” she exclaimed. “They should
put him out of the game!”
Frank’s injury was quickly dressed. A bandage was tied about his
head, and he continued to play.
“What’s the matter with Merriwell?” yelled a delighted Yale man.
“He’s all right!” answered a hundred voices.
“They’d better put that Hopkins stiff out of the game!” shouted
still another man.
Fillmore was warned by the referee, and the game was resumed.
It was Herb Onslaw who finally shot the ball into the net.
Hopkins was now only one goal in the lead. The local players
fought hard to hold that lead.
 The ball was sent into the territory of the Merries, but it did not
remain there long. Starbright shot it back, and Frank took it.
They could not stop him. He carried it down and shot for goal.
Brisbane stopped it, but it fell at his feet.
Wilkins was at hand, and he scooped it into the net.
The score was tied.
Never had Fillmore and his fellows been more desperate. They
had fancied the game safely in their hands; but now they saw it
slipping through their fingers.
It was no use. Again the Hopkins players saw the ball go into
Merriwell’s possession, and again they did their level best to keep
him from reaching a position where he could try for goal.
But, swiftly dodging man after man, Merry wove his way through
them toward the net and the anxious goal keeper.
Brisbane was nervous. He feared he could not stop the ball. That
fear aided in his undoing.
He did not stop it.
Merry cast it deftly into one of the upper corners of the net, and
his team had taken the lead.
After that Hopkins seemed to slump. Had the game lasted a few
minutes more the Merries would have added another score. As it
was, it finally ended four to three, just as the game with Harvard
had finished.
The moment the game was over Frank Merriwell walked up to
Fred Fillmore.
“You failed in your trick to-day, just as you failed at Hastings’
road house,” he said. “I don’t know how you happened to be chosen
the captain of the Hopkins team. You can play lacrosse, but you are
a dirty fellow.”
“Be careful!” muttered Fillmore. “Be careful what you say!”
“I am very careful. I am going to remain over a few days in
Baltimore, and I shall try to see you again while I am here. If I meet
you in a convenient locality I promise to give you something in
return for the crack on the head that you gave me to-day. That is
all.”
That very night Fred Fillmore caught a train at Union Station,
bound for New York. He was not anxious to meet Merriwell again.
 CHAPTER XXVIII.
ELSIE BELLWOOD’S RESOLVE.

“How are you feeling to-night, Elsie?”

“No better.”
“That’s too bad, dear! I’m so sorry!”
Inza Burrage placed her arm lovingly about Elsie Bellwood and
drew Elsie’s head down upon her shoulder. They were in their room
in the home of John Loder, in Baltimore. It was evening.
“I’m so sorry!” repeated Inza sympathetically, as she softly patted
Elsie’s pale cheek. “What seems to be the matter?”
“I’m tired, tired. I seem to be tired all the time now, Inza. I can’t
get rested.”
“You’ll be better to-morrow, dear,” declared the dark-eyed girl
cheerfully; “I’m sure you’ll be better to-morrow.”
“I don’t know,” sighed Elsie. “I fear not. Each day I’ve thought I
would be better the next, but I improve so slowly it is very
discouraging. It doesn’t seem that I’ll ever be well and strong again,
as I used to be.”
“Oh, but you will—of course you will! You’re much better than
you were in Virginia.”
“I’d be dead now if I hadn’t improved at all,” returned Elsie, with
a faint smile. “I used to feel so well. Inza, you’re wasting your time
staying by me this way. I appreciate it, oh, so much! But, I know
how you must feel. You are well and strong and full of life. You make
me feel guilty over keeping you in like this. I feel that I am——”
“There, there!” exclaimed Inza laughingly, placing a soft hand
over Elsie’s lips. “I won’t listen to such nonsense! Are you not my
dearest friend! It’s a great satisfaction to me if I can do anything for
you, as I know how much you have done for me in the past and how
much you would do now if you had the opportunity.”
“But you would be with Frank a great deal more if you did not
feel it your duty to stay here with me. I am robbing you of that
pleasure. It is not right. You had a letter from him in the last delivery
to-day.”
“Yes.”
“And I had one from Bart. Dear Bart! They have been very
successful with their lacrosse team, and now they are coming back
from their trip.”
“And Frank must leave for Mexico in a very few days. He wants
me to go with him.”
Elsie started a little, and her face seemed to take on an added
shade of pallor.
“To go with him?” she murmured.
“As—as Mrs. Merriwell.”
Slowly Elsie lifted one not quite steady hand to her cheek.
“I am glad,” she finally said, in a voice that was very low. “You
will go with him, Inza?”
“Are you ready for the marriage?”
“Am I ready?”
“Yes, Elsie. I know Bart has urged you. You know it has been our
plan to be married together—to have a double marriage. Frank
wants it; Bart wants it; I want it. When will you be ready?”
Elsie did not reply immediately. It seemed that she was thinking.
In truth, she was summoning her strength.
“It will be a long time before I am ready, I fear,” she finally
answered. “You must not wait for me, Inza.”
“Oh, Elsie, that would spoil everything! Oh, we must wait! I shall
insist upon it.”
Elsie turned and looked into the dark eyes of her companion.
 “Inza,” she said, “I may not be married for a year—I doubt very
much if I shall. I may not be married then. It is not right for you to
wait longer. Frank has asked you; he is impatient. Too many times
something has arisen to delay your union with him. Through it all
your love has been constant and his has never changed.”
“Oh, no matter what happened, my love for Frank would remain
the same.”
“You have been tried as with fire. There is no reason why you
should permit anything to longer delay the consummation of your
happiness and his. It would not be right to Frank if you did permit
anything. You must marry him and go with him to Mexico for your
wedding trip.”
“But why won’t you make it a double wedding? I do not
understand——”
“When the boys were here in Baltimore I talked the matter over
with Bart. He almost insisted that I should set a date. He wanted us
to get together and agree on a date. I said no.”
“But why—why? I can’t understand why!”
“Don’t fancy for a moment, Inza, that you love Frank more than I
love Bart. It is not that my feelings have changed, but I have been ill
and——”
“You are much better now. At times you are quite strong for a
little while. Why, you attended the lacrosse game with me.”
“And was ill for two days after. I tried not to let you know how ill
I was. I did not wish you to think me spleeny, Inza.”
Inza laughed musically.
“I know you too well to think anything like that,” she said. “I
have known you to endure too much. Oh, no, no, no! you are not
spleeny! Anything but that!”
“I never knew my mother to remember her well,” said Elsie. “My
father told me lots about her. My mother was for many years a semi-
invalid. If she seemed pretty well for a day or two, she was ill for
weeks after. Father adored her. He told me that never was there a
sweeter or more patient woman. He told me I was like her as he
knew her when they first met. Even as a little girl I bore a
remarkable resemblance to my mother. One old-fashioned picture of
her was precisely like a picture I had taken, with the exception that
there was a difference in our dresses and the way our hair was
arranged. Father often said it was his prayer that I always remained
well and strong.
“In every other way save in health he hoped I would exactly
resemble my mother. I’ve meditated often on his words. I used to
fear that some time I would become an invalid, the same as mother.
That fear has grown upon me. It has taken a firm hold of me, and I
cannot shake it off. Something seems to tell me that I shall never be
wholly well and strong after this. A young man burdened with an
invalid for a wife has a millstone about his neck, continually dragging
him down. If he is a man of ambition and ability his life may be
ruined. He can never rise as he would if he had a wife to cheer,
encourage, and stimulate him to his best efforts. I believe Bart was
meant by fate to become a great man. As his wife, if I were an
invalid, I should hold him down. Therefore, Inza, I have resolved not
to marry him—now.”
Elsie had spoken earnestly, sincerely, from the bottom of her
heart. She meant the words she uttered. There was no shamming
about it; she was not posing. She really feared she would become an
incumbrance upon Bart Hodge, and, for that reason and that alone,
she was not ready to marry him. On her part it indicated a most
remarkable attitude and most astonishing self-sacrifice. Few girls,
loving a man as she loved Hodge, would have paused to consider—
would have firmly held the cup of happiness back—out of
consideration for his future.
In these days it is seldom a girl thinks that she may make or mar
the man whose bride she is to be. As a rule, the one thought of the
girl is to gratify herself and her selfish desires for comfort, ease,
position, and happiness. Not one girl in a thousand hesitates to
marry a man through fear that she may become a burden to him.
 For years Inza had known Elsie to be generous, unselfish, and
self-sacrificing to a wonderful degree; but now it seemed to Inza
that her dearest friend was carrying her self-denying inclination to a
mistaken extreme, and of this she attempted to convince her.
Elsie listened to Inza’s argument, but it did not alter her
determination.
“My dearest friend,” she said softly yet firmly, “I am not strong
enough now to pass through the excitement and strain of preparing
for such a wedding. It would overtax me, even were I willing to
place such a burden on Bart’s shoulders. But you must not permit
me to delay your own happiness and that of Frank. You must marry
him now.”
This Inza was extremely loath to do.
“It ruins our plan, which we have talked over so many times,” she
murmured regretfully. “Does nothing ever transpire in this world as
we plan it?”
“I’m afraid few things come out just as we wish them,” answered
Elsie; “yet we should be happy. I am sure all will be well in the end.
Promise me that you will not put Frank off longer.”
It was no simple task to induce Inza to agree to this, but finally,
by her gentle persuasion, Elsie succeeded. Immediately a sweet
smile illumined her face.
“I am so glad!” she breathed. “Both you and Frank will be very
happy together.”
“But you, Elsie—how about you?”
“Don’t think of me. I am all right here, where I have a good
home and kind friends.”
“Bart——”
“It will be better for him than it would be if he found himself tied
to an invalid wife. It is my love for him that has led me to this
resolution. I have written him, explaining as well as possible the
situation, although I have not told him that I am putting off our
union for his sake. Promise me, Inza, that you will not tell him this.
Let him think, if he will, that it is on my own account that I ask the
delay.”
Again Inza flung her arms round Elsie.
“You are the dearest, sweetest girl in all the world!” she
exclaimed; “but I cannot believe that your fears for your own health
have any foundation. You have been so strong and well! It will all
come out right in time, and we will be together again, you as Bart’s
wife and I as Frank’s. We’ll have jolly times, as we have had in the
past. Oh, but we have had such splendid times, haven’t we, Elsie?”
“Surely we have. No matter what may happen to me now, I shall
always remember the past with unspeakable pleasure and be glad I
have lived.”
They fell to talking over old times and the many scenes and
adventures through which they had passed since the wild night
when Captain Bellwood’s vessel was wrecked on Tiger Tooth Ledge,
near Fardale. They laughed lightly as they spoke of
misunderstandings and jealousies, now happily forever at an end.
Then, as was natural, they began to talk of Inza’s trousseau and
plan it, and both were very deeply engaged in this and very happy
over it. Finally they paused from sheer exhaustion.
“One thing has made me a bit unhappy,” Elsie finally observed.
Inza looked at her quickly.
“You mean——”
“Frank’s unfortunate trouble with Fred Fillmore. Fred is Mrs.
Loder’s brother. At first she didn’t know why he left Baltimore so
suddenly after the lacrosse game; but I think he has written her,
placing the blame on Frank.”
“Frank was not in the least to blame!” exclaimed Inza quickly.
“They were just foolish boys, both of them. Fred thought himself in
love with me, and I had to hold him at a distance. He must have
been crazy, else he would not have tried to knock Frank out in the
game by hitting him over the head. No one could blame Frank for
being angry and threatening to settle with Fred the next time they
met. That was why Fred left Baltimore. There was no need for him
to do so, for I would not have permitted Frank to quarrel with him.”
A little later Elsie said:
“I think I’ll go to bed now, Inza. I need rest. If I could only rest
so I would not feel tired in the morning!”
Inza remained to assist Elsie. The girl with the blue eyes and the
sweet, pale face sank back amid the pillows with a sigh.
“I’m so glad, Inza,” she breathed—“so glad all your dreams are
going to be realized. You will be very, very happy, and I shall be
happy because you are.”
Inza kissed her.
“Always thinking of others, you unselfish child!” she exclaimed.
“What a world this would be if there were more like you in it! I am
going down to the library for a book I am reading, dear. I will return
soon.”
Lightly she descended the stairs. The library was dark as she
stepped in, but she pushed a button and turned on the electric
lights. At the same moment she detected an odor of tobacco smoke.
The flood of light showed her a person standing near the centre of
the room, his feet quite wide apart, smoking a cigarette.
“Fred!” she exclaimed, startled; “Fred Fillmore!”
 CHAPTER XXIX.
FRED FILLMORE’S ADVANCES.

The young man regarded Inza with a peculiar look. His face was
flushed and his manner unnatural.
“Good evening, Miss Burrage,” he bowed, with cool self-
assurance. “This is a great pleasure, I declare.”
She detected something odd in his speech, and, being quick of
wit, decided at once that he had been drinking. He wore a blue coat,
light trousers, tan shoes, outing shirt and no waistcoat. His necktie
was carelessly knotted. The evening was almost oppressively warm.
Inza caught her breath.
“You startled me,” she confessed.
“Did I? I beg your pardon. I couldn’t seem to find the button
myself, although I should know where it is. Had I been able to find it
I’d turned on the lights for you.”
“Oh, but you didn’t know——”
“I knew you were coming.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Perhaps I heard your footsteps,” he answered evasively.
“Perhaps I know the rustle of your garments. I assure you the sound
to me was like the rustle of an angel’s wings.”
A shadow came to Inza’s face.
“When did you return to the city?” she asked.
“I arrived an hour ago.”
 “You have seen your sister?”
“Not yet. There was some one here I longed to see far more than
her. My desire has been gratified.”
“How did you get into the house?”
“With my own key, which I carried with me when I left.”
He held the key up.
“Mrs. Loder knew you were coming, I suppose?”
“Not through me.”
“Then you had better see her at once. She was much distressed
because you left so suddenly without even bidding her good-by.”
“You know why I left. I did it for your sake.”
“For my sake?” cried Inza, in great surprise.
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand you.”
“You know I had trouble with that fellow Merriwell.”
The dark eyes of the girl flashed.
“‘That fellow Merriwell!’” she exclaimed. “I do not like the manner
in which you refer to him.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“You had better!”
“I couldn’t help saying it. You know I had trouble with him.”
“Which was your own fault.”
“Perhaps you think so, but I assure you that you are mistaken. If
he had acted like a gentleman that day he accompanied us to
Hastings’ on the Pimlico Road all would have been well.”
“‘If he had acted like a gentleman!’” Once more she quoted his
words. “Frank Merriwell always acts like a gentleman. It is natural for
him.”
“I presume you think so, but the fellows in that party universally
agreed that he behaved like a cad. Why, he pretended to drink with
us, but he took water instead of gin.”
 “He told you at the start that he did not drink, but you insisted.
You tried to force it upon him. Why? Because you had arranged a
miserable scheme to make him ridiculous. You hoped to get him full
and then to pit him against a prize fighter and a slugger. You
thought you were fooling him, but he fooled you. That is why you
say he did not act like a gentleman. Shame on you, Fred Fillmore! It
was you who behaved like anything other than a gentleman.”
She was aroused and he was beginning to feel the sting of her
scorn.
But, strange as it seems, he liked it!
Why?
Because, with her cheeks flushed and her eyes flashing
indignation, she was far handsomer than ever before in his eyes,
and he had thought her the handsomest girl in all the world. He felt
his blood taking fire as she stood before him glowing with
indignation in her defense of Frank.
“I don’t blame you for thinking that,” he said. “Of course he told
you anything he pleased, and you believed him.”
“He never told a lie in all his life!”
“Is that so? A second George Washington, it seems! I’ll not
attempt to undeceive you.”
“It would be quite useless.”
“If I had remained in Baltimore I’d felt it necessary to give Mr.
Merriwell all that was due him. A quarrel with him would have made
your position here in my sister’s home far from pleasant, and so I
saw fit, on your account, to leave the city. I longed to smash his
face.”
“You tried to smash his head on the field in the game, and you
did give him a scalp wound.”
“That was an accident.”
“It was not!” denied the girl positively. “I was watching closely,
and I saw you strike him over the head with your stick.”
 “Had I done it intentionally the referee would have put me out of
the game.”
“He warned you. You did not tell the truth when you protested
that it was unintentional. Frank was angry. You know you skipped
from Baltimore after the game because you did not dare remain here
and face him.”
He laughed, snapping his fingers.
“Of course he impressed you with that idea. He is a great
boaster. I left the city for the reason I have stated. I remained away
as long as I could. Your eyes have haunted me, Inza. I have thought
of you by day and dreamed of you by night. I could not forget you,
even though I tried. I became desperate. At last I felt that I must
see you again, and here I am. The real truth is that I’m in love with
you, Inza—madly in love with you!”
In vain she tried to check this declaration. He spoke swiftly,
intensely, passionately, his own eyes fairly burning with the intensity
of his emotion. His voice shook and he felt himself all aquiver. He
advanced toward her, but she flung up a repulsing hand.
“Keep away!” she exclaimed, falling back. “Are you out of your
senses?”
“Perhaps I am,” he hoarsely admitted. “I believe I am. Only one
person in the world can restore me to my normal condition, and you
are that one, Inza.”
She would have retreated to the door by which she had entered
the room, but, stepping quickly in her way, he prevented the
movement.
“Don’t go!” he entreated. “At first I felt it was folly to even think
of you; but I could not help it, and I had to think. The more I
thought the more desperate I became. I’ve known plenty of girls in
my day, but never one who has thrown a spell on me as you have. I
began to consider coming here and telling you everything. That
seemed folly, also. I said I would not. Then I began to fancy myself
a coward unless I spoke. I grew more desperate. I fought against
the influence that was drawing me to you, but I could not overcome
it. Finally I rushed for the train, without preparation, without further
hesitation, and here I am. Don’t be afraid of me. I want to marry
you, Inza! My mother has promised to set me up in business as soon
as I graduate. When my father died he left a fortune in trust for me.
I am not a poor student with no prospects ahead of me. I can
support you. I——”
She stopped him at last.
“Mr. Fillmore,” she said, “it is useless for you to go on. Stop! I am
to be the wife of Frank Merriwell. I am engaged to him, and we are
to be married very soon.”
“I hope not!” he cried. “I hope I’ll never live to see that! You can
break the engagement with him.”
“You must be deranged to think I would do such a thing. My poor
boy, don’t deceive yourself. I love Frank Merriwell, and I do not care
for you.”
“Don’t call me ‘poor boy!’” he panted. “That hurts! I’ve been
pitying myself until I realized I was a fool and that the only thing for
me to do was win you from him. That I will do, somehow! I must,
for I am one who has his way. You don’t know the blood of the
Fillmores. My father before me was a man who always had his own
way. He started out a poor boy, but he resolved to be rich, and he
became rich. All his life when he wanted a thing he found a way to
obtain it. All my life I have been the same. I want you, and I’m
going to have you! Heaven and earth shall not prevent me!”
Inza knew he was in a dangerous mood, but she was not one to
hurt a person’s feelings needlessly. The fact that she had aroused in
his breast such a passion was enough to cause her to treat him as
kindly as possible. A short time before she had been full of scorn,
but now she repressed this and held it in check.
“Let me reason with you,” she said. “You must understand the
absolute hopelessness of your love, as you call it. Perhaps it is not
love at all. It must be infatuation. In a little while you will forget me,
or, if you remember, you will be thankful that you did not succeed.”
“Never!”
 “Oh, yes, you will! You are too young to marry. You have not yet
made a start in the business world. I am older than you. You should
not marry for some years to come, and then you should choose a
wife some years younger than yourself.”
“That’s all rot! There’s not much difference in our ages—not
enough to raise the slightest barrier between us. Even if you were
old enough to be my mother, I’d love you just the same!”
She could not refrain from smiling a bit at this, for it struck her as
ridiculous.
“Don’t laugh at me!” he exclaimed. “I’m no boy! I’m twenty-one!”
“Gracious! You’ll soon be growing decrepit and senile.”
“Don’t laugh at me!” he repeated. “It hurts!”
“I don’t want to hurt you, but I want to make you understand.
What you wish can never be.”
“If Merriwell were out of the way——”
“Even then it could never be, for I do not love you.”
“You might—you might in time! I’d make you love me! I’d find a
way!”
“You could not. You can’t make a girl love you by commanding it.
You’ll simply succeed in causing her to fly from you.”
“If you fly from me, even as Apollo pursued Daphne will I pursue
you.”
“Have you forgotten what happened when at last Apollo overtook
Daphne? He did not succeed in his desires, for she was changed into
a laurel tree, and his reward was bitter disappointment.”
“How much more bitter would have been his feelings had he
seen her captured by another! As Apollo was wounded by Cupid’s
dart thus have I been wounded. Inza, listen to me, I beg! Put off
your marriage with Merriwell for a time. Your feelings toward him
may change. Perhaps—perhaps——”
“It is folly for you to dream of such a thing.”
 “Then let me enjoy the sweet hope of folly for a time. Frank
Merriwell is going to Mexico soon. Wait until he returns, and then, if
you still——”
“You do not understand. Fate has caused us to put off the event
more than once.”
“But your plans are not coming out as you had intended. There
will be no double marriage, for Elsie cannot——”
“How do you know about this?”
“How do I know? I’ll tell you. After entering this house I was
making my way to my room. I had to pass the door of the room
occupied by you and Elsie. The door was a bit ajar. I heard you
talking, and I could not help pausing——”
In a moment her anger rose again.
“So you listened! You played the eavesdropper!”
“I couldn’t help it, for I heard you speaking of Merriwell. That
name stopped me in my tracks. I beg a thousand pardons. I heard
you say you were coming here for a book, and I scudded down the
stairs to be here when you came, in order that I might see you and
speak with you.”
Inza had hoped to convince him of his folly without being harsh,
but now she was again aroused. To her his action seemed mean and
despicable.
“Fine business eavesdropping at the door of a room and listening
to the confidences of two girls!” she cried, her face flaming. “I did
not wish to hurt you, but this confession of yours has filled me with
unspeakable contempt. If there is anything I detest it is a person
who plays the sneak!”
He started as if struck in the face. It is possible he had not
realized how contemptible his action would appear in her eyes, else
he would not have told her he had listened.
“Don’t!” he cried.
But she had decided that to be merciless with him would be the
greatest kindness.
 “I want you to understand how hopeless your case is,” she said.
“If I had never seen Frank Merriwell I could not care for you! If you
were the last fellow in the world I could not care for you! You repel
me!”
He lifted his hand, his fist clenched.
“Don’t!” he exclaimed hoarsely.
“I want you to know the exact truth, so you will not deceive
yourself longer.”
He stood still, his eyes fastened on her. Silence fell between
them.
She was the one who broke this silence.
“Now you know; now you understand,” she said. “This will end
it.”
“No!” he declared. “This is not the end! It is the beginning!”
“If you annoy me——”
“I’ll never give up! I’ll win you from him—or I’ll kill him!”
Fillmore fairly hissed the final words, and his face took on a look
that frightened the girl.
“How would that help you?” she demanded. “You would make
me loathe you, and you would send yourself to the chair.”
“But I’d have the satisfaction of knowing he had not secured you.
He never shall! I’ll kill him first!”
 CHAPTER XXX.
TRUE LOVE’S TELEGRAPHY.

Two days later Frank Merriwell and Bart Hodge stepped off the
Congressional Express at Union Station, Baltimore. They took a cab
and drove directly to the home of John Loder. They had planned a
surprise for the girls, and a happy one it was.
Happening to look from the window, Inza saw them get out of
the cab in front of the door.
“Elsie,” she cried, “Elsie, Frank and Bart are here! Come—come
quick!”
She ran down the stairs and Elsie followed as swiftly as possible.
There was no waiting for any one else to answer the ring at the
doorbell.
Frank stepped in and caught Inza in his arms, kissing her.
“Oh, Frank!” she murmured, as she clung to him; “oh, Frank, I’m
so glad!”
Bart’s face was aglow as he saw Elsie.
“Here we are!” he said, attempting to be commonplace in his
manner. But a moment later he was imitating Merriwell’s action.
“Bart!” whispered Elsie; “dear Bart!”
Five minutes later they were seated in the parlor, but they were
still greatly excited over the meeting.
“You’re a pair of bad, bad boys!” said Inza. “Why didn’t you let us
know you were coming?”
“Oh, we thought it would be jollier to give you a surprise,”
answered Merry. “We didn’t know we’d be able to get here so soon.
Canceled our last lacrosse game and the team disbanded. Met with
only one defeat, and that was in Canada. For a fact, those Canadians
can give us points at some things.”
“Lacrosse, polo, ice hockey, and such sports,” nodded Hodge.
“But we lost our game with them by only one point, and we did
defeat one Canadian team. Beyond question, we had a team that
could walk away with anything in the United States.”
“And is that the end of your tour?” questioned Inza.
“Yes, it’s all over,” answered Bart regretfully. “We’ve had a royal
good time.”
“We’ve had a royal good time,” echoed Frank; “but now we’re
going to work.”
“Our day of play is over,” sighed Hodge.
“It’s Mexico for me, with very little delay,” said Merry. “The
Central Sonora Railroad is under construction, and it’s my duty to be
on the ground.”
“But we’re going to take you with us, girls,” declared Bart.
“Then you are going, too?” asked Elsie quickly.
“We’ve talked about it. Frank wants me to go. You know how
we’re going to take you.”
Elsie shook her head, sadly yet firmly.
“I couldn’t take the trip,” she said. “It would be too much for me
—now.”
A shadow came to Bart’s face.
“Why, Elsie——”
“Please, please don’t urge me, Bart!” she entreated. “You know
I’d be glad to go, but you cannot know how disappointed I am
because I cannot.”
“I’ll have to talk to you alone,” said Hodge grimly. “I’ll have to get
some foolish notions out of your head, little girl.”
“I hope you can!” cried Inza.
“Leave it to me,” he said.
 Inza was doubtful if he would succeed, but she did not tell him
so. She hoped he might, but she knew Elsie had quite made up her
mind on that point.
“We have but a day or two to spend in Baltimore,” said Frank.
“You must go out to dinner with us, girls. What do you say to dinner
at the Belvidere? At nine this evening I am to meet some friends at
the University Club. Before that I am yours to command.”
“I’m another,” smiled Bart. “The Belvidere looks good to me. Eh,
Elsie?”
To his surprise he saw that her face was colorless and her figure
drooping.
Inza noted this and flew to her friend.
“The excitement, the shock has upset her!” she exclaimed. “You
should have let us know you were coming.”
She knew what to do to restore Elsie, but the delicate girl with
the golden hair was quite weak and exhausted as she lay amid the
pillows with Bart Hodge, repentant and anxious, hovering over her.
Hodge was conscience-stricken.
“It was my fault!” he declared. “I suggested to Frank that we
should give you this surprise. Oh, I’m sorry, Elsie—I’m sorry! I didn’t
mean——”
Forcing a faint smile, Elsie lifted her hand and gently pressed her
fingers over his lips.
“No one is to blame,” she said. “It was fine of you to wish to give
me pleasure by such a surprise. But you see how weak I am. I can’t
go out to dinner to-night. Oh, what am I good for in the world
anyhow?”
Bart was deeply touched by this cry which came from her heart.
His fine, dark eyes glowed with tenderness and love.
“Don’t—don’t speak that way, sweetheart!” he murmured
entreatingly. “I never dreamed you were like this, or I should not
have left you.”
 But Elsie, with the unselfishness which had always marked her as
the rarest and noblest of girls, retorted:
“I didn’t wish you to know, for I felt that it was right that you
should be with Frank, and I would not rob you of one moment of
pleasure.”
“She’ll be all right in a few minutes,” said Merry encouragingly.
“We must have that dinner at the Belvidere.”
“I’m afraid you do not understand, Frank,” said Elsie. “I overdid
when you were here last. I made a mistake in attending that
lacrosse game, and it set me back. Oh, I’d love to go to dinner with
you and Inza and Bart at the Belvidere, but I dare not attempt it.”
Hodge was now more troubled and distressed over Elsie’s
condition than he seemed. Had she not understood him so well, she
might have fancied him unsympathetic; but between them there was
that mental telegraphy which seems to unite the hearts of all true
sweethearts, and she knew that, manlike, while he did not betray
the softness of a woman, his emotions were even deeper than her
own.
Elsie turned to Inza.
“You must go out to dinner with Frank,” she said. “Yes, I insist
upon it.”
“And I will remain here with Elsie,” said Hodge. “That is best.”
In this manner it was arranged.
“Whom do you meet at the University Club to-night, Frank?”
asked Inza.
“Some Yale men. I’ll cut it out if you wish. Have you anything
you’d like to do——”
“Oh, no! I wouldn’t have you fail to meet your friends for
anything.”
“Then I’ll bring you back here after we’ve had dinner. There’ll be
plenty of time.”
“And you’ll find me here,” said Bart.