Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale Part 51

"Yes, sah--got a face dat'll stop a trolley car, sah. Looks like it war cut out of wood, sah, an' mighty hard wood at dat. De gal smile, but de ole woman nebber smile at all."

Frank looked puzzled, and Honest John began to look troubled.

"Hope Ah ain't done no harm, sah?" he faltered. "De ladies said dey knowed yeh, sah, an' dey war yeh friends."

"But I do not know of any friends in New Haven who would come to my room."

John showed alarm.

"Lor', sah! hope dis ain't no sc.r.a.pe, sah! Mebbe yeh don't want teh see 'em? I'll jes' go an' 'splain yeh ain' heah--I'll say yeh been called away sudden by de deff ob yeh grandmam."

"Never mind, John. My grandmothers died years ago, and my visitors may be aware of the fact. I'll see them myself, although I don't care to be bothered by visitors at this time of the day."

"Hope it's all right, sah," said John. "Yo' boys hab to be careful, sah.

If yo' git too wild----"

But Frank was hurrying to his room, regardless of the darky's words.

Honest John followed. He listened outside the door after Frank entered.

He heard a girlish cry of delight, and an exclamation of pleasure from Merriwell.

"Lor' sakes!" he chuckled, holding one crooked hand over his mouth, as he stood crouching at the door. "Suah dat don' soun' lek trubble! Yo' am all right, John. Jes' yo' watch fo' Mistah Merriwell when he come out, an' yeh'll get a tip fer lettin' de ladies in. Hey--what am dat?"

He held his ear close to the door and listened again. Then the crooked black hand was pressed still closer over his mouth, and his whole body shook with emotion as he tiptoed away.

"Lordy! Lordy!" he exploded, when he considered himself at a safe distance. "I know dat soun' any time Ah heah it. Smack! smack! Dat war kissin'! Heuh! a-he-uh! a-he-uh! If Mistah Merriwell don' make dat tip a whole dollah, dis c.o.o.n ain't took his size an' suck.u.mfrence!"

CHAPTER XXIX.

AN UNWILLING PROMISE.

When Frank stepped into his room he was astonished to find himself face to face with his old-time sweetheart, Inza Burrage, and her aunt, Miss Abigail Gale.

Inza hurried toward him, uttering a joyous cry, and an exclamation of surprise and delight escaped his lips.

In a moment, regardless of the presence of her aunt, the girl flung her arms about Frank's neck and kissed him.

Miss Gale's hard face did not soften, but she turned her back toward them, and pretended to be greatly interested in a strange crooked dagger, having a point smeared with some green substance, the dagger being locked in a case with a heavy gla.s.s door. Upon the gla.s.s of the case was pasted a slip of paper bearing these words:

"The Snake Knife of the Pampas."

"Inza!" exclaimed Frank, as if somewhat in doubt. "Inza--here?"

"Yes!" she cried. "Isn't it a surprise? I knew I would surprise you, Frank."

"A surprise indeed! Why, you didn't let me know you were coming."

"No."

"How does it happen?"

"Aunt Abby knows some friends in New Haven, and she wished to visit them while she was in the East, so she asked me to come with her. You may be sure I was ready enough to come, and, as father is getting along very well, we were able to leave him."

"Then your father--he is improved?"

"A great deal since getting back to America. He raced all over Europe looking for health, but continued to get worse till he returned home.

Now he says he believes this the healthiest country on the face of the earth."

"And he is right. If a person is not strong enough to endure the rigors of our Northern climate, there is the perfect climate of California. But I don't suppose you came here to talk climate."

Frank said this with a laugh, and they advanced, hand-in-hand, toward Miss Gale, who had turned her attention from the queer knife to some still queerer images and ornaments that adorned the mantel.

"Aunty says you'll be a museum manager if you keep on," laughed Inza.

"Says she never saw so many queer things."

"Goodness, no!" exclaimed Miss Gale, severely, turning to look at Frank over the rims of her spectacles. "I hope you ain't a crank, Mr.

Merriwell."

"I trust not, Miss Gale," smiled Frank, with extended hand, which Abigail rather awkwardly accepted, but shook with a heartiness that was expressive of her esteem for Merry.

"What be some of these horrid-looking things?" asked the spinster. "What be they good for?"

"Some of them are mementoes, and some of them are simply for the purpose of decoration. Those little images, those odd vases, the pottery on that shelf--I gathered those things as ornaments."

"Do tell! I want to know if that ain't just like some folks! Them things are so hombly I'd want to hide 'em or put 'em all in the fire if I had 'em in my house. Some real pretty chromo pictures would look so much better in place of them. If you want vases, why you can get pretty gla.s.s ones almost anywhere from fifteen to thirty cents each, and land knows they'd look better than them things! Then there's that great stuffed tiger. Goodness! It scared me awful when I saw it standing there in the corner of the room. I thought it was living, and was shooing at it when Inza ran over and put her hand right on it. Whatever in the world can induce you to have such a thing in your room?"

"At first I found it difficult to induce Aunt Abby to remain in this room," laughed Inza. "She wanted to go outside and wait for you. I am afraid she has obtained an unfavorable impression of you by coming here."

"I sincerely trust not," said Frank, who had worked hard when he first met Miss Gale in Santa Barbara to win her good esteem, a task at which he had been most successful. "I should regret it very much if I thought such was the case."

Miss Abigail's hard face did not soften, but she immediately said:

"I suppose we all must have some weak point, and it seems to be Mr.

Merriwell's weakness to gather such hideous truck. I'm sure he's a gentleman, and I think just as much of him as I ever did."

Frank bowed gracefully and expressed his thanks.

"Can't help looking at the stuff," said the spinster, readjusting her spectacles and turning her back squarely on Frank and Inza. "I like to see what crazy notions they do get up."

She appeared to be very busy examining the collection of bric-a-brac and curiosities.

Frank and Inza looked at each other a moment, and then their hands met.

He drew her to a seat on the sofa.