Frank Merriwell’s Chase

CHAPTER I THE RECEPTION AT BELFAST.

“Das vas Pelvast,” said Hans.

“Yes,” nodded Frank, who was at the wheel of the White Wings, “that is Belfast, ‘the home of fair women, brave men and Strainer’s Sarsaparilla.’”

Frank Merriwell, the great Yale athlete, was cruising off the Maine coast, during this vacation in his yacht, the White Wings. He had with him four of his friends—Bart Hodge, Bruce Browning, Jack Diamond and Hans Dunnerwust.

“How do you knew so much apout him?” asked the Dutch boy.

“Why, there it is in glaring letters on that big advertising board that has been placed where it can be read almost anywhere here in the harbor.”

“Vale, I didn’t seen dot. I don’d vant no sarsbarillas, und I don’d gif a cend vor der prafe men, but I don’d mind if you took a look der peautiful girls at.”

“They say we shall see plenty of them here,” smiled Merry. “Belfast is famous for them. No city of its size in the State of Maine can compare with it for pretty girls and beautiful women, if the report is true.”

“Vot peen der madder mit Shack Ti’mond?” chuckled Hans, calling attention to the Virginian. “He don’d seem to took some interests dose peautiful girls in.”

“Haw!” grunted Bruce Browning. “He is thinking of the girl he left behind him—at Bar Harbor.”

“Vale, Baula Penjamin vos a beach,” admitted the Dutch boy; “but there vos odders.”

“You make me weary, Hans,” said Jack, irritated. “If you will close up a while I shall consider it a great favor.”

“I don’t toldt you so!” squawked Dunnerwust. “You vos tochy, dot’s vot is der madder mit me! You nefer vos aple to took a shoke in my life.”

“Your jokes are rather dense.”

“I don’d knew vot you meant py dot.”

“I didn’t suppose you would.”

The boys were charmed with the view of Belfast obtained from the water. The city is built on a slope, and is embowered in trees, the houses and cottages showing amid the green mass of foliage. Here and there could be seen the tall spires of churches. The handsome residence of the mayor on Northport Avenue could be plainly seen, as it was situated in a sightly place overlooking the harbor and the bay.

Several vessels were on the stocks in the shipyards, and the sound of hammering could be heard, while crews of men were seen busily working about them.

The harbor was filled with shipping. Lying at her wharf, taking on freight and passengers, was the Boston boat, City of Bangor, bound for the “Hub.”

“Where will you anchor, Frank?” asked Bart Hodge, approaching Merry.

“Beyond the steamboat wharf where that fleet of small boats and yachts are anchored.”

Clang-clang! clang-clang! The bell on the steamer suddenly rang, and Frank knew what the signal meant.

“She is going to swing off from the wharf,” he said. “It is high water, so I will hold inshore and let her go outside.”

The steamer’s paddle wheels began to revolve, and she swung round at the southern end of the wharf, straining at the huge cable that held and turned her. It took some time for her to turn, but a sudden toot from her whistle told that at last she was ready to go ahead. Then the cable was flung off and the great boat glided down the harbor.

A stream of teams and human beings were leaving the wharf and climbing the hill into the city, but on the wharf remained a group of young men and boys, all dressed in bicycle suits. They seemed to be watching the White Wings with remarkable interest.

“Wonder why those cyclists are watching us?” said Diamond.

“I was wondering about the same thing,” admitted Frank.

Then a youth was seen to climb on the piles at the corner of the wharf. He stood up straight and cried:

“Ahoy, the yacht!”

“Ay! ay!” answered Frank, giving the wheel over to Hodge.

“Is that the White Wings?”

Those on the wharf could not see the name on the stern of the yacht.

“It is.”

“Frank Merriwell in command?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you going to stop at Belfast?”

“We are.”

“Then the Belfast Wheelmen will be honored to entertain Mr. Merriwell while he remains in our city. Will he be kind enough to come ashore as soon as possible? If so, we will wait here for him.”

“Great Scott!” muttered Frank. “How did they know I was coming? This is too much! They made it altogether too interesting for me at Camden and Rockland, and it begins to look as if there is to be a repetition of it here. I’d rather not be known at all.”

“But you can’t help it now,” said Hodge, who was proud of Frank’s fame and popularity. “It won’t do to refuse their polite offer.”

“Don’t refuse,” grunted Browning. “They’ll have something good to eat.”

“Py shimminy!” gurgled Hans. “Dot peen vot you vant. I vos hungry enough to ead a raw tog alretty.”

“The rest of us are not invited,” said Diamond, quickly. “It’s only Frank.”

“Vale, maype he vould slip a piece of bie his bocket indo uf he knew id vould safe my life.”

“Will Mr. Merriwell come ashore?” asked the spokesman of the bicyclists.

“Say yes, Frank,” murmured Hodge. “Tell them you will do so as soon as we drop anchor.”

Frank did so, and a cheer went up from the wheelmen assembled on the wharf.

With this gathering were several girls in riding suits, and other girls and young ladies watching, making it evident that Frank and his friends had been expected.

The White Wings swung in near to the other yachts anchored in the harbor, her anchor went over and her sails came down smoothly. Then Frank got into the small boat, and Diamond and Hodge rowed him over to the wharf where the cyclists awaited him. They gathered around him as he came up the step onto the wharf, and the one who had hailed the yacht grasped him by the hand, saying:

“You are Mr. Merriwell, I presume?”

“That is my name,” smiled Frank.

“Mr. Merriwell, I am delighted to know you. We are all delighted. My name is Dustan—Howard Dustan. These gentlemen are members of the Belfast Bicycle Club. We heard you were coming. There was a Camden man on the City of Bangor, which passed you on its way here from Searsport, and he reported that you were headed this way. It didn’t take long to get the boys together when they learned that Frank Merriwell was coming in here. Let me introduce them to you.”

So Frank was introduced to each of the lads in gray as they came forward.

“Gentlemen,” he laughed, in his charming way, “I assure you this is an unexpected pleasure. It will be a long time before I shall forget my reception in Belfast. I am glad to know you all.”

“And we are glad you did not slight us by skipping Belfast,” said Mart Woodock. “We heard you were in Camden and Rockland, but, as you left there more than a week ago, we thought you were not coming to Belfast. You will find just as good people here as there are in the State of Maine.”

“I haven’t a doubt of it,” bowed Merry; “and I am charmed with the people of Maine. It is my first visit this way, but I am sure it will not be my last.”

Then he uttered a sudden exclamation of surprise and sprang toward the door of the freighthouse.

CHAPTER II MERRIWELL MEETS HIS FOE.

All were surprised by Merriwell’s sudden move.

Frank had seen a person appear in the open door of the freight house, look at him, and then dodge back. Although he obtained but a glimpse of this person, Merry fancied he knew him.

Into the doorway he sprang, and looked around. On every hand were boxes and barrels and piles of freight, but no one was to be seen. The opposite door was standing open.

“Must have dodged out that way,” muttered Frank, and he darted toward the door.

But when he reached the door, he looked in vain for the person he fancied he had seen.

“My eyes may have fooled me,” he said.

He had been followed by several of the cyclists, and they were staring at him in amazement. He saw that he must make some explanation, or they would think him deranged.

“It’s all right,” he laughed. “I fancied I saw a person that I know. He appeared there in the doorway, and then retreated into the building. I may have been mistaken.”

“You must have been,” said Mart Woodock.

“Come out and meet the girls,” said Howard Dustan. “They are waiting to be introduced.”

So Merry was escorted into the presence of the girls and introduced to each one in turn.

“We had begun to believe you were not coming to Belfast at all, Mr. Merriwell,” said a vivacious little blond named Mabel Mitshef, but called “Mabel Mischief” by her friends.

“I came near missing Belfast,” acknowledged Frank; “but, after going to Bar Harbor, I learned something about this place that made it seem very attractive to me, and so I decided to come here. Already I am satisfied that the stories I heard about Belfast are true.”

“My!” cried Mabel. “You make me curious. I wonder what stories you could have heard?”

“Well,” smiled Frank, “I heard that Belfast had the prettiest girls of any place on the Maine coast.”

This threw the girls into confusion, but Mabel had sufficient presence of mind to say:

“If you came here because of those stories, I hope you will not be disappointed, Mr. Merriwell.”

“If the girls I have already seen fairly represent the fair sex of Belfast, I am sure I shall not,” bowed Frank.

Frank’s back was turned toward the freight house door, so he did not see the hateful eyes which peered out at him. The owner of those eyes drew back in a moment, muttering:

“Yes, it is Merriwell—curse him! I dodged him just in time. He would have seen me if I hadn’t hidden amid those boxes. He must not see me now.”

The speaker was Parker Flynn, who claimed to be the rightful owner of the yacht, White Wings, and who had made a desperate attempt to capture her by force in Rockland harbor ten days before this story opens.

Flynn wore a bicycle suit, and he quickly stole out of the freight house by another door, found a wheel outside, mounted it and rode away swiftly.

In the meantime Frank was chatting with his new friends, fascinating them by his wit and easy manners. They had heard much of him, and not one of them was disappointed in his appearance.

“Mr. Merriwell,” said Dustan, “I took care to bring along a wheel for you when I heard you were coming into the harbor. Of course, I took a chance about fitting you, but I have the best wheel to be found in the city, and I think it can be adjusted to suit you, if it is not right.”

“But I have my yachting suit on.”

“Never mind. I have trouser guards.”

“Still I do not fancy riding this way. If I am to be escorted into the city by the Belfast Wheelmen, I will wear a riding suit. I have one on board, and can get into it in fifteen minutes. Of course, I do not wish to keep any of you waiting if you——”

“That’s all right!” cried several.

“Go ahead and get your suit,” nodded Dustan.

Diamond and Hodge had remained in the boat awaiting orders from Merry, and now he hastily descended the stairs and stepped into the boat.

“To the yacht,” he said.

Away they went, the two oarsmen pulling with such grace and skill that they won the admiration of those watching from the wharf.

“What’s up, Merry?” asked Jack, eagerly.

“The Belfast Wheelmen are here to meet me, and they are going to escort me into the city.”

“Well, how in the name of all things wonderful did they know you were coming—for they must have known it?”

“You know the City of Bangor passed us just outside the harbor as she was coming in on her way down river.”

“Yes.”

“Well, there was a Camden man on her, and he saw us.”

“Is that the way of it?”

“Sure. He recognized the White Wings, and, as soon as the steamer reached the wharf, he told them we were coming. Then there was a hasty gathering of the wheelmen to meet us. That is how it came about.”

“Why are you going back to the yacht?”

“To get into a riding suit. They have a wheel for me, and I am to ride up into the city with them.”

“Say!” burst impulsively from Diamond, “these people down this way are too much for me! I don’t understand it! I thought we’d find a lot of farmers and woodsmen, and I didn’t dream we’d ever run into anyone who had heard of you, Merriwell. Instead of that, they seem to know all about you, and they are ready to give you a royal welcome wherever you go. Bar Harbor was the only exception, and I will bet there are persons there who know all about you. They didn’t know you were in town, that’s all.”

“How about Green’s Landing?”

“Oh, that’s different. That place is situated so far from the mainland that——”

“It has regular steamboat connections with the mainland, and the daily newspapers reach it, but——”

The boat softly touched against the side of the yacht, and Frank did not wait to say anything more. Over the rail he went at a bound, and hurried down into the cabin.

“Eh?” grunted Browning, rising up from a bunk. “Back so soon? What for?”

“To see if you are helping Hans get things trimmed up,” said Frank.

“I am,” declared the lazy fellow, settling back comfortably. “I am looking after things down below here, while he attends to things on deck.”

Frank laughed. It was like the big fellow, who really seemed too lazy to draw a breath without an effort.

With skill that would have done credit to a “lightning change artist” in a variety show, Frank got out of his yachting suit and leaped into his bicycle suit. Then he pulled on a Yale sweater, brushed his hair, caught up his cap, and hurried on deck.

Jack and Bart were waiting. Frank did not hurry after appearing on deck. With the utmost deliberation, he looked around, gave some orders, and then walked to the rail and got into the boat.

Arriving at the wharf, Dustan met him at the head of the stairs, laughing.

“How you did it so quick I can’t tell, and still you seemed in no particular hurry.”

They went round to where the wheelmen and girls were waiting. The bicycle brought for Frank was new and a beauty. Merry tried it, and, to his surprise and satisfaction, it seemed to fit him perfectly.

“It doesn’t need adjusting,” he said.

“We have a hard hill out here,” said Woodock. “Some of us can’t climb it. There are but two girls in town who can do it, and they are with us.”

“You will ride with me at the head of the party,” said Dustan, speaking to Frank. “Miss Mischief and Miss Hazle will ride with us. They are the ones who can climb the hill.”

“Perhaps I can’t climb it,” smiled Frank.

“I think there is no danger of your failing.”

They started. From choice it seemed Mabel Mischief rode at Frank’s side, chatting with Hattie Hazle, who was next to her. Hattie had dark eyes and hair, presenting a strong contrast to the lively blonde.

The hill proved to be rather steep and difficult, but Frank and Dustan pedalled up it without permitting their wheels to falter or sway on the steepest grade. The girls found it more difficult, but they stuck to it persistently till they accomplished the ascent.

Looking back, it was found that more than half the party was trundling the wheels, so those who had ridden up dismounted and waited for the others.

With the hill behind them, the party was formed again, and then they rode along the elm-shaded streets into the business portion of the city.

“Will you ride about the city, or shall we go directly to the club rooms?” asked Dustan.

“I would enjoy seeing something of the city.”

“That will suit us.”

So they rode about the place, and Frank was pleased with its general appearance.

At last they arrived at the club rooms of the Belfast Wheelmen, and there the girls left them, Mabel and Hattie bidding Frank good-by, but expressing a hope that they might see him again.

Dustan led the way into the club rooms, and Merry followed. Just as Frank was entering, a person attempted to come out hurriedly and brush past him.

With an exclamation of satisfaction, Frank grasped this individual, holding him fast.

“Wait a minute,” cried Merry. “I think I know you!”

“Leggo!” snarled the man.

“In a moment. Ha! I thought as much! I saw you down at the wharf, but you dodged me. We have met again, Mr. Parker Flynn!”

With a savage curse, the man struck straight at Frank’s face.

“Look out!”

Dustan tried to catch Flynn’s arm, but was not quick enough.

“All right.”

Frank dodged the fist of his foe.

“Blazes!”

Flynn snarled out the word, trying to recover and strike again.

“No, you don’t!”

With a twist and a snap, Merriwell flung the desperate fellow against the wall and held him there, despite all his struggles.

“Break away!”

Mart Woodock tried to part them, but was prevented by Dustan, who spoke swiftly and sharply:

“Let them alone! Merriwell knows what he is doing.”

“But—but——”

“He can handle Mr. Flynn.”

“Flynn is our guest. We can’t see him misused.”

“There is no danger that I will misuse him, gentlemen,” cut in Frank, still holding the fellow against the wall. “I have not offered to give a blow in return for his.”

“He attacked me—he assaulted me!” cried Flynn, in a half whine. “I never did anything to him. I call on the members of this club for protection.”

“You do not need it, Flynn,” said Frank, “for you are in no danger.”

“Then let me go.”

“In a minute. First, I want to tell these gentlemen just who and what you are. I know you.”

“And I know you!” hissed the rascal, his face growing dark. “You are a thief! You were arrested as a thief in Rockland! You can’t deny it!”

“I was arrested——”

“Hear that! hear that!” shouted Flynn, triumphantly. “He confesses it! He owns that he was arrested!”

“I was arrested on a warrant sworn out by you,” admitted Frank, quietly. “I do confess that.”

“That’s enough.”

“Perhaps so. Why didn’t you stay and prosecute me? Why did you take to your heels and fly from Rockland?”

“Business——”

“Business caused you to run away, eh? Tell the truth! You knew I had sworn out a warrant against you, charging you with an attempt to capture my yacht by force in Rockland harbor.”

“I didn’t care for that. It’s not your yacht. It’s mine.”

“Indeed! Then why didn’t you remain in Rockland and recover possession of it by legal means? You claimed to have bought it of a man who is now in an insane asylum. You fancied Benjamin, of whom I purchased it, was on his way to Alaska. When you discovered that Benjamin was in Rockland, you were so frightened that you lost not a moment in running away.”

“It’s a lie! I didn’t care anything about Benjamin. The White Wings belongs to me, and I will have her sooner or later. I am not talking through my hat, either.”

“If you don’t let it alone, you will land in prison. I shall not fool with you. I can push you now if I wish, but I’ll be satisfied in exposing you. You have been a guest here. It is plain you have had the freedom of the club. I scarcely think you will be admitted in the future, for I brand you as a rascal and a ruffian unfit for the society of gentlemen.”

Flynn turned crimson, and then he became ashen pale, while his eyes gleamed redly and his features betrayed the terrible fury that possessed him.

“All right!” he said, his voice being husky with anger. “I’ll make you sorry for it. I have said all along that I was not done with you.”

“The best thing you can do is to get out of Belfast and this State in a hurry.”

“Oh, I’m not frightened!”

“I may swear out another warrant against you.”

“Go ahead!”

“If I do, I can shove you. I have witnesses.”

“Your own gang, and they will swear to anything you want ’em to. Let go—let go, I say! Take your hands off!”

“Steady!” and Frank again pinned him against the wall, despite his struggles, holding the man with an ease that astonished the witnesses. “I will let you go when I am ready—not before. I am not done talking to you.”