CHAPTER XVII.
ARRESTED.
"Oh, sir!" exclaimed the woman, "I beg you to protect me from hisinsults!"
The officer was a gallant fellow. He touched his hat and bowed withextreme politeness. Then he frowned on Merry, and that frown wasterrible to behold. He gripped Frank by the collar, gruffly saying:
"You'll have to come with me."
Merry knew it was useless to attempt to explain under suchcircumstances. Every one of the assembled crowd would be a witnessagainst him.
"Very well," he said, quietly. "I am quite willing to do so. Please donot twist my necktie off."
"Don't worry about your necktie!" advised the policeman, giving it astill harder twist. "I know how to deal with chaps of your caliber."
Now of a sudden Ephraim Gallup began to grow angry. He did not fancyseeing his idol treated in such a manner, and his fists were clenched,while he glared at the officer as if contemplating hitting that worthy.
"It's a gol-dern shame!" he grated. "This jest makes my blood bile!"
"I don't wonder a bit," piped the long-necked man, misunderstanding theVermonter; "but the officer will take care of him now. He'll get what hedeserves."
"Oh, will he!" exploded Gallup. "Waal, ef I was yeou, I'd hire myselfaout to some dime museum as the human bobber. Yeou teeter jest like acertun bird that I won't name."
"Wh--a--at?" squealed the individual addressed, in great excitement."This to me! Why, I'll----"
"I wish ter great goshfrey yeou would!" hissed Ephraim, glaring at him."I'd jest like to hev yeou try it! I'd give yeou a jolt that'd knockyeou clean inter the middle of next week!"
"Why, who is this fellow that seeks to create a disturbance?" blusteredthe little man, his fiery whiskers beginning to bristle and squirmagain. "He should be sat upon."
The country youth turned on him.
"I wish yeou'd tackle the job, yeou condemned little red-whiskeredrunt;" he shot at the blusterer with such suddenness that the little manstaggered back and put up his hands, as if he had been struck. "Yeou areanother meddler! I'd eat yeou, an' I'd never know I'd hed a bite!"
"This is very unfortunate, madam," purred the gallant man at the veiledwoman's side. "I am extremely sorry that you have had such an unpleasantexperience. Now, if that creature----"
He designated Ephraim by the final word, and Gallup cut him short rightthere.
"Yeou're the cheapest one of the hull lot, old oil-smirk!" he flung atthe speaker. "Such fellers as yeou are more dangerous to real ladiesthan all the young mashers goin', fer yeou are a hypocrite who pretendsto be virtuous."
The man gasped and tried to say something, but seemed strickenspeechless.
Now the cock-eyed man was aroused once more. He seemed on the point ofmaking a swing at somebody or something. He pushed his face up close toEphraim, but still his rebellious eye seemed looking in quite anotherdirection.
"If you want any trouble here," he said, hoarsely, "I'll attend to you.I can do that very well."
Ephraim looked at him, began to smile, broke into a grin, and burst intoa shout of laughter.
"Haw! haw! haw!" he roared. "I couldn't fight with yeou ef I wanted to,fer I'd think yeou didn't mean me all the time, but that yeou reallyought to be fightin' with some other feller yeou was lookin' at. Yeou'rethe funniest toad in the hull puddle!"
"I'll arrest the whole lot of you!" threatened the policeman. "Quit thatbusiness! Come along to the police station if you want to make anycomplaints."
Then he turned to the woman, saying:
"Madam, I presume you will make a complaint against this fellow,"indicating Frank.
"I certainly shall," she promptly answered; "for it is my duty to teachhim a lesson."
"Will you come to the station?"
"Yes."
"Permit me to accompany you," urged the gallant man.
"You are very kind," she said; "but I think I can get along. I willfollow at a distance."
"All right," nodded the officer, once more gripping Merriwell's collarsavagely. "March, sir!"
And then they started toward the station.
The bobbing man, the little man, the cock-eyed man, and the gallant manformed behind. Then the crowd fell in, and away they went, with themysterious veiled woman following at a distance.
Ephraim placed himself at Frank's side.
"This is a gol-darn outrage!" fumed the Vermonter, speaking to Merry."Whut be yeou goin' to do abaout it?"
"I shall have to do the best I can," answered the unfortunate youth,quietly.
"But yeou won't be able to start for Puelbo with the rest of thepeople."
"It doesn't look that way now."
"That's tough!"
"It is decidedly unfortunate, but I hope to get off in time to join thecompany before the first performance to-morrow night."
"Haow did it happen?"
"I hardly know. The woman stopped me and insisted that I should gosomewhere to talk with her. I explained that my time was limited, butthat seemed to make no impression on her. When I tried to get away sheflung her arms around me and screamed. That brought a crowd together,and then she declared I had assaulted her."
The policeman on the other side of Frank laughed in ridicule. Althoughhe said nothing, it was plain he took no stock in Frank's story.
"Larf!" grated Gallup, under his breath. "Yeou think yeou know sogol-darned much that----"
"Hush!" warned Frank. "I do not wish you to get into trouble. You mustinform the others what has happened to me."
"It's purty gol-darn hard to keep still," declared Ephraim. "I never seesich a set of natteral born fools in all my life! How many of the craowdsaw what happened 'tween yeou an' the woman?"
"No one, I think."
"An' I'll bet a squash they'll all go up an' swear to any kind of astory she'll tell. Who is she?"
"I don't know."
"That's queer. Wut was her little game?"
"Don't know that."
"By gum! it's some kind of a put-up job!"
"I have a fancy there is something more than appears on the surface. Itis an attempt to make trouble for me."
"That's right."
"I hope to see the woman's face at the police station."
"Yeou won't!"
"Why not?"
"She won't show it."
"Perhaps the judge will request her to lift her veil."
"Not by a gol-darned sight! Men are too big fools over women. They'lltake any old thing she'll say abaout yeou, an' lock yeou up fer it.She'll give some kind of name and address, an' they'll let her go atthat."
"Well, unless I can get bail right away I shall be in a bad fix. If KentCarson were in town he would pull me out of it, as he did before."
The officer pricked up his ears.
"Ha!" he exclaimed. "Then you have been arrested in Denver before? Thisis a second offense! I rather think you'll not get off as easy as youdid the first time."
"Oh, yeou are enough to----"
"Ephraim!"
With that word Frank cut Gallup short.
In a short time they approached the police station.
"I have been here before," said Merry, quietly. "This is the station towhich I was taken when Leslie Lawrence made his false charge againstme."
Entering, he was taken before the desk of the sergeant, the bobbing man,the little man, the cock-eyed man, and the gallant man followingclosely, while others also came in.
The sergeant looked up.
"Ah, Brandon," he said to the officer, "another one?"
"Yes, sir," answered the policeman.
"What is the charge?"
"Insulting a lady on the street."
"Who was the lady?"
"She is coming. She will be here directly to make the complaint againsthim."
Then the sergeant took a good look at the accused. He started, bentforward, and looked closer.
"Mr. Merriwell!" he exclaimed; "is it you?"
"Yes, sergeant," bowed Frank, with a smil
e. "It seems to be my luck tocause you trouble once more."
"Trouble!" ejaculated the man behind the desk. "Why, this is verysurprising! And you are accused of insulting a lady?"
"I am," was the quiet answer.
"Well! well! well! It hardly seems possible. I fail to understand whyyou should do such a thing. It was very kind of you to send me ticketsfor your performance yesterday, and I was fortunate to be able toattend. I was greatly pleased, both with your play and yourself, to saynothing of your supporting company. I see the papers have given you agreat send-off, but it is no better than you merit."
"Thank you, sir," said Frank, simply.
The policeman began to look disturbed, while the bobbing man, the littleman, the gallant man, and the cock-eyed man all stared at Frank and thesergeant in surprise.
"You seem to recognize the offender, sir," said the officer who hadarrested Frank.
"I recognize the gentleman, Brandon," said the sergeant, puttingparticular emphasis on the word "gentleman."
"He said he had been arrested before."
"He was, on a trumped-up charge, and he was promptly dismissed by me."
The officer looked still more disturbed.
"But this is no trumped-up charge," he declared. "I have witnesses."
"Where are they?"
"Here."
He motioned toward the men, who had followed closely on entering thestation, whereupon the little man drew himself up stiffly, as if heimagined he must be six feet tall, at least; the bobbing man bobbed in areckless manner, as if he had quite lost control of himself; the gallantman lifted his hat and mopped the shiny spot on the top of his head witha silk handkerchief, attempting to appear perfectly at ease; and thecock-eyed man made a desperate attempt to look the sergeant straight inthe eye, but came no nearer than the upper corner of the station window,which was several yards away to the left.
"And where is the lady who makes the charge?" demanded the man behindthe desk.
Where, indeed! It was time for her to appear, but all looked for her invain.
"She must be here directly," said the sergeant, "if she is coming atall."
"Oh, she is coming!" hastily answered the officer.
"She may be waiting outside, hesitating about coming in," said thesergeant. "You may go out and bring her in, Brandon."
The policeman hesitated an instant, as if he feared to leave Frank.
"It is all right," asserted the sergeant. "I will guarantee that Mr.Merriwell is quite safe."
Then Brandon hurried out.
"I believe you are going on the road with your play, Mr. Merriwell?"said the sergeant, in a most friendly and affable manner.
"I am," answered Frank, "if I succeed in getting started."
"How is that?"
"Well," smiled Merry, "I was due to take a train in one hour and thirtyminutes when I was accosted by the unknown woman whom it is said Iinsulted. I hardly think I shall be able to catch that train now."
The sergeant looked at his watch.
"How much time have you now?" he asked.
Frank consulted his timepiece.
"Just forty-one minutes," he said.
"Will you kindly tell me what occurred on the street?" invited thesergeant. "But wait--first I wish to know who witnessed this assault."
There was some hesitation as the official behind the desk looked theassembled crowd over.
"Come," he cried, sharply. "Who knows anything about this affair?"
"I do," asserted the man with the cock-eye, summoning courage to stepforward a bit. "And here are others."
"Which ones?"
"Him, and him, and him," answered the crooked-eyed man, jabbing a pudgyand none too clean forefinger at the gallant man, the little man, andthe bobbing man, although he seemed to look at three entirely differentpersons from those he named.
The gallant man was perspiring, and looked as if he longed to escape. Healso seemed anxious over the non-appearance of the veiled lady.
The bobbing man took a step backward, but somebody pushed him frombehind, and he bobbed himself nearly double.
The little man tugged at his fluttering whiskers, looking to the rightand left, as if thinking of dodging and attempting to escape in a hurry.
"And these are the witnesses?" said the sergeant, his eyes seeming topierce them through and through. "Their testimony against you shall becarefully heard, Mr. Merriwell, and it will be well for them to becareful about giving it."
"If I understand what is proper," said the cock-eyed man, who seemed theonly one who dared speak outright, "this is not the court, and you arenot the judge."
But he subsided before the piercing eyes of the sergeant, so that hisfinal words were scarcely more than a gurgle in his throat.
"Now, Mr. Merriwell," said the sergeant, "I will listen to your story.Officer at the door, take care that none of the witnesses depart untilthey are given permission."
Frank told his story briefly, concisely, and convincingly. Barely had hefinished when the officer who made the arrest came in, lookingcrestfallen and disgusted.
"Where is the lady, Brandon?" asked the sergeant.
"I can't find her, sir," confessed the policeman. "She is nowhere in thevicinity."
"Then it seems you have been very careless in permitting her to slipaway. Now there is no one to make a charge against the prisoner."
"The witnesses--perhaps some of them will do so."
The sergeant turned sharply on the little man, to whom he fired thequestion:
"Did you witness this assault on the unknown lady, sir?"
The little man jumped.
"No, sus-sus-sir," he stammered; "but I----"
"That will do!" came sternly from the man behind the desk. "Step aside."
The little man did so with alacrity, plainly relieved.
Then the sergeant came at the gallant man with the same question:
"Did you witness the assault on the lady, sir?"
"I was not present when it took place, but I----"
"That will do! Step aside."
The gallant man closed up and stepped.
Next the bobbing man was questioned:
"Did you witness the assault on the lady, sir?"
"I arrived just after it was committed, but I can tell you----"
"Nothing! That will do! Step aside."
The cock-eyed man folded his arms across his breast and glared fiercelyat the window, which seemed to offend him.
"You are next." said the sergeant. "What did you see?"
"I saw quite enough to convince me that the assault had been committedbefore I reached the spot, but----"
"Another 'but.' 'But me no buts.' There seems to be no one present whowitnessed the assault, and so no one can prefer a charge against Mr.Merriwell. Mr. Merriwell, you have now exactly thirty minutes in whichto catch your train. Don't stop to say a word, but git up and git. Youare at liberty."
And Frank took the sergeant's advice, followed closely by Ephraim.
Frank Merriwell's New Comedian; Or, The Rise of a Star Page 18
