Burt L. Standish

“ I have squandered your fortune, and I would be adrift in the world, a wrecked vessel—a derelict on the ocean of life.”
“Not that, professor, for I would stand by you.”
“You? Why, you have your own way to make in the world. You must set a course for yourself and keep to it. Many a good vessel has been sunk by a worthless derelict. It is better that I should go down than, worthless and helpless, I should remain afloat.”
Again his voice failed him. Wiping away his tears, Frank saw the shadow had deepened on the pale face, and the eyes were dimmer than before. ”

“ He looked up at the sky as the train sped along. High up the clouds had a dull, leaden hue, and were somber and gloomy. Lower down they grew lighter and tinged with color, till they lay bright and golden on the western horizon. It seemed to Frank that the black clouds overshadowing him now must give way to golden ones in the future.
18 It is the stout heart that looks forward to a bright future that finds real happiness in life.
Merry realized that the time had come when he must fight his own way in the world. ”

“ It doesn’t seem right that beautiful things should fade and die. Oh, why is it so?”
“It is the law of nature,” said Frank, gently. “All things must have an end, but nothing perishes. The flower turns to dust, and from the dust another flower springs perhaps. Something comes from it. There is a constant and continual change, but nothing really perishes.”
“Yes, yes; Jack and I have talked of that. Sometimes we speak of the loss of our dear mother, for she seemed to fade like a flower, and he says we shall find her again—some time.”
“It is a beautiful belief,” said Frank. ”

“ Jack brought some cool water and a handkerchief. Then little Nell wet the handkerchief and placed it upon the man’s forehead. Old Joe watched everything in a wondering way, as if he could not understand why they should do so much for him.
Frank had drawn back out of sight.
“There!” said the man, huskily; “now let me think. I’m a brute. Let me sleep. When I wake up I’ll be able to think better. Sit here by me, Nellie, till I fall asleep. You need not touch me, but it is good to have an angel near!” ”

“ Instantly Frank decided to humor him and try to soothe his mind.
“Let the rascal go,” he said, softly. “No one shall be punished. Perhaps it is better for me that he should lose my small fortune than that he should have doubled it. If he had succeeded in making me very rich, I might have become a worthless fellow in the world, content to live on what I possessed. Now I shall have to become a worker, and only workers are worthy to live.”
The professor clasped his fingers very tightly together and stared at the ceiling for some seconds. ”

“ He did so, telling of Inza first. She listened, seeming to hush her breathing, so eager was she. When he had finished describing Inza’s striking beauty and spirited ways, a sigh escaped the listener’s lips—a sight of relief.
“Ah!” she said, with a faint smile; “you cared for her because she was so handsome.”
“No, no!” cried Frank, quickly. “Inza is a splendid girl. She is a girl of whom any fellow would be proud.”
“I believe that, but still—— Tell me of Elsie.”
Frank hesitated.
“I don’t know how to describe her,” he declared. “She is so different from Inza.” ”

“ Frank set his fingers around the wrist of the man, turned his head to one side, and made a last desperate wrench.
It seemed to Merry that his windpipe would be torn out by those iron fingers, but he did not give up, for that meant certain death. He dragged the hand away, and breathed again with a horrible gasping sound, as if he were dying.
But now he held both hands of the man for a moment, and, when Joe wrenched one of them away, Frank fought to keep it from getting his throat again.
“I’ll do it! I’ll do it!” the man kept snarling. ”

“ Nellie whispered, after a time. “How it sobs and cries! It seems as if some one with a broken heart were lost out there in the night.”
“Don’t think of such things, Nellie,” urged Frank. “You make yourself nervous and sad, and you will not get well so quick. To-morrow the sun will shine.”
“I cannot see it.”
“You shall soon.”
There was a clattering sound on the stairs, and Frank sprang up quickly, turning toward the door.
“What is it?” asked the blind girl, still clinging to him.
“It is Jack! Hear his crutch.”
“Yes; but why is he stumbling upstairs so fast? Hark! Somebody is following him! ”

“ I am sure there is nothing of the sluggard in your nature. A young man like you, with a small fortune to start on, has great opportunities in life. I robbed you of those opportunities when I lost your fortune.”
“I will make other opportunities, professor.”
“I believe it, my boy; but still I am guilty. I do not care to get well. I am glad the end is near.”
Again that feeling of sickening dread stabbed Frank to the heart.
“You must not talk like that, professor. You are far better than you were.” ”

“ Old Slugs, his face patched up with plaster, came back and went to work on the engine he had been cleaning. He moved slowly, as if he felt sore in every limb.
The foreman smiled the least bit as he watched the man. He nodded his head, and there was an expression of satisfaction on his dark face. Then he turned to Frank Merriwell.
“A fellow who could whip Martin Hall should have grit enough for anything,” he said. “Come back to-morrow morning, prepared for work. You shall have a job.” ”

“ Forward to the street reeled Frank Merriwell, bearing his helpless foe. Then he suddenly dropped to the ground, coughing violently.
Darius Conrad was on hand, and he folded his son in his arms. Dyke’s mother fainted in the arms of a strong man.
But Frank was not forgotten. Scores of witnesses of his brave act gathered about him. He was lifted by a young man who was six feet tall, and very muscular.
“If he’s hurt in the least, it’ll be a dear sacrifice for the life of that worthless dog!” declared the young man, and Frank recognized the voice. ”

“ The final words came like a sigh, and, looking into the face of the sick man, Frank saw the seal of the Destroyer there. Then Merry knew that the time had come for a mortal being to face the Great Creator. Like the lamplight that faded in the day dawn the human flame was growing dimmer in the dawn of Eternity. ”

“ He knew the winner in the battle of life is the one who looks forward, not backward.
Frank felt confidence in himself. He believed he would be able to rise in time, and he had entered the roundhouse with the determination to keep his eyes and ears open and learn everything possible as fast as possible. ”

“ He asked Merry a hundred questions about the different parts of a locomotive, and about handling one, and, with very few exceptions, the youth answered correctly.
“Well,” said the engineer, “you know as much in certain ways about a locomotive as some men who have been running ’em for years. How you found out so much in a short time is what sticks me.”
“I have been studying a book on locomotive engineering,” explained Frank.
“Oh, that’s it! Well, what you want to study now is an engine, and let your book alone. We’ve got the signal to run out onto the main track. ”

“ Once it seemed that the world was full of bad, cruel people; but, since we met you, I know it is not true.”
“No, Nellie, there is far more good in the world than anything else. Human beings are peculiar. Sometimes a person may seem very bad and wicked when all it needs is the right influence to develop in him the most surprisingly noble qualities. Never lose confidence in human nature.”
“That is the way you always talk, Frank, and it makes me feel so hopeful and happy. ”

“ In the city the alarm is sometimes heard, but, more frequently, the first knowledge of the fire comes from the sight of the engine as it goes dashing to the rescue.
In small country places the wild cry of fire is almost always the first alarm.
Frank knew this. He had lived in cities where the sound of the clanging gong of a fire engine scarcely awakened passing notice; but now he was in a small country town, and it was different.
He had not exerted himself to the utmost for some time, and, with something like a feeling of exultation at the opportunity, he sped along the road. ”

“ One evening the street musicians came home in a greatly disturbed state of mind and hurried into Frank’s room, where they found Merry.
“Oh, Mr. Merriwell!” cried Jack; “there is a man who has been following us about everywhere!” ”

“ Old Slugs was a bulldog to fight, and, for that reason, the watchers were confident that he would be the victor in the end. For all that the stranger rained blow after blow upon the wiper’s face and body, Slugs continued the fight as if he had not been hit. ”

“ Railroad men are worked pretty hard, especially firemen and engineers, and many of them brace up by drinking, especially when they have not had a wink of sleep for twenty-four hours, as sometimes happens. You’ll be tempted to do that some time.”
“I do not think so, sir; but, if I am tempted, I shall resist.”
“That’s right,” nodded Hobson, gravely. “If you never take your first drink, you’ll be all right. I would have been myself. I was a passenger engineer once, and now I am on a switch engine. ”

“ You’re not old enough to be their guardian.”
“I am old enough to look out for them, and I shall see that they come to no harm.”
“You’re a pretty swift young chap for a common engine wiper. Soon as you get out from work at night you swell round in good clothes, as if you was the son of a millionaire. ”

“ The greasy man in greasy overalls and jumper straightened up from his position partly beneath the engine he had been wiping, and glared contemptuously at the smooth-faced, clean, well-dressed youth who had inquired for the roundhouse foreman. ”

“ Old Joe snarled at him, and threatened him, but Frank remained unruffled.
“You don’t know how to fire, anyway,” declared the man. “Why, you’ve been at work less than a month. I need a good man on my engine, and I’ll have one.”
“Anyone would think you were running a passenger engine to hear you talk,” said Frank.
“It’s harder runnin’ a freight engine, as you’d know, if you knew anything. You have to dodge all the passenger trains on the line, and you get the devil if you don’t make time. I’m blowed if I’ll keep you on this engine.” ”

“ Merriwell!” declared the little man. “You are built of the right stuff. You have succeeded in everything to which you have turned your hand since coming to college, and you will succeed in the battle of life. If your fortune is really lost, you are now at the foot of the ladder. By your own efforts you will mount upward a step at a time till the top is reached. If you should slip, don’t give up the struggle, but cling and fight your way upward.”
“Prof. Such,” said Frank, “your illustration is a good one, and I shall not forget your kindly advice. ”

“ Chesterfield declared that the art of pleasing is, in truth, the art of rising and distinguishing oneself, and of making a fortune and figure in the world.
Frank Merriwell lost no opportunity to please those with whom he was dealing, and, although he had been regarded as something of a dude when he entered the roundhouse,122 his associates soon found he was ready and willing to attempt any and all kinds of work. He never grumbled, and he was always volunteering to do things. ”

“ They know whose engine is always in first-class order, wedges never down, nuts and bolts in place and tight, and other things as they should be.
Frank rapidly became familiar with all the outward and visible parts of a locomotive, for he had plenty of opportunities to see them taken to pieces by the mechanics, with whom he soon became a favorite, because of his pleasing manners and readiness to do anything.
Manners have much to do with the success of a young man in the world. ”

“ Yes, if you never take the first one, you’ll be all right, and you will get somewhere in the world. Drink is what holds men down. It keeps them from rising. It wastes their money and keeps them poor. It makes hard times for the laborer. Oh, I know! I know all about the man who gets plumb full, loses his job, and curses the hard times.”
The man’s manner, as much as his words, showed how deeply he felt what he was saying.
It was not necessary to read Frank Merriwell a temperance lecture. He fully realized the truth of Hobson’s words. ”

“ At last, old Joe had been touched by the pathetic beauty of the blind girl and by her gentle ways.
“Shan’t we get a doctor for you, uncle?” asked the boy.
“Doctor? No! What does a man want of a doctor when he is dreamin’? Keep still, or I shall wake up!”
“Oh, dear uncle,” said Nellie, touching his iron-gray hair, “you have had such a hard, hard time in the world!”
“Angel!” whispered old Joe. “Never believed in ’em! Never took no stock in ’em. But she’s one! ’Sh! Let me sleep.”
He closed his eyes and was silent for some time. Little Jack looked at Frank, who nodded his satisfaction. ”

“ I am a good citizen and a church member. However, you are too old for me to control now, and I shall not hold myself responsible for your acts. The proud in spirit should be humbled in the dust, even though it may be by human agency, and Frank Merriwell needs humbling.”
Dyke grinned.
“He’ll get humbling enough,” the young rascal declared. “Wait till the gang gets after him. But I’ll need some money to fix it with the gang. There are seven of them, and they won’t do a thing less than ten dollars each. About a hundred dollars will do the trick.” ”