CHAPTER XXXIV.
A TROUBLED MIND.
Ephraim found that Casper Silence was very much in earnest. There was nobluff about the man's proposal to bet ten thousand dollars, and Gallupwas not the sort of chap to back down after making such talk.
Naturally the cashier at the bank looked surprised when Gallup asked fora bank check in exchange for his own check, drawn for the full amount ofhis deposit. Mr. Casin, however, did not ask questions, but made out thebank check and passed it to Ephraim.
In the presence of witnesses this check was placed in the hands of FredPriley to cover the ten thousand dollars posted by Silence.
Casper Silence took pains to examine the bank check, over which henodded and smiled, returning it to Priley.
"That's all right, I fancy," he said. "It ought to be as good as goldcoin."
Then he turned to Ephraim with pretended admiration.
"Young man, you've got genuine sporting blood," he said. "You've gotnerve. I can't help admiring your nerve, although I fear your judgmentis rather poor. I hope you won't feel the loss of that little sum, incase you do lose it, which you certainly will."
"Oh, I guess I could stand it," retorted the Vermonter.
"I presume you could, Mr. Gallup. You're young and energetic, and youmay live long enough to accumulate ten thousand more dollars."
"Don't yeou fret abaout me!" snapped Gallup, in exasperation.
"You quite misunderstand," smiled Silence. "I'm not fretting about youin the least. Far from it. I was seeking to give you a littlecompliment. Better tell your friends of the great Merriwell baseballteam to do their level best to-morrow. Better tell them what it means toyou if your team loses."
"I won't tell them nuthin' of the sort!" growled Gallup. "I don'tpropose to say a hanged word abaout it, and yeou'll obleege me if youkeep your mouth shet, too! If Mr. Merriwell found it aout, he'd be hotunder the collar and give me a good dressing daown."
"Oh, very well," agreed Silence, "I'll say nothing. It's a small matterto me."
Silence, Bearover, and Priley bade Gallup good day and left for Priley'sHotel. Ephraim watched the proprietor of the Rovers as the man saunteredaway.
"Yeou're a gol-dinged gambler, that's what yeou be!" muttered theVermonter. "Yeou're a man that's allus lookin' for suckers, and yeouthink yeou've ketched one naow. Waal, mebbe yeou have, but we'll seeabaout that. I kinder guess yeou're due to bunt up ag'inst a red-hotsurprise to-morrer. You won't feel so fine and sarcastic arter thatgame."
Nevertheless Gallup was troubled by an unpleasant feeling that he hadbeen reckless and imprudent to an almost reprehensible degree. Like manyanother man, he had attempted to call a bluff only to find that theother chap was not bluffing.
With his hands thrust deep into his pockets, the down-easter stood onthe sidewalk and stared after Silence until the man turned a corner anddisappeared. He saw the baseball proprietor laughing as he talked to hiscompanions, every gesture and every expression indicating that Silencewas absolutely confident he would win the bet.
"A man is a blamed fool to have anything to do with critters of hiscaliber," was Ephraim's decision. "I feel like I'd kinder lowered myselfsomehow. Thutteration! what if we should lose that game?"
A cold chill ran over him.
"Of course it's possible," he said, "but I don't 'low it's probable.Even Frank Merriwell can be beat sometimes. My jinks! wouldn't it beawful if things should go wrong! Whew!"
He fished out his handkerchief and mopped his face with it.
At last Gallup was beginning faintly to realize the extent of his folly.
Although he continued strolling around the town, he found no furtherpleasure in the sights of Wellsburg. In vain he sought to turn his mindfrom the thoughts of the coming contest between the Merries and theRovers and the possibility of defeat for Frank's team. Never before hadhe been troubled by such doubts, and fears. Finally he sought theFranklin Square Hotel, in the lobby of which he was sitting in moodymeditation when Frank and Barney appeared.
"Is it a trance you're in, Oi dunno?" cried Mulloy, as he gave Gallup asharp nudge. "Wake up, me bhoy!"
"Eh?" grunted Gallup, looking up and starting to his feet. "Why, hangedif I noticed yer when yeou come in!"
"Your mind seemed to be far away," observed Merry. "You actually lookedtroubled and careworn. What's the matter, Eph?"
"Not a thing--not a blamed thing," declared Gallup, forcing a sicklysmile to his face.
"What were you thinking about so glumly?"
"Oh, nuthin'. I was jest kinder meditatin' on the fact that most folksare 'tarnal fools, and I guess I'm abaout the biggest fool I know."
"That's hardly like you. You're not usually troubled with suchthoughts."
"He's gitting older and wiser, Frankie," chuckled Mulloy. "Oi think he'sbecomin' acquainted wid himself."
"Yeou ain't gut nuthin' to say!" snapped Eph. "Yeou wanted to make a betwith Mr. Silent, didn't ye?"
"Oi did," nodded Barney. "Av it hadn't been for Frankie to kape mesinsible, Oi'd cracked up me money on the shpot. It's Frankie whot's gotthe livel head, Gallup. The rest av us are chumps, begobs!"
"I guess, by gum, that's correct!" nodded Eph. "The older I git, thebigger chump I become."
"What's it all about?" laughed Merry.
"Oh, nothing, nothing," again asserted the Vermonter. "I was jest kindermeditatin' on some of my foolish breaks. I don't believe I know enoughto paound sand."
"I can't understand what's made you so pessimistic concerning yourself.A man who can make ten thousand dollars of his own accord at your ageand salt it away where it's safe has no right to be ashamed of himself."
"Who knows whether it's safe or not?" muttered Eph.
"It's pretty safe in the Wellsburg Bank, old man. You needn't worryabout that. I think I'll find Toots and have the horses hitched up.We'll strike out for Bloomfield right away."
Mulloy lingered with Gallup as Frank turned away.
"Whativer is atin' yez, Ephie?" demanded Barney. "Phwoy don't yez spakeup and tell the truth?"
"Haow do yeou know I ain't told the truth?" asked Gallup, with mingledoffense and shame.
"Oi've bunked with yez for a year. Oi've known yez under all sorts ofcircumstances, me laddie buck, and I can tell when you're spakin' thewhole truth and whin you're tryin' to hide something. Oi'm yer fri'nd,Eph, and ye know it. Phwoy don't ye spake out and make a clane breast avit? Phwat's the mather?"
"I don't like to have nobody stomp on my co't tail," mumbled theVermonter. "When a man rubs me the wrong way it kinder riles me, and I'mpretty apt to resent it. Yeou'd made a bet with old Silence if Frankhadn't happened araound, wouldn't ye?"
"Oi would," confessed Barney. "Oi'd been just chump enough to go him forany owld sum up to foive hundrid dollars. All the same, Ephie, thot wasfoolishness on my part."
"What's a feller goin' to do when one of these top-lofty critters comesaraound a-rubbin' it into him?" demanded Gallup. "Nobody likes to have'em a-sneerin' and a-chucklin'. I like to shet them kind of folks up andshet 'em up good and hard. I've seen old Silence sence we left thebank."
"Phwat?" gasped Mulloy, a sudden light breaking upon him. "Ye don't maneit, Ephie? Begorra, ye've been bettin' on the game!"
"That's jest what I have," nodded Gallup grimly. "Arter yeou and Frankwent off and I went to roamin' araound I run up ag'inst the big bear.He give me a cigar, and we went into Priley's Hotel. He wanted me tohave a drink with him, but I didn't take nuthin' intoxicatin'. Silencewas there, with a whole lot of them baseball fellers. They was makin' alot of talk abaout haow they'd trim us to-morrer. They gut my blood tob'iling, and I told 'em a few things. That critter, Silence, begun togive me the laugh. He said us fellers made a lot of talk, but we didn'thave sand to back it up. Dod bim him! I guess I showed him I had sand!"
"Ephie," said the young Irishman soberly, "you and Oi are a little toosuddin in making back talk to thim kind av crathers. Shtill Oi can'tblame yez, my bhoy."
"Don't yeou
tell Frank nuthin' abaout it, Barney," entreated Gallup. "Iwouldn't have him find aout for anything."
"Thot's the bad part av it, Gallup--thot's kaping a secret from Frankie.It's doing something we know he wouldn't countenance."
"I guess that's what made me feel so rotten mean abaout it."
"How much did yez bet wid him? Did yez put up a hundrid?"
"More'n that."
"Two hundrid?"
"More'n that."
"Begobs, ye did plunge, my bhoy! Well, it won't break yez av we shouldhappen to lose."
"I dunno abaout that," half groaned Gallup.
Barney looked puzzled and somewhat excited.
"How much did yez bet, Ephy?" he asked. "Tell me the truth, old mon.Spake up."
"'Sh!" hissed Gallup. "Don't say another word! Here comes Frank!"
Merriwell rejoined them.
"We'll start right away, boys," he said. "Toots will have the team roundin less than five minutes."