His one thought was that, being an expert boxer himself, Merriwell had forced him to a fist fight, believing it would be easy to dispose of him that way.

Diamond’s hatred of Frank made him blind to the fact that he was in the least to blame, and filled him with a passionate belief that he could kill the smiling Northerner without a qualm of conscience—­without a pang of remorse.

At last, disgusted with his non-success in striking Frank at all, he sprang forward suddenly and grappled with him.

Frank had been on the watch for that move.

Then the boys saw a pretty struggle for a moment, ending with Diamond being lifted and dropped heavily, squarely on his back.

Merriwell came down heavily on his persistent enemy.

Frank fell on Jack with the hope of knocking the wind out of the fellow and thus bringing the fight to a close.

For a few moments it seemed that he had succeeded.

Frank sprang up lightly, just as Tad Horner grappled him by the hair with both hands and yelled:  “Break away!”

Roland Ditson was at Diamond’s side in a twinkling.

“Come, come, old man!” he whispered; “get up and get into the game again!  Don’t let them count you out!”

But the Virginian was gasping for breath, and he did not seem to hear the words of his second.

“That settles it,” said Puss Parker, promptly.

“Better wait and see,” advised Bruce Browning.  “Diamond may not give up when he gets his breath.”

“It doesn’t look as if he’d ever get his breath again.”

Harry Rattleton was at Frank’s side, swiftly saying: 

“Why didn’t you knock him out and show the fellows what you can do?  You monkeyed with the goat too long.  He’s stuffy, and you had to settle him sometime.  It didn’t make a dit of bifference whether it was first or last.”

“That’s all right,” smiled Frank.  “He’s got sand, and I hated to nail him hard.  It seemed a shame to thump such a fellow and cover his face with decorations.”

“Shame? shame?” spluttered Harry.  “Why, didn’t he force you into a duel with rapiers, or try to? and he is an expert!  Say, what’s the matter with you?  If I’d been in your place I’d gone into him tooth and nail, and I wouldn’t have left him in the shape of anything.  Have you got a soft spot around you somewhere, Merriwell?”

“I admire sand, even if it is in an enemy.”

“You take the cherry pie—­yes, you take the whole bakery!”

Harry gazed at his roommate in wonder that was not entirely unmingled with pity and disgust.  He could not understand Merriwell, and such generosity toward a persistent foe on the part of Frank seemed like weakness.

In the meantime Ditson had been urging Diamond to get up.

“They’ll call the scrap finished if you don’t get onto your pins in a jiffy,” he warned.  “Horner’s got his watch in his hand.”