eep away," was the reply.

"Well, be careful--keep watch of yourself."

"Not to-night, Bart. I am going to let loose on this occasion."

Frank played recklessly from the start, and fortune fluctuated with
him, for he would forge ahead and then drop behind, but he was never
much ahead, nor far behind. For all of his careless playing, he seemed
to hang about even.

Leslie Gage was too shrewd to try to get at Frank on this occasion, for
he wanted Merriwell to win again, so they would get a still firmer hold
upon him.

Wat Snell lost steadily, soon beginning to growl, and keeping it up.
Once, under cover of conversation the others were making, he leaned
toward Gage and muttered:

"Merriwell is my hoodoo. I can't do a thing with him in the game."

"Keep cool," warned Leslie. "Never mind what happens this time. We'll
get at him again."

Hans Dunnerwust managed to blunder along and keep in the game by sheer
luck, for he did not play the cards for their face value at any time.
Still he made enough to keep on his feet and not have to get out of the
game.

"Vell!" Hans finally exclaimed, as he tried in vain to win, "uf I don'd
do petter as dot, I vill suicide go und gommit bretty soon alretty."

"By the way, Hans," said Frank, "do you know that the fellow who used
to have this room committed suicide here?"

"Shimminy Gristmas!" gurgled the Dutch boy. "You don'd say dot!"

"Yes, I do, and the room is said to be haunted by his spook, which
cannot rest in its grave."

"Vell, dot vos nice! Oxcuse me while I haf a chill!"

At this moment a hollow groan seemed to come from beneath the chair on
which Hans sat, and the Dutch lad gave a jump, getting on his feet
quickly, and peering under the chair, his face growing pale, as he
chattered:

"Vot vos dot, ain'd id?"

Some of the other boys were not a little alarmed, for all had heard it
distinctly.

"It--it actually sounded like a groan!" said Wat Snell.

"That's what it did," agreed George Harris.

"But you know it couldn't have been anything of the sort," laughed
Frank, "for you fellows do not believe in ghosts."

"Who--who--who said anything about ghosts?" stammered Snell.

At this moment another groan, louder and more dismal than the first,
seemed to come from directly beneath the table.

There was a scrambling among the boys, as they hastened to get their
legs from beneath that table.

"I don'd feel very vell aroundt der bit uf mein stomach," gasped