Protected from arrest by the pity of Berlin Carson, whose love for her
was as dead as was the man she had acknowledged as her husband, Bessie
left behind her the home which, for several hours, she had plunged in
grief and anxiety. An examination of the infant which had been kidnaped
showed that it had sustained no injury, and, filled with a spirit of
thankfulness, Frank and Inza Merriwell resolved that the little
foundling which had been substituted for their baby son should be placed
in a more worthy home than was afforded by the asylum from which it had
been taken. In a few days such a home was found, and the infant which
had inspired Frank and Inza with such feelings of consternation when
they had discovered that it was not their own, was committed to the
kindly care of a prosperous and honest young farmer and his wife, who
were childless, and who lived only a few miles from the Merriwell home.

But it did not take long for the sympathetic eyes of Frank and Inza to
see that the ardent love of Berlin Carson for the young woman, who had
proved herself to be unworthy of him, though now extinguished, had left
him moody and disinterested in the future.

And so one evening, Inza, laying a hand on one of the arms of her
husband, said gently:

"We must do something for Berlin, Frank. It is wrong for a man to brood
so over a misfortune as he is doing. Is it not possible for us to do
more to enliven him and cause him to think less of his disappointment
and the shock he has received?"

Frank shook his head thoughtfully.

"I scarcely see what more we can do, Inza," he replied. "Men are unlike
women. The grief of a woman may yield to the sympathetic words and
actions and cheerful influence of friends, but when a man has some great
trouble--especially if he be a strong man--it is best that he should
have an opportunity to make his fight against depressing influences
alone. He must have time to think it out. All references to his sorrow
are likely to irritate him, and evidence of the pity of others galls his
pride. No, no, Inza, there is little that you and I can do, I fear. Let
us do our best to surround him with a cheerful atmosphere, and----"

"That is precisely what I mean, Frank. Now, I have a plan. Several weeks
ago I heard you say that one day you might find it possible to have
around you here many of the members of what you are so often wont to
call your 'old flock'--your old school and college mates, and some of
you