already hot on athletics. Wellsburg isn't so far away,
and more than once Wellsburg has sent trainloads of people down here.
Pittston is larger than Bloomfield, and Pittston has the fever. I
understand the citizens of this little town thought Merry crazy when he
built that stand. They've changed their minds since."

"No one besides Frank Merriwell could build a stand like that and bring
out people to fill it in a little country village. His old-time
magnetism is as strong as ever. He draws people to him. Whatever he
does, he arouses them, and they come out like magic."

"That's right. This was a sleepy village if I ever saw one. In fact,
this was the sleepiest burg I ever did see. I was here, you know, before
Farnham Hall was built. I was here before the old Merriwell house was
remodeled and turned into Merry Home. This field was an uneven, rocky
strip of land, and the lake down yonder was half drained, the dam having
fallen into disuse. The metamorphosis seems almost as surprising as the
magic changes worked by Aladdin's lamp. Frank is the modern Aladdin. He
has the lamp hidden somewhere--I'm sure of it."

At the bathhouse they found the big colored man, Jumbo, who bowed most
respectfully to Hodge.

"Hello, Jumbo," said Bart. "How are your muscles to-day?"

"Well, sah," grinned the darky, "dey am not painin' me so much as dey
uster was. No, sah! Marsa Frank he sorter finds plenty ob work fo' to
reduce de pain in mah muscles."

"Berlin," said Bart, "Jumbo is so strong that his muscles actually ache
unless he can have some strenuous occupation by which to employ
himself."

The big negro grinned and winked at Carson.

"That was what Ah tol' Marsa Frank when Ah come here," he said. "Ah
wanted a job as perfesser in de 'cademy mos' monstrous baad. Dat gemman
friend ob mine, Toots, he done tol' me dar was an openin' for a physicum
destructor at de 'cademy. So, seem' Ah had all dat strength to spare, Ah
jes' 'plied fo' de position. It happened Ah was about twenty minutes too
late. De place was filled, but Marse Frank he gibbed me anudder job. In
de first place, he made me 'sistant physicum janitor at the 'cademy. All
Ah had to do was to keep things cleaned up around de place and fro out
on de back ob dere necks dem fool people what come round to bodder Marsa
Frank. Ah was so skeered for fear Ah wouldn't qualify fo' de position ob
'sistant physicum janitor dat Ah jes' scratched gravel night an' day,
and it wa'n't long