ank Merriwell,
who is stopping here."

"Yes, sir," said the clerk, politely. "Mr. Merriwell left orders that
you be shown up immediately on your arrival. Twenty-three, show Mr.
Diamond to Mr. Merriwell's rooms."

"Right this way, sah," said the colored boy.

Jack followed the uniformed bell boy, who paused at the elevator shaft
and pressed a button. In a moment the elevator came gliding noiselessly
down, the door slid open, a lady and a gentleman stepped out and Diamond
stepped in.

"Third," said the bell boy, and then he turned and disappeared, while
the elevator man closed the door and sent the car gliding upward. He
stopped at the third floor, and, to Jack's surprise, the bell boy with
the grip was there, calmly awaiting his arrival.

Jack followed him to the door of a room at the front of the house. As
the boy lifted his hand to knock at the door, there was a burst of
laughter within, plainly heard, as the transom was open, and Frank
Merriwell's voice cried:

"Hans, if you could tell that story on the stage just as you told it
then you would make your fortune."

"Vot vos der madder mit me?" exclaimed the voice of Hans Dunnerwust,
Frank's German friend. "Dot nefer vos a funny stories! You don'd seen
vot I larft ad! Dot peen a bathetic sdory. I oxbected you vould took
mein handkersheft oudt und cried id indo, but you sed roundt und laugh
ad dot bathetic sdory like I vos a lot of monkeys. You don't like dot as
vell as I might!"

Then there was another burst of laughter, and the knock of the bell boy
was not heard.

"Never mind," said Diamond, taking his traveling bag and giving the boy
a dime; "I'll go right in."

He opened the door and stepped into the room.

Hodge, Browning, Merriwell and Dunnerwust were there. Bart was tilted
back in a chair, with his feet on the table, while lazy Bruce was half
sitting and half reclining on a sofa. Frank sat astride a chair, looking
over the back of it at Hans, who had stood in the middle of the room as
he told his "bathetic sdory."

"Hello, fellows!" cried the lad from Virginia, heartily.

There was a shout of welcome. Frank sprang forward quickly and grasped
Diamond's hand.

"Delighted, old man!" laughed Merry. "I was afraid you wouldn't come
till I received your telegram stating that you would be on hand. Any
trouble in persuading the mother?"

"Not much, though she said it did seem that I might remain at home a
while longer, and she told me to tell you that