s
beset my path the cooler I became. I am here, gentlemen, and I'm glad I
came. I admire clams. They are fine. I think these clams are the finest
I ever tasted. Have some, boys."

Mr. Cooler seemed to regret the time he had spent in talk, for he made a
fierce dive at the clams and raked out two of them.

Merriwell's friends all looked at him to see what he would do under the
circumstances. Frank was smiling, but there was a look of doubt on his
face. For once in his life, he seemed in a quandary. There was something
about this little, chuckling, jolly old man that seemed to forbid anyone
to do him personal violence. Bruce Browning felt that. He realized that
he would feel ashamed of himself if he should give the old fellow a
shaking. And it was plain that Cooler could not be frightened away in
any ordinary manner. Nothing seemed to alarm him.

"Sit up and eat some clams, fellows," said Frank, quietly. "Let him fill
up, and then we'll tie a big bowlder to his neck and sink him out here
in the harbor."

"Hum!" coughed the man in gray. "That's right, young man--let me fill my
sack with these clams before you put me to soak. Perhaps you had better
let me rest a while after that, too, for I never like to take a bath
after a full meal. It isn't healthy. The best physicians condemn the
practice."

So, with the exception of Hans, they again gathered around the clams and
started to enjoy the feast. Hans retired by himself and sat on a flat
rock, muttering and looking savage. At times he would shake his fist at
the back of the man in gray.

Mr. Cooler seemed to have a remarkable ability to talk and devour clams
at the same time. As Browning afterward expressed it, he "talked a blue
streak." He told them he was a great traveler, he had been all over the
United States, all over the world.

"Why," he said, "in Berlin I appeared at court."

"How much was the fine?" asked Frank, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Young man," exclaimed Cooler, "you astonish me. To look at you, I would
not suppose you could be frivolous. I am slightly that way myself. Can't
help it; born that way. Always see something humorous in everything.
It's better than medicine; it keeps the liver in a healthy condition.
Now, clams are hard to digest, but taken in connection with laughter and
jollity they digest much better. There is enough sadness in the world if
we do not go around with our faces drawn down. Be jolly. That's my
motto."

There was somethin