For a little time they swayed and swayed. There were screams and cries of pain. They wavered and turned about, but still the crush continued.

The scouts were getting in their work, hooking their bent arms around the necks of their opponents and yanking them out of the line.

Before long the rush turned into a general pushing and hauling. Freshman pitted himself again soph.o.m.ore, and a score of wrestling matches were in progress.

Merriwell and Browning had clinched at the outset, but it was a long time before they could do anything but cling to each other. When they did have an opportunity another soph, a scout, spoiled the match by making a low tackle on Frank and flinging him to the ground. Browning came down heavily on the leader of the freshmen, but he immediately jumped up, crying:

"That was not a square deal. Let's have it over."

But the breath had been knocked out of Frank with the force of the fall, and he fell back twice as he struggled to arise.

"Are you hurt?" asked Browning.

"No," panted Frank, who could dimly see his opponent through a thick haze which seemed to hang before his eyes.

"Then why don't you get up?"

"I--I'm going to."

Setting his teeth, he did so, but Rattleton caught Browning by the collar and flung him aside as the big soph sprang at Frank.

"You are hurt, old man!" insisted Harry. "I saw the fellow when he tripped you. It wasn't a fair thing. You are in no condition to meet Browning now. Wait till you get your wind."

"I must meet him!" cried Frank. "He'll say he did me up if I do not."

"Then he'll lie. It's all right. You do as I say."

Frank tried to resist, but Rattleton dragged him aside, being able to do so because Browning found himself occupied by a little freshman who stuffily blocked his way, declaring that Merriwell should have a show.

Frank was more than disgusted by the result of the affair. He felt that he must have it out with Browning then and there, and he made desperate attempts to break from Harry. Ordinarily he would have succeeded with the greatest ease, but the fall had robbed him of his strength.

Then came the knowledge that the freshmen had been repulsed. The soph.o.m.ores were cheering wildly, and the unfortunate freshmen were downcast.

"They've held us out," muttered Harry, bitterly. "It begins to look as if we'll have to climb over the fence if we get inside."

"What's that?" cried Frank, bracing up a little. "Climb the fence? Not much!"

"Then how'll we get in? Will you tell me that?"

"We'll find a way."

"Wind a fay!" spluttered Harry excitedly. "It's easy enough to say that, but I don't believe we can do it."

"Oh, freshies! oh, you poor freshies!" tauntingly cried the victors.

"Don't you wish you could? But you can't do it, you know!"

"That remains to be seen," muttered Merriwell, brushing the hair back from his eyes. "I didn't think we could do it in this way. But there are others."

"You'll be a dandy if you devise a way," declared Little.

Diamond, with his coat off, his vest ripped up the back and his shirt torn open at the throat, was regarding the jeering soph.o.m.ores with a fierce, sullen look. Evidently he was ready for anything. He glanced at Merriwell, but said nothing.

Frank called the freshmen around him.

"Look here, fellows," he said, "we are bound to go into that park, and we're going through that gate."

"That sounds well," said Dismal Jones, who wore an unusually long face, "but I'm inclined to believe we're not in it with that crowd."

"Guess again!" exclaimed Frank. "Now listen to me, and I don't want one of you to look around. You might arouse suspicion if you did. Close to the wall there lies a long stick of timber."

"Well?"

"We'll use it."

"How?"

"As a battering-ram."

"To batter down the gate? Why, how are we to get to the gate?"

"The timber will take us there, and it will open the gate. When I give the word we will rush for it, pick it up, and sail right into the sophs.

I'll bet anything they get out of the way when they see us coming with that. It will take them by surprise."

"'Rah! 'rah! 'rah!" yelled several of the enthusiastic freshmen.

The soph.o.m.ores yelled back at them in derision.

"They think we are beaten now," said Diamond, whose face had lighted up somewhat as he listened to Merriwell's plan. "If we only can get the best of them that way!"

"We can and we will," a.s.sured Frank. "Those who can't get hold of the timber may look out that they don't hook our men away from it. That is all."

The freshmen became eager for the effort, but Frank held them back till he was certain they all understood just what was to be done.

"Are you ready?" he finally asked.

"All ready," was the eager reply.

"Then go!"

The soph.o.m.ores were astonished to see the freshmen suddenly whirl all together and rush toward the wall.

"They're going over! They're going over!"

The soph.o.m.ores shouted their satisfaction and delight, fully convinced that they had forced the freshmen to abandon all hope of going through the gate.

Then came a surprise for them.

The freshmen caught up the timber, and Merriwell cried: