“Look here, Hodge,” said Merriwell, “does it occur to you that Hooker’s purpose may be precisely opposite that with which we have credited him?”
“Why, instead of coming here to rob the unfortunates of the street, it may be that he comes here to give them such friendly aid as he can.”
Hodge caught his breath, and then gave a suppressed exclamation of scorn.
“No,” he said decidedly, “nothing of the kind occurs to me! Don’t be foolish enough to suggest anything of the sort, Merriwell. Hooker is not a blooming idiot, even though he may be a crook!”
“Well, one thing is certain, thus far we have seen him do nothing unlawful.”
“Not yet, but we’re hot on the scent, and you can bet your life on that.”
Hooker was forcing the man to walk, holding him by the arm. The inebriate reeled drunkenly, and then came near falling down. Then, as if losing patience, the outcast forced his new companion up against the wall, held him there a moment, then shook him like a rag.
“He’s bound to shake some of the rum out of the fellow,” chuckled Frank.
“He’ll shake it up so it’ll go to the man’s head more than ever,” declared Bart.
But after this shaking the stranger seemed to make a mighty effort to brace up and walk straight, and he did remarkably well, although Hooker still kept hold of him. Since finding this man, Hooker had seemed to forget to be suspicious and watch behind him, so Bart and Frank had no trouble at all in following along.
The adventure was growing in interest for Frank. It was something new and novel――something to break the regularity of college life.
Another drunken man came singing along and ran into Hooker and his companion. Straightway the man who had been singing attempted to pick a quarrel, while Hooker tried to avoid him and pass on. The belligerent individual, however, as soon as he saw Hooker wished to escape trouble, proceeded to force matters, after the style of a drunken bully. At last, thoroughly exasperated, Hooker suddenly caught hold of the man, kicked his feet from beneath him, and let him drop to the ground in a manner that must have given him a severe jolt. Then he took his companion’s arm again and they went on.
“Well,” said Frank, with satisfaction, “I rather fancy the way he did that.”