Tip Top Weekly No. 80: Frank Merriwell as 'Anchor' — page 24: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

22 FRANK MERRUIWELL Mellor was still looking as solemn as if he were at a funeral. His face was rather pale, and he sat in a chair at one side perzectly motionless until] the call came to enter the ring. Grant of Cornell, on the other hand, was laughing and chatting with his man- agers, and his face was pink with health. At the call he bounded from the chair and pranced into the ring nimbly, and as the Yale managers looked him over they felt worse than ever. Mellor got up slowly and walked as if he dreaded the ordeal, out to meet his adversary. “That’s right, Mellér,’? whispered Frank, as the wrestler passed, ‘‘take it easy and don’t get excited.”’ Mellor gave Frank a grateful look. It was the only encouraging word he had received from his managers since his foolish scrape. ' He shook hands with Grant, and then stepped quickly back to his position. It was a catch-as-catch-can match, and for an instant the two big fellows stood warily watching each other before they advanced. _ | Meantime Yale and Cornell were set- ting- up achorus of howls to encourage their respective champions. The two got together with a sudden jump that surprised everybody. It was expected that Grant would take the offensive, but it seemed that Mellor decided upon the same policy, for the floor fairly shook when they met and began a mighty struggle. Frank’s eyes glowed, and his heart seenied to rise to his throat as he watched the muscles stand out on Mellor’s arms and back. ‘There's big stuff in that fellow,’? he said, half aloud. “TF he: only had staying power,’’ re- torted. Hill in disgust, ‘‘but he’s wasted all that in his jag.” ‘The words were hardly ont of Hill’s AS ANCHOR. mouth before there was a heavy thud, as the two wrestlers went down; then such aroar went up as the building had not yet heard, for Yale’s man was on top. Mellor rose quickly and ran to his dress- ing rooin, followed by his managers, who overwhelmed him with compliments. He said nothing, but stood up to be rubbed and taken care of. ‘Vou took him completely by surprise that time, Mellor,’ said Frank. ‘‘Now the next time he’ll be on his guard for that, and you'll] have to pursue different tactics. ”’ Mellor nodded. He did not appear to be suffering from loss of breath or any sort of exhaustion, so the managers left him with luis trainer to see how the jumping was getting on. They arrived upon the floor just as another terrific chorus of Yale cries went up. Higgins had cleared the bar after every other contestant had failed. It wasa grand start for Yale. One-first place had been gained, and with Mellot’s success it looked as if another was certain. The floor was quickly cleared of the posts that had been set up for the jump- ers, and the Harvard and Cornell tug of war teaims came on for the first pull. In this, as inthe wrestling, the order of the trials had been decided by lot. Leaving the tug of war for the mo- ment, we will glance at Mellor’s further work as a wrestler. While Harvard and Cornell were get- ting into position for their tug “he went out again to the floor for his second set with Grant. As Frank had predicted, Grant was wary this time; he waited for Mellor to take the offensive, and the latter was slow in doing so. ‘They got together at last, and for a few seconds each struggled vainly to overcome the other. Then they steod still, and those who were giving their especial attention to them felt the greatest excitement because the men were evidently tremendously in earnest, and very evenly matched. After a good deal of dancing. abo Goin é CLAOOKS (C(O)