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"I will go, then, sir," said Brady to the professor with affected sadness, "but I shall return to make another appeal to you."
"This incident is closed, sir, and my time is valuable," observed the school president with some asperity, arising to his feet and waving Brady out of the room.
The latter directed a venomous look at Ned. Frank noted this, and shuddered as Ned himself had done. It was an evil face, unmasked now, that of the tramp, and Frank realized that his young friend would do well to keep out of the power of this hypocrite and knave.
Frank dodged aside as the man came out into the corridor. Then he followed him at a distance. He waited till Brady had reached the road in front of the academy. Then he stepped more briskly, caught up with him and touched him on the arm.
"One moment," said Frank.
"Eh -- ah -- what is it?" stammered Brady, halting and staring suspiciously at our hero.
"Do you remember me?" inquired Frank, looking him squarely in the eye.
"I don't," replied Brady.
"You're sure of that?"
"I never saw you before."
"Think again," spoke Frank. "I'll recall a little incident at Tipton, where I came very near getting you into the hands of the town marshal."
With a frightened scowl Brady glared at Frank, the light of recognition now in his eyes.
"I see you recall the incident," proceeded Frank steadily. "You are a scamp, and you are up to some game about my friend, Ned Foreman. Now I've something to say to you. If you hang around this place one single minute, if you ever dare to come to this academy again, I'll have you in jail inside of an hour."
"You impudent puppy!" shouted Brady, lifting his hand as if to strike Frank. "You'll do what?"
"I'll have you arrested."
"What for?"
"For stealing a diamond bracelet from Mr. Samuel Mace of Tipton," was Frank's reply.
Chapter XIX
A Clear Case
The shot had told -- Frank saw this at once.
Brady gasped for breath and turned white as a sheet.
"W -- what diamond bracelet?" stammered the man.
"I guess you know," said Frank. "I guess, too, that the best and safest thing for you to do is to get that bracelet back to the man you stole it from before he sends an officer after you."
Brady simply stared at Frank. He was all taken aback. Frank saw that he was dumfounded and scared. He followed up his advantage.
"You can't play any of your 'reformed man' tricks here, I can tell you," he continued. "You practiced your game pretty well in that plug hat and swallow-tail coat up at the cabin."
"The cabin?" repeated Brady, as though he was shocked.
"Yes; the cabin with those precious 'detectives' you told the professor about, Jem and Dan."
"Say -- look here -- I don't see -- -- How do you know?"
"Never mind; you see I do," interrupted Frank. "Now, then, you follow my advice. You get those two pieces of card together, and get that bracelet from the man who has it in safekeeping for you."
Brady's eyes goggled. The amount of information Frank had about him, its tremendous importance, staggered the man. He almost reeled where he stood.
"Send it at once to Samuel Mace at Tipton," went on Frank, "if you don't want to be hunted down across the world if necessary. Then get as far as you can from here. If you don't you're lost. Yes, sir," declared Frank impressively, "a lost man."
"Thunder!" ejected the tramp in an overwhelmed sort of a way.
"You'd ought to be ashamed, hunting down an honest boy like Ned Foreman, who is trying to make a man of himself," continued Frank indignantly. "You've nigh ruined his chances already. You want to leave him alone. Mean and low as you are, he is ashamed to tell the professor about it, but I'll tell him, you bet. Now, then, you get away from here, double-quick."
The tramp started up as if he had been struck by a whip.
"And stay away," added our hero.
"I'm an abused man," sniffled Brady, trying the pathetic tack again. "You're talking Greek to me about diamonds, and that such. Suppose I was a bad one once, ain't I a reformed man now?"
"No, nor never will be, until you tell what dodge you're up to in getting Ned into your clutches again."
"Boy, you mistake a poor old reformed man," said Brady, drawing a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his screwed-up eyes. As he did this a lose pack of playing cards came out with the handkerchief and scattered all around the ground, much on his confusion and assumed surprise.
"That looks like a reformed man, doesn't it?" said Frank. "You're a real, right bad one, you are. Now you get away from here."
Brady went. He gave Frank an awful look of hatred and menace, but he hurried his steps.
Frank stood watching him until the fellow was clear out of sight. Then, very thoughtfully, he walked back to the school.
"Maybe I said too much; maybe I spoiled my own case," he reflected, "but I was thinking of Ned's interests."
Frank had an idea in his mind that he would go to Professor Elliott, tell him the whole story from beginning to end, and see if something could not be done, here at Bellwood, to have the officers of the law try and find the stolen diamond bracelet.
When Frank got to his room Bob Upton was awake, and, pale and worried-looking, Ned Foreman sat conversing with him, and both occupied Frank's thoughts for the next hour.
Frank had a reassuring talk with Ned. He told him that he need not worry about Brady any further, that he had pretty effectually scared the rascal away.
"All he can do is to try and kidnap you," explained Frank. "So you keep pretty close to the academy for the next few days. Then I'll know if he is hanging around here anywhere."
The next day Professor Elliott went away from Bellwood to visit a friend, and Frank had no chance to talk with him about Ned, as he had planned.
Late that afternoon Frank strolled alone from the school grounds. He had no definite purpose in view when he started. A little distance progressed, however, he thought of the old hut, and made up his mind to see if he could locate it.