"Frank Merriwell's Fencing"

After college, Frank Merriwell and his friend Bart Hodge find themselves in the great state of Nebraska seeking athletic opportunities. Fencing seems to be the sport of choice in Omaha and they team up with M. L’estrange, their new fencing coach. He is a Frenchman and a wonderful coach. He claims that the French are the best fencers in the world and compares France to other countries in the world, and describes France’s knack for the sport. The boys and the coach work together trying to become the best fencers possible and M. L’estrange seems thrilled to work with such a talented athlete as Frank Merriwell. M. L’estrange one evening takes the boys to see a fencing match in downtown Omaha. The boys are very excited to see a duel between Mr. Marlowe and Mr. Darleton, two of the mid-west’s most talented fencers. However, unfortunately Mr. Marlowe fails to arrive to the match due to illness, although Mr. Darleton claims its simply because he is scared. The crowd is displeased and Mr. Darleton is furious that he has no match that evening. He speaks with M. L’estrange about how disappointed he is with Mr. Marlowe and while speaking with the French master, Mr. Darleton’s eyes fall upon Frank Merriwell. Mr. Darleton had heard about Frank’s potential as an athlete and his true promise as a fencer and asks the boy if he would like to duel him that evening. Frank is hesitant at first, however once Mr. Darleton claims that he believes Frank is scared of him as well, Frank suits up and is ready for the fight. The two fencers are poised and calm at the beginning of the match testing each other’s ability with the weapon. Each fencer tries to understand the other’s motions and tricks while learning their moves on the platform. They both are comfortable and seem at ease on the platform, however the intensity magnifies when Mr. Darleton lunges towards Frank just missing, notifying the audience that the match has officially begun.
The two duel back and forth for quite sometime until it seems as if Frank Merriwell knows the Mid-western master’s next move. He becomes a fencing mind reader and has Mr. Darleton playing into all of his traps. They keep battling until finally Frank Merriwell is deemed the winner. At that moment, Mr. Darleton swings his fist right at Franks face and knocks him dizzy. The crowd shouts and yells at Mr. Darleton’s absurd behavior and the night if finished.
The two rivals meet again, however not with weapons in hand, but cards at the poker table. Frank had little training in the game of poker and again Mr. Darleton was the master. Frank was surprised at how often Mr. Darleton would win at the game and figured in his mind that he must have been cheating given the amount of money he was winning. Frank had figured out the so called mastermind again and discovered that he indeed was cheating and that the cards were marked. The cards had been marked with symbols and markings notifying Mr. Darleton of the good and bad cards in the deck. Frank revealed the master and Mr. Darleton was nothing less than embarrassed and furious with Frank Merriwell. Frank leaves the poker room excited and confident after defeating Mr. Darleton in both poker and fencing and continues with his life of a twenty year old. He then went to dinner with some girls and after dinner while walking down the street he was mugged and dragged into a car. Frank had been kidnapped by Mr. Darleton’s friends and dragged into a basement to duel with Mr. Darleton. Mr. Darleton wanted revenge. No large crowds, no publicy, just a true fencing match with out protection. Life or death was the terms they agreed on and again Frank won by stabbing Mr. Darleton in the chest. He was rushed to the hospital where Frank visited the next day. Again, the noble Frank Merriwell ends a novel being the honorable model for all young men alike.
Full Text