Despite himself, the young Virginian shivered when his eyes rested on the apparently blood-stained blade.

“Be careful!” some one distinctly whispered.  “We do not want to kill more than one freshman in a night.”

Some one else spoke of the frightful manner in which the knife had cut Merriwell, and then, despite his feeble struggles, Diamond was placed upon the instrument of torture.

“The other fresh died game,” muttered the executioner.  “Of course we didn’t mean to kill him, but the knife is out of order and it slipped by accident.  We haven’t time to fix it properly, but there are only about nine chances out of ten that it will fall again.”

“Oh, you fellows shall pay for this!” feebly gasped Diamond.

Despite himself, although he knew how unlikely such a thing was, he could not help wondering if a terrible accident had really happened.  If not, where was Merriwell.  He looked around, but saw nothing of Frank, who was keeping in the background.

And then, when his nerves had been quite unstrung, the knife fell, the ice and warm water were applied, and Diamond could not choke back the cry of horror that forced itself from his lips.

A roar of laughter broke from the masked students.

When Diamond was lifted to his feet he was almost too weak to stand.  He clinched his teeth, vowing over and over to himself that he would find a way to square accounts.

“If it takes me a year, I’ll find out who the leaders in this affair are, and they shall suffer for it!” he thought.

“Give him a chance to see the others put through the mill,” said Mephisto, and Diamond’s hands were released.

The Virginian looked around, seeming irresolute for a moment.  Not far away he saw a masked lad whose clothes were wet and bedaubed with dirt and sawdust.

In an instant Diamond sprang toward this person and snatched the mask from his face.

“It’s Merriwell!” he triumphantly shouted, “and he has helped to haze me!  His career at Yale will be suddenly cut short!”

CHAPTER III.

The blow.

There was a sudden hush.  The students saw that Diamond was really revengeful, and his words seemed to indicate that he intended to report any one whose identity he discovered.

The Virginian was pale and he trembled with anger.

“You don’t mean to say that you will blow, do you?” asked one.

“That’s exactly what I do mean, sir!” came resolutely from the lips of the infuriated freshman.  “I am a gentleman and the son of a gentleman, and I’ll never stand it to be treated like a cur.  Hazing is said to be no longer tolerated here, and an investigation is certain to follow my report of this affair.”

A little fellow stepped out.

“You claim to be a gentleman,” he said, distinctly, “but you will prove yourself a cad if you peach.”