Then, although handicapped by a poor break, he succeeded in securing ten pins in the final box, making in all a total of one hundred and twenty-one, which was indeed splendid bowling. “It takes nineteen to tie and twenty to win,” said Fraser. “It is settled now beyond question.” “Wait a minute and see,” nodded Buckhart. Barely had the pins been reset when Dick sent his first ball into them and swept them down in a twinkling, leaving not even a deadwood on the alley. Buckhart nearly had a fit. “I knew it!” he cried. “I was dead certain of it.” Although Chester was somewhat disturbed, he simply shrugged his shoulders and observed: “It is necessary for him to make nine points with his next two balls in order to tie. If he makes ten he wins.” “He will never do it,” asserted Fraser. “Say, if we were anywhere else, I would bet my last dollar on that!” Buckhart exclaimed. “You wait and see if he doesn’t do it!” “Isn’t it too bad!” Smart was heard saying to himself, as he reset the pins. “How sorry I am! I hate to see him win!” Dick picked two balls from the runway. Holding a ball in each hand, he prepared to roll. Now there was a hush. Arlington felt his nerves quivering a little. To himself he was asking if it could be possible that Merriwell’s usual luck would stand by him and enable him to win at the finish. With a soft, whirring sound the ball sped down the alley. When it struck the pins they flew. “Seven!” was the shout. “Two more ties!” “He will get ’em, too!” declared Buckhart. “He will win!” One of the deadwoods had fallen on the higher side of the alley, while there were two in the gutter. This pin in the gutter Smart instantly removed. As he did this, the deadwood started to roll toward the lower side of the alley. Already Dick was on the point of bowling, and he delivered his ball while the deadwood was in motion. Arlington was on his feet now, and he saw that Merriwell’s last ball was curving gracefully toward the pins. “He has them! He has them!” breathed Chet, in unspeakable dismay, for he felt certain the ball would hit the pins perfectly. A moment later a groan came from some of the witnesses, for the curving ball touched the deadwood, which had rolled into its path. The ball was deflected just enough to miss the two head pins and clip off the one at the corner. In this unfortunate manner Merriwell had been prevented from securing at least two of the pins and probably three. Arlington had won by a single pin. Chester’s triumph was complete, and he made the most of it. Fraser hastened to shake his hand and congratulate him. The disappointment of Dick’s friends seemed acute, but Dick accepted defeat with the same composure that was habitual with him in times of triumph. “You hold the record on the alley, Arlington,” he said. “One hundred and nineteen was the record before.” “Oh, that’s a poor string for me!” asserted Chester laughingly. Brad Buckhart was furious, but he managed to suppress his anger.