Several of the boys rushed into the room, and when they turned on the light, an astonishing spectacle was revealed. Hans and Bart were struggling on the floor, all tangled up in the clothes they had dragged from the bed. Hodge was striking out wildly, muttering: “Come on! come on! We are enough for you! Three to one is small odds! Back to back, Merry! We’ll fight as long as we can stand! They can’t lick us! They never could lick us at Fardale, Merry!” One of his fists landed on the Dutch boy’s ear, and Hans squawked louder than ever. “Hoch, I peen gone grazy!” he cried. “Took him off I toldt you! Uf you don’d took him off he vill kilt mineseluf! Murter! Id hurts heem ven he hits me dot vay!” Frank and Jack grasped them and dragged them apart, but Hodge turned on Diamond and gave him a crack that sent him up against the wall. “Come on, the whole of you!” he shouted. “You can’t do us up! Give it to them, Merry!” Hans broke away and tried to crawl under the bed, wildly crying: “Oxcuse me vile I look vor my vatch! Id might step on somepody uf I don’d took care uf id.” Merriwell made a leap and caught hold of Hodge, whom he ran up against the wall, where he held him, speaking sharply: “Steady, Bart, old man! It’s all over! We have cleaned out the whole gang.” Bart struggled a moment, and then a wondering light came into his eyes, which had been wide open and staring all the while. His hands dropped at his sides, and he ceased to struggle. “What’s the matter?” he faintly asked. “You have had a rather lively touch of nightmare,” explained Merry. “Nighdtmares!” cried Hans from under the bed, in a smothered voice. “Uf he didn’d haf a whole heardt of vild hosses you vos a liar!” The racket had aroused a number of guests, and the night watchman and two bellboys appeared. It took considerable smooth talk from Frank to convince them that murder had not been attempted in that room, but the curious ones departed at last, although there were mutterings of “disgraceful,” “an outrage” and “ought to be fired.” Frank laughed when it was all over. “We’ll be lucky if we are not fired in the morning,” he said. Hans refused to go to bed with Bart again, when he had been dragged from beneath the bed. “Uf I done dot, you vos a fool!” he squealed. “I vould peen in dancher uf killin’ me pefore der mornings! Shack Tiamon’, you haf no peesness to done notthing like dot! Id vos an imbosition on me, und you von’t stood id!” So Diamond was obliged to sleep with Bart, but Hodge did not create any further disturbance. The remainder of the night passed quietly enough. CHAPTER XXXVI—AN EXPLOSION COMING When Bart and Frank presented themselves at the police court on the following day to testify against Shiner Gregg, the judge took them into a private room and heard the story they had to tell, after which he said: