Parker looked dismayed; Yates looked disgusted. Forrest did not give up. "You can't refuse," he said. "We need you, and you must play." But Frank was determined, and persuasion proved of no avail. He firmly refused to think of playing. "Come away!" exclaimed Yates, with a sneer. "It's no use to talk to him. I did think he was all right, but this settled his case in my mind." Frank bit his lip, and all the color left his face, while his eyes gleamed dangerously. "Mr. Yates," he said, "you are in my room, and I cannot lift a hand here. Any time you see fit to insult me outside I'll do my best to resent it." "Bah!" cried Yates. "If you haven't the courage to face Marline, you'll never stand up to me. I have discovered that you are a big stiff! You're a case of bluff!" Merriwell quivered, and his hands were clinched till his finger nails cut into the palms of his hands. It was plain that he was making a battle to restrain himself. "Mr. Yates," he said, hoarsely, "you and I have had our troubles before, and, if I remember correctly, you did not come off with flying colors. It is plain you delight in this opportunity for retaliation, but I warn you to take care. There is a limit, and you may overstep it. If you do----" "What then?" "You'll find you have made a big mistake." "Bah!" Duncan Yates was withering in his scorn. With a contemptuous gesture he turned toward the door. It seemed that Merriwell was on the point of leaping after him, but Frank still managed to hold himself in restraint. Puss Parker seemed grieved. "It's too bad!" he said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't have believed it. You are done for here, Merriwell." "That's right," nodded Forrest. "You can never recover after this. It's the greatest mistake of your life, man." "Come!" cried Yates from the door, which he was holding open. "You are foolish to waste further breath on him." Then all three went out, not one of them saying good-by. When they were gone Frank felt like tearing up and down the room and slamming things about, but he did nothing of the sort. He believed in controlling his emotions, and so he stood quite still till the first fierce anger had left him. Then came regret and doubt. He was sorry he had shown himself on the football field, and he regretted that he had given Inza his promise not to play the game. But it was too late for regret. He could not quell his doubts. He was not certain he had done right, and that was enough to make him wretched. That night Frank was the most miserable fellow in Yale. It did not seem any fault of his that had brought him into such a wretched predicament, and yet he was thoroughly disgusted with himself. He could not study, he could do nothing but think. Sometimes he was determined to go to Inza and ask her to release him from his promise, and then he would think how his enemies would say he had been driven into it.