Baker spoke very slowly, and although he appeared to be perfectly unmoved, Frank's heart nevertheless was beating fast He wondered how far he would fall before he struck the water. He dreaded the chill that would come upon him suddenly, but he had no fear of the result, and he was fully determined that he would do his share in this as promptly and boldly as any man who had ever been initiated. "Three!" said Baker. "Jump!" Frank leaped at once, far out from the bridge. He had his lips tightly closed, and he held his breath to avoid taking in a lot of water. To his immense surprise he did not touch the water at all. He could not have fallen two feet before he was caught in strong arms and lifted back to the bridge. Nevertheless he heard a loud splash and a voice saying: "Pull him out at once." "Oh, come off, Rowe!" exclaimed Baker, in a loud tone of voice, "have you forgotten that there's nobody to follow Merriwell?" "Yes, that's so," was the reply, "I'd clean forgotten that." "Well, I'll be hanged!" exclaimed Frank, "if this isn't a worse shock than jumping into the river itself. Was that the way you treated the rest of them?" "Give him a black mark for talking," said Baker, with a hearty laugh. Frank said "Humph!" but nothing else as the students hurried him across the bridge back to land. He was immensely amused by the experience, and on the way to the society rooms he thought it all out, and came to a conclusion on the matter that was very nearly correct. At high tide the water in the Quinnepiac River comes almost to a level with the bridge. The boys always arrange their initiations in such a way that the bridge test shall take place at high tide, and they choose an hour when no trains are due to pass. Then a small fee persuades the bridge keeper to open the draw. A big, flat-bottomed boat is procured and made fast to the bridge just in front of the open edge. Half a dozen of the students get into this boat; some of them receive the leaping neophyte in their arms and clap their hands over his mouth so that he shall not cry out. At the same time other students topple a big log into the water so as to make a splash. The rest of the farce is carried on as described, with the result of making the waiting neophytes believe that their companion has had a cold plunge into the river. Time was when the students made the neophytes really jump into the water, but it was found that many a student whose nerve was supposed to be perfectly good, suffered such a shock from sudden contact with the water that he became seriously ill, so that test was modified in the manner described. The last stage of the initiation that can be described was one of the most ridiculous. Frank was still blindfolded and bound. He was led, he knew not where, but at last halted within a doorway. There his hands were untied and he was told to kneel. He did so, and found that he was at the foot of a flight of stairs.