not yet risen; but there
was a spring-time sweetness in the air, which was not yet enervated by
the languorous heat of summer.

Frank passed beyond the limits of the village, where lights were
twinkling from the windows of the houses, and he swung down the road
toward the cove at a lively gait, still whistling.

At a certain point the road was lined with bushes, and not far away was
the village cemetery.

Frank had reached this lonely locality, when, of a sudden, a feeling of
uneasiness came over him. Somehow it seemed that he was in danger.

Then came a rustle in the bushes, and, the following moment, a dark
form confronted the lad, blocking his path.

Frank recoiled, and through his mind flashed the thought:

"It is the man in black!"

At the same moment, the unknown sprang forward and clutched the lad,
snarling:

"Give me that ring! I will have it! Give it up peaceably, or I will
choke the breath out of your body! Don't shout! It will be the worse
for you if you do!"

Right there and then the man in black met with a great surprise.

Frank grappled with the stranger, and, for some moments, they engaged
in a fierce struggle. At length the boy got the best of it, and, as he
threw the man, he gave his assailant a terrible upper-cut blow.

Having freed himself Frank took to his heels and ran down the road
toward the academy.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE MARKS ON THE BLACK STONE.

Frank fancied he heard pursuing footsteps behind him, but the
mysterious man might have spared himself the effort if he tried to
overtake the lad, for Merriwell almost flew over the ground.

The lights from the windows of the barracks soon appeared through the
trees, and Frank felt relieved when he was safely within the grounds
with the academy buildings looming before him.

A short time later he entered his own room in the "Cock-loft," to find
Bartley Hodge sitting with his feet on the table, smoking a cigarette
and perusing an exciting detective story; but the feet went down to the
floor like a flash, and the cigarette and book disappeared with magical
swiftness as Frank came in.

"Oh!" said Hodge, with a sigh of relief; "it's you, is it, Merriwell?
I thought it might be an inspector."

Frank laughed.

"It would have been rather bad for you if I had been an inspector, for
you did not get that book and cigarette out of sight quick enough to
fool anybody, and the air is full of smoke. You would have stood a
good c