He had sharp curves and good control.

If he had a head, they said, he was all right.

But this was something that could not be decided till he had been tried in a game.
Another freshman by the name of Walter Gordon seemed certain to be the regular pitcher of the team.

He had a record, as he had shown, while Merriwell would say nothing about what he had done in the way of pitching.
The students had found it extremely difficult to find out much about Merriwell, as he persistently avoided talking about himself.

If he had been one of the kind of fellows who go around and brag about themselves and what they have done he would not have aroused so much interest; but the very fact that he would not talk of himself made the students curious to know something of his history.
In a vague sort of way it became known that although he lived in simple style, like any freshman whose parents were not wealthy, he had a fortune in his own right and had traveled extensively in various parts of the world.
Frank's silence seemed to cast an air of mystery about him, and that air of mystery made him all the more interesting, for the human mind is ever curious to peer into anything that has the flavor of a secret.
The sophomores had been rushed by the freshmen, and they resolved to retaliate in a similar manner.