"That's right," nodded Harlow. "If Merriwell gave him that mug and those beautiful eyes, I don't wonder that he wants to get square."
Hartwick was silent. He was looking Mike Hogan over, and he was thinking:
"Is it possible I have fallen to the point where I have to take such a fellow as a comrade? No! It will not be as a comrade. We can use him as a tool, perhaps, and that is what we will do, if we use him at all."
"Sit down," invited Hartwick, suddenly rising and offering Mike his chair. "I'll get another. I want to hear just how you came by those eyes."
Hogan sat down at the table and Hartwick brought a chair from a corner.
"We are all anxious to hear how you came by those eyes," declared Harlow.
"Some gent order drinks, and I will tell ye. Never mind," he cried, as he saw them look at each other knowingly, as if they thought he was trying to workthem for liquor, "I'll order, myself! Don't you think for a second that I'm broke!"
Then he flung a small roll of bills on the table before them, reached past Harlow, and pressed the button. When the waiter appeared, he said:
"Give these gents anything they want, Pete."
"Wot if they orders champagne?" grinned Pete, winking at the boys.
"Then bring it, dern ye!" snarled Hogan, as he grabbed up the roll of money and thrust it at the waiter. "Take the pay out of that and gimme the change."
Drinks were ordered and quickly brought. Hogan paid for them and gave the waiter a quarter as a tip.
"How about it, Pete?" he asked. "Am I all right?"
"Ye're all right, Mike," declared the waiter, promptly; "and the young gents will find that anything you says sticks."
Then he went out.
"Now," said Hogan, "before I begin I want to tell you chaps this: I'm on the make. That is how I happened to get up against this chap Merriwell. I heard that he paid a cool thousand for that horse of his, and I kinder admitted that a boy who could pay that sumfor a horse must be in circumstances that would permit him to burn money in an open grate. Such a chap was worth my attention. I know horses from their hoofs to the tips of their ears. There ain't much of anything I don't know about 'em. And I knew Merriwell must be stuck on the horse for which he paid a thousand plunks.
"Well, gents, I'll tell ye my scheme. I kinder thought it would be easy to play the horse doctor, and work Merriwell for a good pot. All that was necessary was to make something ail the horse. Then I went round to the stable where he keeps the critter, after I had first learned the name of one of Merriwell's friends. I wanted to get at the horse, and I knew it wouldn't be easy unless I appeared to be on the inside track with Merriwell. I went round and said I was this friend of Merriwell, and in that way I got into the stall with the horse.
"Don't you care what I done to make that horse lame, but I done it all right. When Merriwell rode out this afternoon the critter went to limpin' under him. When he came back to the stable I was there, but I had changed my clothes and I wore a beard. I introducedmyself as a horse doctor, and offered to cure his horse, or not to charge him a dollar. If I cured the critter, which I could do easy, I meant to charge him a hundred dollars, and I thought he'd be fool enough to pay it without a kick."
"That shows you didn't know the kind of a fellow you were trying to fool," said Harris.
"I found that out all right. He wouldn't make any talk with me. Then when I got hot and was going away he suddenly took a notion to stop me. The first thing I knew he had snatched off my hat and beard, and the hostler recognized me as the same chap as was in to see the horse this afternoon.
"I didn't feel alarmed then," Mike went on, "for Merriwell is a young chap, and I know something about fighting. That is, I thought I knew something about it. I'm not sure about that now. I told him to get out of the way, or I would do him up. I saw my scheme was bu'sted, but I felt sure it'd be some time before he'd find out what ailed his horse.
"That young fool didn't seem at all scared of me. He wouldn't get out of the way and let me go, but he put himself in my way, and then we had it. Whenwe got through I found that I had it, and I had it bad. There ain't no need to tell just what happened. Take a look at my mug and you'll see for yourself. That young cuss can fight like a tiger!
"But now I'm goin' to get level with him, and don't you fergit it! I'll make him sorry that he ever gave Mike Hogan a pair of black eyes! I'll never be satisfied till I have done him the worst kind of a turn.
"I heard you chaps talkin', and it struck me that we might pull together to do him dirt. That's why I came right in. What do you say to it?"
The boys looked at each other, and then they nodded approval.
"You'll do," said Harris. "You may prove a very valuable man for us."
At his first opportunity to get away from recitations the following day Frank took Diamond and Rattleton and hastened down to the stable to find out how Nemo was coming along.
Grody, who had just saddled a horse for a gentleman, met Frank, and the expression on his face was anything but reassuring.
"Well, how is the pony this morning?" asked Merriwell, anxiously.
"Just as lame as he were, sir," answered Grody. "I've been tryin' to find out what it were that happened to him, but I can't, sir."
"Did you take him to the shoer the first thing this morning and have his feet examined, as I directed?"
"I did that, sir."
"And what did the shoer say?"
"He located the lameness in the same foot what we said were lame, sir, and he took off the shoe, but hesaid as how it were all right, and no fault of the shoeing. He didn't know but a nail might have gone too deep, sir, but he found that were not it."
This was anything but satisfactory, and Frank showed it by his face.
"Well," he said, "you know I told you to summon Dr. Cobb, if it proved something beyond the shoeing."
"And that were what I done, sir."
"And the doctor could not tell what ailed the horse?"
"The doctor has not come yet, sir. He were busy when I send the message to him, but he said—— Here he is now, sir."
A rig drew up at the door, and a short, stubbed, red-bearded man stepped out. This man entered the stable with a quick step and called to the hostler:
"Well, Grody, did you telephone me?"
"Yes, sir, I did, sir," said the hostler, quickly.
"Important case, you said?"
"Yes, sir, very important."
"Where's the horse?"
"I'll bring him right out, sir."
The hostler hastened to do so, and Dr. Cobb looked keenly at Nemo.
"Walk him around," directed the doctor.
Grody obeyed.
"Just a bit lame," commented the doctor. "It may be a slight strain. It doesn't seem to be much."
"But it grows worse when he is taken out on the road," said Frank. "It was very bad yesterday afternoon."
The doctor glanced at the boy.
"Your horse?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"When did you first notice he was lame?"
"Yesterday afternoon."
"Had him out this morning?"
"Grody took him to the shoer, that's all."
"What did he say?"
"Said there was nothing the matter with the way Nemo is shod."
"Perhaps he lied. Didn't want to hurt his business. Did he do anything?"
"Yes, he reset the shoe on the lame foot."
"Hum! Horse may be all right by to-morrow or next day."
"I do not think he will, doctor."
"Eh? Why not?"
"Because I have reasons to believe he was made to go lame."
"Is that so? Well, now the matter becomes more interesting. What causes you to think anything of the sort?"
Frank explained, and the doctor listened attentively to his story.
"This is worth investigating," he declared. "I know a few of the tricks of these fellows, and I think I'll find out what was done to your horse, if anything was done."
The boys watched the doctor with great interest. They saw him examine the lame leg from the knee down. In doing this he put on a pair of spectacles.
Nemo was nervous. He seemed afraid the doctor would hurt him, and it was not found easy to make him stand.
At last Dr. Cobb uttered a sharp exclamation.
"Bring my case, which you will find under the seat in my carriage, Grody," he directed.
Grody hastened to obey.
"Have you found out what the matter is, doctor?" Frank anxiously asked.
"I believe so, but I am not sure yet."
Jack and Harry came near, eager to learn what had been done to lame the horse.
The doctor opened his case, and took out some tweezers.
"Do you see this hair here?" he asked, having brushed the fetlock aside and taken the end of a hair in his fingers.
The boys saw it, but wondered what that hair could have to do with the lameness of the horse.
"It is not the right color," declared the doctor. "You see it is white, instead of being the color of the other hairs here."
Despite himself Frank felt his anger rising. How could the color of a hair make the horse lame? Did the man take him for a fool because he was a boy?
The three boys exchanged glances, and Harry made a threatening gesture at the back of the doctor's head.
"I see the hair is white, sir," said Frank, his voice cold and hard; "but I scarcely think a white hair couldmake my horse go lame. I know I am a boy, but I do not like to be taken for a fool."
The doctor looked up and saw the indignation expressed on the faces of the three lads. Then he chuckled in a singular way and said:
"Wait till I get through, young man. I do not take you for a fool ordinarily, but you can easily make a fool of yourself over this matter."
He had taken the short white hair, which was very coarse, in his fingers, having separated it from the others.
"Notice the peculiar place where this hair seems to grow," he directed. "It is not a part of the fetlock, but the fetlock hid it from view. I am going to pull this hair out, but first I want you to notice that there is another hair, it seems, on the other side of the ankle, and it is just like this. See it?"
The boys saw it.
"In a moment you won't see it," declared the doctor, as he adjusted the tweezers, getting a careful grip on the end of the hair. "Here it comes."
Then he quickly drew it out and Nemo started a bit, but was quieted by Grody.
"Young man," said the doctor, "look at this. This hair appeared to be about an inch in length, but now it is three inches long. It is not broken off, and yet it has no root. I will guarantee there is not another hair on this horse like it! I will guarantee it did not grow on this horse! I will guarantee it was what made this horse lame! And I do not want my fee if this horse shows any lameness two hours from now!"
The boys were astonished, as their faces indicated.
"But, doctor, I do not understand!" cried Frank. "You must explain. How could a hair——"
"I will explain. It's an old trick, but one seldom tried. This hair came from the tail of a white horse. It was threaded into a long, keen needle. The fellow who got at your horse yesterday was an expert. With one jab of that needle he passed the hair through the flesh just back of this cord. It went in at one side, and came out on the other. After that, while he was pretending to look at the horse's feet, he clipped off the ends, and the hair was left in there. It could remain a day or so without doing any particular injury, but it was bound to make the horse lame as soon as he usedthat leg much. If it had been left there permanently it might have ruined the horse. That is all, young man."
"Why was a white hair chosen, doctor?"
"The fellow felt sure it would not be noticed, and yet he could quickly locate it by its color when the time came for him to cure your horse of its lameness."
Once more the boys looked at each other, and this time it was plain they realized there were some things they did not know.
"Doctor," said Frank, promptly, "I wish to beg your pardon. I believe I said something rather hastily, but now I wish to say that you know your business thoroughly."
The doctor smiled, and closed his case.
"I have been in the business all my life," he said, "but I expect to continue to learn something new about it as long as I live. I will say that I doubt if I should have seen what was the matter with your horse if you had not told me of the fellow you believed had lamed him and how the horse kicked up a racket when theman was in the stall. That set me to looking for tricks, and I found the hair."
Frank offered to pay the doctor, but he refused to take it then, saying:
"Here's my card, young man. If your horse is all right this afternoon you may send me five dollars. You may need me again some time."
Then he strode out of the stable, flung the case under the seat, scrambled into his carriage, caught up the reins, and away he went in a hurry.
"Well, may I be farred and tethered—I mean tarred and feathered!" cried Harry Rattleton. "I never saw anything like that before."
"Nor I," confessed Jack Diamond. "It's astonishing! I have learned something to-day that I never knew before. I never would have dreamed that a hair could lame a horse in that way!"
"You want to look out for Nemo now," said Harry, "and not let that chap get at him again."
"I mean to," asserted Frank. "I have sent for my colored boy, Toots, to come on and keep watch herewhen Grody is unable to do so. Till he gets here, Grody, I want you to watch Nemo like a hawk. I hardly think the whelp will try another trick, but there is no telling. I gave him a bad thumping."
"But not half what he deserved!" cried Diamond.
Nemo's lameness seemed to vanish as if by magic, and Frank was well satisfied. Grody took the utmost care of Nemo till Toots arrived.
The colored boy was delighted to come on to New Haven, and, as he was a lover of horses, his new occupation suited him very well. When Frank could not find time to take the horse out for his daily exercise Toots did it.
One evening a party of students gathered in Diamond's room. He had invited them there to show them his new bulldog.
Diamond had a fad, and it was dogs. His dog had caused trouble between Diamond and Merriwell early in their college career by taking a strip out of Frank's trousers. That dog had received mortal injuries in a fight, and now Diamond had another dog.
"Isn't he a beauty!" cried Jack, as he displayed theugly-looking brute. "Look at that head and those jaws! He comes from a line of gladiators."
"What do you call him, Diamond?" asked Ben Halliday.
"Prince."
"Put not thy trust in princes," croaked Dismal Jones.
"Is he kind?" asked Bandy Robinson.
"Oh, he has a sunny disposition," assured Jack, smiling.
"A sunny disposition," chirped Griswold, from the top of the table, upon which he had climbed so that he might be out of the way. "By that I presume that you mean he will make it hot for any other dog he may tackle."
"Hold on, Danny, old man!" cried Jack, reprovingly. "Haven't I treated you right?"
"Not lately, but if you've got any beer in the coop you can."
"That gives me a pain!" cried Robinson.
"You must have been eating window glass," chuckled Griswold. "That's how you happen to feel the pane."
"You ramed little bunt—I mean you blamed little runt!" exclaimed Rattleton, catching Danny by theneck. "If you keep up this reckless punning you'll receive a check some day."
"I hope so," was the instant retort. "I'm broke, and I sent to the governor for one to-day."
"Let him alone, Harry," advised Merriwell, laughing. "You simply make him worse by talking to him."
"That's the only thing I have against Griswold," declared Jack. "He will pun in the most reckless manner at all times. Some of his jokes are not what they are cracked up to be."
"Like the eggs we used to get down at Mrs. Harrington's when we were freshmen," grinned Griswold.
"Even the vilest sinner may repent and be forgiven," came solemnly from Dismal Jones. "There's a faint ray of hope for Griswold."
"But it's mighty dim," declared Robinson.
Once more attention was given to Jack's dog, and Diamond pointed out the animal's fine features.
"When are dogs at their best?" asked Halliday, seriously.
"In winter," Griswold instantly put in. "There are no flies on them then."
"Smother him!" howled Robinson, wildly.
"Smother time," cackled Danny, as he slipped off the table and dodged around a chair to get out of reach.
Halliday caught up a pair of scissors and pretended to sharpen them, looking at Griswold as if he meant to shed his gore.
"What are you going to do?" asked Danny. "Going into the scissors-grinding business? It's great when things are dull."
It was plain that Danny could not be suppressed, and so the boys tried to ignore him. Prince was admired some more, and then Halliday picked up a banjo, put it in tune, and sang a song.
"Your voice is somewhat off color to-night, old man," observed Robinson, "and I think you skipped a bar."
"You don't know him," cried Griswold, instantly. "I was out with him last night and he didn't skip any."
Then almost every other fellow in the room grabbed up something and threw it at Danny, who could do nothing but shield his face and take the pelting he received.
"Diamond is a dog crank, and Merriwell is a horsecrank," said Robinson. "By the way, I hear you think of racing your horse this spring, Merriwell?"
"Who told you that?" asked Frank.
"Who told me? Oh, I don't know. Is it a secret? I think I have heard several fellows speak of it."
"Oh, I don't know as it is a secret," said Frank. "I may try him in some small country race, if I get a good opportunity; but I am not likely to have much of a chance, between baseball, rowing, and my studies. I'm kept pretty busy."
"The only wonder to me is that you get time to study at all," declared Halliday. "I never before saw a fellow who could carry on so many things at the same time and make successes of them all."
"I hear two more men have been dropped a class," said Diamond.
"That's right," sighed Jones. "Dorman and Street have departed hence. May peace go with them."
"Poor old Easy!" exclaimed Robinson. "He was a fine fellow, but he was altogether too easy. He wouldn't skin, and he couldn't keep up with the push."
"There are some other fellows who are bound to gosooner or later," observed Rattleton. "I can name several."
"Both Harris and Ditson are bound to get it in the neck," said Griswold. "They are skinners of the worst kind."
"That's right," agreed Halliday. "Ditson is an expert at it. He spends more time and ingenuity in concocting schemes to fool the examining tutor or professor than it would take to learn his subjects ten times over."
"Sure's you're born!" exclaimed Jones. "Why, he has his finger nails, cuffs, and the palms of his hands covered with writing and diagrams every time he knows he is to be called up, and in this way he always succeeds in making a clean rush."
"Harris knows something about photography," said Halliday, "and he is continually making minute pictures of diagrams and writing, which he arranges on little tabs, which he can hold in his palm. He seldom flunks, but he'll trip some time."
"Hanged if I can see why fellows should work so hard to fool tutors or professors when they might learnall that was required of them without half the trouble," cried Harry.
"That is easy enough to explain," smiled Merriwell. "Harris is a natural gambler. He delights in excitement and danger, and he actually enjoys taking such desperate ventures."
"Well, there is something in that," laughed Rattleton. "I never regarded it that way before. I'll be fanged if there isn't hascination in it—no, I'll be hanged if there isn't fascination in it!"
"It's too bad this matter was mentioned, fellows," said Merriwell, with pretended seriousness. "I regret it very much."
"Why?" asked Robinson, curiously.
"Notice how excited Rattleton has become over it? He's not quite such a sport as Harris, but he had rather take chances on anything than eat, and it's ten to one he'll be skinning within a week."
"Sometimes a fellow has to skin," declared Griswold.
"Did you ever, Danny?" asked Diamond.
"Did I? Well! I have a patent scheme of my own."
"What is it?" asked Rattleton, eagerly.
"Why, I have a box of chalk crayons which I bought for myself. I have soaked them in alum water till they are hard, and I usually have several of them about my person. They are covered with diagrams and everything that may prove interesting or necessary. But I want to tell you something. I never use 'em unless I am driven to the wall."
"By that he means the blackboard," laughed Halliday.
"And you were talking about Harris and Ditson being skinners!" came reproachfully from Jones. "My dear young man, there is a place that burneth with fire and brimstone!"
"That is reserved for liars," chuckled Danny. "Jones, beware, any moment may be your next."
"That's right," agreed Jones, sadly. "I am sure I shall not live to see another day—if I die to-night."
"Gentleman," said Merriwell, "death is a grave subject to jest upon. You'd better bury it."
"That's all right," put in Robinson. "If he catches cold any of us may go to coffin."
"I'll not undertaker pun," murmured Rattleton.
Then there was a deathlike silence, and the lads all looked at one another reproachfully.
"Let's change the subject," cried Diamond. "Speaking of Ditson, I believe he claims to have blue blood in his veins. Says his ancestors came over on theMayflower, and were among the first to settle in this country."
"They may have settled," said Griswold, "but none of his family has ever settled since that time. They owe everybody that will trust them."
"Ditson has stuck his friends right and left since coming to Yale, till he has not a friend left," said Robinson.
"Why, he owed Hartwick several hundred dollars when Hartwick left," declared Diamond.
"Just the same, Hartwick is back in New Haven and in is chummy with Ditson again," asserted Jones.
Merriwell displayed some interest.
"How do you know he is chummy with Ditson?" he asked.
"I have seen them together!"
"That means something!" cried Rattleton, excitedly."Those pads are cotting—I mean those cads are plotting! You want to look out for trouble, Merry!"
"I will!" exclaimed Frank. "Ditson is treading on dangerous ground. If he makes a break, I'll descend on him. I have been easy with a chap of his treacherous nature quite long enough."
"Too long!" burst fiercely from Diamond. "If I had been in your place I'd ended Mr. Ditson's career long ago."
"I don't know what the fellows can do to injure me," said Frank.
"They'll find some way to give it to you if you don't watch out," said Rattleton. "Perhaps one of them hired that fellow to lame your horse."
"Perhaps so."
"You think a great deal of that horse," said Jack. "You want to be constantly on your guard or something will happen to it."
"Toots is on the watch, and any one will have hard work getting the best of that darky. He is about as sharp as they make 'em."
"He is a very clever coon," admitted Harry; "andhe seems to know his business, still you can't tell what may happen."
"I wouldn't have anything happen to Nemo for worlds. I don't quite understand why I think so much of that horse, but he is a wonderfully intelligent creature."
"Don't tell that you care so much for him. If your enemies were to find it out they would scheme to fix Nemo."
"I'd have no mercy on the person that injured that horse."
"What's the matter with your dog, Jack?" asked Robinson. "He is acting in a very queer manner."
Prince was sniffing at the door, whining and growling, while the hair on his neck bristled in a significant manner.
Diamond got up and quickly approached the door. In a moment he flung it open, and out shot Prince.
There was a sound of swiftly retreating feet, a clatter on the stairs, a scramble, a shout of pain or fear, and a sudden blow.
"Quick, fellows!" cried Jack, excitedly. "Prince has found an eavesdropper!"
They rushed out, they sprang down the stairs, and at the foot they found the dog, apparently in a dazed condition, but with a piece of cloth in his mouth.
"Good dog!" cried Jack. "Where is he?"
Prince growled and chewed away at the piece of cloth.
"He got away," said Frank. "He must have struck Prince with a heavy cane, or a club, for we heard the blow. The dog was stunned, but he held fast to this piece of the fellow's trousers."
"After him!" spluttered Rattleton. "He may not be able to get away! We'll try to capture him!"
But the effort was vain. The eavesdropper had made good his escape.
After a little time the boys all came back to Diamond's room. They found Jack examining the piece of cloth, which he had taken from the bulldog with no small difficulty.
"It is from somebody's trousers," said Jack, seriously. "Whoever the sneak was, he'll have to buy a new pair. He hit Prince a frightful blow behind the ear, but the good old fellow held fast to this trophy."
"If we'd nabbed the fellow, we wouldn't have done a thing to him—not a thing!" cried Griswold.
"See if any of you fellows recognize this piece of cloth as belonging to the clothing of any chap you know," invited Diamond.
They all examined it.
"If I mistake not," said Dismal Jones, "this came from a certain section of a certain individual's trousers, and the section to which I refer is located about eight inches south of the back strap."
"And the fellow," exclaimed Robinson, "the fellow is——"
"Roland Ditson!" finished Rattleton.
"In that case," said Diamond, "Merriwell's enemies have received a good tip concerning his fondness for Nemo. You will have to be doubly careful about that horse after this, Frank."
If Roland Ditson was the person from whose trousers the piece of cloth had been torn he took good care to destroy what he had retained of the breeches without delay, for they were never again seen in his possession.
The figure on the cloth was not pronounced enough to distinguish it in a manner to make it absolute proof that it came from a garment owned by Roland.
Nevertheless Diamond accused Ditson of listening at his door, but Roll vigorously denied that he had done so. Diamond told him he was a natural-born prevaricator, and let it go at that.
But Ditson was watched like a hawk by the boy from Virginia, for Jack felt sure the fellow was up to crookedness.
Frank Merriwell knew that if Ditson had been listening to the conversation that was taking place inthat room his enemies must know in what light he regarded Nemo.
This caused Frank to caution both Toots and Grody to redouble their vigilance in watching over and caring for the splendid creature.
"Don' yo' worry about me, Marser Frank," assured the darky lad. "Dat's de fines' hawse dat dis chile ebber seen, an' I'se gwan ter watch ober heem lek he wus de apple ob mah eye."
"I have decided to enter Nemo in the Mystic Park races at Bethany, Toots," Merriwell declared, "and I think I'll let you ride him, my boy."
Toots showed two rows of gleaming ivories and beamed with the greatest delight.
"If yer done dat, Marser Frank, I'se gwan ter win on dat hawse jes ez shore ez yeh bawn, sar!" he cried. "I'se done rid dat critter enough teh know he's a wondah, sar. Dat hawse is wuf a forchune, sar!"
"If you win, Toots, I may give you a chance to ride him in some races later in the season."
"If I don' win dat race, I done hope I nebber dror annodder bref, sar!" cried the darky boy, excitedly. "Dat'll show yo' what yo' kin do at de Coney Islan'races. If yo's gwan ter gamble on dat hawse, yo's a dead sho' winnar, sar!"
"I am not much of a gambler, Toots, but I may back Nemo for a little something."
"Yo'll win, Marser Frank. If dis darky ebber knowed what he wus talking about yo'll win!"
Frank's enemies seemed remarkably quiet, but something told him that every move he made was watched. This was true, and they soon knew exactly what races he intended to enter Nemo for, and that the darky was going to ride the horse.
One night Harris, Hartwick, Harlow, Ditson and Mike Hogan met in the saloon where they had first formed a combine against Merriwell. They were there by appointment, called together by Hartwick, who seemed to have assumed the leadership.
Hartwick was taking no chances on any thin partitions, and so he secured a little back room in the place, where it seemed that nothing could be overheard by any one who might chance to be watching them.
Drinks were ordered, and when they were brought and the waiter had departed Hartwick said:
"Gentlemen, we may as well get down to business atonce. I have called you together to make arrangements for striking a blow at our common enemy."
"Well, I think it's erbout time!" growled Mike Hogan. "I've been wantin' ter do something fer a long while, but you have kept holdin' me back."
"You have been too much on the jump, my friend," said Hartwick, scowling. "If we'd let you gone it alone you'd had Merriwell on his guard, and that would have ruined everything."
"It strikes me that Merriwell is on his guard now," observed Harris. "He acts as if he knew there was something in the wind."
"Well, he doesn't know what."
"I don't know about that, either. He guards that horse as if the animal was worth its weight in dollar bills."
"Which comes entirely from the fact that Hogan here tried to knock the horse out once," declared Harlow.
"I don't know about that, either," said Hartwick. "But I want to say one thing here and now: If there's any one of this party who is playing double and carrying information to Merriwell, he'd better order hisown coffin without delay, for he is bound to be found out, and we'll throw him cold in a minute."
He looked at Ditson in a most significant manner as he said this, but Roll showed no signs of guilt.
"Well, what's yer plan of war, boss?" asked Hogan, impatiently.
"Don't get in too much of a hurry," scowled Hartwick.
"We know Merriwell intends to enter Nemo in the Mystic Park races, at Bethany."
"Yes."
"That is the time to get at him."
"How?"
"He has money to burn. Get him to back Nemo for large sums for any of the first three positions. Give him all sorts of odds, if necessary; but get him to chuck up the dough, and then beat him out."
"That's all right," growled Hogan; "but where's the dough comin' from what is shoved up against his good stuff?"
"Let me alone for that," said Hartwick, significantly. "I know a way to get it, and we'll have it. I wish wemight get Merriwell to stake his entire fortune on that horse. We'd end his career at Yale."
Harris laughed.
"I'd like to know how you are going to get so much money, Hart?" he cried. "Why, I had to lend you twenty as capital the last game of poker you entered."
"Don't let anything worry you if you don't know all about it, Sport," advised Hartwick. "You've got your twenty back, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"Well, you can't kick."
"All right; but I'm afraid your scheme won't work out very well."
"It will, just as hard, if we can depend on Mike here to make sure Merriwell's horse does not win."
"Watcher want me ter do?" asked Mike.
"Doctor the animal at the last moment, if you can't buy off the jockey."
"That's easy! But where does my share of ther profits come in?"
"You shall have your share, don't you worry. We'll have that all arranged in advance."
"Then that goes! I am with yer, gents."
"What are the rest of us to do?" asked Harris.
"There will be something for all of us to do. Ditson must continue to play the spy on Merriwell."
"And that's the most dangerous job of all!" cried Roll. "You know what came near happening to me the night I found out Merriwell intended to put Nemo in the Mystic Park races. I was nearly chewed up by Diamond's dog."
"But you escaped with your life," said Harris.
"Because I took that cane with the loaded end. If it hadn't been for that the infernal dog would have eaten me. I hit him an awful blow. It would have killed any other dog."
"Well," said Harlow, "we'll strike a different kind of a blow directly—one that will do more than lay out a dog."
It was the day of the spring races at Mystic Park, and Bethany was filled with strangers. Horsemen, sporting men, sightseers, touts, race-track gamblers, women in gay attire, and all the different kinds of persons usually seen at a country horse race in the State of Connecticut were on hand.
A number of Yale lads had come up to Bethany to attend the races. The most of them were friends of Frank Merriwell. Some of his enemies were there, also.
Frank had brought Nemo up himself, and he scarcely slept the night before the races. He felt that there was danger in the air.
Nemo had been entered in the "free for all," and his name was on the bills. Frank had been informed that he would be given odds that his horse did not take a purse. He had received an anonymous letter ridiculing him for thinking of entering such a horse. Hehad been taunted and told that he dared not stake money on Nemo.
Merriwell knew well enough that there was a plot afloat, and it seemed that the scheme was to make him lose money on his horse. If he had been timid he would have hesitated about backing Nemo for anything; but the ones who had been taunting him had reckoned well on his mettle, and they had succeeded in pricking his pride and arousing him.
Frank had seen Nemo work on a track with Toots in the saddle. He had timed the horse repeatedly, and he felt confident that Nemo could not fail to take a position if he were in proper form when he entered the race.
Frank sent for money. He demanded it. His guardian did not feel like refusing, as he remembered that his last effort to suppress Frank had resulted in a most painful train of incidents, the culmination being his arrest for kidnaping a baby. He sent Frank a check for the sum desired.
When Bethany was reached Merriwell was approached by a tall, thin man, who wore a Prince Albert coat and looked like a parson. This man introducedhimself as John Baldwin, and he proved to be very "smooth."
Frank knew in a moment that the stranger was trying to catch him for a sucker. He felt like knocking the man down, but, instead of that, he bet three hundred and fifty dollars against a thousand dollars that Nemo would take a purse in the "free for all."
John Baldwin departed, apparently looking for other bloods who wished to take flyers. But Frank was to see Baldwin again. The man came back and in the most sneering manner possible, offered to let him out of his bet for fifty dollars. He told Frank that Nemo was a "dead one" and could not even crawl. The result was that Merriwell bet the man five hundred even that Nemo would take a purse, and there were but three purses in the "free for all."
After Baldwin departed the second time Frank regretted that he had not booted the insolent fellow.
"Never mind," thought the lad. "I'll win his cash all right."
In the morning there was a row in the stable where Nemo was kept. Toots was found vigorously punishing a flashily dressed negro.
"Tek dat, yo' dirty brack nigger!" shouted Toots, as he smashed the other fellow on the nose. "Yo' cayn't com' 'roun' dis chile wid none ob yere 'swinuations an' yore offers ob money to throw de race! I'll kick part ob yore panjaloons clean out frough de top of yore hade, yo' brack son ob a gun!"
The colored boy fought like a furious tiger, and the other fellow, after trying to strike back a few times, took to his heels, leaving a smashed silk hat behind him.
"What's the matter, Toots?" asked Frank, who had rushed to the scene of the conflict, accompanied by others.
"Mattah, sar?" cried Toots, fiercely. "Why, dat brack whelp come call me out ob de stall har, an' he says to me, says he, 'If yo' pulls Nemo so he don' take a purse it am wuff two hundred dollars to yo'.' An' he flashes his roll ob bills in mah face. I didn't wait fo' no mo' conwersashun, sar, but I jes' soaked him a dandy under der ear."
"Good boy, Toots!" laughed Frank. "You're all right!"
"Well, w'en dey fools 'roun' dis chile dey strikes hot stuff," grinned the boy.
Frank knew now that there was a "job" to knife him in the race. Rattleton and Diamond were on hand, and they took turns in helping Toots keep guard over Nemo.
Merriwell was angry. He went out looking for John Baldwin. When he found Baldwin he offered to bet all the money he had about him that Nemo would take either the first or the second purse. Baldwin snapped at the bet in a manner that showed he believed he had a "soft thing."
"You'll go back to Yale broke," he sneered.
"Don't let that worry you," returned Frank, coolly. "It strikes me that the fellow who is furnishing you with cash stands a chance of dropping something."
"You say that very mildly. You're scared now."
"If I had more money about my clothes I'd put it all up."
"That shows what an easy thing you are. I'll take your paper against my good money, and now you don't dare do a thing."
"How much do you want to risk that way?"
"Any sum you like."
"I'll go you for five hundred."
"Done."
Frank had made the original selection of stakeholder, and he had chosen a man who was interested in the track, but was known to be perfectly square. This choice had proved satisfactory to Baldwin.
Once more this man was hunted up, and he felt it his duty to caution Frank. The boy simply smiled.
"Don't lose any sleep about me, Mr. Davis," said Frank, quietly. "It isn't necessary."
Twenty minutes after this bet was made John Baldwin informed Evan Hartwick.
"Good!" cried Hartwick, fiercely. "If I get hold of that piece of paper I'll use it to ruin Frank Merriwell at Yale. I can do it! Nemo must be fixed for fair!"
Then he rushed away.
"Oh, well!" said Baldwin, with a satisfied smile; "I don't care which way the wind blows now. I have made my commission on this work to-day, and I have nothing to lose. If those fellows slip up in their plans it won't be my funeral."
Then he lighted a cigar and strolled away.
Rattleton and Diamond watched Nemo closely, permitting Toots to get an hour's sleep. Then the colored boy came out feeling first rate, and Merriwell showed up to take his friends to have something to eat.
"By Jove!" he exclaimed, with a happy laugh. "One of you fellows will have to loan me the money to settle for the feed. I've staked every cent on Nemo, and I haven't enough left to purchase a sandwich."
"Whew!" whistled Diamond. "Haven't you been plunging pretty steep, old man?"
"Oh, I don't know!" smiled Frank. "We'll have money to start a conflagration with when we return to New Haven."
"I think so," agreed Jack; "but there are slips."
"Now, Toots," said Frank, "we are going to leave Nemo in your care for a short time. You know what I expect of you."
"Yes, sar, an' you may 'pend on me, sar."
"All right, my boy. Come on, fellows."
Away the three went, arm in arm, laughing and joking, like the light-hearted fellows they were.
Ten minutes after they left Toots decided to giveNemo some water. He stepped out of the stall for a bucket. As he picked it up he fancied he heard a suspicious sound inside the stall, and he hurried back.
When the colored boy stepped into the stall he saw a tough-looking young man in a plaid suit offering Nemo an apple. It was Mike Hogan.
"G'wan frum dat hawse, man!" shouted Toots, as he flung the bucket straight at Mike's head.
The bucket struck Hogan, knocked him down, and he lay stunned almost beneath the feet of Frank Merriwell's racer.
An hour later the starter's flag had fallen and the "free for all" at Mystic Park had begun.
Among the spectators were three lads who were excitedly watching the beginning of the race.
They were Hartwick, Harlow and Harris.
"If that horse is doctored I'm a fool!" declared Harlow, his eyes fastened on Frank Merriwell's Nemo.
"He must be—he must be!" palpitated Hartwick, whose eyes were bloodshot and whose face was flushed so that it betrayed he had been drinking heavily.
"Nemo starts all right," said Harris, in an agitatedvoice. "I should not wonder if Harlow were right, Hartwick, my boy."
"Then Hogan has betrayed me!" came gratingly from Hartwick. "If he has I'll have his life!"
"Where is the fellow?" asked Harlow. "He should be on hand."
"That's right, where is he?" echoed Harris. "He has not reported."
"But he was sure he would not fail," said Hartwick. "He had everything fixed with one of the stablemen, and he said he knew he could get into Nemo's stall."
"All the same I'll wager that Frank Merriwell will come out on top again," fluttered Harris. "It is just his luck. Perhaps he has outwitted us in some way."
"No! no!" exclaimed Hartwick, with sudden satisfaction. "See—see there! Already Nemo is dropping behind Black Boy. Pawnee is in the lead, Fanny D. is second, Lightfoot is third, and now Black Boy has pushed ahead of Nemo! Ha! ha! ha! Everything is all right! Hogan has done his work, and the stuff is beginning to tell on Merriwell's racer at just the right time. We'll send the fellow back to Yale penniless, and then I will jump on him with his paper. I'll expose him as a race-track gambler, a fraud, a swindler! I'll ruin his college career, as he ruined mine! But I'll not be satisfied then. I'll hound him till he is weary of his life! I'll make him remember the day he dared lift his hand against Evan Hartwick! I can feel his blow now! It left a mark on my cheek. That mark is not there now, but the scar is on my heart! Nothing can cure it but full and absolute reprisal! This is my first triumph!"
Hartwick almost frothed at the mouth, and his reddish eyes glared as if there were a glowing furnace within his passionate soul.
Evan's companions looked at him with awe, and Harris shivered a bit, drawing a little away.
The passions of the revengeful lad had been wonderfully aroused by the liquor he had taken, and he showed at his very worst just then.
"Toots does not seem to be pushing Nemo as he might," muttered Harlow. "The boy is taking it easy. If I did not know the attempt had failed I should think he had been bought off."
"Pawnee can't hold the lead," declared Harris. "Iam willing to bet all I have that he will not take the race."
"Hang Pawnee!" snarled Hartwick. "I do not care which horses secure the purses, if Merriwell's animal is not one of them."
"Well, it begins to look as if you were safe," came with some satisfaction from Harlow. "Black Boy is the favorite and he is crawling now. Already he is neck and neck with Lightfoot."
Hartwick's hand shook as he adjusted the field glasses he held and brought them to bear on the racing horses.
"It's all right. I know it's all right!" he muttered, hoarsely. "Lightfoot is holding the lead on Nemo. Frank Merriwell's horse is fifth, and the animal will not hold out to get around the track. I believe Nemo is swaying now. The horses behind are gaining! Ha! ha! How it will wring Merriwell's heart to see his beauty come in last!"
"This is early," cautioned Harris. "They have just reached the quarter now. Wait till they pass us before you begin to count your chickens, old man."
The spectators grew excited as the racing horsesswung around the half-mile track and came flying down toward the judges' stand on their first round. Men waved their hats and cheered, the white handkerchiefs of women were fluttering.
"Black Boy! Black Boy! He is the winner for a thousand!" roared a big man in the grand stand.
"Fanny D.! Fanny D.!" shouted another. "She is taking the lead!"
This was true. Pawnee, as Harris had declared, proved unequal to the task of holding the lead. In the second quarter Fanny D. crept alongside and gradually forged ahead, for all that Black Boy's rider used whip and voice.
Poor old Lightfoot was steadily losing ground, and Hartwick ground his teeth as he saw Nemo come into fourth place. Still it did not seem that Merriwell's horse had made a spurt.
And then, as the horses came thundering down the track, a sudden change seemed to come over the black boy on Nemo's back. He leaned far forward, and appeared to be talking into Nemo's ears, which were laid almost straight back. He cut the air with hiswhip, but the lash did not fall on the glossy coat of the handsome animal.
"Look!" palpitated Harlow. "See Nemo! The creature has awakened! That horse is all right! Hartwick, I believe Merriwell will secure third money, after all."
"Not on your life!" ground forth Evan, his eyes glaring. "The creature is doing his best now."
As the foremost racers shot past the judges' stand at the expiration of the first half, it was seen that Fanny D. had taken the lead away from Pawnee, while Black Boy was steadily gaining. Although Nemo had shown a streak of speed he had not grown dangerous.
But now came the time when the mettle of the racers was to be tested. Black Boy responded nobly to whip and voice. He went ahead in a marvelous manner. He was soon nose and nose with Pawnee, and then he took second place, with his nose at Fanny D.'s flank.
But there was another change. Again the black boy on the back of Frank Merriwell's racer leaned forward and talked into the ears of the horse, andthen came a spurt that caused hundreds of spectators to gasp with amazement.
Pawnee struggled nobly to hold third place, but Nemo passed him, and Evan Hartwick nearly choked with fury. Then it was seen that Nemo was gaining on the others. He crept up beside Black Boy till they were nearly even, and thus the two animals passed Fanny D. at the end of the third quarter.
When the home stretch was reached Black Boy was leading by a neck, with Nemo second and Fanny D. third.
Evan Hartwick was nearly beside himself with rage. The language that came from his lips cannot be printed here. In vain his companions tried to calm him. He cursed them both, and struck at them.
Then the voice of another person was heard.
"I slipped on the trick, boss. They caught me, and they didn't do a thing to me—not a thing! My head was near broke and they made me take a bite outer ther apple I was tryin' to feed ther horse. It'd killed me if they'd made me eat ther whole of the apple. I'm sorry, but——"
It was Mike Hogan, his brutal face pale and drawn, if he were, indeed, ill, and a bloody handkerchief tied about his head.
"Your head was near broken!" snarled Hartwick. "You bungling fool! I'll finish the job!"
And then he hit Mike in the face with his fist. They grappled and fell, and, as the other lads were trying to pull them apart, there came a great shout that announced the race was over. The crowd was heard cheering.
"Which won?" was the question Harlow paused to ask.
"Nemo came in first by a full length," replied a spectator.
Then Hogan was dragged off Hartwick, who lay pallid and still on his back, looking as if the end had come for him.
Two nights later a jolly party gathered in Frank Merriwell's room to offer him congratulations. There were speeches, songs, toasts and jests.
"How much will you take for Nemo now, Merriwell?" asked Jack Diamond. "I want to buy him and send him South to my father."
"You can't," laughed Frank. "Your father hasn't money enough to buy the dear old boy."
"But what are you going to do with him?" asked Rattleton. "You must think of the future."
"Not now," smiled Merriwell. "To-morrow is my queen's birthday, and I am thinking of the present."
Bruce Browning loafed into the room.
"Heard the news, fellows?" he asked.
"No; what is it?" cried several voices.
"Hartwick's been arrested."
"Arrested? What for?"
"For robbing his own father of seven thousand dollars. He knew how to get at the old gentleman's dough, and he swiped it several days ago. He's been burning money since then."
"Was the robbery committed before the Mystic Park races?" asked Frank.
"Sure, my boy."
"Then that explains why the mysterious man in black followed me up and drove me into so many bets.He had Hartwick's money, and Hartwick was behind the entire game. Well, all his plots miscarried and he got it in the neck at last."
"Which served him right," declared Jack Diamond, with satisfaction.