LITMIR.BIZ

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here."

      "Take him to New York."

      "No; those races are beyond my limit. All I want to do is try him for my own satisfaction."

      "Then run him into the Mystic Park races at Bethany. You can do that quietly enough."

      "That's so," said Browning. "You can do that without attracting too much attention to yourself."

      "We'll all go up and see the race," declared Griswold. "It will be great sport. Do it, old man!"

      "But where can I get a jockey I can trust?"

      "You'll have to scrub around for one, and take chances."

      "No!" cried Merriwell, as a sudden thought struck him. "I can do better than that."

      "How?"

      "I have the fellow."

      "Who?"

      "A colored boy at home. He is fond of horses."

      "Has he ever ridden in a race?"

      "Twice."

      "Did he win?"

      "Once. My uncle, who kindly left me his fortune, was a crank on fast horses, and he owned a number of them. Toots could ride some of them that would allow nobody else to mount them. Uncle Asher had horses in the races every year, but he was often 'done' by his jockeys. He knew it well enough, but he found it impossible to get the sort of jockey he wanted. Toots begged to ride a race, but he was a little shaver, and uncle was afraid. Finally, one day, just before a race was to come off, Uncle Asher discovered that his jockey had sold out. At the last moment he fired the fellow, and was forced to let Toots ride, or withdraw his horse. Toots rode, and won. The next time he rode he might have won, but the horse was doped."

      "He's just the chap you want!" nodded Jack, with satisfaction. "Put Nemo into the Bethany races, and let Toots ride him."

      "I'll think of it," said Frank.

      A hostler approached the group.

      "Howdy do, Mr. Merriwell, sir?" he said. "One of your friends called to see your horse this morning, sir."

      "One of my friends?" cried Frank, in surprise. "Who was it?"

      "He gave his name as Diamond, sir—Jack Diamond."

      Merriwell immediately turned on Jack and asked:

      "Hello, how about this? Did you call to see Nemo this morning?"

      "Not much!" exclaimed Jack. "This is the first time I have been here. The hostler is mistaken."

      "You must have misunderstood your visitor, Grody," said Frank. "He could not have given his name as Jack Diamond, for this is Jack Diamond here."

      The man stared at Jack, and then shook his head.

      "That's not the feller," he declared.

      "Of course not. Your visitor must have given you some other name."

      "Not on your life," returned Grody, promptly. "He said his name was Jack Diamond, sir, and I will swear to that."

      "Well, this is somewhat interesting!" came grimly from Frank. "What did he do, Grody?"

      "He looked Nemo over, sir."

      "Looked Nemo over how—in what way?"

      "Why, I offered to take Nemo out of the stall, but he said no, not to bother, as he only wished to glance at the horse. He went to the stall, which same I showed him, and looked in. The door wasn't locked, for I had just been cleanin' the stall out. He opened the door and stood there some little time. First thing I knew he was gone. I went and looked into the stall, and he was examinin' Nemo's feet. He seemed wonderful interested in the horse, and I saw by the way he acted he knew something about horses."

      "The interest deepens," observed Frank. "Go on, Grody."

      "When he came out of the stall he says to me, says he, 'Merriwell has struck a right good piece of horseflesh there.' Says I, 'In the best of my judgment he has, sir.' Says he, 'I understand he paid a fancy figure for the gelding, something like a thousand, he told me.' Says I, 'If he told you that I have no doubt he told you correct, sir.' Then says he, 'Does he mean to race him?' 'That,' says I, 'bein' a friend of Mr. Merriwell, is something what you should know as well as I, or better.' Then he says, says he, 'Horses is mighty uncertain property, for you never can tell what may happen to them.' In this I agreed with him, but there was something about him I didn't like much. Then he went away."

      Frank whistled.

      "This is highly interesting," exclaimed Frank. "What did this fellow look like, Grody? Can you describe him?"

      "Well, I looked him over rather careful like, sir, but I don't know as I can describe him particular, except that he had on a checked suit and wore a red necktie, in which were a blazer, genuine, or to the contrary. I know horses, but I'm no judge of diamonds. He was smooth shaved, and his jaw were rather square and his hair short. The eyes of him never looked straight at me once. Somehow I didn't think he were a student, for he made one or two breaks in the words he said that made his talk different from your student's. He didn't have that sort of real gentleman way with him neither."

      Frank turned to his friends.

      "Now what do you suppose this business means, fellows?" he asked.

      "It means crookedness!" declared Diamond, rather excitedly. "I am dead sure of that!"

      "It looks that way," admitted Browning.

      "But what sort of crookedness can it mean?" asked Frank, bewildered. "What is the game?"

      "That will develop later; but there is some kind of a game on, be sure of that," asserted Jack. "If not, why should anybody come here and give a fictitious name? That gives the whole thing away. Look out, Frank, all your enemies are not sleeping!"

      "Well, it is time they let up on me," said Merriwell, seriously. "They have brought nothing but disaster and disgrace on themselves thus far, and——"

      "Some of them are looking for revenge, mark what I say."

      "I am tired of being bothered and harassed by petty enemies!" exclaimed Frank. "I have had considerable patience with the fellows who have worked against me, but there is a limit."

      "That's right, and they would have reached the limit with me long ago," declared Diamond.

      "Well, it is like this, Jack," said Frank; "it is almost always true that not all of a man's enemies are bad fellows. To begin with, you remember that you were my enemy, and now we are friends, and this is not the first time such a thing has happened with me."

      "Well, if a man were bucking against me, I do not think I would wait to see how he would turn out before I bucked back."

      "Oh, I am not in the habit of doing that. You will remember that I bucked back pretty hard in your case."

      Jack did remember it, and he felt that Merriwell was capable of holding his own with his foes.

      "You will do well to look out for your horse, all the same," said Diamond.

      "That's right," grunted Browning. "If I were in your place, Merriwell, I'd watch out pretty sharp."

      "I will," said Frank. "I'll have Toots come on here and keep watch over Nemo most of the time. When he is not here, Grody can take his place. If I have an enemy who thinks of stealing my horse, he'll have hard work to accomplish his design."

      "Unless he does it before you get things arranged," said Griswold. "Put him up, Merriwell, and let's get out."

      "I am going for a ride," said Frank. "Put the saddle on him, Grogan. Will see you later, fellows, if you are going now."

      "We'll wait till you leave," yawned Browning. "There's no reason why we should tear our clothes hurrying away."

      "You are not liable to tear your clothes doing anything," laughed Frank.

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