BURT L. STANDISH Ultimate Collection: 24 Action Thrillers in One Volume (Illustrated). Burt L. Standish
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 work them 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 sum for 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 introduced myself 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. When we 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."
CHAPTER V.
WHAT A HAIR CAN DO.
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 he said 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