to appreciate this, for they all grinned.

"Well," said the lad from Virginia, "Merriwell has brought out his horse
for us to inspect, and I move we do so. After this is over, you may talk
of anything you please."

"It is rather remarkable that you should pay such a price for a mere
saddle horse," declared Browning.

"I simply kept my promise," smiled Frank.

"Your promise?"

"Exactly."

"What promise?"

"The one I made to myself when this horse enabled me to overtake a
runaway that was dragging Winifred Lee to danger and possible death.
This is the animal on which I pursued the runaway, and I took him
without asking leave of the owner. I vowed that if this horse enabled me
to catch and stop the runaway before Miss Lee was harmed I would own the
creature if it took my last dollar," he added.

"And that," cried Griswold, trying to strike a dramatic attitude--"that
is true love!"

"Well, I don't know as I blame you, Merriwell," admitted Bruce.
"Winifred Lee is a stunning girl. But it strikes me that the owner of
the horse swindled you."

A bit of additional color had risen to Frank's cheeks, and he looked
strikingly handsome. The boys knew it would not do to carry the joke
about Winnie Lee too far, and so they refrained.

"The man who owned the horse did not want to sell him at any price,"
explained Frank. "I induced him to set a price that he thought would
settle me, and then I snapped him up so quickly it took away his
breath."

"I should think your guardian would have kicked at throwing up a
thousand for such a purpose."

"He did," laughed Frank, looking at Diamond, who showed a little
confusion. "You remember that Jack, Rattleton and myself went on to
Springfield to meet him a few days ago?"

"And got arrested for kidnaping a baby!" chuckled Griswold. "That was a
corker. We didn't do a thing to you fellows when you got back here!"

"That's right," admitted Jack, dolefully. "Not a thing! You simply
marched us through the streets and onto the campus with a band and
banners and made a stunning show of us!"

"Well," said Frank, "Professor Scotch, my guardian, was so glad to get
out of the scrape when the judge discharged us that he gave up the
thousand without a flutter. That's how I got the money."

"Well," yawned Browning, "now you have the horse, you'll find him an
expensive piece of furniture. It takes money to take care of 'em and
feed 'em."

Diamond had been inspecting the gelding from all s