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