o the stable where it was
kept. The horse was already guarded. Two servants sat in the stall,
two sat outside, and two remained near the door. The Mayor's brother
was also there.

"'What is this?' the brother asked.

"'This fellow wants to sell his saddle,' replied the Mayor.

"'Then arrest him,' cried the brother, 'for he is the thief.'

"'Nonsense,' replied the Mayor. 'He is a very honest man and I will
vouch for him.'

"Then the Mayor called his brother aside and told him why the man with
the saddle had come to see the horse.

"Tip-Top talked with the men who had been set to guard the horse, and
he soon found that one of them was an accomplice of the thief. This
man made a swift sign to Tip-Top, and placed his finger on his mouth.
Tip-Top replied by closing his eyes with his fingers, as if to show
that he saw nothing. When he had an opportunity he said to this man:--

"'Tell your master I will be willing to sell the saddle to-night. I
will sleep with it under my head on the next corner. It is worth one
thousand pieces of gold.'

"Then he returned to the Mayor, and they went away. Tip-Top laughed as
they walked along. 'This thief,' he remarked, 'is a fool. It is so
easy to steal a horse that he will not buy a saddle. He will try to
steal mine. Then we shall catch him. He will get the horse--'

"'What!' cried the Mayor; 'get the horse?'

"'Certainly; nothing is easier,' replied Tip-Top. 'He will get the
horse, and then he will want a saddle. He will be passing the wall
here. He will see me sleeping with my head on my friend and then he
will attempt to steal it, but the surcingle will be buckled around my
body, and I will awake and cry blue murder. Then you and your brother
can come forward from the vacant house yonder and seize him.'

"'Where did you learn all this?' asked the Mayor. He began to suspect
that his brother was right when he said that Tip-Top was the thief.

"'My saddle told me,' Tip-Top answered.

"'Well,' said the Mayor, 'your plan is as good as any, but how will
the thief get the horse that is so well guarded?'

"'Ah!' Tip-Top exclaimed, 'if I were to tell you, we should never
catch the thief.'

"So it was all arranged. Tip-Top was to sleep on his Talking-Saddle,
near the wall and the Mayor and his brother were to watch from the
windows of the vacant house opposite.

"When night came, the watchers who had been set to guard the horse
were very anxious. They were ready to arrest any on