You
seem to forget that he's my prisoner, not yours."
"Well, I'll tell you what we're going to do with him," said the bully,
with a blustering air. "We're goin' to hang him as high as that
telegraph pole out thar."
"Bet you anything you've got you don't," said Ted, with a pleasant
smile.
There was a murmur of anger in the crowd.
"Don't let them get me," wailed old Norris.
"Dry up!" said Stella sternly. "Don't you see he's trying to save you."
"Why do you want to hang this old man?" asked Ted.
"Because he whipsawed us all. He's the only one who got any money out of
that race. We gave him five hundred dollars to pull it off. He was
broke, and couldn't have bet a cent on it, anyway. That's why. He said
his horse would win in a walk, and every one of us went broke on it."
"Good! I'm glad to hear it," said Ted heartily. "You ought to have lost.
But I'll tell you one thing, the old man really thought his horse would
win. He didn't know that Bud's horse was the old Mexican racer,
Chiquita; neither did any of us except Bud, who kept the matter to
himself, and there you are.
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