" he declared.

"Of course not. Your visitor must have given you some other name."

"Not on your life," returned Grody, promptly. "He said his name was Jack
Diamond, sir, and I will swear to that."

"Well, this is somewhat interesting!" came grimly from Frank. "What did
he do, Grody?"

"He looked Nemo over, sir."

"Looked Nemo over how--in what way?"

"Why, I offered to take Nemo out of the stall, but he said no, not to
bother, as he only wished to glance at the horse. He went to the stall,
which same I showed him, and looked in. The door wasn't locked, for I
had just been cleanin' the stall out. He opened the door and stood there
some little time. First thing I knew he was gone. I went and looked into
the stall, and he was examinin' Nemo's feet. He seemed wonderful
interested in the horse, and I saw by the way he acted he knew something
about horses."

"The interest deepens," observed Frank. "Go on, Grody."

"When he came out of the stall he says to me, says he, 'Merriwell has
struck a right good piece of horseflesh there.' Says I, 'In the best of
my judgment he has, sir.' Says he, 'I understand he paid a fancy figure
for the gelding, something like a thousand, he told me.' Says I, 'If he
told you that I have no doubt he told you correct, sir.' Then says he,
'Does he mean to race him?' 'That,' says I, 'bein' a friend of Mr.
Merriwell, is something what you should know as well as I, or better.'
Then he says, says he, 'Horses is mighty uncertain property, for you
never can tell what may happen to them.' In this I agreed with him, but
there was something about him I didn't like much. Then he went away."

Frank whistled.

"This is highly interesting," exclaimed Frank. "What did this fellow
look like, Grody? Can you describe him?"

"Well, I looked him over rather careful like, sir, but I don't know as I
can describe him particular, except that he had on a checked suit and
wore a red necktie, in which were a blazer, genuine, or to the contrary.
I know horses, but I'm no judge of diamonds. He was smooth shaved, and
his jaw were rather square and his hair short. The eyes of him never
looked straight at me once. Somehow I didn't think he were a student,
for he made one or two breaks in the words he said that made his talk
different from your student's. He didn't have that sort of real
gentleman way with him neither."

Frank turned to his friends.

"Now what do you suppose this business means, fellows?" he asked.