Could he? He had made up his mind that he would—that nothing on earth should prevent it. When Dick set his mind on anything like that he always won, and this case was no exception. Little by little the horse faltered. And then, with surprising suddenness, it gave out entirely and stopped.
Dick did not relinquish his hold at once. He held on, talking to the animal and trying to allay its fears. In this he succeeded wonderfully, until he soon was confident enough to let up and permit the animal to breathe.
When the creature was fully quieted and under control, young Merriwell turned to the girl in the carriage. He was hatless, flushed, triumphant, handsome.
“You are quite safe, Miss Arlington,” he said.
“Thanks to you,” she answered, in a voice that did not tremble. “But I knew you would do it!”
Dick picked up the reins from the ground when he had succeeded in quieting the horse, and climbed into the carriage.
Two men driving out of town in pursuit of the runaway met Dick Merriwell, with June Arlington at his side, serenely driving back into town.
“By thunder!” said one of the men wonderingly. “This beats the world! He’s stopped the horse and is driving the critter back as cool as you please.”
“Who is he?” asked the other man.
“Dick Merriwell, brother of Frank Merriwell, the great Yale athlete, who used to go to school at Fardale.”