CHAPTER XVI.
"THE FINEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO FAIRFIELD!"
After the second in the race, Felix Wagner, had come in, one of the first things the boy from Fairfield did was to hunt out Lil Artha, shake hands with him heartily, and congratulate him.
"I'd like to have beat you, all right," he said with a whimsical grimace; "but I take it no fellow had need of feeling ashamed about playing second fiddle to such a giant on a hike as you, Lil Artha. And that goes."
Elmer had watched this meeting with eagerness; and he immediately turned to Mr. Garrabrant.
"That settles one thing I've been worrying about," he declared, emphatically.
"Meaning that this Fairfield lad has had no knowledge of the miserable game that some of his misguided friends were engineering in his behalf; is that it, Elmer?" remarked the gentleman, understanding what he had in mind.
"Yes, sir," came the reply. "You see, from all accounts, in the old days this same Felix Wagner was one of the right bowers of Matt Tubbs. And somehow I seemed to be making up my mind that if he had a hand in this ugly deal, there was a screw loose somewhere in this reformation business over there."