The people had never seen such riding as this, and when they realized that Ted had conquered the stallion and was now rubbing it in, they shouted until their throats cracked.
At last the horse could go no farther, and Ted let it stop, as he slipped to the ground and gave the brute a slap with his hand.
"I reckon you'll know better next time, old fellow," was all he said, and walked to where his saddle was lying.
As he picked it up, he was seen to stop and look at the cinch carefully, then hurry to where the boys were awaiting him.
"Fellows," he said solemnly, throwing the saddle on the ground, "that cinch did not break, it was cut."
A dozen of the boys leaped to the ground and examined the cinch.
It was true. The cinch had been cut almost through with a sharp knife, and the strain upon it had parted it. There could be no doubt as to what had been intended.
As Stella came riding up, she shouted:
"The cinch was cut. I saw it. Wiley Creviss did it. I didn't realize at the time what he was doing or know that it was Ted's saddle, and when I did find out, he was mounted and away."
A howl of indignation went up at this.