It was a brave and nervy act--the act of a true hero.

The stampeded steers dashed on, and the danger at that point was past.

Men and women had been trampled and bruised, but, remarkable though it seemed, when the steers were finally captured or dispatched, it was found that no person had been killed outright.

Men crowded about Frank and the Flower Girl. The lad had placed the girl upon some steps, and he called for water.

"Remove her mask," directed some one. "Give her air."

"Yes, remove her mask!" cried scores of voices.

They were eager to see her face, that they might again recognize the girl who had pa.s.sed through such peril.

Frank hesitated, although he also longed to look on the face of the girl he had saved. She was most beautifully formed for a girl of her age, and that her face was pretty he had not a doubt.

He reached out his hand to unfasten the mask. As he did so his wrist was clutched by strong fingers, and a panting voice hissed in his ear:

"Would you do it? Well, you shall not! I will take charge of that young lady, if you please!"

Looking over his shoulder, Frank saw the dark, excited face of a youth of twenty or twenty-one. That face was almost wickedly handsome, although there was something decidedly repellent about it. The eyes were black as midnight, while the lips were full and red.

With a twisting snap Frank freed his wrist.

"You?" he said, calmly--"who are you?"

"One who knows this unfortunate young lady, and has a right to protect her."

"Which is ver' true, sah," declared a man with a bristling white mustache and imperial, who stood just behind the youth with the dark face. "I give you my word of honah, sah, that it is true."

The words were spoken with great suavity and politeness, and Frank noted that the speaker seemed to have a military air.

Frank hesitated, and then straightened up, stepping back and bowing, as he said:

"That settles it, gentlemen. If you know the young lady, I have nothing more to say."

The young man instantly lifted the Flower Queen in his arms. As he did so she opened her eyes, and Frank saw she was looking straight at his face.

Then came a staggering surprise for the boy from the North. He saw the girl's lips part, and he distinctly heard her faintly exclaim:

"Frank Merriwell!"

Frank fell back a step, then started forward.

"You--you know me?" he cried.

Quick as a flash, the youth with the dark face pa.s.sed the girl to the man with the white mustache and imperial, and the latter bore her through the throng to a carriage.

Frank would have followed, but the dark-faced youth blocked the way, saying, harshly:

"Hold on! You did her a service. How much do I owe you?"

"Stand aside!" came sharply from Frank's lips. "She knows me--she spoke my name! I must find out who she is!"

"That you cannot do."

"Who will prevent it?"

"I will!"

Frank measured the other from head to heels with his eyes.

"Stand aside!"

"Now, don't go to putting on any airs with me, my smart youngster. By sheer luck, you were able to save her from possible injury. Like all Northerners, you have your price for every service. How much do I owe you?"

Frank's face was hot with anger.

"You say 'like all Northerners,' but it is well for the South that you are not a representative Southerner. You are an insolent cad and a puppy!"

"You have insulted me!"

"I simply returned what you gave."

"And it shall cost you dear!" hissed the youth with the dark face.

Quickly he leaned forward and struck Frank's cheek with his open hand.

Then something else happened.

Like a bolt, Frank's fist shot out and caught the other under the chin, hurling him backward into the arms of a man behind him, where he lay gasping and dazed.

Frank would have rushed toward the carriage, but he saw it move swiftly away, carrying the mysterious Queen of Flowers, and, with deep regret, he realized he was too late.

The man with the bristling white mustache and imperial did not depart in the carriage, but he again forced his way through the crowd, and found his companion slowly recovering from the stunning blow he had received.

"Mistah Raymon', sah, what does this mean?" he cried, in amazement.

"It means that I have been insulted and struck!" hissed the one questioned, quivering with unutterable anger.

"Struck, sah!" cried the man, in unbounded amazement. "You were struck!

Impossible, sah--impossible!"

"It is true!"

"Who struck you, sah?"

"This young c.o.xcomb of a Northern cur!"

The man glared at Frank, who, with his hands on his hips, was quietly awaiting developments, apparently not at all alarmed. He did not quail in the least before the fierce, fire-eating look given him by the man with the bristling mustache and imperial.