We present a spectral analysis of the serendipitous sources detected i
n 130 high Galactic latitude, long-exposure ROSAT PSPC observations. B
y application of an efficient source detection technique and analyzing
a large number of fields, we have detected 2678 sources above our lim
iting flux of 1.2 x 10(-15) ergs s(-1) cm(-2) (see Papers I and II). I
n this paper, we investigate the spectral properties of the detected s
ources. Analysis of hardness ratios as a function of flux confirms the
suggestion in the recent work of Hasinger et al. that the source spec
tra show a hardening as the source fluxes decrease. Quantitatively, th
e hardness ratios are equivalent to a power-law energy index of 0.7 at
a flux of 6 x 10(-15) ergs s(-1) cm(-2). In addition to analyzing mea
n hardness ratios, we performed detailed spectral fits to the average
pulse-height data of the sources as a function of flux. We find that a
t fluxes above 2 x 10(-14) ergs s(-1) cm(-2), the average spectrum has
a best-fit power-law energy index of 1.4 (after accounting for a Gala
ctic stellar component). The best-fit power-law exponent decreases smo
othly to 0.4 below a flux of 10(-14) ergs s(-1) cm(-2). This average s
pectrum of the faintest sources approaches that observed for the 2-10
keV X-ray background. We discuss the implications of measurements of t
he source counts and average spectra for models of the origin of the X
-ray background.