“When powder’s burning and bullets is flying,” says the old chap, grinning again; “but this here’s a different crowd. When he’s got a training saddle and seven or eight stone up, and there’s two or three hundred horses rattling about this side of him and that, it brings out the old racehorse feeling that’s in his blood, and never had a chance to show itself afore.”

“I see, and so you want to keep him quiet till the last minute?”

“That’s just it,” says he; “I’ve got the time to a second”—here he pulls out a big old turnip of a silver watch—” and I’ll have him up just ready to be weighed out last. I never was late in my life.”

“All right,” I said, “but don’t draw it too fine. Have you got your weight all right?”

“Right to the hounce,” says he, “nine stun four they’ve put on him, and him an untried horse. I told ‘em it was weighting him out of the race, but they laughed at me. Never you mind, though, he can carry weight and stay too. My ten per cent’s as safe as the bank. He’ll put the stuns on all them nobs, too, that think a racehorse must always come out of one of their training stables.”

“Well, good-bye, old man,” says I, “and good luck. One of us will come and lead you into the weighing yard, if you pull it off, and chance the odds, if Sir Ferdinand himself was at the gate.”

“All right,” says he, “I’ll look out for you,” and off he goes. I went back and told Aileen and Gracey, and we settled that they were to drive out to the course with Cyrus Williams and his wife. I rode, thinking myself safer on horseback, for fear of accidents. Starlight, of course, went in the Dawsons’ drag, and was going to enjoy himself to the last minute. He had his horse ready at a moment’s notice, and Warrigal was not far off to give warning, or to bring up his horse if we had to ride for it.

Well, the first part of the day went well enough, and then about half-past one we all went down to the church. The young fellow that was to marry Bella Barnes was known on the field and well liked by the miners, so a good many of them made it up to go and see the wedding. They’d heard of Bella and Maddie, and wanted to see what they looked like.

The church was on the side of the town next the racecourse, so they hadn’t far to go. By and by, as the crowd moved that way, Starlight says to the Commissioner

“Where are all these good folks making for?”