“I’ll see what I think of him first,” says Joe, who didn’t fancy having a horse rammed down his throat like that.

“If you don’t like him you don’t like me,” says Maddie. “So mind that, Joe Moreton.”

Just as she spoke there was a stir in the crowd, and old Jacob came along across the course leading a horse with a sheet on, just as easy-going as if he’d a day to spare. One of the stewards rode up to him, and asked him what he meant by being so late.

The old chap pulls out his watch. “You’ll stick to your advertised time, won’t you? I’ve time to weigh, time to pull off this here sheet and my overcoat, time to mount, and a minute to spare. I never was late in my life, governor.”

Most of the riding mob was down with the racehorses, a distance or so from the stand, where they was to start, the course being over two miles. So the weighing yard and stand was pretty well empty, which was just what old Jacob expected.

The old man walks over to the scales and has himself weighed all regular, declaring a pound overweight for fear of accidents. He gets down as quiet and easy as possible to the starting point, and just in time to walk up steadily with the other horses, when down goes the starter’s flag, and “Off ” was the word. Starlight and the Dawsons were down there waiting for him. As they went away one of the ringmen says,“Ten to one against Darkie. I lay Darkie.” “Done,” says Starlight; “will you do it in tens?” “All right,” says the book. “I’ll take you,” says both the Dawsons, and he entered their names.

They’d taken all they could get the night before at the hotel; and as no one knew anything about Darkie, and he had top weight, he hadn’t many backers.

Chapter XLIII

CHAPTER XLIII

Mr. Dawson drove pretty near the stand then, and they all stood up in the drag. I went back to Aileen and Gracey Storefield. We were close by the winning post when they came past; they had to go another time round.