THE GREAT FOUR MILE DAY. 299 



furiii his master that the faithful ercaturc he bestrode 

 had only paused in his career to remonstrate against an 

 unintentional, yet serious and glaring personal injury. 



What with the fear of a repetition of the pony's ca- 

 prices, and the well-founded belief that Dlaiuicrhassett 

 was used up, the public were in an equipoise in regard 

 to the result. Betting was going on pretty freely, when 

 the horses were summoned to the 



Last Heat. — The pony showed little change since 

 he last " toed the mark," unless perhaps a dogged air, 

 arising as much from a sense of wrong, as an internal 

 speculation as to whether the affair was ever coming to 

 an end. 



Blanncrhassett looked worse than his namesake did 

 when charged with high treason. Tlie high-bred steed 

 was in no mood to take on airs. He came up panting 

 and faint, and in his distress took no notice whatever of 

 ' Boots^^' who, as soon as the boy mounted him, mani- 

 fested a strange anxiety to push on. In his eagerness 

 to get his head out of the way of Jesse's stick, he actu- 

 ally made a false start, and had to be called back. 



AVhen the word was given, " Boots " got greatly the 

 start. It was enough that Jesse held his cudgel so as 

 to remind him tliat it was in readiness; away he scamp- 

 ered, regardless alike of the shouts of the multitude, 

 and the abuse of the Blannerhassetts^ whose horse was 

 quite stiff at the go off, and lost ground considerably for 

 the fir.'^t half mile. On getting a little warm, ho went 

 bettrr. )>ut tlic puny was in no humor t.i w.iit fnr liim 



