16 THE FOREST AND THE FIELD. 



I therefore held in, and allowed the favourite to 

 forge a little a head, and though 1 felt my horse 

 was full of running I determined to nurse him. My 

 anticipations were correct, for in a very few strides 

 I perceived the jemedar's horse was pumped, and 

 the second favourite's heaving flanks and convul- 

 sive twitching of the tail showed me that his bolt 

 was shot. 



The race now lay between the favourite and 

 Moonlight, and so nearly were we matched that 

 the slightest mistake on the part of either horse 

 would have given the other the race. I had the 

 advantage of a stone in weight, but that was coun- 

 terbalanced by the superior riding of my adversary, 

 who was the very heaii-ideal of a gentleman-rider. 

 All at once I noticed that the captain held his 

 horse more in hand, and allowed me to take the 

 lead at the water-jump, behind which there was 

 only one more fence of any consequence, and then 

 a straight run in past the stand. Could I but 

 win! I felt almost wild with excitement, and 

 giving my horse the spur for the first time during 

 the race, I crammed him at the water, which he 



