THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 297 
actually reared up, and wasted enough energy in expos- 
tulating against any such phrenological experiments be- 
ing made upon him, to have won the heat, had it been 
properly directed. He could not be induced to resume 
operations until “ Blan” had passed the judges’ stand, 
and was pronounced winner of the heat. 
At the termination of this heat, the nature of the 
betting was fully developed. The “Blan” party upon 
claiming their stakes—Epamnondas being distanced— 
discovered that “ Boots” stood between them and the 
spoils. They had raised a feeble shout upon the issue 
of the heat, futile enough; for they assumed to consider 
a triumph over “ Boots” as a sorry affair, but when they 
understood that the pony was entitled to start a fourth 
time, even that faint ejaculation, melted down to a du- 
bious mutter. 
The rules of the club required a horse to win one of 
the three first heats to enable him to keep upon the 
track. Strange to say there was greater doubt concern- 
ing this last mile than there was respecting “‘ Boots” 
being distanced the first heat. The judges had great 
trouble in deciding the difficulty. Three heats had been 
run, and “ Boots”’ had won neither; but then the first 
was declared null and void, ergo, only two had been, in 
law, accomplished. 
The Epaminondas party here stepped in, as much 
for the principle, as the interest of the thing, and de- 
clared that “ Boots” had a right to run a fourth heat. 
13* 
