1^6 The Trotter, 



served, when he saw me fill my glass, that I was drowning the 

 miller, adding, that if he did drink a glass of grog himself, he liked 

 it strong. To my surprise, old Morgan's name was never men- 

 tioned, till at length, during a pause in the conversation, the captain 

 turned suddenly round to me, with — 



'"And so you think your little mare's good enough to beat old 

 Morgan, do you ?" 



Now, if I had ever thought anything of the kind I had never 

 given him the slightest intimation of the fact^ so I observed 

 quietly that I hardly knew enough of the old horse to give an 

 opinion, but that if Mr. West had no objection I should not mind 

 trotting him for two miles if he gave me one hundred yards' start 

 in each mile. 



Sam directly answered, " I've nothing whatever to do with tlie 

 old horse now ; he belongs to the captain, who, I dare say, will ac- 

 commodate you." And he never made another remark on the 

 subject. 



The captain and I soon came to terms. It does not take long to 

 make a bargain when both parties have made up their minds about 

 it ; and after far less wrangling than is usual on such occasions, I 

 matched my black mare, Patty Morgan, to trot against Captain 

 Morris's dun horse, Morgan Rattler, at catch weights, the best of 

 three two-mile heats, the mare to have one hundred yards' start, for 

 50/. a side, the match to come off over two miles on the Nottingham 

 road, half-way between my place and Ashby on that day six weeks, 

 between the hours of two and four. We each of us placed 10/. in 

 Tom AVoodcroft's hands, to bind the bargain, and we agreed to 

 meet three nights after at the Woolpack, a coaching inn, which 

 stood on the very ground, to draw up articles and stake the 

 money. 



I never made a match so quietly or so pleasantly in my life, and 

 the only bet we booked upon it was one even 10/., which the 

 captain laid me, that although old Morgan was to give me one 

 hundred yards' start, he would beat my mare in the first heat by 

 that distance. Sam certainly did not seem in his usual spirits that 



