LIFE WITH THE TROTTEKS. 45 



third heat Nashville Girl won without effort in 2:28. She 

 out- trotted all the others from start to linish. 



I drove my mare all this time with a view of simply- 

 saving her distance, and I noticed that most of the other 

 drivers were hustling their horses during all of this time as 

 though they were in a hurry. With Nashville Girl hav- 

 ing two heats and being a 2:20 trotter, we made up our 

 minds if we were to get anything we would have to go out 

 this time or the race would be over. Mr. Simmons was 

 very anxious that I should go away steady and keep Bella 

 on a trot and take the chances of beating Nashville Girl, if 

 I had any, in the stretch. Hickok and his party had all 

 piled their money on the field against Nashville Girl, and 

 when the Judges said "go'' in this heat he went out to give 

 her a fight right from the start with Howell. She out- trot- 

 ted him all the way, and I trailed in behind next to the 

 pole, thinking I would get an opening there and get through. 

 After going about three- quarters of a mile in that position, 

 I saw Green draw liis wdiip and hit Nashville Girl. She 

 failed to respond. I could see that Hickok noticed Green's 

 action, as he sat down and commenced to drive Howell like 

 one that was mad. After about a hundred yards of that 

 kind of treatment Howell cried enough. I told Hickok that 

 if he wanted to see Nashville Girl beaten, to iDull out and 

 let me through and that I would do the trick for liim. He 

 looked somewhat surprised, but pulled out, and before 

 Green could realize the fact, Bella had Nashville Girl beaten. 

 To say that the j)ublic, the talent, and myself were sur- 

 prised doesn' t describe it. The time was 2:30, but the crowd 

 saw that I had a better horse than the favorite. Just then. 



After the heat was over and the horses led back to the 

 cooling ground, I looked them all over, and the onlj^ one that 

 I saw that seemed able to get its breath at all was Bella. We 

 concluded if they trotted the race out that night the 

 money was ours, and it looked as though they would have 

 plenty of time to do it in. In the fifth heat, when they gave the 

 word, I took Bella back, and Nashville Girl went away with 



