CHASING AND RACING 125 



fall of the flag. Just think of it, in a two-mile race, 

 started by a flag ! I lost five or six lengths, but that 

 ought not to have stopped my mount winning had she 

 and I been good enough. Perhaps neither of us were. 

 Anyway, we had an excellent view of the race all the 

 way from a conspicuous position in the rear ! 



This was discouraging, but after a bit I began to 

 look about me for something which would do me 

 greater credit. The difficulty was that in those days 

 " Squire Abingdon " (George Baird) was buying up 

 anything going which he considered capable of giving 

 him a winning ride. George had a big capital to draw 

 upon, whereas my fortune, such as it was, was represented 

 by income only, which I could neither anticipate nor 

 charge on pain of forfeiture. Consequently whenever 

 I tried to get hold of a decent bit of winning gee-flesh, 

 Abingdon would butt in and outbid me. But one day 

 at Kempton I did have a look in, when neither " The 

 Squire '* nor his agents happened to be on the spot. 

 The usual selling hunter's flat race was the last event 

 of the day, there being about seven runners. The 

 field had not gone half a mile before I noticed one 

 horse, right out by itself, leading by quite a dozen 

 lengths. I looked at my card and found that the 

 ** speed merchant " was one Weasel, whose in and out 

 running had caused him to be regarded as one of the 

 *' cut and not come again '* brigade. But now he kept 

 up steam until the straight was reached. Then he 

 began to drop anchor, though when tackled by one, 



