THE BIGGEST FOOL?' 49 



paper in silence. Then he spoke, and it did not sur- 

 prise his auditor in the least that his remarks had re- 

 ference to the — well — the inevitable subject. In fact, 

 John had been humorously expecting it, and wonder- 

 ing ' what particular line of country ' his companion 

 would take. He began : ' My friend Hawley has 

 three horses engaged in the Derby.' Porter nodded 

 and nibbled his ice. The statement was unim- 

 peachable. It defied denial. But 'my friend 

 Hawley'! ('Who is this friend of Sir Joseph's?' 

 said Porter to himself. ' I don't know him, at any 

 rate.') ' Yes,' continued the trainer's communicative 

 companion, ' Sir Joseph tells me, and so does John 

 Porter, that they fancy Rosicrucian is the best, but 

 Wells, the jockey, who is also an intimate friend of 

 mine, fancies Blue Gown.' That ended the conver- 

 sation, or rather the soliloquy, for Porter, busy with 

 his ice, made no remark. When the train reached 

 Woking the expected parcel of books was handed 

 into the carriage by the guard. Upon the outside 

 of the package was inscribed, in bold and legible 

 characters, 'John Porter, Esq., Park House, Kings- 

 clere? The next moment was intense. The 

 gentleman who was on such extremely friendly 

 terms with Sir Joseph Hawley, John Porter, and 

 Wells, looked over the top of his newspaper 

 furtively, but with perceptibly widening eyes, 

 and read, or rather devoured, the address on 

 the parcel. On arriving at Farnborough he dis- 

 charged himself somewhat precipitately from the 

 carriage, and walked at a swift rate a short distance 



