2o6 THE HAUGHTYSHIRE HUNT. 



him with long, tiring work after hounds. The chestnut was, 

 therefore, only treated to short days, and not chanced at 

 awkw^ard places out hunting. Eonald had set his heart on 

 winning with him, and, ' har accident,' was feeling very 

 confident indeed. 



In a moment of w^eakness, Travers, being rather thereunto 

 urged by his inamorata, had intimated his intention of dis- 

 porting himself in the saddle at the steeplechases. So confi- 

 dent was he in the wonderful steadiness of the Roman-nosed 

 old brown, that he argued to himself he absolutely could not 

 get a fall ; the old chap didn't seem to know how to make a 

 mistake. Of course, his only chance to win would be that all 

 the rest fell down, but that matter didn't concern our hero in 

 the least degree ; he only wanted the opportunity of showing 

 himself in gala attire, and the glory of being ' one of the 

 riders.' The fact that his horse couldn't really go fast enough 

 to keep himself warm was entirely foreign to the subject, from 

 his point of view. Safety and glory must walk hand-in-hand, 

 otherwise glory would go out in the betting to a thousand to 

 six and no takers ! 



Slowly, but none the less surely, was the fascinating Adela 

 creeping into the affections of the Duke of Haughtyshire, 

 to the exclusion of all the other * female forms divine,' 

 which were wont, of yore, to flit before the Ducal mind's 

 eye. In short, the noble M. F. H. had almost determined 

 that if he could but manage to pluck up courage enough to 

 ask his son's consent, he would take the plunge and bring 

 home a fresh Duchess to the Castle. But Gravity — yes, 

 Gravity was what is vulgarly called a ' sticker.' His Grace 

 really began to show signs of being genuinely 'caught,' and 



