2i6 THE HAUGHTYSHIRE HUNT. 



" Oh, Eonny, do be careful, for my sake, dear, won't you? 

 I think I should die if anything dreadful happened to you. 

 And if you could look after him " (indicating the now palpably 

 quaking ' Trousers ' by a slight nod of her pretty head), " I'm 

 sure you will, won't you ? he is such an ass ! " she added, with 

 a ring of real pathos in her voice. 



" All right, dearest. I don't think Travers's old horse 

 knows how to fall; his only danger is in getting knocked over, 

 but I think I know of a little scheme to prevent even that. 

 Good-bye; wish me luck ! " and he turned away and crossed 

 the course, disappearing through the paddock gate, whilst the 

 girl heaved a sigh and mentally resolved to put a stop to 

 Master Eonny's steeplechase riding, when 



Eonald, giving a passing word to his groom, walked into the 

 weighing shed, slipped off his coat and went to scale, taking 

 the saddle from his man and dropping it on to his knees. The 

 next to appear there was our friend Travers, now positively 

 perspiring with fear. Instead of putting the cap over his ears, 

 he had allowed those peculiarly prominent features to stick out 

 in their usual fashion ; his racing Jacket was left loose, outside 

 his breeches, looking like a very much shortened ballet dancer's 

 skirt, and he had forgotten that riders weighed with their 

 saddles, and had to send off for his, in hot haste. When it 

 arrived, he put it on the scale and then tried to sit on it. 



" No, no, sir ! " exclaimed the Clerk of the Scales, " sit 

 down yourself, and then take your saddle on to your knees ; 

 no, drop your whip, you don't weigh with that, you know. 

 There, that's it. Twelve stone seven — right. Come on, sir, 

 come on ! " he added sharply, seeing that Binkie sat there 

 staring, and without making any attempt to move. " I've got 



