106 My First Steeple-chaser. 



not. It is true I knew every professional jockey in that room by 

 sight, and many to speak or nod to, but I was not on what might be 

 called friendly terms with any one of them j and as not one of them 

 was likely yet to have heard of Tom's accident, I did not care to 

 tell how it was that we had come down alone and had not even yet 

 engaged a jockey to ride the horse. I knew very well that all the 

 crack jockeys were sure to be taken up, and moreover I did not 

 fancy that any one of them would care for such a mount as this, 

 unless to suit some purpose of his own. But where were we to 

 find a jockey at the eleventh hour, in a distant town, where we 

 scarcely knew a soul to speak to ? This was the question which 

 spoilt my lunch. The Vet., of course, was out of the question, for 

 I suppose he walked fourteen stone. There was but myself and the 

 stable lad. Now I certainly could hold my own across country, and 

 had even once ridden in the Findon race, where, as an old York- 

 shire trainer observed, "I made a very poor tew of it 5" and I did 

 not therefore much fancy measuring lances with such men as Oliver, 

 Mason, and some others whom I saw taking lunch with us, and 

 chaffing each other across the table with that quiet, self-satisfied air 

 which proved that they were perfectly at home here, and that the 

 coming event t.o which I was so nervously looking forward was an 

 every-day matter to them. I did not see one of the " Lincolnshire 

 division" present, or I might have found a friend. It is true that 

 both "Old Peter" and Gaylad were expected to run, but they 

 had long since passed into other hands than those who bred them, 

 and Lincolnshire knew them no more. As to the stable-lad, he had 

 never ridden a steeple-chase in his life. Besides, he was probably 

 three stone too light. Moreover, as he told me afterwards, he 

 had come down to look after, not to ride, the horse, and he did not 

 know how Mr. Snaffle might take it if he got the mount. That 

 worthy had sent word down that he would be there on the morning 

 of the race, if possible j but as he placed implicit reliance on the 

 lad to see after the horse, and of course concluded that Tom 

 would be there to ride him, he gave the matter very little further 

 thought, and it was hardly likely that he would leave his business 



