" Grudon " 



the race, and stuffed " Grudon's " feet with that 

 substance. It effectually prevented " balling." 

 " Grudon " never put a foot wrong, never slipped, 

 during the whole distance, although he was 

 galloping through snow most of the time, and 

 the general conditions were extremely tricky. 

 The insertion of that butter as depicted was 

 assuredly a stroke of genius. What we should 

 have done without it I do not know ; we might 

 easily have come to grief at an early stage of the 

 contest, and — and — this chapter might never 

 have been written ! Hence the fact is now 

 revealed for the first time that a little butter 

 once saved the world from a great loss. It is 

 at such crises of her history that Britain's real 

 heroes are discovered. It seems no use search- 

 ing for them at other times unless one has a 

 tasting order at one's disposition. 



My orders were to let " Grudon " run his own 

 race as I found him going, and I lay well up 

 with the leading division. I was always with 

 the first two or three. Indeed, Archie Anthony, 

 on " Covert Hack," and I enjoyed quite a long 

 and animated conversation for some part of the 

 journey ; and it was with a feeling of regret that 

 at last I was obliged to say good-bye to him 

 about a mile from home. " Ta-ta, old chap," I 



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