WHO WON THE KEXILWORTH CUP. 213 



At the distance Rosendale sets her going, and Beau- 

 clerc felt her between his knees as he looked — he knew 

 that bounding stride so well ! On she comes up to 

 Konig's shoulders — level — a head — a neck — half a 

 length — a length in front : like a greyhound, like a 

 deer, like just whatever gallops best of all. Hades is 

 nearly done with : Heidenberg sits down and begins to 

 ride furiously ; but I think Rosendale has backed his 

 mount rather heavily, for he laughs aloud as his pink 

 jacket shoots past the post first by three lengths. 



Beauclerc laughs too, as a man may be permitted to 

 do when he is ;^ 12,000 to the good. 



" Yah ! " shouted the crowd as the supposititious 

 Achates rejoins his companions by crossing the first 

 fence in the wrong direction ; and Evelyn gives his 

 explanation : 



" I told Manners how good Achates was, and that I 

 was going to enter him for this race and some others. 

 Manners thought that if Achates could jump, Fidus, 

 being similarly shaped, must be gifted with similar 

 powers. (You may judge what a perfect match the two 

 are.) So he entered his animal, and engaged Wyatt to 

 ride ; and if Mr. Wyatt has not mounted one of my old 

 jackets he's got something uncommonly like it." 



" But how is it that the mare went back, and wasn't 

 favourite at the start r" Beauclerc wondered. 



" I fancy that is to be attributed to one of Straight- 

 ley's boys, who probably made the same mistake as 

 you. He knew that the horse he fetched from Manners' 



