236 SKETCHES IN THE HUNTING FIELD. 



cester Cup is an iibsolute certainty for him, and 

 would be hardly less so if he had i2lbs. more to carry. 



The tale is plausible, and the reasons why the 

 horse did not win at Goodwood sound quite convincing. 

 Leonard, too, is an admirable judge both of horses and 

 of racing — two very different things — and the result of 

 our conversation is that I hand him over a cheque for 

 the amount of my legacy to be invested on Muffin Boy 

 at the best obtainable odds, which Leonard is of opinion 

 will assuredly average 20 to i. ;^50o was of no par- 

 ticular use to me, who had an income amply sufficient 

 for all requirements, but ;^ 10,000 would be serviceable 

 in a variety of ways, and I passed a good deal of time 

 in studying the market odds, and inwardly debating 

 what to do with the haul when it was safely landed. 



A couple of days passed. IMuffin Boy kept his place 

 at the tag end of the list, while Ophelia and King 

 Pippin, the two favourites, gradually advanced to shorter 

 odds. Evidently the party interested in my horse were 

 managing him well, and I went round to the club to see 

 Leonard and congratulate him on our prospects, wonder- 

 ing meantime how I could repay him for the splendid 

 service he had done me. 



"Mr. Leonard was here inquiring for you, sir," a 

 waiter tells me, as I pass in. " He wanted to see you 

 particularly, and said he would look in presently if he 

 could manage it, sir." 



Evidently to tell me that the money was safely on, as 

 I had been expecting to hear ; so with an increased 



