THE PRIVATE PUPIL. 75 



I to myself^ as I moved from him to watch the race home 

 — a pretty close one between the two, for the chesniit 

 mare showed a turn of speed, and had been very carefully 

 ridden all through. So close, indeed, did they finish, that 

 when an over-excited man in spectacles, who hadn't a 

 shilling- on it, and didn' t know a soul in it, asked me in 

 much trepidation, ^^ What had won?" I really hesitated 

 a bit, as I stammered out I thought that my — I mean 

 the 



*'0, ^Apples' won, safe enough," declared the gentle- 

 man in black once more, in his over-confident way ; " and 

 T loses a hundred on it, s'help me !" 



He was right ; '^ Apples " had won ; and it was past 

 ten o'clock, I'm afraid, before Archy and I reached the 

 vicarage that night. There must have been some suspi- 

 cion, too, I fancy, as to what kept us ; for in addition to 

 the Doctor asking pointedly after the health of the back- 

 sinew, Bessy Gradus remarked, in her quiet way, at break- 

 fast — 



'' What a funny term a steeple-chase is ! I wonder what 

 it is. Wasn't there one near the town, yesterday ? Did 

 you hear who won, Mr. Softun ?" 



She knows all about it now, though ; for the degree 

 was a good one, after all, and somehow — 



But isn't this " immaterial " here ? 



