82 EVERY MAN HIS OWN TRAINER, 



never had done much business with Mac, but supposed him 

 to be all right. I could not find out anything, and Mac said 

 everything was correct, so when the bell rang for the third 

 heat we went out and got the word. I made up my mind to 

 know what was going on and see if possible how it was to be 

 done. I kept right along by the side of the roan gelding all 

 the way. I thought at times Mac was driving him a little 

 funny. He would at times take a strong hold of his head and 

 then let go of him suddenly, but he would not break, or did 

 not at least. By the time we had got to the three-quarter 

 pole I had satisfied myself what he was trying to do, and I said 

 to myself, if you get away with this you will be pretty clever. 

 So 1 got ready for any emergency — that is to say, fall over the 

 fence or stay on the track. As we came around the turn into 

 the home stretch Mac took a dying chance — pulled the roan 

 horse first to one side, then to the other, then let right go cf 

 him suddenly and tapped him with the whip at the same time. 

 Then he broke. Just then King Almont broke also, and a 

 very bad break it was, for he went onto one rein and went 

 clear over near the fence, and I thought he never ^\•ould catch 

 and he did not until he got nearly to the wire. Ezra L. made 

 a very good break and went on and won the heat. Then came 

 the clamor of the crowd. The fact was the thing was set to 

 give me the double cross, as the boys call it. That was, for 

 Mac to pretend that the $1,500 was all put on Ezra L. and 

 that 1 drove it out on them. One of the boys that was in the 

 play, on Mac's side of the house, and trying to help him get 

 away with the trick, got a little jolly and gave the whole thing 

 away, as they do sometimes. The truth of the matter was, 

 Mac was to go and win the first heat and then let him break 

 and force me to win. The fact was, there was not a cent of 

 our $l,.5O0 on the roan horse, but on the contrary the talent 

 on Mac's staff had played $2,100 on the King. Mac had our 

 $1,000 in his pocket, which would make him a good winner 

 for one afternoon if he could get away with it, which he tried 

 to do very hard, but we did not let him. Pat Sullivan found 



