EVERY MAN IIIS OWN TRAINER. 93 



respectable heat. The fact was, none of them could go a bit, 

 and I had very hard work in' losing the heat to Breeze Me- 

 dium in 2;25|. I had considerable money on the field and I 

 could not afford to drive my own money away, as it is not 

 human nature for a man to lose his money when he can save 

 it. But when I saw on the blackboard 2:25| my feelings 

 could be compared to that old story where a man was caught 

 in open daylight with a sheep on his back, and I was ashamed 

 in about the same measure. 



When we came out for the fourth heat the judges invited 

 me to step up in the stand for a minute. That was just what 

 I expected, and thought they were justified in it, and I was 

 prepared for the occasion. As I went up them stairs and 

 faced the judges I put up my whip and said, "Gentlemen, I 

 am ashamed as a man can be, and there will be no more of 

 this." They looked at each other and smiled. I suppose 

 they expected me to make some excuse for losing the heat in 

 such slow time. I think they laughed because I was so frank 

 as to confess my guilt, and said to themselves, " A guilty con- 

 science needs no accuser." My idea is, if a man does a mean 

 thing it is not necessary to tell a big lie to get out of it. The 

 easiest way and the best way is to come right to the front and 

 own the corn, and then try to do better. So it was in this 

 case. All the judges said, was " Feek, go down, get behind 

 your mare and close this up," which I did in 2:22^ and 2:25|. 

 The next week, September 8th, we went to Springfield, 

 Mass. I had a very easy race in the 2:23 class, in which was 

 Don Carlos, Breeze Medium and Silva M. Kitefoot won it in 

 three straight heats. Time, 2:22|-, 2:21 and 2:25. 



The following week, September 14th, they gave a good 

 meeting at Mystic Park, Boston, A very nice gentleman, Mr. 

 Willis, the proprietor of Mystic Park, had just got possession 

 of the Park after the expiration of a lease of a number of 

 years to other parties, and he desired to celebrate the event 

 by giving good purses, thereby guaranteeing a better meeting 

 than had been given there in sometime. He gave $1,000 



