132 RACECOUIISE AND COVERT SIDE. 



the field, Eed Eover and Heartsease lying well 

 np, and Crossley's eyes seemed everywhere, albeit 

 they were always on his horse or his horse's 

 path when necessary. The second fence was a 

 row of rails which Playfellow jumped lamely 

 after something so near a refusal that Purleigh 

 landed on his horse's neck ; but the rest were all 

 together and all jumped in good form, as Mabel 

 noted through her glasses. Here St. Patrick 

 overpowered his jockey and ran out, luckily 

 without interfering with the rest, who came 

 together down to a regular Wessex ditch, and 

 Purleigh, still leading, remembered what a horrid 

 place it was. He had come to it once out 

 shooting, and playfully asked if anybody had 

 a boat — and here he was galloping at it ! 



A very undecided hand on the reins quickly 

 let Playfellow know that he need not jump if he 

 did not care about it, and being a flashy animal 

 without much substance he decided that he 

 would not put himself out of the way. A half- 

 nervous dig of the left spur upset Playfellow's 

 calculation so much that instead ot stopping 

 abruptly on the edge of the ditch he slipped 

 in, and so horse and rider disappeared from 

 view. How they came to the surface of the 

 earth again, and how Purleigh graphically de- 

 scribed the courageous vigour with which he 



