THE SANDPIPER. 241 



easily but everybody got in his "path." He yelled to 

 George Forbes, who drove Big Fannie, at the three-quar- 

 ter pole : "Forbes, my dear sir, you are in my path ; lay 

 over, my dear sir, and let me through." But Forbes kept 

 his position and Katharina had to go around. 



Darkness necessitated a postponement, and Splan, 

 coming to me, said, "You hedge, she can't win." But 

 how ? Xo horse yet -had two heats. So Splan was in- 

 structed to warm her up good next day and drive her for 

 his life the first heat, and he said, "She can't win the first 

 heat nor any other heat, but I'll drive her for my life, and 

 if anything should happen that she should win the first 

 heat, you play every dollar you have on earth against her, 

 for she can't win two to save her life." 



That was not a very encouraging state of affairs for 

 the syndicate to sleep upon, but Kyger was happy and 

 seemed to think the race was all over and Kit had won. 



The next morning before I was up' there was a knock 

 at my door. Kyger stood there, whispering : "Come out 

 to the stall." I went. He shut the stall door after us, as 

 he did in Wheeling, and there was the mare, her head as 

 big as a barrel, her eyes swelled shut, her neck as stiff as a 

 post, and she could hardly drink. 



I told him to put her hood on, so no one could see her 

 condition, and have her groom take her out in the dew 

 and "grass her out." Just then some one rattled the door 

 and wanted to see Kyger. It was a messenger boy with a 

 telegram that his daughter had died. It looked like the 

 shadow of fate was on him and his, and from my heart I 

 pitied that grief-stricken old man, who stood before me 

 bowed down and speechless. 



The morning air and dew and the grass had a wonder- 

 ful effect on Kit, who pricked up her ears when a horse 



