42 



" A person of the name of Spurs," repeated the 

 groom. " You don't mean Mr. Bhmt Spurs ?" 



" Yes," joined in Count Garniture, " that is the 

 name, Mr. Blunt Spurs." 



" Oh, very well, indeed," continued the groom, 

 fixing his eyes on that part of the horse just below 

 the knee. " He's the architect of the new Orthopedic 

 Hospital; was once chief of all the amateurs." 



Neither Colonel Backgammon nor Count Garni- 

 ture stayed to hear the concluding word of this sen- 

 tence. They had obtained the information they 

 sought, and the word " chief" quite paralyzed them; 

 so thanking the groom they, rather abrubtly, rode 

 away to their club, asking each other when they had 

 recovered breath, what was the last word of the 

 sentence. The Count, however, decided that it must 

 have been chief of anatomy ; consequently, as the 

 whole drift of the Two Letters was, — as far as the 

 sale of damaged stock is concerned, — opposed to their 

 pecuniary interests, they resolved to " chuck the 

 trash into the fire : they had no doubt the writer had 

 some object to gain." In this last su23position tliey^ 

 were right. The writer's object was, and is, the 

 welfare of the horse, not theirs, nor anybody else's, 

 who may be anxious to evade, and who appear to 

 have induced the Press to evade the real question at 



