30 Phyllis and Ophelia 



despatch the two mares, happened to see his cHent, and 

 recovered his surprise before he was obKged to speak. 



* Very glad to see you, sir,' was his exceedingly un- 

 truthful greeting. ' You've come to have a look at the mare, 

 I suppose ? She's very well, I'm glad to say, sir. I was 

 just going to send her on to the station,' and he showed 

 his visitor a label with the mare's name, and Captain 

 A. V. Osborne, Aldersham Station, written on it, slipping 

 into his pocket at the same time another label with a 

 different address that was to have been attached to 

 Phyllis' s collar. 



' Thanks. Yes, I should like to see her. In the same 

 box ? ' Osborne said, half leading the way to the spot 

 where she had stood before, and where, in point of fact, 

 she was still standing. ' I should have been over before ; 

 I hoped to come and ride a gallop or two, but the illness 

 of a relative has prevented me. I feared, indeed, that I 

 should not be able to ride at all, but things have taken a 

 turn for the better. I w^as half afraid the mare would have 

 gone, but now I can see her off. Yes ! she looks w^ell, 

 indeed,' he continued, as Dossie stripped her. 'I'm 

 indebted to you, Mr. Dossie, for the care you've taken. 

 She ought to be about good enough to win.' 



* Yes, sir, and I'm very much obliged for what you 

 are pleased to say. I always do my best for gentlemen, 

 and it's satisfactory when they recognise it,' Dossie, slowly 

 recovering from his confusion, answered. ' I didn't even 

 know you w^as in the neighbourhood, or I should have 

 been proud to see you.' 



' Never mind, Mr. Dossie. There she is, and that's 

 the great thing. When I wrote to you last week fixing 

 the train for you to send her by, I did not know that I 

 could get down. What's that ? The grey I saw before ? 



