Too Clever 197 



yes, there could be no doubt about it, at the quarters of 

 the leader ^yas a bright chesnut carrying a jockey in 

 yello\\' and black hoops. This was The Caliph, there 

 was no doubt about it ; but where was Brown Shoes ? 

 Moss swept the field with his glasses, and presently made 

 her out, going on about fifth or sixth, but some lengths 

 behind the leader — and surely it w^as time for her to 

 draw up, for the first two were now^ at the beginning of 

 the stands, and moreover the rider in white had got out 

 his whip and was using it too, but without avail, for 

 the chesnut swept on, going well within himself. 



' The Caliph wins ! ' ' The Caliph for a monkey ! ' 

 ' Here, 6 to 4 on The Caliph ! ' such were the cries that 

 arose from the rings, and Mo£s looked on aghast. Was 

 there still time for Brown Shoes to get up ? Could she 

 make up five lengths in a hundred yards ? — six, seven 

 lengths in fifty ? — for that's what it had now come to. 

 No ! Impossible ! And the more so as the handsome 

 chesnut showed no signs of going back to his horses ; 

 on the contrary, he galloped on as if the farther he went 

 the more he liked it, and finally passed the post a very 

 easy winner by a liberal three lengths, which might have 

 been very much more had his jockey pleased. Quarter 

 Deck, a lightly-weighted outsider that came with a bit of a 

 rush at the finish, just beating Columbine — the bearer of 

 the white jacket — a neck for second place. Prairie Belle 

 was placed fourth, and not far behind her was Brown 

 Shoes, pulling up. 



Dane sank back in his fly with a heavy sigh of relief, 

 while a furious curse came from between the clenched 

 teeth of Moss, as he stood motionless on the stand from 

 which he had seen the race, staring hard at the number- 

 board as if unable to believe that his eyes had not 



