An Over-reach 333 



Young Montague won't let it go, I expect ; we shall be 

 safe bidding up to near on a monkey ! ' 



' What may I say for the winner, gentlemen ? ' the 

 auctioneer began. ' He won handsomely, gentlemen, 

 beating a good horse,' &c. &c. Ultimately Beanfeast 

 was bought in for 480 guineas, leaving 200/. surplus for 

 Messrs. Payne and Tomkins, in addition to some 600/. 

 they had made by laying against their own horse ; for, as 

 the reader will have gathered from the scraps of con- 

 versation that have been recorded, these two astute 

 personages had perceived that money could be made with 

 greater certainty by losing than by winning the race. 

 Bad as the other three starters had been, the two could 

 not trust so very poor a horseman as Montague to win 

 outright ; they hoped he would do so, but it was not 

 good enough for them to bet on ; still, whatever beat 

 Hamlet was sure to realise something that would leave a 

 decent surplus for the second. Craik, a bookmaker of 

 their own kidney, had undertaken to get what he could 

 out of their horse, and besides the money that they thus 

 won, if the roguery could be carried out without awaken- 

 ing suspicion, a very incorrect idea of Hamlet's real 

 capacity would remain to be turned to account on some 

 future occasion. Lord Cecil's hesitation in agreeing that 

 Tomkins had made a mistake arose from a dim percep- 

 tion of what had really taken place ; but Tomkins had 

 ridden his nefarious race with a skill which went far to 

 quell suspicion, and Cecil could do no more than make a 

 mental note. 



Poor Harry would have been less happy if he had 

 only known the true state of the case. He hoboed every- 

 one he knew would come and talk to him about the race ; 

 and then there was the special ' Standard ' to be read, 



