j 68 Life and Times of " The Druid" 



hardly walked down to the distance when 

 Marlow found him to be so lame in his off 

 foreleg that he turned him round without 

 further parley and returned him into the 

 hands of Smith, his trainer, thus reducing 

 the number of starters to eight, the same as 

 in Van Tromp's year. At last the flags 

 were lowered, and away went the eight in a 

 cluster, Nat going in front at once and cut- 

 ting out the work with Beehunter ; Chatter- 

 box and Russborough well up, and Voltigeur 

 settling down about seventh. Along the 

 flat the pace was very slow, but when they 

 reached the foot of the hill Beehunter seemed 

 to warm to his work, and led them up and 

 over it at capital speed No change took 

 place in their Indian-file positions until they 

 approached the Red House, when Marson 

 took Voltigeur well by the head and ad- 

 ministered a couple of smart strokes of the 

 whip to rouse him to a sense of his position. 

 The gallant brown answered immediately, 

 and at the Intake Farm was fifth, with 

 Pitsford and Beehunter on his left, Boling- 

 broke on his right, and Russborough and 

 Italian at his quarters. Just at this point 



