SOME CURIOUS HORSES 245 



the Stand. After a little conversation, we cantered 

 off to the place where the trial was to come off, 

 and stationed ourselves at the spot fixed for the 

 winning-post. He then gave a signal, and shortly 

 I saw four horses galloping towards us and keeping 

 pretty fairly together until perhaps about two 

 lengths off, when one of them came away from the 

 others, leaving them almost as if they .were standing 

 still. " Well," I said, " of course I don't know 

 what the weights are, but that is as hollow a thing 

 as I ever saw. What horse is that ? " I asked. 

 To my intense surprise, he said, " Vulcan." " How 

 in the world did you get him to gallop ? " said I. 

 " That's rather a curious story," replied the man. 

 " We found it out quite by accident. I was away 

 last week for a day or two looking at some very 

 promising yearlings in Dorsetshire, and Jackson 

 (the head lad) took out the string, riding Vulcan 

 as hack. They were exercising on the Bury side, 

 and a boy who was going rook-tending passed by. 

 Boy-like, when he saw the horses cantering, he 

 blew his horn — to try to give them a start, I 

 suppose. None of them minded it except Vulcan, 

 and he clapped his legs under him and bolted off 

 with Jackson as hard as he could go. When I 

 came back next day he told me about it, but did not 

 seem to think anything of it. However, it struck 



