Middletown transcript., 1891-10-29
THE WHITE BLAZE.
SCENE DoNcAsTER. TIME THE
LEGER DAY, 1882.

SCENE: DoNcAsTER. TIME: THE
LEGER DAY, 1882.
IT Tow he first came to attract my
n attention I don't exactly know.
l remembered to have seen
him in attendance at nearly every
principal race meeting in the country
"a little, shriveled. wizened old man
who shufied along the ground in side
long fashion, with a peculiar jerk OF
the body that was half limp and
half twist, and which gave him the
appearance Of being propelled along
by an invisible lever-a man who was
worn, faded and withered, but won-
derfully light and active withal. and
with razor-like sharpness Of look
and feature that seemed out of keep
ing with all else appertainiDg to him.
/ rather fancy be grew upon me, SO to
speak. Wherever one went in racing
he was always to be met with; his
was always the first face that appear
ed at the carriage door with packet
of race cards in his hand, as the We.
hicle drew up to the grand stand.
Gradually, as / became familiar with
his presence, there dawned upon me q
strange. unaccountable, indefnable
sense of something uncanny about
him, something that was wanting.
something that was not as with other
men. I had tried and tried to find a
name, a reason for the mysterious re-
pulsion, and always failed. In all
probability I might never have sue
ceeded in settling the doubt to my
dying day if accident had not thrown
the explanation in my way.
It was at the Doncaster meeting of
49,. That was the year in which
we saw one OF those peculiar recover
les of early two.year old form for
which the st. Leger, over all other
races, has been famous. My COM
panion to the course on the Leger
morning was leading jockey, q
rider, who, unlike the majority of the
fashionable school, had fought his
way to the top of his profession by
sheer merit-hard work, pluck, talent
and, above all, unswerving honesty,
being the constituents that had led to
his success. His fame as horseman
had long been established among that
vast section of the public interested in
the turf and its ways. On this par
ticular morning we had chatted pleas.
antly all the way down to the course,
and my companion who, for the pur-
pose of this narrative, will call Fred
erick Bowman, was in high spirits,
for he had a shrewd idea that he
would bring off a 40 to shot in the
big race of the day. Jockeys, after
ali, are but mortal, and perhaps they
may possess as large portion Of
malice in their composition as the
majority of human kind. Certainly,
Bowman frankly confessed to me that
the pleasure of landing the Sellibger
Che had already won it three times
on FLY belonging to his earliest and
best friend and patron, would be
equalled only by the delight of treat
ing the public to staggerer. AS be
had given me timely information Of
the good thing the night before, and
enabled me to get my money on at a
long price, I was fully in a mood to
enter into the joke. The carriage
had stopped at the back of the grand
stand, and the figure of the little old
man appeared in the doorway. AZ
his eye fell on Bowman his face lit up
instantaneously with a most remark
able expression Of mingled hatred and
fear. For moment he looked at
Bowman with the steady intent male
violence of man who never forgot
and never forgaye. Then he sharply
turned bis back upon US and darted
away TO the next cab. Turning to
Bowman, / observed that he had sud.
denly became grave and silent and
stern. looked at him surprisedly,
As we passed through the gate lead :
ing into the paddock he seemed to re.
cover himself a little, and with sigh
of relief, turned to me.
You seem astonished," be said
"and naturally so. The sight of that
man always gives me feeling cf re-
vulsion, even after all these years." be
added, more to himself than to me.
"Strange," replied J; something
like the same sensation has impressed
itself on me in connection with him,
though l can scarcely describe my
feeling as one of reyulsion. / cannot
apply any kind Of designation to it,
except maze and doubt.
+" have heard other people make
the same remark about him." answer
ed Bowman, looking at me keeniy.
=" Perhaps can settle your doubt.
Have you ever heard him speak ?"
With the utterance Of these words
a food Of light dawned upon me.
That was it. The mystery was ex-
planned. Why had the idea never
dawned on. me before
No." / cried, quickly.
No, and never will," said Bow
man, with with Sigh What IS mere,
one side Of his face, from the temple
to the jaw, is dead. The man who
opened the carriage door for Us was,
fifteen years ago, one Of the heaviest
wagerers on the turf, the leviathan OF
the betting ring, a head and shoul-
ders sboye there Of his class, and
owner Of large stud Of horses as
well. It seems strange, doesn't it,
looking at what he is nowa But it's
true, nevertheless, as know to my
regret"
Yes,y' I exclaimed, surprised Of