The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1891-10-24
HOW HE WON HIS WIFE


but they had enough romance in their
courfship to supply one of these female
sensatlonalists with plot for q dozen
quarto novels
"Well, that fellow won his wife in a
race. first met him in England three
years ago at Newmarket. the great rae
INK heath where nearly all their big
events come off. He is an American.
and just happened to drop into the place
q few days earlier than | did She is
English. and the daughter of man who
has long been known ~ one of the nerv-
lest bookmakers on the English turf
When | met him it lacked four weeks of
the date of the great Doncaster cup, one
Of the biggest stake races of the English
calendar We became acquainted and
got to knocking around together His
name is Shelby. Thomas Shelby. and. as
] soon learned. he came from that state
where the grass grows blue. not green.
and where the ripping rills percolate
through 6ltering limestone to be caught
by man and distilled into the nectar of
the gods-sour mash.
Furthermore. found ont that he had
money. lots of it, knew all about horses.
and had fallen desperately in love with
Miss Molly. daughter of William Mitch
ell, the bookmaker
''As Shelby and got better acquaint-
ed he confided to me that he had paid
his addresses to the fair Molly ever since
while she had received them favorably
and said Yes" to the all momentous
question her father had absolutely re-
fused to give any consideration to his
proposition for his daughters hand, and
$hat Miss Molly was sufficiently 6lial in
Yer duty to refuse his proposition to
Ppe At that time Mitchell was rated
\wealthy man, and that his ambitions
"a baway beyond bookmaklng and racing
Vas professions was well known
well. Shelby was the right sort. He
dad as much nerve as old Mitchell. and
sAoney too There's only one way to
make that old fool come around, he said
2dr he's as pig headed as the devil. and
IN gong to take that way.
S'Whats thatY asked
"fTo break him. replied my Kentucky
friend. and I'm going to do it.
IL iptimated that there were two sides
20 eveAy proposition. that what Mitchell
didn't know about horse racing nobody
did. and that IN his attempt to break the
old man young MIR. Shelby. of Lexington.
was very likely to 20 broke himself
ElOpe with the girl. said but don't
try to break Mitchell Remember the
bitter oft gets bitten
She won't elope. he answered
told you that, and AS long AZ her respect
ed dad has nothing but money he won't
let her marry anybody while he has
chance OF hooking some busted title for
her He's ambitious and he thinks he's
mart. but | have scheme t0 do him
which think will start his downfall all
right. Listen. Now, I've got colt over
here that, as soon as he's acclimated. Is
going to show some of these crack 2-year-
Odds the real Kentucky pace Nobnly
knows he's in the country. nobody knows
anything about him. and when ! enter
him In the Downesborough handicap the
handicapper will let him go at feather
weight. and the odds will be 100 to
Aure Well. amt going to start him in
the Doncaster. but I'm going to get in on
old Mltchell's book for that bit first
and then swoop down on HIM at Downes-
borough and finish MN up. Then I'll
stake him again if he'll let me marry the
girl See?
81 didn't see exactly. at least about the
O0ncaster business. till the next day
when heard OF a rank outsider. owned
By young fellow named Master, who
lived in the country down Leicester way
being backed by 100000 against 81 200
The colt hadn't appeared in the betting
1T all previous to that. and nobody had
any idea Of his being even posi- BILE
SIMMER saw Shelby that night. and
Be grinred when ! mentioned the Incl
dent
Part Of my scheme. dear boy he
,eaid Master is a pal OF mine. and that
colts been kept bottled up He's about
n near q sure thing as ever had. No
body knows what he is or who he ia
Master let me in on my promise to give
him chance on my entry at Downes.
borough
THE next days papers recorded an
other bet OF e5.00O to 81 900 by old
Mitchell. and from that on, the talent
smelling q rat, the Master colt juned up
1 u the odds till only the favorite carried
- much money
The old man stands TO lose egg .00O
On that colt Of Masters, said Shelby
xleefully the day before the race, and
Ire got el5.00O of 1t myself It's sure
NaOney too
Well. the race came off, and demon
1trated that he was right The unknown
won handiIy. and turf circles went crazy
~ their wild excitement OF the unex'
1 pecfed
Did Mitchell was wild, but he settled
y tnii and toidahis friends that he'd even