Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-08-17

8: :: !: :: +: q. 4:
about him calculated to make life
pleasant, to sit in his armchair and
talk in a grandiloquent way about the
cowardice of the suicide.
If Dives had been in my shoes on a
certain night in the merry month of
May, some few years ago, and felt the
pangs of hunger as l felt them, fancy
somehow he would be strongly inclined
to modify his opinions.
Hungry? l was hungry! And when at
two o'clock in the morning, having
tramped it from Cambridge, flung my
self down on the grass just outside the
grand stand on Newmarket Heath, l
felt SO utterly done up, faint and ex-
hausted, that 1 would have gladly well
,omed death in any shape or form at
that moment.
Well born, and my early days passed
IN the lap of luxury, there 1 lay like a
log, hungry Il had neither had bite nor
sup for twenty-four hours with no
money to buy food, and without a
friend or relative in the world to lend
me a helping hand; and yet Dives and
his friends would have called me a
coward had put an end to my wretch
ed existence.
1t was lucky that ! had not the
! means to do so-not even a pocket
| knife-that memorable May night,
otherwise the trainers when they came
on to the Heath with their horses in
the early morning would have as
suredly found something that they
would not have cared about looking at
twice.
Bodily exhaustion, as n rule, pro-
duces sleep, but very often if it is too
pronounced, it has precisely opposite
effect. So it proved in my case. Faint
and weary, as / was, the repose l so
much needed fatty declined to come
tony rescue.
So lay awake, thinking, thinking
ALWAYS thinking; now of the past, now
of the future-for l was still young,
and, downtrodden as was, still capa-
bic of building castles in the air.
1t was one of these palatial editices
| found myself building now, odd
though it may seem.
One of the trainers at the headquar-
ters of the turf had taken me up and
given me position of trust in his es-
| tablishment One of our horses had
won the Cesarewitch and Cambridge
shire, and 1, beside standing in" with
the stable when they backed him, had
won a small fortune by supporting him
at long odds, for the double event, on
NV own account. The whole thing
seemed so real that l felt for the mo-
ment quite buoyant and happy, and
should in all probability have shortly
gone off into a tranquil doze, when all
of sudden the sound of human voice
in the distance and the unmistakable
tramp of horses feet fell upon my ear.
Il would not be daylight for at least an
hour yet. Who could they be?
Now, | was well-versed in turf mat
ters-in fact, to speak the truth, it was
In a great measure my partially for
the sport of kings that had brought me
to the position found myself in; con-
sequently on bringing my mind to bear
on the subject, very quickly solved
the riddle-or thought l had, at all
events. Yes, ! had, l felt sure.
The only possible excuse for a trainer
bringing his hor ses on to the Heath at
this hour of the morning was to bring
off a trial, and what was more very
important one.
The time of year, too, just ten days
before the Derby, was all in favor of
my theory. Yes, it was a Derby trial
that was coming off, / felt convinced,
and what was more | meant to witness
it.
How chucl<led to myself as crawlcd
along the grass like snake until ]
reached the rear of the stand, well out
of sight, when l ventured to peep out.
There, standing exactly opposite the
racecourse itself, were five horsemen.
, One ! recognized Immediately dark as
it was as well-known trainer who had
Y prominent Derby favorite under his
charge; the other four, three of whom
were mounted on thoroughbreds,
I hooded and clothed, were evidently
, jockeys.
The morning was still, and ! could
= hear every word the trainer uttered.
"You know what to do now, dom
l you?" said he, addressing a jockey whc
Z was astride a chestnut with two whit,
=, hind legs. Frank will make the pac
S as hot as he can with the old horse
+ and if you can hold him all the way OF
4 the young 'un, beat him at the finish
or even run him close, the Derbys al
over but shouting. So now cut away
my lads down to the starting post. II
, stop here, exactly opposite the judge
: box, and Bob Joyce will start you"
70 Not another word was said. TIL
u trainer took up his position, the other
;t cantered away down the course, an,
n last, but not least, crawled on al
is fours from my hiding place, and crep
-s along under cover of the darkness unit
70 had taken the trainer in flank.
1, lie was in front of the judges box;
= = was just beside it.
- That was the only difference betwee
l. us,
Is A faint yellow light just appeared o