The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1893-09-16
hf. uen rln5on1.
Copyright, 1893.
by tho Author.

@ ! !: J
M&z>/ZlNilIlh< T is all very we'll
1 MA&4%M14|IIINlfa for Dives, revel-
~NMZ4E|||lY = ing in purple
.yA n N1MFfHIHjF and fine linen
| (@t -lMxlM1. " and farinG
hh Va 4Ms sum p tn ously
MmY0 kS3,. every day. with
- every thin g
about him calculated to make life
pleasant, to sit in his armchair and
talk in q grandiloquent way about the
oowardicc of the suicide.
If Dives had been in my shoes on .
certain night in the merry month of
Nav, some few years ago, and felt the
pangs of hunger as felt them, fancy
somehow he would be strongly inclined
to modify his opinions z..s
Hungry? Yves hungry! And when At
two o'clock in the morning. having
tramped 1t from Cambridge. flung my
self down on the grass just outside the
grand stand on Newmarket Heath, I
hausted. that would have gladly well
coined death in any shape or form at
that moment.
Well born, and my early days passed
in the lap of luxury. there lay like .
dog, hungry II had neither had bite nor
sup for twenty-four hours) with no
money to buy food, and without q
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 1 had not the
means to do so-not even pocket
knifc-that memorable May night,
otherwise the trainers when they came
on to the Heath with their horses in
the early morning would have as
sured1y found something that they
would not have cared about looking at
twice.
noa;l,r- o,-hn,,~~s<. -. -, ,~,,1. ,o,r,-
duces sleep, but very often, if it is too
pronounced, it has q precisely opposite
effect. So it proved in my case. Faint
and weary, as I was, the repose I SO
much needed fatty declined to come
to my rescue.
So 1 lay awake, thinking, thinking
always thinking; now OF the past, now
of tho future for I was still young,
and, downtroddcn as 1 was, still capa-
bic of building castles in the air.
1t was one OF these palatial edi6ces
I found myself building now, odd
though it may seem.
One of the trainers at the headquar-
tiers of the turf had taken me up and
given me a position Of trust in his es-
tablishment. One of our horses had
won the CeSarewitch md Cam bridge
shire, and I, beside ''standing in" with
the stable when they backed him, had
won a small fortune by supporting him
nv own account The whole thing
seemed SO real that i felt for the mo-
mcnt quito buoyant and happy, and
should in all probability have shortly
gone off into a tranquil doze, when all
Of a sudden the sound OF human voices
in the distance and the unmistakable
tramp of horses feet fell upon my ear.
It would not be daylight for at least an
hour yet. Who could they be-?
Now, was well-versed in turf mat
tcrs-in fact, to speak the truth, it was
in a great measure my partiali>A for
the sport of kings that had brought me
to the position l found myself in; con-
sequently on bringing my mind to bear
on the subject, / very quickly solved
the riddlc-or thought had, at all
events Yes, had, felt sure.
The only possible excuse for trainer
bringing his hor ses on to the Heath at
this hour OF the morning was to bring
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 I meant to witness
it.
How chuclkled to myself as cravvled
along the grass like snake until
reached the rear of the stand, well out
of sight, when ventured to peep out
There, standing exactly opposite the
racecourse itself, were five horsemen.
One I recognized immediately dark as
it was as q wcll-known trainer who had
a prominent Derby favorite under his
charge; the other four, three of whom
were mounted on tboroughbreds,
hooded and clothed, were evidently
jockeys. 5
The morning was still, and 1 could
hear every word the trainer uttered.
.sYou know what to do now, don't
you?'' said he, addressing q jockey who
was astride chestnut with two white
hind legs Crank will make the pace
as hot as he can. with the old horse,
and if you can hold him all the way on
tho young 'un, beat him at the finish,
or even run him close, the Derby's all
over but shouting. So now cut away.
my lads, down to the starting post. I'll
stop here. exactly opposite the judges
box, and Bob Joyce will start YOU"
Not another word was said. The
trainer took up his position. the Others
cantered away down the course, and
last, but not least, 1 craSvled on all
tours from my hiding place, and crept
along under cover of the darkness until
I had taken the trainer in flank.
He was in front Of the judges box; 1
vas lust beside it.
That was the only difference between
A faint yellow light just appeared on
the horizon, denoting that daylight