The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-09-29
vas easily rufsed, but in Seymour's
hands he generally went like q lamb

slOnS was the best OF chargers he was
so good looking that when he had q
military kit on there was no horse i'm
the regiment that looked more snowy
than he did, but the white hairs ON his
chestnuU coat and the silvery locks in
his tail showed the blood of old War
lock, and he had a large share of the
pace, cleverness and staying power that
marked his great ancestor. AS we rode
down the course / could hear the few
bookies who were present in the ring
reckoning up the chances Of the field in
s~tentorian cries of 80 t. /, bar two" /
was riding a confidential old hunter
which was warranted to stand up over
the country, but / had only entered him
to make mp the race, and unless most of
the Others came to grief I had not the
smallest chance to be heard of at the fin
ism. There is not much difficulty in
starting a sseeplechase, and we all got
away very well. We negotiated the first
three or four fences without any casual
ties, but then we began to thin out a
little. Fortescue's hard mouthed old
jade went outside the flag at the first
turn, and he did not manage to stop
her till she had gone half q mile toward
Dublin. Wilson and Mackworth fell at
the water jump, TO the u~nconcealed salts
faction of the crowd which had collect
ed there, and there were only FIVE Of us
left. Jacky Thompson was leading.
Seymour and Finch were riding side by
side, evidently intending to wait till
we were nearer home and then come
to the front and finish together. About
q length behind them was Percy, and /
brought up the rear. There was a long
stretch Of grass rather down hill on the
farther side of the course from the
stand, and here we began to put on the
pace. Percy evidently thought it was
now or never, and that If he allowed
himself to get too far behind he would
not be able TO push forward again, so
he made o determined effort and shot
past Seymour and Finch. I think old
Mousetrap's temper must have been mp
set by seeing a horse passing so close. !
saw him shake his head and try to get
away from Seymour.
The next fence was a bank, with q
ditch IN the taking off side. It was
nothing OF a place really, but only re-
quired a little care. Thompson got over
cleverly, and Percy's horse took the
whole in his stride. Then came Sew
mour, who had hardly steadied Mouse
trap, but even SO the horse ought not to
have made a mistake. Perhaps he was
iurrried, or there may have been a
stump sticking up where a bush had
been cut away. / don't know how it
happened, but the horse hit something,
lost his feet and fell on the bank. Sey-
mour was all right and got clear at once,
slipping back into the ditch. I told you
Finch had been alongside of Seymour,
and he was close behind him at the fence.
Sorcerer jumped it beautifully; but, to
horror, as he was kicking back at the
bank / saw the hoof on his off hind
foot strike the head of Seymour, who
fell down. Even amid the rattle Of the
horses it seemed to me that / could hear
the dull crash OF broken bone, and I was
sure that a terrible accident had hap
pened. So sure vas I that, though one
does not often pull up in a race, I stop
ped my horse, which indeed had not
now the smallest chance, dismounted
and a to pick up Seymour. Poor fell
lowi had not been mistaken and could
almost trace the print of the cruel horse
shoe on the back Of his head. He was
nearly s~enseless and Just muttered
"Cold, coldr' Asmall crowd had begun
to collect, and I borrowed q couple Of
frieze coats from two sympathizing
countrymen, trying with them to cover
my poor friend, and laid him I'm as easy
o position al possible. The race glasses
at the stand had seen that something So
rious had happened, and our good old
surgeon, Macpherson, came mp ON q
trooper which he had taken from one Of
our men who was keeping the ground.
When he had examined the injury, his
kind face fell as he said: 'Ifear the base
of the skull is fractured. re 90, il is
only a question OF hours" Fortunately
the accident had happened near the road,
and a carriage was quickly procured, i'm
which Seymour was placed and taken
away by Macpherson.
When I came back to the stand, i
found that Finch had won tho race east
~ and was still quite unconscious that
his friend was hurt. / did not tell him
the particulars, but only said that it
had been thought better to take Sey-
mour back to Dublin. He pulled a
wrapper over his racing jacket, jumped
ON o hack and started at a gallop in
pursuit. immediately afterward I met
Mary Mccartney. She had q very white
face and tears in her deep violet eyes, as
she besought me to tell her If the acct
dent had been dangerous. 7 made the
best Of things, but she, / think, OWNED
the sad truth and made her mother take
her home. There was q heavy cloud
everybody for the rest Of the day,
and though WI got through all the races
ON the card there was little spirit i'm
anything, and we were glad when we
were able to break mp. There was little
chaff or fun ON the drive home.
We had q miserable time Of alter
nate hopes and fears about q comrade,
but in three days all was over. Finch
was inconsolable, though fortunately
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