The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-12-07
The Dark Horse.

I
preston was severe.
"Well?" she demanded, finally. and as
the eyes of the men guiltily wavered
from hers a smile twitched the corners
OF his lips.
''Well you see 1t was this way. Miss
Berkeley" the foremost man volunteer
ed his round, good-natured face red with
embarrassment. I'VE really did expect
the other girls to come; they promised
they would, but Miss Small has gone
to the opera this afternoon, and Miss
LIE Roy is to meet US at the club for
tea. She sheek US to drive out with her
| mother" he added, disconsolately.
You ought to have allowed for that"
| Miss Berkeley chided, severely.
That's right; rub it in" the crestfal-
len youth replied, casting an uneasy
glance toward his excitable mare, who
! was testifying her dislike for waiting by
excavating the driveway with her fore
foot.
Miss Berkley's eye Travelled over her
escorts. Three more widely different men
it would have been difficult to find. The
| stout, ruddy-faced boy in the most correct
of London riding clothes was Howard
! Forsyth, a youth endowed with all that
| one could desire in the way of dollars,
| but sadly lacking in the important small
! change of sense. His one aim in life
was to be a social leader, the size of
the puddle mattering little to him If he
were only the biggest frog in il. His seri-
| Gus offupation was polo; his vocation the
| leading of cotilon.
Fletcher Whitney, just behind him, was
| evidently an older man, for his blue eyes
scintilated shrewdly behind his glasses,
| and his narrow, Ratchet face was drawn
into tense, cynical lines. He, too, was
! in irreproachahle form. although he care
! fully abjured fads in dress. He looked
as he stood switching his well-fitting
| boots with his slim, horn-handled cdop.
like one of the many well-groomed young
Englishmen whom the Indictment weather
| forces from the open country to the con-
ventioual Hyde Park.
The third man was plainly something OF
a novice in riding. The serious lines Of
his mouth betrayed the thinking man,
and his square chin and broad forehead
testified that he could work and work
well His deep-set eyes twinkled aniably,
as though he were amused at his own
extreme bagginess, that they were Dor
rowed for the occasion. The heels of
his boots were guiltless of spurs, and his
stock bore no device Of the stable imaged
in gold. On the whole, young Forsyth
thought scornfully. Ned Whiteside need
not be considered. Miss Berkeley would
surely see that in spite of his reputed
cleverness, he was not a desra gle COM
panion for a ride through Lincoln Park.
The silence was becoming oppressive,
when Miss Berkeley at last smiled unwil-
lingly, and then suddenly laughed aloud
'You look to absurd" she explained
Three able-bodied men and one poor
girl! What are we to do? Do you think
for one moment that I am going to ride
up the Lake Shore drive like a needle
lost in a hay-stack?"
"Ill tell you what we might do" sug-
gested young Forsyth you ride on
ahead with one of US until we reach the
beach, We'll have a race, and the man
that wins it may ride the rest Of the way
with you
"We will make record breaking time,
Miss Berkeley" Whitney murmured gall
lantly, stealing a triumphant glance at
Whiteside's detected livery hakc and Of
fering his hand as a foot rest nrepara-
tory to mounting the girl. But who
shall ride with you until them"
Miss Berkeley settled herself upon the
saddle before replying. ST don't care"
she said indifferently. You had better
match for it,
A coin settled the difficulty. and It was
by the side of the beaming Howard that
Miss Berkeley trotted decorously through
the park in the wake of the correct Mr..
Whitney and the manifestly uneasy Mr.
Whiteside.
They drew rein when they reached the
stretch Of smooth sand which formed
their customary race course, and the two
enthusiasts INDUCED in their usual brag-
gadocio concerning the horses they rode.
both loudly claiming the first place in
the pending contest. Mr.. Whiteside alone
was mute. Arriving at no conclusion they
decided to leave the proof of swiftness
to the feet of their steeds, so all four
pulled the impatient racers into position,
forming a line which stretched across the
narrow beach from the low bluff on one
hand to the wash Of the waves on the
other:
A word and they were of, leaving a
mist Of sand behind. The four animals
seemed well matched. and for the first
hundred yards 1t maght have been any
ones race. Then Whitney's slender
hmbed bay crept out of line. it seemed
almost slowly, so gradually did he ad-
vance A touch of the spur and For
syth's big chestnut, with a quivering
leap was alongside, straining every nerve
to distance her pluck rival From their
advanced position they could no longer
see the other horses. while the wind
whistling in their ears shut out even the
impact Of their hoofs and forced them to
half close their eyes against its cut
ting blast. The sand beneath them was
Ike q yellow sea, so rapid was their
pace. The end was nearly reached; the
tree that served as a goal post showed |
black and distant against the tawny !
sand. The victory depended upon a last !
desperate burst. Whitney frightened his |
reins. and the horse beneath him gath |
cred himself together. his ears 'close II /
his head as he bounded forward. He sped /
past the goal. first of the four. and as 1
ne checked his horse, he glanced triumph |
antly over his shoulder. just behind him |!
came Howard Forsyth. vexation in his /
face. and behind him-behind him was a /
level waste OF sand stretching desolately /
away to where it merged in the green /
Of the park.
What's the matter7" Howard gasped, |
as he flashed by, Juggling at the relus, I
but Mr.. Whitney did not answer. Far
away to the left over the barren subdi- /
vision he could see two equestrian figures 4
Siihouetted against the glowing sunset /
SKY
The next day the engagement ~ Miss 1
Berkeley and MI. Whiteside was ar
nounced-
Hunted by Moose.
(From the Portland tMe) Press)
Stories of moose are just now attracting 4
IL