The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-05

WAel SI6 NOulQ nave II a. JOhtB DuI
she had so changed in the year that she fell
into chair and buried her crimson face in
her hands in an agony She did not crush
it down; but at last, seeing plainly her
duty. to Norah, and that she was choosing
very much the lesser of the two evils. she
came downstairs with her resolve mistaken.
Norah, who was sitting down TO write,
looked at her for a moment with a guilty
air, and then said in tone family defiant:
II am going TO write to Lord Haunts-to
Jim"
Polly said nothing. She sat down before
the fire and stared into it. Norah set about
writing slowly, stopping now and again to
look at her sister and think In one of her
pauses Polly said slowly, "Blazes will win
the Grand National
Norah's eyes opened very wide and she
looked at the back of Pollys head very
earnestly. But Polly said no more and
went on writing. She was slow about it,
but at last she said, Shall end it, Yours
truly or Your affectionate friend?
Say whatever you like said Polly,
curtly.
| Norah pouted, ended the letter Your af-
fectionate friend" and asked for stamp
you will find one in my purse on my
toilet table, said Polly, and Norah went
out of the room.
Polly rose to her feet, looked at the letter,
and hesitated.
Then she came round the table took up
| the pen, ran her eyes through tit seemed
to be full of her name-found the sentence.
| Polly says Blazes will win the Grand Ma
| tional" and underlined it. When Norah
came back she was sitting looking into the
fire. Norah began to read her letter
through and when she came to the under
| lined sentence she started, and looked very
earnestly indeed at her sister 1t seemed
| to her that Polly's straight back was a lit
! tie bent, and Polly began to stir the fire
Norah considered a while, then she wrote
very quietly with all the speed she could:
| +. S.-Polly drew that line under those
words while was gone for stamp" Then
! she sealed the letter and saw to its post
ing. The fact that HauntsIeigh kissed that
black line says little for the Hauntsleigh
pride
| The next day Polly Travelled to LIVERPOOL
| in the box with Blazes; and the Journey
| did not seem to have ruff1ed his temper. or
| spoiled his appetite. Her preparations had
all been made, her riding dress (she had
come to flush less at the thought of it, was
| in~her trunk, her short hair had been cut
little shorter than usual. A brougham had
been hired to take her to the course she
had with her her maid Sarah, a staid, mid
dle-aged woman, on whom she relied. Only
| Bacon knew that she was going to ride
Blazes. She found from the evening papers
| that the horse had come to a hundred to
seven; and she knew that Jim had taken
her tip 1t pleased her. he must have still
strong feeling about her to back her
| judgment on a word from Norah; she did
| IN dream for
trayed her.
She slept that night without a dream.
dawdled through the next morning, and the
time came to dress. She was very slow and
miserable about it, but when she saw that
very few would decognize her in the hand
some lad who looked at her from the glass,
| she was almost treasured She put on a skirt
over her breeches and boots, and over it an
ulster trimmed with very fine fur, gave
Sarah mans long overcoat to carry, and
they drove down to the race course ar
irving at the end of the third race
A strenuous combat with Sarahs horror
and Sarah's objection kept her too busy to
be nervous, till the saddling bell for the
| Grand National rang, and Bacon came for
her. In her nervousness and shame the next
| few minutes passed a dream to Polly;
she only saw that in the hustle of weigh
| ing-in for the big race no one gave her much
| attention. that none of her friends were
| about the scales to recognize her. She only
! awoke when she found herself in the saddle
| and Blazes trying to get her out of it. He
! gave good deal of trouble at the post
and the starter swore at her; it braced her
nerves. AS Fortune would have it, when
the flag at last FELL she came away with
a flying start, and when they cleared the
third fence she was leading by twenty
| lengths.
| OF sudden she knew that Blazes had
never been in so good temper, and the joy
OF the race swelled up in her breast; she for
got her dress, forgot the crowd. forgot ev-
| erything but the race, and sat down to ride
Blazes with every faculty of her being She
knew him so well that, watching very care
fully his pace, she gave little thought to
the other horses. She knew the course and
they only came up to her once when she
used her lead to slow him down at the fence
before the sharp turn, where so many horses
| fall, and after it she forged ahead again
Only at the brooks did fear come upon her;
she rode at them in a cold dread. and
Blazes jumped them. In her absorption in
riding him the last mile and half passed in
daze, the great fences fell behind her with
monotonous regularity, she was halfway up
| the straight before she realized she had
! cleared the last and her task was done
| Hauntsleigh and the duke stood together
| in the Jockey Club stand, and just before
the flag fell the duke said with a chuckle:
| Il see some fools have been backing Miss
| Shutters Bazes. If they knew as much
| about him as we do they'd have kept their
money in their pockets. Who's riding the
brute?" He turned and looked. IN. Shutter.
| Who's NJ. Shutter? / didn't know Polly had
| any relations. NJ. Marmaduke? Maurice?
! Well, he'll know all about it when he comes
| to the water
! Hauntsleigh stood listless. He had tried to
! get glimpse of Polly and failed; he had
| been thinking continuously about her, and
! the underlined sentence in Norah's letter.
| Could she be relenting? He was taking lit
/ tie interest in the race, even though his
! horse, Mendoza, had just the call of Ara
| room and was favorite He did rot care who
won It; ne did not care about anything; life
was empty. But at the words of the duke
he turned and looked at the names; look
of great CONSERVATION gathered on his pail
ing face, and he said, "Damnation."
Whats the matter?" said the duke