The Savannah morning news., 1900-08-12

miracle of comfort; more than all, the
free field boon to the plain people, who
upon high days and holidays packed its
board seats, HAPPILY unenvious of folk up
on the coach tops, in the boxes or scat
tered about the hower-spangled club
house lawn.
There was stable room free, for thou
sand racers, along with training quarters
as literally planned. The course indeed
was village in itself, bigger and more
populous than the struggling trolley
haunted hamlet just outside It's gate. The
gate opened every summer morning at
O'Clock, so that such trainers cared TO
give their strings slow road work for
hardening might send them out and over
miles of the broad, hard beaten clay high
y way
A string, hooded and blanketed, had just
elidden out, looking like four-footed
ghosts in the graw crepuscular dawn
darkness, when a smart trap ratified along
the village street and swung in with
flourish between the big stone portals 1t
was too dark 10 see the horses, but they
exhaled a sweaty smell, which told that
they had been driven hard. The driver
pulled with long vicious limitations at a
very fine cigar. He swore between his
teeth as a second out-eoming hooded string
forced him to check and pull sharply to
one side. The oath would have astonish-
ed those who. knowing him on the surface,
fancied they knew him all through. They
said that Rix Bascom, bookmaker, had the
austerity of priest and the conscience of
a pirate.
A slim, lank lad. sitting at Bascoms ell
bow gave little distressed cry. you
know it's the worst sort of luck-to swear
before breakfast he said half hest
atingly, with a little catch under the
words. Bascom swore again, this time
~ IA fH.s
could make my luck worse" he added. ST
wonder if you know just what l dropped
on the Equus Saturday? Exactly $1,000
and all because of the Brave"
II begged you not to lay odds" the
lad began. Bascom laughed shortly
'@You always do that" he said. "If lis
tened to you in six months ia be-"
You have lost now for a year, every
time you gave odds against The Brave"
the lad said huskily. II reckoned Il all
up Sunday-he has lost you over $4,000
told you AT the very first he was your
luck
The DEVILS own luckr Bascom said
savagely. yet I can't hate him. d-n
hfml It's in me to love horse, and
he's easily the horse of a generation
The Frightening east touched all the
gray and green of the course with suf-
fused rosy radiance. Sparrows were
huddled fiocks around the stable doors,
setting their heads aside, and quarreling
greedily over their 1otsa m of chance oats
In the trees about the trainers houses a
few venturesone robbins let fall now and
then a dropping note. The untouched
turf was all simmer of beaded dew.
Every footmark showed on It print of
vivid green. They were reasonably pref
ty. and for the most part ran in straight
lines toward that high upper corner,
where the straightaway came in. The
barrier. of course, was across It, Only
when a straight dash impended was any
training permitted over its elastic, loamy
breadth.
Bascom sprang down hundred yards
from the corner. fung the reins 10 his
companion, saying: Put them up,
'Driese. then come to me-but be sure
you don't get run ovea." He shot across
the track. lodging in and out OF a NOV
ing maze. squeezed himself almost fiat
against the rail, and ran until he came
to the place he sought Already 1t had
twenty occupants-men, horsey men OF all
sorts and conditions, from the tout TO the
millionaire. Though the free masonry of
sport for the time leveled artificial dis
tinctions. they were almost silent--too in
tent in gazing to waste time in speech.
The course was alive. Six hundred rae
ers walked or cantered or galloped along
1t, some swathed in blankets and band
ages, some stripped as IL az the bugle
call Every trainer stood. timepiece In
hand, watching with intense eyes his own
particular charges Now and again one
sent long hail at a boy who rode too
fast or too slow. Now and again also a
reckoning hand stopped a string short,
waived them away TO quarters, a rub
down and a test OF the thermometer.
There was something uncanny In the
space, the silence. the movement. above
ali In the files of shsetsd figures, each