Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-24
Copyright, 1909. by Mcclure, Phillips g Co,
CHAPTER VII.

II was late autumn: the legitimate rae
ing season had closed.
In August John Porter had taken his
horses back to Ringwood for the winter.
When a man strives against fate, when
realization. laughs mockingly at his expec-
~tation, there comes to him a time when he
.longs for a breathing spell-when he
knows that he must rest and wait until the
wheel OF life. siow-turning. has passed a
little through the groove Of his existence.
John Porter had been beaten dow at
every point. Disastrous years come to all
men, whether they race horses or point
the truthful way, and this year had been
but a series Of disappolntments to the
master ef RinRwood.
After Lucretia's win In the Eclipse Por-
ter did not land another race. Lucretia
caught cold and went f-thi was a bitter
disappointment. He tried Lausanne twice
again, but the chestnut seemed thor
oughly soured. Now he was back at Ring
wood, a dark cloud Of Indebtedness hang
ing over the beautiful place and pros
pect of relief a shadowy child Of the fu-
ture. II Lucretia wintered we'll and grew
big and strong she might extricate him
from his difficulties by winning one or two
Of the big races the following summer.
About any Of the other horses there was
nOL even Nntb muCn VI tduklDfllAgs
Thoroughly distrustlng Lausanne, embit-
tered by his cowardice, Porter had given
him ~away-but 10 Allis.
. Strangely enough the girl had taken a
strong liking to the son Of Lazzarone; 1t
maj have been because Of the feeling that
she was indirectly responsible for his
presence at Ringwood. Allis Porter's per-
ceptions had been developed to an extra
ordinary degree. All her life she had
lived surrounded by thoroughbreds and her
sensitive nature went out to them, in their
courage and loyalty, In a manner quite
beyond possibility In a practical, routine
following horseman. To her they we're al
most human; the play Of their minds was
as attractive and interesting as the de-
velopmsnt Of their muscles was to a
4 trainer.
\ When the stable had been taken back to
Ringwood she had asked for Lausanne as
a riding horse.
I'm going to give him away her father
replied; ~ can't sell him-nobody would buy
a brute with such a reputation" This
word brought to Porter's mind his chieI
cause Of resentment against the chestnut,
The public having got into its head that
Porter was playing coups, generously sug-
gested that ne was pulling L@usaRne to sc;
nlm IN June DIX nduulCdp lBul.
y 81 won't feed such a skate all winter he
declared, angrily, after a little pause.
well. give him to me, then, father, -
the girl had pleaded; IL am certain that
he'll make good some day. You'll see that
he'll pay you for keeping your word"
As Allis rode Lausanne she discovered
many things about the horse; that instead
Of being a stupid. morose brute, his intelli-
gence was extraordinary; and, with her at
least, his temper perfect.
AIlis's relationship with her father was
unusual. They were chums; in all his
trouble, in. all his moments Of wavering
buffeted by the waves OF disaster, Allis was
the one who eheered him. who regirt hin
in his armor-Allis, the slight, olive-facet
little woman. with the big, fearless, Joan
of-Arc eyes.
you'll see what we'll do next summer
dad" she said, cheeriiy. You'll win with
Lucretia as often as you did with hel
mother; and I'll win with Lausanne. Wei
keep quiet till spring, then wen show
them"
II was like a kitten carrying a city on til
back; but still II was the hope Of endeavor
Langdon's horses. 80 silently controlled b,
Philip Crane, banker, had been put in winter
quarters At Gravesend. where Langdon had
\ cottage.
Cranes racing season had been as sue
cessful as the master Of Ringwood's hat
been disastrous. He had won a f~air-clasI
race with the Dutchman-ostensibly Lang
don's horse-and then. holding true to hil
nature, which was to hasten slowly, threv
4 him out Of training. and deliberatel!
u planned q big coup for the next year. TIT
\coIt was engaged in several three ear-ol'
49,. - N~aa. aak Vanndonf 10 wvorE a
nnd out his capabilities. Az his owner ex
pected, he showed them in a severe tria
gallop the true Hanover staylng-power.
Although Crane had said nothing about |
at the time. he had his eye on the Easter
Derby when he commissioned LAngdon Il
purchase this gallant son Of Hanover.
II was q long way ahead to look. to IL,
\ plans to win e race the following June, bu
that was the essence Of Cranes existence
careful planning He loved It. He was
master at II. And, after all. given a goo
slayer, such as he had In the Dutchman
the mile-and-a-haif run OF the derby LET
less to ehanoe than any other stake h
could have pitched upon; the result woul'
depend absolutely upon the class ant
stamina Of the horses. No bad start coulI
upset his calculations, no little interior
ence in the race could destroy his horse
chances. II he were good enough to win.
The Dutehman's races, as a a-year-old
would not warrant his being made
f~avorite. and Langdon. properly directed
was clever enough 10 see that the Dutch
man was At q comfortable price for bettinI
purposes.
Many things had crowded into this for
tieth year Of Cranes life. The bank. doinl
but q modest business always. was running
so smoothly that II required little attention
from the owner. This was one reason VIII
he had thrown so much subtle energy int
his racing; It's speculation appealed 10 him
The plucking he had received as a moneye
youth ranked in his heart. The possession
Of such a faithful iackal as Langdon car
ried him TO greater lengths than be woul
have gone had the obnoxious details bee
subject 10 his own execution. Thong
conscienceless, he was more or less fas
tidious. Had q horse broken down and be
come utterly useless he would have ordere
him to be destroyed without expsrlencln
any feeling OF COMPASSIONATE would hey
dismissed the matter entirely from HI
mind with the passing OF the command
but, rather than destroy the horse nimssl
he probably would have fed him. And 8
Il was with men, IL they were driven I
the wall because Of his plans. that wa