Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-02-09


 Quite paradoxically, If Allis Porter had not given "The Run of Crusader most certainly racing poem--in the little church, this young man probably would have never visited Ringwood. Something of the wide sympathy that emanated from her as she told of the gallant horses death struck into his strong nature, and there commenced to creep into his thoughts at odd intervals sort of gratuitous pity that she should be inextricably mixed up with race horses. @-- With all these cross purposes at work it can be readily understood that Mor- timers visits to Ringwood were not ex- actly rose-leaved. Allis, with her fine intuition. would have unearthed Morti- l mer's disapprobation of racing-though he awkwardly strove to hide it--even If Alan had not enlarged upon this point. This knowledge constrained the girl-r 1 even drove her into rebellion. She took his misunderstanding as fault, almost l as weakness, and shocked the young man with carefully prepared racing ex- pressions; reveled with strange aban- l don in talks of gallops, and trials, and 1 workouts, and breathers; threw iron l nouthed horses. pullers. skates and div l CTS other equine wonders at his head until he revolted in sullen irritation In | fact they misunderstood each other 1 finely. ~..G
 By comparison Cranes vists to Ring | wood were utopianly complacent. l Strangely enough, Mrs. Porter, opposed I to racing as she was, came quite readily l under the glamor of, his artistic unob- 1 trusiveness. He had complete mastery l over the science of waiting. His ~adnlis- l sion to the good lady of a passing inter- est in horses was an apology: there l seemed such an utter absence of the l betting spirit that the recreation 1t af- a.rded him condoned the offerse.
 l It stood in the reason of tEir gs, how 1 ever, that Mortimer, III spite or ms uTt- l compromising attitude toward racing, 1 should be touched by it's tentacles if he visited at Ringwocd.
 His first baptism came with much l precipjtsncy on the occasion of his 1 fourth visit to the Porters, He had l driven out with Alan to spend his Sat urday afternoon at Ringwood. Alan had some barbarous expedition of juve- | 1 of a woodchuck, or it might have been groundhog, in back field; but Allis would not become a party to the de- l struction of animal life for the sport or l the thing. She had a much better pro- 1 gram mapped out for Mortimer Some way she felt that if he could see the, 1 thoroughbred horses in their stalls, could come to know them individually, casually though it might be. he would l perhaps catch a glimmer of their beau 1 tiful characters. So she asked MT. Nor timer to go and have lGok at her pets. Alan would have none of it; he was eff to his woodcauck or groundhog.
 I'm glad you don't want to go and | kill anything" she said. turning grate- l fully to Mortimer when he refused l Alan's Invitation. saying that he pre- ferred to look at the horses. .T'll shcw you Diablo and Lucreua and Lauzanne the Despised-he's my horse. and I'm 1 to win big race with him next year 1 Gaynor is down at the stables ard I'll give you a tip"-Mortimer winced-"if if l you want to stand we'll in with Mi1ve. let him suspect that you're ford ofhorses." :" l At the stable door they met Mike l Gaynor. Mike usually vascillated be- l tween condition of chronic ar ger ct som ebody or something ard an Irish drollery that made people who were sic. at heart laugh Allis, was es fa- niliGr with his moc5s as she was With the phases, of Lauzanne's temper. On ] Mikes face was map of disaster; the disaster might be trivial CT great. That something war wrong the girl knew, but whether it was that a valuable hcr1e was dead, or that mouse had eaten a hole In grain bag she could only dis I cover by questioning GaynCr, for there were never degrees of expressed emo- tion in Mixes facile countenance; either deep scowl or a broad grin were the two normal conditions.
 Whats the matter. Mike?' ques- toned Allis.
 ''Mather. Is it?" began Gaynor. sif-s just this, Miss Allis, if yer father thinks Y I'm goin' to stand by an see good colts spilled in their timper just because g rapscallion by has got the evil intints av ould Nick himself then he's mistook that's all"
 Who Is 1t, Mike-Shandy
 That's him. Miss. He's the divil or wheels, bangin' thim horses about as though he was King Juba."
 Allis saw that Gaynor was indeed angry.
 'I'll speak to father about him, Milre.' she answered.; 'T won't have the horses abused"
 Mark my words. Miss Allis, DiabloIl take 1t out of his hide some day. The b'y'll monkey wit him once too often i: then therell be no by left"
 May we see the horses, Mike-are they having their lie-down. or any, thing?" -.
 Not yet, Miss: they're gettin' the rub-down now; don't ye hear Diablo bastin' the boards av his stall wid that hind foot of his?' a.7-. re,s
 There's Ally for yer life," ex-
 claimed the trainer rapturously as he opened gently the door of Lucretia's E box stall. There's the straightest Ally iver looked through a halter" he con- tinued puff{pc h ~r, +ba rn~