Evening star., 1922-07-23
THE MAN IN RATCATCHER

A groom stood at the
.nimars head, waiting for the tall.
pare man with the bronzed. weather
,caten face, who was slowly drawing
m his gloves in the yard. to mount
tily the groom wondered II the
,ould- be sportsman knew which side
.f a horse it was customary to get
:nto the saddle from. What couid
gu expect these times, when most
q, the men who could ride in days
one by would ride no more and
- OVID of galloping tinkers with rank
cigars and ranker manners had taken
heir places? When he thought OF
ire men who came now-and the
omen, too-to Boddington's livery
able. renowned for fifty years. and
,untrasted them with their predeces-
,rs, he was wont to spit. mentally
nd literally. And the quods-
-,rewth, 1t was a fair disgrace to
-.irn out such 'orses from Bodding-
,pn's.
Let out that throat lash a couple
as holes
The groom looked at the speaker
Iazedly. \ bloke that knew the name
,,f single bit of saddlery on
,orses back was rare customer
.nese days.
And take that ironmonger's shop
out of the poor brute's mouth. III
ride him on q snaffie."
"'E pulls bit when 'e's fresh,
MAJOR" said the groom obviously.
The tall, spare man laughed.
Il think Iii risk it," he answered.
Where did you pick him up-at
5lmble sale?'
"'E amt much ter look at. l knows,
,najor," said the groom, carrying out
his instructions, but if yer 'andle i'm
,.,sy and nurse i'm d bit ell give
,rr some sport"
II can quite believe it," remarked
the other, swinging into the saddle.
nEFORE he had gone fifty yards
u the horses head had come up
title. He was walking more col
iectedly. looking as If he had regained
some of the spring of former days.
;'or there was a man on his back-a
man born and bred to horses and
their ways-and it would be hard to
.ay which of the two, the groom or
The animal, realized it first The
-room.s old pride in. Boddington's felt
outraged at having to offer such a
mount to such a man. He turned as
4 two-seated racing car pulled up IN
the yard and a young man stepped
out. He nodded to the groom as he
removed his coat and the latter
touched his cap.
Grand day, Mr.. Dawson" he re-
marked. Scent should be good
The newcomer grunted indifferently
and adjusted his already -faultless
stock. while another groom led out
marnifcent blooded chestnut from
loose box.
who was the fellah in ratcatcher
7 passed ridin' that awful old quod
of yours?' he asked.
To such sartorial exquisite
bowler hat and short coat was
almost a crime.
u dunno, sir" said the groom.
"Ain't never seen i'm before TO the
i'm at the finish
The other regarded his chestnut
complacently.
He won't live half a mile II we get
rojn'." he remarked. You want a
horse if hounds find in Spinners
copse. not a prehistoric bone-bag.
He gave short laugh. in whlch
there was more than a hint OF self
satisfaction. And you can't get
horse without money these days
George-and big money at that. He
carefully adjusted his pink coat as
he sat in the saddle. Have the gray
taken to Mortons crossroads. And
Won can take the car there, too, ne
continued, turning to the chauffeur.
Then. with a final hitch at his coat,
n. too. went out of the yard. The
old groom watched him dispassion-
ately until a bend in the road hid
him from sight. Then he turned to
one of his underlings and delivered
himself of one of his cryptic utter
ances.
lave yer ever seen a monkey, Joe.
sittin' on the branch of tree, ussln
a waxwork doll?'
cant say as 'ow I ave. Cargo"
returned the other after profound
cogitation.
well. yer don't need to. That
monkey'd be the same shape as i'm
on a 'orse."
X y
1,HE meet of the South Leicesters
at Spinner's copse generally pro-
duced a field even larger than the
normal huge crowd which followed
that well known pack. 1t was near
the center of their country, ana IL
Fate was kind and the fox took the
direction of Hangman's Bottom. the
line was unsurpassed in any country
in the world.
1t was a quarter to eleven when the
tall, spare man. having walked the
three quarters of mile from Bod
dington's. dismounted by the side of
the road and thoughtfully lit cigar
cite. His eyes took in every detail
of the old familiar scene, and in spite
of himself his mind went back to the
last time he had been there. He
smiled a little bitterly He had been
a fool to come and open old wounds.
This game wasn't for him any more
his hunting days were over. II things
had been different. II only" He
drew back as a blood chestnut, fret
ting and irritable under pair OF
heavy hands, came dancing by. spat-
tering mud in all directions. II only
well, he might have been riding
that chestnut instead of the heated
cIothes-peg on his back now. He
looked with kind of weary cynicism
at his own mount, mournfully nib
bling grass. Then he laid a kindly
hand on the animals neck.
"'Tain't your fault. old son. is it?"
he muttered. But to think of Spin