n Derby until a backer--if
there had been one--could have written his own price, and got it.

Langdon had informed Crane of this change in their favor, though he said
nothing about the deal with Shandy which had brought about the poisoning
of the mare.

"I'm sorry that Porter's mare has gone wrong," Crane said. "I think we
would have won anyway, but it'll just about ruin them."

Figuratively, Langdon closed one eye and winked to himself. Crane must
know that it was his implied desires that had led up to the stopping of
Lucretia. Langdon thought Crane just about the most complete hypocrite
he'd ever met; that preacher face of his could look honorably pious
while its owner raked in a cool forty thousand over the Trainer's dirty
work. However, that cut no figure, it was his ten thousand dollars
Langdon was after.

Just as they thought they had destroyed the chances of their strongest
opponent, came a new disturbing feature. Other eyes than Dixon's has
seen Lauzanne's strong gallop; other watchers than his had ticked of the
extraordinary good time, 2:11 for the mile and a quarter, with the
horse seemingly running well within himself, never urged a foot of
the journey, and finishing strong, was certainly almost good enough to
warrant his winning.

This information had been brought to Langdon, but he also had observed
the gallop. And the same boy was to ride Lauzanne in the race, he
understood, for Redpath had been released, and was looking for another
mount. It wasn't in the natural order of things that one small stable
would have in it two horses good enough to win the Derby, especially
when one of them was a cast-off; but there was the gallop; time, like
figures, didn't lie, not often; and as he thought of it Langdon admitted
that he had never seen such an improvement in a horse as had been made
in Lauzanne. Shandy had told him that it was Miss Porter's doing, that
she had cured him of his sulky moods; the gallop Langdon had witnessed
seemed to bear out the truth of this. What was he to do? They couldn't
repeat the trick they had played on Lucretia. The Dutchman might win; he
had worked the full Derby distance, a mile and a half, in 2:45, nearly
all out at the finish. Lauzanne's gallop was only a mile and a quarter;
he might not be able to stay the additional quarter. But there was
ten thousand dollars at stake--for Langdon. He sought to discover the
identity of Lauzanne's rider; but nobody knew him--Dixon had picked