nd when they began to turn the
curve in the distance Robert saw that bay and sorrel were still neck
and neck. Then he saw them far across the field, and neither yet had
the advantage.

Now, Robert understood why the Virginians loved the sport. The test of
a horse's strength and endurance and of a horseman's skill and
judgment was thrilling. Presently he found that he was shouting with
the shouting multitude, and sometimes he shouted Cressy and sometimes
he shouted Blenheim.

They came around the curve, the finish of the first mile being near,
and Robert saw the nose of the sorrel creeping past the nose of the
bay. A shout of triumph came from the followers of Cressy and Cabell,
but the partisans of Blenheim and Stuart replied that the race was not
yet half run. Cressy, though it was only in inches, was still
gaining. The sorrel nose crept forward farther and yet a little
farther. When they passed the judges' stand Cressy led by a head and a
neck.

Robert, having no favorite before, now felt a sudden sympathy for
Blenheim and Stuart, because they were behind, and he began to shout
for them continuously, until sorrel and bay were well around the curve
on the second mile, when the entire crowd became silent. Then a sharp
shout came from the believers in Blenheim and Stuart. The bay was
beginning to win back his loss. The Cressy men were silent and gloomy,
as Blenheim, drawing upon the stores of strength that had been
conserved, continued to gain, until now the bay nose was creeping past
the sorrel. Then the bay was a full length ahead and that sharp shout
of triumph burst now from the Blenheim people. Robert found his
feelings changing suddenly, and he was all for Cressy and Cabell.

The joy of the Blenheim people did not last long. The sorrel came
back to the side of the bay, the second mile was half done, and a
blanket would have covered the two. It was yet impossible to detect
any sign indicating the winner. The eyes of Tayoga, sitting beside
Robert, sparkled. The Indians from time unknown had loved ball games
and had played them with extraordinary zest and fire. As soon as they
came to know the horse of the white man they loved racing in the same
way. Their sporting instincts were as genuine as those of any country
gentleman.

"It is a great race," said Tayoga. "The horses run well and the men
ride well. Tododaho himself, sitting on his great and shining star,
does not know which will win."

"The kind of race