going unhappily
with you!" He felt his hand being lifted, her face pressed against it;
and, suffering acutely, with his other hand, cased in a bright new glove,
he smoothed her arm. "We'll have a jolly good day, sweetheart," he said,
"and forget all about it."

She gave the hand a kiss and turned away. And the Colonel vowed to
himself that she should not be unhappy--lovely creature that she was, so
delicate, and straight, and fine in her pearly frock. And he pulled
himself together, brushing his white 'topper' vigorously with his sleeve,
forgetting that this kind of hat has no nap.

And so he was tenderness itself on the journey down, satisfying all her
wants before she had them, telling her stories of Indian life, and
consulting her carefully as to which horse they should back. There was
the Duke's, of course, but there was another animal that appealed to him
greatly. His friend Tabor had given him the tip--Tabor, who had the
best Arabs in all India--and at a nice price. A man who practically
never gambled, the Colonel liked to feel that his fancy would bring him
in something really substantial--if it won; the idea that it could lose
not really troubling him. However, they would see it in the paddock, and
judge for themselves. The paddock was the place, away from all the dust
and racket--Olive would enjoy the paddock! Once on the course, they
neglected the first race; it was more important, the Colonel thought,
that they should lunch. He wanted to see more colour in her cheeks,
wanted to see her laugh. He had an invitation to his old regiment's
drag, where the champagne was sure to be good. And he was so proud of
her--would not have missed those young fellows' admiration of her for the
world; though to take a lady amongst them was, in fact, against the
rules. It was not, then, till the second race was due to start that they
made their way into the paddock. Here the Derby horses were being led
solemnly, attended each by a little posse of persons, looking up their
legs and down their ribs to see whether they were worthy of support,
together with a few who liked to see a whole horse at a time. Presently
they found the animal which had been recommended to the Colonel. It was
a chestnut, with a starred forehead, parading in a far corner. The
Colonel, who really loved a horse, was deep in admiration. He liked its
head and he liked its hocks; above all, he liked its eye. A fine
creature, all sense and fire--p