ve that Alan
gasped. Eve clutched his arm in her excitement.

"By Jove, he's coming and no mistake!" exclaimed Alan.

"Splendid!" said Eve. "What wonderful speed--but will he catch him?"

"Whoop, whoop, whoop!" came from Jack Wrench--three sharp, piercing
cries; but there seemed to be a note of alarm in the last, it died away
suddenly.

The Duke was now almost at Southerly Buster's quarters, and Bradley was
on the lookout for squalls; the advantage he possessed was greatly in
his favor at this critical point. Colley thrilled with excitement;
after the first part of the race the change was delightful. There was
no doubt about The Duke's doing his best now. A tremendous cheer came
from the crowd as he drew almost level with Southerly Buster.

They were not many lengths from the winning-post; it was a terrific
set-to. There was nothing between the pair; they were evenly matched.
The Australian was a wonderful horse. How the colonials cheered!
There was nothing wrong with their lungs, whatever there might be with
their limbs. It was a glorious sight to watch these two horses,
representatives of all that was best in the sport on two sides of the
world, struggling for supremacy. There was the blue blood of the
English thoroughbred in both, although reared and trained under
different conditions. Cheering and counter-cheering echoed over the
heath as The Duke and Southerly Buster struggled on. Whichever won,
the honors were almost equal; this is as it ought to be on a match of
this kind.

The whips were out; down they came, and still the horses were locked
together. The Duke tossed his head. Colley thought it was all up,
that he had given in; then to his surprise the horse's resentment took
another turn and he made a savage effort to get his head in front.

The din was tremendous, and the excitement great; there was not likely
to be a better race than this in the four days.

Bradley rode splendidly, so did Colley, and both horses put in all they
knew.

They were just at the post when The Duke made his final stride. Had he
won? Nobody knew, not even the jockeys; each thought he had just got
it. The judge was certain; he alone could decide, and he did not
hesitate.

There was a moment of silent suspense, then the hurricane of cheers as
number one, The Duke's number, went up. Alan's horse had won by half a
head in the last stride and Southerly Buster was only just vanquished.
"Honor's divided," was Mr