himself, in whom the public
seemed to place confidence, for they laid very long odds against
Dreadnought.

The animal was famous, but not in that name; he had, like most honest
persons, an alias. How he achieved his victory is uncertain; one
thing, however, is certain--it must have been a startling surprise
to Dreadnought to find himself in a race at all, and still more
astonishing to find himself in front.

"How many ran?" I asked.

"Three, sir; two of 'em crack horses."

At this time I took little interest in pedigrees, and knew nothing
of the "cracks," so the names of those celebrated animals which
Dreadnought had beaten are forgotten. One of them, it appeared, had
been heavily backed at 9 to 4, but Dreadnought did not seem to care
for that; he ran, not on his public form, but on his merits. My eyes
were opened at last, and the whole mystery was solved when James told
me that _all three horses belonged to the same owner_!

From that time to this I never heard what became of Dreadnought, and
never saw the man who bought him, even in the dock. It is strange,
however, that animals so true and faithful as dogs and horses should
be instruments so perverted as to make men liars and rogues; while for
intelligence many of them could give most of us pounds and pass us
easily at the winning-post.

Speaking of dogs reminds me of dog-stealers and _their_ ways, of which
some years ago I had a curious experience. I have told the story
before, but it has become altered, and the true one has never been
heard since. Indeed, no story is told correctly when its copyright is
infringed.

There was a man at the time referred to known as old Sam Linton, the
most extraordinary dog-fancier who ever lived, and the most curious
thing about him was that he always fancied other people's dogs to his
own. He was a remarkable dog-_finder_, too. In these days of dogs'
homes the services of such a man as Linton are not so much in request;
but he was a home in himself, and did a great deal of good in his way
by restoring lost dogs to their owners; so that it became almost a
common question in those days, when a lady lost her pet, to ask if she
had made any inquiry of old Sam Linton. He was better than the wise
woman who indicated in some mysterious jargon where the stolen watch
might or might not be found in the distant future, for old Sam
_brought_ you the very dog on a _specified day_! The wise woman never
knew where the lost property was;