eld. The other horse is not nearly as good as Emperor,
and has little chance of being placed. Murphy, the jockey who is to ride
Emperor, is one of the best on the turf, although comparatively a young
boy, probably about nineteen years old. He has ridden a number of races,
and from all reports is a lad of good habits, and seemingly thoroughly
honest.

"Young Blake, as you know, 'plunges' more or less on his horses when
they run, whenever he thinks they have a fair show to win, and in this
case he has bet a great deal more money than he can afford to lose,
knowing that unless the horse meets with some unforeseen accident he is
certain to win the race. As I understand it, he has bet so much money
that if by any chance Emperor should lose the race it would seriously
hurt young Blake. Of course, this is all foolishness from our
standpoint, but the fact remains that the young man has bet this money,
and that any accident which would interfere with his pulling off that
race would cause him serious loss.

"Knowing his father as I did, I have taken more or less interest in the
boy, and have time and again advised him to let racing alone, and settle
down to more serious life. I should not have taken the special interest
in this particular race had it not been that by a curious coincidence
information has come to me which leads me to suspect that everything is
not as it should be at young Blake's stables.

"Last year one of the stable boys, a lad by the name of Collins, was
badly injured by an accident, and young Blake saw that he was nicely
taken care of, and paid him a salary during his illness. The youngster
was grateful, and the other day, it seems, he came to Mr. Blake and told
him that Murphy, the jockey who is to ride Emperor, had been sleeping
badly for several nights, and talked a good deal in his sleep about the
horses.

"Murphy and Collins sleep together in the room over the stable, and the
night before last Collins was awakened by hearing Murphy call out to
some one, and then say distinctly, 'Yes, yes, I understand; if you wave
your handkerchief I am to 'pull' Emperor. If you do not wave it I am to
win, if I can.'

"This is serious business. The boy was dreaming, of course; but why did
he dream such a dream? The idea of 'pulling' being in the boy's mind is
in itself enough to cause serious reflection. Yesterday young Blake
called on me and told me this story as it had been told to him by
Collins. Collins was pres