?"

"M--well, yes. I think he's got a chance," said Miles.

"A royal chance--'Leven hundred--twelve hundred.... In that case,
price bein' satisfactory and all, I oughtn't to hold out any
info'mation. This black hoss shouldn't be worked to-morrow mornin'.
He got his last workout to-day; the full distance, and he's ready. I
wasn't even goin' to warm him up before takin' him to the paddock.
Some hosses run better hot; some run better cold.... Fourteen
hundred--fifteen hundred, and O. K.--Better not forget that, Jimmy."

"I won't, old-timer. Guess I better take him now, eh?"

"As well now as any other time. He's your hoss."

Major Ewell Duval Pettigrew was an early riser, but he was barely
into his trousers when a bell boy tapped at his door. The major was
small and plump, with a face like a harvest moon, if you can imagine
a harvest moon wearing a bristling moustache and goatee. Horsemen
knew to their sorrow that the major owned a long memory, a short
temper, and strong prejudices. Consistent racing was his cry and woe
to the in-and-outer.

"Somebody to see me, eh?" sputtered the major. "Blankety blank it to
blank! Man can't even get his breakfast in peace! Oh, Mr. Curry. Show
the gentleman up, boy."

"Judge," said Old Man Curry, after shaking hands, "there's something
you ought to know. I bought that Eliphaz hoss from Jimmy
Miles--bought him cheap."

"And a good bargain, suh," remarked Major Pettigrew.

"Mebbe. Well, Miles has been pesterin' me for a week wantin' to buy
the hoss back. Said he never would have sold him if he hadn't been in
licker. He kind of thought I took advantage of him, he said, but it
wa'n't true, judge, not a word of it. So last night I let him buy the
hoss back--for cash. This mornin' the hoss is in Al Engle's barn."

"Ah!" Major Pettigrew twisted his goatee until it stuck out straight
from his chin. "Engle, eh?"

"He knew I never would have sold that hoss to him, so he sent Miles,"
explained Old Man Curry. "I--I've had some trouble with Engle,
judge. I beat him a few times when he wasn't lookin' for me to win.
In case anything happens, I thought I better see you and explain how
Engle got hold of the hoss--through another party."

"Yes, suh," said Major Pettigrew. "I understand yo' position
perfectly, suh. Suppose, now, you had not sold the animal. Would you
say he had a chance to win the Handicap?"

"Judge," said Old Man Curry earnestly, "I would have bet on him from
hell to breakf