amount, and the interest, in the final closing of the
account at the end of the year, before the horses are restored to you."

Had an uninterested observer been standing by he might have seen with
half an eye that Blake's coolness was put on, and that his indifference
to the bargain was assumed. This offer of the loan was a second bid,
when he found the first was likely to be rejected: it was made, too,
at the time that he was positively declaring that he would make none
but the first offer. Poor Frank!--he was utterly unable to cope with
his friend at the weapons with which they were playing, and he was
consequently most egregiously plundered. But it was in an affair of
horse-flesh, and the sporting world, when it learned the terms on which
the horses were transferred from Lord Ballindine's name to that of Mr
Blake, had not a word of censure to utter against the latter. He was
pronounced to be very wide awake, and decidedly at the top of his
profession; and Lord Ballindine was spoken of, for a week, with
considerable pity and contempt.

When Blake mentioned the loan Frank got up, and stood with his back to
the fire; then bit his lips, and walked twice up and down the room,
with his hands in his pockets, and then he paused, looked out of the
window, and attempted to whistle: then he threw himself into an
armchair, poked out both his legs as far as he could, ran his fingers
through his hair, and set to work hard to make up his mind. But it was
no good; in about five minutes he found he could not do it; so he took
out his purse, and, extracting half-a-crown, threw it up to the
ceiling, saying,

"Well, Dot--head or harp? If you're right, you have them."

"Harp," cried Dot.

They both examined the coin. "They're yours," said Frank, with much
solemnity; "and now you've got the best horse--yes, I believe the very
best horse alive, for nothing."

"Only half of him, Frank."

"Well," said Frank; "it's done now, I suppose."

"Oh, of course it is," said Dot: "I'll draw out the agreement, and give
you a cheque for the money to-night."

And so he did; and Frank wrote a letter to Igoe, authorizing him to
hand over the horses to Mr Blake's groom, stating that he had sold
them--for so ran his agreement with Dot--and desiring that his bill
for training, &c., might be forthwith forwarded to Kelly's Court. Poor
Frank! he was ashamed to go to take a last look at his dear favourites,
and tell his own trainer that he had sold his