lders of the great jockey
thrust his mount forward, always forward--forward at each stride; fairly
lifting him, till the very lurches of Lauzanne carried him toward the
goal. And at his girth raced the compact bay son of Hanover; galloping,
galloping with a stout heart and eager reaching head; straining every
sinew, and muscle, and nerve; in his eye the brave desire, not to be
denied.

Ah, gallant little bay! On his back was the offspring of unthinking
parents--a pin-head. Perhaps the Evil One had ordained him to the
completion of Langdon's villainy with Lauzanne. At the pinch his
judgment had flown--he was become an instrument of torture; with whip
and spur he was throwing away the race. Each time he raised his arm and
lashed, his poor foolish body swayed in the saddle, and The Dutchman was
checked.

"Oh, if he would but sit still!" Porter cried, as he watched the equine
battle.

The stand mob clamored as though Nero sat there and lions had been
loosed in the arena. The strange medley of cries smote on the ears of
Allis. How like wild beasts they were, how like wolves! She closed her
eyes, for she was weary of the struggle, and listened. Yes, they were
wolves leaping at the throat of her father, and joying in the defeat of
Lucretia. Deep-throated howls from full-chested wolves: "Come on you,
Lauzanne! On, Westley, on! The Bay wins! The Dutchman--The Dutchman for
a thousand!"

"I'll take--"

But the new voice was stilled into nothingness by the shrill,
reawakening falsetto. "Go on, Westley! Lauzanne wins--wins--wins!" it
seemed to repeat. Allis sank back into her seat. She knew it was all
over. The shuffle of many feet hastening madly, the crash of eager heels
down the wooden steps, a surging, pushing, as the wolf-pack blocked each
passage in its thirstful rush for the gold it had won, told her that the
race was over.

No one knew which horse had won. Presently a quiet came over the mob
like a lull in a storm. Silently they waited for the winning number to
go up.

"I believe it's a dead heat," said Porter; and Allis noted how calm
and restful his voice sounded after the exultant babel of the
hoarse-throated watchers.

"Where was Lucretia, father?"

"Third," he answered, laconically, schooling his voice to indifference.
"I hope it's a dead heat, for if Lauzanne gets the verdict I've got to
take him. I don't want him after that run; they made him a present of
the race at the start, and he only just squeezed