im go. Don't forget the word
'Vamose!'"

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE GREAT CHIQUITA.

Hatrack and Magpie were now brought up to the starting point.

The boy who traveled with old man Norris was on the back of the latter
horse, sitting in a regular jockey's saddle and stripped of all
superfluous clothing.

He was the typical jockey now. He had put away all the appearance of
youth, and was a crafty and sly man.

It was apparent that the whole outfit was in the racing business, and as
the crowd looked at the discrepancy between the two horses, and observed
that on the best-looking horse was a professional jockey, while on the
crowbait was only a girl, something like a groan went up.

But some of them were game, and cheered Stella to the echo.

"You're all right!" shouted her supporters.

"Hurrah fer ther girl jockey," yelled the cow-punchers. "I got a month's
wages that says she'll win the race."

But the other side had something to say, also. They made all sorts of
fun of Hatrack, and roars of laughter went up as he ambled,
stiff-legged, onto the course.

Clay Whipple was chosen to start the race, and stood beside the track
with a red flag in his hand. The two horses were jockeyed back and forth
for several minutes.

"Are you ready?" shouted Clay, as they came up.

"No!" shouted Stella.

"No!" answered the jockey.

Back again they went, and came up neck and neck, the riders nodding to
Clay.

"Go!" cried Clay, bringing down the red flag with a swish through the
air.

"Vamose!" Stella's clear young voice rang out.

Then an amazing thing happened. Hatrack seemed to be suddenly galvanized
into life. He straightened out, and shot to the front with great, long
horizontal leaps. His body seemed to be gliding close to the earth.

His head was between his legs, and he was running like a greyhound.
Stella was bent low upon his neck, and every moment or two she would
shout in Spanish, "Go it! Vamose!" or, "You're winning! Vamose!"

And winning Hatrack surely was. Now he was half a length ahead of the
fleet Magpie, who was running the race of her life.

Behind her Stella could hear the crowd yelling like mad. The air fairly
shook with the shouts of the multitude as the two horses shot forward.
But it was a short race, and seemed to Stella to have ended almost as
soon as it began.

As she flew past Bud, she got a fleeting glimpse of him jumping up and
down in a very ecstasy of glee, and she knew that she