Lucknow; but
the Rajah's new purchase had gained so high a reputation in the Western
Presidency as fully to justify the odds of two to one laid on it, while
four to one were offered against Prothero, and from eight to twenty to
one against any other competitor.

Prothero had stopped to have a chat at the Hunters' carriage as he
walked towards the dressing tent.

"Our hopes are all centered in you, Mr. Prothero," Mr. Hunter said.
"Miss Hannay has been wagering gloves in a frightfully reckless way."

"I should advise you to hedge if you can, Miss Hannay," he said. "I
think there is no doubt that Mameluke is a good deal faster than Seila.
I fancy he is pounds better. I only beat Vincent's horse by a head last
year, and Mameluke gave him seven pounds, and beat him by three lengths
at Poona. So I should strongly advise you to hedge your bets if you
can."

"What does he mean by hedge, uncle?"

"To hedge is to bet the other way, so that one bet cancels the other."

"Oh, I shan't do that," she said; "I have enough money to pay my bets if
I lose."

"Do you mean to say you mean to pay your bets if you lose, Miss Hannay?"
the Doctor asked incredulously.

"Of course I do," she said indignantly. "You don't suppose I intend to
take the gloves if I win, and not to pay if I lose?"

"It is not altogether an uncommon practice among ladies," the Doctor
said, "when they bet against gentlemen. I believe that when they wager
against each other, which they do not often do, they are strictly
honest, but that otherwise their memories are apt to fail them
altogether."

"That is a libel, Mrs. Hunter, is it not?"

"Not altogether, I think. Of course many ladies do pay their bets when
they lose, but others certainly do not."

"Then I call it very mean," Isobel said earnestly. "Why, it is as bad as
asking anyone to make you a present of so many pairs of gloves in case a
certain horse wins."

"It comes a good deal to the same thing," Mrs. Hunter admitted, "but to
a certain extent it is a recognized custom; it is a sort of tribute that
is exacted at race time, just as in France every lady expects a present
from every gentleman of her acquaintance on New Year's Day."

"I wouldn't bet if I didn't mean to pay honestly," Isobel said. "And if
Mr. Prothero doesn't win, my debts will all be honorably discharged."

There was a hush of expectation in the crowd when the ten horses whose
numbers were up went down to the starting point, a quar