unning on
tiptoe. We hastened to our seats in the grandstand.

"Did you get all the bets down?" asked Joyce.

I nodded and displayed a deck of ducats. "It may not have occurred to
you, my sweet," I announced gleefully, "but these pasteboards are
transferrable on demand to rice and old shoes, the sweet strains of _Oh,
Promise Me!_ and the scent of orange blossoms. You insisted I should
have a nest egg before you would murmur, 'I do'? Well, after this race
these tickets will be worth--" I cast a swift last glance at the tote
board's closing odds, quoting Tapwater at 35 to 1--"approximately
seventy thousand dollars!"

"Donald!" gasped Joyce. "You didn't bet all your savings?"

"Every cent," I told her cheerfully. "Why not?"

"But if something should go wrong! If Tapwater should lose!"

"He won't. See what I mean?"

For even as we were talking, the bell jangled, the crowd roared, and the
horses were off. Eight entries surged from the starting gate. And
already one full length out in front pranced the weight-free, lightfoot
Tapwater!

At the quarter post our colt had stretched his lead to three lengths,
and I shouted in Pending's ear, "How much does that jockey weigh,
anyway?"

"About six pounds," said Pat. "I turned the knob to cancel one
eighteen."

At the half, all the other horses could glimpse of Tapwater was heels.
At the three-quarter post he was so far ahead that the jockey must have
been lonely. As he rounded into the stretch I caught a binocular view of
his face, and he looked dazed and a little frightened. He wasn't
actually _riding_ Tapwater. The colt was simply skimming home, and he
was holding on for dear life to make sure he didn't blow off the horse's
back. The result was a foregone conclusion, of course. Tapwater crossed
the finish line nine lengths ahead, setting a new track record.

The crowd went wild. Over the hubbub I clutched Pat's arm and bawled,
"I'll go collect our winnings. Hurry down to the track and swap that
lightening rod for the real bat we brought along. He'll have to weigh
out again, you know. Scoot!"

The others vanished paddockward as I went for the big payoff. It was
dreary at the totalizer windows. I was one of a scant handful who had
bet on Tapwater, so it took no time at all to scoop into the valise I
had brought along the seventy thousand bucks in crisp, green lettuce
which an awed teller passed across the counter. Then I hurried back to
join the others in the winner's