things were going very much to the satisfaction of that distinguished individual.
He was willing to see the other man’s horse chafe and fret,—the more the better; and he cared nothing for the sponge that was used to moisten the mouth of the great racer.
Look away down the long line of white men and Indians; and on the low hills, above, see the crowd eager to witness the first jump!
The chief gives a quiet signal to the Indian boy. The blanket dropped from the boy’s shoulders, and a yellow-skinned, gaunt-looking sprite bestrode the Indian horse, holding in his left hand the hair rope, that was to serve him for a bridle, and in his right a small bundle of dried willows.
Presto! The stupid-looking brute is instantly transformed into a beautiful animated racer. His eyes seemed almost human. His ears did not droop now, but by their quick alternate motion giving signs of readiness, together with the stamping of his feet, slowly at first, but faster and more impatiently the moment it was intimated he might go; and the other was making repeated efforts to escape, his masters manœuvring for the advantage.
The little Indian boy managed his horse alone as the chief gave quiet signs. Three times had they come up to the scratch without a start. Crabb seemed now very solicitous about the race. I think, probably, he had by this time found the “hornet in his hat;” at all events, he was pale, and his rider exhibited signs of uneasiness.
At length, thinking to take what western sportsmen call a “bulge,” he said, “Ready!”—“Go,” said
the little Indian boy, and away went twenty thousand dollars in the heels of the Indian horse, twenty feet ahead before the other crossed the mark, making the gap wider at every bound.
Away they sped, like flying birds. The crowd joined in shouts and hurras, hundreds of all colors falling in behind and following up.
