“Leonard,” said Mr. Willing, “you stand the first watch, from six o’clock in the morning until two. Jimmy can watch from two until ten, and Frank, you stand guard from ten until six in the morning.”
Mr. Willing glanced at his watch.
“It is now almost noon,” he said. “Leonard, you go to the stable and relieve Jimmy until two o’clock. In the meantime, I’ll get out my double-barreled shotgun and clean it up a bit.”
Leonard did as Mr. Willing requested.
The next two days passed quietly, and every one had about come to the conclusion that there was nothing more to be feared.
Gabriel was being given a short workout every day now, to prime him for the great Derby. Each morning and afternoon Jimmy put him through a stiff run along Willing’s trial track, and Mr. Willing, after examining the racehorse carefully, announced that he was in fine condition.
“He’s on edge right now,” he declared. “We mustn’t train him too fine, but we must give him enough work to keep him from growing stale.”
The date for the big Derby was fast approaching. Experts and racing men from all over the country came to the Willing farm almost daily, seeking to have a look at Gabriel, who had been picked almost unanimously to win the big race.
In spite of the fact that Gabriel had never been entered against horses of such class before, his fame had gone before him, for in some manner, in spite of the fact that an effort was made to keep his time in trial runs secret, it had leaked out, and there was little question that Gabriel would be the favorite upon the day of the Derby.
But to the experts and racehorse men who pleaded to look at the great black horse, Mr. Willing turned a deaf ear.