Delighted at the success of her horsemanship, Beth repeated the action, crying:
"Whoa—nice Dollie." Then in a tumult of relief she shouted:
"Hurrah, I'm not going to die after all."
People on the grandstand heard the sweet childish cry of joy and saw Dollie a moment after come to a standstill. Instantly a wild outburst of enthusiasm followed. People clapped and stamped wildly, shouting themselves hoarse. Mr. Davenport, too agitated for speech, rushed up to Beth, and clasped her close to his heart. The jockeys clustered around, and they too clapped their hands in approval.
"Why are all the people shouting?" asked Beth.
Mr. Davenport gave her a convulsive hug and answered:
"They are shouting for you, my dear."
For a few seconds Beth was quite overcome, and then she whispered to her father:
"I guess they're not shouting for me, but for Dollie. I didn't really want her to go so fast, but I couldn't stop her at first. In fact, I thought I was going to be killed, sure. I am very, very glad I was not thrown."
If she was glad, Mr. Davenport was more so, but he was still too overcome to say much. Beth was rather surprised to have him hug and kiss her so often, for generally he was not a demonstrative man.