The betting, which originally had been on Gay's horse, now, as I said above, had veered round to Mackrell's; in fact the race was considered as good as over.
When the time came for harnessing for the final, Rensslaer, who had been looking after Gay's horse all the time, and found him in a very bad state, went as a final desperate remedy to the refreshment bar, bought a bottle of their best champagne, and at the risk of its being considered doping, he drenched the horse with the liquor. The effect in a few minutes was very marked; the horse brightened up, and seemed almost himself again.
But the trouble was by no means over. In the bar Rensslaer presently found, to his horror, that the driver of Gay's horse had been given drinks to celebrate his plucky driving with the broken wheel, so often, that the man was already dead-drunk, and of no earthly use to drive.
Rapidly seeking out Gay, and drawing her aside, Rensslaer briefly told her the state of affairs, and offered to drive for her, but like lightning she leaped to the longed-for opportunity, and whispered that if he would lend her his Faber speed wagon (in which he drove Hettie C. in her trial pace against time earlier in the day) she would drive the race herself.
Gay's horse was therefore harnessed to the speed wagon; she took her place in it, and Rensslaer tucked her well in with a light rug.
But all this took time. The moment of the start for the final was long past; in fact a stout young man had been shouting "Get on your marks," in a voice like a bull for some time, when suddenly Gay appeared on the track behind her horse, and after a moment's stupefied silence, a deafening cheer rang out, succeeded by another, and another.
CHAPTER XVI
GAY DISGRACES HERSELF
There was no time to warm up the horse; she had to trot down fast to her mark, overshot it some forty yards, and swung her horse round in a hurry, spurting to get up to her mark, as she saw "Uncle's" back with upraised pistol.
It was fortunate she did so, as at that moment the pistol went off, and she was at top speed on to her mark as the pistol was fired, Mackrell's horse being at a standstill at the same mark (they were both scratch mark horses, you may remember), she having the outside position.