"'Yes, Mr. Van Voast,' says Brown. 'And she's as good as ever stood on four legs! She'll carry your weight nicely, too.'
"'Is she fast?' says the young chap.
"'After racing at ninety miles an hour, anything in horse-flesh would seem slow to you, I presume,' says Brown. 'But she is an extremely fast hunter, and very thorough at a fence.'
"'Do you know Ferguson's Macbeth?' says the young chap.
"'I ought to,' says Brown. 'We imported Macbeth and Mr. Ferguson bought him from me.'
"The young chap studies a minute.
"'I might as well tell you that I want a hunter to beat Macbeth for the Melford Cup,' he says at last.
"'Oh, oh!' says Brown. 'That's too large an order, Mr. Van Voast—I can't fill it.'
"'You don't think this mare can beat Macbeth?' says the young chap.
"'No, sir, I do not,' says Brown. 'Nor any other hunter I ever saw. There might be something in England that would be up to it, but I don't know what it would be—and money wouldn't buy it if I knew.'