'Much better; a little dizzy at times, but it soon passes off. I hope I shall be all right in the race, at any rate I shall try my best.'
'I hope you will win,' said Adye Dauntsey, 'both for your own sake and your father's.'
'I think I shall,' he replied. 'Have you backed Neptune?'
'Yes, I have a fiver on with Hyam, but he would not lay me more than six to one.'
'Which horse is favourite?' asked Willie.
'I should say Distant Shore is as good a favourite as anything,' said Adye Dauntsey; 'and The Captain is second favourite. There are a lot of them backed, such as Wamba, Wattle Tree, Dingo, Reindeer and Scamp, and some people have been tempted by the long odds to put a few pounds on Seaweed, Mr Shaw's second string. I suppose he will make the running for Distant Shore. You must not let him steal a march on you and get too far ahead; there's many a race lost in that way.'
'I'll take good care of that,' said Willie, smiling. 'I know Neptune can stay every yard of the two miles, so I shall not hesitate to make good use of him.'
Ben Madsley came up wearing the green jacket and white cap, which were Rodney Shaw's first colours, a black cap denoting which was the second string.
'Well, youngster, do you fancy yourself for this race? I think I shall beat you. Your father ought to have let me ride Neptune; it would have been a good thing then.'
'It is not a bad thing now,' said Willie; 'and I know how to ride the horse, and he understands me. You'll find we shall be thereabouts at the finish.'