'Neptune beats yours for fifty.'
'Done,' said Shaw, 'a hundred if you like.'
'No, fifty will do,' said Jim.
'I'll have the other fifty,' said Aaron Hyam, and Shaw accepted it.
The yellow jacket was now almost level with the green and the black; close behind came Scamp, Wamba and Dingo. The issue was confined to this lot.
The crowd shouted until they were hoarse.
'The Captain's beaten!'
It was an ominous sound, and Abe Dalton smothered an oath as he looked and saw Jackson hard at work upon his horse. Still The Captain struggled on and answered gallantly, and Dalton thought he might just get home. Whips were out, and Ben Madsley was calling vigorously upon Distant Shore.
On the outside, nearly in the middle of the course, was Neptune, coming along with giant strides, and Willie sitting still upon him.
At this critical moment the shouts of the crowd, the intense excitement of a desperate finish, caused his head to swim, and he felt faint. He nerved himself for a last effort. He must not fail now when the goal was nearly reached, and Neptune looked all over a winner.