Willie, the hero of the town, was taken to a comfortable buggy, and Jim Dennis was about to remove him from the course when the lad recovered and opened his eyes.
'Are you better now?' asked his father.
'Yes,' said Willie, faintly. 'Please do not take me home; it will do me good to watch the other races.'
'If you think you can stand it, we will remain.'
'I'll be all right, dad. It was more the excitement of the race than anything else upset me.'
When Sal saw Neptune battling out the finish with Distant Shore she rushed down towards the crowd to find out which horse had won.
As she did so she encountered Rodney Shaw, who stopped her and said,—
'Where are you going? You seem to be in a hurry, Sal.'
'Has Willie won? Has he won? Please tell me, Mr Shaw.'
'Yes, he has beaten me and won the race; at least the judge says so. I think my horse won,' he replied.