"Here!" Glass hopped to his feet and dove through the blankets. "None of that! Have a little regard for me. If you go lame it's my curtain."
All that day the trainer stayed close to his charge, never allowing him out of his sight, and when, late in the afternoon, Speed rebelled at the espionage, Glass merely shrugged his fat shoulders. "But I want to be alone—with her. Can't you see?"
"I can, but I won't. Go as far as you like. I'll close my eyes."
"Or I'll close them for you!" The lad scowled; his companion laughed mirthlessly.
"Don't start nothin' like that—I'd ruin you. Gals is bad for a man in trainin' anyhow."
"I suppose I'm not to see her—"
"You can see her, but I want to hear what you say to her.
No emotion till after this race, Wally."
"You're an idiot! This whole affair is preposterous—ridiculous."
"And yet it don't make us laugh, does it?" Glass mocked.
"If these cowboys make me run that race, they'll be sorry—mark my words, they'll be sorry."