“Would Porter's mare have a chance?”
“I think she would. I hear somethin' about a trial she gave them good enough to win—if I could find out her time—Porter don't talk much, an' Andy Dixon's like a clam. There's a boy in the stable, Shandy, that I might pump—”
“Don't bother, Mr. Langdon; I dislike prying into anybody's business.”
The Trainer stared, but he didn't know that Porter had told Crane all about the trial, and so the latter could afford to take a virtuous pose.
“Has The Dutchman a look in?” continued Crane.
“On his runnin' he has; he wasn't half fit, an' got as bad a ride as ever I see in my life. The race ought to be between 'em—I ain't seen no two-year-olds out to beat that pair.”
“If I thought The Dutchman would win I'd buy him. I like game horses, and men, too—that'll take the gaff and try.”
“I don't know as the owner'd sell him.”
“Do you remember the buying of Silver Foot, Langdon?”
“Yes.”