M-WHITE
 
 ' 
 

 
 HARD PRESSED
 
 HARD PRESSED 
 
 1Y 
 
 FRED M. WHITE 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "THE CRIMSON BLIND'' 
 "THE CORNER HOUSE" 
 "THE YELLOW FACT" 
 
 ETC., ETC. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 *. F. FENNO & COMPANY 
 
 18 EAST 17th STREET 
 
 WARD, LOCK & CO., LONDON
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 I A MODERN SPORTSMAN . . .11 
 
 II AN UNEXPECTED MEETING . . .18 
 
 III A LIVING FORTUNE .... 25 
 
 IV A GREAT TEMPTATION ... 32 
 V THE SHADOW OF DOUBT ... 39 
 
 VI A TRIAL SPIN ON THE DOWNS . . 47 
 
 VII A LEAF FROM THE PAST ... 54 
 
 VIII ROGUES IN COUNCIL .... 62 
 
 IX IN THE TOILS ..... 70 
 
 X CONFESSION ..... 78 
 
 XI ON THE EDGE ..... 86 
 
 XII A LION IN THE PATH ... 94 
 
 XIII " AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN " . 102 
 
 XIV THE POST CLUB . . . .no 
 XV JOLLY & Co 117 
 
 XVI THE NOOK 124 
 
 XVII A FAIR DAY'S SPORT .... 132 
 
 XVIII AN EVENING VISIT .... 139 
 
 XIX THE EMPTY HOUSE .... 146 
 
 9 
 
 2138870
 
 io CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAG 
 
 XX INSIDE ...... 153 
 
 XXI THE EAVESDROPPERS . . . , 160 
 
 XXII A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE . . .167 
 
 XXIII A CHANGE OF AIR . . . . 174 
 
 XXIV A STRANGE VISITOR .... 181 
 XXV THE DERELICT 188 
 
 XXVI A SECOND TRIAL .... 195 
 
 XXVII DRIVING IT HOME .... 202 
 
 XXVIII HONOUR BRIGHT .... 209 
 
 XXIX ACTING THE FRIEND . . . .216 
 
 XXX AN ULTIMATUM .... 223 
 
 XXXI A POINT-BLANK REFUSAL . . . 230 
 
 XXXII AN EASY FALL 238 
 
 XXXIII THE FIVE BASKETS .... 246 
 
 XXXIV No. 5 253 
 
 XXXV A POISONOUS ATMOSPHERE . . 260 
 
 XXXVI FIELDEN INTERVENES ... 268 
 
 XXXVII BETWEEN Two FIRES . . . 276 
 
 XXXVIII LOOSENING THE GRIP .... 283 
 
 XXXIX A DRAMATIC EXIT .... 291 
 
 XL CAUGHT !...... 298 
 
 XLI HOME AGAIN 305 
 
 XLII FIRST PAST THE POST . . .312
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 A MODERN SPORTSMAN 
 
 IT was a gala night at the National Opera House, 
 and the theatre was crammed from floor to 
 roof, for Melba was sustaining a new part, and all 
 London had gathered to listen. It was rarely 
 indeed that so fashionable an audience assembled 
 in February. The boxes were ablaze with diamonds. 
 On the grand tier, however, there was one box 
 which was not filled with gaily garbed women and 
 which attracted attention by the fact that its sole 
 occupants were a girl and two men. Though she 
 was quietly dressed and wore no ornaments except 
 flowers, nevertheless a good many women envied 
 May Haredale ; for the box belonged to Raymond 
 Copley, who was quite the last thing in the way of 
 South African millionaires. He was a youngish, 
 smart-looking Englishman of the florid type, was 
 becoming known as a sportsman and, according to 
 all accounts, was fabulously rich. He was sup- 
 posed to have discovered diamonds in Rhodesia, a 
 stroke of fortune which put him in a position, it 
 
 was alleged, practically, to dictate terms to the De 
 
 11
 
 12 HARD PRESSED 
 
 Beers Company, and those " in the know " in the 
 City declared he had come out of a negotiation for 
 amalgamation with two millions of money in his 
 pocket. 
 
 Be that as it may, he had purchased a fine old 
 estate within twenty miles of London, and lavished 
 large sums upon his racing stud, and people began 
 to court his acquaintance. He was on very friendly 
 terms with his near neighbour, Sir George Haredale, 
 of Haredale Park, which accounted for the fact 
 that the Baronet and his only daughter were availing 
 themselves of Copley's hospitality that evening. 
 
 May Haredale ought to have been enjoying her- 
 self. She did not have many opportunities for 
 pleasures of this kind, for, sooth to say, Sir George 
 Haredale was a poor man. He had a constant 
 struggle to keep up appearances, and most of his 
 friends wondered how he managed to pay the 
 expenses of his racing stable. But the Haredales 
 had been kings of the turf for a hundred years or 
 more, and Sir George clung desperately to this 
 last vestige of the family greatness. The whole 
 estate was going to rack and ruin, the gardens and 
 grounds were neglected, the conservatories were 
 empty, the carpets and old furniture were faded 
 and worn. But the stables left nothing to be de- 
 sired. How near they were to the verge of collapse 
 only Sir George himself knew. 
 
 He had few rich and influential friends. He did
 
 A MODERN SPORTSMAN 13 
 
 not care for moneyed men, as a rule, and so the old 
 county families were surprised to see the intimacy 
 that had grown up between him and Raymond 
 Copley. They professed not to understand it, but 
 one or two shrewd observers declared that May 
 Haredale was at the bottom of it, and that Copley 
 was over head and ears in love with the girl. 
 
 It would have been strange were it otherwise. 
 She was just the sort of girl to attract a man like 
 Copley. She was tall, well formed and exceedingly 
 pretty, though cold and haughty at the mere sug- 
 gestion of a liberty. 
 
 What she thought of Copley she had never been 
 heard to say. She had not many friends in her own 
 circle. She was perfectly happy and contented 
 so long as she had a good horse and the promise 
 of a day with the hounds. Most people deemed 
 her rather distant and reserved, but a few hinted 
 that May Haredale could be chummy enough when 
 she chose. Others, however, had noticed a great 
 change in the girl during the past two years. There 
 was a time when she had been one of the merriest 
 madcaps, and then, all at once, she seemed to grow 
 up and become staid and dignified. And it was 
 not altogether the weight of family trouble which 
 bore her down, for, as a matter of fact, she had no 
 idea how desperate Sir George's fortunes were. 
 
 She appeared on friendly terms with Copley, but, 
 though for the past twelve months he had been a
 
 14 HARD PRESSED 
 
 familiar visitor at Haredale Park, he did not think 
 that he was making much progress in her good 
 graces. Clever as he was, the girl managed to 
 keep him at a distance without wounding his pride, 
 and as time went on he found himself more and 
 more infatuated with May Haredale. 
 
 He belonged to the class of man who never counts 
 the cost of anything and is ready to go any lengths 
 in the pursuit of a fancy. He thought he had been 
 extremely patient, and told himself earlier in the 
 evening that before the week was out things would 
 have to be settled one way or the other. And 
 he was not without weapons, either. Sir George 
 could have unfolded a tale in that respect had he 
 chosen to do so. The Baronet was proud, but 
 there are times when pride has to take a second 
 place, and such a crisis in his affairs had arrived. 
 May would have been surprised to learn that Copley 
 could at any moment sell the old home over their 
 heads and turn them out to shift as best they 
 might. 
 
 She sat with her face on her hand, looking at the 
 stage, but she was not listening to Melba's marvel- 
 lous voice. Her mind had gone back to a somewhat 
 similar scene two years ago when she was last in 
 the same opera house. How different things had 
 seemed then ! How much happier she had been in 
 those days ! She roused herself presently to find 
 that Copley was addressing her.
 
 A MODERN SPORTSMAN 15 
 
 " Oh, I beg pardon," she said. " I suppose the 
 singing carried me away. What were you saying ? " 
 
 Copley uttered something appropriate. There 
 was a hard look in his eyes as he took in the de- 
 tails of May's fresh beauty. She was just the wife 
 for him. She had a fine appearance and good 
 breeding and would take him into certain houses 
 the entree of which had as yet been denied him. 
 They were going on afterwards to supper at the 
 Carlton, and before he slept that night Copley would 
 know his fate ; indeed, he knew it already. He 
 had a kind of instinct that May disliked him. But 
 that, after all, was a small matter. When she 
 learned the truth there would be no alternative. 
 That her dislike might turn into hatred mattered 
 nothing to Copley. He bent down already with 
 an air of possession which brought a faint flush 
 into May's cheeks. She was feeling rebellious. 
 
 : ' You are enjoying it ? " he asked. 
 
 " Oh, yes. I should be a strange creature if I 
 didn't. I have so few treats like this." 
 
 " Isn't that your own fault ? " Copley returned. 
 " Surely, you must know that if you only liked to 
 say the word " 
 
 A sudden outburst of applause drowned the rest 
 of his speech, but to all intents May heard every- 
 thing that he had to say. She blamed herself that 
 she had not shown this man earlier that her feelings 
 towards him were merely conventional. And now
 
 16 HARD PRESSED 
 
 she would have to make up her mind one way or 
 the other. Copley stood with a smile upon his face, 
 evidently very sure of his ground. A longing to 
 get away, to be alone with herself, came over 
 May Haredale. In a way she was grateful to Copley 
 for saying no more. She was glad when the per- 
 formance was over and they began to move towards 
 the stairs. Here a stranger bustled up and touched 
 Copley on the arm. As he turned to the intruder 
 his face changed. May thought he looked almost 
 alarmed, but it was a trifle and she only noticed 
 it vaguely. The recollection was to come back to 
 her later. 
 
 " One moment, Sir George," Copley said. " Would 
 you mind waiting for me in the vestibule ? It is 
 a little business affair which won't detain me five 
 minutes." 
 
 Sir George passed on with his daughter, leaving 
 the two men together. Copley turned sharply round 
 upon his companion. 
 
 " Now what is it ? " he asked curtly. 
 
 " Oh, I thought you would like to know," the 
 other said. " I only got back last night. The first 
 man I met this morning in the City was Aaron 
 Phillips." 
 
 " You don't mean that," Copley exclaimed. 
 
 " I do, indeed. It is a thousand pities I haven't 
 managed to find you before to-day. I have been 
 chasing you from place to place in the most madden-
 
 A MODERN SPORTSMAN 17 
 
 ing fashion. However, Phillips is here, and so I 
 thought I would come and warn you. No, no, I 
 have made no mistake." 
 
 " But the thing is impossible, Foster. You know 
 as well as I do that Phillips was killed " 
 
 " Well, so we imagined. Anyway, the beggar's 
 back again, and there's no getting away from it. 
 And if he is allowed to talk, and we don't square 
 him " 
 
 " Square him ! Why, it would cost half a million ! " 
 
 " Well, suppose it does. Won't it be cheap at 
 the price ? Wouldn't it be better for us to plank 
 that money down than be standing in but you 
 know what I mean. It's a most infernal piece of 
 ill luck, but, after all, your position is by no means 
 a bad one. You go everywhere, you are eagerly 
 sought after. Besides, who is to know whether 
 you are a millionaire or a pauper ? You've got the 
 reputation of being a rich man, and with brains 
 like yours 
 
 " I can't stop now," Copley said hurriedly. " I 
 have some people supping with me at the Carlton, 
 and it is impossible to put them off." 
 
 The other man grinned. 
 
 " I understand," he said. " I guessed who the 
 lady was. I'll come round to your rooms at 
 half-past twelve or a quarter to one, and then we 
 can talk the thing over quietly. You can see for 
 yourself that the matter won't keep." 
 
 B
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 
 
 MEANWHILE, Sir George and his daughter 
 were waiting impatiently for Copley. As 
 they stood, the fashionable stream hurried by them. 
 The road outside was crammed with cabs and 'buses 
 and motors, for all the theatres were discharging 
 their audiences. The street was one seething 
 mass when Copley joined his friends. They pressed 
 together towards the pavement, and Copley could 
 scarcely conceal his annoyance that his car was not 
 in attendance. He supposed there was some mis- 
 understanding and suggested that it would save 
 time if they took a cab. 
 
 " We might have some difficulty in getting two 
 cabs," he said. " One of us had better walk." 
 
 " I'll walk," Sir George answered. " I haven't 
 had any exercise to-day, and it will give me an 
 appetite for supper." 
 
 May looked up vaguely alarmed. She had no 
 fancy for a drive to the Carlton in the company of 
 Raymond Copley. 
 
 " Wouldn't it be better to walk along till we come 
 it
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 19 
 
 to the end of the street ? " she proposed. " There 
 would be more chance of getting a cab when we are 
 out of the crush." 
 
 Without waiting for a reply she stepped on to 
 the pavement. In his aggressive way Copley 
 elbowed a clear path. The road seemed to be 
 fuller than ever of vehicles. Then there rose the 
 quick cry of a woman's voice, the sound of clashing 
 metal, and before any one could realize it two motors 
 had overturned. Instantly all was confusion, and 
 five minutes later May found herself on the other 
 side of the street alone and presenting a somewhat 
 conspicuous figure in her evening dress and cloak. 
 
 She was not frightened or alarmed. She had 
 too much pluck and courage for that. She thought 
 the best thing would be to turn down this dark 
 side street and make her way to the Haymarket. 
 
 She walked quietly and fearlessly along, the 
 road getting narrower as she went. She passed 
 one or two men who made audible remarks upon 
 her appearance, but she did not heed them. And, 
 then, almost before she knew what had happened, 
 a man by her side began to pester her with remarks 
 which brought the blood flaming to her face. That 
 the nighthawk was not sober did not tend to im- 
 prove the situation. 
 
 She looked about for some one to appeal to, and 
 with sudden thankfulness heard steps hurrying 
 behind. Next moment she saw her tormentor lying
 
 20 HARD PRESSED 
 
 on his back in the gutter with another man standing 
 over him. 
 
 " I am glad to be of assistance to you," the 
 stranger said. " If you will allow me to walk with 
 you as far as the comer of the street I will call a 
 cab. I suppose you got separated from your party 
 and this fellow followed you." 
 
 " That is so," May replied. " I cannot sufficiently 
 thank you." 
 
 She paused in the midst of her speech, for her 
 rescuer's face was shining out clear and distinct 
 in the lamplight. At the same instant the stranger 
 turned and their eyes met. 
 
 " Harry," the girl murmured, " Harry ! " 
 
 " Well, yes," the stranger laughed awkwardly. 
 " This is rather an unexpected meeting, isn't it ? " 
 
 May made no reply at the moment. She was 
 studying her companion intently. She noticed 
 how white his handsome face was. There was the 
 suspicion of suffering in his eyes. His dress was 
 neat, but worn and shabby, and yet there was an 
 unmistakable air about Harry Fielden which pro- 
 claimed that he had been accustomed to better 
 things. He stood half-defiant, half-smiling, and 
 yet he held up his head as if he had nothing to be 
 ashamed of. 
 
 " Where have you been for the last two years ? " 
 May asked. 
 
 Harry Fielden shrugged his shoulders.
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 21 
 
 " It would be difficult to tell," he said. " In 
 the first place, I tried Australia. But things were 
 worse there than they are here. America I could not 
 stand at any price ; then I went to South Africa, 
 where I managed to starve. I had one slice of 
 fortune, but was cruelly used by a man I trusted. 
 And now, if it be possible, I am poorer than ever. I 
 am trying to get employment at a stud farm or 
 racing stable. It is the only thing I really know." 
 
 May Haredale listened with trembling lips. Ray- 
 mond Copley would have been surprised had he 
 seen the expression on her face. He might have 
 been uneasy, too. 
 
 " I am very sorry," the girl remarked. " Oh, my 
 dear boy, how foolish you have been ! To think what 
 you wasted ! To think of that beautiful old house ! " 
 
 " I try not to think of it," Fielden said. " I was 
 all the fool you took me for, and worse. It was my 
 misfortune that I had no one to look after me. 
 When I came into a fine property at the age of twenty- 
 one I had no knowledge of the world. And every 
 blackguard and sponger who came along I accepted 
 at his own valuation. Well, it is an old story, May 
 a fool and his money are soon parted. But, 
 thank goodness ! I never did anything to be 
 ashamed of. I never wronged man or woman 
 and I pulled up in time to pay all my debts. 
 There is nothing left now but the old house, and 
 that I couldn't sell because it is not worth any one's
 
 22 HARD PRESSED 
 
 while to buy it. More for the sake of sentiment 
 than anything else I have managed to pay my 
 subscriptions to my clubs. I still have the freedom 
 of Tattersall's and Newmarket, though I have known 
 what it is to sleep out of doors, but not till this 
 minute did I fully realize what I threw away. Ah, 
 we were good friends in those days, May." 
 
 May Haredale nodded. It was difficult to speak 
 at that moment, for she and Harry Fielden had been 
 more than friends. They had been brought up 
 together from childhood, and had been together at 
 many a dance and tennis party and many a clinking 
 run with the hounds. Nothing had ever passed 
 between them, but it was a tacit understanding 
 that Fielden and May Haredale would wait for one 
 another. 
 
 When the crash came and Fielden disappeared, 
 May had made no sign, but from that time she was 
 more sedate and seemed to have left her old life and 
 spirits behind her. 
 
 " I had not forgotten you," she murmured pres- 
 ently. " We must try to do something for you, 
 Harry. I will speak to father. And then there is 
 Mr. Copley. He has a fine establishment near us 
 and one of the largest racing stables in the kingdom. 
 But you don't know him. He is a South African 
 millionaire who has come into our neighbourhood 
 since your time." 
 
 " Oh, I have met some of them," FieJden said
 
 AN UNEXPECTED MEETING^ 23 
 
 grimly. " They don't think so much of them out 
 there as folk do at :home. I fancy I know the 
 name. I wonder if it is the same Copley I met on 
 the Rand but, no, that is out of the question. 
 So you think he might find me something to do ? 
 You don't know what heartbreaking work it is, 
 seeking occupation and finding none. And I am 
 anxious to work, goodness knows. I am young 
 and strong, steady and trustworthy, and there is no 
 man living who knows more about horses than I 
 do. I wonder if you would mind speaking to this 
 man for me. I've got no pride now. I have had 
 that knocked out of me. But perhaps you would 
 not like me to come down into the old neighbour- 
 hood again. You might not care for it." 
 
 " Oh, my dear boy," May said reproachfully. 
 " How can you talk like that ! You know that 
 there are some friends who were ready to do any- 
 thing for you. But you would not give them a 
 chance. You disappeared without so much as 
 saying good-bye." 
 
 " Well, you can understand my feelings," Fielden 
 answered. " However, I've got to go down to the 
 old place to-morrow, in any case. There are some 
 things in the house that I need, and I shall hope to 
 meet Joe Raffle. It was very good of you to take 
 Joe into your service. It was awfully kind of your 
 father to buy most of my horses. I hope there is 
 a Derby winner amongst them."
 
 24 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " We think so," May exclaimed. " We have 
 great hopes of a Blenheim colt. He hasn't been 
 seen in public since the Middle Park Plate which 
 he won handsomely enough. We think he is the 
 best horse we ever had, and people appear to be of 
 the same opinion. If he doesn't win the Derby I 
 don't knoiv what will become of us. But get Raffle 
 to take you over to Mallow's to-morrow and he will 
 show you the colt. It's only a matter of a few hun- 
 dred yards, as you will recollect, from our lodge 
 gates to Mallow's stables. Mallow is only a small 
 trainer, but he suits us and is not expensive. I 
 wish you would stay down for a day or two. We 
 shall be back to-morrow night, and my father will 
 be disappointed if he doesn't see you. And now, 
 really- 
 
 " I am sorry," Fielden said. " I have no right 
 to keep you talking here. Come along and I will 
 get you a cab. And if I can manage to stay at the 
 old place over to-morrow I will come and see you. 
 How jolly if one of my colts should win the Derby 
 for Sir George ! " 
 
 There was a tender smile on May's lips and a dash 
 of colour in her face as she drove presently to the 
 Carlton. Sir George was waiting with fussy anxiety. 
 Copley looked disturbed and rather ill-tempered. 
 They accepted May's explanation. Naturally, 
 they put down her heightened colour and spark- 
 ling eyes to the excitement of her adventure,
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A LIVING FORTUNE 
 
 HARRY FIELDEN would have shirked the 
 visit if he could, but there was nobody whom 
 he could trust to go down to the old home and pro- 
 cure the papers he required. He was glad to see 
 Herons Dyke again, but, at the same time, he was 
 half ashamed to meet the old faces. Many would 
 have welcomed him gladly, but he had made an 
 utter failure of his life, and pride stood in the way 
 of meeting these acquaintances. 
 
 There was nothing left but the house. Long ago 
 the estate had passed into the hands of strangers. 
 The stables had fallen into decay. The tan track 
 round the park was overgrown with weeds and grass. 
 He was surprised to find himself unrecognized. A 
 dozen people passed him with no more than a casual 
 glance. He had forgotten that two years' " rough- 
 ing it " had changed him from a handsome boy into 
 a stern, resolute man, with an expression far beyond 
 his age. Even his moustache had altered him. 
 It was true that May Haredale had recognized him 
 readily enough, but that, surely, was different.
 
 26 HARD PRESSED 
 
 He would go as far as Haredale Park Farm 
 and look at the horses. He was all the more 
 ready to do this, because he felt assured he would 
 pass for a total stranger. It was possible Joe 
 Raffle might identify him, but, then, the old 
 head groom had known him ever since he could 
 walk. And now Joe was Sir George Haredale's 
 trusted right-hand man and had been so for the last 
 eighteen months, since the death of his predecessor. 
 It had always been a consolation to Fielden to know 
 that Raffle had gone on to Mallow's, with the stud 
 which had once been his property. They had not 
 been a very brilliant lot and few of the horses had 
 ever paid for their keep ; but Raffle believed in 
 the Blenheim blood and had always prophesied that 
 some of the colts would do great things at the proper 
 time. 
 
 Fielden was amused to see the suspicious glances 
 cast at him by more than one of the lads. Pre- 
 sently Raffle came himself, a short, sturdy man, 
 bent with age, whitehaired, but with cheeks rosy 
 as a winter apple. He was about to ask Fielden 's 
 business sharply, when his face changed and he 
 led Fielden to one side. The old man was moved 
 and with difficulty held his voice steady, but his 
 keen blue eyes gleamed with pleasure. 
 
 " I never expected to see this day, Master Harry," 
 he said. " And one of those lads wanted to order you 
 off the premises. Just think of it ! And they told
 
 A LIVING FORTUNE 27 
 
 me you were dead. I met a man in London who 
 said he knew for a fact that you were drowned in 
 the Modder in South Africa." 
 
 Fielden's face grew stern for a moment. 
 
 " Your friend wasn't far wrong, Joe," he said 
 grimly. " It was a near thing. But that is too 
 long a story to tell now. I came down on 
 business, and I don't know whether I was glad or 
 sorry to find that no one recognized me." 
 
 " Miss May would have been glad to see you," 
 Raffle said. 
 
 " Oh, we have already met. That was an accident, 
 too. I told her I was coming to-day, and she gave 
 me a cordial invitation to look at the horses. I 
 couldn't resist a chance like that. Well, Joe, I hope 
 that Sir George has done better with the Blenheim 
 stock than I did. I understand he didn't give much 
 for them. I am told he bought the whole lot, lock, 
 stock and barrel, for a bagatelle. And now they say 
 there is a Derby winner amongst them. Is that 
 a fact, Joe ? Or is it one of the fairy tales one is 
 always hearing in regard to turf matters ? " 
 
 Raffle lowered his voice impressively. 
 
 " It is no fairy tale, Mr. Harry," he said. " Bar- 
 ring accidents, we are going to win the Derby this 
 year with a colt locally bred and locally trained. 
 It is a Blenheim colt, too, and if you hadn't been 
 unfortunate he would have been yours. He's only 
 once been seen in public yet, and nobody but our-
 
 28 HARD PRESSED 
 
 selves knows what he can do. Still, people will 
 get talking and our horse stands at a short price in 
 the betting." 
 
 " I am glad to hear it," Fielden said heartily. 
 " I am especially glad to hear it for Sir George's sake. 
 You know almost as much about the family as I do. 
 You know what Sir George could do with the money. 
 We don't want to gossip, but I know Sir George is 
 a good master to you and that his interests are 
 yours." 
 
 " That's true, Mr. Harry. I'd do anything for 
 Sir George, who has been a rare good master to me. 
 But he ain't you, sir, and he ain't the old squire, 
 either. You see, I served under a Fielden from the 
 time I was ten years old till I was close on seventy, 
 and it was a bit of a wrench leaving Herons Dyke. 
 And when I heard you were dead, it seemed to 
 me, sir, that I had nothing else left to live for. 
 I ain't one to show my feelings much, sir, but when 
 I saw you in the yard just now I could have burst 
 out crying like a kid. You ought never to have 
 gone away, sir. You ought to have stayed here and 
 faced it out. But, perhaps, you did well in South 
 Africa. Maybe you have come back with a fortune. 
 I'd like to hear you say so." 
 
 " I think I am rather worse off than when I went 
 out," Fielden smiled. " I had a fortune in my grasp, 
 but was robbed by a pair of murderous scoundrels, 
 who will have something to answer for later. And
 
 A LIVING FORTUNE 29 
 
 now, take me round and show me the horses. 
 Let me see this Blenheim colt of which such 
 great things are expected." 
 
 Raffle led the way across the fields to the neat 
 yard along the range of stables where Mallow trained 
 for a small owner or two. Whatever the condition 
 of the house and grounds, there was nothing lack- 
 ing in the stables. They came at length to a loose 
 box a little apart from the rest, and Raffle stripped 
 the clothing off a great raking chestnut horse, show- 
 ing a skin like satin gleaming in the sunlight. The 
 expression on Raffle's face was almost motherly. His 
 eyes shone as he laid his hand upon the horse's 
 glossy neck. 
 
 " There," he said proudly, " look at that ! You 
 are most as good a judge of a horse as I am, tell 
 me if he doesn't look all the way a Derby winner. 
 Just cast your eye over those shoulders, look at 
 those quarters. And a real tryer he is, too, and as 
 good-tempered as a lamb. I always knew we should 
 do great things some day with one of the Blenheim 
 colts, but I never expected anything quite as good 
 as this. 
 
 A quarter of an hour later the two left the box. 
 So far as Fielden could see, Raffle had not over- 
 estimated the chances of the Blenheim colt. If 
 everything went well for the next three months, 
 Sir George's fortunes would be restored and there 
 would be no more poverty at Harefield Park.
 
 30 HARD PRESSED 
 
 Fielden was extravagant in his praise, but there 
 was no answering enthusiasm upon Raffle's part. 
 He was moody and thoughtful. There was some- 
 thing almost guilty in the glance that he turned upon 
 Fielden. 
 
 " What's the matter ? " the latter asked. 
 
 " No man ever yet did a foolish thing without 
 being found out," Raffle muttered. " Let's walk 
 across the park where we can be alone, because there 
 is something I must say to you. If you hadn't 
 turned up yet, Mr. Harry, it would have been all 
 right, but seeing you have turned up, why, it's all 
 wrong and I am bound to tell you. When you 
 went away, you left your affairs in a muddle. 
 There was money coming to you from Weatherby's, 
 though perhaps you didn't know it, and up to this 
 year they have kept up your subscriptions to one 
 or two races, the Derby amongst others. Oh, I 
 knew it, and I am going to tell you now why I kept 
 the knowledge to myself. The year you went away 
 so sudden you nominated more than one colt for the 
 Derby and, of course, the money was all right. Well, 
 after you disappeared and they said you was dead, 
 nothing seemed to matter and I thought no more 
 about things. Sir George took over your 'osses, 
 and it was only when this Blenheim colt began to 
 shape so well that I began to ask myself a few 
 questions. It was easy to bamboozle Sir George, 
 because he is the worst man of business in the world.
 
 A LIVING FORTUNE 31 
 
 And I can prove every bit of it, sir ; I can prove 
 every word I am saying. And therefore it comes 
 about that this Blenheim colt this one that's going 
 to win the Derby belongs to you, or at any rate 
 he was nominated in your name, which comes to the 
 same thing. I daresay you will ask me why I have 
 done this, and why I kept the secret, and I'll tell 
 you. I really did it for the sake of Miss May. I 
 would do anything for her, anything to put Sir 
 George on his legs again. You see, I thought you 
 was dead and out of the way and, after all said 
 and done, I was doing nobody any harm by keeping 
 my mouth shut. And yet now you have come 
 back home again I feel a bit of a scoundrel." 
 
 " It seems incredible," Fielden exclaimed ; " it 
 is a strange discovery for a pauper to make." 
 
 " Well, sir," Raffle said doggedly, " there it is, 
 and this wonderful chance is entirely in your own 
 hands, pauper or no pauper."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 A GREAT TEMPTATION 
 
 AS yet Fielden could not realize it. The thing 
 was so unexpected he found it hard to 
 grasp Joe Raffle's meaning. He was too con- 
 ventional to have much imagination. He had 
 not thought it possible that fortune could have 
 devised a method of restoring his old prosperity. 
 But after the first shock of discovery it seemed 
 feasible. Similar things had happened before, 
 though, perhaps, not exactly on lines such as these. 
 And now the position of things as they were at 
 the time he left was coming back to him. He had 
 a vivid recollection of the night when he first stood 
 face to face with ruin, when he knew that he had 
 come to the end of his tether. For Harry Fielden 
 had not drifted into a mess with his eyes shut. He 
 had known that things were getting desperate and 
 had staked pretty well everything on a certain race 
 and his horse had lost. When things came to be 
 settled up there was just enough to pay his creditors 
 in full. He recalled how he sat down one night 
 with pencil and paper and worked out the whole
 
 A GREAT TEMPTATION 33 
 
 thing fairly and squarely. He had had friends to 
 dinner that evening. It was daybreak before the 
 last hand had been played and Fielden found 
 himself alone to face the dreaded disaster. 
 
 How clearly it all returned to him now ! He had 
 not felt disposed to sleep, but had gone up to his 
 room in the silent house and refreshed himself 
 with a bath and changed his clothes, after which 
 he had come down to the dining-room again. He 
 had thrown back the curtains and opened the win- 
 dows to admit the sunshine of a perfect day the 
 day of his ruin ! 
 
 But he had done nothing to be ashamed of. He 
 had not disgraced himself, and no friend or trades- 
 man was the poorer for his rashness. So leaving 
 his affairs to the family solicitors, he quietly van- 
 ished from the scene of his folly. 
 
 He did not know then indeed, he did not 
 know fully now that out of a sum of money 
 waiting at his banker's his various subscriptions 
 and racing liabilities were being paid, for it had 
 never occurred to him to withdraw the various 
 orders he had given to his banker. 
 
 Obviously Joe Raffle was speaking the truth as 
 to the Blenheim colt, though the other part of 
 the business still remained a mystery. But if he 
 could believe his ears aright, then at that moment 
 he was not an outcast and pauper, but one of the 
 most envied men who had ever set foot upon 
 
 c
 
 34 HARD PRESSED 
 
 a racecourse. At the lowest estimate, he was worth 
 five thousand pounds. He could sell the Blenheim 
 colt with all his engagements for such a figure be- 
 fore the day was out. He might return to the old 
 house and restore some of its glories. He might 
 have enough to keep him comfortably, and, above 
 all, acquire a position that would entitle him to go 
 to Sir George Haredale and ask for the hand of his 
 daughter. 
 
 This was all very well from one point of view, 
 but there was another side. His prosperity would 
 be Sir George's ruin. Still, the temptation was 
 dazzling, and for a few minutes Fielden was afraid 
 to trust himself to words. 
 
 " You have done very wrong, Raffle," he said 
 presently. 
 
 Joe scratched his head contritely. 
 
 " I know it, sir," he admitted. " I didn't realize 
 how wrong I had behaved till I saw you come in the 
 stable yard, and you could have knocked me down 
 with a feather. But what else could I do ? You 
 had gone away and I heard you were dead. I 
 had to believe it, because the man who told me gave 
 me chapter and verse for it, and I felt as if I had 
 lost a child of my own. By-and-by I was com- 
 fortably settled in Sir George's employ, having as 
 much money as I needed for my wants, and never, so 
 far as I knew, a single relation in the world. I said 
 nothing about the colt, because I hadn't much
 
 A GREAT TEMPTATION 35 
 
 opinion of it at first. Then I began to get as 
 fond of Miss May as I used to be of you, sir. An 
 idea came to me one night when I was sitting over 
 my pipe and, bear in mind, nobody else knew 
 and that was that, bar accidents, I had a Derby 
 winner in the stable. For Miss May's sake I was 
 willing to do much. There was no chance of anybody 
 finding it out. And, after all, I was doing nothing 
 wrong. You see, in the first place, nobody will be 
 a penny the worse. As to Sir George and your- 
 self, there is no reason why you shouldn't make a 
 large fortune. It makes no difference to me, of 
 course ; I am long past troubling about that sort of 
 thing. But now that I know you are alive it is 
 another matter. Still, the colt's keep hasn't been 
 much, and it's only a matter of luck that he don't 
 happen to belong to Sir George. Besides, Sir 
 George is expecting to win a fortune, and he is not 
 the man to grudge you your share. You will have 
 to tell him what I've told you, sir, and if Sir George 
 wants proofs I shall have them ready when the 
 time comes." 
 
 " Nobody knows anything of this ? " Fielden 
 asked. 
 
 " Not a soul, sir," Raffle said solemnly. " No- 
 body even guesses it, and if you hadn't turned up 
 I should have gone down to my grave with the secret 
 unspoken. Because, as I said before, sir, there's 
 no harm done, and nobody any the worse. But,
 
 36 HARD PRESSED 
 
 seeing that you have come back, why, the truth 
 must be told." 
 
 " And what will Miss Haredale say ? " Fielden 
 asked. 
 
 Raffle's face paled perceptibly. 
 
 " Ah, well, sir," he said, " that won't be very 
 pleasant. I'd do anything in the world for Miss 
 May, but she isn't you, and that makes a difference. 
 Of course, I know what you would do if you had 
 your own way. You would just say nothing about 
 it and let Sir George put the money in his pocket. 
 You would rather starve than do anything you didn't 
 consider right. I can see it in your face now, I can 
 tell by your eyes. But it isn't going to be, sir. 
 You'll excuse me for speaking so plainly, but I 
 couldn't rest comfortably in my grave if I thought 
 you were in want, when, by every right, you ought 
 to have a fortune in your pocket. It's no use you 
 arguing, Mr. Harry, if you don't tell the truth, I 
 shall." 
 
 The old man's voice shook strangely as he spoke. 
 His lips were quivering, but there was an air of 
 determination about him which there was no mis- 
 taking. Nobody knew better than Fielden how 
 obstinate Joe Raffle could be. There was nothing 
 to gain by threats, and sternness would be worse than 
 useless. 
 
 " I am certain you have acted for the best," 
 Fielden said soothingly. " And, as you say, there,
 
 A GREAT TEMPTATION 37 
 
 is nothing wrong in this little scheme of yours. 
 Why, you might have kept the colt yourself and 
 made a fortune over him. But, to use a pet expres- 
 sion of your own, my dear Joe, what you have 
 told me has knocked me all of a heap. I must 
 have time to think it over. I should be sorry to 
 spoil an interesting situation like this by doing 
 anything rash. Besides, there is plenty of time 
 between now and the Derby pretty well three 
 months, isn't it ? Has the colt any other en- 
 gagements before Epsom ? " 
 
 " Only two," Raffle explained. " And then he'll 
 be an eye-opener to some people. Now don't you 
 do anything foolish, sir. If you go the right way 
 about it you've got a hundred thousand pounds in 
 your pocket." 
 
 " Oh, I'll do nothing rash," Fielden laughed. 
 " You needn't be afraid of that. But I must have 
 time to think this matter over. I shall stay down 
 here a day or two, though I had intended to go back 
 to London to-morrow. I don't mind so much now 
 that I find nobody identifying me, and there are 
 several things at the house I want to gather to- 
 gether. I had no idea the old furniture was left. 
 I suppose they didn't sell it because they had no 
 instructions from me, and enough was saved from 
 the wreck to pay my creditors without it. I'll come 
 round in the morning and see you again, Joe. To- 
 night I believe I am dining with Sir George. If
 
 38 HARD PRESSED 
 
 anybody asks you who I am, you had better 
 say my name is Field ; it sounds like Fielden and 
 is easy to remember. Seeing that I am so 
 changed, nobody will connect me with the old family. 
 Now I must be off." 
 
 In a thoughtful mood Fielden turned towards 
 the old house. He was glad no one recognized 
 hflp, for the knowledge was likely to make his 
 task all the easier. He had the key of the house 
 in his pocket. The mansion appeared to have been 
 left exactly as he last saw it. There was not even 
 a caretaker on the premises. The estate around 
 Herons Dyke had long passed into the possession of 
 strangers. It presented a striking contrast to the 
 neglected grounds and grass-covered paths which 
 surrounded the old mansion where, for the last three 
 hundred years, the Fieldens had kept open house 
 and dispensed a lavish hospitality. But those 
 days were gone for ever, they would never come 
 back again, unless, perhaps 
 
 " What a chance ! " Fielden muttered to himself. 
 " What a wonderful stroke of fortune ! And yet, 
 I don't see how I can do it. There is no honour- 
 able course but silence."
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE SHADOW OF DOUBT 
 
 'THHERE were many things in the place which 
 -I- Fielden had forgotten. Here were boxes of 
 cigars and cigarettes, while cards still lay scattered 
 about and the glasses had not been removed. 
 Fielden had learnt much in the hard school of 
 adversity, and he began to realize that he had 
 about him the means to secure a considerable sum 
 of money. Despite the dust and gloom and air of 
 decay, the library was intact. Fielden was sur- 
 prised at this, for he had frequently heard his 
 father say that the books were valuable. Perhaps 
 it had occurred to nobody to look for rare books 
 in the house of a man who gave himself over entirely 
 to sport, but here they were and possibly a little 
 later they might appear to advantage in a London 
 auction-room. Fielden was not so sanguine as 
 he once had been, but at a modest computation lie 
 thought they would fetch at least a thousand 
 pounds. 
 
 He went up to his bedroom and began idly turning 
 out the drawers. At any rate he would be able to 
 
 88
 
 40 HARD PRESSED 
 
 cut a presentable appearance at Haredale Park, 
 He might venture in the open, too, for it was nearly 
 dark. The lights of Haredale gleamed hospitably 
 as he walked up the drive. He had had no 
 formal invitation, nothing save May Haredale's 
 suggestion, but he knew Sir George well enough to 
 be sure of his reception. 
 
 It all looked strangely familiar as the butler 
 opened the door and asked his name. Fielden 
 knew the butler's face well, but it was plain the 
 latter did not recognize him. Yes, Sir George and 
 Miss Haredale were at home. They had arrived 
 from London late in the afternoon, but, so far as 
 the butler knew, did not expect any guest. Still, 
 so many people came and went to that hospitable 
 house that the advent of a stranger caused no 
 surprise in the butler's mind. 
 
 " If you will give me your name, sir," he 
 suggested. 
 
 "Oh, tell Miss Haredale that Mr. Field is here. 
 She expects me, because " 
 
 Fielden broke off suddenly, for May Haredale 
 came across the hall at that moment. She smiled 
 a welcome and held out her hand. She dismissed 
 the butler, after giving instructions to him to take 
 the visitor's bag upstairs. 
 
 " I was almost afraid you wouldn't come," she 
 said. " I feared you would be too proud or some- 
 thing equally absurd."
 
 THE SHADOW OF DOUBT 41 
 
 " I plead guilty," Harry Fielden smiled. " Really 
 I don't think I should have had courage to come, 
 only I found that not a soul knew me with the 
 exception of Joe Raffle. I have passed a score of 
 people to-day whom I know intimately. But it is 
 just as well, May. Why, even Mason, your butler, 
 looked at me as if I were a perfect stranger." 
 
 " But I recognized you," May said quietly. 
 
 " Ah, you recognized me, and I was glad of that. 
 I don't think I can tell you how happy that made 
 me. When we met in London I felt for the first 
 time for more than two years that I was not alone 
 in the world. It makes one hard and bitter to be 
 always amongst strangers who care nothing for one, 
 to feel that if one dropped dead in the street no one 
 would feel even a pang of regret. But I ought not 
 to be talking like this. There is one thing I am 
 going to ask you and Sir George, and that is, to 
 keep my identity a secret. It is possible I may be 
 here a good deal off and on, and that is why I am 
 going to drop the last two letters of my name and 
 call myself Field." 
 
 It was with mixed feelings that Fielden stood by 
 his dressing-table adjusting his black evening tie 
 an hour later. His surroundings were bringing back 
 his boyhood's associations vividly, every object was 
 growing familiar. It was just the same when he 
 came down to the drawing-room and found Sir 
 George waiting him.
 
 42 HARD PRESSED 
 
 Here was a change, at any rate. Those around 
 him daily might not have seen much difference, but 
 to Fielden Sir George had grown old and bent. 
 There were lines of care about his eyes and his 
 manner was painfully nervous. In this old man triers 
 was no suggestion of one of the finest sportsmen 
 and most fearless riders in the county. Fielden 
 had learnt much in the light of bitter experience. 
 He knew great mental anxiety when he saw it, 
 and he needed no one to tell him that he was face 
 to face with it now. But Sir George's welcome 
 was hearty. The ring in his voice and the pressure 
 of his hand left nothing lacking in the way of 
 sincerity. 
 
 " Ah, my boy, this is an unexpected pleasure," he 
 said. " I don't think you really know how glad I 
 am to see you. You are almost the only one of the 
 old stock left except ourselves. One by one they 
 have passed away, and of the score of houses where 
 I used to go as a boy there isn't one to-day which is 
 not inhabited by new people. Most of them are 
 sportsmen of a sort, but they haven't the old feeling 
 for it. Well, perhaps I am a bit old-fashioned. 
 And how you have changed ! I give you my word 
 for it, I should not have known you from Adam. 
 Yet it seems only the other day that you came 
 into one of the finest properties and proceeded to get 
 rid of it after the manner of your kind. How we 
 missed you ! But it is no use crying over spilt milk.
 
 THE SHADOW OF DOUBT 43 
 
 I hoped at one time that you and May God bless 
 me, what am I talking about ! May tells me that 
 you don't want to be known by your own name, 
 and that we are to speak of you as Mr. Field. Per- 
 haps it is natural. Now you are here, you had 
 better stay a few days, and I'll see if I can find some- 
 thing for you to do. A friend of mine lives close 
 by, Mr. Raymond Copley. He is new since your 
 time, is very rich, has a fancy to keep a stable, 
 and is looking for some one he can rely upon to 
 take the entire management. He has had one 
 or two men who have robbed him. I am sure I 
 can recommend you ; with all your folly and 
 extravagance you never forgot what is due to your 
 name." 
 
 " You are very good, sir," Fielden answered. 
 " The post you speak of would be a perfect boon to 
 me. Besides, it is about the only thing I am capable 
 of doing properly. But who is Mr. Copley and 
 where did he make his money ? " 
 
 " South Africa, I believe. He is a millionaire 
 with a taste for sport, not exactly what you would 
 call a gentleman, but I believe him to be a 
 thoroughly good fellow. I don't mind telling you, 
 between ourselves, that I am under obligations 
 to him. Things haven't gone very well with me, 
 and I don't know how I should have pulled through 
 if it hadn't been for Copley. He has been very 
 generous and I only wish May could be more cordial
 
 44 HARD PRESSED 
 
 towards him. I can't think why she doesn't like 
 
 the man. It would be a splendid thing for her 
 
 But, there. I am rambling again." 
 
 Fielden turned his face aside. He was feeling a 
 strange pain at his heart which he could not account 
 for. But he understood what Sir George intended 
 to convey. Beyond all doubt, Sir George Haredale 
 was under great obligations to this newcomer and 
 was warning Fielden there must be no more nonsense 
 between May and himself. He was telling the 
 latter precisely what his hopes for his daughter 
 were. 
 
 Of course there was nothing in it that Fielden 
 could resent. He had had his opportunity and 
 deliberately lost it. It was only during the last 
 twenty-four hours that he realized what his feelings 
 towards May were. If he had not been a fool, he 
 would be rich and prosperous at this moment, with 
 May for his wife. 
 
 The strange sensation was with him all through 
 dinner. He tried in vain to shake it off. It was not 
 a cheerful meal, on the whole, for every now and 
 then Sir George lapsed into moody silence and 
 May's gaiety was fitful. The evening dragged on 
 till ten o'clock before Sir George came into the 
 drawing-room with slightly flushed face and eyes 
 that were too bright. May looked anxiously at her 
 father. So here, Fielden thought, was another 
 skeleton in the closet. The discovery was a fresh
 
 THE SHADOW OF DOUBT 45 
 
 stab to him. His own selfishness and folly were a 
 reproach. It was a relief when the door bell 
 clanged and the butler announced that Mr. Copley 
 would like to speak to Sir George. 
 
 " Ask him in," Sir George said unsteadily. 
 
 Fielden glanced at May. He could see that her 
 face had changed slightly and her eyes grown hard 
 and cold. Then the door opened and Copley came 
 in, big and self-important, with the air of a man 
 entirely at home. There was something in his 
 appearance which jarred upon Fielden, something 
 that aroused a pang beyond mere j ealousy . As Copley 
 bent over May Haredale's hand and murmured 
 something which he intended for a compliment, 
 Fielden started back for a moment. 
 
 " This is my young friend, Mr. Harry Field," 
 Sir George said. " Harry, let me introduce you 
 to Mr. Copley. I think I have found the very man 
 you want for your stables, Copley. He is the son 
 of an old pal of mine and has all the game at his 
 finger-tips." 
 
 Copley threw a half-contemptuous glance at 
 Fielden and did not hold out his hand, for which 
 discourtesy Harry felt grateful. 
 
 " Excuse me a moment," Fielden said. " I have 
 forgotten something. I'll be back presently." 
 
 With his head in a whirl Fielden walked into the 
 library. He was fighting hard for the mastery of 
 himself.
 
 46 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " Good God ! " he muttered, " so it's that black- 
 guard ! What a blessing he doesn't know me by 
 sight ! Raymond Copley and May Haredale ! Not 
 if it costs me my life I "
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 A TRIAL SPIN ON THE DOWNS 
 
 HARRY FIELDEN spent a sleepless night 
 and was glad when it was time to come down 
 to breakfast. He congratulated himself upon the 
 way he had restrained himself on the previous even- 
 ing. He had even forced himself to be polite to 
 Copley, though his one impulse had been to take him 
 by the throat and choke the life out of him. His 
 very presence in a house like Haredale Park was an 
 outrage. He wondered what Sir George would say 
 if he had known the real character of his guest. 
 Possibly Fielden would have spoken freely, had not 
 he remembered what Sir George had said as to the 
 relationship existing between himself and Raymond 
 Copley. Plainly the master of Haredale Park was 
 under the scoundrel's thumb. No doubt he had 
 lent him money, and probably the price of the 
 assistance was to be May Haredale's hand. There 
 had been no mistaking Copley's manner towards 
 her. His air of cool proprietorship had sent the blood 
 humming in Fielden's head and caused it to tingle 
 in. his finger-tips. Harry had to smile complacently 
 
 47
 
 48 HARD PRESSED 
 
 whilst every instinct in his nature was crying 
 out against the villain's presence. He had only 
 to speak and he knew that Sir George would do 
 his duty at any cost. 
 
 But he dared not speak. He had no desire to 
 ruin the man who had been so kind to him. It was 
 far better to play a waiting game. But come what 
 might, May Haredale should never marry that man. 
 Sir George should be ruined a thousand times over 
 and Haredale Park pass into the hands of strangers 
 before that catastrophe occurred. 
 
 It had been a relief to hear Copley say that he 
 would not be down again till the end of the week. 
 Therefore he had three days in which to think of 
 some scheme. It was a bright, fresh February 
 morning, with a touch of frost in the air, but 
 the diamonds were growing soft and yielding to the 
 sunshine. May Haredale was in excellent spirits. 
 It was impossible not to catch the infection of her 
 gaiety. Fielden put trouble on one side. There 
 would be time for that later, he thought, as they 
 rode out together over the Downs. They were out 
 again in the afternoon and it was dark before they 
 returned. It was like old times for Fielden to 
 feel a good horse under him. The exercise and 
 motion drove all gloomy thoughts away. Still, from 
 time to time the shadow of distress lay heavily upon 
 his shoulders. 
 
 He strolled round to Mallow's after tea to have a
 
 A TRIAL SPIN ON THE DOWNS 49 
 
 pipe and chat with Raffle. Everything appeared to 
 be going well, and the old man was in high 
 glee. 
 
 " We shall try the colt at daybreak," he said. 
 " Would you like to come and have a look, Mr. 
 Harry ? I daresay there will be one or two people 
 about, but I don't think they'll learn much. I've 
 got a plan of my own on foot, and after to-morrow 
 I shouldn't be surprised if you found the colt going 
 a little queerly in the betting." 
 
 Raffle chuckled as he spoke, but refused to be 
 more explicit. 
 
 " Oh, never you mind, sir," he said. " There are 
 some things it is as well not to talk about. If you 
 like to turn out to-morrow as soon as it is light, I 
 think I can show you something worth looking 
 at." 
 
 Fielden nodded approvingly. He woke fairly 
 early with the pale dull light of the wintry morning 
 streaming through his window, crept downstairs 
 into the deserted hall and let himself out by a side 
 door. The grey mist hanging over the Downs 
 lifted as the sun began to make his influence felt. 
 A little later Fielden discerned a group of figures 
 faintly sketched against the skyline, and could see 
 two horses in their clothing. Then he picked out 
 the form of Joe Raffle. There was a stretch of turf 
 between two banks of gorse, and the horses began 
 to move along the flat expanse. Fielden strolled 
 
 D
 
 50 HARD PRESSED 
 
 up to the group, and was amused to see the suspicious 
 glances turned in his direction. 
 
 " That's all right, Mr. Mallow," Raffle muttered. 
 " This gentleman is a friend of mine. Now, sir, 
 will you go on to the top of the Downs and wait for 
 us by the boundary stone ? That will be the winning 
 post. No reason, I suppose, to ask you if you know 
 which is the colt and which is the old horse. That's 
 pretty plain even in this light." 
 
 " That's right enough," Fielden smiled. 
 
 He walked rapidly towards the improvised 
 winning-post, unslung his glasses and fixed them 
 steadily upon the little specks in the distance. 
 Presently they made a move in his direction and 
 grew larger as they came along. Fielden could 
 hear the thud of hoofs upon the turf. Then they 
 flashed by him, the old horse lengths ahead. It came 
 as a surprise to the watcher, for he had expected an 
 entirely different result. What was Mallow doing ? 
 What scheme had that wily man in his brain ? 
 Fielden stepped aside into the gorse, so as to be out 
 of the wind which had already extinguished two 
 matches he had used in his attempt to light 
 a cigarette. As he stooped, he heard voices from 
 somewhere close by. The voices carried clear enough 
 in the silence of the spot, and Fielden could hear 
 every word. With an instinct of caution which he 
 could not have explained he crouched down behind 
 the thick shelter of a bush.
 
 A TRIAL SPIN ON THE DOWNS 51 
 
 He thought he had recognized one of the voices 
 and now he felt sure of it. It was Raymond Copley 
 beyond a doubt. Who the other man was Fielden 
 had not the slightest idea. 
 
 " Now what does that mean ? " Copley was asking. 
 
 " What does it mean ? " the other man exclaimed 
 with a sneer. " Why, it is as plain as the nose on 
 your face. I felt certain what was going to happen 
 when I advised you to come here this morning. The 
 boy told me there was going to be a trial, and I 
 wanted you to see for yourself. You are always too 
 sanguine in these matters, Copley, and that's a fact. 
 Now what do you think of the chances of your 
 friend Sir George's colt ? " 
 
 " I don't know what to say," Copley muttered. 
 " The colt seemed to be beaten fairly and squarely. 
 I suppose there is no faking about it." 
 
 " Faking ! Sir George and his trainer between 
 them haven't got brains enough for that. They 
 belong to the old-fashioned school who pride them- 
 selves upon doing everything above board. And a 
 precious good job for you and me, because they find 
 the money to keep and train horses and we sail in 
 when it comes to making a book. Perhaps you're 
 sorry you had anything on the Blenheim colt." 
 
 " Oh, you were quite right to bring me here," 
 Copley replied. " I owe you one for this day's 
 work. But the worst of it is I have backed that 
 horse for a big stake, just when I don't know where
 
 52 HARD PRESSED 
 
 to turn for ready money. If anybody knew my 
 present position, a good many people would be 
 anxious to have an interview with Raymond Copley, 
 the South African millionaire. Then there's that 
 scoundrel Phillips to be reckoned with. But come 
 along, let us go before anybody sees us. After 
 breakfast " 
 
 " Breakfast be hanged ! " the other man broke out 
 impatiently. " What's the use of worrying about 
 breakfast with a bit of information like this in our 
 pockets ? The delay of half an hour may make 
 all the difference in the world. Besides, there 
 may be a dozen other people watching for all we 
 know." 
 
 " Well, what do you suggest ? " Copley asked. 
 
 " Suggest, who wants to suggest anything ? 
 What we have to do is to get back to your place as 
 soon as possible and take the motor straight to town. 
 By ten o'clock we can get our commission on the 
 market at our own price. Then we can have as 
 much breakfast as you like. That's the worst of 
 you, Copley. You always think everything can 
 wait. Now come on." 
 
 The voices died away in the distance, and then 
 Fielden straightened himself again. He was some- 
 what mystified by what he had seen. He was 
 puzzled to know what Joe Raffle and Mallow were 
 driving at. But no doubt the old man would tell 
 him at the first opportunity. Some clever scheme
 
 A TRIAL SPIN ON THE DOWNS 53 
 
 was in the wind. It was just possible, too, that 
 Raffle expected that Copley and his friend would be 
 there. It was more than possible that Raffle knew 
 the class of scoundrel he had to deal with. The 
 old man was coming down the wide stretch of 
 turf, and Fielden looked eagerly towards him. As 
 he vaulted a patch of gorse, his left foot dropped 
 on something soft, like a bundle, and he was thrown 
 violently to his knees. Then he turned to find that 
 he had stumbled upon the figure of a man lying at 
 the foot of the gorse bush, snugly rolled up in a 
 railway rug. Here was another tout, beyond doubt, 
 another of the hateful tribe wliich has always been 
 the detestation of every racing man. Fielden 
 turned upon him savagely and demanded what he 
 was doing there. He bent over the stranger threat- 
 eningly, and the latter rose to his feet. 
 
 " Keep your temper," he said. " I'm doing no 
 harm. I'm not the only one who has earned a 
 bit on the Downs this morning. Hands off, please. 
 Why, bless my soul ! if it isn't Mr. Fielden." 
 
 Harry stared in amazement at the mention of 
 his name. For a moment he did not recognize 
 the dark unshaven features of the man. They 
 seemed familiar, yet somehow he failed to connect 
 them with time, or space, or locality. 
 
 Then it suddenly came to him. 
 
 " Aaron Phillips ! " he exclaimed. " Now is it 
 Luck that has sent you here, or Coincidence ? "
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 A LEAF FROM THE PAST 
 
 AARON PHILLIPS was standing up with some- 
 thing like a smile upon his face. He was a 
 short, slim person, swarthy and foreign-looking, 
 except for the pair of keen blue eyes which bespoke 
 the Anglo-Saxon in his blood. From the roots of 
 his hair across to his left temple was a long, angry 
 red furrow which looked like a comparatively 
 freshly-healed wound. As to the rest, he was fairly 
 well dressed, with that indescribable air of nattiness 
 which usually pertains to those who belong to the 
 genus " horsey." 
 
 " Glad to meet you, Mr. Fielden," he grinned. 
 
 " I shall be obliged if you won't use that name 
 here," Harry replied. " For the present my name 
 is Field, and I want you not to forget it. But how 
 did you manage to get home again ? I thought 
 you were dead." 
 
 Phillips indicated the scar on his forehead. 
 
 " It was a near thing, Mr. Fielden, I beg pardon, 
 Field. It wasn't the fault of those scoundrels, I 
 can tell you. They left me for dead, and if I hadn't
 
 A LEAF FROM THE PAST 55 
 
 been picked up by some of the boys I should have 
 died of starvation on the veldt. As it was, I had a 
 very close shave, and so did Copley and Foster, for 
 the matter of that. Our friends chased them all across 
 the Colony and how they managed to escape was 
 a mystery to me. Still, perhaps it is as well. There 
 are more ways than one of taking revenge." 
 
 The little man's eyes gleamed as he spoke. He 
 glanced meaningly at Fielden and jingled a few 
 coppers in his pocket. 
 
 " Make them pay for it, you mean," Fielden 
 smiled. 
 
 " That's it, sir, you've got it first time. Now, as 
 you know perfectly well, there are a dozen or more 
 people out yonder who would give a good round 
 sum to have Copley on the end of a rope, or within 
 reach of a revolver shot. They are not the sort to 
 give information to the police, because that is not 
 the way we used to do things. Still, if I like to 
 open my mouth widely enough I could make it 
 deuced hot for Copley & Co. I could have them 
 conveyed to Cape Town, and it wouldn't take me 
 long to find evidence enough to give those two chaps 
 ten years on the Breakwater. Yes, sir, I'd have 
 done it, too, but there's a better way than that. It 
 took me the best part of a year or more to scrape 
 enough money together to pay my passage home. 
 I had heard some queer stories about Copley, and 
 I wanted to find out if they were true. What do
 
 56 HARD PRESSED 
 
 I see when I reach London ? Why, Copley with 
 a set of offices in the city Copley with a suite of 
 rooms at a palatial hotel Copley with a place in 
 the country and a string of race-horses. Oh, I tell 
 you, Mr. Fielden Field, I mean I rubbed my 
 hands when I heard of it. Thinks I to myself, 
 ' This is a better game than handing Copley over to 
 the South African police.' I don't quite know yet 
 how Copley has managed it, but here he is ruffling 
 it with the best, spending money like water, and 
 going to marry the daughter of a baronet in these 
 parts." 
 
 Fielden 's face flushed angrily. He winced at this 
 home thrust on Phillips' part. So already people 
 were coupling May Haredale's name with Copley. 
 It had not occurred to him that things had gone 
 as far as that. However, Phillips could not be ex- 
 pected to know this. He was merely innocently 
 repeating local gossip. 
 
 " I suppose you mean to have some of this money ?" 
 he asked. 
 
 " If you don't mind my using the expression, 
 I am going to blackmail Copley. I am not afraid 
 of the blackguard here. There is no chance of his 
 trying on any of his murderous tricks in England. 
 He knows I have come back, but as yet I have not 
 waited upon him. I have had a hint to call from 
 Foster, but I am not taking any of that, thank you. 
 You don't catch me dropping into a police trap
 
 A LEAF FROM THE PAST 57 
 
 with a chance of being prosecuted and hustled 
 out of the country before I know where I am- 
 When I do strike it will be in a different way alto- 
 gether. For the present, I have been looking 
 around asking questions, because, you see, it will be 
 of considerable advantage to me to find out where 
 Copley is getting his money. That he is earning it 
 honestly I don't believe. He couldn't do it if he 
 wanted to. He is the sort of blackguard who would 
 rather make five pounds dishonestly than a tenner 
 by legitimate business." 
 
 *' I suppose you never found those plans ? " 
 Fielden asked. 
 
 Phillips swore heartily. 
 
 " Never, sir," he said. " They were in my 
 portmanteau, as you know. T had the portmanteau 
 in my possession when those blackguards attacked 
 me, and they had to levant without it, so closely 
 were they pressed. But when I was well again I 
 asked for my baggage and no one could tell me what 
 had become of it. It vanished in a most mysteri- 
 ous manner. If you ask me, the portmanteau 
 was stolen by one of those thievish Kaffre boys. It 
 makes me wild when I think of it. Probably it 
 is concealed in a Kaffre hut. In the old 
 portmanteau is a scrap of paper which is worth 
 hundreds of thousands to us. I say us, because it 
 is yours just as much as it is mine. I don't belong 
 to your class, Mr. Fielden, but you played the game
 
 58 HARD PRESSED 
 
 and were always a white man. And if those paper? 
 ever do come to hand, I shall do the fair thing by 
 you. It doesn't follow because I happen to be the 
 son of a sporting publican that I don't know the 
 difference between right and wrong. But what's 
 the good of worrying about that ? We shall never 
 see those papers again, and as far as we are con- 
 cerned that diamond mine might never have existed. 
 But what are you doing here 1 " 
 
 " I used to live close by," Fielden explained. 
 " Most of this was once my property. Sir George 
 Haredale's trainer employs an old servant of mine 
 and I came out this morning to see that trial. 
 I might ask you the same question." 
 
 Phillips' blue eyes twinkled. 
 
 " Bit of a disappointment, wasn't it ? " he asked. 
 
 " What do you know about it ? " Fielden demanded. 
 
 "Oh, well, sir, we are not partners in this job, 
 at any rate. If you like to keep your counsel, 
 I am perfectly willing to keep mine. Old Raffle is 
 as straight as they make 'em, but he is a downy old 
 fox all the same, and pretty neatly he drew the 
 feather over Copley's eye this morning. Oh, yes, I 
 heard all those blackguards had to say ; in fact, I 
 followed them here. I am glad I came, because I 
 heard something that confirmed my suspicions." 
 
 '' You mean as to Copley's movements ? " 
 
 " To be sure. I wanted to know where Copley 
 is getting his money. I know he isn't paying his
 
 A LEAF FROM THE PAST 59 
 
 tradesmen, but that doesn't matter, for a man with 
 a reputation for wealth can get as much credit as he 
 likes. But Copley is flying at high game and must 
 have the command of a good deal of ready cash. 
 Now where does it come from ? What sort of a 
 swindle is on ? Why were they so anxious to watch 
 the trial of the Blenheim colt this morning ? And, 
 by the way, Mr. Fielden, you must give old Raffle 
 a hint to keep his eye on the stable lads. Some- 
 body has been betraying confidence. It doesn't 
 matter this time, because Copley was fooled this 
 morning as easily as if he had been a schoolboy. But 
 I am getting a bit away from the point. I was going 
 to tell you where Copley got his money. Well, it's 
 a betting swindle, one of the biggest and most 
 ingenious that has been attempted on the turf for 
 many a long day. I just heard enough to put me 
 on the track. But I've my work cut out before I 
 reach the bottom of it. You have no occasion to 
 love Copley " 
 
 " Indeed, I haven't," Fielden said bitterly. " I 
 have every reason for disliking the man, every 
 reason for exposing him before Miss well, before 
 things have gone too far. If I can help you, I will 
 do so cheerfully." 
 
 " That's right," Phillips said approvingly. " Now 
 where can I see you for half an hour in the course 
 of the afternoon ? We mustn't stay talking here. 
 There is old Raffle."
 
 60 HARD PRESSED 
 
 Fielden thought it over for a moment or two. He 
 was glad enough to meet this old South African 
 comrade of his again. In several respects Phillips 
 was anything but a desirable acquaintance. His 
 upbringing had been none too strict, but, at the 
 same time, he had a rough code of honour, and it 
 was one of his proudest boasts that he never forgot 
 a friend or a favour. Probably he had had his own 
 reasons for leaving England suddenly, and no doubt 
 those reasons had something to do with the turf. 
 At any rate, he had a profound and intricate know- 
 ledge of racing matters, and there was no swindle 
 or trick with which he was not familiar. 
 
 " You had better meet me at Heron's Dyke," 
 Fielden said. " You can be outside in the road 
 about a quarter to five. There is nobody on the pre- 
 mises. I have the key in my pocket, and I daresay 
 I shall manage to get a light from somewhere." 
 
 Phillips disappeared amongst the high gorse. 
 As' Fielden stepped into the open he saw Raffle 
 looking about for him. There was a shrewd smile 
 on the old man's face, and he did not appear in 
 the least disconcerted by the result of the trial. 
 
 " Well ? " Fielden asked. " What about your 
 Derby winner now ? " 
 
 Raffle's eye contracted in a wink. 
 
 " It's all right, sir," he said. " The trial was a 
 great success. Did you happen to see anybody in 
 the gorse ? "
 
 A LEAF FROM THE PAST 61 
 
 " Yes," Fielden replied. " I saw Mr. Copley." 
 " And a friend/' Raffle chuckled. " I know all 
 about it. And between you and me, sir, I got this 
 up for the benefit of Mr. Copley, who is about the 
 greatest rascal unhanged, and that's saying a good 
 deal. It was high time you came back."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 ROGUES IN COUNCIL 
 
 RAFFLE strode sturdily along, refusing to say 
 another word. What deep-laid schemes the 
 old man had in his mind Fielden could only faintly 
 guess. At any rate it was good to know that 
 Raffle was satisfied, and that some careful plan was 
 afoot with a view to Copley's discomfiture. 
 
 " Perhaps you are wise to keep your own counsel," 
 Fielden said. " But I've learnt something this 
 morning, too, Raffle. There is somebody in the 
 stable who is disclosing secrets, and the sooner 
 you know it the better." 
 
 " I know it already," Raffle grinned. "It is all 
 part of the scheme. They have got hold of one 
 of the boys, and I am watching him carefully. I 
 let him take away just as much information as I 
 like. Don't you worry about me, Mr. Harry. I 
 haven't been at this game for fifty years without 
 learning a thing or two. I have always made it a 
 rule to go straight myself, but that is no reason 
 why I should keep my eyes closed to the doings 
 of other people." 
 
 " Quite right," Fielden said approvingly. " But
 
 ROGUES IN COUNCIL 63 
 
 what do you know about Mr. Copley ? He is a 
 stranger in these parts." 
 
 " That may be, sir, but he is no stranger to me. 
 I never forget a face, and I've been on every race- 
 course in the country during the last five and 
 twenty years. The first time I saw Mr. Copley, he 
 was being shown round the stables by Sir George. 
 I didnf't like him, and I didn't like his manner, and 
 thinks I to myself, ' I wonder where I've seen you 
 before ? ' Suddenly there flashes into my mind a little 
 incident that happened at Lincoln. I can see it as 
 plain as I can see this book in my hand. And then I 
 knew thatMr. Copley, the African millionaire, was one 
 and the same with the welsher that I had seen half 
 killed at Lincoln a good many years ago. Well, it 
 wasn't for me to say anything about it, because I 
 can find you a score of men to-day, rich and pros- 
 perous men, who started life amongst the scum of 
 the racecourse. I have been making a few inquiries 
 amongst my old pals, and it is just as I expected. 
 Mr. Copley may be a rich man now, but he is just 
 as big a scamp as ever he was, and Sir George ought 
 to know it. I tell you, Mr. Harry, it fairly makes 
 my blood boil to see that blackguard swaggering 
 about here and hanging around Miss May as if she 
 belonged to him. It fair spoils my enjoyment and 
 my food, it does. But you see how difficult it is 
 for a man in my position to interfere. But your 
 case is different."
 
 64 HARD PRESSED 
 
 Fielden shook his head sadly. His case was very 
 different indeed. More and more bitterly did he 
 blame himself for the heedless, senseless folly which 
 had brought him to his present pitch. How changed 
 things might have been if he had only shown ordi- 
 nary prudence ! What would he gain if he went 
 to Sir George with these vague stories about Copley ? 
 He could not doubt but that Sir George was deeply 
 in Copley's debt, and that Copley had brought this 
 about so that, when the time came, he could force 
 May to marry him. These painful thoughts were 
 uppermost in his mind as he strode back to the 
 house. He could not shake them off, though May 
 rallied him on his quietness and offered him the 
 proverbial penny for his thoughts. 
 
 " I know what is the matter," she said gaily. 
 " You are fretting because you have nothing to do. 
 But that won't be for long. Do you know that we 
 are dining with Mr. Copley to-night, and that you 
 have been included in the invitation ? Mr. Copley 
 telephoned from London this morning, and you 
 were especially mentioned by name. I am sure if 
 I put in a word for you the post will be as good 
 as yours. Before long you will be occupying an 
 important place in the racing world, and the rest 
 is in your own hands. You have the consolation, 
 too, of knowing that no one has recognized you." 
 
 It was on the tip of Fielden's tongue to refuse. 
 It was repugnant to his instincts to take service
 
 ROGUES IN COUNCIL 65 
 
 with a man like Copley. Yet, on the other hand, 
 it was fair enough to fight this fellow with his own 
 weapons. Through him Fielden had lost the chance 
 of his lifetime. But for him and his rascally associ- 
 ates, Fielden and Phillips would have been rich men 
 to-day. Moreover, if something were not done 
 speedily, a fate which was worse than death awaited 
 May Haredale. To turn his back upon a chance 
 like this would be to precipitate the very calamity 
 which he was most anxious to avert. Copley was 
 the type of strong man who always gets his way. 
 He was not the least scrupulous as to his methods, 
 and Sir George Haredale was bound to him hand 
 and foot. It would be far better to seize this coign 
 of vantage, especially as Copley had not the smallest 
 idea of the bitter enemy he was maintaining under 
 his roof. 
 
 Meanwhile, Copley and his friend Foster had 
 returned from town. They reached Copley's estab- 
 lishment, Seton Manor, just before dark. They 
 had not lost any time. Apparently they had done 
 their work fairly well, for, according to the late 
 evening papers, the Blenheim colt had receded 
 steadily in the betting. People were asking them- 
 selves what had happened. Most of the public 
 knew and respected Sir George Haredale. Not the 
 faintest shadow rested on his reputation, and this 
 fact had had somewhat of a steady effect on the 
 market. But though a certain division had rushed 
 

 
 66 HARD PRESSED 
 
 in at these improved prices to back their fancy, 
 there seemed to be an unlimited amount of money 
 ready to be laid against the horse. At any rate, 
 Copley was fairly satisfied. He had invested several 
 thousand pounds against the Blenheim colt, which, 
 in his opinion, was already as good as out of the 
 running altogether. 
 
 He came into what he called his library just 
 before dinner and found Foster awaiting him. Both 
 were in evening dress, both exceedingly shiny and 
 glossy, and both carried more jewellery than was 
 in accordance with good taste. The guests were not 
 expected for half an hour, so Copley helped himself 
 liberally to brandy and soda and lighted a fresh 
 cigarette. 
 
 " Any letters ? " he asked. 
 
 " Nothing of importance," Foster replied. 
 " When I left you this morning I went round to see 
 if I could see anything of Phillips. He wasn't at 
 his lodgings, and they said he wasn't expected 
 back till to-morrow. Now what are you going to 
 do about that chap ? " 
 
 "Oh, let him go to the devil ! " Copley growled. 
 
 " My dear Copley, why do you always talk like 
 that ? Why do you think that every man is a fool 
 except yourself ? You appear to be very prosperous. 
 Nobody can deny your courage. And because you 
 are not afraid of Phillips you seem to think he isn't 
 dangerous. I think he is. Suppose he goes to
 
 ROGUES IN COUNCIL 67 
 
 Scotland Yard and lays his information before the 
 people there, and suppose they communicate with 
 the authorities in Cape Town, the result will be 
 an application for your arrest, and once you get 
 out there you know what will happen. It will 
 be all U.P." 
 
 " Thinking about your own skin," Copley 
 sneered. 
 
 " Well, and what if I am ? I haven't got a 
 sanguine temperament like yours. Of course, we 
 could buy Phillips off ; at least we could buy him 
 off for the time being and keep his mouth shut till 
 we devised some plan for getting rid of him alto- 
 gether. But he is a cunning devil, is Aaron Phillips, 
 and has learnt how to profit by past experience. 
 It is no use asking him to come to your hotel. He 
 isn't going to walk into a trap like that, and he 
 isn't going to wait much longer, either. If we could 
 give him a thousand pounds just to go on with, 
 why " 
 
 " A thousand devils," Copley exclaimed furiously. 
 " Where am I going to get a thousand pounds ? 
 I mean, where am I going to get it just at this 
 moment ? I've got this place here, which isn't paid 
 for. I managed to get the bank to advance the 
 money till I could complete the purchase, and the 
 furnishing was an easy matter. One can get as 
 much credit as one likes in this country, provided 
 one winks at extortionate charges. As I will
 
 68 HARD PRESSED 
 
 never pay for the stuff at all, the West End trades- 
 men can charge what they please. But the fact 
 remains that though people are tumbling over one 
 another to get my custom I am fairly at my wits' end 
 for ready cash. Of course, it will be all right when the 
 flat season begins in earnest. With any luck there'll 
 be a hatfull of money to share between us 
 before the October meeting at Newmarket. We 
 ought to make over a thousand pounds at Mirst 
 Park on Saturday week. I suppose you've got it 
 all ready. Got the telephone in place ? The worst 
 of this game is that one has to take so many people 
 into one's confidence." 
 
 "That's all right," Foster explained. "Every- 
 thing is in its place now. I went down to Mirst 
 Park the day before yesterday. The house is finished 
 and all the workmen have gone. The telephone 
 is in good order, because I tried it. The man who 
 fixed up the extension from the hall to the roof was 
 a bit curious, but I managed to put him off the 
 scent by some lie about the doctor's orders and a 
 patient who had been recommended to try outdoor 
 treatment. But we ought to have a mechanic of 
 our own, Copley. If any hint of our little secret 
 leaked out, the man who fixed that extended tele- 
 phone would be certain to see it, and naturally he 
 would ask himself a question or two. The fewer 
 outsiders we have to deal with the better." 
 
 " There's no doubt of that," Copley agreed.
 
 ROGUES IN COUNCIL 69 
 
 " Then there's nothing to settle now. Did you 
 rehearse the bit in Covent Garden ? " 
 
 "Oh, yes. I was in the office we have taken next 
 door to the Post Club, and went through the whole 
 thing with Radley, who was stationed outside. 
 There wasn't a hitch anywhere. I don't see why we 
 shouldn't clear a thousand pounds ; indeed, we 
 might make a great deal more. But perhaps it 
 would be just as well to be on the safe side. It would 
 be a fatal mistake to arouse the suspicions of the 
 bookmakers at the beginning, and if this scheme 
 breaks down we've got another one." 
 
 Copley smiled as he finished his brandy and soda. 
 He threw the end of his cigarette into the grate as 
 the door bell rang. 
 
 "Come along," he said. "Here are our guests. 
 Let us go into the drawing-room and wait for them. 
 We must assume respectability even if we have it 
 not."
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 IN THE TOILS 
 
 IN spite of his dislike of Copley, Fielden could not 
 see much to object to in his manner as he 
 came forward to receive his guests. He was, per- 
 haps, a trifle loud and domineering, perhaps a little 
 too familiar in the way in which he held May Hare- 
 dale's hand in his. Foster more or less obliterated 
 himself. It was his role in company to play the 
 confidential servant. He was quiet and subdued, 
 though nothing escaped his sharp glance. The 
 dinner was excellent. Everything was in good 
 taste, as Fielden was forced to admit. The talk, 
 for the most part, was lively and was kept princi- 
 pally to the topic of sport. Afterwards there was a 
 move towards the billiard-room, and ere he 
 realized it, Fielden found himself engaged in a game 
 of pool with Sir George and Foster, while May 
 Haredale and Copley looked on. A moment or two 
 later these two vanished on a pretext of Copley's 
 that he wished to show May some sporting pictures 
 he had lately acquired. The pictures were duly 
 inspected, but Copley made no move to rejoin the 
 party. 
 
 TO
 
 IN THE TOILS 71 
 
 " Hadn't we better go back ? " May sug- 
 gested. 
 
 Copley turned an admiring glance upon the 
 girl. There was no mistaking the expression of 
 his face. May had more than her fair share of 
 courage, but she was feeling a bit restless and 
 nervous. She was wondering why she disliked this 
 man so much. She had had nothing but kindness 
 and courtes}' at his hands. She knew that he had 
 helped her father more than once. Yet her in- 
 stinct told her that Copley was not to be trusted. 
 There was a boldness about him that repelled her, 
 something in his glittering eye from which she 
 recoiled. Now she knew almost before the words 
 were spoken what Copley was going to say. 
 
 " The others are not likely to miss us for a bit," 
 he said. " Besides, there is something I have to 
 talk to you about. To be perfectly candid, I asked 
 you over here this evening on purpose. I wonder 
 why it is that you avoid me so." 
 
 " I was not aware of it," May murmured. 
 
 " But, indeed, you do. I have noticed it more 
 than once. Surely you must know why I 
 come so frequently to Haredale Park. I am not 
 much of a ladies' man, Miss May, and I never have 
 been. I have led a rough kind of life. I know so 
 little of the atmosphere of drawing-rooms. But 
 every man recognizes, when the time comes, when 
 he meets with the woman who is made for him
 
 72 HARD PRESSED 
 
 alone, and that is the point I have reached. I think 
 T could provide you all you need. You will have a 
 fine house and a good position, and everything you 
 want. I daresay this is a rough way of putting it, 
 but it is none the less sincere for that." 
 
 It was sincere enough, as May had to admit. 
 Copley's assurance had vanished. He was speaking 
 from his heart. The man was rogue and scoundrel 
 through and through, but had fallen deeply in love 
 with May Haredale. He was prepared to go any 
 lengths to make her his wife. It was the only piece 
 of honesty and sincerity that he had ever displayed 
 since he was old enough to know the distinction 
 between right and wrong. 
 
 May stood silent and trembling. She was not 
 insensible to the compliment Copley was paying 
 her. She knew that he meant every word he said, 
 and she knew, too, that there must be a hard fight 
 before she could convince him that the thing he so 
 ardently desired was impossible. She had an un- 
 easy feeling, too, that Copley had not yet played all 
 his cards. " I ought to thank you, I suppose," 
 she said. " In a sense you are doing me an honour, 
 and this is the first time that any man has asked me 
 such a question, and naturally I feel disturbed. But 
 what you ask of me is quite impossible." 
 
 " Why impossible ? " Copley asked grimly. " Oh, 
 I didn't expect you to jump at me ; I know you 
 are not that sort of girl. Perhaps that is one of the
 
 IN THE TOILS 73 
 
 main reasons why I am so anxious to make yon my 
 'wife. But if there is no one else " 
 
 " There is no one else," May said with a sorrowful 
 sincerity which was not lost upon her companion. 
 " There is no one else, and there never will be. If 
 it is any sort of consolation to you, Mr. Copley, I 
 shall never marry." 
 
 " Never is a long day," Copley smiled. " At 
 any rate, as long as there is nobody else in question 
 I shall feel encouraged to go on. I am a very per- 
 sistent man, and in the end I always get my own 
 way. I'll ask you again in a week or two, and, 
 perhaps, when you have had time to think it 
 over " 
 
 " No, no," May said firmly. " There must be 
 no thinking it over. I could not marry you. I 
 could not care for you enough for that and I would 
 never marry a man to whom I could not give myself 
 wholly and entirely. It is the same to-day, it will 
 be the same next year. Mr. Copley, I ask you not 
 to allude to this distressing topic again. If you 
 do, I shall have no alternative but to treat you as 
 a stranger." 
 
 There was no mistaking the sincerity of May's 
 words. Her natural courage and resolution had 
 come back to her. She met Copley's glance without 
 flinching. Her little mouth was firmly set. Even 
 Copley, with all his egotism and assurance, knew 
 that the last words had been said.
 
 74 HARD PRESSED 
 
 A sudden blind rage clutched him. His thin 
 veneer of gentility vanished. He stretched out a 
 hand and laid it upon the girl's arm. 
 
 " So you mean to defy me," he said hoarsely. 
 
 " Defy you ! " May cried, indignantly. " What 
 do you mean ? Have you forgotten that you are 
 a gentleman ? Anybody would think to look at 
 you and hear you speak that you were playing the 
 villain in some sensational melodrama. You have 
 paid me the compliment of asking me to be your 
 wife, and I have done my best to decline in such a 
 manner as to give you as little pain as possible. 
 You will be good enough to take me back to the 
 billiard-room and not to allude to this matter 
 again." 
 
 Copley laughed derisively. He had forgotten 
 himself. The love and passion in his heart had 
 died away to a sullen anger. Never since he had 
 known May Haredale had he felt such a wild longing 
 to possess her. Well, if the girl would have it, then 
 he must speak openly and freely. She must be made 
 to understand that here was her master, whose 
 lightest wish she must learn to obey. 
 
 " You don't understand," he said. " I suppose 
 you think you have only to raise your hand and pick 
 and choose. Ah, you are mistaken, my dear young 
 lady. If you don't believe me, ask Sir George. 
 He promised to speak to you on my behalf, but I 
 see he hasn't done so. Probably he shirked it.
 
 IN THE TOILS 75 
 
 Now I shall have to tell you myself. Do you know 
 that at the present moment I am master of Haredale 
 Park ? I don't imagine you are acquainted with 
 business, but you know that your father is not a 
 rich man. Has that fact escaped you ? " 
 
 " I am aware of it," May said coldly. 
 
 " Very well, then. Where do you suppose he has 
 found the money to pay his racing debts ? Do you 
 suppose it dropped from the clouds ? During the 
 last twelve months, your father has had from me 
 something like thirty thousand pounds. Even a rich 
 man can't always put his hand on large sums of 
 money like that. And I should have refused to 
 part with the money if it had not been for your sake. 
 But when a man is in love, he is guilty of all sorts 
 of follies and extravagances and when a man like 
 me is in love he does not stick at trifles. Now try 
 to realize my position. Try to realize that if I say 
 the word there is an end to Haredale Park as far as 
 you are concerned. I am not boasting. I could 
 turn you both out to-morrow if I chose, and what 
 would become of you then ? Ask yourself the 
 question. You needn't answer it now ; you can take 
 time to do so." 
 
 May Haredale trembled from head to foot. She 
 had half-dreaded, half-expected this, but the blow 
 was no less crushing now that it had fallen, and she 
 could see from the grim expression on Copley's face 
 that he meant every word he said. She had read
 
 76 HARD PRESSED 
 
 of similar situations in novels, but they had sounded 
 cold and unconvincing, and little like the real thing 
 now that she was face to face with it. 
 
 " You would never do it," she faltered. 
 
 " By Heaven, I would ! " Copley cried. " Ah, 
 you do not know what manner of man I am. Why, 
 when you look at me like that, instead of melting I 
 grow all the harder. I must make you my wife. 
 You little know the sacrifices I have made to 
 bring this about. I never thought that I could be a 
 fool for the sake of a woman. I could almost laugh 
 at my own folly, but it has become part and parcel 
 of my very existence, the only object in the world 
 that is worth attaining. Well, it is no use talking, 
 for I could go on in the same strain all night. It is 
 for you to decide. You can please yourself whether 
 your father is turned out of house and home, or 
 whether your prosperous and happy future " 
 
 " Prosperous and happy future," May echoed 
 scornfully. " The words on your lips sound like 
 blasphemy. It seems almost incredible that a 
 man with any sort of pride should stoop to such a 
 trick as this to force a woman to marry him, when, 
 from the bottom of her heart, she loathes and detests 
 him." 
 
 Copley jeered. 
 
 " Oh, go on," he said. " Let it come out. Treat 
 me as if I were dirt under your feet. But you will 
 think better of it before a week has passed. Tell
 
 IN THE TOILS 77 
 
 your father what I have been saying to-night, and 
 talk it over with him. Perhaps he will be able to 
 persuade you better than I can. Let us go back to 
 the billiard-room." 
 
 May turned coldly away, but her eyes were dim, 
 and all the world seemed slipping away from beneath 
 her feet.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 CONFESSION 
 
 FIELDEN was not enjoying his game of billiards. 
 It was a favourite game of his, and one which 
 he had not had much opportunity of exercising 
 lately, but he would have given something for an 
 excuse to get out of it. The reason was obvious why 
 Raymond Copley had made an excuse to get May 
 out of the room. His instinct told him what was 
 going on, and if he had had any lingering doubt on 
 the subject it would have been dispelled by the most 
 casual glance at Sir George. 
 
 For Haredale had lost all geniality. He became 
 silent and depressed. From time to time he glanced 
 anxiously towards the door. If such a thing were 
 possible to a man of his position, and with a record 
 like his, it might be said that he looked as if he had 
 been committing some crime and was in deadly 
 fear of being found out. 
 
 There was no longer room for hesitation in Fielden : s 
 mind. There was a conspiracy between Sir George 
 and Copley against May Haredale 's happiness. 
 Fielden was boiling. It seemed incredible that a 
 man like Sir George could deliberately become a
 
 CONFESSION 79 
 
 party to such a scheme as this. And so the game 
 went on, with two people at least not taking the 
 faintest interest in it. Then the door opened and 
 May Haredale entered. 
 
 Fielden shot a swift glance in her direction. He 
 saw how pale her face was, how rigidly haughty and 
 set were her features. There were traces of tears 
 in her eyes, but so far as Fielden could see he had no 
 cause to despair. Whatever had been said or done, 
 Copley had not gained much. His face showed that. 
 Defeat was written all over it. He was not the 
 man to put up with disaster without showing it, 
 and Fielden knew in that moment that so far, 
 at any rate, things had not gone well with his 
 host. Sir George saw it, too, for his jaw dropped, 
 and he turned almost a guilty face towards Copley. 
 For a moment there was an awkward silence. 
 
 " It is getting very late," May said. " Don't you 
 think we had better be going ? " 
 
 Haredale looked at Copley as if waiting for a lesson. 
 
 " It is not so very late," he remarked. 
 
 " Well, it seems so to me," May said. " Besides 
 1 am very tired. I am sure Mr. Copley will excuse 
 me." 
 
 Copley murmured something more or less appro- 
 priate. He was not used to taking the trouble to 
 disguise his humiliation. 
 
 " If you must go, you must," he said. " I'll come 
 round after breakfast and see you to-morrow morn-
 
 8o HARD PRESSED 
 
 ing, Sir George. I have something important to 
 say to you. Perhaps you will be there, too, Mr. 
 Field. I fancy I can put something in your way. 
 I want some one to take a general superintendence 
 of my stables. Sir George tells me you are 
 thoroughly up to the work, and that I can place 
 every confidence in you. You seem to be the sort 
 of man I am looking for, and, though I am in- 
 terested in racing, I have very little time to spare 
 to look into the details." 
 
 It was hard work to return thanks for this ungra- 
 cious speech, but Fielden managed it somehow. 
 He was feeling strangely elated, and hoped that 
 nothing of his emotions found expression on 
 his face. He was glad enough to find himself at 
 length seated in the brougham with his friends on the 
 way back to Haredale Park. It was a singularly 
 silent ride, for May never spoke a word the whole 
 time and Sir George was ill at ease. When they 
 reached home May turned to Fielden. 
 
 " I hope you will excuse me a moment or two, 
 Harry," she said. "I have something to say to 
 my father. It won't take many minutes. Perhaps 
 you will wait for us in the library. I think you will 
 find everything you want there." 
 
 Sir George stood nervously in the hall shuffling 
 from one foot to another. It seemed to take him 
 a long time to get out of his overcoat. He turned 
 to May testily.
 
 CONFESSION 81 
 
 " Surely, there is nothing you have to say to me 
 to-night," he said. " It will keep till to-morrow." 
 
 Without reply May turned towards the drawing- 
 room and Sir George followed. He closed the door 
 carefully behind him. She crossed to the fireplace 
 and stood facing her father. Her face was firm, 
 though her lips trembled slightly, and the task 
 before her was by no means a pleasant one. 
 
 " I hardly know how to begin," she said. " It 
 is so difficult for me in my unfortunate position. I 
 have never ceased to regret the death of my mother, 
 but I cannot remember feeling the want of her so 
 much as I do now. I suppose you can guess what 
 happened to-night. You know what Mr. Copley 
 said to me." 
 
 Sir George shook his head. His attempt to 
 appear unconcerned was so grotesque a failure that, 
 in spite of her unhappiness, May could not repress 
 a smile. 
 
 " You are very transparent," she cried. ' You 
 make a bad conspirator, father. You know perfectly 
 well what happened to-night. You know why we 
 were asked to dine with Mr. Copley. He has done 
 me the honour to ask me to be his wife. Now don't 
 pretend to be surprised, because Mr. Copley had 
 your full sanction ; in fact, he told me he had dis- 
 cussed the matter with you more than once." 
 
 " And you accepted him ? " Sir George asked 
 eagerly. 
 
 F
 
 82 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " We wfll come to that presently. Now let me 
 ask you a question. Suppose that your position was 
 as good as it was twenty years ago, that there were 
 no mortgages on the estate. In that case, what 
 would you have said to Mr. Copley if he had ex- 
 pressed a wish to become your son-in-law ? You 
 wouldn't have turned him out of the house, because 
 we don't do things like that. But your reply 
 would have been no less unmistakable. You 
 would have made Mr. Copley feel the absurdity of 
 his ambition. He would never have been asked to 
 come here again. Now isn't that so ? " 
 
 Sir George shuffled about uneasily. 
 
 " Other times, other methods," he answered. 
 " You see the condition of things is quite altered. 
 Really, some of our best women marry rich men 
 who have nothing particular to boast of in the way 
 of pedigree. I can call a dozen cases to mind." 
 
 " Yes," May retorted. " And I can call a dozen 
 cases to mind where you have expressed the strongest 
 indignation with parents who have encouraged 
 marriages of that sort. You have stigmatized the 
 thing as a sale. Why, you refused to shake hands 
 with Lord Middlebourne when he told you that his 
 daughter was going to marry young Blackley. 
 Yet, in the face of all this, you entered into a con- 
 spiracy with Mr. Copley, a conspiracy which you 
 must know would be fatal to my happiness." 
 
 '' You, you didn't refuse him ? " Sir George gasped.
 
 CONFESSION 83 
 
 " Refuse him ! Of course I did. I hope I did 
 not say too much. But I let him know that the 
 thing was impossible. I told him that in no circum- 
 stances could I become his wife. I have felt that 
 this was coming for some time, and I blame myself 
 for permitting things to go so far. Mr. Copley took 
 it very badly. He lost his temper. He threatened 
 me. He even went so far as to say that, unless I 
 thought better of my reply, he would turn us out 
 of Haredale Park." 
 
 Sir George turned a white and anxious face towards 
 his daughter. 
 
 " Did he say that ? " he asked hoarsely. 
 
 " I have already told you so. But, of course, this 
 is ridiculous. You would never have been so foolish 
 as to place yourself in the power of a man like Mr. 
 Copley. It is very well to know such people, and 
 I daresay you have found him useful in business. 
 
 But as to the rest Why do you look at me 
 
 like that ? You don't mean to say that his story is 
 actually true ? " 
 
 Sir George seemed to have some difficulty in 
 speaking. When at length the words came they 
 were free enough. 
 
 " It is true," he said. " My dear child, you must 
 not blame me unduly. I have been terribly unfor- 
 tunate of late. Everything I have touched has 
 gone wrong. I am almost afraid to look at my 
 betting book, and if the Blenheim colt does not
 
 84 HARD PRESSED 
 
 win the Derby, then I shall be something worse than 
 a pauper. You don't know what hopes I build upon 
 this. If it comes off all right we shall be rich and 
 prosperous. But it has been an awful struggle to 
 keep my head above water so far, and when Copley 
 offered to help me in an open-handed way, I dared 
 not refuse. Of course, I had not the least idea then 
 that he had given you even more than a passing 
 thought. It never occurred to me that he was 
 lending me this money merely to have a hold upon 
 me, and I thought it possible you might care for him. 
 There is always the chance 
 
 " Oh, you didn't. I cannot believe you would 
 ever think so meanly of me as that." 
 
 " Well, I don't know," Sir George said, stung into 
 retort. " Anyhow, it is unfortunate that Harry 
 Fielden should come back just now." 
 The hot blood flamed into May's face. 
 " That is unjust and ungenerous," she cried. 
 " In any case, my reply would be just the same. 
 I never did care for anybody but Harry Fielden, 
 and I never will. You know that. There is not 
 the slightest chance of his ever being in a position 
 to keep a wife. But we are talking in a circle. I 
 am more than sorry to hear what you say, but if the 
 worst comes to the worst we shall have to dispose 
 of everything and leave Haredale Park. For 
 nothing shall induce me to marry Raymond Cop- 
 ley."
 
 CONFESSION 85 
 
 " Well, there's an end of it all," Sir George said. 
 " This makes a beggar of me. But don't decide like 
 that. Think it over and give me your final answer 
 in the morning."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 ON THE EDGE 
 
 IF Harry Fielden had hoped to see May again 
 that night he was disappointed. She was 
 tired, Sir George said, and hoped that Fielden would 
 not mind if she did not come into the library. He 
 was a little bit under the mark himself and would 
 go to bed. So Fielden was left to his uneasy thoughts 
 with the hope that he might learn something in the 
 morning. But glancing at May across the breakfast 
 table he could read nothing from the expression of 
 her face. She was a little silent, but otherwise her 
 features were tranquil, and it was not till an hour 
 or so afterwards that Fielden found himself alone 
 with her. 
 
 " I hope you are better ? " he asked. 
 
 " Oh, there's nothing whatever the matter with 
 me," May said in her candid way. " I am only 
 worried, that's all. You have been here quite long 
 enough to see that things are not going with us as 
 they should. It will be a terrible thing if our 
 colt fails to win the Derby. Indeed, I don't know 
 
 how we shall be able to carry on till the end of May 
 
 M
 
 ON THE EDGE 87 
 
 in any case. What a wretched business it all is ! 
 How foolish people are to risk their happiness on 
 the speed of a horse! But the Haredales have 
 always been gamblers. I suppose it is in the 
 blood. Put on your hat and take me for a walk 
 across the Downs. I need something to blow the 
 cobwebs away." 
 
 Fielden was eager. For some time he walked in 
 silence by the girl's side, waiting for her to speak. 
 He had a feeling that, sooner or later, May would 
 confide in him. She stopped suddenly and raised 
 her eyes to his. 
 
 " I am going to ask you a question," she said. 
 " I want you to put yourself in my place for a 
 moment. Suppose that the honour and fortune of 
 the family rested in my hands, and it was for me to 
 say whether the Haredales were to leave this old 
 place in poverty and disgrace, or whether they were 
 to stay on occupying the old position, what would 
 you do ? " 
 
 " It depends on circumstances," Fielden said. 
 
 " Of course it does, my dear boy. I didn't 
 expect you to make such a tame reply as that. 
 Surely you must know what I mean. It is for me 
 to decide. I have the opportunity of bringing into 
 the family the necessary money to set everything 
 right. But at a price." 
 
 " As usual," Fielden, said sadly. " The price 
 happens to be yourself."
 
 88 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " You have guessed it. The price is myself. 
 I suppose it would be no news to you if I told 
 you who the man was." 
 
 " Not after last night," Fielden said between his 
 teeth. " So Raymond Copley has asked you to 
 marry him. I suppose it is the old story which 
 one has read in books and newspapers a thousand 
 times. Copley has got your father under his 
 thumb and has threatened to ruin him, unless you 
 consent to be his wife. I am not a very shrewd 
 person, but I felt sure of this when we came home 
 last night. You refused Copley, of course, and he 
 took his refusal in the way such a cad would. He 
 threatened you and said he had your father on his 
 side. And now you are hesitating what to do. You 
 have said that no power on earth shall force you 
 to consent,' that you cannot save the family honour 
 at such a price. You are right, May. It is a vile 
 thing to ask of a girl. It is so mean and dishon- 
 ourable. Heaven knows, I care for your welfare. 
 I never knew how much I did care till we met in 
 London the other night. Then I realized for the 
 first time the price I am paying for my folly. If 
 I hadn't been a fool, you would be my wife to-day, 
 and it would have been my pleasure and privilege 
 to help Sir George out of his trouble. Can you 
 ever forgive me ? " 
 
 May turned a tearful face towards Fielden. 
 Impulsively she held out her hands to him, and
 
 ON THE EDGE 89 
 
 he caught them almost fiercely. They were alone 
 on the wide stretch of Downs. Not a soul was 
 in sight. Neither knew how it happened, but a 
 moment later Fielden's arms were about the girl, 
 and she was crying unrestrainedly upon his 
 shoulder. There was only one thing for it, and 
 that was to kiss the tears away and bring the s-miles 
 back to May's lips. 
 
 " Now we have done it," Fielden said ruefully. 
 " I am a nice fellow to talk about other men being 
 dishonourable. I ought to be well thrashed for giv- 
 ing way to temptation like this. Fancy a man in 
 my position daring to make love to any girl. But 
 you knew what my feelings were." 
 
 " I was sure," May whispered. 
 
 " But what are we to do ? It would be another 
 matter, I suppose, if it were three months later and 
 the Blenheim colt had won the Derby. Then, 
 perhaps, Sir George would forgive me and make the 
 best of it for your sake. As it is, I have only suc- 
 ceeded in complicating matters. You are resolved, 
 of course, that nothing will induce you to change 
 your mind so far as Copley is concerned. But 
 will you have strength enough to do it, May ? I 
 don't think you realize the pressure which would be 
 put upon you when you find that Haredale Park will 
 have to go, when you find yourself in lodgings " 
 
 " Never," May cried passionately. " I refuse 
 even to discuss it. The idea is unthinkable."
 
 90 HARD PRESSED 
 
 Fielden pressed the point no longer. He really 
 had not the heart to do so. Sufficient unto the 
 day was the evil thereof. But it was with mixed 
 feelings that an hour or so later he walked across 
 the fields to Seton Manor. Copley was waiting to 
 receive him. The latter was in his hardest and most 
 businesslike mood. There was something repellent 
 about the expression of his face. The library reeked 
 strongly of tobacco and spirits. From the ruddy 
 tinge on Copley's face he had partaken of more 
 than one brandy and soda already. 
 
 Fielden hoped there was nothing in the expression 
 of his face which in any way betrayed his thoughts. 
 Fancy a man like this married to a girl like May 
 Haredale ! Copley was braggart and bully to his 
 finger-tips a man without heart, or conscience, or 
 feeling. Nay, he was worse than this, as Fielden 
 very well knew. For the moment, it was on the 
 tip of Harry's tongue to say he had thought the 
 matter over and had decided to decline Copley's 
 offer. But more prudent thoughts prevailed. It 
 would be as well to be as near Copley as possible, 
 to be on the spot, to act when disaster threatened. 
 Besides, Fielden, to some extent, was in league 
 with Aaron Phillips, and if there was anything in 
 the way of rascality afoot, it might be possible to 
 detect it. It would be a fine thing to go to Copley 
 with the evidence of his rascality in plain black 
 and white, and agree to silence on the condition 
 that this persecution of Miss Haredale ceased.
 
 ON THE EDGE 91 
 
 " Ah ! you have come," Copley said in his 
 blunt way. " Well, I have arranged every thing 
 for you. I want you to take over the entire manage- 
 ment of my stable. The last man had four hundred 
 a year and the run of the house, and I am prepared 
 to offer you the same terms. Everything will be 
 left in your hands. As I told you last night, my 
 racing stable is only a side-show, and I don't 
 want to be bothered with it. You can make a 
 start next week at Mirst Park. I have horses 
 running in races both days, and I shall probably 
 run down myself. But you know the ropes well 
 enough." 
 
 " I think you can leave it to me," Fielden re- 
 marked. 
 
 " Very well, then, that's settled. You can ask 
 the housekeeper to give you a room. You can 
 have all the meals you want, and the horses will be 
 yours to handle as you like. I must wish you good 
 morning, for I have a score of things to occupy 
 my attention before I motor to town at six o'clock. 
 I think that will do. Good day." 
 
 Fielden took his leave, hardly knowing whether 
 to be pleased or not. He spent the next hour or 
 so in the stables, interviewing the stud groom and 
 the helpers, who seemed to know all about the new 
 arrangement. He said little or nothing about it, 
 but was somewhat surprised to find what a poor 
 set of horses Copley owned. For the most part
 
 92 HARD PRESSED 
 
 they were little better than platers. There might 
 be a racer or two amongst them, but only for small 
 meetings. The groom was quite open in his com- 
 ments, and to these Fielden listened discreetly. He 
 was free, presently, to go over to Haredale Park and 
 get his belongings together. He strode across the 
 Downs and passed the wide stretch of turf where 
 the trial of the Blenheim colt had taken place. He 
 was hurrying down the slope when he came face to 
 face with Aaron Phillips. 
 
 " I was looking for you," the latter said. " I 
 haven't been letting the grass grow under my feet 
 since we met last. I am beginning to get a hold 
 of the game. We shall be able to make those 
 fellows sit up before long. I suppose you couldn't 
 manage to get away on Friday and Saturday next 
 for the two days' racing at Mirst Park ? If ybu 
 can, I shall show you something that will open 
 your eyes." 
 
 " As it happens," Fielden explained, " I am 
 going there. I have just been appointed a kind of 
 general manager to Mr. Copley. I have to thank 
 Sir George Haredale for this. As you can imagine, 
 Phillips, it is not a congenial occupation. But 
 there are urgent reasons why I ought to accept 
 it. We have a horse or two entered for the Mirst 
 Park meeting, and I shall go with them. Now, 
 then, what is it ? " 
 
 Aaron Phillips' face lightened.
 
 ON THE EDGE 93 
 
 " What a stroke of luck ! " he exclaimed. " In 
 that case, I need not detain you now. But I'll 
 contrive to see you on the course, and then I 
 think it will be our turn."
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 A LION IN THE PATH 
 
 /COPLEY did not appear to be so busy as he 
 V^ had professed when he dismissed Fielden 
 so unceremoniously. He lighted a fresh cigar and 
 sat down moodily over a mass of accounts. He 
 pushed these aside presently, and took up a copy of 
 the Sportsman, which he proceeded to read with a 
 perplexed frown on his moody face. 
 
 " I cannot for the life of me understand it," he 
 muttered. " The trial was fair and square, and I 
 see no reason why the boy's information was not 
 to be relied upon. But that colt is more firmly 
 established in the betting than ever. I can't recol- 
 lect anything like it. It seemed a dead sure thing 
 to lay that money against the horse. And, yet, 
 though I laid over ten thousand pounds against 
 him, in this morning's paper he is at a shorter price 
 than before. Well, if the public like to be such 
 fools, it's their look-out, not mine. Still, it's 
 unpleasant. I wonder if Foster has learnt anything 
 this morning." 
 
 Foster came in a moment or two later. His usual 
 
 H
 
 A LION IN THE PATH 95 
 
 smile had deserted him, and he looked troubled and 
 anxious. 
 
 " I wanted to see you," said Copley. " I can't 
 for the life of me understand this betting. Here's 
 the Blenheim colt backed for a ton of money again. 
 Why, in the face of the commission we have put on 
 the market, he ought to be fairly knocked out." 
 
 " Oh, I've seen it," Foster replied. " I've sent 
 for the boy. I wonder if that young rascal played 
 us false. But, no, I don't think he would dare 
 do that. Besides, he stands to win a pot of money 
 himself. At any rate, I have sent for him, and if 
 there was anything about the trial that was not fair 
 we shall know it in half an hour." 
 
 For the next hour or so the wo conspirators sat 
 discussing the matter. Then there came to them 
 a diminutive youth, shrunken and clean-shaven, 
 with the air of one who has passed all his life in 
 the atmosphere of a stable. His little wizened 
 face was white with agitation, and he stood, with 
 his eyes cast to the ground, waiting for Copley to 
 speak. 
 
 " What is it ? " the latter asked roughly. 
 
 " I don't know, sir," the boy said humbly. " I 
 don't know how it was done. Ah, that there Raffle 
 is a deep 'un. I made sure as the trial the other 
 morning was all open and above board, and now I 
 find as how it wasn't the Blenheim colt we saw at 
 all. It is no use asking me to explain, gentlemen,
 
 9 6 HARD PRESSED 
 
 and it is no use bullying me, for the more you do that 
 the more muddled I get. It is only a word or two 
 I 'eard between Raffle and the 'ead lad that put me 
 on the scent. We've got two or three 'osses in the 
 stable as like the Blenheim colt as two peas. They 
 are nearly all the same blood, you know. What 
 old Raffle is a-driving at, I dunno. But it looks as 
 if one colt was changed for another at the last 
 moment, and nobody would have been any the 
 wiser if I hadn't 'card that little conversation this 
 blessed morning." 
 
 Copley and Foster exchanged glances. It was 
 no use to scarify the boy, for the conspiracy was 
 none of his making, and he was obviously telling the 
 truth ; indeed, he had been well paid to bring 
 information to Copley and had nothing to gain by 
 further deception. But what was the meaning 
 of it all ? Why had Raffle chosen to bring off a 
 mock trial ? So far as Copley knew, Raffle had no 
 reason to suspect the honesty of the stable boy. 
 He could not know that he was in Copley's pay, 
 nor could he have known, either, that Copley and 
 Foster would witness that early morning trial. 
 Could it be that there was some one else in the field 
 whom Raffle wished to deceive ? At any rate, 
 whether that was so or not, Joe Raffle had put both 
 Copley and his accomplice in a hole. After witness- 
 ing the trial they had laid against the colt to an 
 enormous amount, and, after all, Sir George Hare-
 
 A LION IN THE PATH 97 
 
 dale's horse might win the Derby. They dis- 
 missed the boy with strict injunctions to keep his 
 eyes open and let them know the latest develop- 
 ments. Then they talked the matter over to see 
 if they could find some way out of the trouble. 
 
 " It's a bit of a facer," Copley muttered. " I 
 am bound to confess I never expected anything 
 like this. I wonder what that old fox Raffle was 
 driving at ? Whom is he trying to deceive ? I'd 
 give something to know." 
 
 " What does it matter ? " Foster asked impa- 
 tiently. " Wilfully or not, he has deceived us. 
 As I figure it out, we stand to lose something like 
 five thousand pounds. If that horse starts fit and 
 well for the Derby we shall be in a rare mess. And 
 there's nothing to beat the colt. It would be mad- 
 dening to be done at the beginning of the season. 
 Fancy having to upset all our plans because of a 
 misfortune like this ! " 
 
 " Unless we could stop the colt," Copley 
 suggested. 
 
 Foster looked keenly across the table at his 
 companion. 
 
 " That's not a bad idea," he said thoughtfully. 
 " If the Blenheim colt lost the Derby we should win 
 ten thousand pounds at least. At the price the 
 horse stands in the betting to-day, we could lay 
 another twenty thousand pounds without knocking 
 him altogether out of the betting. I don't call to 
 
 G
 
 98 HARD PRESSED 
 
 mind a case in which the public have been more 
 infatuated about a horse. Why, our commission 
 never shook him at all. Suppose, without anybody 
 knowing it, we could guarantee that the horse 
 didn't start. In that case, we could lay a hundred 
 thousand pounds against him, with the absolute 
 knowledge that it would be only a question of time 
 before we scooped up the money. Our Mirst Park 
 scheme is a mere fleabite to it." 
 
 Copley's sombre eyes lighted a little. 
 
 " Yes, if we could only do it," he sneered. " But 
 the age for that game is past. There is no chance 
 of hocussing a horse, or laming him, or bribing a 
 stable boy, or squaring a jockey. That was all 
 very well in the old days, when meetings were few 
 and far between, and we hadn't got an enlightened 
 Press that watches everything as a cat watches a 
 mouse. It's no use wasting time over idle dreams 
 of that sort, Foster. Poor as he is, Sir George 
 wouldn't even hear of such a thing." 
 
 " Think not ? " Foster asked. " Well, I believe 
 myself that every man has his price. I have never 
 found anything to the contrary. I thought you 
 were a fool to come down here at all. I thought 
 you were a fool to allow yourself to be fascinated 
 by that girl, but now I begin to see a way of turning 
 it to account. I don't suppose she'll marry you. 
 I never thought she would." 
 
 The big veins on Copley's temples thickened.
 
 A LION IN THE PATH 99 
 
 " Stow that," he said hoarsely. " You are going 
 too far. I'll not listen to a word of it. It is no 
 business of yours. If you have anything good to 
 suggest, I shall be glad to listen to it, but I'll thank 
 you to leave Miss Haredale's name out of the 
 discussion." 
 
 " Oh, very well," Foster said sulkily. " But, in 
 this case, one thing leads to another. To gain 
 Miss Haredale you found money for her father 
 when we could have done with it ourselves 
 indeed, we wanted it pretty badly. Now is your 
 chance to get it back, and more. Sir George can't 
 pay you. He could as easily repay a million. He 
 will find, too, that it is impossible to coerce 
 Miss Haredale into marrying you. Don't get 
 wild. I don't want to introduce the young lady's 
 name more than I can help, but I am bound to 
 5peak of her. You will find that she will hold out 
 to the end, and that, if need be, she won't object to 
 leaving Haredale Park. But Sir George will cut up 
 rough when the time comes. He is chockful of 
 family pride. He is the sort of chap who is wedded 
 to the family home, and when the pinch comes 
 you'll find him ready for anything. Of course, 
 he will make a fuss. He will ask you how VQU 
 dare suggest such a thing to him, but it will come 
 right in the end." 
 
 Copley glanced contemptuously at the speaker. 
 
 " What are you talking about ? " he exclaimed.
 
 ioo HARD PRESSED 
 
 " What are you driving at ? Do you take Sir George 
 for an utter fool ? Do you suppose that he is 
 likely to scratch a horse he has backed to win or 
 lose everything he has ? " 
 
 " Well, why not ? He backed the colt at a very 
 long price, and I don't suppose he has put down more 
 than a thousand altogether. On the other hand, 
 he owes you at least forty. Suppose you ask him 
 to pay that back at once. Suppose you let him 
 know that if he doesn't you will turn him out of 
 his house a mere beggar. Suppose, if he con- 
 sent, you offer to wipe out his debt and give him, 
 say ten thousand pounds, the day after the colt 
 is scratched. You needn't do it now ; you can wait 
 a month. Then you can put the screw on at once. 
 He'll kick, jib, order you out of the house, but he 
 will knuckle under in the long run. If he doesn't, 
 then I'm a fool and know nothing about human 
 nature. Why, the thing is so easy and perfectly 
 safe not a soul will know anything about it. 
 The colt pulls up lame one day at exercise, he is 
 reported to be coughing, and before the fools who 
 back horses know what has happened the pen has 
 been put through the name of the favourite. You've 
 got the game entirely in your hands. Then we can 
 get our commissions out all over the country and 
 make a fortune without a penn'orth of risk. By 
 Jove ! it makes me tremble only to think of it. If 
 the thing is properly worked, we should divide half
 
 A LION IN THE PATH 101 
 
 a million between us. Now, what have you got 
 to say to that ? Doesn't it sound right ? " 
 
 Copley brought his fist down upon the table. 
 
 " By gad," he exclaimed, " I'll do it, Foster ! "
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 "AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN " 
 
 AS most people are aware, the camp-followers 
 of the turf are a large body whose ways of 
 earning a living are, to say the least of it, peculiar. 
 This noble army numbers folk of all kinds, from 
 the member of a swagger West End club to the 
 humble seller of cards on the various courses. 
 Amongst these, in his place, came Aaron Phillips. 
 If he had been asked, he would probably have said 
 that he was a professional backer of horses, a 
 description which covers a wide field and embraces 
 many methods of getting a living more or less 
 honestly. 
 
 In all likelihood Phillips would have resented the 
 imputation that he was not a sportsman, and have 
 declared emphatically that he was nothing else. 
 He had been connected with racing ever since he 
 could recollect, but had never been across a horse 
 in his life, and would have found it impossible to 
 pick out the good points of an animal. But 
 he was fond of horses in his way. He had heard 
 
 them talked about for years, and most of the fre- 
 
 ioa
 
 <" AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN " 103 
 
 quenters of his father's public-house were either 
 followers of racing or indirectly mixed up with 
 the " sport of kings." He had been born, too, in 
 1 he vicinity of a classic course and had always taken 
 the greatest interest in the dramatic side of the turf. 
 There was not an ingenious swindle but he had 
 the details of it by heart. 
 
 For some years before his departure for South 
 Africa he had followed racing from one course to 
 another. Though he had never done anything 
 deliberately dishonest, he was up to every dodge, 
 always seemed to have money in his pocket, and 
 was invariably well dressed. The fact that his 
 mother had belonged to one of the leading Romany 
 tribes Phillips found greatly to his advantage. 
 He was never above passing the time of day 
 with such nomads as he encountered, and more 
 than once had benefited by this politeness. Had 
 he ever wanted a useful and faithful tool, something 
 uncommonly smart in the way of a human ferret, 
 he knew where to put his hand on such a person. 
 Strange as it may seem, there was never a great 
 fraud connected with the turf that was not freely 
 whispered amongst its humble followers long 
 before it reached the ears of the authorities. 
 More than once Phillips had listened to the outline 
 of a story which would have astonished the magnates 
 of the Jockey Club if they could have heard it. And 
 it was by such means that he had managed to pick
 
 104 HARD PRESSED 
 
 up the threads of a plot which, before long, seemed 
 likely to promise sensational disclosures. It was 
 an additional satisfaction to Phillips to know that 
 the main persons in this plot were his old enemies 
 Raymond Copley and Foster. He had followed up 
 the clues in his patient way, and at last had some- 
 thing really definite to go upon. 
 
 It might be inferred that Phillips already had 
 these two in the hollow of his hand. But he had 
 learnt patience in the hard school of adversity, 
 and had no intention of throwing away the chance 
 of making money for the mere sake of revenge. At 
 any moment he might have pricked the glittering 
 bubble which Copley had blown, and laid both 
 scoundrels by the heels in gaol, but that would 
 have entailed loss of time and a considerable 
 sojourn in South Africa, without any material return 
 beyond that of triumph over his enemies. Now he 
 was beginning to see a way to crush both Copley 
 and Foster, and fill his own pockets at the same time. 
 
 He was not without his peculiar code of honour. 
 Harry Fielden had defended him at one time and 
 he was not going to forget it. Fielden would 
 have been astonished to learn how much Phillips 
 knew about his affairs. He knew, for instance, all 
 about May Haredale. He knew that Copley was 
 infatuated w.th the girl and was prepared to 
 go any lengths to make her his wife. He knew 
 too, pretty well what was in old Raffle's mind, and
 
 :*' AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN " 105 
 
 chuckled as he thought of it. And now the time 
 had come to fire the first shot. 
 
 He turned out of his lodgings on a sunny Friday 
 in February, and made his way to Russell Square. 
 He was more carefully dressed than usual and wore 
 a dark, quiet-looking suit, with a grey overcoat and 
 felt hat. His gloves were neat, his boots well 
 polished, and, save the horseshoe pin in his white 
 cravat, there was no suggestion of the racing man 
 about him. He turned presently into Kelly Street, 
 and, knocking at the door of a certain house, asked 
 for Major Garden. The Major, he was informed, 
 was just finishing breakfast, but would see Mr. 
 Phillips. 
 
 It was the usual room in a lodging-house shabby 
 Axminster carpet, dingy horsehair furniture, with 
 the inevitable lustres on the mantelpiece. The 
 tablecloth was none too clean, though on it was a 
 vase or two of flowers, tastefully arranged. At one 
 end of the table sat a stout pink-faced person with 
 a carefully-trimmed grey moustache. He was a 
 typical specimen of the retired military man, bluff 
 and hearty in manner, with a pair of faded grey eyes 
 faintly tinged with pink. Evidently, too, he had 
 been accustomed to mix with the best people, as 
 he would have phrased it himself. Probably, he 
 still belonged to a good club, and no doubt found it 
 exceedingly difficult to make both ends meet. 
 
 The second person at the breakfast table was an
 
 106 HARD PRESSED 
 
 exceedingly pretty girl, who looked none the less 
 refined and attractive because her black dress 
 was of the plainest. She was chattering gaily as 
 Phillips came in. She appeared to have a proper 
 espect and affection for her father, whose words 
 she seemed to hang upon. The Major looked up 
 from the table and nodded genially. 
 
 " You are punctual, Phillips," he said. " I am 
 afraid I am a little late this morning. Alice, my 
 dear, this is Mr. Phillips. He is the distinguished 
 journalist I was telling you about last night. We 
 arc both connected with the same papers." 
 
 As the Major spoke, he winked swiftly at Phillips, 
 and the latter smiled. What the Major was driving 
 at he hadn't the remotest idea. 
 
 " Oh, yes," he murmured. " The Major and 
 I are old friends." 
 
 The girl smiled pleasantly. She appeared a trifle 
 shy, and gave Phillips the impression that she had 
 no friends, and that her young life was, for the most 
 part, a constant sacrifice for her selfish and dissipated 
 father. She rose presently, and with an excuse 
 left the two men together. Immediately she was 
 gone the Major crossed the room and produced a 
 bottle of brandy, from which he helped himself 
 liberally. Phillips curtly refused. 
 
 "I met some old friends last night," the Major 
 said. " I am afraid I was just a little well, you 
 know how it is."
 
 " AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN " 107 
 
 " I do," Phillips said shortly. " But what did 
 you tell that lie for ? What have we got to do with 
 journalism ? " 
 
 " My dear sir, there are times when one must 
 dissemble. I know I am a bit of an old scamp, but, 
 you see, my daughter doesn't know it. I wouldn't 
 for worlds like her to know the life I am leading. 
 She is a good girl and believes in me, and I have 
 managed to give her a fine education. She is the 
 only thing I have in the world to care for. She is 
 the only thing that has kept me from going headlong 
 to the dogs. I daresay when I am done with, some 
 of my relations will look after her. Meanwhile, 
 they take precious good care to keep me at arm's 
 length. I don't blame them, either. I hit upon 
 the journalistic dodge to account for my late 
 hours. I was afraid you might give me away. 
 I am bound to tell you this, and I hope you will 
 respect my confidence. Well, now, what do you 
 want me for ? Sit down a minute." 
 
 *' I have come to put a little money in your way," 
 Phillips replied. " I gave you a hint of what I was 
 after the night before last. They tell me you are a 
 member of the Post Club." 
 
 " Oh, yes," Garden replied. " I have managed, 
 somehow or other, to keep myself on the club books. 
 Not that I go to the Post very much, because I can't 
 afford it. If I meet a young friend occasionally 
 who is anxious to see life, I take him there to lunch,
 
 108 HARD PRESSED 
 
 on the strict understanding, of course, that he repays 
 me." 
 
 " Then I want you to take me there. I would like 
 to lunch there to-day, and I wish you to introduce 
 me to Mr. Rickerby, the commission agent. It is a 
 very simple matter. If you can bring this about 
 and get me half an hour's conversation with Rickerby 
 after lunch, I'll give you a tenner and pay for the 
 lunch besides. There's no risk and no responsibility 
 as far as you are concerned." 
 
 The Major pondered the matter. 
 
 " What are you up to ? " he asked pre- 
 sently. 
 
 " That," Phillips said, " is no business of yours. 
 But I assure you that I am up to nothing wrong. 
 Nothing I can say or do will get you into trouble. 
 I don't mind telling you there is a big swindle on 
 foot to rob the leading bookmakers and commission 
 agents and I am trying to expose it. If I do, there 
 will be a good round sum of money for me, and if I 
 fail, I shall be none the worse off. Now, are you 
 game ? " 
 
 The Major smiled. At that moment ten-pound 
 notes were scarce, and Phillips' offer came in 
 the nature of a windfall. But it was not part of 
 his diplomacy to accept the suggestion too 
 eagerly. 
 
 " I think so," he said. " I don't see why I 
 shouldn't accommodate you. Perhaps, later,
 
 " AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN " 109 
 
 you might have something else to put in my way." 
 "Very well, then," Phillips replied. "I need 
 not detain you now. I'll meet you at the club at 
 half-past one."
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE POST CLUB 
 
 THERE are several smart betting clubs in 
 London, but none smarter or more up-to-date 
 than the Post Club. Like most institutions of the 
 kind, it is somewhat mixed and largely devoted to 
 the purposes of gambling. All sorts and conditions 
 of men can be met there, from the magnates of the 
 turf down to small bookmakers. At the same time 
 the subscription is a heavy one and the entrance 
 fee large. It is so large, indeed, that the police 
 have never been bold enough to raid the club, which 
 is conducted on the best principles. Betting on the 
 tape goes on to an 'enormous extent, and there on 
 most afternoons of the racing season nearly all the 
 chief commission agents can be found. The club 
 premises consist of a billiard-room, dining-room, 
 and smoking-room, the last fitted with several tape 
 machines, which bring the result of the day's racing 
 directly from the course. Great wagers are con- 
 stantly being made and sometimes enormous bets 
 effected even after the horses have been dispatched 
 
 Y>y the starter. 
 
 no
 
 THE POST CLUB in 
 
 Till after lunch the club is very quiet as a rule. 
 On the first day of the Mirst Park Meeting not more 
 than half a dozen racing men were in the dining-room. 
 At a little table near the door sat the Major and his 
 guest, discussing a dainty luncheon to the accom- 
 paniment of a choice brand of champagne. The 
 Major was beaming. This was a pastime after his 
 own heart, and seeing that the luncheon was costing 
 him nothing he was doing the thing very lavishly 
 indeed. There was something almost regal in the 
 way he spoke to the waiters. His manner was bland 
 and florid, and, beyond all was the consciousness of 
 the five-pound note in his pocket which Phillips had 
 given him to pay for the repast. They sat for some 
 little time, when the door was flung violently open 
 and a large man in an impossible waistcoat came 
 into the dining-room. 
 
 Full-bodied and scarlet, he had an air of prosperity 
 and in an aggressive way suggested money. Most per- 
 sons in the sporting world were familiar with that 
 huge personage in the striking waistcoat, for it was 
 none other than Mr. Rickerby, of a firm of turf 
 accountants, who advertised that they recognized 
 no limit. In early life Mr. Rickerby, or Rick, as 
 his friends styled him, had been a butcher. He 
 had failed at that principally because he spent most 
 of his time backing horses or arranging prize-fights. 
 After he had passed through the Bankruptcy Court 
 he began with a small silver book and, having a real
 
 ii2 HARD PRESSED 
 
 genius for figures, together with a striking presence, 
 an enormous voice and amazing audacity which 
 amounted almost to simplicity, he soon made head- 
 way in his new profession. In a short time he took 
 a partner who had been a smart accountant, and 
 now had a suite of palatial offices in the Strand, 
 where he kept a large staff of clerks, and where 
 telephone messages were pouring in almost day and 
 night. Rickerby was a leviathan, and though he 
 by no means despised the small fish that came into 
 his net, revelled in big bets and dramatic wagers. 
 
 He nodded to the Major with a mixture of insolent 
 familiarity and fawning politeness. Occasionally 
 the Major was of use to him. Besides, Garden was 
 well connected and Mr. Rickerby had a profound 
 admiration for the aristocracy. He would have 
 passed on only, at a sign from Phillips, Garden 
 detained him. 
 
 " Come and lunch with us, Rickerby," he said. 
 " Try this new brand of champagne. Waiter, lay 
 a place for Mr. Rickerby. Bring another bottle. 
 No, on second thoughts, you had better bring a 
 magnum. Rickerby, let me introduce my friend 
 Mr. Phillips. He is just home from the Cape." 
 
 Rickerby touched an imaginary forelock. 
 
 " Proud to make your acquaintance, sir," he said. 
 " Do you do anything in our line ? " 
 
 " Well, I have," Phillips said. " I used to follow 
 racing closely enough before I left England. Out
 
 THE POST CLUB 113 
 
 yonder, from my point of view, I found something 
 better. Still, there is nothing so fascinating as the 
 great game. I daresay I shall make a wager or two 
 before the season is over. I suppose one can't make 
 bets here ? " 
 
 " Not unless you are a member,'* the Major 
 explained. " The committee are most particular 
 about that kind of thing. They must think of 
 the police. But I've no doubt Rickerby will be glad 
 to accommodate you." 
 
 " Certainly, sir," Rickerby said. " Up to any 
 amount you like. The Major's introduction is good 
 enough for me, and a telegram or letter will always 
 receive attention." 
 
 Gradually the conversation became more general. 
 Luncheon was a thing of the past, and cigars and 
 coffee had been set out in the smoking-room. Phillips 
 seemed to find Rickerby a mine of interesting infor- 
 mation, for he plied him with diplomatic questions. 
 Under the influence of the champagne and brandy 
 Rickerby expanded. 
 
 " Swindles, my dear sir ! " he exclaimed. " There 
 is no end to them. We drop on a dozen dodges 
 every year of which the public know nothing. Why 
 don't we prosecute ? Because it isn't worth while, 
 and the police are not sympathetic. Moreover, 
 why should we let the public know of ways and 
 means by which they might rob us ? Ah, I could 
 tell you of one or two men, and big men, too, in some 
 
 H
 
 H4 HARD PRESSED 
 
 of the West End clubs who would find themselves 
 in a pretty tight place if some of us only liked to 
 open our mouths. But what's the use ? Why 
 throw good money after bad ? " 
 
 " But don't you get done ? " Phillips asked. 
 
 " Well, very rarely," Rickerby responded, " but 
 there are others in the club, who seem to me to lay 
 themselves out for that sort of thing. There's a 
 chap here called Selwyn, a rich young Australian 
 fool, who thinks he knows everything. He's 
 just the type of mark that the broken-down racing 
 man prays for. He's in the hands of one or two 
 here who are robbing him of thousands. He's soft 
 enough to make bets five minutes after a race has 
 been run. I've tipped him a hint once or twice, but 
 bless you, it's no use. It is waste of breath to tell 
 Selwyn that the men in whose hands he is are 
 manipulating the telephone or wire and always 
 betting on a dead certainty. One or two of tbe 
 bets have been offered to me, but I am not taking 
 any. I daresay you may think I ought to expose 
 these people, but I've got something better to do." 
 
 " I should like to ask you one question," Phillips 
 said. " Have you noticed by any chance if the 
 people you are speaking about are particularly lucky 
 in their bets on races run at Mirst Park ? " 
 
 Rickerby looked admiringly at the speaker. 
 
 " Ah ! " he exclaimed, " you know more than I 
 gave you credit for, but perhaps you are in the riabit
 
 THE POST CLUB 115 
 
 of studying this kind of thing. Now I come to think 
 of it, I do recollect hearing it said that Selwyn had 
 dropped a lot of money to these men last Mirst 
 Park Meeting. If you really know anything, Mr. 
 Phillips, I think you ought to say so." 
 
 " Oh, I won't go quite so far as that," Phillips 
 said modestly ; " it's only an idea that occurred to 
 me which I was reminded of by something I read 
 when I was in South Africa. But mightn't this 
 be a coincidence ? " 
 
 " I think not," Rickerby replied, " you could 
 hardly say that of a series of bets in which Selwyn 
 always loses and which are never made till after the 
 race is run." 
 
 " Extraordinary," Phillips said. " But I can't 
 see how it can be anything more than a mere coinci- 
 dence. I suppose you do a tremendous lot of late 
 betting." 
 
 " My dear sir, that is exactly what the club is for. 
 Some of us wouldn't be able to live without it. But, 
 all the same, we don't bet a second after the official 
 time of starting." 
 
 By this time the smoking-room was -filling up 
 rapidly. Two or three score of men had come mainly 
 to hear the result of the afternoon's racing and to 
 make their bets up to the very last moment that 
 wagers were accepted. Phillips, apparently per- 
 fectly satisfied with what he had heard, lounged in 
 one corner smoking a cigar, watching the crowd of
 
 n6 HARD PRESSED 
 
 sportsmen keenly out of the corner of his eye. He 
 seemed to have one glance, too, for the weather 
 outside, which had changed somewhat, for the sky 
 was overcast and flakes of snow were falling. 
 A little later the room was almost in darkness 
 and the whole world seemed to be lost in a 
 white drift. The clock over the mantelpiece pointed 
 to nearly twenty minutes past three. The result of 
 the three o'clock race had been announced, and, so 
 far as Phillips could tell, there had not been one 
 sensational incident in the way of a bet. 
 
 " Your friend Selwyn is evidently not present to- 
 day," Phillips observed, as Rickerby dropped into 
 a seat by his side. 
 
 " Oh, yes, he is," the bookmaker retorted. 
 
 " That's very interesting," Phillips said. " I 
 wish you would introduce me to Mr. Selwyn. I 
 think a little later I shall be able to show him a way 
 of saving money."
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 JOLLY & CO. 
 
 PHILLIPS slipped out of the club by and by, 
 and for a while walked up and down opposite, 
 studying the building in which the Post Club was 
 situated. It was a large block of offices on five or 
 six floors, mostly given over to merchants and 
 dealers whose business was in connexion with Covent 
 Garden Market. Moving up and down as if waiting 
 for a friend, Phillips was making an exceedingly 
 careful scrutiny of the building. 
 
 " It isn't as easy as I thought it was at first," 
 he said. " I've got a pretty shrewd idea, for which 
 I have in the main to thank that snowstorm. It 
 is evident that Rickerby is perfectly right, and 
 that there is some cunning plot afoot to rob this 
 Selwyn. I wonder whether Rickerby was alluding 
 to Raymond Copley. It can't be anybody else. 
 Now it is clear the gang cannot make late bets 
 during a snowstorm or thick mist or anything 
 of that kind. I should like to know how they 
 manage to get the name of the winner into the 
 club before the horse is past the post. But that 
 
 117
 
 n8 HARD PRESSED 
 
 I must leave for the present. The point I have 
 to find out now is how the man upstairs who 
 comes to do the betting gets his information. If 
 there was another block of buildings opposite 
 the club I could understand it, because it would be 
 easy to signal from one window to another. But 
 there's nothing opposite except the Market with 
 a lot of porters hanging about, and I don't suppose 
 they have anything to do with it. The puzzle 
 beats me for the moment. Still, having got so 
 far, it is hard if I can't get to the bottom of it. 
 The signal must come from somewhere in the block 
 of buildings where the club is situated. Well, 
 that gives me something to go on with anyhow, 
 and I haven't much time to spare, especially as I 
 must meet Fielden to-morrow at Mirst Park. I 
 suppose there is only one thing to do, and that is to 
 find out the name and occupation of every firm which 
 has an office under the roof. The first thing I need 
 is a Post Office Directory." 
 
 With the aid of this book he managed to winnow 
 down the doubtful firms to five or six. The rest he 
 found were established houses engaged in legitimate 
 trade, the others being more or less new-comers whose 
 callings were rather nondescript. By a stroke 
 of good fortune, just before five o'clock Phillips 
 obtained the assistance of a clerk in a fruit concern, 
 whose firm was in the block of buildings in which 
 the club was housed, and the doubtful firms were
 
 JOLLY & CO. 119 
 
 reduced to two. Standing outside looking up at the 
 club, the windows of which were now in darkness, 
 Phillips saw that next door were a couple of 
 windows bearing on their wire blinds the legend, 
 Jolly & Co. There was a light behind the blinds, 
 so that the lettering stood out clear and dis- 
 tinct. 
 
 " I think I am getting on," Phillips commented. 
 " Now, how am I going to find out about Jolly & 
 Co. ? It is a bit too dangerous to ask casually for 
 Mr. Jolly. But, stop. Most of the people have 
 left, and it is any odds the light has been used by 
 the charwoman who is cleaning out the offices. It 
 won't do any harm to go up and see." 
 
 Phillips put his plan into execution. He came at 
 length to the second floor, and stopped at a door at 
 the end of the passage which led to the rooms occupied 
 by the Post Club. On the door the name of Jolly & 
 Co. was painted in white letters. From behind it 
 came the sound of scrubbing. Phillips entered 
 boldly. The room was furnished as an office. 
 There were a table and a chair or two, and in a 
 corner an American roll-top desk. Beside the 
 desk was a telephone which, from its glittering 
 newness, had not been long erected. Attached 
 to the receiver in the place of the usual short 
 flex was a cord at least eight or nine feet long. 
 It was a small matter in itself, but it did not escape 
 Phillips' keen glance. He wondered what it was for.
 
 120 HARD PRESSED 
 
 It was certain that it was not attached to the 
 receiver by accident. 
 
 In one part of the room an old woman was 
 kneeling down scrubbing the floorcloth. 
 
 " Is Mr. Jolly here ? " Phillips asked. 
 
 " No, sir," was the reply. " He went away early. 
 I saw the key of the office hanging up soon after 
 half-past three.'* 
 
 Phillips smiled. He was beginning to understand 
 now. There had been snowstorms most of the after- 
 noon at intervals, and this, no doubt, had interfered 
 with the campaign against the bookmakers. 
 
 " That is very annoying," Phillips said. " I 
 particularly want to see Mr. Jolly. I have some 
 very important business with him. Can you tell me 
 where he lives ? " 
 
 The old woman shook her head emphatically. 
 
 " No, I can't, sir," she said. " I haven't any idea 
 where he lives. And, besides, he is mostly a stranger 
 to me." 
 
 " He hasn't been here long, then ? " 
 
 " No, sir. He came last autumn and, of course, 
 I does for him like I do for the other gentlemen. 
 He stayed till about the end of November, then he 
 told me he had to go abroad for the winter. He has 
 only been back about a week." 
 
 Phillips thought his time was not being wasted. 
 Everything appeared to be going his way. 
 
 " I am very sorry," he said, " but, really, I must
 
 JOLLY & CO. 121 
 
 find him. It is most awkward, seeing that he is 
 a stranger to me. Would you mind telling me 
 what he is like ? If you can give me a description 
 of him I might make inquiries in the neighbourhood. 
 It is possible he may be in one of the hotels close by 
 playing billiards or something of that sort." 
 
 " Well, that's possible," the old woman said. 
 " I know Mr. Jolly is fond of a game of billiards, 
 because my little boy has had to fetch him once 
 or twice. He is young and clean-shaven, looks like 
 a boy almost till you get close to him, and then you 
 can see what a lot of wrinkles he has round his eyes. 
 He might easily be mistaken for an actor. Dresses 
 very well, he does, except he wears a steel watch- 
 chain." 
 
 Phillips gave the old woman a shilling and de- 
 parted. He had found out all he was likely to dis- 
 cover. He had already moved towards the door 
 when a sudden thought struck him. 
 
 " Oh, by the way," he said, " I wish you would 
 let me have the number of your telephone. If I 
 can't come here again I shall telephone Mr. Jolly in 
 the morning." 
 
 The old woman intimated that the number was 
 on the top of the telephone, and Phillips made a note 
 of it. Then he went away, on the whole very well 
 satisfied with his afternoon's work. He had yet, 
 however, to verify a certain suspicion, and this he 
 could not accomplish till late in the evening. It
 
 122 HARD PRESSED 
 
 eight o'clock or more before he turned into a public 
 telephone call-office and rang up the number which 
 he had copied in Jolly's office. He was not sur- 
 prised to find that he received no reply, but it was 
 not a reply he was after. What he really wanted 
 was to get in connexion with the Exchange. He 
 managed this presently. It was growing late, and 
 there was no great pressure upon the office. 
 
 " I am sorry to trouble you," he said, " but I can't 
 get anything from this number. Can you tell me if 
 Mr. Jolly has a wire between the office and his house? " 
 
 The assistant amiably replied she would ascertain. 
 In a few moments she spoke again. 
 
 " No wonder you couldn't get a reply," she said. 
 " Jolly & Co. are not connected with the Exchange 
 at all. We switch them on by arrangement for 
 business purposes, but their wire is a private one. 
 It has only been recently erected." 
 
 Phillips drew a sharp breath. He was expecting 
 sensational developments, but this information 
 fairly staggered him. 
 
 " I am much obliged to you," he said. " But I 
 am very anxious to get on to Mr. Jolly. You say 
 the wire is a private one. I suppose it goes from 
 the office to Mr. Jolly's own house. Where is 
 that ? " 
 
 " His place is called The Nook, Mirst Park." 
 
 Once more Phillips was taken aback. The whole 
 plot was opening up before his eyes. Many im-
 
 JOLLY & CO. 123 
 
 portant matters remained to be cleared up, but he 
 felt he was getting on with a vengeance. 
 
 " I didn't know where he lived," he said, " but 
 many thanks for this information and all the trouble 
 you have taken. Would you mind putting me in 
 connexion with the Nook ? " 
 
 The assistant was still obliging. For the best 
 part of five minutes Phillips stood there with the 
 receiver at his ear, and the longer he had to wait 
 the more satisfied he appeared to be. Then, pres- 
 ently, the thin voice at the other end of the wire 
 began to speak to him again. 
 
 " I am very sorry," she said. " But I have rung 
 half a dozen times and can't make anybody hear. 
 Probably they have left the receiver off the instru- 
 ment. I can try again presently." 
 
 " A thousand thanks," Phillips said. " But I 
 won't trouble you. I'll call round at the office in the 
 morning. What a stroke of luck ! Now for Mirst 
 Park."
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE NOOK 
 
 ON second thoughts, Phillips deemed it more 
 prudent to remain in town overnight. There 
 would be no difficulty in reaching Mirst Park to- 
 morrow in time to open his campaign. Besides, 
 when he came to think it over there were a good 
 many things yet to be done. He ate his modest 
 dinner in his modest lodgings and then sat down 
 over a cigarette to think out the result of his day's 
 work. The more he cogitated the more satisfied he 
 was with his rate of progress. 
 
 He had got past the age when a man burns for 
 revenge and that sort of thing. He infinitely pre- 
 ferred to make Copley smart and put money in 
 his own pocket at the same time. As for his 
 diamond-mining adventure, he expected to hear 
 no more of that. He had been robbed of his pre- 
 cious plans and had no hopes of seeing his missing 
 portmanteau again, but, like a prudent man, he was 
 not inclined to cry over spilt milk. 
 
 He had thought it all out before morning, and 
 shortly after ten o'clock set out to call upon 
 
 124
 
 THE NOOK 125 
 
 Major Garden again. To his surprise he found 
 that the Major had already breakfasted and 
 was making preparations for going out. A big 
 fur coat was carelessly thrown across an arm-chair, 
 and Phillips smiled when he saw it. Probably the 
 Major had struck a prosperous line. Possibly some 
 of the ten-pound note had been laid out at an 
 adjacent pawnbroker's. 
 
 " I didn't expect to see you this morning," the 
 Major said genially. " Most infernally cold, isn't 
 it ? Looks like snow, too. Still, one must take 
 the rough with the smooth when one goes racing." 
 
 " So you are going racing ? " 
 
 " Well, I had thought of it. I don't often get 
 the chance of treating myself, and my idea was to 
 run down to Mirst Park this afternoon. You're 
 going, aren't you ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, I am going down on business. But I 
 wanted you to stay in town and do a little com- 
 mission for me." 
 
 The Major's florid face fell. 
 
 " That is very awkward," he muttered. " You 
 see, I promised to take my daughter with me. She 
 is fonder of that kind of thing than I am, and 
 the poor child seldom has an outing. In the old 
 days of my prosperity Alice had her own horse, 
 and deuced good across country she was. Can't 
 you manage to put it off till to-morrow, Phillips ? 
 I shall be greatly obliged if you can."
 
 126 HARD PRESSED 
 
 Phillips reflected for a moment. 
 
 " Very well," he said. " I daresay it can be 
 managed. I will see you on the course this after- 
 noon and let you know what my address is. If you 
 are discreet and cautious over this little matter 
 there is a fair sum of money in it for you. You can 
 drop me a note to-night, because there is no pressing 
 hurry, and you can get the information this evening 
 or early to-morrow. What you have to do is to go 
 round to the Post Club and find out all the heavy 
 bets which were made there with Selwyn in con- 
 nexion with to-day's racing at Mirst Park. You 
 must let me know with whom the bets were made 
 and who made them. I think that is all. But I 
 shall see you on the course later, and if anything 
 crops up in the meantime I shall let you know." 
 
 There was nothing to prevent Phillips from mak- 
 ing his way to Mirst Park. Half an hour later he 
 took train from Waterloo and, arrived at his destin- 
 ation, proceeded to look out for lodgings. He 
 had his own reasons for preferring rooms to an hotel. 
 He needed to keep himself as quiet as possible. 
 This matter satisfactorily settled, he turned his 
 steps to the course, which was as yet practically 
 deserted. There was little to indicate that a race 
 meeting was in progress, excepting the shows and 
 roundabouts and booths outside the stands and 
 paddocks. There were the usual loafers pic- 
 nicking on the grass, the usual litter of torn betting-
 
 THE NOOK 127 
 
 tickets and papers scattered far and wide. Phillips 
 passed along, looking eagerly about him. He 
 wanted somebody who could give him certain 
 information. He stood on the centre of the course, 
 some four or five hundred yards from the ring. He 
 appeared to be admiring the landscape, which was 
 pleasant enough under the brilliant sunshine, 
 though this was interspersed now and then by 
 ominous-looking clouds which seemed to threaten 
 snow later. 
 
 As most people know, Mirst Park course is situ- 
 ated in a kind of theatre, with rising ground behind 
 the stands, so that it is possible for everybody to 
 obtain a perfect view of a race from start to finish. 
 Peeping out of the trees here and there were a few 
 good-class houses, one of which, standing higher 
 than the rest, towered over the top of the grand 
 stand. There was the suggestion of a smile on 
 Phillips' face as he adjusted his racing-glasses and 
 made a close inspection of the house in question. 
 He could see that it possessed a flat roof with a 
 parapet around it. Phillips was still intent upon 
 his examination when a policeman with a fine air 
 of detachment strolled by. 
 
 " The best natural course I have ever seen," 
 Phillips said with enthusiasm. " Have you got 
 many like this in these parts, officer ? " 
 
 " Not that I know of," the policeman said. " I 
 suppose you have never been here before."
 
 iz8 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " I am from South Africa," Phillips said. " We've 
 got nothing like this out there. I should like to 
 have one of those houses yonder. It musl be nice 
 to sit in your own house and be able to watch all 
 the races, especially in weather like this. Now 
 there's that place at the back of the stand. I 
 suppose you know who that belongs to. Some 
 man with money, I expect ? " 
 
 " I can't tell you, sir," the policeman replied. 
 " I've lived here most of my life, but that house 
 yonder has been empty for a long time. I under- 
 stood it was taken by some Colonial gentleman 
 last autumn, but I don't think he has been in it 
 yet. Of course, I don't know for certain, because 
 my beat is on the other side of the Common, and I 
 am only on duty here on race days." 
 
 " Just so. What is the name of the house ? " 
 
 " Let me see," the policeman said, reflectively. 
 "Oh, I know. I think they call it The Nook." 
 
 The officer passed on, and Phillips replaced the 
 racing-glasses in their case. Fortune was still on 
 his side. He made his way through the woods up 
 into the road which ran in front of the houses, and 
 came at length to a pair of iron gates with the name 
 of the house, The Nook, painted on them in gilt 
 letters. The place appeared to be fairly well looked 
 after. The paths were trim, but, so far as Phillips 
 could see, there was little traffic through the gates 
 and no sign whatever of wheels, either of cabs or
 
 THE NOOK 129 
 
 motors. Peering through the shrubs, he noticed 
 that the windows were fitted with curtains and 
 blinds as if the house were inhabited. There was, 
 perhaps, some risk in what Phillips was about to 
 do, but he was prepared to take the consequences. 
 He walked briskly up the drive until he came in 
 front of the house. Most of the blinds were up. 
 He saw evidences of refinement and luxury in the 
 blinds and curtains, though it struck him as 
 rather significant that the gardens had not had 
 much attention bestowed upon them. Phillips 
 hesitated before ringing the bell. It was an old- 
 fashioned bell, with a drop-handle, and he could 
 hear it clanging through the house with a hollow 
 sound which suggested emptiness. As he expected, 
 no reply came, though he rang two or three times. 
 It was impossible for any one to see into the living- 
 rooms, for the house was built upon a slope and 
 the front door was approached by a flight of steps. 
 Just as Phillips was turning away a man emerged 
 from behind a belt of shrubs, followed by a truculent- 
 looking bull-terrier. He looked like a gardener, 
 though there was in his appearance that faint, 
 intangible something which suggested a close famili- 
 arity with the turf. He eyed Phillips sourly and 
 suspiciously, and none too politely requested to 
 know his business. 
 
 " Are you employed here ? " Phillips asked. 
 ' Yes, I am," the man growled. " I am the 
 
 I
 
 130 HARD PRESSED 
 
 gardener. And there's no one at home, if you want 
 to know." 
 
 Phillips' assumption of annoyance was artistic. 
 He turned away impatiently. 
 
 " Then Mr. Ronaldson is not here now ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " Never heard the name," the gardener responded. 
 
 " But he used to live here. I knew him well in 
 South Africa. He gave me his address two years 
 ago and asked me to look him up if ever I came to 
 England. I suppose he has gone somewhere else 
 then. Do you happen to know the name ? " 
 
 " No, I don't," the gardener said sulkily. " We've 
 only been here a few months, and my master hasn't 
 come into the house yet. He's a stranger, too. 
 You had better make inquiries in the village." 
 
 Phillips expressed his thanks. He had found 
 out pretty well all he wanted to know, and 
 felt that if this repellent person had entertained 
 any suspicions they were lulled to sleep by this 
 time. He stood examining the repulsive-looking 
 bull-terrier. He alluded to the animal's points 
 approvingly. He spoke, too, as a man who knew 
 what he was talking about. One or two remarks 
 elicited the assent of the gruff gardener, who smiled 
 slightly. 
 
 " Yes, he's a good dog," he said. " And capital 
 in the house." 
 
 " Keeps the burglars away," Phillips laughed.
 
 THE NOOK 131 
 
 " Oh, I daresay he would if I left him here. 
 But I don't live on the premises. I only look round 
 to see that things are all right. I believe the 
 servants are coming in next week." 
 
 " But why not have a caretaker ? " Phillips 
 asked. 
 
 " Oh, there's no occasion for that. They're more 
 trouble than they're worth." 
 
 Phillips nodded and walked leisurely away.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 A FAIR DAY'S SPORT 
 
 AT Mirst Park there was not very much for 
 Fielden to do. The horses he had brought 
 with him were a moderate lot, and, in the words of 
 the stud-groom, there was not a racer amongst them. 
 With his intimate knowledge of horse-flesh Fielden 
 wondered why Copley kept such an indifferent 
 stable, and where he got his animals. They were 
 even worse than the ordinary run of equine rubbish 
 usually foisted on the millionaire whose ambi- 
 tion it is to figure as a patron of the turf. Perhaps 
 the whole thing was a blind. Perhaps the stud at 
 Seton Manor was merely intended to cover Copley's 
 rascality in another direction. At any rate, Fielden 
 watched the first two races with mingled feelings 
 of contempt and amusement. He had seen his 
 employer's horses figure in both in the sorriest 
 fashion, and till the four o'clock race was free to 
 do as he pleased. 
 
 It was strange to move about the paddock, by 
 the weighing-room and on the stand, rubbing 
 
 shoulders with a score of men whom he knew well. 
 
 w
 
 A FAIR DAY'S SPORT 133 
 
 The course was familiar to him, too. Were the 
 past two years but a dream, and had he never left 
 the scene of his former recreations ? But no one 
 recognized him. He strolled about listening to the 
 roar of the betting-ring and the cries of the multi- 
 tude, or threaded his way in and out among the 
 horses. He even spoke to one or two jockeys whom 
 he had once known, but none seemed to identify 
 him. 
 
 Despite the crowd and the horses, the ladies on 
 the stand and the members in the enclosure, how- 
 ever, it was a lonely business, and his face lightened 
 as he caught sight of May Haredale seated by her- 
 self on one of the stands. He made his way eagerly 
 to her side. She turned and smiled upon him. 
 There was a healthy flush on her face. Her eyes 
 were sparkling, and yet there was a suspicion of 
 anxiety about her which Fielden had noticed more 
 than once lately. 
 
 " Why are you alone ? " he asked. 
 
 " Oh, it has only been the last few minutes," 
 May explained. " We have a colt running in this 
 race, and my father has gone to give instructions 
 to his jockey. By the way, how badly your horses 
 have cut up to-day. No, I am not particularly 
 interested in this race, and I haven't so much as 'a 
 pair of gloves on it." 
 
 " Then what do you say to a stroll ? " Fielden 
 suggested. " It is cold, and we look like having
 
 134 HARD PRESSED 
 
 another fall of snow. I couldn't see the three' 
 o'clock race for the snow. Positively I hadn't the 
 faintest notion what had won till I saw the numbers 
 go up. Let us walk across the course to the starting- 
 point and back. We shall have plenty of time." 
 
 May consented, and soon they were beyond tb^ 
 enclosure and past the white posts and rails 
 towards the patch of gorse across the Downs, where 
 the starter was already fidgeting about on his cob. 
 Away from the noise and excitement of the ring 
 the flush faded from May's face, and her eyes seemed 
 inexpressibly sad. 
 
 " What's the matter ? " Fielden asked anxiously. 
 " We all change as we grow older. I suppose I am 
 different from what I used to be. But I don't like 
 to see you so quiet. It is so foreign to your nature, 
 May. There was a time when you were all laughter 
 and sunshine. Oh, dear, what a fool I have been, 
 to be sure. How different things might have been 
 if I had only had a little common sense. You don't 
 know how I blame myself." 
 
 " Were you altogether to blame ? " May asked. 
 " I don't think so. You had no one to look 
 after you from the time you were at school till 
 you came into your property. You were merely 
 a boy then, and you behaved like one." 
 
 "Oh, I know, I know," Fielden sighed. "But 
 that's all past and done with. But don't talk 
 about me. I am far more interested in you. I
 
 A FAIR DAY'S SPORT 135 
 
 hope nothing has happened to increase your anxiety. 
 You know what I mean." 
 
 May looked irresolutely at her companion. 
 
 " I ought not, perhaps, to tell you," she said. 
 " I ought not to tell anybody. But, then, well, 
 you are Harry Fielden, and I have known you all 
 my life. If you didn't care for me quite as much 
 as you do, if I had not cared for you but, there, 
 we need not go into that. It is my father who has 
 worried me. It is extraordinary what a change 
 has come over him lately. He used to be so kind 
 to me, to let me do as I liked, and even when 
 we were so poor that we didn't know where to turn 
 for money he was always happy and cheerful. 
 Why, a few months ago he would have laughed at 
 the idea of my marrying a man like Mr. Copley. 
 Now he is almost eager for it." 
 
 Fielden made no reply for a moment. A wave 
 of indignation came over him. He caught his lip 
 between his teeth and bit it fiercely. A year or 
 two ago he would have smiled at the suggestion that 
 Sir George would sanction a match between his 
 daughter and a man like Copley. But during the 
 hard and bitter months of his wanderings he had 
 learnt some amount of cynical wisdom. He was 
 no longer inclined, as he had been in the old days, 
 to take every man at his face valuation. And, 
 no doubt, when the pinch came, Sir George was just 
 like the rest. He would speak loudly enough of his
 
 136 HARD PRESSED 
 
 willingness to give up the old house and live in 
 humble lodgings rather than have any slur cast 
 upon his honour. But it would be different when 
 this pretty theory came to be put to the test. Fielden 
 iorgot all about the racecourse. He heard nothing 
 of the shouting crowd. The horses streaming to 
 the post conveyed nothing to his eye. 
 
 " I want you to be candid with me," he said. 
 " Is Sir George putting pressure upon you to marry 
 that blackguard ? " 
 
 There was something so vehement in Fielden's 
 speech that May looked at him in astonishment. 
 
 " Surely you are going too far," she said. " Mr. 
 Copley is not a gentleman, of course " 
 
 " I tell you, he is a scoundrel," Fielden inter- 
 rupted. " Believe me, May, I would not have 
 spoken unless I had been bound to. That man is 
 not fit to go into any respectable house. I cannot 
 say more than that at present, because the secret 
 is not altogether mine. But this much I tell you : 
 Had there been no such person as Raymond Copley 
 I should be a rich man at the present moment. I 
 know that, but for the merest accident, there would 
 be blood on that man's hands. You must not marry 
 him, May. You must not give him the slightest 
 encouragement. When I think of your associating 
 with that rascal my blood boils. If the worst 
 comes to the worst, I must tell Sir George what I 
 know myself. It is with the greatest reluctance I
 
 A FAIR DAY'S SPORT 137 
 
 entered Copley's employment ; indeed, I only did 
 so because there are certain things I want to find 
 out and this seemed to provide a favourable oppor- 
 tunity. Otherwise, I would rather get my living 
 by selling race-cards and sleep under a furze bush. 
 But do you mean to say your father really insists 
 on this ? " 
 
 A rush of tears filled May's eyes. 
 
 " That is what it comes to," she rejoined. " It 
 is only the last two days that I have noticed such 
 a change in my father. Harry, do you think 
 it is as bad as he says it is ? He tells me that 
 unless I consent to marry Mr. Copley we shall be 
 ruined and be turned out of the house without 
 so much as a penny. It seems incredible. I can't 
 understand a man with an atom of self-respect who 
 would compel a girl to marry him against her 
 will. It isn't as if I were rich, or intellectual, or 
 beautiful." 
 
 Harry thought he could understand. Indeed, 
 any man could understand who looked down into 
 the pretty, pleading, anxious face that was turned 
 up towards Fielden. 
 
 " There is no accounting for people like Copley," 
 he said. " He is the kind of man that has not an 
 atom of consideration for anybody but himself. He 
 has no heart or conscience, and the more unattain- 
 able a thing is the more he longs for it. He cannot 
 win you; therefore, you are the one thing in
 
 138 HARD PRESSED 
 
 the world that he passionately desires. God help 
 the woman, however fascinating and beautiful, 
 who becomes Copley's wife ! It would mean years 
 of brutality and neglect and self-contempt. You 
 mustn't, May. I understand the duty you owe 
 to your father, but no man has a right to exact 
 such a sacrifice as that. Don't you think I had 
 better see Sir George and give him a hint of the sort 
 of man Copley is ? " 
 
 May shook her head resolutely. 
 
 " I am afraid that would do more harm than 
 good," she said. " I must fight my battle alone, 
 Hairy, and if you interfered my father might 
 forbid you Haredale Park. He has already hinted 
 that, if you had not come home again, I should 
 have been willing to become Mrs. Raymond Copley, 
 and if I were not allowed to see you I don't know 
 what I should do. There is nobody else I could 
 confide in. But I will let you know how things 
 go on. We had better go back. I feel better for 
 this confession." 
 
 But it seemed a hopeless business, and Fielden's 
 face was sad and gloomy as he strode alongside May 
 towards the stand. 
 
 Ah 1 but hope was not dead yet.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 AN EVENING VISIT 
 
 FOR once Sir George Haredale did not seem to 
 be in the least pleased to see Fielden. He 
 was standing on the lower steps of the stand talking 
 to Major Garden with the air of one who is convers- 
 ing with an old acquaintance. By Garden's side 
 was his daughter, eager and interested, following 
 all that was going on around her with the zest and 
 enjoyment of a child. 
 
 " Oh, here you are," Sir George said fussily. " I 
 was beginning to wonder what had become of you. 
 Garden, this is my daughter. Major Garden and I 
 were at Eton together. We used to do a good deal 
 of racing before you were born." 
 
 The Major took off his hat with a flourish. 
 
 " Charmed to meet the daughter of my old 
 friend," he said, " charmed. Ah, those were plea- 
 sant days when one had youth and strength and a 
 banking account which appeared to be inexhaustible. 
 Now I deem myself fortunate if I can steal a day 
 off occasionally to get down to a suburban race- 
 course. Let me present you to my daughter. My 
 dear Alice " 
 
 1S9
 
 140 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " But I know her already," May Haredale cried. 
 "We were at school together. I had no idea that 
 my father and yours knew one another. I am so 
 pleased to see you again. Father, Alice Garden was 
 my greatest friend all the years I was at East- 
 bourne. We parted promising to write to one 
 another regularly, but somehow or another we 
 have never corresponded. But now that I have 
 met you I won't lose sight of you any more. Major 
 Garden, you really must let Alice come and stay 
 at Haredale Park with me. I want her for a long 
 visit." 
 
 Garden professed himself to be delighted, and 
 this in all sincerity. He began to see visions of a 
 snug and comfortable time, away from dingy lodg- 
 ings and vilely-cooked food to which he had never 
 become accustomed. The two girls paired off, 
 and the Major strolled towards the paddock 
 gates, for he had noticed Phillips there, evidently 
 waiting for a chance to speak to him. 
 
 " Got any instructions ? " the Major asked. 
 " Nothing fresh," Phillips explained. " I want 
 you to do exactly as I asked you, and if you can 
 manage it this evening, after you get back to town, 
 so much the better. I have written my address on 
 the back of this card, and it is possible I may be 
 here for two or three days longer. I want you to 
 find out what wagering there was to big money with 
 Selwyn at the Post Club to-day, and wire to the
 
 AN EVENING VISIT 141 
 
 address on this card. It is more than probable 
 that, before the week is out, I may be able to put a 
 good thing in your way. I suppose I can come round 
 and see you whenever I like." 
 
 The Major thought that would be all right. It 
 would be just as well, perhaps, to get his daughter 
 out of the way. With diplomacy he might contrive 
 to expedite the invitation to Haredale Park, so that 
 he could have the ground clear without fear of 
 interruption. He returned to the place where his 
 daughter was waiting for him. 
 
 At a sign from Phillips, Fielden came forward. 
 
 " Well," he asked, " how are you getting on ? " 
 
 " Splendidly," Phillips replied. " I have been 
 far more fortunate than I anticipated. We will 
 get some fun out of Copley and Foster yet. From 
 your point of view I daresay you may think I am 
 wrong. But I mean to make money out of this. 
 I will expose Copley and fill my purse at the same 
 time. You wonder what I am driving at ? Can 
 you manage to stay here over to-morrow ? " 
 
 " I think so," Fielden said. 
 
 '' That's good. In that case we can push our investi- 
 gations farther and, with any luck, before the week 
 is out we shall not only know where Copley gets 
 his money, but how he makes it. Of course, we 
 know that he doesn't even begin as a millionaire ; 
 we know that he is an unscrupulous adventurer. 
 But he has the command of ready money, and we
 
 142 HARD PRESSED 
 
 wish to know how he makes it. As a matter of fact, 
 I know that already. But there are a few weak 
 points in my case, and we can't make a definite 
 move till these are cleared up. Now I want you to 
 have dinner with me in my lodgings. I told my 
 landlady I might have a friend staying with me, and 
 she will be ready to put a bedroom at your dis- 
 posal." 
 
 " Why this mystery ? " Fielden asked. 
 
 " Oh, it is no mystery. I only want to interest 
 you. After dark we shall indulge in a little quiet 
 burglary, that is, if you don't object." 
 
 " It is not an alluring prospect," Fielden said. 
 
 "Of course it isn't," Phillips agreed. "But 
 when you are dealing with scoundrels it is necessary 
 to use their own weapons. I presume you are 
 as interested as I am in the exposure of Copley and 
 Foster and all their methods." 
 
 " Up to the hilt," Fielden said between his teeth. 
 " Poor as I am, I would give all I possess to bring 
 that about. I would give five years of my life to 
 manage that between now and Derby Day, And if 
 necessary I can find some money. I am better off 
 than I expected, but I intended to keep the money 
 for a start hi lif e later. Still, if you want it and will 
 promise to put it to a good use, I will give you 
 every farthing cheerfully. You have only to say 
 the word." 
 
 Phillips chuckled.
 
 AN EVENING VISIT 143 
 
 " Oh, there's no occasion to do that, sir," he said. 
 " Keep the money in your pocket. I shall have 
 enough and to spare before long. I mean to drag 
 Copley's plunder from between his teeth. I will 
 take all I can get from him, and when the time 
 comes we shall drop a hint hi the proper quarter, and 
 there will be an end to Raymond Copley. Within 
 three months you will see that man in gaol. You 
 needn't be alarmed for Miss Haredale. She is as 
 safe from that man as if she were the daughter of 
 the King. I had better be going, because it is as 
 well that we should not be seen talking together for 
 too long. I have scribbled my address on the back 
 of this card, and shall expect you about half-past 
 seven." 
 
 Fielden asked no more questions, but returned 
 to his friends with a vivid sense of curiosity. He 
 listened to Major Garden's flamboyant talk, and 
 as he bowed to Alice Garden could not help thinking 
 what a pretty and refined girl she was. He made 
 his excuses for not returning to Haredale, and was 
 faintly amused to see how relieved Sir George ap- 
 peared to be. 
 
 " No, I can't get back to-night," he explained. 
 " I have several things to do here. But I hope to 
 see you on Sunday, if I may be allowed to come 
 over." 
 
 " Of course, you may," May smiled, as she held 
 out her hand. " Miss Garden is coming to stay
 
 144 HARD PRESSED 
 
 with me to-morrow. I have persuaded her to come 
 at once. I am ashamed to have neglected her so 
 long." 
 
 Fielden finished his business, saw the stud- 
 groom and the horses safely on the rail, and then 
 went to the retired part of the village where Phillips' 
 lodgings were situated. It was little more than a 
 cottage, but the place was neat and clean, and the 
 cooking left nothing to be desired. 
 
 " It is only a bit of fish and a steak," Phillips 
 said cheerfully, " but you will find it beautifully 
 served, and as to the wine, well, I got that myself, 
 and I know it is everything it should be. Please sit 
 down and make yourself at home. We can discuss 
 matters over our cigars. There's nothing like racing 
 to give you an appetite. I only hope it won't snow 
 before morning." 
 
 " I hope not," Fielden said. " To all intents and 
 purposes the racing was spoilt this afternoon by the 
 snow, and it is very odd that no one saw a yard 
 from start to finish of the three o'clock race. It 
 was most annoying." 
 
 " Was it ? " Phillips asked. " Well, I confess I 
 didn't find it so. Yesterday at the time of the three 
 o'clock race I was at the Post Club, and, singular 
 to say, we had the same blinding snowstorm in 
 Covent Garden. Now it surprises you, but from your 
 point of view and mine that snowstorm was the 
 most fortunate thing that could have happened.
 
 AN EVENING VISIT 145 
 
 When I sat smoking my cigar in the Post Club there 
 came to me the inspiration of a lifetime. I seemed 
 to see in a flash exactly what had happened, 
 and soon I shall know to a dead certainty. You 
 must restrain your curiosity for a little longer. You 
 will probably know all about it before you go to 
 bed. Try one of these cigars. They are excel- 
 lent." 
 
 Fielden had hardly got his cigar aglow before the 
 landlady came in with a telegram, which Phillips 
 opened eagerly. There was a smile of triumph on 
 his face as he handed it to Fielden. 
 
 " What do you make of that ? " he asked. 
 
 *' I can make nothing of it," Fielden said. " It 
 is a wire to the effect that no important wager was 
 made this afternoon on the three o'clock race at 
 the Post Club, and is signed Garden. I presume 
 that is our stout friend with the florid face and 
 ingratiating manner, who was talking to you this 
 afternoon. But how it helps us I haven't the ghost 
 of an idea." 
 
 Phillips rose and threw his cigar in the fire. 
 
 ** Come," he said. " It is time to start. You 
 haven't much longer to wait."
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE EMPTY HOUSE 
 
 '"T^HERE was just enough moonlight for Phillips' 
 A purpose, but not enough to render his task 
 dangerous. Fielden asked no questions, partly 
 because he deemed it would be useless, and partly 
 because he did not wish to spoil what appeared to 
 have in it the making of a dramatic adventure. 
 His spirits were rising, and he was looking forward 
 keenly to something in the way of enterprise. He 
 and Phillips had been in more than one tight place 
 together, and he had every confidence in his 
 companion. 
 
 They made their way along the main street in 
 silence, and came presently to the deserted race- 
 course. There was very little evidence of the after- 
 noon's sport, nothing but a few partially dismantled 
 tents and booths, and the extraordinary remnants 
 of reeking humanity that always haunt a race 
 meeting. 
 
 They went across the heath, and by and by 
 Phillips pulled up in front of the avenue to 
 The Nook. 
 
 " This is the place," he said quietly. 
 
 146
 
 THE EMPTY HOUSE 147 
 
 " Oh, is it ? " Fielden asked. " Perhaps you 
 had better tell me before we go farther who lives 
 here." 
 
 " That is precisely what we've come to find out," 
 Phillips said coolly. " I've got a pretty shrewd 
 notion, but that isn't good enough for me. I've 
 told you that there's a gang of clever swindlers in 
 England who have put their heads together to rob 
 the betting ring of an enormous sum of money. 
 Operations began last autumn, but the flat-racing 
 was nearly finished, so that they did not make quite 
 such a haul as they had anticipated. Still, they 
 made enough to keep themselves in luxury all the 
 winter and to find the necessary funds for carrying 
 on the campaign in the spring. It is a big combine, 
 and unless something is done to stop it, these people 
 will make colossal fortunes. Mind you, one or two of 
 the large bookmakers have a suspicion, but up to now 
 they haven't been able to prove anything. Indeed, 
 without egotism, I may say they would be powerless 
 without me. I got some vague idea of the scheme 
 three years ago from a man who is now dead. Then 
 when racing began again this year I fancied I could 
 see a trace of the same idea in this business. I knew 
 I was right when I discovered that Copley was 
 operating on a large scale. I lunched at the Post 
 Club with a member who gave me an introduction 
 to Rickerby, the financial a^ent. You remember 
 him ? "
 
 148 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " I ought to," Fielden said drily. " Goodness 
 knows, his firm had enough of my money. But 
 go on." 
 
 " Well, I pumped Rickerby. I don't mind telling 
 you that I went to the Post Club on purpose. He 
 has been pretty hard hit. He believes he has been 
 the victim of a swindle, and he is right, though it 
 was no part of my policy at the time to tell him so. 
 He can't very well refuse to take big bets, even 
 when he feels there is something underhand going 
 on. Only a short time ago he was hit for some 
 thousands of pounds by one of the gang, and, 
 moreover, had to pay the money." 
 
 " This sounds very interesting," Fielden said," but 
 what has it to do with our present adventure ? " 
 
 " Oh, I am coming to that," Phillips went on 
 quietly. " You see, these bets are always made 
 in the same way. One of the conspirators, who is 
 actually a member of the Post Club, strolls into the 
 smoking-room some five or six minutes before well, 
 we'll say before the three o'clock race. He hangs 
 about till the horses are about finishing and then, 
 in the most casual way in the world, makes a bet. 
 Now, mind you, this bet is booked before the race is 
 finished, as a careful comparison of the time shows. 
 Yet the horse has won, and the man in the 
 smoking-room of the Post Club knows it before the 
 judge has given his decision." 
 
 " Impossible," Fielden exclaimed.
 
 THE EMPTY HOUSE 149 
 
 " I know it seems impossible, and twenty years 
 ago you would have said the telephone was impos- 
 sible, and people would have scouted the idea of 
 wireless telegraphy. But they both came, like the 
 phonograph and other wonders." 
 
 " Oh, that's all very well," Fielden smiled. " But 
 you are not going to ask me to believe that this thing 
 is done by thought-reading or anything of that sort ? 
 You won't tell me that this famous member of the 
 Post Club is a clairvoyant who sees the race finished 
 while it is being run ? Because, if that were the 
 case, the favoured person would have no need of a 
 syndicate to help him ; he would do it all by himself." 
 
 " I am not suggesting anything of the kind," 
 Phillips said. " There's nothing occult about the 
 business. The thing is capable of explanation, and 
 I am in a position to give it, except for the finishing 
 touches, which make this dodge almost a work of 
 genius. I know who is at the bottom of it, I 
 know who is working it, and I know how the inform- 
 ation is conveyed to within a few feet of the tape 
 machines in the Post Club. But how that informa- 
 tion is filtered to the man inside is the thing that 
 beats me at present. But so much I have found 
 out. In the very next office to the smoking- 
 room of the Post Club is a firm who call themselves 
 Jolly & Co. Now Jolly & Co. only took their office 
 last September or October. There is not the 
 slightest sign of any business being done there,
 
 150 HARD PRESSED 
 
 because I have been in the office myself. Taken in 
 conjunction with what I have told you, it must 
 strike you as an odd thing that this mysterious 
 Jolly & Co. shut up the office and went abroad last 
 year after the flat-racing was over. Probable Jolly 
 & Co. went off to make a bit in the Riviera, 
 or Egypt, or some other fashionable resort where 
 fools and money congregate. It is an odd thing 
 that during the January meeting at Mirst Park 
 Jolly & Co. should turn up again and resume opera- 
 tions in Covent Garden. Now I called to see Mr. 
 Jolly. He had left his office, but I guessed that 
 before I called, or I shouldn't have ventured. The 
 first thing I saw was a telephone with an unusually 
 long flex to it. I don't quite understand why this 
 flex is so long, but I can make a shrewd guess. It 
 cost me an hour or two and plenty of hard thinking 
 to get farther in my investigations, but I found 
 late in the evening that Jolly & Co.'s telephone was 
 a private wire leading from Covent Garden to his 
 residence at Mirst Park. Now do you begin to 
 understand ? " 
 
 Fielden shook his head. 
 
 " It begins to smell suspicious," he said. " I am 
 bound to confess it looks very like a deep-laid 
 conspiracy. But I must confess myself too dense 
 to follow it." 
 
 " Oh, it requires explanation. But luck favoured 
 me in my investigations, and I managed to pick up
 
 THE EMPTY HOUSE 151 
 
 a good many unlocked for clues. Still, the fact 
 remains that from this house here to an office next 
 door to the Post Club there is a private telephone. 
 Now a child would admit that no one would have 
 a private telephone from here to an office in London, 
 at a cost of something like a hundred and fifty pounds 
 a year, merely for the sake of sending domestic 
 messages. I came here to have a good look at The 
 Nook, as this house is called, and I found, not 
 altogether unexpectedly, that nobody was living 
 here. I was told by a gardener that the tenant had 
 not yet taken possession, though it has been fur- 
 nished for some time. I had rung the bell a few 
 times, and when the man came professed I had called 
 to see some one who used to live here. Considering 
 that it is supposed to be a fully-furnished house, 
 that bell made a great deal of noise. I am ready 
 to bet that the house is practically empty. At 
 any rate, I have come here to find out for myself, 
 and as I believe there is nobody on the premises our 
 task ought not to be difficult." 
 
 " I don't like it," Fielden said. " It smells very 
 much like burglary, and if we were discovered we 
 should find some difficulty in giving an explanation 
 which would satisfy the police. Isn't there any 
 other way ? " 
 
 Phillips waved the suggestion aside impatiently. 
 
 " You can go back if you like, sir," he said. " As 
 for me, I will see this thing through. We might
 
 152 HARD PRESSED 
 
 never have such an opportunity again. And, be- 
 sides, I want to have a look at that telephone. I 
 think we shall find something that will open our eyes. 
 I am not in a position actually to prove it, but I am 
 convinced that Jolly & Co. will be found to be part 
 and parcel of Copley and Foster. Now you under- 
 stand why I am so anxious to enter the house. 
 Still, if you prefer to remain outside and leave the 
 matter to me " 
 
 " Oh, no," Fielden said hastily. " Having come 
 so far I won't turn back. I am taking it that you 
 are correct in thinking the house is empty." 
 
 " Of course it is, there is no question about that. 
 The gardener told me so, and I see no reason 
 to doubt his statement. I wouldn't miss this 
 chance for anything. Even if I get nothing out of 
 it, I should like to know how this swindle is being 
 worked. But come along, we are wasting time. 
 There is enough moonlight to help us without using 
 lights, which is so far fortunate. It may be a 
 little awkward for you, connected as you are with 
 Copley, but it is all in the game." 
 
 " Lead on," Fielden said curtly. 
 
 They turned into the avenue and came presently 
 to the front of the house. Somebody had evidently 
 been in since Phillips' visit, for all the blinds had 
 been pulled down. Then they walked cautiously 
 round, looking for a weak spot where they could 
 effect an entrance. 

 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 INSIDE 
 
 THE adventurers managed to squeeze through 
 a scullery window, the latch of which had not 
 been secured, and a moment later were in the house. 
 As Phillips had surmised, the place was empty. 
 There were, however, cooking utensils in the kitchen, 
 a quantity of plates and dishes and glass, with two 
 baskets containing a small supply of cutlery and 
 silver. Floorcloth had been laid down on the 
 kitchen floor and a carpet in the hall, and there were 
 carpets on the stairs, but three of the four living- 
 rooms on the ground floor were empty. But the 
 fourth room was comfortably furnished. A fire was 
 still burning in the grate, and on the tiled hearth 
 Phillips detected the ends of two or three cigarettes. 
 There was a faint aroma of tobacco on the air, not 
 the sort of tobacco likely to be consumed by a 
 caretaker. 
 
 " It is just as I told you," Phillips chuckled. " I 
 felt sure we should find the house empty." 
 
 " Yet you are not altogether right," Fielden 
 replied. " Somebody has been here recently, and 
 
 in
 
 154 HARD PRESSED 
 
 somebody who knows how to appreciate a good 
 cigarette. Besides, look at that fire. I don't like 
 it, Phillips, and wish we were well out of it. We 
 don't happen to be in South Africa now." 
 
 "Oh, that's all right," Phillips said cheerfully. 
 " No doubt the fire was lighted this morning by the 
 gardener, and no doubt also one of the conspirators 
 has been here. In fact, I should have been disap- 
 pointed if I hadn't found traces of him. It isn't 
 necessary for our friends to come often, but they 
 couldn't very well work their scheme unless they 
 were on the spot when racing is taking place at Mirst 
 Park. I wonder what our friend thought of the 
 snowstorm about three o'clock. I guess that must 
 have upset his calculations a bit. Now look at 
 this." 
 
 Phillips bent down to the fireplace and lifted one 
 of the cigarette ends, which he handed to Fielden. 
 
 " Do you know anybody who smokes these ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " I think so," Fielden said after close inspection. 
 " They are particularly expensive cigarettes, and 
 can't be had unless specially ordered. The only 
 man I know who smokes them is Raymond Copley." 
 
 " Precisely. And you may bet your boots this 
 is one of his. At any rate, it is a curious coincidence, 
 and tends to confirm what I have already told you. 
 I should be greatly surprised if Copley were not here 
 this afternoon. Now let us get a bit farther.
 
 INSIDE 155 
 
 There is nothing to detain us after we have 
 examined the telephone. I am afraid we shall have 
 to use a match, but, then, we are bound to take 
 certain risks." 
 
 By the aid of a box of vestas the telephone instru- 
 ment was found in the hall. It presented no special 
 features. It appeared to be the kind of hanging 
 instrument to be seen in hundreds of offices and 
 private houses. 
 
 " Nothing remarkable about that," Fielden said. 
 
 For the moment Phillips made no reply. He 
 fetched a chair from the kitchen and mounted it. 
 After the expenditure of two or three matches, the 
 ends of which he was careful to deposit in his pocket, 
 he broke into a smile. 
 
 " Ah, I expected something like this," he said. 
 " There is an extension to this instrument. If you 
 look in the angle of the wall you will see that it 
 goes up to the ceiling. To tell you the truth, 
 I am glad to find this, because it bears out what 
 strikes me as a very plausible theory. I was rather 
 disappointed to find the telephone here at all. But 
 now I can understand why it was placed in this 
 particular spot. We have a cunning lot to deal 
 with, and it was to be expected they would not do 
 things like other people. Let us go upstairs and 
 see how far this extension goes. To the roof, unless 
 I am mistaken." 
 
 The exploration proved troublesome, but the
 
 156 HARD PRESSED 
 
 extension was traced to the second floor and thence 
 along the ceiling, where it finally disappeared through 
 a skylight which gave on to the roof. An iron ladder 
 was attached to the skylight, and Phillips pointed 
 out to his companion that the ladder appeared to 
 have been regularly used. The iron rungs were 
 worn bright, the sides were clean and shiny. 
 
 " Come along," Phillips whispered. " We must 
 get out on the top. But be cautious and display as 
 little light as possible. I daresay we can manage 
 with a solitary match." 
 
 They found themselves on the roof presently. 
 By feeling about they could trace the flex of the 
 extension to a square wooden box screwed down 
 to the leads. The box did not appear to be locked, 
 and it was easy for Phillips to fumble about inside 
 it until he drew out a cylinder of gutta percha with 
 something glittering at either end. 
 
 " Stoop down and light a match," he whispered, 
 " and hide the flame under your coat. Now, then, 
 bend down here. That's right." 
 
 The match burst into flame under cover of 
 Fielden's coat. The feeble light displayed another 
 telephone receiver attached to the end of a some- 
 what long flex. 
 
 " You can blow out the match," Phillips went on, 
 " and don't forget to put the end in your pocket. 
 It is just as well to be careful when dealing with 
 such a gang. Perhaps you begin to understand ?
 
 INSIDE 157 
 
 You don't know, I expect, that this roof commands 
 the whole racecourse, and enables one to see every- 
 thing from start to finish. Now a man could sit 
 down here on this box and watch the race with the 
 telephone receiver to his mouth. If he were a really 
 good judge of racing I mean, if he were any good 
 as a judge of a finish he would be able to spot the 
 winner in nine cases out of ten fifty lengths from 
 home, and therefore, if there was some one at the 
 other end in the office of Jolly & Co., the result 
 of a particular race would be known in London 
 before the horse was past the post. Do you 
 follow ? " 
 
 " Yes, that's all very well," Fielden objected, 
 " but that does not account for the fact that " 
 
 " That the information is conveyed in the smok- 
 ing room of the Post Club. Of course it doesn't. 
 That, I confess, is where I am beaten for the present. 
 I am certain that a second later the confederate 
 in the Post Club knows what has happened. Don't 
 ask me to tell you how the final touches are put on, 
 because I don't know. But, knowing as much as I 
 do, we shall soon find out, and I think you will 
 admit that we haven't wasted our evening. You 
 understand now why either Copley or a confeder- 
 ate was here this afternoon. The man, whoever 
 he was, came with the intention of sending the result 
 of the three o'clock race to Covent Garden. Why 
 the three o'clock race is always picked out for this
 
 158 HARD PRESSED 
 
 swindle we don't know, but that will be made plain 
 sooner or later. They didn't make anything yester- 
 day or to-day, because on both occasions the race 
 was run in a snowstorm. It was the snowstorm that 
 first put the idea into my head ; in fact, it was the 
 snowstorm that led me here at all. And now, let 
 us go back to my lodgings and discuss the matter 
 over a cigar." 
 
 The telephone receiver was replaced in its box, 
 the lid shut down, and the investigators began their 
 descent to the lower rooms. They had not forgotten 
 to be cautious and walked as quietly and carefully 
 as if the house were occupied, which was, perhaps, 
 as well, for as they reached the first-floor landing 
 there came the scratch of a match downstairs. It 
 was only a slight noise, but in the empty house it 
 boomed loudly in the ears of the explorers. The 
 match had been struck to light the gas, for a moment 
 later the hall blazed up brightly, and Fielden and 
 his companion, looking over the banisters, saw two 
 men in the hall. 
 
 " Have you made up a fire in the dining-room ? " 
 one of them asked. " You haven't ? Well, do so 
 at once. I am half frozen. It's precious poor fun 
 motoring from London on a night like this. Did 
 you bring in the hamper ? " 
 
 Phillips started at the sound of the voice. 
 
 " This is awkward," he whispered. " I wish to 
 goodness we had gone five minutes sooner. It
 
 INSIDE 159 
 
 will be worse for you than for me if we are found 
 out. Did you recognize that voice ? " 
 
 ".Copley," Fielden muttered. " I'd give something 
 to be out of this. The other man is Foster, of 
 course. I wonder what ill luck brings these fellows 
 here to-night. Still, as all these rooms are empty 
 they are not likely to come upstairs. But they 
 mean to stay, or Copley would not have been so 
 fastidious about the fire." 
 
 " They are going to make a night of it," Phillips 
 replied. " Judging from that remark about the 
 hamper, they have brought supper with them, 
 expecting somebody else, very likely. Well, there 
 is nothing for it but to wait. If we could only put 
 out the gas in the hall we might have a chance. We 
 can slip down while they are at supper and leave by 
 the way we came. We must have that gas out." 
 
 " They would only light it again." 
 
 " Not if I plug the burner. I'll go and look for 
 a piece of wood. It is likely the carpenters have 
 left some behind : they generally do. If I can find 
 a piece about four feet long, the trick will be done."
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE EAVESDROPPERS 
 
 TO Fielden, waiting, it seemed that Phillips was a 
 long time away. While he stood looking over 
 the banisters he learned that the fire had been made 
 up downstairs. With grim amusement he watched 
 Foster open the hamper and take from it certain 
 delicacies which formed the foundation of what 
 promised to be an exceedingly good supper. There 
 were sundry bottles, too, with gold foil about the 
 necks, and when the hamper had been emptied 
 Foster repaired to the kitchen and presently re- 
 appeared with a tray laden with plates and dishes, 
 the requisite number of glasses and knives and 
 forks, and a tablecloth. Judging from the smell, 
 Copley was smoking in the dining-room whilst his 
 accomplice was preparing the supper. Matters had 
 progressed thus far when Phillips stole gently back, 
 carrying a long very thin slip of wood from a 
 broken board, the end of which he had whittled to 
 a fine point. 
 
 " I've found it," he said. " If I lean over the 
 banisters I can jam the point of this stick into the 
 
 1M
 
 THE EAVESDROPPERS 161 
 
 eye of the burner, and put out the gas. They won't 
 be able to light it again for a while. Is it safe ? " 
 
 The sudden pop of a cork was heard. 
 
 " Sounds like it," Fielden whispered. " I think 
 Foster carried in everything and they are at supper. 
 Now is your time." 
 
 Phillips leant over the banisters, and at the second 
 attempt thrust the sharpened end of the long strip 
 of wood into the eye of the burner. There was a 
 feeble flicker or two, and then the whole place was 
 wrapped in darkness. He was only just in time, 
 for almost on the same instant Foster came out of 
 the dining-room. They heard him muttering that 
 the gas had gone wrong, and watched him, faintly 
 outlined by a match, strive in vain to light the gas 
 once more. After the third attempt he abandoned 
 the effort with an oath and went back to the dining- 
 room. Straining their ears, the two men on the 
 landing could hear Copley's reply. 
 
 " Choked up with dust, I suppose. But never 
 mind so long as we are all right. Sit down and eat. 
 I daresay those other fellows will be some time yet." 
 
 Phillips whispered in his companion's ear. 
 
 " I think we shall be safe. What do you say to 
 creep away now we have the opportunity ? Or 
 would it be worth while to stay outside the dining- 
 room and listen to what they're talking about ? 
 It is pitch dark, and we can slope at any moment." 
 
 Fielden was feeling reckless. It did not matter 
 
 L
 
 162 HARD PRESSED 
 
 what happened. Without further ado they tip- 
 toed into the hall where, by the aid of the intense 
 stillness and a door ajar, they commanded all that 
 was going on. Copley sat at one end of the table, 
 facing Foster at the other. For some time the two 
 men ate steadily with an appetite sharpened by 
 their drive through the cold air. When the meal 
 was finished Copley pushed his chair aside and strode 
 over to the fireplace. Would Foster remove the 
 supper things ? He had begun to gather the plates 
 and dishes together when Copley stopped him. 
 
 '' Oh, never mind the things," he said impatiently. 
 " Let the man remove them in the morning. He 
 can finish up what is left. We have more important 
 matters to attend to. Take a cigar and sit down by 
 the fire. What is the next move ? " 
 
 " We have had cruel bad luck," Foster replied. 
 " Who would have expected to have two race-days 
 ruined by snowstorms ? A prophet could not have 
 foreseen anything like this. I reckon we have 
 lost twenty thousand pounds the last two days." 
 
 " It's a bad start," Copley answered. " We didn't 
 have the luck, and we haven't made the money. 
 I was on the roof yesterday and to-day, and I 
 declare to you I couldn't see a single incident in the 
 race. I've never seen two such blinding snow 
 showers. It was simply maddening to stand there 
 and feel a fortune slipping through your fingers, 
 all on account of the snow. And that's not the
 
 THE EAVESDROPPERS 163 
 
 worst, Foster. It will be another month before 
 there will be two days' racing at Mirst Park, and we 
 can't count upon a single penny till then. I tell 
 you frankly I don't know where to turn for ready 
 cash. It's all very fine to have tradesmen breaking 
 their necks to get my custom, but that doesn't fill 
 my purse with the needful. It's very odd that a 
 man in my position can procure almost any article 
 of value he pleases, but when it comes to raising 
 a bit of cash everybody's suspicions are aroused 
 at once." 
 
 " Well, philosophy won't help us," Foster said. 
 " We must annex some ready money to carry us 
 over the next month, at any rate. The same ill 
 luck can't happen at the next meeting. Such a 
 coincidence couldn't happen twice. Don't for- 
 get that if we can manage to hang on for four 
 weeks we shall make enough to carry us on to the 
 Derby, and after the big race is run we shall 
 be in clover. If you work your cards properly the 
 Blenheim colt is bound to lose, and with this know- 
 ledge we can lay against the horse as long as any- 
 body is fool enough to take our bets." 
 
 " I haven't forgotten that," Copley said. " Of 
 course, I haven't spoken to Sir George about it 
 yet, but I have asked him to dine with me on Sunday 
 evening at Seton Manor, and I shall put on the screw 
 then. He'll kick at first. He'U talk about the 
 blood of his ancestors and the honour of his race
 
 164 HARD PRESSED 
 
 and all that kind of rot, but he is bound to give in. 
 If I asked him to-night he would say he would rather 
 leave Haredale Park and beg his bread before he 
 would do anything to be ashamed of. We have 
 both heard people talk like that before now, but 
 when it comes to the point Sir George will sing 
 another tune. They all do." 
 
 " Provided the lady does not change her mind," 
 Foster said with a grin, which caused Fielden, listen- 
 ing at the door, to clench his fists. " You mustn't 
 1( >se sight of that fact, Copley. Miss Haredale 
 dislikes and despises you. But though she vows 
 that nothing in the world will induce her to marry 
 you, circumstances alter cases, and when she knows 
 she is no longer mistress of Haredale Park, it is 
 possible her frowns may turn into smiles." 
 
 Copley laughed unpleasantly. 
 
 " I haven't lost sight of these things," he said. 
 " Miss Haredale has the bad taste to dislike me 
 exceedingly. I would give anything if I could 
 induce her to change her mind. I believe I might 
 even grow honest and lead a respectable life. Still, 
 that would be beastly monotonous. Your plan is 
 the best. I had better accept my dismissal and 
 leave Miss Haredale to go her own way. Then I 
 can put the screw on Sir George and compel him 
 to find some excuse for scratching his colt. 
 When he sees that I mean to have my money and 
 discovers the sheriff in possession, he will not be
 
 THE EAVESDROPPERS 165 
 
 long in inventing a reason why the Blenheim colt 
 should not run that shall be consistent with his 
 confounded dignity. You can leave that safely 
 to me, Foster. My word, how cold it is ! I wish 
 you would shut that door. The draught is cutting 
 my legs off. I daresay " 
 
 What Copley was about to say was lost to the 
 listeners in the hall by the closing of the door. 
 They could hear nothing save a murmur of voices 
 which conveyed nothing to their ears. Phillips 
 touched his companion's shoulder. 
 
 " Here's our chance," he whispered. " The 
 sooner we are off the better. We cannot learn any- 
 thing more this evening ; indeed, there cannot be 
 much more to learn." 
 
 They stole cautiously along the hall, through the 
 kitchen and outhouses, and were soon outside safe 
 under cover of the darkness. It was black enough 
 now that the moon had gone down, and they could 
 move freely into the road and across the heath to 
 the village. 
 
 " Well, what do you think of these precious 
 rascals?" Phillips asked. "Don't you agree that 
 we are deep in the secrets of a vile conspiracy ? 
 We can't leave it where it is." 
 
 " Most certainly not," Fielden said. " At present 
 I am thinking more about Sir George Haredale than 
 of anybody else. A year or two ago I should have 
 scorned the idea of his doing anything dishonour-
 
 166 HARD PRESSED 
 
 able. But I have learnt worldly wisdom, and can 
 imagine how it would be if Sir George were suddenly 
 face to face with poverty. He is completely 
 under Copley's thumb. If these two men bring 
 off their coup, they will make an enormous fortune. 
 But it must be prevented at all costs, Phillips. 
 Think out some scheme of checkmate, and I shall 
 be your debtor for the rest of my life." 
 
 " I think I can manage that," Phillips said. " I'll 
 tell you what my plan is when we get back to my 
 rooms."
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 
 
 MAJOR GARDEN sat over the breakfast 
 which his daughter had prepared for him. 
 He had been unusually late the night before, and 
 showed it in the additional pinkness of his cheeks 
 and the slightly red rims under his eyes. Not that 
 he was feeling much the worse for the previous even- 
 ing's pleasure ; indeed, in his philosophical moments, 
 the Major was fond of speculating which was the 
 wiser to take his fill of enjoyment's cup with its 
 concomitants in the morrow of suffering and tribula- 
 tion, or abandon such courses, however delightful. 
 One mode of life was jolly to a point, but, on the 
 other hand, the man who exercised prudence and 
 some measure of control had a compensation in his 
 economy. As a matter of fact, the Major never 
 had been economical. " Sufficient for the day is 
 the evil thereof " summed up his religion to its 
 fullest extent. After a stimulant he knew he would 
 be himself again, so he ate his breakfast with a zest 
 that was truly amazing after the carousal of the 
 night. 
 
 Mf
 
 i68 HARD PRESSED 
 
 For Major Garden always appeared to be in the 
 best of health and spirits. Beyond his impecuni- 
 osity he had little to trouble him, and at the moment 
 things appeared to be going very well indeed. He 
 saw his way to make money out of Phillips, and had 
 also been offered a roving commission on the Con- 
 tinent to purchase horses for the Army. This would 
 entail his being away for three or four months, but 
 his travelling allowance was liberal, he would put 
 up at the best hotels, and enjoy himself in a manner 
 consonant with his mission and dignity. He would 
 tell his daughter that he was going abroad on some 
 journalistic commission, for the Major, to do him 
 justice, would have been loth for Alice to know all 
 the expedients he resorted to in earning his pre- 
 carious living. 
 
 His love for his daughter was the one wholesome 
 spot in his otherwise shady existence. He had been 
 a selfish man all his life, had spent his own fortune 
 and his wife's, and had broken the heart of that 
 unhappy woman in a gentlemanly way. There 
 had been no violence, no open unkindness, but the 
 refinement of neglect that undermines health and 
 spirit. When the crash finally came the Major 
 removed to London with his young daughter. He 
 told her just as much as he considered necessary, 
 with the consequence that she regarded him as one 
 of the best and most self-denying of men. Alice 
 had few friends, and none knew anything about .the
 
 A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 169 
 
 Major's means, so that the journalistic fiction re- 
 mained unassailable, and Alice could speak freely 
 of her father as adding high intellectual qualities to 
 his other gifts. His frequent late absences from 
 home were explained in this way, and if he never 
 said anything definite about his work, his diffidence 
 might be attributed to natural modesty. 
 
 In the circumstances, therefore, the Major was 
 not sorry his daughter had had an invitation to 
 spend a holiday at Haredale Park. He had thought 
 of inviting himself also, but his new commission put 
 that out of the question. After he had finished his 
 breakfast he helped himself to a liberal dose of 
 brandy and soda, and had just lighted his first cigar 
 when his daughter came in. 
 
 ' You are very late," she said with playful fond- 
 ness. " I declare you grow worse and worse." 
 
 " Not my fault, my dear," the Major protested. 
 " These things are inevitable amongst newspaper 
 men. I thought I should be at home by eleven, but 
 something important turned up at the last moment 
 and they told me off to attend to it. They are good 
 enough to say they can depend on me, Alice. That 
 is one of the advantages of being steady. If any- 
 thing goes wrong at the office the first thing they 
 say is, ' Where is Garden ? ' 
 
 Alice smiled affectionately. To her this was 
 quite natural. For a girl who had spent so many 
 years in London she was wonderfully simple.
 
 i;o HARD PRESSED 
 
 " I suppose it can't be helped," she said. " How 
 few men there are who would have endured your 
 misfortunes and turned to and made a living as you 
 are doing! I wish I were clever." 
 
 " Oh, so you are, my dear, so you are," the Major 
 said magnanimously. " The great thing is pluck 
 and perseverance. Without egotism, I think I am 
 endowed with those qualities, and to some extent 
 so are you, and you will make a name as an artist 
 yet. Stick to it, my child, stick to it. At the same 
 time, it is good to have an occasional change, 
 and I am glad you are going to Haredale Park. 
 I suppose you can manage to put your painting 
 pupils off for a week or two ? Probably you will 
 find it lonely when I am away. I shall only be able 
 to run over from the Continent occasionally." 
 
 " Oh, I shall miss you," Alice said. " But I 
 shall be safe enough. The landlady is always 
 motherly, and she will see I come to no harm." 
 
 The Major dismissed the subject with a flourish 
 of his cigar. He had rather feared his daughter 
 might give way to tears. He thought she might 
 ask him to take her along with him and so put him 
 to the pain of refusal. Possibly the girl was look- 
 ing too eagerly forward to her visit to Haredale 
 Park to think of anything else. She had not for- 
 gotten the days when Major Garden was a man of 
 position and they occupied a fine house in the coun- 
 try, when she had her horse and plunged into the
 
 A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 171 
 
 dear delights of country life. It was good to feel 
 she was going back to it, even though it was only for 
 a little time. She had already made her modest 
 preparations. She only hoped there would not be 
 too many visitors at Haredale Park. But May 
 Haredale had assured her they lived very quietly 
 and had not many friends. 
 
 " I am getting nervous about it," she said. " It 
 will seem so different to the life I have been leading 
 here. If I had only foreseen this I might have 
 saved up and bought myself another dress or two. 
 Still, I know I shall enjoy myself." 
 
 " Of course you will," the Major said heartily. 
 " But you won't get much gaiety at Haredale. 
 They don't go in for society much. You see, there 
 are very few of the old families left. Times change, 
 my dear, and we change with them. I don't sup- 
 pose, plainly speaking, that Sir George is much 
 better off than I am. I happen to know that much 
 depends upon the Blenheim colt winning this year's 
 Derby. I was in the Post Club yesterday with one 
 or two of my " 
 
 The Major coughed hastily as if his cigar smoke 
 had gone the wrong way. 
 
 " What am I talking about ? " he exclaimed. 
 " Anybody would think I am still interested in 
 sport. Do you know, beyond an occasional day at a 
 small meeting, I have no time for that sort of thing. 
 I was in the Post Club on business, purely on busi-
 
 i;2 HARD PRESSED 
 
 ness. It is a very sad thing to see young men wast- 
 ing so much of their time and money on horses. 
 But I can't prevent them from talking and am bound 
 to hear the gossip that goes on. That is how I 
 came to know so much about Sir George's affairs. 
 Every penny he can scrape together goes on the 
 stables, so you'll probably find that Miss Haredale 
 leads a very quiet existence." 
 
 " I am glad to hear it," Alice said. " I shall be 
 happy with her. She was the greatest friend I had 
 at school, and I can't understand how I ever man- 
 aged to lose sight of her. Is it a nice place ? " 
 
 " Very pleasant," the Major said critically. " It 
 is a grand old house, full of works of art and furniture 
 and that kind of thing. Of course, all these things 
 go with the estate, so that Sir George could not 
 dispose of them, which is a precious lucky thing for 
 the heir, for there won't be too much for him when 
 the time comes. The stables are very fine, too, and 
 Sir George has some of the best cattle in the country. 
 Oh, I have no doubt you will enjoy yourself. When 
 do you go ? " 
 
 " To-day," Alice said. 
 
 The Major appeared to be slightly embarrassed. 
 
 " Oh, yes," he said, " I had forgotten. It is a 
 trifle awkward, because I have only a little money 
 just now. The cashier at the office is so careless. 
 He omitted to draw my cheque on Friday. Till 
 to-morrow I am not sure whether I shall be able to
 
 A SOLDIER OF FORTUNE 173 
 
 spare money for your fare. Next week it would 
 be quite different." . 
 
 Alice Garden kissed the speaker affectionately. 
 
 " How thoughtful you are ! " she said. " You 
 are always thinking about other people. But please 
 don't worry about that. I have saved a little, and 
 shall have enough to keep me for the next two or 
 three weeks and bring me home again." 
 
 The Major expressed his gratification. For once 
 at least he was sincere. It was most unfortunate, 
 he said, that he should be in temporary need of cash. 
 He laid strict injunctions upon Alice to spend what 
 she had freely and not for one moment to forget 
 that she was a Garden ; if she wanted more money 
 she was to write to him without hesitation. He saw 
 her off at Waterloo presently. He paid for the cab 
 in the most lordly fashion, and insisted on his daugh- 
 ter travelling first class, though he had not the money 
 to pay for the ticket. But Alice was looking forward 
 too eagerly to her holiday to notice these things. 
 
 " Good-bye," she cried. ' You will have left 
 for the Continent before I come back. But don't 
 let the thought of my being alone in London interfere 
 with your pleasure. I should like to feel you were 
 not troubling about me." 
 
 " I'll try, my dear," the Major said. " Good-bye."
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 A CHANGE OF AIR 
 
 ABOUT the same time that Major Garden was 
 sitting over his breakfast, Sir George Hare- 
 dale was gloomily contemplating his own. He had 
 read most of his letters, and had impatiently pushed 
 aside the sheaf of bills and applications for money 
 which poured like a flood upon him at every post. 
 Some of them were peremptory and some imploring. 
 But they had been coming in for so long that the 
 master of Haredale Park was more or less hardened 
 to them. But one communication was distinctly 
 out of the common and worried him excessively. 
 " What the deuce does it mean ? " he soliloquized 
 irritably. " And who are these people, Absolom 
 & Co. ? I never had any dealings with them. 
 According to their note-paper they call themselves 
 financial agents, but the whole thing looks more 
 like a communication from money-lenders. Yet I 
 don't see how I owe them anything. They write 
 to remind me that in virtue of an assignment 
 made by Mr. Raymond Copley of a certain date 
 I am in their debt to the extent of more than 
 
 174
 
 A CHANGE OF AIR 175 
 
 forty thousand pounds. What the dickens is an 
 assignment ? And what does Copley mean by 
 doing a thing of this sort without consulting me ? 
 These people hope I shall make arrangements to 
 liquidate the debt in the course of the next fourteen 
 days. Why, they might just as well ask me to find 
 as many millions. But I daresay there is nothing 
 really alarming about the thing if I only understood 
 it. I wish I had a head for figures. I wish my 
 father had given me a business training. Still, 
 Copley will put it right. Perhaps he is annoyed 
 at the way that May has been behaving. But I 
 hardly think he will visit her folly upon me. How- 
 ever, I must say the thing is alarming." 
 
 Sir George shuffled the letter into his pocket as 
 the door opened and May entered. She was dressed 
 for going out and was buttoning her driving gloves 
 round her wrists. Outside on the gravel stood a 
 smart cob in a Whitechapel cart. 
 
 " Where are you going ? " Sir George asked. 
 
 " To the station to meet Alice Garden. She will 
 be here for lunch." 
 
 " I had forgotten her," Sir George murmured. 
 " To tell you the truth, my dear, I am rather sorry 
 you asked her." 
 
 " But I was always fond of Alice." 
 
 " Yes, of course, why not ? The girl is all right. 
 But, between ourselves, Garden is a bit of a bad egg. 
 He comes of an old family, and I recollect when his
 
 1 76 HARD PRESSED 
 
 position was as good as ours. But he muddled his 
 money away. He always affected the society of those 
 sportsmen who are ready to do anybody. He made 
 the mistake of regarding everybody as a fool except 
 himself, and naturally he came to grief. Those 
 fellows always do." 
 
 " But he belongs to one or two good clubs," May 
 protested. 
 
 " Oh, I know that. He was never actually found 
 out. He was mixed up in one or two very queer 
 transactions, but contrived to keep clear of trouble 
 himself. There are scores of men who meet him on 
 familiar terms, but precious few ask him to their 
 houses. Still, the girl is coming here, and we must 
 make the best of it. But I wouldn't ask her again 
 if I were you. You can easily drop the acquaintance 
 after the next week or so." 
 
 May discreetly refrained from discussing the 
 matter further. There was a strong vein of loyalty 
 in her nature. She liked Alice Garden, and was not 
 disposed to visit any of the father's shortcomings 
 on the daughter. She had almost forgotten what 
 Sir George said during her drive to the station. It 
 was a crisp day, and a frosty sun was shining. There 
 was an exhilaration in the air almost like cham- 
 pagne. Before the station was reached May put her 
 troubles behind her, not a very difficult matter for 
 a girl in her twentieth year who boasts of a fine 
 constitution and a perfect flow of animal spirits.
 
 A CHANGE OF AIR 177 
 
 Her cheeks were glowing, her eyes sparkling, as she 
 advanced to meet Alice Garden. 
 
 " I thought I would come for you myself," she 
 said. " I brought a cart which I am driving. Now 
 if you will pick out your boxes we'll get a porter to 
 put them in the trap for you." 
 
 " My boxes," Alice laughed. " Behold my humble 
 belongings. I have come down here with one dress- 
 basket which contains all the finery I have. I hope 
 you haven't many dinner parties and that kind of 
 thing, for, positively, I have only one evening dress, 
 and I am afraid that that is hopelessly out of date. 
 Still, if you have any special functions, it will be easy 
 to plead a convenient headache." 
 
 May laughed as she took up the reins. 
 
 " Calm yourself," she said. " I assure you there 
 will be nothing of that sort. We have dropped out 
 of gaieties. For one thing, most of our old friends 
 have left the neighbourhood, and my father doesn't 
 care for new people. We three will probably dine 
 alone every night of your stay, and we can ride 
 and drive, and I can give you a day or two with the 
 hounds if you like." 
 
 Alice Garden protested sincerely that she wanted 
 nothing better. It was pleasant to find herself once 
 more driving down the country roads behind a good 
 horse. It was like old times when she came to Hare- 
 dale Park and surveyed the room which had been 
 appropriated to her use. It was exactly as her 
 
 M
 
 178 HARD PRESSED 
 
 father had described. Here was the old oak, the 
 long rambling passages, the china and pictures and 
 ancient furniture, all in the setting where they had 
 been fixed the best part of two centuries ago. Here 
 was the open landscape in front of the mul- 
 lioned windows. Here were the woods and fields 
 and lawns, and in the distance the stables where 
 Sir George Haredale's stud led its luxurious existence. 
 
 It was pleasant to sit in the dining-room before a 
 well-appointed lunch with the fine silver on the 
 table, the vases of flowers, and the beautiful glass. 
 Whatever Sir George's feelings on the subject of his 
 daughter's guest were, there was nothing 'in his 
 manner to which the girl could take exception. He 
 was natural, courtly and charming, as he always was, 
 and appeared to take the keenest pleasure in Alice 
 Garden's arrival. So far as she could see, there was 
 no sign of trouble, no grim shadow to forecast the 
 ruin hanging over the house. The butler and a 
 footman or two moved about the room. The sun- 
 shine poured through the painted windows. Alto- 
 gether it was a household to be envied. Alice's 
 spirits rose accordingly. She meant thoroughly 
 to enjoy herself, and when lunch was over professed 
 herself willing to fall in with any plan May had to 
 suggest. 
 
 " Well, let us have a ride," the latter said. " We 
 will go over the Downs towards the sea and come 
 back by Seton Manor. Now run away and get your
 
 A CHANGE OF AIR 179 
 
 habit on. I will have a horse saddled for you which 
 is not too fresh. You used to be a daring rider at 
 one time, but it is as well to begin cautiously. 
 In a day or two you shall have a hunter after your 
 own heart." 
 
 They rode out in the keen sunshine and broke 
 across the wide expanse of Downs, and Alice Garden 
 gave herself up to the exquisite enjoyment of the 
 hour. It was good to feel the elastic movement 
 of the cob, to listen to the thud of his hoofs on the 
 turf and catch the breeze streaming in her face. 
 They turned presently as the sun was setting, and 
 jogged more quietly homewards. A little later, as 
 they came to Seton Manor, a string of horses clothed 
 and hooded were turning into the stables. Alice 
 pulled up. 
 
 " Who lives there ? " she asked. 
 
 Some colour crept into May Haredale's cheeks. 
 
 " Our neighbour, Mr. Copley," she explained. 
 " He is a newcomer and a great lover of horses ; he 
 is very rich, having made a large fortune in South 
 Africa, and I suppose this is one way of getting rid 
 of his income. Like most beginners at the game, 
 he has hardly any good horses, but that is probably 
 because he hasn't time to look after them himself." 
 
 " Is he a friend of yours ? " Alice asked. 
 
 " Oh, well, he comes over to Haredale Park pretty 
 frequently. My father has struck up a sort of in- 
 timacy with him. Between ourselves, I detest
 
 i8o HARD PRESSED 
 
 the man. He goes everywhere in virtue of his 
 money, but he is not a gentleman, as anybody 
 can see. I am going to tell you a secret, Alice, 
 which you must not tell to a soul. Mr. Copley is 
 anxious to marry me. Needless to say, I have given 
 him very little encouragement." 
 
 " Of course, you wouldn't," Alice said. " You 
 haven't forgotten what you used to tell me at school. 
 Don't you remember how you confided in me about 
 Harry Fielden, and how you used to read part of 
 his letters ? I never knew what became of him." 
 
 " No, I never told you. Well, perhaps I will to- 
 night before we go to bed. It was a very unfortu- 
 nate business altogether. There was nothing wrong 
 about Harry. He was merely very reckless and 
 extravagant, and got rid of his money and went 
 abroad. He hadn't a single penny left, and there 
 was an end of my romance. It sounds very common- 
 place, but it is just as serious to me as if it were 
 one of those pretty stories we read in books. So 
 now Harry has nothing and I have nothing, and 
 some day or other I shall end, I suppose, in marrying 
 a man for the sake of a home. But you may be 
 certain it won't be Mr. Raymond Copley." 
 
 " How very sad ! " Alice said sympathetically. 
 " Do you ever see Mr. Fielden ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes," May laughed unsteadily. " In fact, 
 he is coming towards us now."
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 A STRANGE VISITOR 
 
 INTEREST as well as sympathy lit up Alice 
 Garden's eyes. She looked with something 
 more than curiosity at the well-set-up young man 
 who came striding across the turf towards them. 
 May reached over and laid an impressive hand 
 upon her friend's arm. 
 
 " I am not sure I meant to tell you so much," 
 she whispered. " I spoke on the spur of the 
 moment. Harry came back to England unex- 
 pectedly a little time ago, and I met him by accident 
 in London. It was a bit romantic in its way, but 
 I'll tell you about that later. He came down here 
 to his old home to get some of his belongings, and, 
 to his surprise, nobody recognized him. I was the 
 only person who knew him, excepting an old stud- 
 groom who had been in the employ of the Fieldens 
 for the last fifty years. When he found that no 
 one knew him, he thought he might procure some 
 congenial occupation in his own neighbourhood. 
 It was part of the same romance* that he should 
 obtain this employment at the hands of Mr. Copley. 
 
 181
 
 182 HARD PRESSED 
 
 But, of course, he does not pass in his own name. 
 Please to recollect that he is Mr. Field. Now, 
 my dear, you have the whole story in a nutshell. 
 It is like the plot of a novel. I am the beautiful 
 heroine, beloved by the rich bounder, while my 
 heart is given to the handsome penniless young man 
 of good family who is in the villain's employ. Don't 
 think me heartless because I speak so lightly of it, 
 and don't forget to behave as if I had not told you 
 this story. Mr. Field is an old friend of ours, and 
 that's the only thing you have to remember." 
 
 Alice Garden promised to act discreetly. There 
 was no time to say more, for Fielden was beside 
 them, and Alice found herself bowing to him as if 
 he were a new acquaintance. 
 
 " You have not been here before ? " he asked. 
 
 " This is my first visit to Haredale," Alice said. 
 " But I have seen you before, Mr. Field. Don't 
 you remember you were with my father and Sir 
 George at Mirst Park a day or two ago ? We were 
 not introduced then." 
 
 " Oh, I have not forgotten it," Fielden laughed. 
 " I understand you are an old friend of May's, I 
 mean Miss Haredale's. Would you mind if I came 
 over to-night after dinner ? " 
 
 May flashed a glance at the speaker. 
 
 " We shall be delighted," she said. " I fancy 
 my father told me he expected Mr. Copley, too." 
 
 Fielden said nothing for a moment or two ; then
 
 A STRANGE VISITOR 183 
 
 it suddenly occurred to him that he had forgotten 
 an important matter which would detain him that 
 evening. He understood what May had hinted to 
 him. He knew it was hardly prudent for him to 
 be much at Haredale Park whilst Copley was in the 
 neighbourhood. By way of turning the conversa- 
 tion, he suggested that the girls should dismount and 
 inspect the stables. 
 
 " Nothing I should like better," Alice cried. 
 
 " Then come on," Fielden said eagerly. " Let 
 me help you down. You will find the stables every- 
 thing to be desired. They are modern, luxurious, 
 and nothing appears to have been overlooked. 
 From first to last they must have cost about 
 twice as much as the house. We have a dozen 
 helpers more than are necessary ; indeed, things 
 are conducted on a most lavish scale." 
 
 " And the horses ? " Alice asked. " Are they " 
 
 " Well, as to the horses, the less said about them 
 the better. They are a pretty moderate lot. Per- 
 haps later we may weed them out a bit. But come 
 and see for yourself." 
 
 It was growing dusk by the time the inspection 
 was over. Then the two girls walked back towards 
 the archway which led into the wide stable-yard. 
 Outside the gate two of the stable helps were engaged 
 in an altercation with a seedy-looking tramp in an 
 advanced state of intoxication. 
 
 " Excuse me for a moment," Fielden said, " I
 
 184 HARD PRESSED 
 
 must see what is wrong. Now, my man, what are 
 you doing here ? " 
 
 It was easy for the girls to notice what was going 
 on and to hear every word that was said. At the 
 tones of authority in Fielden's voice the tramp 
 looked up and made a ludicrous effort to pull himself 
 together. Over his right eye there was a fresh cut, 
 from which the blood was trickling. The helpers, 
 too, showed signs of punishment, and a desire to 
 fling out the stranger, but they dropped back as 
 Fielden appeared. 
 
 " I came to see Mr. Copley," the tramp said. 
 
 " Mr. Copley isn't here," Fielden said curtly. 
 " Still, if you want him, it would be as well to ask 
 for him in a proper manner. What do you mean 
 by pushing yourself forward in this fashion ? " 
 
 " I didn't," the tramp said sulkily. " I never 
 said nothing to these men till they ordered me out, 
 and one of them shoved up against me. I don't 
 stand that from any one, guv'nor, and so I tell you. 
 If you don't believe me, try it on yourself." 
 
 Fielden was conscious that the blood was mount- 
 ing into his cheeks. He returned for a moment to 
 where the two girls were standing and walked with 
 them into the road. 
 
 " I think you had better leave us," he said. 
 " I must give that fellow a lesson, and this is no 
 place for either of you." 
 
 " I hope you won't get hurt," Alice Garden said.
 
 A STRANGE VISITOR 185 
 
 '* It is curious, but I know that man quite well by 
 sight. He used to be in my father's regiment ; in 
 fact, he was his servant. He comes to our rooms in 
 London occasionally and my father helps him with 
 a few coppers and some clothes now and again. I 
 am afraid it is another case of degradation caused 
 by drink." 
 
 " It looks like it," Fielden said. " This man was 
 probably one of the Major's racing-touts, one of those 
 broken-down creatures occasionally employed on 
 more or less shady jobs. But he must be taught 
 decent manners. I don't think you need be afraid 
 for me. I'll try to come over to lunch to-morrow." 
 
 Fielden saluted the two girls and returned to the 
 spot where the tramp was swaying about defiantly. 
 
 " Now what do you want ? " he demanded once 
 more. 
 
 " What do I want ? " the fellow sneered. " Well, 
 I want a sovereign, and I am not going till I get 
 it. If Mr. Copley was here I could have ten sove- 
 reigns. Yes, and he would be glad to pay me, 
 too. You think, because I have been unfortunate 
 that I can't get any money. You are wrong, young 
 man, you are wrong." 
 
 " Well, you won't get any here," Fielden said. 
 " If you have anything to say to Mr. Copley you 
 had better wait. He will be here at five o'clock, 
 but you must wait outside." 
 
 " Me wait outside I Who are you talking to ?
 
 186 HARD PRESSED 
 
 I don't wait for no man, not even for Raymond 
 Copley. I have got to get back to London to- 
 night anyhow. You just give me a sovereign 
 or two and tell Mr. Copley you've done it. Tell 
 him if I have any more of this sort of thing he 
 had best look for somebody else to play building 
 houses with fruit baskets in Covent Garden. Tell 
 him that. If I have any more of this to put up 
 with he can get somebody else to monkey with his 
 fruit baskets. You needn't say more than that." 
 
 In spite of the man's intoxication he knew what 
 he was talking about, and was plainly desirous of 
 conveying something definite. There was a malig- 
 nant look in his eye which Fielden did not fail to 
 notice. 
 
 " Oh, be off," he said impatiently. " I won't 
 have any row here. Are you going, or shall I turn 
 you out ? " 
 
 The intruder answered with a furious oath. He 
 was anxious, he said, to see any man on the face of 
 the earth who could do a job like that. He lurched 
 violently at Fielden, and the next moment was 
 sprawling on his back with the haziest knowledge 
 of what had happened. Then, at a sign from Fielden, 
 the two helpers took him by the shoulders and legs 
 and carried him into the road. He rose muttering 
 and threatening. He shook his fist towards the 
 stables and lurched off until he was swallowed up 
 by the darkness. Quite unconscious that his knuckles
 
 A STRANGE VISITOR 187 
 
 were cut and bleeding Fielden went about his work. 
 It was only when Copley himself appeared and asked 
 what had happened that Fielden looked at his 
 damaged hand. 
 
 " Oh, that's nothing," he laughed. " A tramp 
 came here not long since asking for you and demand- 
 ing a sovereign or two as if you were his banker. 
 The fellow was insolent, and I had to knock him 
 down, but I had no idea my knuckles were cut. 
 Needless to say the man didn't get his sovereign, 
 though he did leave a queer message for you. It 
 is astonishing what strange things men say when 
 they are in liquor." 
 
 " And what did this one say ? " Copley asked. 
 
 " Oh, he said if he could see you he would get as 
 many pounds as he liked. He went on to remark 
 that if he had to put up with any more of this you 
 could find somebody else to monkey with your fruit 
 baskets at Covent Garden. Idiotic, wasn't it ? " 
 
 Fielden spoke carelessly, but he kept an eye upon 
 Copley. He saw the latter start, remarked the 
 queer look on his face, and how his eyes gleamed 
 with anger. 
 
 " Absurd," he said. " I suppose the fellow thinks 
 I am interested in Covent Garden. But there is no 
 accounting for the vagaries of a drunken man. 
 Anyway, it's not worth thinking about. Any- 
 thing fresh to report ? "
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 THE DERELICT 
 
 RAYMOND COPLEY went back into the house 
 in a thoughtful mood. The much-envied 
 and much-talked-of millionaire was not particularly 
 happy. He had a good deal to occupy his attention 
 and had reached a crisis in his affairs which was 
 likely to prove awkward unless something turned 
 up speedily. It was easy, as he often cynically 
 observed, to obtain almost unlimited credit upon the 
 strength of his fictitious wealth, but exceedingly 
 difficult to raise even a hundred pounds in the City. 
 He had practically no security to offer his bankers, 
 and dared not do anything that would suggest 
 to an outsider that he was in want of ready cash. 
 One or two of his schemes lately had ended in 
 failure, and, so far as he could see, it was almost 
 impossible for him to hold out for the month which 
 intervened between now and the next meeting at 
 Mirst Park. 
 
 Now here was a fresh cause of annoyance which 
 he had not anticipated. Unfortunately for the 
 
 ultimate success of Copley's schemes, they necessi- 
 ty
 
 THE DERELICT 189 
 
 tated the employment of more than one subordinate, 
 and these subordinates had to be paid. Moreover, 
 they were drawn unavoidably from the refuse of the 
 population, so that they were a standing source of 
 danger, for it is hazardous to depend upon people 
 who are usually ready to sell their services to 
 the highest bidder. One of them had been so 
 audacious as to turn up at the very gates of Seton 
 Manor and demand money. Luckily, he had not 
 said enough to rouse suspicions. His remarks to 
 Fielden might easily be ignored as the ravings of a 
 drunken wretch. Certainly they did not convey 
 much intelligence. So far all was safe. 
 
 But it was a warning, and a warning that Copley 
 did not care to disregard. Happily, he thought, 
 Fielden was not a curious man, or he might have 
 inquired farther into the incident. He might even 
 have been disposed to speculate a sovereign or two, 
 and the tramp might have been in a sufficiently 
 reckless mood to sell information at that price. The 
 thing must be looked into at once. 
 
 Foster sprawled in the library with a copy of 
 the Sportsman in his hand and a cigarette in his 
 mouth. He looked up carelessly at his employer, 
 but seeing there was something amiss put down the 
 paper and waited for Copley to speak. 
 
 " What has gone wrong ? " he asked. 
 
 " Oh, everything," Copley said savagely. " Has 
 a single thing gone straight since the Mirst Park
 
 HARD PRESSED 
 
 meeting ? Here am I in a big house, furnished 
 regardless of expense, with scores of tradesmen 
 tumbling over one another to serve me, and yet I 
 haven't a ten-pound note to call my own. As if 
 that was not bad enough, that blackguard Chaffey 
 has turned up here." 
 
 " I suppose he wants money," Foster asked. 
 
 " Well, that was the idea, no doubt. I didn't see 
 him myself, but I understand he was drunk and 
 objectionable, and Field turned him out. They 
 had a bit of a scrimmage, and I hope Field gave the 
 fellow a lesson. At any rate, he went off quietly in 
 the end." 
 
 " Then why worry ? " Foster said. 
 
 " Why worry ? What a question ! I forgot to 
 tell you the worst. Chaffey came here demanding 
 money. He said if I had been at home he could 
 have got as much as he wanted. Imagine what 
 Field must have thought. He would conclude that 
 I was under obligations to the scamp, but, as you 
 know, I haven't exchanged a dozen words with him. 
 Everything has been done through you, and I must 
 say I can't congratulate you on your choice." 
 
 " You never do when things go wrong," Foster 
 retorted. " Would you have had me employ a 
 gentleman ? Did you want a man of intelligence, 
 who would have asked many questions of himself. 
 Chaffey is the man for us. But you are making a 
 great fuss about nothing."
 
 THE DERELICT 191 
 
 " Well, what do you think of this ? Chaffey told 
 Field that if he had any more of this sort of thing I 
 could get somebody else to monkey with my fruit 
 baskets in Co vent Garden. Ah, I thought you would 
 change your tune. Imagine a remark like that in a 
 sporting public-house ! Scores of people would smell 
 a rat instantly. They would get on the track of 
 money-making, especially if Chaffey happened to 
 mention my name in connexion with the affair. If 
 they only found him with money and plied him 
 with drink, he would tell them all he knew." 
 
 " Which is precious little," Foster said coolly, as 
 he lighted a fresh cigarette. " Chaffey doesn't 
 really know anything. Still, we must make him 
 understand that we won't stand this kind of thing. 
 What do you propose to do ? " 
 
 " Why, follow him, of course. He can't be far 
 away. He is sure to have gone to some pothouse. 
 He went down the London Road, and the best thing 
 is to go after him at once. Let us take the car 
 and make excuses that we shan't be back in tune for 
 dinner. You think I am making much ado about 
 nothing. But my nerves are not what they used 
 to be. Come along." 
 
 Foster made no objection. In truth he was 
 almost as uneasy as his employer. By and by they 
 were rolling along the road in a car, stopping under 
 some pretext or other at every public-house. They 
 came presently to a small place where they heard
 
 192 HARD PRESSED 
 
 news of the man they were after. He had left a 
 short time before ; in fact, he had been violently 
 ejected, because he had no money to pay for the 
 drink he had consumed. Half a mile farther on 
 the motorists espied a shadowy outline staggering 
 down the middle of the road and lurching from side 
 to side, singing as he went. 
 
 " That's the man," Foster whispered. " Stop 
 the car and I'll get out and tackle him." 
 
 The tramp paused when he found himself within 
 the radius of the powerful lights. He stood trying 
 to collect his scattered senses, until, finally, he got 
 some hazy idea of whom he was talking to. His face 
 grew hard and sullen, and he looked none the better 
 for a swollen eye and a cut forehead. 
 
 " Oh, it's you, is it ? " he said. " This is a nice 
 way to treat a gentleman. Here am I, miles away 
 from my happy home and not a penny in my pocket." 
 
 " What are you doing here ? " Foster asked. 
 
 " That, sir," said the tramp with great dignity, 
 " is my business. I have private occupations of 
 which you know nothing. You are taking advantage 
 of my poverty. Don't forget that I was in as good 
 a position as yourself at one time." 
 
 " You might easily be better," Foster said con- 
 temptuously. " Still, you haven't told me what 
 brings you here, and why you made a disturbance 
 at Seton Manor." 
 
 " I was at the Lington Meeting," Chaff ey answered.
 
 THE DERELICT 193 
 
 " I lost all I had and was tramping back to London 
 when I recollected that Mr. Copley lived close by. I 
 thought I would borrow a pound or two from him, and 
 that's why I called. It would have been all right but 
 for those stable men. Would you care to be treated 
 like a dog ? I lost my temper. You'd have lost 
 yours if you had been in my place. And that's all 
 about it. I don't want to make any trouble if you 
 treat me properly. Give me a few pounds and I'll 
 go back to London the first thing in the morning." 
 
 " I'll give you money if you return to-night," 
 Foster said curtly. " Get in the car and we'll drive 
 you as far as Maley Junction. Come on." 
 
 " I will not come on," Chaffey said with an assump- 
 tion of his old dignity. " You give me the money 
 and I'll go to town early in the morning. I can't go 
 before, because I have heard something. There's 
 a trial coming off here to-morrow morning, and I 
 am bound to see it. You don't suppose I live on 
 what I get from you. If the trial turns out as I hope 
 it will, it will put a lump in my pocket. Now what 
 is the good of standing frowning at me like that ? 
 I tell you I'm not going back to London to-night. I 
 won't go till eight o'clock to-morrow morning. 
 If you don't help me, I know a man who will give 
 me a tenner cheerfully to hear how I monkey with 
 the fruit baskets in Covent Garden. But do as you 
 please. I don't mind lying in a ditch till morning, 
 and I don't mind tramping to town to-morrow. It 
 
 N
 
 194 HARD PRESSED 
 
 wouldn't be the first time I've done both. Not that 
 I want to quarrel with you, Mr. Foster ; if you do 
 the fair thing by me, I'll do the fair thing by you. 
 Give me a quid or two so that I can get some supper 
 and a bed, and I'll promise not to come near Seton 
 Manor again. What's more, if the trial turns out 
 all right, I'll send a message to Mr. Copley." 
 
 " Oh, give him money and let him have his way," 
 Copley cried impatiently. " There isn't much 
 chance of drumming sense into him to-night." 
 
 A whispered conversation between Copley and 
 Foster followed, then three sovereigns changed 
 hands and Chaffey departed along the road with the 
 air of a man who has an object in life. 
 
 " You have done the right thing," he said. " I 
 knew you would, when you came to think of it, 
 and I'll let Mr. Copley know all about the trial. 
 Good-night, gentlemen, and good luck to you." 
 
 So Chaffey vanished into the darkness.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 A SECOND TRIAL 
 
 DESPITE his cheery optimism, Joe Raffle did 
 not appear so gay as usual. He seemed 
 to have something on his mind, and those under him 
 noticed that now and then he spoke with a sharpness 
 that was not customary. In fact, the groom was 
 troubled. He had been glad to see his old master 
 again and to know that his small conspiracy looked 
 like setting Harry Fielden on his feet once more. 
 But when he came to review the position of affairs he 
 did not feel absolutely satisfied, though he had done 
 nobody a wrong, nor had calculated on putting a 
 single penny in his pocket. On the contrary, he 
 had been convinced that he was doing a most 
 disinterested action. 
 
 But in the light of the past few days everything 
 looked different. Raffle was by no means blind 
 to what was going on around him. There was 
 plenty of gossip in the stables, for some degree of 
 friendship between the lads at Haredale Park and 
 those at Seton Manor was inevitable, and it was an 
 open secret that there might possibly be an alliance
 
 196 HARD PRESSED 
 
 between the two houses. It was plain to Raffle's 
 keen eyes that May Haredale disliked Raymond 
 Copley intensely and that Sir George was doing all 
 he could to remove this objection. Raffle guessed, 
 too, pretty accurately what was the state of Harry 
 Fielden's feelings, and saw that if this marriage 
 took place his little scheme would be worse than 
 useless. If Fielden had not turned up again it 
 would not have mattered. But as it was the large 
 fortune which Sir George was about to annex seemed 
 likely to go into the pockets of Raymond Copley. 
 Joe hated Raymond Copley with all the contempt 
 that an old sportsman has for an ignorant dabbler 
 in the great game. He knew that Copley cared 
 nothing for racing for its own sake, that he kept his 
 stable only to give himself importance in the eyes of 
 his neighbours. Raffle was not aware that the Seton 
 Manor stud was a blind to cover the conspiracies 
 hatched between Copley and Foster, but he knew 
 enough to set his teeth on edge and to make him 
 determined to stop this hateful marriage if he 
 could. It was gall and wormwood to feel that 
 after all he had been working and planning for 
 the advantage of Copley. He knew that Harry 
 Fielden would have some delicacy in interfering 
 and believed it likely that, if May consented to 
 become Copley's wife, he would forbid Raffle to 
 say a word about the real ownership of the Blenheim 
 colt.
 
 A SECOND TRIAL 197 
 
 This was bad, but worse was to follow. For the 
 last two or three days the colt had been off his feed, 
 and Raffle thought he was developing symptoms of 
 staleness. To settle this point, he arranged for 
 another early morning trial. He had confided his 
 intention to a couple of his trusty helpers, who fondly 
 imagined that no one knew of it but themselves. 
 But these things leak out hi stables, and hi some 
 mysterious way the projected trial reached the ears 
 of Chaff ey, who, when he chose to tear himself away 
 from his beloved bars, was one of the cleverest touts 
 that ever worried a sta,ble. After parting from 
 Copley and Foster, he staggered along cheerfully till 
 he came to a roadside public-house, where he obtained 
 a shakedown for the night. The thirst for drink was 
 upon him indeed, it was seldom or never absent- 
 but he managed to put a check upon himself, and 
 retired to bed with strict injunctions to be called at 
 daybreak. In the morning he rose a trembling 
 wreck, his tongue cleaved to the roof of his mouth, his 
 nerves were a-quiver, but, by a supreme effort, he 
 kept himself from the drink which called to him so 
 strongly. The smell of it hi the dingy puVic-house 
 appealed to him mockingly, but he thrust the fierce 
 desire aside and stole off to the Downs with splitting 
 head and aching brows. He resolved to make up 
 for his sufferings later. With luck he would be 
 in London soon after nine o'clock. An hour later 
 he would have sold his valuable information, and
 
 198 HARD PRESSED 
 
 then well, then, he would enjoy himself after the 
 manner of his kind. 
 
 Having concealed himself in a patch of gorse, he 
 waited with what patience he could for the trial. It 
 was a long and weary vigil, but presently he heard 
 the muffled tramp of horses and the sound of voices. 
 Cautiously Chaffey raised himself and peeped out. 
 He knew he was hiding just behind the winning-post. 
 The solitary figure standing there was familiar to 
 him. With a grin he recognized Fielden. 
 
 In the distance he could see two horses flashing 
 along, and as they drew nearer he made out the fine 
 dashing outline of the Blenheim colt. He had never 
 seen that noble animal before, but his keen instinct 
 told him he was not mistaken. He forgot his aches, 
 pains, and everything else in the excitement of the 
 moment. He saw the Blenheim colt holding his own, 
 sailing along with a free and easy stride, and then 
 suddenly, within a hundred yards or so of the gorse 
 bushes, the other horse came away and finished many 
 lengths ahead. The colt had a peculiar action that 
 Chaffey did not fail to notice. 
 
 " They are right," he said, " the colt's queer. My 
 word ! it was well I came here this morning. This 
 will be five and twenty pounds in my pocket. And 
 if I have any luck that bloomin' Copley can get some- 
 body else to look after his fruit baskets. I've had 
 enough of it." 
 
 Chaffey dropped down as he saw Raffle coming up
 
 A SECOND TRIAL 199 
 
 to the winning-post. The horses had been led away, 
 and nobody could hear what Fielden and his com- 
 panion and Mallow had to say. 
 
 " This is a bad business," Harry observed. 
 
 " Looks like it, sir," Raffle said gloomily. " I can't 
 make out what's wrong with the colt. I thought 
 I knew all about horses, but this puzzles me. He 
 seemed quite right a day or two ago, and I can't 
 see now what's wrong." 
 
 " Oh, there's plenty of time," Fielden said cheer- 
 fully. " I daresay you'll manage to make him fit 
 for the Guineas. It is a good thing I didn't take 
 your advice and back him. I am glad the money I 
 got for the library is still in the bank." 
 
 The stud-groom shook his head obstinately. 
 
 " I don't think you are right, sir," he said. " I 
 still believe in the colt and, as you say, there is heaps 
 of time between now and the Guineas. Of course, 
 I must tell Sir George, and a fine state he'll be in, I 
 expect. Just think what a difference that colt will 
 make if he wins. And yet you refuse, sir, to benefit 
 by so much as a penny." 
 
 " Why should I ? " Fielden asked. " Practically 
 the horse doesn't belong to me. Legally, I suppose, 
 he does, and I have no doubt I could put in a 
 successful claim. But the colt was only a yearling 
 when I went away. He has been trained in Mallow's 
 stable and by Sir George's man." 
 
 " I never call myself that, sir," Raffle muttered.
 
 200 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " Ah, but you are, Joe, morally speaking. You 
 have accepted service under him, and you take his 
 money. I know you have behaved exceedingly well 
 to me. I know you have meant everything for the 
 best, and I thank you for it. But I cannot interfere. 
 Can't you see that I am in honour bound " 
 
 " In honour bound to stand by and see Mr. Copley 
 marry Miss Haredale ? " Raffle asked indignantly. 
 " I am sure I beg your pardon. I forgot myself. 
 I had no business to speak like that to you. But 
 that is what it is coming to. Here have I been 
 working and scheming and keeping my mouth shut 
 to put a matter of a hundred thousand pounds into 
 Mr. Copley's pockets." 
 
 " If the colt wins," Fielden suggested. 
 
 " Oh, he'll be all right, sir. It is only a matter of 
 a few days, but if this thing gets talked about, why, 
 the colt will go bang down in the betting and we shall 
 all make fortunes with the outlay of a few pounds. 
 There is another thing I must tell you. You see, 
 it is like this " 
 
 Raffle turned away as he spoke, and Fielden fol- 
 lowed him, so that the figure eagerly listening behind 
 the gorse bush could hear no more. Though, on the 
 whole, he had had an exceedingly fortunate morning, 
 he bitterly regretted that the deeply-interesting con- 
 versation had been cut short just at the point when 
 he might have picked up information that might 
 have made his fortune.
 
 A SECOND TRIAL 201 
 
 *' I wonder what they're talking about ? " he 
 muttered, as he limped painfully and slowly across 
 the Downs towards Seton Manor. " I suppose I had 
 better give Mr. Copley a tip. I can send it to him 
 from one of these pubs. He doesn't deserve any 
 consideration from me, but it will be worth a fiver 
 later. Now for breakfast and just one drink 
 only one before I get back to London and draw my 
 money. There will be plenty of time for fun this 
 evening. What a fool I've been ! If I could only 
 have kept off that accursed liquor I should have had 
 a stud of my own by this time." 
 
 With this philosophy on his lips Chaffey turned 
 into the bar of the nearest public-house.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 DRIVING IT HOME 
 
 /COPLEY sat at the breakfast-table waiting for 
 V^ Foster to come down. He had glanced impa- 
 tiently through his letters, none of which appeared 
 to be particularly interesting. Then he picked up 
 a repulsive-looking envelope that lay by the side of 
 his plate. The envelope was greasy and forbidding, 
 though the handwriting upon it was fairly neat and 
 clear, if a trifle unsteady. Copley was on the point 
 of pitching it into the fire, feeling pretty sure it was 
 something in the nature of a begging epistle, when 
 he changed his mind and opened it. 
 
 " Dear sir," it ran, " I was on the Downs this morn- 
 ing and saw the trial I was speaking to you about 
 last night. Sir George's head man thought it a 
 dead secret, but I had had it from a sure quarter, 
 and I saw the race between the Blenheim colt and 
 another at half-past seven. The colt was quite 
 stale, and, if I am any judge of such matters, I 
 think it will take all their time to wind him up for 
 the Guineas. I thought you would like to know this, 
 Because, properly handled, there is money in it.
 
 DRIVING IT HOME 203 
 
 Perhaps it may be worth a five-pound note to me 
 the next time we meet." 
 
 There was no signature to this document, but 
 Copley guessed where it came from. He rose from 
 the table and stood for a while thinking this over. 
 There was money in the tidings, but not in the way 
 hinted at by Chaffey. 
 
 " Anything fresh ? " Foster asked, as he attacked 
 his breakfast with zest. " You look rather pleased 
 about something." 
 
 " Well, I am," Copley said, with a sinister smile 
 he found it hard to conceal. " I've got something 
 here that looks like good business if we can only hold 
 on a bit longer. As you know, we don't quite agree 
 as to how Sir George Haredale is to be handled. 
 If I went to him boldly and told him that he must 
 scratch the Blenheim colt, do you think he would 
 consent if he saw I was in earnest ? My opinion is 
 he would kick me out of the house. But there is 
 another way of working it, and for the hint I have 
 to thank Chaffey, of all people in the world. Here 
 is a note from him." 
 
 " Wants more money," Foster said with his mouth 
 full. 
 
 " Not for the moment, at any rate. He thinks 
 his information is worth a prospective fiver. As a 
 matter of fact, it is invaluable. You know he told 
 us last night that he wasn't going away till he wit- 
 nessed a trial this morning. He has seen it, and
 
 204 HARD PRESSED 
 
 this letter gives me the result. The trial was that of 
 the Blenheim colt. Chaff ey says it will take them all 
 their time to get him fit for the Guineas, even if they 
 can manage it. Chaffey is probably in town by now, 
 and has no doubt sold his information to some smart 
 bookmaker. By this time to-morrow the Blenheim 
 colt will be knocked out of the betting, and one will 
 be able to get any price one likes. When this be- 
 comes public property Sir George will be justified in 
 scratching the colt. He could say he had no hopes 
 now of winning the Derby, and has taken this step 
 solely on behalf of the public. Everybody will be- 
 lieve him. No questions will be asked, and his 
 conduct will be regarded as most sportsmanlike. Do 
 you see what I am driving at ? " 
 
 " By Jove ! " Foster exclaimed. " That is really 
 smart of you. As Sir George backed his colt at long 
 prices the money loss will be small. You can arrange 
 as to the money Sir George owes you, and directly the 
 pen is put through the colt's name we shall be masters 
 of a hundred thousand pounds. It isn't so much 
 as we expected, but we shall be able to draw the 
 money during the next few days, and then be in a 
 position to carry on a war against the bookmakers 
 till we have made as much as we like. Things are 
 entirely in your hands. You have only to put it 
 plainly to Sir George and offer to cancel his mort- 
 gages, and the thing is done. He'll fall in with your 
 suggestion readily. He only wants the excuse to
 
 DRIVING IT HOME 205 
 
 get out. You'll want to handle him carefully, of 
 course. But every man has his price, and I don't 
 believe Haredale is any exception to the rule." 
 
 " I'll do it to-day," Copley muttered. 
 ' That's right," Foster said approvingly, " there's 
 nothing like striking while the iron is hot. But 
 if I were you I'd run up to town first and give 
 Absalom & Co. a hint to put the screw on without 
 delay. What you have to do is thoroughly to 
 frighten Sir George, who will probably send for you, 
 and see if he can't arrange terms. We had better 
 motor to London at once. It might be as well to 
 get Absalom's people to send a man down this after- 
 noon to let Sir George know that business is meant. 
 By the time we get back this evening there will be 
 a note from Sir George asking you to go over and see 
 him. If not, I am no prophet." 
 
 On the best of terms with themselves the conspira- 
 tors started for town half an hour later, and before 
 eleven o'clock Copley was closeted with the principal 
 of the well-known financial house of Absalom &Co. 
 Apparently the interview was to his satisfaction, 
 for he soon made his way to the Post Club. Foster 
 joined him at lunch, and up to four o'clock they 
 amused themselves by making small wagers on the 
 day's racing. Soon after five one of the waiters 
 came into the smoking-room and informed Copley 
 that a gentleman was waiting to see him. 
 
 He went downstairs to find Mr. Absalom in the
 
 206 HARD PRESSED 
 
 ante-room. The latter smiled as he heard the click- 
 ing of the machines. 
 
 " Do you do anything in that way ? " Copley asked. 
 
 " Not I," the visitor laughed. " I leave that to 
 the fools who have more money than sense. If there 
 were no such thing as a horse or a bet I should be 
 deprived of nine-tenths of my clients, and instead 
 of being a rich man, I should be hard put to it to 
 obtain a li ving. So the sport has all my sympathy. 
 But I didn't come here to discuss racing. I want to 
 speak to you about Sir George Haredale. I sent my 
 manager down to see him." 
 
 " Yes, yes," Copley said impatiently. 
 
 " Oh, I won't detain you longer than I can help. 
 My manager saw Sir George and had a long conver- 
 sation with him. He was inclined to be high and 
 mighty at first, but we soon changed all that. He 
 was very anxious to know why you had transferred 
 your debt to us, and we told him, of course, that you 
 were engaged in very big speculations which called 
 for all the ready capital you could lay your hands 
 upon. We also hinted that we were finding money 
 tight, and gave him to know that unless the cash 
 was paid within a week, we should have to avail 
 ourselves of our rights and place a man in possession 
 at Haredale Park. That rather knocked the old 
 gentleman off his balance. My manager said he 
 was quite civil after that, and intimated his 
 intention to do everything he could. But, at the
 
 DRIVING IT HOME 207 
 
 same time, he appears to be very much annoyed 
 with you. He thinks you have not treated him 
 fairly, and seems to hope that when he has seen you 
 he can arrange matters. Of course, he hasn't the 
 least idea that we are merely dummies, so if you 
 change your mind you can telephone to us and we 
 will sit tight. He said he expected to see you this 
 evening." 
 
 Copley nodded approvingly. There was no 
 need for hurry, for he knew that the longer Sir 
 George Haredale thought over the matter, the more 
 likely he was to yield in the end. After thanking 
 Absalom, who went his way, he sent for Foster. 
 
 " It's all right," he said when the latter came 
 downstairs. " Absalom's people have seen Sir 
 George, and have left him in a state of blue funk. 
 I think the best thing we can do is to let him think 
 it over for a day or two, because the longer he 
 dwells upon the prospect before him the more likely 
 he will be to listen to any terms I choose to offer. 
 But we can talk this over after dinner. Let's get 
 back to Seton Manor. By the way, I suppose you 
 have dealt with those commissions. Did you 
 manage to lay any money against the Blenheim 
 colt to advantage ? Has the trial leaked out yet ? " 
 
 " I managed to get a good lump on," Foster 
 explained. " I fancy the story is getting known. 
 According to one of the papers, the Blenheim colt 
 has gone back to six to one. I think we have
 
 208 HARD PRESSED 
 
 done as much as we can. At any rate, the money 
 is as good as in our pockets." 
 
 At Seton Manor Copley and his accomplice sat 
 down to dinner in higher spirits and with better 
 appetite than they had displayed for some time. 
 There was nothing to trouble them. They had 
 netted a huge sum of money without the slightest 
 risk, and, what was more to the point, they would 
 be in a position to handle it in the course of a few 
 days. There was a good deal of flavour in Copley's 
 cigar as he lay back in his seat sipping his coffee. 
 A moment or two later a footman came in with a 
 note on a tray. Copley smiled as he tore open the 
 envelope, and intimated to the servant that he need 
 not wait. 
 
 " From the Baronet ? " Foster grinned. 
 
 " You've guessed it," Copley replied. " He wants 
 me to go over at once on most important business."
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 HONOUR BRIGHT 
 
 AS time passed Sir George Haredale began to 
 think that trouble was really before him. 
 He had not the least pretence to be a business man. 
 He had always been prone to take people at their 
 own valuation. He would never have done any- 
 thing dishonest or underhanded, and he paid his 
 fellow-men a similar compliment. He had never 
 counted the cost of anything, for the simple reason 
 that he had never been taught to. If he wanted a 
 thing he got it. If he couldn't pay for anything 
 he simply owed for it. When, from time to time, 
 his creditors grew pressing, he gave his lawyers 
 instructions to raise another mortgage, and there, 
 so far as he was concerned, was an end of the whole 
 transaction. 
 
 It does not take long, especially with two or 
 three generations of similar incapacity, seriously 
 to embarrass even so fine an estate as Haredale 
 Park. The day came at length when Sir George 
 was under the painful necessity of facing the inevit- 
 ^ble, when his worried lawyer told him a few plain 
 
 2W>
 
 2io HARD PRESSED 
 
 truths, and he realized that his income was barely 
 sufficient to live upon. Unfortunately, at this 
 crisis, an occasional run of luck on the turf had re- 
 lieved the pressure, and it occurred to Sir George 
 as a brilliant idea that here was a source of perma- 
 nent income. The t luck ran steadily against him, 
 as it always does sooner or later, and at the 
 time Sir George made the acquaintance of Copley 
 he was literally at his wits' end to know what to 
 do. 
 
 It was a misfortune, though a disguised one, that 
 Copley in his headstrong way should fall in love 
 with May Haredale. He had gone about his 
 wooing in characteristic fashion, and had recognized 
 that, unless he were in a position to force the pace, his 
 suit was hopeless. Hence he had helped Sir George, 
 although he needed every penny he had for himself. 
 At that time Copley did not see his way to get it all 
 back and a great deal more. But now he had the 
 consolation of knowing that he would come out all 
 right, whether May Haredale became his wife or not. 
 
 He was playing his game with wonted caution 
 and cunning. In response to Sir George's note, he 
 pleaded some excuse, and on one pretext or other 
 kept clear of Haredale Park for the best part of a 
 week. He knew how to play his fish. He knew 
 that delay was in his favour, and was not going to 
 spoil his triumph by undue haste. 
 
 Sir George was thoroughly frightened. The
 
 HONOUR BRIGHT 211 
 
 interview with Messrs. Absalom's manager came 
 in the light of a revelation to him. He realized 
 that he was in Copley's power, and that the latter 
 could ruin him whenever he chose. Not that he 
 expected anything of the kind. He was of far too 
 sanguine a nature for that, and being a gentleman 
 and a man of honour he naturally believed the story 
 that Copley was temporarily hard put to it for the 
 want of money. From that point of view, of course, 
 Copley was behaving very well. He had not 
 pressed Sir George, nor had he insisted that the 
 money must be paid. In point of fact, he had not 
 mentioned the matter at all. 
 
 But Messrs. Absalom's manager had been emphatic 
 enough. There was something in his manner which 
 Sir George did not like. He actually had no respect 
 for the aristocracy, and spoke as if money were the 
 only thing in the world that mattered. 
 
 " It comes to this, Sir George," he said. "We 
 must ask you to make arrangements to clear this 
 off in a week. It is business, pure and simple, and 
 my people want the money. Things are not going 
 well, and we must look to you to settle this claim." 
 
 "Within a week?" Sir George cried. "Im- 
 possible ! " 
 
 The shrewd manager shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " I am sorry to hear you say that, Sir George," 
 he replied. " In that case, we must take matters 
 into our own hands and sell you up, including
 
 212 HARD PRESSED 
 
 your horses in training. We shall much regret 
 this step, but necessity will compel us. The best 
 thing you can do is to consult your solicitors and 
 see if you can raise a loan. Otherwise well, I think 
 I have made myself plain." 
 
 The man withdrew, leaving Sir George to his own 
 disturbed thoughts. With his sanguine disposition 
 and lack of business knowledge he still clung to the 
 idea that Copley would be able to put this matter 
 right. But when Copley wrote that business called 
 him elsewhere Sir George's vague sense of alarm 
 began to develop into a perfect nightmare. At the 
 expiration of a week the first blow fell. A man, 
 shabbily dressed and dingy of aspect, called to see 
 Sir George and would take no refusal. He stood in 
 the hall grimly quiet, waiting for the master of the 
 house, who appeared presently and demanded in 
 his haughtiest manner what the intruder wanted. 
 
 " I am here on behalf of Absalom & Co.," the 
 intruder said. " Fact is, I represent the sheriff. 
 It is no use blaming me, Sir George. I am only 
 doing my duty, and it's not so pleasant, at that. 
 But I am here in possession, and here I am 
 bound by law to stay until this money is paid. 
 As soon as that is done I shall be only too 
 pleased to go away." 
 
 Sir George began to understand the position. He 
 had heard of these things before, but they had 
 always appeared to be remote enough from him.
 
 HONOUR BRIGHT 213 
 
 This was what was called an execution, and Sir 
 George's dignity disappeared accordingly. 
 
 " This is very awkward," he said. " I had not 
 anticipated anything like this. How long will you 
 have to stay here ? " 
 
 " Well, it varies according to circumstances," 
 the man explained. " It all depends upon what 
 action the plaintiffs take. If they give you an 
 extension of time I may be here for a month. Some- 
 times I have been in a house much longer." 
 
 " A month," Sir George exclaimed, " impossible ! " 
 
 " It may be less than that," the man said. " If 
 they don't give you any time at all I shall be gone 
 in a week. In the ordinary course of things, at the 
 expiration of seven days the sheriff will come in 
 and sell everything." 
 
 " Seven days ! " Sir George repeated the words 
 over and over again, as if he were trying to grasp 
 their meaning. He had barely a week to find 
 this money, and, if it were not forthcoming, every- 
 thing he had would be disposed of. He would have 
 to face the world without a penny. He wondered 
 if these people would take his horses. He wondered 
 whether their action would injure him in the 
 Derby. But misfortunes never came singly, and 
 it was possible that the Blenheim colt might not 
 start for the historic race at all. For the moment 
 everything lay in the hands of Raymond Copley. 
 Probably he had not the slightest idea that Absalom
 
 214 HARD PRESSED 
 
 & Co. had gone to these lengths. No doubt he 
 would devise a way out of this disgraceful situation. 
 It was the only chance. 
 
 " If you wouldn't mind going away," Sir George 
 said, " and coming back later in the day, I will see 
 what I can do." 
 
 The man smiled broadly. 
 
 " Bless you ! I couldn't do that," he said. " It 
 would be as much as my place is worth. I might 
 even get prosecuted, and I've a wife and family 
 to think of. I dare not stir a step from here, Sir 
 George ; indeed, I dare not. If people treat me 
 well I always try to give as little trouble as possible, 
 and as yet nobody knows who I am and why I came. 
 I daresay you can think of some excuse to account 
 for my presence in the house." 
 
 It was very humiliating, but there was nothing 
 for it but a mild conspiracy between the master of 
 Haredale and this grubby representative of the 
 majesty of the law. Sir George led the way into 
 the library. 
 
 " You had better stay here," he said. " I can 
 say you've come down from London on some 
 business in connexion with the stable. By the 
 way, it is just as well I should know your name. 
 Oh, Brown, is it ? Well, you had better remain 
 here till I come back, and I can arrange for you to 
 have your meals in the kitchen. I suppose you 
 wop't object to that ? "
 
 HONOUR BRIGHT 215 
 
 " I shan't, if the servants don't," Brown said. 
 
 " Very good. I am going to see a friend, and 
 shall return as soon as possible. I suppose if you 
 had a telegram from Absalom calling you back to 
 London, you would disappear without any trouble." 
 
 " Certainly, sir, and very glad to go. I have 
 never been in a big house like this before, and it 
 makes all the difference. But I'll do my best to 
 save your servants from knowing who I am and 
 what I am doing at Haredale Park." 
 
 Possibly the speaker had some hope that this 
 complacency would not leave him poorer than it 
 found him, and, hi his sanguine way, Sir George 
 was already settling in his mind the size of the tip 
 he would give this fellow after he had seen Copley 
 and made arrangements to get rid of him. Never- 
 theless the master of Haredale was really distressed 
 and alarmed as he made his way across the fields 
 to Seton Manor. Perhaps Copley might not be 
 back from London till dinner-time. But Copley 
 was there. He was in the stable-yard talking to 
 Foster as Sir George approached. 
 
 " Here he comes," said Foster with a grin. " I 
 thought he wouldn't be very long. It is any odds 
 that Absalom's man is in possession already. Our 
 friend looks rather dejected, doesn't he ? Now is 
 your time to clinch the business." 
 
 Copley smiled his assent. " I don't think we are 
 likely to have much trouble with Sir George."
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 ACTING THE FRIEND 
 
 turned to his visitor with an air of 
 V_>< surprise. He held out his hand with an 
 appearance of great friendliness and began to talk 
 about horses as if nothing out of the common had 
 happened. 
 
 " I am sorry I have been unable to see you," he 
 said. " But I have been dreadfully harassed in 
 business. You country gentlemen think that capita- 
 lists like myself have unlimited cash. Never, my dear 
 Sir George, was there a greater mistake. There are 
 times when I would give one of my ears for a thousand 
 pounds in hard cash. Everything we have is locked 
 up, and bankers are so chary of speculative securities. 
 Of course, it comes all right in the long run, but 
 really, for some days, matters have been extremely 
 critical. However, I managed to make a satisfactory 
 arrangement last night, and came home dead tired, 
 with the full intention of not going near the City for 
 two or three days. I hope there is nothing amiss 
 with you. I don't suppose there is. Ah, you want 
 to be in my line to know what anxiety is."
 
 ACTING THE FRIEND 217 
 
 " I think I've a pretty fair idea of it," Sir George 
 said, as he shook hands. " You have been good 
 enough to advise me once or twice, and I thought 
 I would come over this morning and consult you 
 about a worry of my own. I came on the off-chance, 
 and esteem myself fortunate to find you at home." 
 
 " Oh, not at all, not at all," Copley said breezily. 
 " In fact, I was coming to see you. My conscience 
 has been pricking me, and I feel I have been very 
 rude. But come into the library and tell me all 
 about it. I'll help you if I can." 
 
 " You are exceedingly good," Sir George said 
 gratefully. " I have had a most unpleasant shock 
 this morning. It has to do with those people, 
 Absalom & Co. They tell me you have transferred 
 my debt to them. I can't understand it." 
 
 Copley shook his head as he motioned his visitor 
 to a chair. He passed over the cigars to Sir George, 
 and sat down to listen in an attitude of respectful 
 attention. 
 
 " No, you wouldn't understand these things," 
 he explained. " It is only the man of hard business 
 training and instinct that can follow the ramifica- 
 tions of modern finance. Finance is a fascinating 
 sport with substantial gains for the successful man, 
 but Heaven help him who fails. He is bound to 
 go to the wall, and no one has the slightest mercy 
 for him. It is almost a truism to say that we are 
 at war with one another. Though outwardly on
 
 2i8 HARD PRESSED 
 
 good terms, we really are the bitterest enemies. It 
 is part of the game. I go and stay with other 
 financiers, and they come and stay with me. 
 We drink each other's wine and smoke each 
 other's cigars. We share grouse moors and yachts, 
 we even marry each other's daughters. But, at 
 the same time, it is everybody for himself. That is 
 one of the recognized rules, and if you go under 
 you may become a clerk or something of that 
 kind, unless you prefer to blow out your brains. 
 It is all the same in the City. I tell you this, so 
 that you may understand what a lot of enemies one 
 makes when one embarks in a new venture. It is 
 a mistake to imagine that all the money the success- 
 ful man makes comes from the public. Every 
 time I make a quarter of a million, some of my 
 friends must suffer. I have a very big thing on at 
 present, and thought I had guarded myself at all 
 points. But man is only human, and it is impossible 
 to foresee everything. Two of my cleverest friends 
 spotted the weak point in my armour, and were not 
 slow to take their opportunity. They squeezed me 
 to such an extent that, about a fortnight ago, they 
 very nearly crushed the life out of me altogether. 
 I was compelled to find forty thousand pounds at 
 a few hours' notice. The only people I could think 
 of were Absalom & Co., and I transferred your 
 debt to them. My dear fellow, if I hadn't done 
 so I should have been in the Bankruptcy Court to-
 
 ACTING THE FRIEND 219 
 
 day. Absalom & Co., in their turn, are being 
 squeezed, and that is why they are putting pressure 
 upon you." 
 
 " Then you can't help me ? " Sir George said 
 blankly. 
 
 " My dear Sir George, I am afraid not. It is 
 with great regret I say this. In two or three weeks 
 I shall be in funds, and if you will wait till then, 
 why I shall give you my cheque with pleasure. At 
 the moment I have nothing. In a month's time I 
 shall have a fortune at my disposal. But probably 
 these people won't wait." 
 
 " Then I am ruined," Sir "George exclaimed. 
 
 Copley murmured that it looked very much like 
 it. He made no suggestion at all. He merely 
 appeared to be duly sympathetic. He was waiting 
 for Sir George Haredale to realize his position. That 
 done, it would be easy to play his game success- 
 fully. 
 
 For a time Sir George paced up and down the 
 library. He cursed himself and his bad fortune, 
 blamed Chance, bemoaned his cruel ill luck ; in 
 fact, like the weak man he was, he blamed everything 
 except the headlong folly and short-sighted blind- 
 ness which had brought all this about. In the 
 meantime, Copley sat letting his fish play until his 
 strength were exhausted and he could readily be 
 drawn to land. It was a one-sided battle. 
 
 " Is there nothing you can suggest ?" Sir George
 
 220 HARD PRESSED 
 
 cried despairingly. " Is there no way of getting 
 delay ? " 
 
 Copley made no reply for a time. When at length 
 he spoke he dropped his voice to a persuasive whisper. 
 
 " Well, there is one method," he said. " Absalom 
 is a sportsman, and he takes a great interest in racing 
 matters. Between ourselves, he finances some of 
 the swell bookmakers, and I understand has a grip 
 upon some of the large commission firms. If you 
 could show him a way to make thirty or forty thou- 
 sand pounds on a race like the Derby, you might 
 induce him to withdraw his execution for a month. 
 Though he is in a corner, or he wouldn't have dropped 
 on you, the suggestion I speak of would be worth a 
 sacrifice." 
 
 " I don't follow you," Sir George said. 
 
 " No ? Then I must speak more plainly. At 
 the present moment you own a colt which looks 
 like winning the Derby. I know the colt has been 
 coughing lately, but your man Raffle is very sanguine 
 and knows what he is talking about. I see the colt 
 has come back in the betting to eight to one, and the 
 public never seem to be tired of backing him. That, 
 however, is the public's look-out and is no concern 
 of yours. In the colt's present condition you will 
 be justified in putting a pen through his name and 
 nobody could blame you. Owners don't raise 
 horses for the benefit of the public, and if the public 
 choose to come in and forestall the market and the
 
 ACTING THE FRIEND 221 
 
 horse is scratched, then they must take the conse- 
 quences. It has been done over and over again, 
 and I don't see why you shouldn't do it yourself. 
 You needn't do it to-day, or to-morrow, or even 
 next week, but if I can assure Absalom that this is 
 going to happen, why, in that case, I feel certain 
 these proceedings will be withdrawn, and perhaps 
 such terms arranged as will wipe the debt out 
 altogether. Do you follow me ? " 
 
 Sir George sat white and rigid. He seemed try- 
 ing dimly to comprehend what Copley was driving 
 at. All the time Copley was speaking he did not 
 meet the eye of his victim. But Sir George's face 
 was no index of his feelings. He was quivering 
 from head to foot with a nameless indignation and, 
 though Copley did not know it, was within an ace of 
 inflicting personal punishment on the financier. 
 
 " You can't be hi earnest," Sir George said witn 
 difficulty. " Surely, you were joking when you 
 asked me to do this thing ? Why, it would be 
 contemptible, dishonourable to the last degree. I 
 expect to win a fortune with the Blenheim colt, 
 but I backed him at a very long price, and if he 
 breaks down the loss will not be so great. It would 
 be bad enough to lose a fortune which I regarded as 
 as good as hi my pocket, but deliberately to scratch 
 the horse, to wait for a fortnight whilst these friends 
 of yours are laying against the colt, is an insult 
 which I did not dream any man would put upon me."
 
 222 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " You will pardon me if I don't see it in that 
 light," Copley said coolly. ' You have a right to 
 do what you like with your own. You are justified 
 in scratching the horse and, indeed, you have every 
 excuse for doing so. I don't see that it matters 
 much whether it is done to-day or in a fortnight's 
 time. You may lose the few thousands pounds you 
 put on the colt, but that seems probable in any 
 case. And, on the other hand, you have it in your 
 power to wipe out your debt to me that is, to 
 benefit to the extent of forty thousand pounds." 
 
 Sir George's indignation began to ebb. He no 
 longer felt a disposition to smite Copley hip and 
 thigh ; he was thinking of his own position and 
 future. 
 
 " And if I refuse ? " 
 
 Copley shrugged his shoulders eloquently. 
 
 " In that case, there is no more to be said or done," 
 he answered. " I would help you if I could, but I 
 am powerless just now. But perhaps you will 
 think better of it. I am sure you will be tired of 
 that man in possession by the end of a week."
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 AN ULTIMATUM 
 
 rose as if the interview were over, and 
 he had done all he could for his friend. But 
 Sir George lingered. He stood gazing into the fire 
 thoughtfully and moodily. Copley's last shaft had 
 gone home. Sir George's whole nature revolted 
 from spending a week in the company of the man 
 in possession. He wanted to gain time, to have an 
 opportunity to consider matters, and, above all, 
 to get rid of the incubus which, in his mind's 
 eye, he could see seated patiently in the library at 
 Haredale Park. Yet he also knew what he ought 
 to have done. He ought either to have knocked 
 Copley down out of hand, or to have walked out 
 of the house with a curt intimation that he and 
 Copley must be strangers in the future. 
 
 But, like the weak man he was, when the pinch 
 came he did neither of these things. It would 
 never have occurred to him to assert that 
 he was a man of honour. All the world 
 had taken it for granted, and in this opinion Sir 
 George shared. But, on the other hand, he 
 
 m
 
 224 HARD PRESSED 
 
 was face to face with disgrace, and in a few 
 days would be homeless and penniless, a mark 
 for the finger of scorn, and the object of pity 
 of those whom he had looked down upon from 
 a lofty standpoint. But was there, after all, any 
 great harm in what Copley suggested ? Scores 
 of owners of horses had done such things before, 
 and he had a genuine excuse for drawing the pen 
 through the name of the Blenheim colt, since it had 
 fallen ill. If other people benefited by the know- 
 ledge, it was no concern of his. If the colt were no 
 better at the end of a fortnight, he could be scratched 
 and things go on as they were. Besides, the colt 
 was a good one, and in the autumn there would 
 be every chance of winning the St. Leger with him. 
 This reasoning was all very specious and wrong, 
 but it wasn't long before Sir George had justified 
 himself, as Copley felt sure he would do. 
 
 " Wait a little," Sir George said. " You can't 
 expect me to make up my mind at once. I 
 must have time to think it over. But I can't do 
 anything as long as that man is at Haredale Park. 
 If you can get rid of him for me " 
 
 " Oh, I think I can do that," Copley interrupted. 
 " But if I telephone to Absalom & Co. from here 
 they will want some guarantee from you that 
 well, you know what I mean. They won't want 
 any writing, your word will be good enough lor 
 that."
 
 AN ULTIMATUM 225 
 
 Sir George expanded at this suggestion. It never 
 struck him that a mere negotiation on this point 
 from Copley's view would be as good as a written 
 document. 
 
 " I think I can give it," he said. 
 
 " Very well," Copley said briskly. " I am glad 
 to hear you talk like that. It is a commonsense 
 view of the situation. Sit down and smoke your 
 cigar in peace and don't worry any more about the 
 matter. I'll go into my office and ring up Absalom 
 & Co. , and in an hour's time you will be free from 
 your trouble." 
 
 For three-quarters of an hour Sir George sat 
 immersed in gloomy thoughts. Manipulate the 
 transaction as he might, deceive himself as he pleased, 
 there was no getting away from the fact that he was 
 contemplating a shameful thing, and the knowledge 
 that he was saving himself did not mend matters. 
 The best part of an hour had passed before Copley 
 returned with a cheerful face. 
 
 " I thought I could manage," he exclaimed. " I 
 felt sure there would be little difficulty, if we only 
 convinced Absalom & Co. that there was a good 
 thing for them here. But, mind you, I had to give 
 them my word. They wouldn't accept anything 
 in the least vague. Nothing is to be done for a 
 fortnight ; in fact, not till after the next meeting 
 at Mirst Park, and at the end of that time the Blen- 
 heim colt is to be scratched. You have only to 
 
 p
 
 226 HARD PRESSED 
 
 keep him short of exercise, and the public will con- 
 clude that something serious is amiss with the colt. 
 I had to promise this before I could move these 
 people at all. Of course, if you don't want to go 
 as far as that I can ring them up again. It would 
 be a pity to do so, however, seeing that by 
 this time Absalom's have taken steps to withdraw 
 their action, and in a few minutes the man at Hare- 
 dale Park will receive a telegram calling him back 
 to London at once. You had better think the 
 matter over. Don't say that I persuaded you, 
 for, if you wish to break off negotiations, it is not 
 too late to do so." 
 
 Copley's voice was gentle, but there was nothing 
 persuasive about him. He meant to leave the 
 matter entirely in Sir George's hands. But, as he 
 had confidently expected, Sir George did not re- 
 pudiate the bargain. On the contrary, he thanked 
 Copley for what he had done, and when they left 
 the library a few minutes later the arrangement 
 was ratified. As they made for the stable-yard 
 Copley paused as if something had suddenly 
 occurred to him. 
 
 " There is one other matter," he said. " I 
 didn't like to mention it before for fear you 
 should imagine I was forcing your hand. Now 
 I can speak freely. It relates to your daughter. 
 When I lent you that money I expected to have 
 the privilege of calling myself your son-in-law. I
 
 AN ULTIMATUM 227 
 
 have not yet had anything definite from Miss Hare- 
 dale ; in fact, I am afraid she dislikes me. But 
 things can't go on like this, and you promised to 
 put in a good word for me. I daresay you will 
 think it strange, but I have set my heart on this 
 marriage. It will be well, perhaps, to let your 
 daughter know how things stand. I fear she doesn't 
 comprehend the position. Tell her yourself." 
 
 There was no mistaking the ring of command 
 in the last words. 
 
 " Certainly," Sir George promised. " I will do 
 so without delay. I can't for the life of me under- 
 stand May's hesitancy. Almost every girl in the 
 county would jump at the chance of being Mrs. 
 Raymond Copley. Besides, May must marry a rich 
 man. But leave it to me, Copley. Come over after 
 dinner this evening and see if we can't fix this thing 
 up once and for all." 
 
 Sir George returned to Haredale trying to feel 
 on good terms with himself and elated with the 
 turn things had taken. But he could not dis- 
 guise that he had done wrong. He could not still 
 the voice of conscience. However, he was re- 
 lieved to hear from his butler of the departure of 
 Brown on receipt of a telegram. The man had 
 made certain promises. He would call again later in 
 the day, but had left his address in case Sir George 
 wanted to write to him. It was very correct and 
 discreet, no one was any the wiser, nobody had
 
 228 HARD PRESSED 
 
 guessed about this black disgrace, and in the full- 
 ness of his heart Sir George wrote a short note to 
 Brown enclosing a cheque. He was sealing up the 
 envelope and putting on the stamp when May 
 entered. 
 
 She was fresh from her ride. Her eyes were 
 sparkling and her cheeks glowed. There was some- 
 thing in her gay abandon and her clear light of inno- 
 cence that jarred upon Sir George. Why should 
 she have none of this trouble ? Why should she 
 be outside of it all ? To some extent, she was the 
 cause of the mischief. But for her Copley would 
 never have lent Sir George any money ; but for her 
 he would never have found himself in the clutches 
 of Absalom & Co. This was as specious as his other 
 moralizing, and he never imagined that he had fallen 
 into a trap set by Copley. What he wanted was 
 some one to vent his anger upon. 
 
 " Where have you been ? " he asked irritably. 
 " I have been looking for you everywhere. I have 
 just been having a conversation about you with Mr. 
 Copley. He wants to know " 
 
 " He already does know," May said coldly. " I 
 thought I had made that quite clear. I shall be 
 glad if you will not allude to this again. It is most 
 distasteful to me." 
 
 Sir George brought his fist with a bang on the 
 table. 
 
 " You are a fool," he cried. " I beg pardon, but ,
 
 AN ULTIMATUM 229 
 
 I can't think of any other word. You don't seem 
 to realize what obligations we are under to Mr. 
 Copley. Do you know that if he liked he could turn 
 us out of the house to-morrow ? Do you know 
 that even this morning he has saved us from a great 
 disgrace ? And he has done all this out of affection 
 for you. I can assure you that Mr. Raymond Copley 
 is not the man to be played with." 
 
 " My dear father," May protested, " why this 
 violence ? I don't in the least want to play with 
 Mr. Copley." 
 
 " Oh, this is no joking matter. You ought to be 
 proud to think that a man like that is ready to 
 lay his wealth at your feet. Now, I want you to 
 understand that if you treat him in this way he 
 will very likely teach you a lesson. It is no use 
 beating about the bush. We are in his hands. And, 
 therefore, you must marry him." 
 
 " Must, my dear father. Surely " 
 
 " Oh, I am not going to listen to any more. I 
 won't argue with you. You are either going to 
 marry Mr. Copley or I wash my hands of you alto- 
 gether. I will not be ruined for the mere whim of 
 a girl. Now you quite understand me ? If this 
 thing isn't settled to-morrow, Haredale will be no 
 place for you."
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 A POINT-BLANK REFUSAL 
 
 IT was a cruel shock to the girl. She had never 
 heard her father speak like that before; in- 
 deed, she would not have deemed him capable of 
 such harshness. For many years May and her 
 father had been the best of friends ; indeed, their 
 relationship had been more like brother and sister 
 than anything else. She had shared in Sir George's 
 pleasures, she had known most of his troubles, and 
 generally had been allowed to do exactly as she 
 pleased. And if she had a proper sense of pride, 
 it was Sir George who was mainly responsible for 
 it. He had never forgotten that he was the master 
 of Haredale Park, and that the family had lived 
 there three centuries and more. He had always 
 spoken his mind freely to May on the subject of new- 
 comers and interlopers. He had declared that no 
 matter what his neighbours might do, not one of 
 them should ever cross his threshold ; he had appar- 
 ently despised these new rich from the bottom of 
 his heart. It seemed only the other day that Sir 
 George had spoken most contemptuously about
 
 A POINT-BLANK REFUSAL 231 
 
 Raymond Copley. A few months before and he 
 would have laughed to scorn any suggestion on 
 Copley's part to become one of the family. 
 
 " We need not envy them, my dear," Sir George 
 had said over and over again. " After all, money 
 is not everything. Of course, one has to be agreeable 
 to these people in the hunting-field and when one 
 meets them at neighbouring houses, but, thank 
 goodness, we need not go farther than that. You 
 won't have much when I die, but so long as you 
 marry the right sort of man I shall be quite content 
 with your choice. I can trust you, I know." 
 
 These recollections crowded into May's mind as 
 she stood face to face with her father. It struck 
 her almost with painful force that she was making his 
 acquaintance for the first time. This was another Sir 
 George Haredale, of whom she had not the slightest 
 knowledge. He looked hard and sullen, and met 
 her eye with difficulty. May hoped he would have 
 the grace to be ashamed of himself, that this was 
 an outburst for which he would apologize presently. 
 
 " Do you really know what you are saying ? " 
 she murmured. ." I hope I have not mistaken you, 
 father." 
 
 " You have not mistaken me at all," Sir George 
 said sullenly. 
 
 " Then I am to understand that it is your wish 
 that I should become the wife of Mr. Raymond 
 Copley ? "
 
 232 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " I thought I had made it quite plain." 
 
 " You are so set upon this match that unless I 
 marry this man I am no longer to consider Hare- 
 dale Park as my home." 
 
 Sir George nodded. He had not the courage to 
 put it as plainly as that. 
 
 " I will try to be calm," May went on. " But 
 this has been a terrible blow to me. Even now I 
 can hardly believe my ears. Do you mean to say 
 that if I refuse Mr. Copley I am to be turned out of 
 house and home ? " 
 
 " Don't be dramatic," Sir George interrupted. 
 
 " I didn't know that I was. I only want to have 
 a clear understanding. Oh, the thing is monstrous. 
 You cannot realize what you are saying. If you 
 have no sort of feeling for yourself or me, just 
 try to imagine what our friends will say. We know 
 many people who would decline to be on visiting 
 terms with Mr. Copley. There are lots of houses 
 where he could not go. Even if I were fond of the 
 man and could meet your wishes, it would be a long 
 time before certain of our neighbours forgave me. 
 What will you say when you meet them racing, 
 or hunting, or shooting ? Do you suppose 
 this thing can be kept quiet ? Do you suppose 
 everybody won't know why I left home ? Do you 
 believe for a moment that common gossip will not 
 say that you turned your daughter out because 
 she refused to marry a man whom you declined to
 
 A POINT-BLANK REFUSAL 233 
 
 call upon for months after he came here ? I know 
 such things happen in the case of boys, but I never 
 yet heard of a father in your position who sent his 
 daughter away because she refused to sell herself to 
 a person whom she both disliked and despised." 
 
 Sir George listened uncomfortably. He was 
 violating all his best feelings. He knew what a 
 sorry figure he must be cutting in the eyes of his 
 daughter. Moreover, every word she said was true. 
 This thing would get out. It would be a dainty 
 morsel in the mouths of all the gossips, and, though 
 he could rely upon May to be silent, other tongues 
 would not be bridled. But he comforted himself 
 with the assurance that things would never go as 
 far as that, for when May saw that he was in earnest 
 she would yield. There might be tears and re- 
 proaches, but in the end she would bow to his wishes, 
 and though Copley was not popular, yet he would 
 be accepted in time on the strength of being Sir 
 George Haredale's son-in-law. 
 
 " There are reasons why this must be," he said. 
 " I am under obligations to Copley, under great 
 obligations. Besides, he is paying you the greatest 
 compliment in his power. There are many girls 
 
 " Oh, what have the majority of girls to do with 
 me ? I am not like them. I have not been trained 
 in the same school. I know lots of my friends 
 regard matrimony as a matter of business. They 
 are too idle and selfish to think of anything but
 
 234 HARD PRESSED 
 
 themselves. They would deem it a fine thing to 
 have the spending of Mr. Copley's money. But I 
 detest the man too much for that. He is not a 
 gentleman, his manners are not good, and I am sure 
 he is neither honest nor straightforward. I would 
 do anything in my power to help you, but if it comes 
 to this, that Haredale Park can only be preserved 
 to us by this hateful marriage, then I decline. It 
 is too great a sacrifice to ask of your daughter. Oh, 
 how can you even make the suggestion ? " 
 
 ** You will think better of it," Sir George said. 
 
 " Never ! I have said the last word. I will not 
 allude to it again, and, unless you take back what 
 you have said, I will accept you at your word and 
 go out into the world and earn my own living. 
 Don't mention it again." 
 
 Sir George looked uneasily at his daughter. Her 
 austere sternness disturbed him. He said that 
 Copley was coming over later in the evening to 
 hear what May had to say on the' matter. 
 
 " Very well," she answered, " I am rather glad 
 of that. I shall be able to settle this thing for 
 ever." 
 
 She turned and swept from the room. She was 
 glad she had kept the tears out of her eyes. 
 She was glad Sir George little knew how terribly 
 he had wounded her. For the rest of the day 
 May went about the house as though nothing 
 had happened. She had a smile and a pleasant
 
 A POINT-BLANK REFUSAL 235 
 
 word for her visitor, so that even Sir George took 
 heart of grace and deluded himself with the idea 
 that his firmness had not been misplaced. It was 
 only when Copley came that he found out how 
 mistaken he was. Copley had no difficulty in get- 
 ting May to himself, for Alice Garden was deeply 
 engrossed in a book, and Sir George was sitting over 
 his cigar in the library. At the very first hint of 
 the reason for his visit May turned to him. 
 
 " I think I know what you are going to say," she 
 observed. " I shall be glad to have this matter 
 finally settled. Oh, no, I don't mean what you 
 do at all. Will you be good enough to come to the 
 library with me, because I should like my father to 
 hear what passes between us ? I won't detain you 
 more than a few minutes, and it is the best way." 
 
 The self-satisfied smile died from Copley's lips. 
 He had not expected a reception like this, and it sur- 
 prised him, too, to see this uncompromising dignity 
 in May's manner. Perhaps she had never been 
 more alluring or more attractive in his eyes than 
 she was at that moment, and he knew, too, with- 
 out any words from her, that he was on the eve 
 of defeat. 
 
 " Very well," he said, " though I don't see why 
 we shouldn't settle it between us. It is our affair." 
 
 May made no reply. She walked into the library, 
 followed by Copley. Sir George turned eagerly as 
 they entered.
 
 236 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " Ah, well ? " he said with an uneasy attempt at 
 playfulness. " I see you have come to an under- 
 standing." 
 
 " I trust so," May said quietly, " though I don't 
 think it is the understanding you anticipate. 
 This is a very hateful position for me, and I would 
 give a good deal to be out of it. But it would 
 be cowardly if I tried to shirk my duty. Mr. Copley 
 has already asked me to be his wife, and I refused 
 him. I do not wish to give him any pain, but I 
 had to put the matter plainly because he is a per- 
 sistent man and not inclined to take ' No ' for an 
 answer. I understand he has come here to-night 
 to renew his offer. Now, Mr. Copley, I have to tell 
 you before my father that what you ask is impos- 
 sible. I am old-fashioned enough to prefer happi- 
 ness to money, and I could not marry a man <wtiom 
 I did not love. I have never liked you, I never 
 could like you, in fact, I hope you won't think me 
 rude when I say that I dislike you exceedingly. 
 Besides, there is something unmanly and cowardly 
 in pursuing a defenceless girl in this way. If you 
 have one spark of proper feeling you will never 
 allude to this topic again. I don't want to appeal 
 to your pride. I think I have said enough." 
 
 Copley said nothing at the moment. He was 
 struggling to obtain the mastery of himself. His 
 face flushed angrily. There was a nasty glitter in 
 his eyes.
 
 A POINT-BLANK REFUSAL 237 
 
 " Does she understand ? " he asked. 
 
 " It is not my fault if she doesn't," Sir George 
 muttered. 
 
 " It is because I do understand," May said, 
 " that I am all the more determined in my refusal."
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 AN EASY FALL 
 
 moment," Copley put in. "If Sir George 
 has explained matters, then, perhaps I 
 can speak freely. Your father is indebted to me 
 I will not say anything about the amount, for that 
 would all be wiped out and we could start on a 
 much better footing if you would only take another 
 view of the case. If you persist " 
 
 ' You can take that for granted," May said. 
 
 " Would you like to think it over ? " Copley 
 suggested. 
 
 " Oh, I have thought it over. I have had all 
 day to think it over. I see you mean to force me 
 to speak more plainly still. You have a hold over 
 my father. He is deeply in your debt. You have 
 lent him a large sum of money, not out of any feeling 
 of friendship or generosity, but simply because 
 you thought you could force me to marry you. Did 
 any one ever hear of such a situation except on 
 the stage ? I know that if I do not change my 
 mind you will visit your displeasure upon my father, 
 you will make it impossible for us to remain at 
 
 28
 
 AN EASY FALL 230, 
 
 Haredale Park any longer. It seems a strange thing 
 that a man should be so lost to all sense of decency 
 as to use weapons like these to compel a girl to 
 marry him. But it hasn't stopped there. My father 
 has told me quite plainly, even brutally, that unless 
 I make this sacrifice I am no longer to consider 
 myself as his daughter. I must go out as if I were 
 a mere underling to earn my own living. Very 
 well; I am ready to do so. No, I don't want 
 words from either of you. My mind is made up, 
 and there is no more to be said." 
 
 May turned away, and left the library with her 
 head held high and a bright colour burning her 
 cheeks. She was very near to tears, but was grateful 
 for the pride which had carried her through this 
 trying interview without the semblance of a break- 
 down. When they were alone Sir George turned 
 to his companion. 
 
 " I wouldn't have believed it," he said apologeti- 
 cally. " I never expected that May would be so 
 disobedient. But you must make allowance for 
 her. I daresay in time " 
 
 " Never," Copley said emphatically. " She means 
 every word she says. If you had half the pluck 
 and grit she has you would never have found your- 
 self in your present position. We have made a 
 mistake, Haredale ; we have gone the wrong way 
 to work. I don't blame you any more than myself, 
 but you may depend upon it that your daughter
 
 240 HARD PRESSED 
 
 will never be my wife. She will keep her word ; 
 she will go out into the world, if necessary, to earn 
 her own living, and I shouldn't wonder if she made 
 a very good one. I must put up with my disap- 
 pointment, I suppose. I would give half I possess 
 to be able to say that your daughter was my wife. 
 But there must be none of these harsh measures, 
 Haredale. Just think what people would say ! 
 We should both be boycotted. The thing would 
 get into the papers and your life wouldn't be worth 
 living. We must find some other way out. Now 
 let us change the subject." 
 
 Sir George was perfectly willing. Despite his 
 selfish obstinacy the interview had been a trial to 
 him, and he was exceedingly glad to get it over. 
 
 " What else have you in your mind ? " he asked. 
 
 " Oh, business, of course. About the Blenheim 
 colt ? I am taking it for granted that you will 
 scratch him. I don't see very well how you 
 can back out. I have made the arrangements 
 with Absalom & Co., and as they have withdrawn 
 their action 'they will expect you to do your part. 
 Now what do you say to letting the colt have a run 
 in the Champion Stakes next week at Mirst Park ? 
 I thought it would be a very good way of getting 
 out. To begin with, the public will be glad to see 
 whether or not their fears are justified, and if the 
 horse cuts up badly, why, then, you can scratch 
 him at once. It would appear absolutely fair and
 
 AN EASY FALL 241 
 
 above board ; in fact, it will be. Or, if you like, you 
 can let it be understood that the horse is not quite 
 fit and that you still have hopes of getting him in 
 fettle for the Derby. Either seems a good scheme.'* 
 
 " I see," Sir George said thoughtfully. " Yes, 
 on the whole, that isn't a bad idea of yours. I 
 shall be glad to get it over, too. I hadn't the 
 slightest intention of sending the colt to Mirst Park, 
 but Raffle reports that he is much fitter to-day, so 
 that there is no reason why I should not adopt 
 your suggestion. There is the chance that people 
 will blame me for taking the risk, but, at the 
 outside, that will be the worst of it. I will talk it 
 over with Raffle in the morning, and let you know 
 definitely." 
 
 Shortly after breakfast next morning Mallow 
 came into the library to hear what his employer 
 had to say. The trainer would hardly believe his 
 ears when Sir George unfolded his plan. He had a 
 score of practical objections to make, but Haredale 
 put them all impatiently aside. 
 
 " Does the colt belong to you or to me ? " 
 he asked. " I have the very best of reasons for what 
 I am going to do. It has always been my policy 
 to take the public into my confidence. I want 
 them to see at Mirst Park exactly what the horse 
 can do. If they like to go on backing him after 
 that it will be their own look-out." 
 
 " But that isn't the point, Sir George," Mallow 
 
 Q
 
 242 HARD PRESSED 
 
 insisted. " The colt is coming on splendidly again. 
 It would be madness to extend him just now, and 
 if he breaks down badly, don't blame me. I'll do 
 my best between now and the day of the race, not 
 because I want to, but because you are my employer 
 and I must obey orders." 
 
 Mallow refused to say more. He closed his 
 mouth obstinately and went back to the stables 
 in a peculiar frame of mind. He had had 
 twenty years of turf experience. There was no 
 cunning wile or deep-laid plot that was not familiar 
 to him and he was wondering what dodge Sir 
 George was up to. Hitherto he had found Sir 
 George Haredale the soul of honour and integrity, 
 but it was one of Mallow's theories that every man 
 had his limits. Besides, no one knew better how 
 critical Sir George's financial affairs were. Of late, 
 too, Sir George had been hand in glove with 
 Raymond Copley, and Mallow hated Copley from 
 the bottom of his heart. In his own phraseology, 
 Copley was a wrong 'un. 
 
 Raffle was past all words when, in the fullness of 
 his heart, Mallow confided in him. Raffle was a 
 keen judge of such matters. He sought an oppor- 
 tunity later in the afternoon of seeing Fielden and 
 telling him what had happened. 
 
 " Is Sir George mad ? " Fielden asked. 
 
 " I don't think so, sir," Raffle replied. " I don't 
 like it at all. Depend upon it, Sir George has got
 
 AN EASY FALL 243 
 
 into a mess over his money matters and has thought 
 out some scheme for putting himself right. Call 
 me a fool if that there Copley isn't at the bottom 
 of the whole thing. He and Sir George have been 
 as thick as thieves lately. They say you can't touch 
 pitch without being defiled. And since those two 
 have been so friendly, Sir George is quite another 
 man. However, unless you like to interfere, I 
 must act upon instructions. I am bound to do 
 as I am told." 
 
 " How could I interfere ? " Fielden asked. 
 
 " Well, sir, the colt rightfully belongs to you. 
 He is as much yours as the coat on your back. 
 I can't see why you should stand quietly by and 
 watch the ruin of one of the finest horses that ever 
 trod the turf." 
 
 " I had forgotten that," Fielden said. " Per- 
 haps, later, I may have something to say, but for 
 the present that must be our secret, Joe. Mallow 
 must carry out his instructions. By the way, what 
 are they ? " 
 
 Something like a grin crossed Raffle's face. 
 
 " Oh, we've got to run him, sir," he said. " We've 
 got to run him and do our best. That there is 
 the faintest chance of his winning Sir George does 
 not believe for a moment. Still, if you refuse to 
 take a hand, I must do as I am told, that's all. 
 Perhaps you will be at Mirst Park yourself on 
 the first day."
 
 244 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " Of course. I am taking one or two of our crocks 
 there. But I must be off, Joe." 
 
 The conversation haunted Fielden. It was with 
 him night and day till the first day of the Mirst 
 Park meeting arrived. He had seen little or no- 
 thing of Phillips for some time, but that morning 
 he had received a telegram asking him to meet 
 Phillips in London early in the afternoon. He 
 gathered from the message that Phillips had some- 
 thing important to say and so he decided to go to 
 town. It would be easy to get back in time to 
 see the end of the afternoon's sport. None of the 
 Haredale Park party was over. Nor had Copley 
 put in an appearance, and Fielden had his time 
 almost to himself. He ran against Raffle in the 
 paddock half an hour or so before the race for the 
 Champion Stakes. There was a queer grin on 
 the old man's face as he suggested that Fielden 
 should go and have a look at the horse. They 
 found the Blenheim colt in his stable looking in 
 much better condition than Fielden had expected. 
 
 " He looks splendid," he said. 
 
 " Ah, he is a bonny colt," Raffle exclaimed with a 
 look of affection in his eyes. " I never saw a better- 
 tempered horse or a more genuine trier. He'll 
 go every inch of the way, and I shouldn't be sur- 
 prised if but we won't talk about that." 
 
 Raffle refused to say more. Moreover, he had 
 the colt to look to, for the race was close at
 
 AN EASY FALL 245 
 
 hand ; so Fielden made his way into the stand, 
 where he could command a good view. Not that 
 he had any interest in the race. It was a foregone 
 conclusion that the Blenheim colt would be beaten 
 and in only one or two instances did he cany any 
 public money. A moment or two later Raffle took 
 up a position by Fielden's side. 
 
 " The colt moves well," said Fielden, looking 
 through his glasses, " and I don't see much signs 
 of staleness, either. Upon my word, if I had any 
 money to spare I'd back him for a trifle myself." 
 
 " You might do worse," Raffle chuckled.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 THE FIVE BASKETS 
 
 'TT^HERE was the usual roar from the ring which 
 A began to die down as the horses were seen 
 fidgeting at the post. Then a murmur arose from 
 the spectators, and the dancing kaleidoscope of 
 colours broke into a thin stream as the field got 
 away to a capital start. They came along all in a 
 cluster round the bend of the course till, presently, 
 there was a hoarse shout from the onlookers and 
 the name of the Blenheim colt was on every lip. 
 The horse hung for a moment or two coming up 
 the straight, then seemed to recover himself and, 
 moving along with a beautifully free and easy stride, 
 caught the leaders a dozen lengths from home and 
 slipped past the post a winner by a short head. 
 
 " What did I tell you ? " Raffle chuckled. " Well, 
 they can't blame me. I was told by Sir George to 
 do the best I could with the horse and- I carried out 
 my instructions to the letter. No, sir, I didn't 
 back him myself. I wasn't quite sure. Besides, 
 Sir George wouldn't have liked it. Between you and 
 me, sir, I don't think he'll be altogether pleased."
 
 THE FIVE BASKETS 247 
 
 Fielden asked no questions. Whatever suspi- 
 cions Raffle had he kept to himself. Fielden glanced 
 at his watch and saw he would just have time to 
 catch a train to town and join Phillips at the ren- 
 dezvous in Covent Garden. He hurried away from 
 the course and caught his train by sheer good luck. 
 
 He wasn't at all easy in his mind. He was 
 inclined to agree with Raffle that there was 
 more than met the eye in this affair and that Sir 
 George had little consideration for the public when 
 he decided to run the colt at Mirst Park. On the 
 face of it, it was a mad thing to do and the fact 
 that the horse had won rendered Sir George's 
 policy all the more inexplicable. There was 
 something sinister, too, in the close friendship which 
 had sprung up between Haredale and Copley. That 
 Copley was an unscrupulous blackguard Fielden 
 knew very well. Possibly this knowledge was not 
 shared by Sir George, but there was no getting 
 over the fact that Haredale's money matters were 
 in a critical state. Better men than Sir George 
 had yielded to temptation. 
 
 Fielden was still debating the matter when he 
 reached town. He turned up at the hotel in Covent 
 Garden where Phillips was awaiting him, it wanting 
 then just ten minutes to three. Phillips was 
 relieved when Fielden came in. 
 
 " I thought you were going to fail me," he said. 
 " I began to think that you had missed your train."
 
 248 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " I very nearly lost it," Fielden laughed. " But 
 why do you want me ? " 
 
 " We shall see that in good time, sir," Phillips 
 said. " In about ten minutes from now we shall 
 begin operations. There is just time to smoke a 
 cigarette before we start. What is the best news 
 from Mirst Park ? I haven't seen a paper yet. Was 
 the Blenheim colt beaten very disgracefully ? " 
 
 " He wasn't beaten at all," Fielden said. " In 
 fact, he won with considerable ease. There was 
 very little trace of staleness about him. But it is 
 early to talk about that. We must wait and see 
 what old Raffle says to-morrow. I should not be 
 surprised if the colt has done himself some serious 
 injury to-day." 
 
 Phillips burst into a hearty laugh. 
 
 " What a joke ! " he cried. " And what a sell 
 it will be for Sir George ! Oh, I know a thing or two, 
 Mr. Fielden. I haven't been moving about with my 
 eyes shut lately. It is very good of your old friend 
 to pull out his horse in public, for the benefit of 
 backers generally, but the man who will be most 
 surprised and most disappointed at the result of 
 to-day's race will be Sir George himself. If there is 
 another man madder than Sir George it will be that 
 scoundrel Copley." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " Fielden asked. 
 
 " Never mind, sir. The least said soonest mended. 
 But if I had ten thousand pounds I'd cheerfully
 
 THE FIVE BASKETS 249 
 
 back my opinion to the last penny that Sir George 
 never hoped for and never expected a victory 
 for the colt. I'll explain all in very good time. 
 Now the sooner we are off the better. We are 
 going to meet a gentleman named Chaffey whom I 
 expect to see in a few minutes not very far from the 
 Post Club on the other side of the street. You 
 remember telling me how Chaffey turned up at 
 Seton Manor, and what he said when he was drunk. 
 I am glad you overheard that, because it solved a 
 point that has been puzzling me for some time. I 
 couldn't for the life of me make out how it was that 
 Jolly & Co. managed to signal the result of the three 
 o'clock race at Mirst Park into the smoking-room 
 of the Post Club. I doubt if I ever should have 
 found out had not Chaffey gone down to Seton 
 Manor and hinted that if he couldn't get what 
 he wanted somebody else might have his job 
 of playing with the fruit baskets in Covent Gar- 
 den. I saw at once that this was connected with 
 the swindle, but for the life of me I couldn't place 
 it. After thinking over it for the best part of a 
 week, I took a stroll through Covent Garden 
 market and finally stood in front of the Post Club 
 trying to piece the puzzle together in my mind. 
 There were a good many men about loading and 
 unloading baskets, and I saw that most of them 
 carried them on their heads. Why, some of these 
 porters can carry as many as eight or nine bushel
 
 250 HARD PRESSED 
 
 baskets on their heads. While I stood watching 
 them an idea flashed into my mind. Look at this 
 copy of to-day's Sportsman. Turn to the probable 
 starters in the three o'clock race, and you will 
 see for yourself that there is a number by the 
 side of every horse. Now most racing men carry 
 a Sportsman. There would be nothing suspicious 
 in a backer pulling the Sportstnan out of his pocket 
 and consulting it at any moment. He might do 
 it in a railway carriage, or on the course, or in a 
 smoking-room, and it wouldn't attract any attention. 
 Unless I am greatly mistaken, I have found the 
 clue to the means by which Copley & Co.'s con- 
 federate has the result of a race at Mirst Park 
 conveyed to him into the smoking-room of the 
 Post Club practically before the horses are past 
 the post. Then, of course, he can make what bets 
 he likes. He is perfectly safe, because he can't 
 lose. But, come along, it is past three and I don't 
 want to lose this chance of verifying my conclusions. 
 Only we must be careful. We must not rouse 
 Charley's suspicions. He must not know that 
 we are even watching him. Close to the Post Club 
 there is a shop where we can procure some cigars 
 and cigarettes and keep our eye upon what is 
 going on. Are you ready ? " 
 
 Fielden was ready and willing, for his curiosity 
 was aflame. When he and his companion reached 
 Covent Garden, they turned into a cigar shop in the
 
 THE FIVE BASKETS 251 
 
 same block of buildings in which the Post Club 
 was situated. A good many customers had to be 
 attended to, so that it was excusable to stand 
 inside the door way and watch what was taking 
 place on the other side of the road. 
 
 The market was practically empty. Business had 
 been finished for the day, and there were only two 
 or three casual porters loafing about waiting on the 
 off-chance for an hour's work. One of them standing 
 by a pile of baskets with hands plunged deeply in 
 his pockets and a pipe in his mouth was Chaffey. 
 
 " No mistake about him ? " Phillips asked. 
 
 " That's the man," Fielden whispered. " I could 
 swear to that expression of his anywhere. But 
 what is he doing there ? He doesn't seem to be 
 particularly busy." 
 
 "He is getting well paid for his job, anyway," 
 Phillips chuckled. "As it is not likely to last long 
 he'll be gone in a few moments. Have you the 
 right time about you ? What do you make it ? 
 Five minutes past three by post office time ? The 
 result ought to be here at any moment. Ah, I 
 thought so. Just keep your eye closely upon 
 Chaffey." 
 
 In his excitement Phillips bent over and grasped 
 his companion's arm. Fielden saw Chaffey suddenly 
 pull himself up and moisten his hands. He touched 
 his ragged cap as if in response to a distant call, then 
 he proceeded to fling five baskets one on the top
 
 252 HARD PRESSED 
 
 of the other and balance them on his head. With 
 this pyramid thus arranged he walked slowly 
 across the market and disappeared down one of the 
 corridors, where he was lost to sight. 
 
 " What on earth does it mean ? " Fielden asked. 
 
 " Oh, that's the signal," Phillips explained. " The 
 result has just come into the office of Jolly & Co. 
 on the private telephone wire from The Nook 
 at Mirst Park. The supposed Mr. Jolly stands near 
 the window with the telephone receiver to his ear 
 ready to flash the signal across the street. Now 
 you understand why the flex of the telephone is so 
 long. Before the horse is past the post the man on 
 the top of the house at Mirst Park sends the num- 
 ber, and Jolly & Co. signal it to Chaffey. Then 
 Chaffey simply puts five or other number of baskets 
 on his head, and the confederate in the Post Club 
 has the result. Mind you, this could be done within 
 five seconds of the race being settled. Now take 
 this Sportsman and I'll eat my hat if the winner of 
 the three o'clock race at Mirst Park isn't number 
 five on the programme." 
 
 When the result was published Phillips proved 
 to be correct.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV 
 NO. 5 
 
 THAT'S it," Phillips exclaimed. "I think 
 we've got it right at last. We know by 
 the evening paper that Dandy won the Longhill 
 Handicap, which was the three o'clock race at 
 Mirst Park to-day. We also know that Dandy is 
 No. 5 on the Sportsman list, all of which goes to 
 prove our case. It is a smart bit of business, isn't 
 it?" 
 
 " Exceedingly smart," Fielden said, " and, to 
 some extent, risky. Whoever sends the message 
 from Mirst Park is certainly a very good judge of 
 racing. That telephone signal must have been 
 started before the horse was past the post." 
 
 " Oh, I don't know," Phillips argued. " In a 
 very tight race they would have to wait to see what 
 the judge had to say. But I am sure that either of 
 us could spot the winner in ninety-nine cases out 
 of a hundred within fifty lengths of the post. There- 
 fore, the result would be known in London and 
 signalled into the Post Club practically at the same 
 instant that the race was over. I think we shall 
 know how to deal with Mr. Copley now." 
 
 263
 
 254 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " What are you going to do ? " Fielden asked. 
 ' That depends upon circumstances. I don't 
 mind telling you, when I first came home and found 
 Copley in an apparently good position, I intended 
 to make money out of him. I didn't feel so keen 
 upon revenge as I used to feel. It would have been 
 no great satisfaction to me to get him ten years on 
 the Breakwater, and, besides, I should have had to 
 go out to the Cape and waste several months there. 
 That is why I decided to hit him through his pocket. 
 But I had to be careful, because I had a dangerous 
 man to deal with and I didn't relish the idea of a 
 prosecution for blackmail. That is one of the 
 reasons why I went into this business. When I 
 speak, I shall lay Copley by the heels without 
 taking any trouble and probably without appear- 
 ing in the matter. I shall have the satisfaction of 
 sending him to gaol, and I shan't have to go out of 
 the country at all." 
 
 " You can't make anything out of this," Fielden 
 reminded him. 
 
 " Of course not. If I were to go to Copley to- 
 day and tell him what I had discovered he would 
 give me a few thousand pounds to keep my mouth 
 shut and, sooner or later, when the dodge is found 
 out, as it must be, I should figure in the dock with 
 the others. It is too dangerous a game. Still, when 
 I come to think of it, sir, you are somewhat in my 
 debt."
 
 NO. 5 255 
 
 " Perhaps I am," Fielden admitted. " But I 
 don't see what special favour you have done me " 
 
 " By getting rid of Raymond Copley," Phillips 
 smiled. " I couldn't have served you better. We 
 shall have him out of the way anyhow. Later, when 
 you find yourself in a good position again, I will ask 
 you to give me a responsible post in your stables. Oh, 
 it will all come right, sir. You ought to win a big 
 stake over the Derby, if you play your cards right, 
 and the Blenheim colt will be worth a small for- 
 tune." 
 
 " What have I to do with the horse ? " Fielden 
 asked. 
 
 " I know all about that, sir," Phillips said cheer- 
 fully. " Never mind where I had my informa- 
 tion. I am half a gipsy and my mother's tribe 
 pick up news from all sorts of unlikely quarters. A 
 lad who used to be in your stables told me the story. 
 Nobody else would have believed him but me. I 
 can give you chapter and verse if you like, but that 
 would only be wasting time, and I can guess what 
 Copley's game is, too. See if I don't prove to be a 
 true prophet. The Blenheim colt will be sure to 
 show signs of to-day's race ; indeed, he is a marvel 
 if he does any good during the rest of his career as 
 a three-year-old. But, then, the horse is a marvel. 
 Still, very few of us know that, and we shall be able 
 to back him for the Derby at our own price within 
 the next few days. I will stick on the horse every
 
 256 HARD PRESSED 
 
 farthing I can rake together. If I could only get a 
 couple of thousand pounds I could make a fortune. 
 And you ought to make a fortune, too. Vou 
 told me that you could find that sum, if neces- 
 sary, and seeing that you have it in your power to 
 prevent the Blenheim colt from being scratched 
 you will be flying in the face of Providence if you 
 turn your back on a chance like this." 
 
 Fielden looked at his companion in some perplexity. 
 He was astonished to find that Phillips knew so 
 much. Whence did the man derive his informa- 
 tion ? But there never was a gipsy yet who was 
 not fond of a horse. The various clans roam all 
 over the country, and very little that is going on 
 escapes their sharp black eyes and there is, besides, 
 a sort of freemasonry amongst them. But it mattered 
 little whence Phillips's information came, for he had 
 certainly got it. He was correct in every detail, too, 
 and for the first time Fielden began to see his way. 
 He could lay his hands upon a couple of thousand 
 pounds, and before the week was out he knew that 
 the Blenheim colt would be at any price in the 
 market that a backer needed. Two thousand pounds 
 in itself was not much to lose. It would leave him 
 only a little worse off than he was at present. On 
 the other hand, it might bring him in enough to start 
 life again as a rich man. He was thinking of May 
 Haredale and all the brilliant possibilities in that 
 quarter. He could stop this vile conspiracy. It
 
 NO. 5 257 
 
 was for him to say what the future of the Blenheim 
 colt was, and he could do this without arousing any 
 gossip or giving the public any chance for spicy 
 scandal. When the right moment came he could go 
 to Sir George and inform him that he had no control 
 whatever over the colt. Sir George might bluster and 
 Copley might threaten, but their threats would be 
 in vain. In the long run Sir George would benefit 
 and May would be free from the persecutions of a 
 scoundrel and Fielden would be in a position to 
 offer her a luxurious home. He had learnt his 
 lesson, too. He was no longer the careless and 
 extravagant youth who had left England more or 
 less under a cloud. 
 
 He was aroused from his reverie by questions 
 from Phillips. 
 
 " Really, I beg pardon," he said, " but, for the 
 moment, I was thinking about something else." 
 
 " Oh, I understand that," Phillips said with a dry 
 smile. " But we haven't finished. Our case is not 
 complete. We must know whether there is any big 
 wagering on the three o'clock race this afternoon in 
 the Post Club. To get my facts I have brought 
 Major Garden over here on purpose. I have paid 
 his expenses to and from Germany, and I understand 
 he wishes to return to-night, if possible. Let's go 
 on to our hotel and wait for him. But I must tell 
 you that Garden knows nothing. He thinks I have 
 some deep scheme on for making money and so long 
 
 R
 
 258 HARD PRESSED 
 
 as I pay him for his information he is satisfied. You 
 had better leave all questions to me." 
 
 Fielden was willing enough to do so. To some 
 degree he was not pleased to be mixed up in this 
 business, though it gave him a hold over Copley. 
 They had hardly reached their hotel before the 
 Major came in. He made no objection to Phillips's 
 offer of refreshment. They talked for a few minutes 
 on indifferent topics and then Phillips went to the 
 point. 
 
 " I suppose you've got my cheque," he said, " or 
 you would not have been here to-day. I hope it 
 wasn't inconvenient." 
 
 " It was devilish inconvenient," the Major said 
 in his florid way. " But as you are willing to pay 
 I don't mind. Now I am ready to give you all 
 the information you need. Please don't be long 
 because I have a train to catch before five." 
 
 " Then we needn't waste more time," Phillips 
 said. " I suppose you were in the Post Club all 
 the afternoon." 
 
 " My dear sir, I lunched there and I've only 
 just come away. I left a lot of people there. 
 Rickerby was there, with three or four more of the 
 gilded plungers, including Selwyn. As to the first 
 and second race " 
 
 " Oh, hang the first and second race," Phillips 
 cried impatiently. " It is the three o'clock race 
 at Mirst Park that I am interested in. Was there
 
 NO. 5 259 
 
 any heavy wagering going on, and can you tell me 
 who was betting ? That's all I want to know." 
 
 The Major went into detail. There had been a 
 certain amount of business over the three o'clock 
 race, but sundry heavy wagers had been deferred 
 almost to the last moment. A large amount of 
 chaff had gone on between one particular plunger 
 and Selwyn and his satellites over a horse called 
 the Dandy. Dandy had been a rank outsider and 
 had only cropped up in the betting at the eleventh 
 hour, so to speak. A quarter of an hour before the 
 race there had been no takers. Then the argument 
 grew more heated and finally Selwyn had laid 
 several wagers against Dandy at a thousand to 
 thirty. All this had taken place, so far as the 
 Major could guess, whilst the race was in progress. 
 There was something like consternation amongst 
 the bookmakers when the news came that Dandy 
 had won the Longhill Handicap by three lengths. 
 Altogether it had been a dramatic afternoon. 
 
 " And that's about all I can tell you," the Major 
 concluded. " If you want me again, give me more 
 notice, please. I really must be going." 
 
 He took up his hat and swaggered from the room, 
 leaving Phillips apparently very well pleased. 
 
 "Our case is complete," he said " The rest is in 
 your hands."
 
 CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 A POISONOUS ATMOSPHERE 
 
 IT is impossible for a man to change the habits of 
 a lifetime, especially when he has reached the 
 age to which Sir George Haredale had attained. He 
 tried hard to justify himself in his present embroil- 
 ment. He juggled with his conscience, but the 
 ways of the transgressor are hard, and the master 
 of Haredale Park was having anything but a good 
 time. He knew that he was doing wrong, that he 
 was about to commit something in the shape of a 
 crime. When a man has pledged himself to this 
 kind of thing, it is marvellous how circumstances 
 combine to help him. 
 
 On the face of it things were not going well. The 
 victory of the Blenheim colt in the Champion 
 Stakes was a blow to him. He had expected the 
 colt to lose, thereby giving him occasion to scratch it. 
 If this had turned out as he had expected, he would 
 have been the object of popular sympathy and his 
 reputation as a sportsman and an honourable man 
 would have been enhanced. But to his surprise and 
 
 vexation, the colt had proved his sterling worth 
 
 in
 
 A POISONOUS ATMOSPHERE 261 
 
 and within the last few hours the public had estab- 
 lished him more firmly than ever in the betting. 
 There was always the chance, of course, that the 
 race would leave its mark on the colt and that some 
 ill effects might supervene, in which case the 
 original programme could be carried out without 
 exciting the suspicions of the many-headed. 
 
 This was precisely what did happen. Three days 
 later Mallow came into his employer's study with a 
 long face and the information that the colt's lack of 
 condition was rather more manifest than before. 
 For once in a way Mallow was not polite and forgot 
 the respect due to his master. 
 
 " It's just as I told you, Sir George," he exclaimed. 
 " The colt's been ruined. I don't say it isn't possible 
 to get him fit in time for the Derby, because he's a 
 wonder. But if you had tried to ruin the horse you 
 couldn't have gone about it in a better way. I can 
 almost cry when I think of it." 
 
 " You are forgetting yourself, Mallow," Sir George 
 said. 
 
 " Oh, maybe I am, sir, maybe I am. I have 
 been dealing with fools and knaves all my lifetime, 
 and I ought to be accustomed to them by now. I 
 feel as if I had been a party to cutting that colt's 
 throat. You don't deserve to have a horse like that 
 in your stable ; you don't deserve to win another 
 race as long as you live." 
 
 Sir George was vastly indignant. He wanted to
 
 262 HARD PRESSED 
 
 know if Mallow realized whom he was talking to. 
 But Mallow was in no mood for politeness and told 
 his employer a few home truths. He sketched 
 graphically what the better-class sportsmen would 
 say when they realized what had happened. It was 
 useless to be angry, all the more so because he 
 knew that every word Mallow spoke was true. 
 On the spur of the moment he had intended to 
 give Mallow instructions to have the horse struck 
 out of all his three-year engagements, but looking 
 his irate servant in the face he lacked the pluck to 
 do so. So he proceeded to compromise. 
 
 " At the worst," he said with some dignity, " it 
 was only an error in judgment. If you can 
 get the colt fit again before the Derby the public 
 will have no grievance against me. They will win 
 their money and that's. all they care about." 
 
 Mallow appeared to be somewhat mollified. 
 " Then things are to go on as they are, Sir George ? " 
 he asked. " There has been a lot of mischief done, 
 but it is not yet too late. But it is no use crying 
 over spilt milk." 
 
 This was going rather too far and too fast. Sir 
 George's fears were aroused again. 
 
 " Your instructions are not quite indefinite," he 
 corrected. " We will let the matter stand over for 
 a week. At the end of that time we will see the 
 colt's condition. If there is no material change 
 for the better, then I must scratch him. "
 
 A POISONOUS ATMOSPHERE 263 
 
 With this perforce Mallow had to remain 
 content and went out muttering to himself. He 
 wanted to know what Sir George was driving at 
 and what this new policy meant. The trainer had 
 a shrewd idea, though he hardly dared to whisper 
 it even to himself. Still, a week was a week, and 
 much might be done in that time. Besides, if 
 necessary, he knew Raffle had a great card to 
 play. For some reason or other Sir George wanted 
 the colt scratched and Mallow had no difficulty in 
 laying this somewhat shady diplomacy on the 
 shoulders of Raymond Copley. 
 
 Meanwhile, the week drifted on and things re- 
 mained in much the same position at Haredale 
 Park. Sir George had said nothing more to his 
 daughter, neither had she alluded to the detestable 
 topic. But she was ready to take a step which 
 would have considerably alarmed her father had 
 he known of it. Copley was away on business. He 
 came back on Saturday and made his way across 
 to Haredale Park after dinner. In the drawing- 
 room he was coldly informed that Sir George was in 
 the library. He appeared to take this curt dismissal 
 in good part and went off in search of Sir George 
 whom he found sitting moodily over the fire. 
 
 " Where have you been lately ? " the Baronet 
 asked. 
 
 " Oh, my dear sir," Copley explained, " you 
 forget that I have my business to look after. I
 
 264 HARD PRESSED 
 
 have been exceedingly busy. When things take a 
 turn for the better that is the time to follow your 
 fortune closely. During the last few days I have 
 been making money with both hands." 
 
 It appeared to be no idle boast, for Copley was 
 looking less gloomy than usual. Fortune was 
 smiling upon him again. He and his confederates 
 had had a rare haul over the Longhill Handicap. 
 They were in funds, and unless things went very 
 wrong indeed by the time the Derby was over they 
 would be all rich men. But Sir George guessed 
 nothing of this. He was only sorry to think that 
 May should be so obstinate in refusing to take her 
 share in the spending- of these phenomenal riches. 
 
 " I am exceedingly glad to hear it," he said. 
 
 " Oh, thank you very much. You see, fortune 
 cuts all round. What's good for me is good for you. 
 In the first place, you can make your mind easy 
 about that affair of Absalom & Co., because they 
 won't trouble you any more. After the Derby we 
 need not worry ourselves as to money matters. 
 That brings me to my reason for coming here this 
 evening. I understand that the colt has broken 
 down permanently. From what I see in the 
 papers there is not the remotest chance of his 
 winning a race as a three-year old." 
 
 " It looks like it," Sir George answered. " At 
 the same time, Mallow doesn't share my opinion. 
 He is very obstinate."
 
 A POISONOUS ATMOSPHERE 265 
 
 " Oh, what the devil does it matter what he says 
 or thinks ? " Copley said impatiently. "He is 
 only a servant. Surely you can do what you 
 like with your own. Besides, in this matter the 
 opinion of the whole racing world will sustain 
 you. At the worst people can only say that 
 you have made an error in judgment. The Press 
 recognizes that you have acted like a good fellow 
 and a sportsman in running this risk simply with 
 the object of taking the public into your con- 
 fidence. They don't know, of course, that you don't 
 want the horse to win, nor what a surprise the Mirst 
 Park victory was to you. And on the top of that 
 they tumble over one another to back the colt, and 
 if he doesn't start at all they are to blame. Still, 
 it has been a good thing for me. I have laid against 
 your animal thick and thin and after the Derby is 
 over I shan't need to do any more work." 
 
 Sir George made no reply. He sat gazing 
 dubiously into the fire. Looking back at the 
 course of events, he could hardly see how he had 
 got himself into this mess. He ought to have 
 refused to listen to Copley, and should have sup- 
 ported the opinion of such a sound judge as Raffle. 
 Besides, he had never won a Derby in his racing 
 career, and it seemed to him that he was wasting a 
 splendid chance. But it was too late to repent, too 
 late to draw back, and all Sir George could hope 
 was that no one would ever have an inkling of his
 
 266 HARD PRESSED 
 
 shame. He did not know, neither did Copley, 
 that May was standing in the doorway. She had 
 come in for something she required. Her evening 
 shoes had made no sound on the thick carpets, and 
 she had heard every word that was said. Not 
 *hat she intended to play the eavesdropper. But 
 one remark of Copley's had fascinated her and 
 she stood as if rooted to the spot. 
 
 She knew her ears did not deceive her. She 
 had been brought up all her life in an atmosphere 
 of racing. She knew almost as much about it as 
 Raffle himself. The thing was plain and a wave 
 of shame and humiliation rushed over the girl as 
 she stood there drinking in every word. 
 
 She could not blind herself to the truth. She 
 could not get away from the fact that her father 
 was a conscious participant in a disgraceful 
 action. It mattered little that her father was in 
 Copley's hands, or that Copley had suggested 
 the whole thing. The shock was none the less 
 painful. It seemed incredible that a man in 
 Sir George's position should stoop so low as this. 
 These plots had happened before and no one had 
 spoken of them with greater contempt than had 
 Sir George. Now was he self-confessed as a principal 
 in one of the shadiest of them all. 
 
 May stole away. For a moment she had been 
 on the point of an outburst. But perhaps it would 
 be better to wait and speak to her father quietly
 
 A POISONOUS ATMOSPHERE 267 
 
 later, to try to find some means of averting this 
 dreadful dishonour. 
 
 " I cannot stay here," she murmured. " The 
 atmosphere poisons me. I must get away, I must 
 get away."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 FIELDEN INTERVENES 
 
 MAY went quietly back to the drawing-room. 
 There was nothing in her face to indicate 
 what she was suffering. For a time she sat gazing 
 into the fire, watching Alice Garden who sat oppo- 
 site her engrossed in a book. At the end of half 
 an hour May had made up her mind what to do, 
 and when Alice laid her volume aside, she began 
 to speak. 
 
 " How long is your father likely to be away ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " Oh, for two months, I suppose," Alice said. 
 " But I may find him at home when I go back next 
 week." 
 
 " T hope not," May answered, " because I have a 
 plan to suggest to you. I wonder if you would mind 
 my coming with you ? I suppose you could get 
 me a bedroom in your house. I should like to pay 
 for myself. Could it be managed, do you think ? " 
 
 "It would be delightful," Alice cried. "But 
 why do you want to leave this beautiful house ? 
 What will Sir George say when he hears of it ? "
 
 FIELDEN INTERVENES 269 
 
 " He mustn't hear it," May whispered. " We 
 have always been very good friends, Alice, and you 
 can help me now if you will. I am going to confide 
 in you and you must not whisper a word of it to a 
 soul. So long as your father is away I shall be safe 
 with you, and as he may not be back for some weeks 
 I will have time to turn-round. I must go away, I 
 cannot stay here any longer. Something has hap- 
 pened which compels me to get my own living." 
 
 " Oh, impossible ! " Alice cried. 
 
 " My dear, don't you know that it is the unex- 
 pected that happens ? Well, in my case, it has- 
 If anybody had told me this a couple of months 
 ago I should have laughed the idea to scorn. It 
 would have been incredible that my father should 
 threaten to turn me out of the house. Hitherto 
 we have been the best of friends, and I have re- 
 garded him as one of the most upright and most 
 honourable of men. I have always prided myself 
 upon the fact that nothing could rob us of our good 
 name ; but I was mistaken, Alice. Actually this place 
 does not belong to us at all. My father is a mere 
 lodger, dependent upon the good will of Mr. Raymond 
 Copley, who can turn us out at any moment. More- 
 over, he has compelled my father to do a thing 
 that I blush to mention. Do you know why Mr- 
 Copley has brought all this about ? " 
 
 " I think I can guess," Alice said. " He is 
 anxious to marry you. Am I not right ? "
 
 270 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " You have guessed it," May exclaimed. " You 
 have saved me the humiliation of telling you that. 
 Mr. Copley can't say he has bought me. But he 
 has bought my father, and it comes to this, that 
 unless I consent to be Raymond Copley's wife I am 
 to consider this my home no longer. These were 
 my father's very words. I suppose he chose them 
 because they sounded best. But it is as if he had 
 told me to go. I couldn't marry that man ; 
 nothing would induce me to do so. There is 
 worse behind there is a conspiracy on foot which I 
 overheard in the library just now. You must not 
 ask me to tell you what it is. My tongue would 
 refuse to tell it. Well, it is the last straw. I 
 couldn't be more miserable than I have been the 
 last week or so. I cannot stay any longer. I have 
 little or no money, but I have my mother's jewels 
 which ought to fetch at least a thousand pounds. 
 I propose to go to London and look about for some- 
 thing to do. I want to come to you because we are 
 such friends, and because I know you will sympathize 
 with me. We can live very cheaply together and 
 I will pay you for all I have, and "before your father 
 returns I shall probably have found work. You 
 won't refuse, will you ? " 
 
 " How can you think such a thing ? " Alice said 
 reproachfully. " There is nothing I would not do 
 for you, and I know we shall be perfectly happy 
 together. It would be worse than death to marry
 
 FIELDEN INTERVENES 271 
 
 a man like Mr. Copley. I don't know why it is, 
 but from the very first moment I saw him I hated 
 him. I think he has such a cruel face. His mouth 
 is so hard and his eyes are dreadful. But when do 
 you want to go ? When will you be ready to 
 start ? " 
 
 " Didn't you say you must be back in town on 
 Tuesday ? Didn't you say something about your 
 pupils ? Well, suppose you go up on that day and 
 I follow you on Wednesday. It would arouse, 
 suspicion for us both to go at the same tune, and 
 indeed I would ask you to stay longer only I can't 
 breathe here. Knowing what I do, it is hateful to 
 have to sit down to the same table with my father. 
 I daresay I shall come to forgive him in time, but 
 for the present it is beyond my strength. Mr. 
 Copley is always about the house. Do try to 
 make it Tuesday if you can. It seems so horrid of 
 me " 
 
 Alice rose from her seat and kissed the speaker 
 affectionately. 
 
 " I won't hear another word," she said. " It is 
 not in the least horrid of you. I will gladly do 
 all I can to help you." 
 
 Tuesday came at length and Alice Garden went 
 away, leaving May to her own melancholy thoughts. 
 She had not seen Harry Fielden for a few days 
 and was thankful he had not been near her. It 
 would be hard parting from him. It would be
 
 272 HARD PRESSED 
 
 difficult to say good-bye without betraying herself 
 or giving him some inkling of what had happened. 
 After lunch on Wednesday she stole out of the house 
 and walked to the station. She had sent on her 
 luggage by Alice Garden the day before, so that 
 when she left for London it might seem that she 
 was only going for a casual visit. She would not 
 mind the new life, so she thought, and she hardened 
 her heart as she looked out of the carriage window. 
 But, all the same, she was glad to find herseH 
 alone, for the tears would come and the old familial 
 landscape grew dim and blurred. 
 
 What would they say, she wondered, when they 
 knew. What would Harry Fielden think ? But, 
 at that very moment, Harry Fielden had some- 
 thing else to occupy his attention. He was walking 
 across the Downs towards Haredale Park with Raffle, 
 and the latter was speaking his mind very freely. 
 
 " I won't be quiet, sir, and I won't keep my mouth 
 shut," he said. " I tell you, Mr. Harry, it is a foul 
 conspiracy and there are no two ways about it. 
 Sir George gave Mallow a week to try to pull the colt 
 round, and he says, says he, ' Mallow, if he's no 
 better by that time, he's to be scratched.' Those 
 were the instructions and Sir George confirmed them 
 this morning. Now I am not going to say that 
 the colt is much better, but I am prepared to pledge 
 my reputation, and it is worth something, that I'll 
 get him fit in a month. The whole thing has been
 
 FIELDEN INTERVENES 273 
 
 arranged between Sir George and that man Copley, 
 so that the horse can be scratched for the Derby. 
 The public are to believe that Sir George has been 
 unfortunate, but has played the game like a gentle- 
 man and a sportsman. Well, you may have what 
 opinion you like, but I know better. Mind you, if I 
 didn't know what I know I should have to put up with 
 it and hold my tongue, because I am only a servant 
 and no one can blame me for obeying my orders. 
 But I have been making inquiries, and I find that 
 Copley and his gang have been laying thick and thin 
 against the colt for the past week. Do you mean 
 to tell me they could know the colt would be 
 scratched if they hadn't got Sir George in their 
 power ? " 
 
 " What do you want me to do ?" Fielden asked. 
 
 A bitter smile crossed the old man's face. 
 
 " I shouldn't have thought you'd ask what you 
 were to do, sir," he said. " But I'm not going to 
 stand it. I'm not going to sit down quietly and 
 see this game going on. I daresay you think it 
 will be bad for Miss May if this thing comes out. 
 But bless you ! if you go the right way to work 
 nothing will leak out. The colt mustn't be 
 scratched. You leave him where he is and he's 
 certain to win the Derby. You are the very man 
 to step in and stop the game. Let Sir George know 
 what your power is. Let Copley see that he's got 
 a gentleman to deal with. It will ruin Copley and 
 
 s
 
 274 HARD PRESSED 
 
 his mob, but that doesn't matter. They are a fine 
 set of thieves, if you ask me, sir, and I shouldn't 
 mind telling Copley so. Now I would like to hear 
 your opinion." 
 
 Fielden had no particular opinion to offer. At 
 the same time, he had information in his possession 
 which would have astonished Raffle if he could only 
 have seen into the mind of his old master. Press- 
 ing as the matter was, it was not possible to act on 
 the spur of the moment, and Fielden contented him- 
 self by saying he would think over the matter. 
 
 " But you can't do it, sir," Raffle protested. 
 " There's no time to waste like that. The colt has 
 to be scratched and maybe a telegram's already 
 gone to London to that effect. The mischief may 
 be done." 
 
 " By Jove, I hadn't thought of that," Fielden 
 exclaimed. " All right, Joe, it will be a most un- 
 pleasant piece of business, but I see now that it must 
 not be put off any longer. I'll go straight over to 
 Haredale Park and see Sir George at once." 
 
 Sir George was in his library. He had given 
 instructions to the butler to deny him to every one. 
 In fact, he was seated by the library fire reading a 
 letter which May had left for him. She had not 
 minced matters. She had gone away for reasons 
 well known to him, she said, and her address mat- 
 tered nothing to anybody. Sir George was look- 
 ing particularly old and grey and troubled as Fielden
 
 FIELDEN INTERVENES 275 
 
 thrust his way past the butler and entered the library. 
 Sir George's manner was not encouraging, and he 
 curtly demanded to know the meaning of this 
 intrusion. 
 
 " I am sorry," Fielden said, " but my business 
 would not wait. Am I to understand that you have 
 struck the Blenheim colt out of the Derby ? Is it 
 done ? " 
 
 " It's not done yet," Sir George said indignantly, 
 " but it will be done this afternoon. Perhaps you 
 have some objection to make. Perhaps you would 
 like to forbid it ? " 
 
 " I do and must," Fielden said quietly. " The 
 horse does not belong to you at all. He happens 
 to be mine."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 
 
 SIR GEORGE HAREDALE pulled himself to- 
 gether. 
 
 " You will excuse me," he said, " but I don't 
 follow you. I have had much trouble and worry 
 lately and I am not myself this morning. Did 
 you say that the Blenheim colt belonged to you? 
 If this is a joke I cannot say I admire it." 
 
 " I assure you I was never more serious in my 
 life, Sir George," Fielden protested. " I know what 
 I say sounds extraordinary. The Blenheim colt 
 belongs to me ; it was never yours at all ; in 
 fact, it is not even entered in this year's Derby in 
 your name. I have been making inquiries, and 
 this is a literal fact. I have derived my information 
 from headquarters. The conditions, monetary and 
 otherwise, have been complied with ' 
 
 " I don't doubt it for a moment," Sir George 
 exclaimed. " But what has all this to do with 
 me ? When you went abroad I bought every 
 animal you possessed." 
 
 f I don't think so, Sir George. One or two 
 
 N
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 277 
 
 were kept back ; Raffle did so on his own respon- 
 sibility. My solicitors have the papers and receipts, 
 so that it is possible to earmark your exact pur- 
 chases. I may tell you, however, that until I came 
 here, I had no notion of this singular business. 
 It appears that I forgot to advise my bankers before 
 I left England and that, even up to the present 
 moment, they are meeting my racing obligations 
 out of the surplus moneys paid into my account. 
 Now according to what Raffle says, your colt, I 
 mean your entry for this year's Derby, was disposed 
 of long ago. My colt Raffle kept for sentimental 
 reasons and, for the last two years, he has been 
 trained with your horses. Raffle has always 
 declared that some day he would do something 
 great with one of the Blenheim blood. When he 
 found out how good a thing he had he was 
 almost frightened. He was on the point of con- 
 fessing to you several times, but when he heard 
 that I was dead he decided to let matters slide. 
 Raffle has a vein of sentiment in his nature and, I 
 suppose, the romance of the thing appealed to him. 
 Besides, he knew that you were a friend of mine 
 and that May was more than a friend. He is very 
 fond of your daughter, hi which he shows his good 
 taste. So the foolish old man resolved to keep 
 the secret to himself. He had transferred his 
 allegiance to you and yours and had set his heart 
 upon restoring your family fortunes ; in reality
 
 278 HARD PRESSED 
 
 he was giving May a comfortable and settled 
 future. He didn't want the money for himself. 
 He was satisfied to feel that he was repaying 
 the kindness he had had at your hands. From 
 a lofty moral point of view the thing may be 
 open to censure, but what I am able to prove I 
 say through my lawyers, through my bankers, 
 through Raffle himself, and through other witnesses 
 whom we can produce. Of course I am in your 
 debt for training expenses, but that, at the moment, 
 is beside the point. The point is that the Blenheim 
 colt which, bar accidents, is certain to win this 
 
 year's Derby, as you are perfectly well aware 
 f 
 
 " I am not so sure of that," Sir George inter- 
 rupted. " If I am to believe what Raffle says 
 
 " We will come to that," Fielden went on. " I 
 think otherwise. The horse has been knocked 
 about in the betting a good deal lately and I am 
 told that he has gone to an outside price again. I 
 have managed to scrape together about two thou- 
 sand pounds, every penny of which I have put upon 
 the colt. I had made up my mind never to make 
 another bet, but this opportunity is too good to be 
 lost. If this horse wins the Derby, then I shall be 
 a rich man again. If that good fortune is in store 
 for me, it will be the last bet I shall ever make. 
 And now, you understand why, apart from the 
 morality of the thing, I object to the horse being
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 279 
 
 scratched. In fact, you are not in a position to do 
 so." 
 
 Sir George rubbed his head bewilderingly. 
 
 " Please say it all over again," he asked. " I know 
 you mean everything you say, I know you are not 
 joking with me, but I can't understand it." 
 
 Fielden went over his points once more slowly 
 and carefully, and then, at last, Sir George began 
 to see. He did not fail to grasp his own position, 
 either. He knew the peril in which he stood, 
 unless he could persuade Fielden to fall in with his 
 plans. But Fielden had told him he had backed 
 the colt for all he was worth, and he was not 
 likely to ruin himself merely to save an old man 
 from the result of his folly. Besides, this would en- 
 tail a shameful confession, for Sir George was not 
 aware that Fielden had an intelligent view of the 
 situation. 
 
 " This is very awkward," he remarked. 
 
 " I don't see why it should be," Fielden said 
 coolly. ' You can make a fortune, too. You 
 have backed the horse heavily, and nothing in the 
 race has any chance of beating him. I must con- 
 sider myself. I have learnt the folly of sacrific- 
 ing myself to my friends. In this affair I have some 
 one to think about besides myself. May " 
 
 " May ! What has she to do with it ? " 
 
 Fielden hesitated. He hated to give anybody 
 pain, but the time had come to speak plainly.
 
 2 8o HARD PRESSED 
 
 " She has a great deal to do with it," he said. 
 " Whatever disgrace falls upon you cannot affect 
 her good name. But, at the same time, I strongly 
 object to any one being able to say that my future 
 wife's father had been warned off the turf for 
 malpractices." 
 
 " Malpractices ! " Sir George cried. " My dear 
 Fielden, you are forgetting yourself. Explain, 
 please." 
 
 " I had much rather not," Fielden said. " But 
 since you force me to speak, I must go on. I 
 happen to know a good deal about Mr. Raymond 
 Copley. I know you are deeply in his debt. I 
 know that he helped you, because he hoped thereby 
 to compel you to coerce May into a marriage with 
 him. I am given to understand that you have 
 done your best. I beg of you, Sir George, not to 
 interrupt me. You have challenged me and I 
 have a right to state my case. Copley is a scoundrel 
 I knew something about him in South Africa, though 
 we never met. But he was in constant contact 
 with a sort of partner of mine named Aaron Phillips. 
 Phillips and I contrived to get an option on a 
 diamond mine and, but for unforeseen circumstances, 
 we should have made a fortune out of it. But the 
 locality was kept a secret. The only man who knew 
 where it was died and we had nothing but some 
 plans to go on. Copley and Foster heard of this 
 and resolved to get hold of those plans. The plans
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 281 
 
 have vanished and probably will never be seen again. 
 Then these two ruffians tried to murder Phillips. 
 Indirectly they nearly murdered me. Phillips came 
 back to England and sought me out. If he though 4 
 it worth while he could put the police on the trad 
 of Copley and Foster and they would be certai . 
 of penal servitude. But Phillips has other views. 
 He has been following up these two men like a sleuth- 
 hound and you may take my word for it that within 
 a few days both Copley and Foster will be arrested 
 in connection with one of the biggest turf frauds of 
 recent years. Oh, I know what I am talking 
 about." 
 
 " Bless me ! " Sir George cried, " is this true ? " 
 " Absolutely. I know about the whole thing. 
 I know how the scheme has been worked and could 
 put my hand upon the confederates at the present 
 moment. But you will see for yourself before 
 the week is out. You must not say a word of this 
 to a living soul, and if you meet Copley during the 
 next day or two I will ask you to behave towards 
 him as if he were still a friend. Now you see the 
 kind of man who has you in his toils. Simply 
 because Copley has a powerful hold on you, you 
 have promised to draw the pen through the name 
 of the Blenheim colt. I won't unduly blame you, 
 Sir George ; no man knows how weak he is till he 
 is face to face with a great trouble and a great 
 temptation. Was not that the situation ? Copley
 
 282 HARD PRESSED 
 
 is in a position to turn you out of H^redale Park. 
 He offers to cancel the debt if you will scratch the 
 colt. At that moment the colt falls providentially 
 lame. You can oblige him without a soul being 
 any the wiser, and even gain popular applause over 
 it, and make a fortune out of it by working it the 
 right way." 
 
 " Not a penny," Sir George said emphatically. 
 
 " Well, I am glad to hear you say that. At the 
 same time, I can't forget what you were willing to 
 do. At any rate, I am preventing you from some- 
 thing in the nature of a crime. You can't inter- 
 fere with my property, but you can refuse to 
 cany out what Copley desires and defy him to do 
 his worst. You are safe from him, and in future 
 your daughter will have no occasion to be ashamed 
 of you."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 LOOSENING THE GRIP 
 
 FIELDEN'S last thrust went home. Sir George 
 fairly winced and the red of shame flushed 
 his face. Never in the course of his life had any- 
 body ever spoken to him like this before. And 
 never did he feel less able to resist the reproach. 
 
 "' You are going too far," was all he could say. 
 
 " Indeed, I have no wish to," Fielden exclaimed. 
 " I only want to save you from this crowning folly, 
 and you need not be afraid of Copley. He is power- 
 less to do you any mischief. Of course, you will 
 still owe the money to somebody, but ere the law 
 can make up its mind who is your creditor, if 
 we have any luck at Epsom, you will be inde- 
 pendent of all your creditors. Nobody need 
 know of this. You may rest assured that not a word 
 of it will ever pass my lips, and not even May shall 
 be told." 
 
 " I am afraid she knows already," Sir George 
 rejoined. "It is useless, my dear boy, for me to 
 combat your statements farther. I thought I 
 was an honest English gentleman, and now I nd 
 
 283
 
 284 HARD PRESSED 
 
 that at a turn of the screw I am only a pitiful 
 scoundrel. I fear that May has found out all 
 about it. I was anxious she should marry 
 Copley, for salvation seemed to lie that way, 
 ind I was under great obligations to the man. I 
 was so annoyed with May that I said more than I 
 should have done ; indeed, I lost my temper and, 
 in the heat of the moment, told her that if she did 
 not obey me in this matter she was no longer a 
 daughter of mine. Of 'course, I did not mean it." 
 
 Fielden walked to the window and back before 
 he ventured on a reply. Hot words hovered on his 
 lips and anger filled his heart, but he tried to speak 
 calmly. 
 
 " That, to say the least of it, was indiscreet," 
 he said. " If I know May, and I think I do, she is 
 the last girl in the world to put up with treatment 
 like that." 
 
 " She didn't put up with it," Sir George confessed 
 miserably. " She has gone, taking with her nothing 
 but her mother's jewels which she intends to turn 
 into money. In her letter to me she refuses to 
 say where she is. She says she is going to get her 
 own living and will never come back to Haredale. 
 She must know what took place between Copley 
 and me last night, for she alludes to something 
 she overheard in the library. I wonder if you 
 can help me ? " 
 
 Fielden groaned aloud. He had not expected
 
 LOOSENING THE GRIP 285 
 
 a bitter disappointment like this. He was anxious 
 to avoid scandal. Of course, the public would have 
 to hear the strange story which, like a romance, 
 clothed the Blenheim colt. But there was nothing 
 in that to be ashamed of, nothing which would 
 reflect on the honour either of Sir George or himself. 
 Nor would the vast army of race-goers suffer. But 
 the disappearance of May had altered all that. 
 People would ask questions and neighbours were 
 sure to talk. For the moment it seemed as if 
 Fielden's efforts had been wasted, then an inspiration 
 shot into his mind and he took comfort from it. 
 
 " I think I know where to find her," he said. 
 " But it may take me a few days and, meanwhile, 
 you had better let it be known that May has gone 
 away on a visit. We will assume that she is stay- 
 ing with Miss Garden for the present. I need not 
 detain you longer. You will know what to do when 
 Copley turns up to ascertain why the Blenheim 
 colt has not been scratched. For obvious reasons 
 we won't make the discovery public just yet ; in 
 fact, I see no reason why it should be made public 
 at all. We can trust May, and I am sure we can 
 trust Raffle, though you will have to tell Copley 
 the truth. Still, as he will be in other hands before 
 long, nothing he can say or do will matter much. I 
 am going up to London and shall be greatly surprised 
 if, when I come back, I don't bring you news of 
 May,"
 
 286 HARD PRESSED 
 
 Fielden took his departure, leaving Sir George 
 to his own troubled thoughts. He was properly 
 ashamed of himself. He knew what a humiliating 
 figure he had cut. He knew how two people, 
 whose opinions he valued highly, despised him. 
 Yet, in spite jf everything, himself included, he 
 was glad to know that he would be compelled to keep 
 faith with the public. He was glad to know that 
 within a few days Copley would have no further 
 power to harm him. He had known all along, 
 juggle with his conscience as he might, that old 
 Raffle had been perfectly correct in regard to the 
 colt. Notwithstanding the folly of that appearance 
 at Mirst Park, the colt was not so lame as he had 
 made out and in a week or two would be all right 
 again. At the present moment if he risked a thou- 
 stand or two, there was almost absolute certainty 
 he would get it back fifty-fold at the great Epsom 
 meeting. As Sir George pondered the situation, his 
 mind was equally divided between shame and exulta- 
 tion. He did not fail to see his conduct in its proper 
 light, nor did he fail to see an honourable way out, 
 with credit to himself and a good many thousands 
 in his pocket. He sat thinking until it was time 
 for his solitary dinner. He had proved everything 
 to his satisfaction before he returned to the library 
 for a cigar. He would have given anything to 
 have had May back again, for once she was under 
 his roof, the way looked perfectly clear. He was
 
 LOOSENING THE GRIP 287 
 
 still weighing the pros and cons when Copley strode 
 angrily into the library. 
 
 He had entered unannounced and looked at Sir 
 George with the light of battle in his eye. He stood 
 an imposing, bullying figure. But the master of 
 the house was not afraid. 
 
 " What is the meaning of this ? " Copley de- 
 manded. " I hope you are not trying to shirk your 
 obligations, because if you do, by gad, I shall have 
 to teach you a lesson." 
 
 " You mean about the colt ? " Sir George 
 asked. 
 
 " What else could I mean ? You promised he 
 should be scratched this afternoon. It hadn't 
 been done when I left London at six o'clock. 
 Why?" 
 
 "Sit down and have a cigar," Sir George said, 
 " and I'll explain to you. But don't adopt that 
 tone to me, because I don't like it. I am not 
 accustomed to it." 
 
 Copley burst into an offensive laugh. 
 
 " Oh, aren't you ? " he said. " We'll precious 
 soon see about that. No, I don't want a cigar or 
 anything to drink. I'll go home again and perhaps 
 I can find another way -" 
 
 ".I don't think it will make much difference," 
 Sir George said mildly. " I didn't scratch the colt 
 for the simple reason that I find I haven't the 
 power."
 
 288 HARD PRESSED 
 
 " Haven't the power ? What are you talking 
 about ? " 
 
 " I assure you I am speaking the truth. I 
 wasn't in the least aware of it myself till this after- 
 noon. It is quite a story in its way. Now do, 
 please, sit down and listen. The man you know as 
 Field is the son of an old friend of mine named 
 Fielden, who at one time owned a considerable 
 amount of property hereabouts. You may have 
 heard some of the neighbours speak of him. The 
 son preferred not to be known by his proper name, 
 and that is why I introduced him to you as Field. 
 Now Field, or Fielden, whichever you like to 
 call him, is really the owner of the Blenheim colt. 
 If you will be quiet I will tell you all about it. 
 By the way, Fielden knows a good deal about 
 you and also about your friend Foster. He 
 ran against you in South Africa where he was in 
 partnership with a man called Aaron Phillips. 
 I don't know Mr. Phillips myself, but he tells 
 a story which interested me very much. I have 
 just had it from Mr. Fielden's lips. But sit 
 down." 
 
 Copley sat down suddenly. His bullying air 
 fell away from him like a garment. He seemed to 
 have some difficulty in getting a light to his cigar. 
 Sir George could almost have smiled as he saw the 
 change in his one-time friend. There was a look 
 of anxiety, almost of anxious misery, in Copley's
 
 LOOSENING THE GRIP 289 
 
 eyes as he wriggled about in his chair whilst Sir 
 George told his tale. 
 
 " There you have it in a nutshell," the latter 
 concluded. " That is the whole romance for you 
 to deal with as you like. It doesn't matter a bit 
 whether I want to serve you or not, you can see 
 for yourself the position I am in and how powerless 
 I am to prevent the Blenheim colt from running 
 in this year's Derby. Mr. Fielden would not 
 consent, even if he hadn't backed the colt 
 to his last penny. You may depend upon it 
 that if the horse starts he is bound to win, for in 
 this year's moderate lot there is nothing to beat 
 him. This upsets all your plans, but you will 
 find that everything I say is correct. You have 
 still time to get out." 
 
 " How can I ? " Copley asked. " Why, I have 
 laid against the colt till I am tired of it, and if he 
 runs he'll win. But it is no use my sitting here 
 wasting time. I must go back at once and talk 
 this thing over with Foster. I never heard such 
 an extraordinary story in my life. I thought 
 I was up to most of the moves, but a pro- 
 phet couldn't have foreseen this. One thing 
 is very certain, as matters have turned out I 
 shall want every penny I can scrape together the 
 next few days and I shall look to you to repay 
 what you owe me. Of course, I don't want to be 
 unpleasant, but necessity knows no law." 
 
 T
 
 2 9 o HARD PRESSED 
 
 Sir George waved his cigar gracefully. He felt 
 he could promise with an easy mind. 
 
 "Don't let that trouble you," he said. "I 
 think I shall be able to manage. Circumstances 
 alter cases. Must you really go ? "
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX 
 
 A DRAMATIC EXIT 
 
 MAY had taken her fortune in her own hands. 
 She had, as she thought, shaken the dust 
 of Haredale Park from her feet for ever. There 
 was no reason, she thought, why she should not 
 make her own way in the world. Her trinkets were 
 more valuable than she had expected. She had 
 disposed of one for a hundred pounds, and had 
 no anxiety as to the immediate future. But 
 she was miserable enough. Lodgings seemed to 
 cramp and confine her. She missed the pure air 
 of the Downs, and longed once more to feel the 
 exhilarating stride of a good horse under her. At 
 the end of three days she would have given her 
 pride and all her possessions to be back at Haredale. 
 Already she was trying to think of some excuse for 
 returning home. 
 
 She did not know how near her wishes were to 
 being gratified. She was not aware that Fielden 
 was looking for her all over London. He had 
 jumped to the correct conclusion that he would find 
 her near to Alice Garden, but the trouble was to
 
 292 HARD PRESSED 
 
 obtain Miss Garden's address. It was not till the 
 Saturday morning that he ran against Phillips, who 
 fortunately knew where Garden lived. 
 
 ' You won't find him at home," he said. 
 
 " I don't want him," Fielden smiled. " Thank 
 you very much. I'll see you later in the day, 
 perhaps." 
 
 " I'm busy," Phillips said darkly. " I've a good 
 many things to do this morning. I've to inter- 
 view Selwyn and other big plungers. After that, 
 I have an appointment with one of the leading 
 men of Scotland Yard, which will take us down 
 to Mirst Park with a view to going over a certain 
 house we wot of." 
 
 Phillips bustled away and Fielden lost no time 
 in seeking out the modest residence of Major Garden. 
 He was disappointed to hear that Miss Garden was 
 out, but it was gratifying to be told that Miss Car- 
 den's friend was in the house. Without waiting 
 for further information, Fielden walked upstairs 
 into the room where May was seated. She had 
 pulled a chair up dejectedly in front of the fire and 
 started at the sound of Fielden's voice. There 
 were tears in her eyes. 
 
 " So you have found me out." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I have run you to earth," Fielden 
 smiled. " I have been looking for you for three 
 days. I had some difficulty in getting the Major's 
 address, but felt quite sure that when I had that
 
 A DRAMATIC EXIT 293 
 
 you would not be far off. Like me, May, you have 
 not many friends. And now, don't you think you 
 have been foolish ? " 
 
 May smiled through her tears. 
 
 " But what else could I do ? " she asked. " Oh, 
 my dear boy, if you knew everything you would 
 -not blame me." 
 
 " I think I do know everything," Fielden said 
 gravely. " At any rate^I know why you left home. 
 I had a long interview with your father, and well, 
 I won't blame him. None of us know what we 
 would do in a temptation like that. That 
 scoundrel Copley had him entirely in his power. 
 Now, tell me, do you know anything of the great 
 conspiracy ? Were you in the library the night 
 before you left home, and did you hear Sir George 
 and Copley " 
 
 " I heard everything," May exclaimed. " I must 
 tell you, Harry ; I must tell somebody. I never 
 felt so ashamed and humiliated in my life. It was 
 bad enough to be turned out of the house because 
 I refused to marry that man, but when I found that 
 my father had entered into a plot with Mr. Copley 
 to do a disgraceful thing, I felt I could not stay 
 at home any longer. I suppose the mischief is 
 done and the Blenheim colt has been struck 
 out of the Derby. But though the public will 
 never know how they have been swindled, I shall 
 always feel that my father "
 
 294 HARD PRESSED 
 
 The girl broke down. 
 
 " You need not worry about that," Fielden said. 
 " I quite understand what your feelings are. But 
 what you so greatly dread will never happen. Dis- 
 grace will be spared you and yours, because your 
 father has not the power to interfere with the colt. 
 Possibly before the day is out Copley will be 
 as helpless as a child. You look surprised and I 
 don't wonder. I am going to tell you something 
 in the nature of a romance. To begin with, the 
 Blenheim colt belongs to me." 
 
 May was too surprised to speak. She sat on the 
 arm of Fielden's chair. She did not seem to notice 
 that his arm was around her, and that her head 
 was very near his shoulder. She did not seem to 
 care about anything now that Fielden was with her, 
 and there was a link between the past and the pres- 
 ent. It was a fascinating story which Fielden had 
 to tell, much more remarkable than anything May 
 had ever read of between the covers of a sport- 
 ing novel. When the recital was finished she wiped 
 the tears from her eyes, and a happy smile broke 
 over her face. On the spur of the moment she 
 bent down and kissed her companion. 
 
 " Did any one ever hear the like of it ? " she 
 exclaimed. " It seems almost too good to be true. 
 It is more like a fairy story than literal fact. But 
 I am glad for your sake, for my sake, and for 
 my father's sake. For he is my father, and it is
 
 A DRAMATIC EXIT 295 
 
 possible that in his position I might have acted in 
 a like heedless and foolish way. It would have 
 been a terrible blow for him to leave Haredale Park. 
 It is only since I have been in lodgings that 
 I have come to realize what it means to have 
 no home, what it was to turn out of such a dear 
 old place as Haredale. But, Harry, we don't 
 appear to be out of the wood yet. It will be a 
 bitter disappointment to Mr. Copley and his col- 
 league to be deprived of their chance of swindling 
 the public. I am sure Mr. Copley will be none 
 the less vindictive against my father, because this 
 was no fault of his. I am afraid we shall have to 
 leave Haredale in any case." 
 
 " I don't think so," Fielden said. " Before long 
 Copley will be powerless. We shall be able to 
 hang on till Derby Day ; then the gallant colt will 
 win fortunes for all of us, and I shall be a rich man 
 again. I shall be able to restore the old house and 
 buy back the land, and then I shall have a home 
 fit to ask my wife to. After that we shall be 
 happy, only there won't be any more betting and 
 gambling, because I have leamt my lesson, and it 
 will be all the more effectual and lasting because 
 it has been bitter. Meanwhile nobody knows 
 anything about your trouble with your father 
 except myself and, I presume, Miss Garden. You 
 are supposed to be on a visit to London for a 
 few days. It is lucky you have no maid to make
 
 296 HARD PRESSED 
 
 mischief. I must return to Haredale this evening. 
 Let me tell your father that I have explained 
 everything to you, that you are coming back on 
 Monday or Tuesday, and that Miss Garden will 
 accompany you. I know Sir George will be glad 
 to see you. He told me he could not under- 
 stand how he spoke to you as he did. And, you 
 see, as there is no one to follow your father, as the 
 title will die out with him, Haredale Park will be 
 your own some day. I know you love the place." 
 
 " I couldn't tell you how much," May said un- 
 steadily. " It is only during the last few days that 
 I have realized the depth of my affection. I will come 
 back. You may tell father I said so. I will return 
 on Monday as early as possible and I hope you will 
 be there to meet me. I thought I was going to be 
 brave and strong and earn my own living ; I thought 
 that wanted no more than the pluck one has to 
 exhibit in the hunting-field. But it is quite differ- 
 ent. It must be a matter of custom and surround- 
 ings. It is all very well to run up to London to 
 spend a few days with friends, but when you are 
 alone, as I have been, the very size of the place 
 frightens one. You don't know how glad I shall 
 be to be home again. Why, twenty-four hours after 
 I came here I began to cast about for reasons and 
 excuses for going back." 
 
 An hour later Fielden left, at peace with all man- 
 kind and inclined to take a roseate view of the
 
 A DRAMATIC EXIT 297 
 
 future. Everything depended on the Blenheim 
 colt. The path was clear and those chiefly con- 
 cerned were going to have a straight run for their 
 money. The poisonous influence of Copley would 
 be removed. There would be peace and happiness 
 at Haredale Park once more and, above all, May 
 was coming home. 
 
 Fielden flung himself down in the corner of his 
 carriage and proceeded to open a late edition of 
 an evening paper. He read the racing news of 
 interest, then turned to the news items on the fifth 
 page. Two headlines caught his attention at once 
 and held him fascinated. They were sensational 
 enough even to the ordinary person, but to Fielden 
 they were pregnant with meaning. 
 
 " ALLEGED GREAT TURF FRAUDS. 
 " ARREST OF MR. COPLEY AND MR. FOSTER. 
 
 " Late this afternoon, the well-known financier, 
 Mr. Raymond Copley, and his private secretary, 
 Mr. Foster, were arrested in London on a warrant 
 in connection with some alleged turf frauds which 
 took place recently at the Post Club. We under- 
 stand that the warrant was granted at the instance 
 of Mr. Selwyn."
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 CAUGHT ! 
 
 RAYMOND COPLEY went away from Haredale 
 Park with every ounce of fight knocked out 
 of him. Never for a moment had he anticipated 
 a development like this. He had gone there in his 
 most truculent mood. Everything seemed to be 
 prospering with him. He had only to hold out his 
 hand and all would drop into it. He had no fear 
 Sir George would defy him. Rather had he taken a 
 journey across the fields in order to manifest his 
 power. 
 
 There had been no actual necessity for Sir George 
 to put his colt out of the betting yet ; indeed, it 
 would have been diplomatic to wait for another 
 fortnight. But Sir George must be shown that he 
 could not do as he liked. He must understand 
 the force he had to deal with in Copley. 
 
 Now it had all vanished like a dream. The 
 thing appeared incredible to Copley as he walked 
 homewards. He could not realize it. He was not 
 
 disposed to regard Sir George's story as a deliber- 
 
 m
 
 CAUGHT ! 299 
 
 ate lie, for it bore the impress of truth. The only 
 way to settle the thing once and for all was to ask 
 for absolute proof. But, if this were done, Harry 
 Fielden would protest and, if he did so, the public 
 would learn what was going on. Taking it alto- 
 gether, the risk was too great. 
 
 He would have to find some other way out of his 
 difficulties. He had laid against the Blenheim colt 
 thick and thin. He had literally piled the money 
 against it with the comfortable assurance that it 
 would never run at all, and that he was about to 
 net a huge fortune without a pennyworth of risk. 
 That prospect had vanished at a blow. If he 
 stayed in England he would have to pay these debts, 
 or the turf would know him no more. And if posted 
 at TattersalTs, his career was at an end. There 
 would be no more chance of making money in that 
 way. He would have to start an entirely new plan 
 if he meant to keep up his role of millionaire. But 
 millionaires do not repudiate their racing debts, and 
 Copley could see nothing but ruin wherever he 
 looked. 
 
 There was worse behind, too. It was disturbing 
 to know that in some mysterious manner Aaron 
 Phillips was mixed up in this business. But he 
 had made no sign. He had not come near Copley, 
 nor had he attempted to extort money from him. 
 Yet he was actually a sort of partner with Harry 
 Fielden, who had taken service with Copley under
 
 300 HARD PRESSED 
 
 the name of Field. The more Copley thought over 
 the matter the less he liked it. He had known 
 Fielden by name, although they had never met. 
 He realized for the first time that he had a deadly 
 enemy under his own roof, so to speak. How much 
 did these two know ? 
 
 Well, it wouldn't be difficult to discover. He 
 would send for Fielden directly he got back to 
 Seton Manor and pump him judiciously. Foster 
 awaited him with the air of a man who finds the 
 world a good place to live in. He looked uneasy, 
 however, as he noted the expression of his employer's 
 face. 
 
 " What's the matter ? " he asked. 
 " Matter enough," Copley growled. " It's all 
 over, my friend. You can say good-bye to your 
 dreams of fortune. If we can get away with a 
 whole skin we shall be lucky. As far as I can 
 make out, we have made ourselves liable for thirty 
 or forty thousand pounds, and have nothing to 
 pay it with." 
 
 " Well, that's all right," Foster said. 
 " Oh, is it ? I suppose you will admit that if the 
 Blenheim colt turns out fit and well for the Derby 
 there is nothing to beat him." 
 
 " If he does turn out. But he won't." 
 " Oh, yes, he will. But I'll tell you the story and 
 if you can show me some way out you are a cleverer 
 man than I take you for."
 
 CAUGHT ! 301 
 
 Foster listened with deepest interest. He looked 
 just as anxious and haggard as Copley by the 
 time the story was finished. For a long time he sat 
 gnawing his fingers. 
 
 " It's a facer," he said presently. " That horse 
 will run, and he'll win, too, unless we can find some 
 means of preventing him from starting. We must 
 find some means." 
 
 Copley threw up his hand impatiently. 
 
 " What's the good of talking that rot ? " he said. 
 " The age for getting at horses is past. That 
 was done with years ago. Even the sporting 
 writer wouldn't dare to use a situation like this. 
 You must think of something better than that. 
 If the worst comes to the worst we've got a few 
 weeks to turn round between now and Derby day. 
 Sir George owes me forty thousand pounds, which 
 I must get without delay. It is no use thinking 
 anything more about May Haredale. With that 
 money we may be able to cover our loss or hedge 
 and bring it down to a trifle. We shall have to be 
 contented with what we make over the Mirst Park 
 meeting. So long as Rickerby and that set are 
 not suspicious " 
 
 " I begin to fear they are," Foster interrupted. 
 " As you know, we ought to have had a big cheque 
 last week, but it hasn't come, though I wrote a 
 sharp letter about it again the day before yester- 
 day. I don't know whether Rickerby suspects,
 
 302 HARD PRESSED 
 
 or whether he will refuse to pay, but in the face 
 of what you have learnt the non-receipt of that 
 cheque is alarming. Nor do I like what you say 
 about Phillips and this chap Fielden. Phillips is 
 a dangerous man and owes us a grudge. Let's 
 have Fielden in. We may be able to bully something 
 out of him." 
 
 Copley jumped at the idea. He rang the bell and 
 sent for Fielden, who appeared presently cool and 
 collected, and ready to answer any questions. 
 
 " Look here," Copley said in his most overbear- 
 ing manner, " I've been hearing things about you. 
 I am told your name is not Field at all, but 
 Fielden. Is that so ? " 
 
 " That is quite correct," Harry said calmly. 
 
 " Then, what the devil do you mean by coming 
 into my service under false pretences ? No honest 
 man " 
 
 " I'll thank you not to take that tone with me," 
 Fielden said. " We don't want to discuss the 
 question of honesty. It is a subject on which you are 
 not an authority. But I see you have found out 
 everything and I may as well be candid. I entered 
 your service because I had nothing to do. I 
 assumed the name of Field, because I found nobody 
 recognized me and I didn't want any of my old friends 
 to know what I was doing. I suppose I am correct 
 in assuming that Sir George Haredale has told you 
 everything. Probably he has informed you that
 
 CAUGHT ! 303 
 
 my partner in South Africa was Aaron Phillips. I 
 need not ask if you know Aaron Phillips, because 
 that would be superfluous. I never met either of 
 you till I returned to England, but I know about 
 you. Phillips knows more. I am also aware of 
 the conspiracy for preventing the Blenheim colt 
 from running in the Derby, but that scheme is 
 frustrated. Have you any more to say ? " 
 
 " This is a nice way to speak to an employer," 
 Copley protested. 
 
 " It would be if I were still in your employ," 
 Fielden retorted. " But I no longer consider 
 myself your servant. There is no occasion for me 
 to remain with you. Perhaps the next time we 
 meet but never mind about that." 
 
 Fielden turned curtly on his heel and left the room. 
 The other two exchanged significant glances. 
 
 " Pretty cool," Foster muttered. 
 
 " Yes, and pretty sure of his ground, too," 
 Copley replied. " I don't like it, Foster, I don't 
 like it a bit. I have a feeling that those fellows 
 know everything. It frightens me to think that 
 Phillips has been lying low for so long. You may 
 depend upon it he is up to some mischief. And 
 now that you tell me you have not received 
 Rickerby's cheque I feel all the more certain of it. 
 Don't you think it would be as well to go over to 
 The Nook and remove that telephone ? It always 
 struck me as a dangerous thing to leave it on the
 
 304 HARD PRESSED 
 
 roof. You never know what inquisitive people 
 there may be about. If anybody acquainted with 
 racing only saw it they would be sure to make 
 inquiries. We had better take the car and run 
 over before it is dark. What do you say ? " 
 
 Foster had no objection ; in fact, he rather liked 
 the idea. Half an hour later the car was crossing 
 the country and before dusk the two reached their 
 destination. They were later than they had ex- 
 pected in consequence of a breakdown on the road, 
 but they seemed to be in time, for the house was 
 quiet and deserted and, so far as they could see, 
 nobody had been meddling with the telephone. 
 Foster drew down the blinds and lit the gas. It 
 had not occurred to him to lock the front door. 
 There was no occasion for hurry and, after procuring 
 a chest of tools, he started on his work, which 
 presented few difficulties. 
 
 Then the door opened and two men walked 
 deliberately into the hall. Copley turned upon 
 them with a snarl.
 
 CHAPTER XLI 
 
 HOME AGAIN 
 
 " XT THAT do you mean by this ? " Copley 
 V V demanded. 
 
 The intruders were not in the least abashed. 
 On the contrary, they had every evidence of being 
 very sure of their ground. The foremost touched 
 Copley on the shoulder. 
 
 " Mr. Raymond Copley, I believe ? " he said 
 politely. 
 
 " It would be foolish to deny it," Copley sneered. 
 
 " Very good, sir," the stranger went on. " And 
 this other gentleman is Mr. Foster ? " 
 
 Foster nodded uneasily. He held the screw- 
 driver he was using and waited for developments 
 with white face and quivering lips. 
 
 " That being so, gentlemen," the stranger said, 
 " I may as well introduce myself. I am Inspector 
 Andrews of Scotland Yard and this is my assistant. 
 We have a warrant for the arrest of both of you on 
 the charge of obtaining a large sum of money by 
 means of a trick from Mr. Selwyn and others in 
 connection with race meetings at Mirst Park. The 
 
 306
 
 306 HARD PRESSED 
 
 warrant was obtained on the information of Mr. 
 Selwyn, and you will please consider yourselves 
 my prisoners. Anything you say, of course, will 
 be given in evidence against you." 
 
 Copley cursed himself under his breath. What a 
 fool he had been to come here ! The matter would 
 have been bad enough if he had been arrested 
 at Seton Manor, but to be taken here, to be 
 identified in this fashion at The Nook was fatal. 
 There was nothing for it in the circumstances but 
 to try to bluster. 
 
 " This is an outrage," he exclaimed. " It is a 
 mere tale to extort money from a man in my posi- 
 tion. You haven't a scrap of evidence to justify 
 a proceeding like this." 
 
 " That remains to be proved, sir," the Inspector 
 said quietly. " I may say that your accomplice, 
 Captain Eversleigh, is already in custody and is 
 volunteering all the information we require. We 
 have also arrested the man Chaffey in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Covent Garden. More than that, we 
 have interviewed the National Telephone authorities, 
 and they have not been reticent, either. Besides 
 that, we can produce the agent who let this house 
 and who has already identified you. Also, we have 
 taken possession of the office of Jolly & Co., 
 and your accomplice there is in our hands also. 
 I don't think we have left anything undone. We 
 motored to Seton Manor, but you had left just before
 
 HOME AGAIN 307 
 
 we arrived. We kept you under observation till 
 now. Come, Mr. Copley, nothing will be gained 
 by taking this attitude. I am telling you this in 
 fairness to yourself so that you may know what 
 you have to answer." 
 
 Copley was done and submitted quietly to have 
 the handcuffs put upon his wrists. Foster seemed 
 equally subdued. He advanced towards the In- 
 spector's assistant, then suddenly lunged forward, 
 brushed him aside, and darted through the door 
 into the open air. Instantly he was lost in the 
 thick bushes. Inspector Andrews shrugged his 
 shoulders. 
 
 " You are to blame for that," he said. " No, 
 it is no use following him just now. We must 
 pick him up later. Mr. Copley, if you are quite 
 ready we'll get back to London." 
 
 An hour later Copley was safely housed. By 
 seven o'clock his name was ringing from one end of 
 London to the other. At first the published details 
 were meagre, but the extra specials contained fuller 
 tidings. They had managed to ferret out some 
 racing particulars and to interview Rickerby, who 
 was not in the least reticent. By ten o'clock 
 Copley's arrest formed the one topic of conversation 
 in the clubs. His name appeared largely on every 
 poster and the South African millionaire found 
 himself notorious. 
 
 The news even reached the ears of May Haredale
 
 308 HARD PRESSED 
 
 and her friend Alice. They had been treating them- 
 selves to the theatre in honour of recent events and 
 paused on their way home to buy a paper. There 
 was plenty to discuss as they partook of their frugal 
 supper and they sat till late with the paper between 
 them. 
 
 " You have had a lucky escape," Alice said. 
 
 " My father has," May replied. " I would never 
 have married that man. I would have starved 
 first. I never liked him and always felt there was 
 something wrong about him. He won't trouble 
 us any more and I only hope this terrible business 
 won't upset my father." 
 
 " Don't let us talk any more about it," Alice 
 said. " Let us think about nothing else but your 
 going home again. I don't know how I shall manage 
 to stay in London after this. My fortnight at 
 Haredale Park spoilt me." 
 
 It is not necessary to say much about May's home- 
 coming. Sir George met his daughter in the hall. 
 He waited to say a few words to Alice Garden and 
 then led May into the library. 
 
 " I hope you won't blame me, my child," he said. 
 " I can say no more than that I am exceedingly 
 sorry for what happened. It was only after you 
 had gone that I realized what a brute I had 
 been. I must have been mad. But I thought 
 I was going to be turned out of the old home, and 
 to marry Copley pardon me for alluding to it
 
 HOME AGAIN 309 
 
 seemed such an easy way out of my difficulty. 
 I know now that women don't regard these things 
 from the same standpoint as men do and, of 
 course, I believed Copley was in a strong position. 
 I regarded him as honest and straightforward, 
 otherwise " 
 
 " You could not have done that," May protested. 
 " How could you ? When you were ready to fall 
 in with his but I won't say anything about that. 
 All that is past and done with for ever. As 
 Harry Fielden said, no man knows how weak he 
 is till he is face to face with a great temptation. 
 It is enough that you sincerely regret what has 
 happened. As for me, I am only too glad to 
 return home on any terms." 
 
 " You overwhelm me," Sir George murmured. 
 
 " Oh, don't feel like that, I implore you. But, 
 tell me, what difference will this make to you ? 
 I have heard about the strange story of the colt 
 and how Harry Fielden stepped in to prevent dis- 
 grace to our house. But that does not alter the 
 fact that you owe Mr. Copley a large sum of money. 
 I suppose it will have to be paid whether he is con- 
 victed or not." 
 
 " Undoubtedly," Sir George answered. " But 
 my lawyer says it will be some time before I am 
 called upon to pay the money. I had a long inter- 
 view with him this morning. Everybody knows 
 now that Raymond Copley is no millionaire and
 
 310 HARD PRESSED 
 
 that he is an unscrupulous adventurer who passed 
 himself off as a wealthy man in order to cany out 
 his swindles. From a telegram I have just received 
 a good many fresh details came out this morning 
 when Copley was brought up at Bow Street. The 
 magistrate has refused to allow bail, but it will be 
 two or three months before Copley is convicted, and 
 during the interval some of his creditors are sure 
 to make him bankrupt. They will be anxious to 
 rescue some of the plunder and there are probably 
 several thousand pounds in the bank besides all the 
 stuff at Seton Manor and other places. It will 
 take time to investigate these things, and possibly 
 the summer will be over before the Bankruptcy 
 officials ask me to pay this money to Copley's 
 estate. Long before that the Blenheim colt will 
 have won the Derby." 
 
 May could not repress a smile. 
 
 " You are always sanguine," she said. " In fact, 
 if you hadn't been so sanguine, you would not be 
 in your present position. I suppose nobody knows 
 of our trouble." 
 
 " Only Harry Fielden," Sir George said thank- 
 fully. " I suppose, we shall have to regard him as 
 one of the family, though what he is going to live 
 on and how he is going to keep you, goodness knows. 
 I've got nothing." 
 
 A smile crossed May's face. 
 
 " We are all going to make fortunes out of
 
 HOME AGAIN 311 
 
 the colt," she said. " If you are so sanguine, 
 you must not grudge a little bit of a similar 
 spirit to us. I know that Harry has backed the 
 colt for all he is worth. It is very dreadful and 
 wrong and extravagant, but Harry tells me that 
 this will be the last time. How singular that 
 the fortunes of two families should depend upon a 
 horse ! Only think, too, that, but for the merest 
 accident, the Blenheim colt would not be in the 
 Derby at all. That makes me think our good 
 fortune is to continue. I don't think Fate would 
 play us a low-down trick. It is impossible that the 
 colt has been saved only to speed us to ruin at the 
 last. But I don't like to think about it. I shall 
 be in a fever of anxiety from now till May. But 
 I'll try to be calm. I must realize that this is my 
 last bet." 
 
 Sir George was content to let it go at that. He 
 was glad to have his daughter back, glad to think 
 that things were no worse. Fate, too, had been kind 
 to him, for he had preserved his name and 
 reputation. He had lost nothing ; indeed, he stood 
 to be in a better position than he had ever yet occu- 
 pied. For the first time for months he was looking 
 forward to his dinner with gusto.
 
 CHAPTER XLII 
 
 FIRST PAST THE POST 
 
 THINGS turned out much as Sir George's lawyer 
 had predicted. After several adj ourned hear- 
 ings Copley was committed for trial, together with 
 his associates, and Aaron Phillips had the satisfac- 
 tion of giving the most damning evidence against 
 the accused. Of Foster nothing whatever had been 
 heard and it was assumed he had got safely out 
 of the country. Copley's trial was set down to 
 take place in June and in the meantime some of 
 his creditors had made him a bankrupt. The 
 bubble was pricked. Copley had nothing to gain 
 by keeping up the pretence of being a man of 
 integrity and substance. He stood out now un- 
 abashed and unashamed, and refused to give any 
 information about his business affairs. Perhaps he 
 was looking forward to the time, some years hence, 
 when on his release from gaol he could blackmail 
 Sir George Haredale. 
 
 But Sir George had already taken steps to obviate 
 that. He had learnt his lesson and was not likely 
 to put himself in Copley's power again. A proper 
 
 312
 
 FIRST PAST THE POST 313 
 
 statement of the relationship between Copley and 
 himself had been rendered by Sir George's lawyer 
 and ample time had been given by the Bankruptcy 
 officials to pay the debt. Therefore Sir George 
 could look forward with easy mind to the moment- 
 ous event at Epsom. 
 
 Everything went smoothly and Raffle pronounced 
 the colt as fit to run for a kingdom. The horse was 
 established in the betting once more and at that mo- 
 ment there were few more popular men in England than 
 Sir George Haredale. He was anxious, of course, for 
 so much depended upon what was to take place 
 between now and next Wednesday, and Harry 
 Fielden was not very far from the spot ; indeed, 
 his feelings were like those of Sir George. His 
 whole fortune, too, depended upon the running of 
 the colt. About the only member of the party 
 who was not unduly anxious was RafHe himself. 
 He went about his business with a knowing smile 
 and refused to discuss even the possibility of 
 defeat. 
 
 " Bless you, sir," he said to Fielden two days 
 before the race, " I can't see what you've got to fret 
 about. The race is in our pockets. It wouldn't 
 do to disappoint the people now, for Epsom is 
 Epsom. But that colt will just win from the start. 
 There ain't going to be any risks, because so much 
 depends upon it. What a story it would make, Mr, 
 Harry, wouldn't it ? "
 
 314 HARD PRESSED 
 
 Fielden nodded. They were standing in the 
 Blenheim colt's stall admiring the noble animal, 
 which looked fit to race for his own life. There was 
 no sign of staleness about him. He was apparently 
 trained to the last ounce and, as Raffle said, his 
 temper was perfect. 
 
 " He won't mind the crowd and the horses," he 
 said, laying his hand upon the colt's glossy neck. 
 " I never saw such a tractable animal. It is a 
 proud day for me to live to see the Blenheim blood 
 doing a big thing like this. I always believed in 
 it, sir, though we had a good many failures. I 
 wonder what the public would say if they knew 
 everything." 
 
 " They are not in the least likely to do that," 
 Fielden laughed. " I think we were wise to keep 
 the whole thing to ourselves. It is just as well, too, 
 to let the colt run as Sir George's property. At 
 any rate, there's no harm done and we haven't 
 broken any rules. Besides, it is all in the family. 
 What are your plans for to-morrow, Raffle ? If 
 you don't mind, I will go to Epsom with you. 
 Sir George and Miss Haredale can follow on Wednes- 
 day morning. I don't want to lose sight of the 
 colt if I can help it. I wish Wednesday was 
 over." 
 
 Raffle highly approved the suggestion, so, on 
 the morrow, they went off to Epsom with the colt. 
 They literally slept with it all Tuesday night. The
 
 FIRST PAST THE POST 315 
 
 fateful Wednesday dawned without a cloud in the 
 sky and by noon the Downs were crowded with 
 people. For the most part they meant to have a 
 holiday, seeing that they were on the favourite to 
 a man and that the chance of the favourite losing 
 was as remote as a racing possibility could be. 
 Shortly after two o'clock Fielden left the paddock 
 and went to join Sir George and May and Miss 
 Garden. 
 
 " I hope all is well," May whispered. 
 
 " It couldn't be better," Fielden said. " Another 
 hour and you will be out of your misery. The colt 
 looks as fine as a star. We are having him saddled 
 at the top end of the course so that he won't be 
 actually seen till he is ready for the start. It will 
 be a popular victory, May." 
 
 " Oh, yes," May said nervously. " I suppose 
 it will. I don't know when I felt so anxious. I was 
 looking forward to enjoying this race, but I don't 
 think I shall. I envy you, Harry. How can you 
 keep so cool ? " 
 
 Fielden smiled. In fact, he was anything but cool. 
 He looked confident but, at the same time, he was 
 conscious of a dryness in his throat and of the quicker 
 beating of his heart as he weighed the possibilities 
 which the next hour held for him and the party from 
 Haredale Park. At that moment he possessed prac- 
 tically nothing. If by any untoward fate the horse 
 lost he would be as poor as he was before, and his
 
 316 HARD PRESSED 
 
 marriage with May would be indefinitely post- 
 poned. In case of this disaster Sir George would 
 have to sell everything to pay his mortgages and 
 the money he owed to Copley's estate. He would 
 have to spend the rest of his days in humble lodgings. 
 There would be an end to the glories of Haredale. 
 
 But if the horse won ! So much depended upon 
 those four feet, upon those wonderful staying powers 
 of which Raffle had so frequently boasted. Hitherto 
 there had always been a weak spot in the Blenheim 
 blood and it might crop up at the very moment 
 when so much depended upon bone and muscle 
 and sinew. 
 
 And if everything did go well, why, then, Sir 
 George Haredale would be a rich man again. Fielden 
 would have more than he ever possessed before and 
 the tarnished glory of the family would be restored. 
 As he stood, quiet and reserved, he did not look 
 like a man to whom the next half-hour meant so 
 much. But he thought that half-hour would never 
 be over. 
 
 The minutes wore on nevertheless. The roar and 
 fret and murmur of the crowd at last died down 
 and the long winding ribbon of turf between the 
 masses of people began to manifest itself. The gay 
 kaleidoscope of colour gradually drifted into a ragged 
 line at the post. Then a hoarse roar broke out again. 
 
 "They're off !" May whispered, clutching Fielden 
 frantically by the anil. " You must tell me how
 
 FIRST PAST THE POST 317 
 
 the race is going. Positively, I haven't the courage 
 to look." 
 
 Fielden did not hear a word she said. He had no 
 consciousness of those tense nervous fingers on 
 his arm. He stood like a statue with his racing 
 glasses glued to his eyes. He watched the streaming 
 glow of colours rigidly, until, presently, it seemed to 
 him that one horse came floating easily and grace- 
 fully apart from the rest and then his heart began 
 to sing within him. They came in much the same 
 order round Tattenham Corner. Then the roar 
 intensified till everything seemed to shake and rock, 
 and Fielden trembled and could not see through 
 his glasses. When he finally adjusted them to his 
 satisfaction, he was conscious of a still deeper 
 shout of gratification from the multitude. Then, as 
 if in response to the ringing cheers, the Blenheim 
 colt drew almost imperceptibly away from the 
 ruck of horses and passed the winning-post a 
 good half length ahead. The Derby was ancient 
 history now. The Blenheim colt had won this 
 classic race and a score or two of old friends 
 were gathering round Sir George to shake him by 
 the hand. The victory was all the more popular 
 because ninety-nine out of every hundred spectators 
 had backed the winner. 
 
 Fielden closed his glasses with a snap. He was 
 conscious now that May was clinging to his arm and 
 that she was swaying backwards and forwards
 
 3i8 HARD PRESSED 
 
 ominously. It was only for a few moments, how- 
 ever, and then a slight smile trembled on her 
 lips. 
 
 " Take me away from here for a while," she 
 whispered. " Let us take a walk on the course. 
 Do you know, I feel as if I could enjoy a turn on 
 a roundabout. I could even shy for cocoanuts. And 
 only two or three minutes ago I felt as if I were 
 going to faint. I never saw a yard of the race. If 
 I had looked up I should have collapsed. I guessed 
 how things were going only by the cheers of the 
 crowd. I knew by that exultant roar that the colt 
 was winning. But I don't want to go through it 
 again, Harry, I have had enough. Now that we 
 have all made fortunes, it will be so good to be at 
 home again and feel that everything there actually 
 belongs to us. Some of my father's old friends 
 want us to dine in London. But I would far rather 
 go home. You must back me up." 
 
 But Sir George wanted no particular backing. 
 Tried sportsman as he was, the strain had told 
 upon him and he was glad, so he said, to find himself 
 once more in a comfortable corner of a railway car- 
 riage on his way to Haredale. It was a lovely 
 evening, too, and the face of the old house was 
 bathed in sunshine. 
 
 " It is smiling a welcome to us," May said. " To 
 think that it is absolutely our own ! I hope we 
 have done with gambling for ever."
 
 FIRST PAST THE POST 319 
 
 " I have finished with it for good," replied Harry. 
 " I have won a fortune and a wife on the same day, 
 and that is more luck than most men gain on the 
 course. If you are happy, darling, what more 
 do I need ? " 
 
 THE END
 
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