Checkers - 1896 Author:Henry Blossom Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: running almost as one. In a breath they were by us and under the wire, but which of the three was first I could not determine. Instantly there was a babel of ... more »voices, in which Senator Irby, Peytonia and Flora Thornton were severally declared to have won, and a general movement toward the judges' stand was inaugurated for the purpose of learning "the official." I had scarcely gone a dozen yards before I ran across Murray, viciously elbowing his way through the crowd. There was something so irresistibly funny in the expression of rueful chagrin which sat upon his good-natured face, that I forgot my excitement and began to laugh immoderately. " Now, what do you think of that for luck?" he exclaimed on catching sight of me; " Senator Irby, a stake-horse, to be beaten out by an old dog like Peytonia ? It's enough to—" " Peytonia !" I echoed breathlessly, "did Peytonia win ?" " Of course she won. Did n't you see the race ? " For a moment I simply could n't speak, but clasping the tighter my precious ticket, I swallowed heroically at the lump in my throat, while Murray, unmindful of my silence, continued. "You see, Jack, after I left you, I got it straight from a friend of mine that Maid Marian was out of condition, which left the race, it seemed to me, a walk-over for Senator Irby. Well, it looked like a good chance to make a 'killin',' and I put twenty on him at two and a half to one. Of course I could n't figure on getting nosed out by a hundred to one shot, but that's the luck I always play in. Well, I 'll get it back on the third race; I've got a 'cinch' in that. You understand though, Jack," he added, stopping suddenly, "you have only a dollar's interest in the losing— I had no right to bet but $2, as was originally agreed." Just here I foresaw a peculiar ...« less