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"
Silver
Blaze
,
"
said
he
,
"
is
from
the
Somomy
stock
and
holds
as
brilliant
a
record
as
his
famous
ancestor
.
He
is
now
in
his
fifth
year
and
has
brought
in
turn
each
of
the
prizes
of
the
turf
to
Colonel
Ross
,
his
fortunate
owner
.
Up
to
the
time
of
the
catastrophe
he
was
the
first
favourite
for
the
Wessex
Cup
,
the
betting
being
three
to
one
on
him
.
He
has
always
,
however
,
been
a
prime
favourite
with
the
racing
public
and
has
never
yet
disappointed
them
,
so
that
even
at
those
odds
enormous
sums
of
money
have
been
laid
upon
him
.
It
is
obvious
,
therefore
,
that
there
were
many
people
who
had
the
strongest
interest
in
preventing
Silver
Blaze
from
being
there
at
the
fall
of
the
flag
next
Tuesday
.
"
The
fact
was
,
of
course
,
appreciated
at
King
's
Pyland
,
where
the
colonel
's
training-stable
is
situated
.
Every
precaution
was
taken
to
guard
the
favourite
.
The
trainer
,
John
Straker
,
is
a
retired
jockey
who
rode
in
Colonel
Ross
's
colours
before
he
became
too
heavy
for
the
weighing-chair
.
He
has
served
the
colonel
for
five
years
as
jockey
and
for
seven
as
trainer
,
and
has
always
shown
himself
to
be
a
zealous
and
honest
servant
.
Under
him
were
three
lads
,
for
the
establishment
was
a
small
one
,
containing
only
four
horses
in
all
.
One
of
these
lads
sat
up
each
night
in
the
stable
,
while
the
others
slept
in
the
loft
.
All
three
bore
excellent
characters
.
John
Straker
,
who
is
a
married
man
lived
in
a
small
villa
about
two
hundred
yards
from
the
stables
.
He
has
no
children
,
keeps
one
maidservant
,
and
is
comfortably
off
.
The
country
round
is
very
lonely
,
but
about
half
a
mile
to
the
north
there
is
a
small
cluster
of
villas
which
have
been
built
by
a
Tavistock
contractor
for
the
use
of
invalids
and
others
who
may
wish
to
enjoy
the
pure
Dartmoor
air
.
Tavistock
itself
lies
two
miles
to
the
west
,
while
across
the
moor
,
also
about
two
miles
distant
,
is
the
larger
training
establishment
of
Mapleton
,
which
belongs
to
Lord
Backwater
and
is
managed
by
Silas
Brown
.
In
every
other
direction
the
moor
is
a
complete
wilderness
,
inhabited
only
by
a
few
roaming
gypsies
.
Such
was
the
general
situation
last
Monday
night
when
the
catastrophe
occurred
.
"
On
that
evening
the
horses
had
been
exercised
and
watered
as
usual
,
and
the
stables
were
locked
up
at
nine
o'clock
.
Two
of
the
lads
walked
up
to
the
trainer
's
house
,
where
they
had
supper
in
the
kitchen
,
while
the
third
,
Ned
Hunter
,
remained
on
guard
.
At
a
few
minutes
after
nine
the
maid
,
Edith
Baxter
,
carried
down
to
the
stables
his
supper
,
which
consisted
of
a
dish
of
curried
mutton
.
She
took
no
liquid
,
as
there
was
a
water-tap
in
the
stables
,
and
it
was
the
rule
that
the
lad
on
duty
should
drink
nothing
else
.
The
maid
carried
a
lantern
with
her
,
as
it
was
very
dark
and
the
path
ran
across
the
open
moor
.
"
Edith
Baxter
was
within
thirty
yards
of
the
stables
when
a
man
appeared
out
of
the
darkness
and
called
to
her
to
stop
.
As
she
stepped
into
the
circle
of
yellow
light
thrown
by
the
lantern
she
saw
that
he
was
a
person
of
gentlemanly
bearing
,
dressed
in
a
gray
suit
of
tweeds
,
with
a
cloth
cap
.
He
wore
gaiters
and
carried
a
heavy
stick
with
a
knob
to
it
.
She
was
most
impressed
,
however
,
by
the
extreme
pallor
of
his
face
and
by
the
nervousness
of
his
manner
.
His
age
,
she
thought
,
would
be
rather
over
thirty
than
under
it
.
"
Can
you
tell
me
where
I
am
?
"
he
asked
.
'
I
had
almost
made
up
my
mind
to
sleep
on
the
moor
when
I
saw
the
light
of
your
lantern
.
'
"
You
are
close
to
the
King
's
Pyland
training
stables
,
"
said
she
.
"
Oh
,
indeed
!
What
a
stroke
of
luck
!
"
he
cried
.
'
I
understand
that
a
stable-boy
sleeps
there
alone
every
night
.
Perhaps
that
is
his
supper
which
you
are
carrying
to
him
.
Now
I
am
sure
that
you
would
not
be
too
proud
to
earn
the
price
of
a
new
dress
,
would
you
?
"
He
took
a
piece
of
white
paper
folded
up
out
of
his
waistcoat
pocket
.
'
See
that
the
boy
has
this
to-night
,
and
you
shall
have
the
prettiest
frock
that
money
can
buy
.
'
