WHEN BEGGAR LADY WON

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4366, 25 May 1901, Page 3 (Supplement)

WHEN BEGGAR LADY WON

A PAGING STORY. A young Baltimorean and his lebra'l.i.-d ilie second anniversary of Lit>nr ulamii"o by coming over to Washington UII -Monday morning last to mo Congress assemble, and they roiiiiiiiic-d over a day for Llio purpose of having a look at the Henning racing. Despite Tuesday’s vicious weaiher, they went out to the track. It was too first time; the young man had “seen ’em run' 1 since his marriage, although before that solemn event he had been an o! ton-bitten victim ol the ‘horse bug-” Like id) men who have sworn oil on fooling with the thoroughbreds, howover, he had kept a pre.‘. '.V fair ‘•line” on the runners hy assid nonsly reading the results from all of the (jacks. so that when he went to the track on luesday no thought Unit he had a, fair chance of breaking about even with the layer of odds. Ills wife had never seen a. horse irac o in her IiU■ heiore, and when the horae-. clamped around through the mud m tho llrst race she exhibited considerable excitement, despite the cheerless snr--nundings caused hy the weather conditions. If'er husband, however, didn’t look particularly inspirited when the number of the winner was hung up. iiis face wore a sheepish grin, in fact. “Why,” said his wife, noticing his chagrined Jock, “didn't Uie horse .yon bet on win ?”

“No,” lie reoiicd. ‘Tie was beaten a head on tho wire.” “Well, it looked to me as if they both passed by just at, the same time, ' she said, with rather an aggrieved air. “1 don’t think it ought to make any difference if ojia of tin'll) is ju.it a teeny little bit ahead of tho other, do you?” *■ Well,*’ lie explained, there’s got to ho a winner, yon know, unless the races a d'aid boat, which this wasn’t.” “I don’t care one hit,” she replied, “I think that horse that the old tilings in tile judge’s sland say came in second is just, as good as the ouo they say came ;n first.” “They wouldn't admit that, though, it yon wi re, to fell them.’’ said tin' hnsPand, “Funny I couldn’t pick the winner in a field of only four horses, isn’t it ? AS oil. I’ll nm down to the ring and see what the betting is on flic next.” Sho looked as it she had something to say. and she said it bolore he got away. “Jack,” she said, in a wliei diing tone, “lot me lief a tci-ny weeny little bit, too, won’t yon ? It makes it so lunch more osed ing.” '■Jack” looked at tier with a grin. “Von bet, eii t” hr said. “Mliat dye suppose yonfr mother bid say to me it sho found out that I lot you hot ? And, say, isn’t it enough to have one hoodoo loser in the familyi* Can’t yon have just as much fun rooting for the one 1 bet on ?” ‘‘Oil, but it would lie so much nicer if I could bet just a teonchy weouchy little bit on one of the pretty tilings [ picked out myself on tho programme,” slip answered. ‘’Oil, that’s all imagination, and you—’’ “Please,” sho sidd, still more whecdJinplv. “Oil, well then, beggar lady, go ahead,” ho said, stripping off a.JdoI. note from his roll of bills, and then he rushed clown tho stairs to the betting ring. Her eyes sparkled as she looked over Hie names of the. horses lor tho second race on her programme. “Beggar Lady,” sho exclaimed, half aloud, as her eye caught five name of one of tho horses to run. “Why, that’s just what Jack just this minute called nm! Beggar Lady!” At that instant one of the grand stand messengers passed hv. with ids list of odds against tho horses in his hand. She stopped him. "Oan Beggar Lady run real fast ?” she asked him demurely. “I don’t know, ma’am,” answered tho messenger, smiling. “Tho filly's never run before in a race. This is her first time out.” “Well, if she wins, how much do I got for this?” she said, showing him the live-dollar bill. The messenger grinned and glanced at his list of prices. “Beggar Lady’s one of the outsiders, ma’am,” he said. “She’s opened at 40 to 1. I’ll give you that. If she wins you get back flOudol.” Tire little woman paled a little. “Goodness gracious—very well, then,” handing him the five-clollar hill. “I will bet you on Beggar Lady, then.” Tho messenger dotted down the bet and the young woman's initials, immediately after which another grand-stand messenger rushed up to him and said something to him in a low tone. The messenger who had registered the betting transaction with the young woman anreached her again. “Well, you were just in time, ma’am,” he said to her. “That Beggar Lady filly has been hammered —” “Hammered !” exclaimed the young woman. “Why, the brutes! Is tho poor thing ” “Oh,” hastily exclaimed the messenger. “I mean that they’ve been knocking her price clown in tho ring, and now she’s only five to ouo, so that it looks like she may be what’s called a ‘good thing.’” “Well, I declare!’’ ejaculated th e young woman, and just as the messenger went away her husband came up wearing an easy smilo of confidence. “There’s only one thing in this,” ho said to his wife in a cock-sure tone, pointing to Zouaide’s name on the programme, “and that’s the favourite. Zcnaiclo’ll win romping all tho way. I bet SOdol on her—got uOdol to 20dol against her.” “Can Zcnaicle run so much faster than all tho rest of tho horses in tho race, then?” sho asked bun, with big eyes. “Sure,” ho replied. “It’s a cinch. A lot of yaps clown in tho ring think they’ve got a good thing in this Beggar Lady, and they're more than eating it up. I layed tho filly clown from 50 to 1 to' o to 1, and they’re still hammering at it. I’vo seen too many of these good things go wrong in my day, though. No more good things for me. Friend of mine out in the-* paddock told me that Beogar Lady—she’s never faced the starter before, by the way—stood a rattling show to land in thdi money, and advised mo to string a few along on her, one, two, three, across the board —but not for me! Zennido’s the trick. By tho way, what did you do with your money? Play any of ’em?” “Yes, I hot,” sho replied. “I felt awfully wicked, but I hot, all the same.” “Which one?” ho inquired. “It’ll be more fun telling you after the race is all over,” she replied, slyly. Then the horses paraded in front of tho stand and went to the post. After a short delay away went the largo hold, the favourite, Zonaicle, in front. It wa.s a fair start for all except Beggar Lady, who was standing flat-footed when the flag dropped. A laugh went up in tho stand. “The ‘good thing’ can’t find her feet,” was the cry. “She's all hut left.” Beggar Lady was last away, if was true, but she quickly shot after her field, and at the far turn, so groat a flight of speed did'she exhibit, she was right on even terms with the leaders, and still going like a seasoned campaigner. She lead the field of thirteen by a bead in turning into the stretch. “By jing!” muttered the young Baltimorean to his wife, “why didn’t I have gumption enough to put a few dollars on that Beggar Lady? She’s passed the whole bunch and she’s just galloping in, that’o all —just galloping!” ’

“Beggar Lady walks!” howled tho erowd of long shot players who had taken a bin of the good tiling. “Beggar Lady swims in!”

The little Judy from Baltimore turned her pale face away from tho sight of the horses tearing down the stretch and sat down.

“And I had tho tip strong!” growled tier husband, as Beggar Lady flashed by tin,- wire two lengths to the good. Then he noticed his wife's pale lace. '“What’s tho matter?” he asked her, anxiously. “Are you faint?”

“Well,” she replied, “a little bit, but it’ll pass, I suppose sudden great wealth always affects people this way.” fie looked at her scarchingly and amazediy. “You don’t mean to tell me that you put those live dollars on Beggar Lady?” lie gasped. “Well, what did you call mo a ‘beggar lady’ for when you gave me tho hill ?’’ she asked him, regaining her colour. “I’ve won TOOdol just because of your habit of calling names!” “Oil, you can’t beat ’em,” tho Baltimorean said to a friend that night. Ho wa-n’t referring; to horses, hut to women. —“Washington Star.”