PONSONSBY'S GREYS

Otago Witness, Issue 2057, 27 July 1893, Page 49

PONSONSBY'S GREYS-

A STORY IN TfIKEE CHAPTERS. I. ! The scene was the paved yard before Mr Ponsonsby 's stables in Portmanchester Mews, Portmanchester square, the time was at dusk iv a mild, bright day last September, and the dramatis persona comprised Mr Ponaonsby's groom and an. > aristocratic stranger who seemed to have wandered down - the mews in sheer idleness. Ben Martin, the groom, was leaning lazily j against the stable doorpost, chewing a long straw and watching the pert sparrows with the comfortable air of a man whose day s work is over. The stranger strolled leisurely towards him, scattering the sparrows from their feast of grain as he approached. He stopped^^ithin a Jew" paces of Martin, and the two men looked curiously at each other. - - The unknown intruder saw a brown-clad, powerful figure, round-shouldered and slouching, a broad, ruddy face, and a shock of obstinate grey hair. Ben Martin, In his honest counter stare, was almost overcome by the stranger's air of distinction,* military bearing, and faultless dress. For a moment, indeed, there seemed something familiar in the new-comer's appearance, but honest Ben dismissed the notion at" once with a muttered, " Bust if I ever knowed a swell like this, and he ain't one of master's friends neither." So, unfolding his- big^ arms to remove the straw from his lips, the groom opened the conversation with a genial, "Evenin 1 , sir." "Good-eveniDg, Mr Groom," replied the stranger good-humouredly. "And a pleaBant evening it is— much too good to be spent indoors. You seem enjoying it thoroughly, too; I suppose you're resting after your hard day's work 2" "Besting, sure enongh, but there s not much hard work going on here since Winnie " Winnie % Who Is Winnie, my good fellow 1 " Martin looked sadly at the other as he replied: ' ' .. , "Winnie was' the off grey, and as fit and spanking a mare as you'd sea in the Row any day you like to name.. Her and Minnie— that's the other one— what a perfect pair they made I Same marking, same build and height, same action. I can tell you, sir, there weren't a finer pair about, and Mr Ponsonsby were as proud as Punch over 'em. Not as he's much of a one at horses — that ain't his line— but he likes to be tip-top all round, and when Winnie was took ill with pneumonier and died, he was very near cryin'. 'I shall never get such a match again, Martin,' he says to me; and no more he won't, I reckon, for/ not one swell in a hundred has a perfect match like them two was. So now I've only got Minnie and the bay to look after, until master gets another grey to match— if he 1 can.? "Bat how does he manage without a pair 1 " asked the stranger, idly caressing his military moustache as he spoke. " Ob, he's- away at, Folkestone now, with the family, sir, and what horses he wants he haves from the livery stables there. But he'll be back in a week or 'so, and then someone will get the job of matching Minnie. Come into the stable, sir, and have a look at her; she's moping a bit» but she's a fine piece of horseflesh." Leading the way through an inner door to the end, stall, Ben was surprised to find that his new acquaintance had not followed him ; at the same instanthe fancied he heard a slight. click, as though the. key had been) tnrned in the stable door. Next moment, however, the stranger Bauntered carelessly in, and looked on with polite indifference while the groom pointed out all Minnie's good qualities. At length, consulting his watob, the visitor remarked that he should be late for dinner if he waited any longer, and with a condescending handshake that left, half-a-crown in Ben's broad palm, he baie.the latter good evening and walked briskly away. The same feeling 6i half recognition came over the groom once more as he watched hiß casual friend depart, and it made him vaguely uneasy for a moment.' * But a glance showed that' the stable key was still in the lock, and there was nothing ' else there to be stolen, so Ben dismissed all suspicions from his doll mind as unworthy his liberal visitor. . And when that evening "be noticed a little clot of something white and waxy on the shaft of the key, he took it to be a drop of tallow from his guttering candle, and thought no more about it. * , 11. \ Mr Matthew Ponsonsby sat atbreakfast in his comfortable hotel overlooking the Leas at-Folkestone on the fourth morning after his groom's friendly chat with the stranger. Martin was evidently right , in-declaring his master's liking to be " tip-top all round " ; ' it was evinced in Mr Ponsonsby's scrupulously correct morning attire, his clean-shaven face, carefully adjusted , hair, and, studiously rumpled silk handkerchief. He was a successful barrister, who owed his success to his diligence, his precision, and— last, but not least— his marriage to a wealthy solicitor's daughter. ■ ' * This morning his wife was not yet down, but Ponsonsby made it what Be called "a golden rule" to breakfast at 8.45 a.m. whoever might be absent; He was engaged on his solitary -meal, wb^en the waiter ushered into the vacant seat opposite to him a gentleman who was evidently^ ,new arrival at the hotel. 1 GlanciDg at the new-comer, Ponsonsby was at once impressed by^ his well-bred air and his handsome features. Soon the courtesies of the table gave Ponsonsby's '-vis-a-vis an opportunity for a remark which led to a long and' pleasant chat. The counsel found his neighbour's conversational powers to be [really brilliant ; he wa« witty, and travelled, with an. endless supply of delightful stories; and when the meal concluded it was arranged that the stranger should dine with the Ponsonsbys that evening* - ■ " .' During the next two days Major Harden— for such was the name of their new-found acquaintance— made rapid progress in his intimacy with the barrister and his wife. Like many proud and precise men, Pononsby admired in others the joviality he I

could not permit himself; and his wife had a strong leaning towards all things military. Hence when he informed the major that business summoned him back to town next morning, Ponsonsby was quite pleased when Harden replied, " Well, Mr Ponsonsby, I think I'll run back with you. I'm due back in» barracks to-morrow evening, and I can find plenty to do in the Weßt End during the day. And, by the way, if any of your legal or non-legal friends happen to want a showy mare, don't forget that yours trnly has one for sale. I was ass enough to buy it on another fellow's recommendation without thoroughly testing it, and it's of no use to me; it couldn't carry me through along run, but ib would make a grand carriage horse." "Whßt's her colour and height?" asked the lawyer. ••Grey— rather a dark grey, with touches of slate-colour in her mane and tail. She stands at 15hds barely, and is as sound as a bell." '" And what do you want for her ? " "Well, I hardly know— l gave 80 guineas for her, bnt I'd take 70 cash down, for I want to get a charger in her stead, and really we army men can't always fork out our coin just as we want it. The mare is at Warley's in Bond street, for, of conrse, I didn't send her down to my quarters when I found her unfit for my purpose." "As it happens, I want something of the sort for myself," said Ponsonsby, excited at the prospect, however vague, of matching Minnie ; and he proceeded to tell the major of Winnie's death and the need of another grey in her place. A 1 further discussion showed that Hardens mare might very probably 3uit the barrister, and the two men arranged to visit Warley's stables together next day. The major then left bis friend for the evening. 111. Next morning Major Harden and Mr Ponsonsby journeyed up,to London together ; the former was in boisterous spirits, and kept his companion amused until the train reached Victoria. There the Pullman was vacated for a hansom, in which the two friends were driven to Bond street, 'alighting at Warley's well-kaown livery stables. The major hastened in first, "just to find out where the mare was stabled," and the lawyer, following more leisurely, was soon ushered into a well-appointed roomy stall, in which the animal stood. At the first sight of her Ponsonsby could not repress a,startled "By Jove I " In oolonr, shape, and markings the mare was so like Minnie that he fancied for a moment his own animal stood before him. But when the beautiful oreature turned her head towards him he noticed that the white patch on the forehead was oblong instead of starshaped, and the mane was certainly thinner and rougher than Minnie's ; the legs, too, were darker below the hocks. Still, the resemblance was marvellous, and as Ponsonsby piotured the pair in harness he could hardly subdue his excitement. However, lawyer-like, he resolved not to pay more than he could help for the animal, although he would have given a couple of. hundred guineas to get such a " match " bad it been necessary. So he proceeded deliberately to examine her, turning up her hoofs, and trying to look knowing in |pite of his ignorance of things horsey. "Well," said the major at last, " what do you think of her ? Isn't she a beauty ?— and I'll buy her back at 20 guineas' premipm if she's not as right as a trivet. Is she anything near your mark ? " ■ * "Yes, she really wouldn't; do badly with my own grey — rather darker and a little ooaiser in the flanks, but still not at all bad. I tell you what, Harden— l'll buy her of you myself for £60." The man of war laughed good-humouredly. " No, no, old man ; no bargain-driving, j Seventy or nothing is my figure." I "Seventy it is, then — in pounds," replied his friend ; " that is my offer, and I can't go above it." •' Well, well, you old skinflint ; £J0 be it, J then ; but I must have the cash at once if I knock off the shillings." The chance of his splendid bargain made Ponsonsby rather more rash than usual. " Done and donel" he said briskly. "The mare's mine, and I'll write you out an open cheque for the money. My bank is the London and County, in Burlington Gardens, and you can have the money in 10 minute's if you like." Harden agreed to the proposal without farther 'parley ; and a quarter of an hour later, having parted from Ponsonsby at' Piccadilly Circus, he presented the latter's chequgj or £70, and received the amount in gold. Meanwhile the proud possessor of the matchless pair of greys was hastening homeward to Portmanchester square, having directed that his purchase should follow him there as 'soon as possible. Immediately on reaching his house Ponsonsby hurried down to the stables, and found Martin washing the dogcart in the mews. The trusty old man looked gloomily up as his master approached, but Ponsonsby was too eager to notice it; and began excite 3ly : " Martin, I've just bought another grey — the most perfect match for Minnie I As like as two peas. You shall see. She will be here iv a few minutes " "Master, I'm 'shamed to gay it— Minnie is stole!" the groom interrupted, halfcrying. "Stolen! Minnie ßtolen ! When 1 How?" cried poor Ponsonsby in dismay. "Last night, Bir. Some scoundrel must have opened the stable door with a false key, and rode hei off muffle-footed, for -I heard nothing, and I was a-sleeping overhead. And what's more, sir, I can' guess who done it, for a chap was here a-fiddling with the key a week back, as I'm about sure was that clever ..varmint Armstrong, the valet —him you discharged 10 year ago for steal- > ing clothes." At that moment the new purchase came clattering down the mews, ridden barebacksd by an ostler from Warley's. "This is the mare lye just bought," began Ponsonsby, but Martin paid no heed.

" Why, it's Minnie I " be shouted loudly. 11 Minnie, me ole beauty, I'm fair broke down to see you agin." At hid cry the mare came eagerly forward and thrust her nose into the groom's out-

stretohed hand. Minnie it was— with painted legs and f ro»t, but the old Minnie notwithstanding. Poor old Martin threw one arm caressingly over the beautiful creature's shoulder, and fairly cried with honest joy as he blurted out: " Why, Minnie— Minnie I Well, I'm bust!"