A MIDNIGHT VISITOR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4682, 2 May 1883, Page 4

A MIDNIGHT VISITOR.

(Concluded.) Courtier waa found reposing in hiß stall, while the head lad was discovered sleeping tho ■Imp of the just on a trusa of straw, sublimely unoonaeioua of »U that had transpired. Ha waa roused, and ordered, with a subordinate, to watoh all night j and then Mr Vau7l>an, Tim Andrews, and the " nobbier," escorted by two lads, prooeeded to an adjacent harnessroom. Left alone with the oulprit, Mr Vaughan and hia trainer proceeded to interrogate him, and learnt, after a good deal ot questioning, that he waa employed by Davis to do the job. A long confabulation followed, with the result tbat Hutchios —suoh was the fellow's name — agreed, as the price of hia release, and *' "-"-.thing over, to report to hia nefarious c < loyer that the "nobbling" had been b»< .- accomplished. Only on hia faithful pc: .-mance of thia stipulation was he to bo J.*.- free— "if you nuke foxy Davis believ,o '•'Ta gone right, oome here after the race iB over, and there'll be aomething for you, but if you play ua false, look out for waves mountains high, that's all," ma Andrews' characteristic parting remark. When thia worthy departed on hia mission, Andrews explained to his employer how they oould oircumvent Morgan—" What do good generals do when the enemy ia digging a mine to hoiat them f— Why, dig a oountermine, •nd do the hoisting themselves. That's what we'll do." What he did, will be made plain iv the sequel. The morning dawned at last, and soon people were wending their way towarda the oourae from all parta of the surrounding country, and later on trains filled with the sporting fraternity of the metropolis and distant towns began to arrive. By half-past eleven, Davis met the Welshman, and told him of, aa he fondly imagined, the successful "nobbling " of Courtier. "Good! My boy, onr ' rtune'a made!" -exolaimed the elated bco! ,_m* ; and after ■ome further conversation - h hia myrmidon, be entered the Subscript! •> Boom ready to oemmenoe the " knooking v .A' of the second favourite. When about mid-day, the owner of Courtier arrived at the Booms, they ware fairly full of people, and the buza of conversation waa Enerah As aoon as Morgan saw Mr Vaughan, i made towards him, and asked if he wero -willing to accept his offer now. In reply, Mr Vaughan contemptuously turnsd his baok on him, whereupon the bookmaker shouted out, "I'll give 10 to 1 against Courtier!" Had a bombshell fallen in their midst, the suddon astonishment and excitement could not have been greator. No hint had yet been given of any poasible unsoundness of tho horse ; but such an offer coming from such a knowing qu*rter — especially as it was pretty generally understood that Herbert Vaughan was somewhat identified with the Morgan division — was" certainly an eye-opener. What was their bewilderment, then, when "Taffy" Morgan once more faced round t* "* r r Vaughan, and oried out again, with unm ikablo emphasis, *" 10 to 1 against Courtier ! ' ond to hear tho latter reply, "Is that a ct. i.enge? I'll take you to a monkey." " i .•-in!" oried the bookmaker, entering the bat. "Yes; and once more, if you like." "Done!" The bookmaker's eyes gleamed with triumph as the three bets were entered. " Mow, sir," he said, in a whisper, "we shall aoon see what your horse can ao. I reoeived private information thia morninj that would astonish you." "Did you? So did I; very early this morning," was the significant answer, " and did you know it I think it would astonish you." This evident split in the division, and the ourious Bpactaole of the owner of the second favourite (whoso price was six to one) and the man supposed to be his bear leader, backing and laying against tho same animal was the theme of conversation, and oaused the horse to recede eventually to 9 to 1. The race was fixed for a quarter-past three, being preceded by threo events of moro or less importance. By one o'olock tho sourso was crowded ; thore was o 1 irge muster in the varioua enclosures, whil: 'he Grand Stand waa filled to its utmost eu ; -jity. In view of the great race, and the }■ rial knocking-out of Courtier, together witb vhe ugly rumours associated therewith, but i; tie attention was given to the preliminary events. At longth the bell rang for clearing the course, and the various competitors were seen making their way to the startincpost. Julia waa the first to show; her aotion waa greatly admired, and ahe looked in the very pink of condition. Telegraph followed soon after, a great raking grey, very powerfully bnilfc, except that his feet seemed much too Bmall to carry such a hugo frame successfully over a trying course. But Courtier was nowhere to be seen. The excitement grew intense, and whispers of " scratching," " broken down," " gone wrocg'lJ were freely exohanged. When the numberß were hoisted, however, Courtier appeared, and it was apparent the horse had been taken privately down to the starting-post, whioh proceeding did not tend to make the mystory any clearer. All this time Looie Morgan had been peppering the animal unmercifully, whilo Herbert Vaughan stood quietly, iilont as the Sphinx, watching the varying scene. The start could not be aeen from the stand, but presently there was ft momentary lull in the Babel of sound, as the flag waa aeen to go up, and, after a alight pause, to fall. All eyes were direoted to where the horses would appear, and when it waa aeen that Telegraph was half-a-dozen lengths in advance of everything, Julia laying baok to her horaea, with Courtier in the ruok, there waa a roar of excitement that baffles desoription. When half the journey^ waa accomplished Julia had improved her position, while Courtier had successfully got through hia horaea, and waa just in front of the crowd. When fairly in the straight for home, Topper, -Mr Vaughan's jookey, was seen to shake up hia mount, and, without a Beaming effort, Courtier raced up to Julia's quarters, who, in her turn, had challenged Telegraph. For fifty yarda a fine raoe between the two waa witnessed, and the exoitement in the stand, in the ring, and along the oonrae grew to fever-heat. The feelinga of "Taffy" Morgan at thia junoture must have been of the most mixed description. He ceased hia vociferous shouts of "6 to 1, bar one," "9 to JL against Courtier," and -^tohed with breathless anxiety tho strugg'k 7. tween the leading two, while a sickening oaviotion began to steal over him that he hud been sold. Bight np under and along ths Grand Stand came the three, neck-to-neck, and noae-to-noße, when Telegraph cried "enough," and retired. Then Topper raised hia whip and plied tho spurs, and, aa if by magio, Courtier shot out and Beoured the viotory byT.' length, amid a scene oil the wildest excitement aud enthuaiaam ovor a grandly run and gamely-contested raoe. It was a proud moment, both to Herbert Vaughan and his trainer, when they led tho noble creature baok in triumph. It was a doubly happy moment to tho former, for, added to pride of being the owner of suoh a splendid animal, was thp consciousness that he had got rid of the incubus of debt and aevered the conneotion for evor between himself and the Morgan clique. As for thut worthy, we need not step to deaoribe to the imaginative reader the mingled feelings of rage, disappointment, and bitterness that possessed him when he saw Courtier pass the post first. He was a ruined man iv overy sense ef the word — in pocket, and reputation too, for he was sure tho " nobbling " episode had come to Vaughan's ears, and that his plot had been frustrated by a counterplot. Suffice to say, that when sot-tling-day oame, he waa non est inventus - in other words, he had sloped; and "though lost to aight, to memory dear," might have been the thoughta of a fow of hia viotima, the moral atmosphere of the Turf waa much clearer, for his financial decease broke up the ring associated with his name. Herbert Vaughan discovered afterwards that, had the bookmaker's plot been successful, his ruin would have been inevitable, aa Morgan had bought up all the bills and notes which Vaughan had lavishly set -afloat, and with which he evidently intended to '' -"et it up " for him. With Morgan, '.-vVav*.)avis, and Hutohens, the would-be nobbier, lalsojbecame scarce, the latter, probably deeming discretion the better part of valour, omitting to call on Mr Andrews for the promised " something over." It is needless to say, in conclusion, that Herbert Vaughan handsomely rewarded " honest Jim Andrews " for his services ; that he had scrupulously avoided plunging, and is, at the present honr, one of tbe most honoured leaders in Turf life.