第107章

“HowhashegotonsinceIwasatFulham？“askedMr。Speedwell。

“First-rate，Sir!Itwasoneofhisbaddayswhenyousawhim。Hehasdonewondersinthelasteight-and-fortyhours。“

“Ishegoingtowintherace？“

PrivatelythedoctorhaddonewhatPerryhaddonebeforehim——hehadbackedGeoffrey’santagonist。Publiclyhewastruetohiscolors。HecastadisparaginglookatFleetwood——andansweredYes，withouttheslightesthesitation。

Atthatpoint，theconversationwassuspendedbyasuddenmovementintheinclosure。Therunnerswereontheirwaytothestarting-place。Themomentoftheracehadcome。

Shouldertoshoulder，thetwomenwaited——eachwithhisfoottouchingthemark。Thefiringofapistolgavethesignalforthestart。Attheinstantwhenthereportsoundedtheywereoff。

Fleetwoodatoncetookthelead，Delamaynfollowing，atfromtwotothreeyardsbehindhim。Inthatordertheyranthefirstround。thesecond，andthethird——bothreservingtheirstrength；

bothwatchedwithbreathlessinterestbyeverysoulintheplace。

Thetrainers，withtheircansintheirhands，ranbackwardandforwardoverthegrass，meetingtheirmenatcertainpoints，andeyingthemnarrowly，insilence。Theofficialpersonsstoodtogetherinagroup；theireyesfollowingtherunnersroundandroundwiththeclosestattention。Thetrainer’sdoctor，stillattachedtohisillustriouscolleague，offeredthenecessaryexplanationstoMr。Speedwellandhisfriend。

“Nothingmuchtoseeforthefirstmile，Sir，exceptthe’style’

ofthetwomen。“

“Youmeantheyarenotreallyexertingthemselvesyet？“

“No。Gettingtheirwind，andfeelingtheirlegs。Prettyrunner，Fleetwood——ifyounoticeSir？Getshislegsatriflebetterinfront，andhardlyliftshisheelsquitesohighasourman。Hisaction’sthebestofthetwo；Igrantthat。Butjustlook，astheycomeby，whichkeepsthestraightestline。There’swhereDelamaynhashim!It’sasteadier，stronger，truerpace；andyou’llseeittellwhenthey’rehalf-waythrough。“So，forthefirstthreerounds，thedoctorexpatiatedonthetwocontrasted“styles“——intermsmercifullyadaptedtothecomprehensionofpersonsunacquaintedwiththelanguageoftherunningring。

Atthefourthround——inotherwords，attheroundwhichcompletedthefirstmile，thefirstchangeintherelativepositionoftherunnersoccurred。Delamaynsuddenlydashedtothefront。

Fleetwoodsmiledastheotherpassedhim。Delamaynheldtheleadtilltheywerehalfwaythroughthefifthround——whenFleetwood，atahintfromhistrainer，forcedthepace。HelightlypassedDelamayninaninstant；andledagaintothecompletionofthesixthround。

Attheopeningoftheseventh，Delamaynforcedthepaceonhisside。Forafewmoments，theyranexactlyabreast。ThenDelamayndrewawayinchbyinch；andrecoveredthelead。Thefirstburstofapplause(ledbythesouth)rangout，asthebigmanbeatFleetwoodathisowntactics，andheadedhimatthecriticalmomentwhentheracewasnearlyhalfrun。

“ItbeginstolookasifDelamayn_was_goingtowin!“saidSirPatri