No! No!
'Miracour!'--'Vicket'--beats. No! No! the 'King'--the 'King's' got
away!"
They were right, for Peacock had thought it wisest to put the spurt on
already, and the "King," with every fibre stretched to its utmost, had
darted ahead. "Miracour" caught up again, and side by side they raced
over the level flat, cheered and shouted at by the frantic crowd.
A roar like that of the sea broke forth as the two animals neared the
last obstacle, a great hedge filled with thorn, and like a miniature
mountain. Neck and neck they seemed to be, when suddenly the "King"
darted forward, and, amid terrific shouts of astonishment, took the leap
too short, fell sideways, and pitched his jockey into the short scrub, a
dozen feet away.
"Miracour" rose for the leap, and clearing it, cantered in the winner by
sixty lengths.
For a moment there was tense silence, broken by a roar of surprise, rage
and disappointment, as the crowd broke away and swarmed over the course
to the spot where the jockey still lay. A murmur of horror had also gone
throughout the length of the grand stand; but whether of disappointment,
or at the fall of the rider, it was hard to say.
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