Page:Palo'mine (1925).pdf/137

 and each horse had struck his full stride in less than a hundred feet. Red Bird had made good his reputation as a great racer by a wonderful quick getaway that had put him two lengths in the lead without any seeming effort. White Cloud was next, two lengths behind, and the rest were rather closely bunched, with Palo'mine bringing up the rear.

Halsey felt the rush of wind in his face and heard it singing in his ears and the sound of many pounding hoofs like the charge of cavalry. The pace fairly took his breath away, but after a little his nerves steadied and he began working his horse forward.

Relatively, the flying horses who were making twenty feet at a stride, seemed to stand still, or just move. For Palo'mine's nose was just at Nighthawk's gray flank. Then it moved forward to his saddle girth, then to his withers, and at last he was nose to nose with the gray racer. Stardust was next in the procession that had now strung out a bit, and Halsey and Palo'mine went