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132 The morning wore on, and shortly after luncheon our dogs went to slips for their first courses. Neither had run in public before (although it was February), and consequently their chances did not seem promising. It happened, however, that these puppies were really as smart as we had judged them to be, and both won 'all ends up,' to quote the familiar coursing saying. The gamekeeper, who had been singularly silent all the forenoon, having lost his tongue in what he called 'foreign parts,' became both vociferous and noisy after the double win, and when we found him was holding forth to a little crowd, extolling the merits of his charges, and loudly proclaiming that they were the best dogs in England. When he saw us he quickly subsided; but there was an excitement about him that did not augur well, and as they were only going once through the stakes that day, and consequently our dogs were not wanted until the morrow, we told him to take his dogs back to their temporary quarters at once, saying that we would call on our way to the railway station.

Now it happened that at that time some very bad characters (whose career was eventually cut short in connection with the much-deplored Netherby murder), were going the round of the coursing meetings and we, being aware of this fact, decided to take both