There were four men dressed for hunting
inside, and two others on the box. They were all smoking, and all
talking. It was easy to see that they did not consider themselves
the least among those who were gathered together on this occasion.
The carriage was immediately surrounded by grooms and horses, and
the ceremony of disencumbering themselves of great coats and
aprons, of putting on spurs and fastening hat-strings was
commenced. Then there were whispered communications from the
grooms, and long faces under some of the hats. This horse hadn't
been fit since last Monday's run, and that man's hack wasn't as it
should be. A muttered curse might have been heard from one
gentleman as he was told, on jumping from the box, that Harry
Stubbings hadn't sent him any second horse to ride. "I didn't hear
nothing about it till yesterday, Captain," said Harry Stubbings,
"and every foot I had fit to come out was bespoke." The groom,
however, who heard this was quite aware that Mr. Stubbings did not
wish to give unlimited credit to the Captain, and he knew also that
the second horse was to have carried his master the whole day, as
the animal which was brought to the meet had been ridden hard on
the previous Wednesday. At all this the Senator looked with curious
eyes, thinking that he had never in his life seen brought together
a set of more useless human beings.
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