"You consider that to be important?" he asked.
"Exceedingly so."
"Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
"To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."
"The dog did nothing in the night-time."
"That was the curious incident," remarked Sherlock Holmes.
Four days later Holmes and I were again in the train, bound forWinchester to see the race for the Wessex Cup. Colonel Ross met us byappointment outside the station, and we drove in his drag to the coursebeyond the town. His face was grave, and his manner was cold in theextreme.
"I have seen nothing of my horse," said he.
"I suppose that you would know him when you saw him?" asked Holmes.
The Colonel was very angry. "I have been on the turf for twenty years,and never was asked such a question as that before," said he. "Achild would know Silver Blaze, with his white forehead and his mottledoff-foreleg."
"How is the betting?"
"Well, that is the curious part of it. You could have got fifteen to oneyesterday, but the price has become shorter and shorter, until you canhardly get three to one now."
"Hum!" said Holmes. "Somebody knows something, that is clear."
As the drag drew up in the enclosure near the grand stand I glanced atthe card to see the entries.
Wessex Plate [it ran] 50 sovs each h ft with 1000 sovs added for fourand five year olds. Second, L300. Third, L200. New course (one mile andfive furlongs). Mr. Heath Newton's The Negro. Red
cap. Cinnamon jacket.Colonel Wardlaw's Pugilist. Pink cap. Blue and black jacket. LordBackwater's Desborough. Yellow cap and sleeves. Colonel Ross's SilverBlaze. Black cap. Red jacket. Duke of Balmoral's Iris. Yellow and blackstripes. Lord Singleford's Rasper. Purple cap. Black sleeves.
"We scratched our other one, and put all hopes on your word," said theColonel. "Why, what is that? Silver Blaze favorite?"
"Five to four against Silver Blaze!" roared the ring. "Five to fouragainst Silver Blaze! Five to fifteen against Desborough! Five to fouron the field!"
"There are the numbers up," I cried. "They are all six there."
"All six there? Then my horse is running," cried the Colonel in greatagitation. "But I don't see him. My colors have not passed."
"Only five have passed. This must be he."
As I spoke a powerful bay horse swept out from the weighing enclosureand cantered past us, bearing on its back the well-known black and redof the Colonel.
"That's not my horse," cried the owner. "That beast has not a white hairupon its body. What is this that you have done, Mr. Holmes?"
"Well, well, let us see how he gets on," said my friend, imperturbably.For a few minutes he gazed through my field-glass. "Capital! Anexcellent start!" he cried suddenly. "There they are, coming round thecurve!"
From our drag we had a superb view as they came up the straight. The sixhorses were so close together that a carpet could have covered them,but half way up the yellow of the Mapleton stable showed to the front.Before they reached us, however, Desborough's bolt was shot, and theColonel's horse, coming away with a rush, passed the post a good sixlengths before its rival, the Duke of Balmoral's Iris making a badthird.
"It's my race, anyhow," gasped the Colonel, passing his hand over hiseyes. "I confess that I can make neither head nor tail of it. Don't youthink that you have kept up your mystery long enough, Mr. Holmes?"
"Certainly, Colonel, you shall know everything. Let us all go round andhave a look at the horse together. Here he is," he continued, as we madeour way into the weighing enclosure, where only owners and their friendsfind admittance. "You have only to wash his face and his leg in spiritsof wine, and you will find that he is the same old Silver Blaze asever."
"You take my breath away!"
"I found him in the hands of a faker, and took the liberty of runninghim just as he was sent over."
"My dear sir, you have done wonders. The horse looks very fit and well.It never went better in its life. I owe you a thousand apologiesfor having doubted your ability. You have done me a great service byrecovering my horse. You would do me a greater still if you could layyour hands on the murderer of John Straker."