the music, produced not the slightest effect on the two young men, who continued their conversation.
“The countess was present at the races in the Champ-de-Mars,” said Château-Renaud.
“Today?”
“Yes.”
“Bless me, I quite forgot the races. Did you bet?”
“Oh, merely a paltry fifty louis.”
“And who was the winner?”
“Nautilus. I staked on him.”
“But there were three races, were there not?”
“Yes; there was the prize given by the Jockey Club—a gold cup, you know—and a very singular circumstance occurred about that race.”
“What was it?”
“Oh, shut up!” again interposed some of the audience.
“Why, it was won by a horse and rider utterly unknown on the course.”
“Is that possible?”
“True as day. The fact was, nobody