A Danish Parsonage Part 13

"The race has not been a fair one," said Hardy; "my horse has been specially trained for this sort of work, the horses I rode against have not, I therefore wish the cup given to the second horse."

The Danish officers pressed Hardy to take the cup, but Hardy was firm.

They spoke to him in that manly way habitual with Danish gentlemen, and Hardy liked them. They went up to Buffalo, which Robert Garth was leading up and down to cool; and Hardy induced one of the officers to try Buffalo at one of the small fences erected for the hurdle race; and when he came back, the Danish cavalry officer said, "Why, you could have ridden away from us from the first!"

"No doubt," said Hardy.

"And you did not, because you did not wish to let the race appear a hollow one," said the officer, "and it would disappoint so many."

"I only entered my horse for the race," said Hardy, "under great pressure, not until I saw I should give offence to G.o.dseier Jensen and many others who have been kind to me. They wanted to see my horse race. I intended to have let my servant ride, but when I heard I should have to ride against Danish gentlemen, I rode myself."

"What a charger he would make!" said one of the cavalry officers.

"He is too light in bone," said Hardy. "I am an officer in the yeomanry cavalry of my country, and use a bigger framed horse as a charger."

"We will take the cup because it is your wish, Herr Hardy," said the officer, "but you must come and dine with some of us to-morrow, and bring your horse, and let the other men of our regiment see it. We are much obliged to you. You have taught us what we have heard of, and that is a hunting-seat. Cavalry men cannot go well across country, riding, as we do, with a cavalry seat. We dine at three. Ask for Baron Jarlsberg."

Hardy accepted, and went up to the grand stand where Fru Jensen and her daughters were and Frken Helga Lindal. He had changed his clothes for a black morning coat and tweed trousers. The last race was being ran.

"Herr Jensen has sent me to see you to your carriage, Fru Jensen,"

said Hardy; "he is much occupied with his duties of honorary secretary, and settling the usual disputes that arise."

"And was that you with a blue handkerchief round your head and nothing on but a flannel shirt?" asked Fru Jensen.

"Yes," said Hardy; "but I had other garments on than a flannel shirt."

"Of course," said Fru Jensen, "of course; but if I were your mother, I should be afraid of your catching cold."

"But when, Fru Jensen, we ride a race, we have to be dressed for it, and the less clothes we have the better."

"And you have won the race, I hear," said Fru Jensen; "but I did not know who won, and I see it is a silver cup. It will be something to take back to England. Your father, Helga, will be glad to hear Herr Hardy is to have a silver cup."

Helga had perception enough to see that she had wounded Hardy in the early part of the day and that he had not forgotten it. He said nothing to her, but gave Fru Jensen his arm, and conducted them to the Jensen's carriage, a heavy four-wheeled conveyance, arranged to carry eight, by seats placed one after the other in a sort of four-wheeled dogcart with a long body.

It had been a great desire of proprietor Jensen to have a dinner of a public character after the races, but this it was found not practicable to carry out within anything like a reasonable hour, according to Danish notions, and the consequence was Herr Jensen had to content himself with asking as many of his own friends and his friends' friends as he could to his own Herregaard. He was in the best possible humour. The races had gone off without a hitch, and every one had congratulated him. He had been told he had made a great hit with his Englishman, as the officers of the Danish cavalry regiment were delighted with him. It was, however, positively necessary that the worthy proprietor should return home to receive his friends.

"Where is the Englishman?" he inquired, as he came to the carriage.

"Here," said Hardy. "The ladies are waiting for you, and the carriage is ready to start."

John Hardy was going to sit by the side of one of Herr Jensen's daughters, but he would not have it. The proprietor must talk over the races with Hardy, and he did, so volubly that Hardy could scarcely understand him. "I never saw anything so smart as the way you took those fences after pa.s.sing the other horses! It was grand to see your horse going easily over about a foot above them; and the way you came in past the judges was splendid. I must say I did not like your refusal to take the prize; it was only a cup that cost us about 5 of your money, but it was the prize for all that, and was well won. If it was the smallness of its value," said the worthy proprietor, carried away by his enthusiasm, "I would give you a dozen such. They lost the race at once by not taking the water jump and galloping their horses through it without jumping it. I saw you were in a difficulty, but the way you held your horse and took the water jump was good. I did like the way also in which you spoke to the cavalry officers and letting one of them ride your horse over one of the hurdle jumps, and so let him see that they had been nowhere, and that you could have beaten them at any point of the race. After all, I think you were right to give up the cup with such a superior horse, but very few men would have done it, but the way you did it is what has made such a good impression. Come and stay with me as long as you like! There is a little river through my property with trout in it, you may catch them all if you like."

"Thank you, Herr Jensen," said Hardy, "but I return to England shortly. I will, however, come over, with your permission, and fish your river, which is a little tributary to the Gudenaa, and I hear has some good trout in it. We have not liked to ask your leave, because you might have other friends for whom you would wish to reserve the fishing."

"If I had," said the proprietor, "I would give it you; nothing would give me greater pleasure than to return your kindness to me. You gave up your own wishes about the racing only to oblige me; you did not wish to ride or risk your horse, but you did it to oblige me."

"Thank you very much," said Hardy. "May I take Pastor Lindal's two sons, Karl and Axel, with me to fish? They will not depopulate the stream."

"You may take anybody," said Herr Jensen, warmly.

Frken Helga heard this conversation, and it showed her how differently Hardy had acted from what she had suggested to him in the morning before the races. Herr Jensen's unqualified praise had let her see how good Hardy had been, and how considerate for others, and she had accused him of being a coward and only caring for himself.

When they came to proprietor Jensen's Herregaard, Hardy jumped out of the carriage, and a.s.sisted Fru Jensen and her daughters out, but to Frken Helga Lindal he only extended his arm, so that she might rest her hand on it on her descending from the carriage. She would have spoken, but Hardy was gone.

The dinner at proprietor Jensen's was a very lively affair. Early in the dinner he proposed the Englishman's health, and Hardy responded briefly; and then came many other toasts, and the ultimate conclusion was there was nothing like horse-racing, and as the evening wore on, so did the fogginess of the subject. Hardy had sent Garth to his stables with Buffalo after the race, and told him to fetch them at Herr Jensen's Herregaard at an early hour with the carriage, and Hardy drove himself, talking to Garth, who sat beside him. Karl and Axel had preferred to stay to see the last festivities of the races and to walk home, consequently Frken Helga sat by herself in the carriage, and Hardy, after seeing her safely in and well cared for, did not address a word to her. They drove to the parsonage, and Hardy drove to the stables with Garth, to see Buffalo after his extra work that day, and Hardy walked back.

The Pastor was smoking his pipe, listening to the events of the day as described by Karl and Axel. "You won your race. Hardy," said Pastor Lindal; "and the boys say easily."

"Yes, I won the race I rode," said Hardy.

"And, father, he would not take the cup, that is the prize he won; he said his horse was a better horse, and gave it to the man who came in second, and a long way behind he was," said Karl.

Frken Helga knitted, but did not look up.

"And did you not see the race, Helga?"

"Yes, father," said Helga; "and I saw Herr Hardy win it."

"But what is the matter, Helga?" asked her father, with some hardness.

"Father, I have been wrong," said Helga. "Herr Hardy said he did not wish to risk his horse, and that he did not wish to win the race, but that he could easily if he chose. I did not like his professing to be so superior over us Danes, and I told him so, and that he was afraid to ride his horse, and that he knew he would not win. I now know that what he said was quite true, and that he has behaved well."

"You should have heard how they cheered him when he came in," said Karl.

"I do think, Helga, if you made so insulting a speech to Herr Hardy,"

said the Pastor, with some asperity, "that it should be withdrawn. To tell a man that he is a coward and has false pride is too galling, and when not a single ground for it exists the more so. You might thereby have tempted him to risk his life, to say nothing of his horse."

Helga burst into tears.

Hardy rose and held out his hand to her. "I hope," he said, "you will think no more of this; I shall not. Your saying what you have to your father is enough for me. I do hope you will believe me when I say that after so frank an admission that I shall only respect the strong national feeling that prompted you. I admit a Danish gentleman can do all I can and possibly more."

"You are a gentleman, Hardy," said the Pastor.

Helga took Hardy's hand coldly, and left the room. She had made a mistake and had atoned, that was all.

The next day Hardy rode Buffalo, attended by Garth on one of the Danish horses, to the quarters of the cavalry regiment, and was received with much kindness. A dinner had been arranged at a hotel near, and the men and officers of the regiment regarded Buffalo with much interest. One after the other asked leave to mount him and ride him a short distance over a bit of gra.s.s adjoining the cavalry barracks. Hardy let them inspect the horse to their hearts' content.

His winning the race so easily the day before had its special value.

Hardy's knowledge of cavalry accoutrements and horses was another point of common interest. He rode several of the best horses of the regiment, but preferred changing their heavy military bridles to his own light snaffle, and the effect was marked, and was noted by the cavalry officers.

At dinner, the cup of the day before was produced, and Hardy had to drink out of it.

"It is your cup and fairly won, but we appreciate the feeling that gives it to us," said Baron Jarlsberg, "and we shall keep it in the regiment as a memento of an English horse beating the best horses in a Danish cavalry regiment."

Hardy rode to the parsonage, after a very pleasant time, with many expressions of good feeling from the Danish officers.

CHAPTER XIII.