"I shall be with the horse all the time, until he mounts, to see they don't tamper with him," he added with a wink.
Bellshaw laughed. They had hatched a wicked plot against Glen Leigh, and Wimpole was to carry it out.
"There'll be trouble if it's discovered," said Wimpole.
"No, only if there's any danger of its being found out I shall bolt, and it will take more money than you offer to get me out of the country in comfort."
"I must have five hundred planked down before I do it," replied Wimpole.
"Too much," said Bellshaw, but after an angry altercation agreed to Wimpole's terms.
"The risk's great. It will be a case of manslaughter right enough if anything happens to Leigh, and it's discovered."
The announcement in huge placards and newspaper advertisements that Glen Leigh was to ride an unbroken stallion from Mintaro for a quarter of an hour, for a wager of two thousand a side, between Craig Bellshaw and Nicholas Gerard, roused curiosity to its highest pitch, and there was a prospect of an enormous attendance. Glen Leigh was confident Bellshaw would be unable to find a horse that could unseat him. Bill Bigs did not like the look of things; he thought of foul play. He did not trust Bellshaw. He knew the squatter would give a good round sum to injure Leigh.
Glen had been to Manley and seen Mrs. Prevost; he asked her to be his wife, and she consented. When she alluded to the past he said it was buried; he had no wish to unearth it. Clara Benny, as she was still called, looked much better since she had been with Mrs. Prevost. There was no doubt her health would be completely restored, but whether this meant the recovery of her lost memory was uncertain. Mrs. Prevost tried to persuade Glen not to ride in the match. She was sure he would be injured, Bellshaw was such a vindictive man.
Glen laughed her fears away, and made her promise to come and see him win the wager; he said Bellshaw would have no chance of using foul play against him.
"You'll give up the show after this match?" she begged.
"I'll hand my share over to Jim Benny," he answered. "I'll only go into the ring when you give me permission," he added smiling. He knew she would consent when he asked her.
The excitement caused over the two thousand pound wager was intense, and on Saturday night the building was crammed to suffocation.
