Cinder Path Tales

THE HOLLOW HAMMER 47 the other events combined, alsobecause of the race feeling excited by the nationalities of the two most-favored contestants. Perhaps a third of the spectators were Irish, and being more aggressive and out­ spoken, werealmost as much in evidence as the Scotchthemselves. Indeed, the applause when an Irishman won(and theyhad more than their proportion of firsts that day) was as loud as at thevictory of a Scot. In the " hammer-throw" there were a scant half-dozen entries, the reputed prowess of Duffy and MacLeod disheartening the less ambitious. I was surprised to see among them old Sandy MacNab, the piper, but learned that hehad been a famous man with the weights,and had pulled off the event here only last year. Indeed, for all his age (and more than twenty was he) he was a good man yet despite hiscadaverous appearance. He had for years pulled money outof these Caledonian games, although the amount of his winnings had diminished with his increas­ ing years. To-day he had backed himself to win the " Old Men's Race," and won easily, but un­ fortunately stood to lose all he had made, and more too, in the "hammer-throw." In making hisbook to get second or bet­ ter, hethought hehad been remarkably con-