by Chet Hagan
“‘For more than sixty years I have been a breeder of the blood horse, and an active participator in his education and development, and can affirm that vice and immorality do not necessarily attach to racing and, as before remarked, the racecourse is a necessity, for without it the breeder could not know the superior horses and the best strains to propagate, and without this knowledge his improvement would cease and deterioration begin.’”
Alma May turned to the final page.
“‘Here the question arises whether we will permit this noble and most useful creature, which has been brought to his present degree of perfection by the efforts of breeders for near two hundred years—and by the expenditure of as many millions of dollars—to retrograde into the coarse and clumsy brute he represented previous to the introduction of the Arab, or go on to improve and develop still higher and more useful qualities. For one, I advocate his preservation, and at the same time call upon the moralist to unite with me in the effort to remove all objectionable features that may attach to the institution so necessary for his development.
“‘Beauty, speed, action, durability, and the many admirable qualities I claim for this magnificent animal do not constitute his chief—nay, nor his greatest—value. His mission is to improve his race. The pure and unadulterated blood which flows in his veins improves and gives additional value to ALL the horse family.’”
Alma May Dewey looked up, her misting eyes surveying the audience.
“Gentlemen, those are the words of a man who was in love with the thoroughbred horse—the late Charles Dewey, master of Bon Marché.”
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
BON MARCHÉ
Copyright © 1988 by Chet Hagan
All rights reserved.
A TOR Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc.
49 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10010
ISBN: 0-812-58364-7 Can. ISBN: 0-812-58365-5
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eISBN 9781466892286
First eBook edition: February 2015