All that is required is a fairly long
and fairly straight piece of road, terminating in a railway-station, and a
sufficiency of City men of suitable age and rotundity.
The scheme is based on the Herd instinct--on the tendency of most creatures
to follow their leader. For example, if you are walking down to your early
train, with plenty of time to spare as you suppose, and you observe the man
in front of you looking at his watch and suddenly quickening his steps,
first to a smart walk, then to a brisk jog-trot, it is not in human nature,
however you may trust your own watch, not to follow suit. This is precisely
what Piggott led me to do one morning about six weeks back.
When, on reaching the station ten minutes too early, I remonstrated with
him, he apologised.
"I am sorry," he said; "I didn't know you were behind me. I was really
pace-making for 'Flyaway'--there, over there." And Piggott pointed to a
stoutish man with iron-grey whiskers mopping his forehead and the inside of
his hat, and looking incredulously at the booking-hall clock.
"But that is Mr. Bludyer, senior partner in Bludyer, Spinnaway & Jevons," I
said.
"It may be," replied Piggott. "But I call him Flyaway. I find it more
convenient to have a stable-name for each of my racers." And he proceeded
to expound his invention to me.
Like so many great inventors he had stumbled upon the idea by chance one
morning when his watch happened to be wrong; but he had developed the
inspiration with consummate art and skill.
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