The royal salute of British journalism thundered the announcement of Tinkler's staleness before a people prostrate on the national betting book.
Divested of exaggeration, the facts were few enough and simple enough.
A famous Athletic Association of the North had challenged a famous Athletic Association of the South.

The usual "Sports" were to take place--such as running, jumping, "putting" the hammer, throwing cricket-balls, and the like--and the whole was to wind up with a Foot-Race of unexampled length and difficulty in the annals of human achievement between the two best men on either side.

"Tinkler" was the best man on the side of the South.

"Tinkler" was backed in innumerable betting-books to win.

And Tinkler's lungs had suddenly given way under stress of training! A prospect of witnessing a prodigious achievement in foot-racing, and (more important still) a prospect of winning and losing large sums of money, was suddenly withdrawn from the eyes of the British people.