Twelve o'clock
Towards noon , the hour at which the first race was to be run , the crowd grew denser , the excitement keener . `` Two to one on ` King Cole ' -- three to one ` Miracour ' -- and five to one ` Bay Star ' -- six to one , bar three '' -- all these cries rose in a loud , turbulent roar . It was known to all that the `` swells '' -- as they termed the Castle people -- had backed their champion `` King Cole '' for sums which , as Jasper Vermont had rightly said the preceding night , would almost equal his weight in gold ; and such was their faith in him that no other horse had been entered from that same county . Twelve o'clock struck , and no signs as yet of the Leroy party ; that is to say , with the exception of one man , namely , Mr. Jasper Vermont . `` Your swells are always late , '' said a thick-lipped turfite , biting his stubby pencil prior to booking a favourable bet . `` They gives any money for style , an ' plays it high on us . It ai n't their way to be to time for anything , not they -- only us poor chaps . ''