he moaned until he choked on a great wad of mucus , wondering what he could have possibly done to stop them . close calls with death had a way of causing the most radical of changes . will 's mother had given us eighty pounds as a 'float ' . a roar rose from the crowd as the horses leapt forward . he pointed to a fork in one end . glancing down into her closed eyes , he kissed her lips . we were halfway through the tour , making our way up the east coast . 