AT WORK ON THE RACE-TRACKS 



admirably, arriving in the ring about five minutes 

 to two. It was well filled, and he could take a safe 

 survey of it. There, near him, was the man who had 

 to pay him. How could he manage to get at him ? The 

 first event was a selling race, and it was any odds that 

 the principal creditor would go into the sale-room 

 afterwards and see if he could secure a bargain. Near 

 the needy one was a man he knew very well, who would 

 do little things to oblige an acquaintance, so " A " 

 readied him. When they had passed the post, in went 

 the bookmaker to see what the winner would fetch, 

 and here was the chance. Pointing out the clerk, 

 who was standing by himself, the hunter after the 

 sixty said, pointing to the bookmaker's clerk : " Go and 

 ask him what he'll lay you Success for the Cesarewitch. 

 I'll tell you something when you come back. Fence 

 about with him a bit, asking the price of one or two 

 others first." 



It came off. The argument was a long one between 

 the clerk and the emissary. " A " popped down and, 

 keeping to leeward of the man from whom the sixty 

 pounds was to come, touched the notes ; the bank- 

 roll had only been two or three pounds before that. 

 Forty pounds was put carefully in the inner pocket to 

 keep for Newmarket, and the balance of twenty-two 

 was turned into seventy before the day was out. It 

 was a hopeful feeling starting the next day with over 

 a hundred ; but still the ghosts had to be dodged, and 

 the only thing to do was to arrive late again and give 

 a chance to fifty for the first race. As luck would have 

 it, on the way out to the course he met a jockey trying 

 to get a bit of weight off. He said to " A " : " You are 

 a very lucky man to have met me, for I can give you 

 the winner of the first race," and he did, a six-to-one 

 chance. Not content with the fifty, he put an extra 



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