210 CHASING AND RACING 



I was told that Benzon was a pretty good player; 

 so one evening after dinner I took him home and gave 

 him a try out on the domestic cloth of green. He 

 began by conceding me two balls of the table. That 

 proved too much of a handicap. In the end we were a 

 fair match when he owed me two, at which I won four 

 games out of seven. We were playing for money 

 too ! One penny a ball ! On this showing I figured 

 that he had overrated his skill, for I do not count 

 myself much more than " useful " at the game. 



There came a time when this really nice young 

 fellow side-slipped ; though I am sure the " crime " 

 was committed owing to thoughtless innocence rather 

 than through deliberate turpitude. 



After he had " done in " his fortune, a certain 

 allowance had been arranged for him by his trustees ; 

 but, bless you, he found it impossible to keep within 

 the allotted figures thereof; consequently he was 

 always " on the rocks." He happened to be on the 

 Riviera one winter, where, finding himself cashless, he 

 resorted to a very primitive and foolish method of 

 supplying the deficiency. He proceeded to Nice 

 where he obtained certain valuable goods on credit, 

 which, when delivered, were handed over to Mon 

 Oncle at Le Mont de Piete, in exchange for a wad of 

 " mille " notes. This escapade led to his arrest, and 

 eventually to his incarceration in a French prison. 

 Whilst on remand, our mutual friend Day (one of the 

 " Daddies " of the pigeon-shooting cult, who was a 



