2IO 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 off 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 



