198 THE RACING WORLD 



which invariably arrive by the first post on 

 Monday morning ; I myself find it more conveni- 

 ent to send my demand, if I have won, or, if 

 I have lost, to wait till I receive my creditor's 

 request for a cheque for whatever the amount 

 may be according to his calculation. If we 

 agree, as we do in forty-nine cases out of fifty, 

 I send him his cheque by return of post. 



The bookmaker's " runner " is, I suppose, more 

 of a mystery to the casual race-goer than the 

 bookmaker's clerk, who is always to the front — if 

 I were a more polite writer perhaps I should 

 rather say en evidence^ though I am very doubtful 

 about the accent, and do not quite see why I 

 should say in questionable French what I can 

 explain to the comprehension of readers in 

 English. The runner is on the whole rather a 

 nuisance than otherwise, little as he may suspect 

 that such a verdict can possibly be passed on him ; 

 but of course he is useful at times, or he would not 

 be tolerated. Nearly every bookmaker has his 

 runner, and pays him a pound a day and expenses, 

 his expenses being a biggish item in the account. 

 The runner's business is to keep his employer 

 informed as to how things are going generally, and 

 principally about sudden changes in the betting. 

 There is, for instance, a hot favourite. I am 



