90 SPORTING STORIES 



accumulating, started off to meet the early coach for Epsom. 

 His uncle, knowing the state of affairs at home, received 

 him kindly, but insisted that one half of each day should 

 be spent in school and the other half on horseback. Tom 

 remained there about two years and a half, when Page got 

 him the light-weight mounts for Lord Mountcharles at 

 the time that old John Day was riding for that nobleman. 



Coronet, at the Epsom Spring Meeting, was Tom 

 Olliver's first mount in public ; but he was unsuccessful, and 

 the first victory he secured was on Icarus, the property of 

 General Grosvenor. He was then living with Turner at 

 Inglemere Cottage, Ascot Heath ; the feeding department, 

 however, was so indifferent, and Tom's appetite so good, 

 that he refused a three years' engagement, and went back 

 to his uncle, who found him a place with the famous 

 Captain Lock. But Tom was certainly not born under a 

 lucky star; for soon afterwards the Captain was drowned 

 abroad, and about the same time Uncle Page failed. 



The consequence of the double calamity was that the 

 young jockey was left stranded, with three shillings and a 

 couple of greyhounds. The latter, one would have thought, 

 were encumbrances which the impecunious lad would soon 

 have disposed of; but Tom knew a trick worth two of that. 



He had a knack of training dogs, and he trained his 

 greyhounds to sneak about the butchers' shops, and when 

 the attention of the purveyor of meat was otherwise 

 engaged these artful foragers would snatch up any small 

 joint that was handy and bolt off home with it, where it 

 was cooked and fairly divided between the thieves and the 

 receiver. But this game could not go on for ever, and 

 Tom's dogs became so notorious that he thought it prudent 

 to shift his quarters, and one fine morning started for 

 Brighton with twopence in his pocket. When he got tired, 

 he mounted on a rail behind a gentleman's carriage, until 

 the coachman's whip found him out. 



Footsore and hungry, he trudged on a little farther, when 

 a stage-coach overtook him, the driver of which gave him 

 a lift into the town, where he had friends. Soon afterwards 

 Uncle Page pulled through his difficulties, and took the 

 lad back. 



