AND OTHER SKETCHES 67 



poor show if the guardian at the gate is sternly strict on 

 that qualification. 



I have said that old Frank was thoroughly honest, and 

 in proof of that declaration I am going to spin a little 

 turf yarn that is known to but very few. Even my friend 

 Dawes knew nothing of it until nearly a year after it 

 occurred. It was back in 1885, when the stable's two 

 crack jumpers, Rose by Helmbold, dam by Niagara, and 

 Charlemagne by Pat Malloy, out of Alice Burford, were 

 carrying everything before them. There was a gang of 

 pirates then, as now, connected with the jumpers, but the 

 great stumbling block in their way was the Canadian 

 stable, whose horses were always trying for the money. 



At the Monmouth Park meeting a very prominent 

 gambler who plaj^ed the jumpers heavily, made up his 

 mind to interview Owens and see if he couldn't fix him. 

 Early on the morning of race day he sauntered round 

 to the Dawes stable and, watching his chance, finally 

 secured an audience with the old man. He did not beat 

 about the bush at all. He was one of the kind that be- 

 lieved the almighty dollar a more potent argument than 

 any amount of special pleading; so as soon as Owens sat 

 down his visitor drew ten one hundred dollar notes from 

 his pocket, and laying them on his knee, said: ''Frank, 

 I've brought this thousand over for you." 



''Brought them over for me," replied the old man. 

 "Well, you are a mighty liberal man with your money. 

 Why do you want to make me such a big present ? ' ' 



"I'm not wanting much, Frank," was the answer. "I 

 merely want the privilege of putting up a jockey on 

 Charlemagne to-day." 



The old man hung back for a second or two, then 

 quietly said, "It isn't much of a privilege you are asking 

 for so much money, but perhaps if I let you pick out a 

 rider for the chestnut horse to-day you'd be wanting to 

 give the boy your orders how to ride the race, too?" 



"Oh, certainly," was the answer, "I'm offering you the 

 thousand dollars just for that privilege, nothing more." 



' ' Then you d d scoundrel, you get away from here. 



