84 STABLE SECRETS. 



add, a dog Well ! something that rhymes with dealer, 



Doddles, which I'll leave you to guess." 



"Such as him, sir," rejoined Puffy Doddles, " ought to stick 

 to dorgs. They're a disgrace to hosses." 



" Well, well, Doddles ! " returned Mr. James Sloper ; 

 "somebody said — I forget who — that the Turf levels all above 

 it, as it does all beneath it ; and neither you nor I have any 

 cause to complain, as yet, of the turf, let who will tread 

 upon it." 



" That's true, sir," added Robert Top's best lad, reflectively ; 

 "as true as boiled fleas an't lobsters." 



u Ha, ha ! " laughed Mr. James Sloper. " Quite so. Ha, 

 ha ! As true as boiled fleas an't lobsters ! I like that. As 

 you grow richer, Doddles," continued his employer, " you grow 

 smarter." 



" I'm glad you think so, sir," was the reply of Robert Top's 

 best lad. " It wouldn't do for the Great " 



Puffy Doddles stopped short, and blushed with the hue of 

 a poppy. 



" Go on," encouragingly said Mr. James Sloper. " Don't 

 stop at ' Great,' Doddles." 



"It popped out, sir, unawares," responded Sunshine's at- 

 tendant, now as red from chin to forehead, including his ears, 

 as a freshly-scraped carrot. " But " 



" Don't hesitate," remarked Mr. James Sloper, his curiosity 

 fairly roused to be made acquainted with the completion of the 

 sentence. 



"But," resumed Robert Top's best lad, in stammering 

 accents, " I was going to call myself what Job Sweety called 

 me." 



" And what was that 1 " inquired Mr. James Sloper. 



" The Great Mister Doddles ! " 



" Did he, though ! " exclaimed Mr. James Sloper. " I'm 

 glad you told me that," continued he. " Champagne and cigars 

 spoil a good many stable lads, and young jockeys ; but they are 



