THE BLACK OUTLOOK 



me to ride a horse of his the next day, and I answered — 

 I hope quite respectfully — that if he would wait I 

 would look at my book when I got back to the jockeys' 

 room. Of course I meant my engagement diary. He 

 said to me as he turned away, " I wait for no jockey ; 

 you won't have the chance again." Several times 

 after that I tried to get an opportunity of explaining to 

 him that it wouldn't have been right for me to accept 

 the engagement without making sure that I hadn't 

 promised to ride another horse. He would never 

 listen ; in fact, he would not even allow me to speak 

 to him. 



All these things began to be talked about and thought 

 about too, and when I went to say good-bye to Lord 

 William Beresford at Carlton House Terrace he said 

 to me : 



" Things look pretty black, little man, but we must 

 hope for the best." I answered that I would not be 

 discouraged : I couldn't believe that after the severe 

 reprimand they had given me the Stewards would 

 actually withhold my next year's licence. Still what 

 Lord William said naturally made me think. 



I went over to America after three weeks in London 

 and rode in California, and on my way from the East and 

 stopping at Chicago I first got news of serious trouble. 

 I read in the papers there that it was announced that 

 the English Jockey Club had intimated to J. T. Sloan 

 that it was advisable for him not to apply for his 

 licence during that season of 1901. 



There was a crusher ! All the same it did not imply 

 in any way that my number was up for many years to 

 come. I believed that if I lived quietly it would be all 

 right in the following year. 



On getting back to England I was able to see some of 

 the comments made at the time by some of the news- 



189 



