CHAPTER XXXII 



HOPE DEFERRED 



Ruined through Winning — Acquiring Abelard II. — "The Knock" 



Throughout this book I am afraid that I may have 

 said too much of my perpetual hopes and fears about 

 getting a hcence. At all events at the beginning of 

 1909 I was led to believe there was yet another chance, 

 but — the usual result. 



I went back to France therefore, and then on to 

 Ostend. Here one day I was introduced to Lord 

 Torrington : we seemed to have a lot of interests in 

 common straight away. The friendship struck up 

 there lasted for a long time. We saw out the re- 

 mainder of the season at Ostend, having determined 

 to go on to Brussels immediately afterwards. Lord 

 Torrington proved a splendid sportsman and was on 

 for any enterprise which the means at our disposal 

 could exploit. We learned to know each other better 

 and better, and we had no hesitation about embarking 

 on a little deal together at the opening of the Autumn 

 season. I saw an animal walking round the paddock 

 which I mistook for a colt, but which proved to my 

 surprise to be a filly. Getting closer to her, her good 

 looks impressed me very much ; in fact she looked all 

 over a winner, and of much better class than the others. 

 I told " T " what I thought of her and we had a nice 

 bet about her on the off chance, and we arranged that 

 if she did win we would try to buy her. 



Everything turned out successfully : she won, 



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