HOW I WON MY HANDICAP 183 



" put it on " aucl just got home first. He seemed 

 pleased and told me not to say a word to anybody, 

 but come down and meet him ao-ain. I didn't know 

 what he was about at all, but I said " All right," 

 and next Saturday went to the same place. Locker 

 was there, and two other coves with him, as I hadn't 

 seen before. One was a tall thin un he called 

 " Lanky," and the other was little and wiry, and 

 rather pock-pitted. He said, "Let's all four run 

 for a ' bob ' a-piece, and you three give me two yards 

 start ? " But they wouldn't ; so he said, I should 

 run the " lonc,^ un " for a crown. That was soon 

 settled, and just before we started, Locker whispered 

 to me, " Beat him, lad, if thou canst ; I want him 

 licked, he is such a bragger. We'll share t' crown 

 if thou wins." The little un set us off, and Locker 

 was judge. Well, we got away together, and I 

 headed him in by five yards easy. Locker fairly 

 danced, he was so pleased ; and though Lanky 

 grumbled a bit at first to part with his " crown," he 

 was soon all right. We went to Locker's to dinner, 

 and talked about " sprinting," as they called it, all 

 the afternoon. I told 'em I'd never run at all 

 before except for fun, and they seemed " fairly 

 staggered." They asked if I would run a match 

 for £5 next week, and I told 'em I didn't mind. 

 Locker said I was a " good un," and I might " win 



