The Life of Fred Archer 143 
hot castor oil and half an orange. That will have to last me 
till dinner-time.' 
" I was much amused once at Leicester. I was talking to 
Fred outside the weighing-room about ordinary topics of the 
day, and, leaving him, went towards the grandstand, and was 
pounced upon by a man with whom I had a slight acquaintance. 
' What did he tell you ? ' ' Who ? ' I said. ' Why. Archer of 
course.' ' Oh,' I said, ' we were not talking about racing.* 
' Good heavens ! ' he said, ' fancy a man on speaking terms with 
Archer, and not asking him what he fancied ! I wish I knew 
him ; I'd get him to mark my card every day.' ' I'll get 
him to mark mine now, if it would please you,' I said, ' and 
you can see him do it, and see it after he's marked it.' ' Do,' 
says he, ' and I'll never forget your kindness.' So I hastened up 
to Archer again. ' Fred,' I said, ' mark my card,' telHng him 
the reason. He laughed, took out his pencil, and marked four 
horses out of the seven races. I took it back to my acquaint- 
ance and said he could keep it if he'd give me his. 
" Of course, I pretty well knew Archer had marked four 
horses he was going to ride himself, and, as luck would have it, 
not one of the four won, much, I fear, to the pecuniary loss of 
my acquaintance, for he was very far from hilarious when I 
saw him in the evening, and hardly deigned to acknowledge 
my ' Good evening.' 
" A trainer friend of mine had a run of bad luck that seemed 
endless once, and a friend of his said to him : ' You'll never win 
another race until you get Archer to ride one for you and break 
the spell.' ' Wish I could,' said he, ' but Archer don't care to 
ride unless he thinks he has a thundering good chance to win, 
and my lot are so dead out of form he'd laugh at me for asking 
him. ' Shall I ask him ? ' I said. ' He'd do a Httle to oblige 
me.' ' Wish you would,' says my friend. ' It might have a 
good result.' 
" Well, next time he was running a horse I asked Fred if 
he'd ride it, and he said yes, he would, if he was not obliged to 
