MORE CHRONICLES OF A MINOR SPORTSMAN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 77

MORE CHRONICLES OF A MINOR SPORTSMAN.

Br P. DA. C. De L'lslb.

Author of "Tales of Sahib Land," "The Chronicles of a. Turf Detective," "Anthony Augustus Joskins, Sportsman," etc.

[Aix Rights Reserved.] A SHOCKING REVERSE. Wool was down, and poor old Alec •at mumchamce on the verandah of The tFolly, hnmqrred in silent reflection, ymzmag hie weary worried brain for eomo Sale solution of the impeenniosity that had spread, like ffche tentacles of an octupus, pver hie bank book. It is cot lively to jfind^^bankruptcy staring one in the face, ana. just at this time Alec Fullalove found iiimself equally as pinched as many another .poor devil of a squatter -who was ba-ftling against droughts, bush fires, and .bad seasons in the Western District of ifew South Wales. , I •watched him covertly from tie corner of my eye. For two yeara we bad- kept tbe wolf from the doors ofijhe loose-boxes with a patient paiseveran<» worthy of a truly noble canee, and I felt sore ami eavage as I thought of the cruelly hard iiuck that had come upon us. I smoked Almost puff for puff with Alec; when he frowned I frowned, whsn be sighed I s%hed ; and my sympathy was earnest and soulful, for I felt deeply" for him, and in a. corresponding ratio for myself. Truly Fate had punished us most severely. Uot that the gtaibles were not holding their own — far from it. In fact, there was a profit balance of -well on to a icouple of centuries from the previous season's Taring. But the season for wool JKid 'been just about as disastrous as it could be. and the markete fell with a thud that was felt all over Australasia. The winnings of ■his horses had gone, fleabite though it was, towards station expenses, x »and when the returns reached Alec from the wool brokers, the fall in prices -reouced his always slender wool cheque to •less than half its usual dimensions. Therotfore, a gloom, that in it* murkiness couid .be cut wi£h a kniife,had fallen upon the genial proprietor" of Pullalove's iFolly and the racinig stables he owned. So it came about that we sat, ibuiried ,in unpleacamt cogitations, and smoked in stony silence . Out semi-despair was pitiable, and most openly palpable. Mrs Alec, a plump and "divinely pretty woman, came out of the blouse with one of Alec's 'babies in her «arms. <It was the middle one, for A£ec had ifjhroe, and this -was the gentleman of <tli& party — the other two were charming ■young ladieis of three and vsix summers respectively. "Come, cheer up!" cried the bn'irht little woman. "I've brought tlittle Alec to you to wake, you up oat of your diaspon<i*ncy. Don't -be so down ; something ia 'bound to turn «up ; there's a silver lining t-i every cloud." "In our <oase the solver lining must | go into the pockets of the Loan, and- Mort(P.:o and the bank. There are two {plasters maturing at .the enid of this month, ard the utation account is overdrawn t-o ihe tune of six hundred pounds! It looks a* if Hie stables will have to .go to the hammer — £hat would tide us over for another season, .but if th& season turns out tfJiyi-hing like .the last " Alec heaved another sigh. "Up gees the 'balloon!" Jauighed Mrs iAk'C. " I don't think it will, though. ■We've got out of so many fixes on the past .ye must .geft out of this one. iJon'U you tbiink we.ehaM, Hales?" She txrrn^ti to me .pa-tfhetkally ; there were tears in "her voice, though she bravely tried to emile. "Sure!" I muifcter.&d thickly, though I ■felt too despondent to put any heartinees irrto the word ;' "soin-ething irtirst turn up soon. I don't like lo make suggestions that appear, on tlie surface, to be improbable, but Teaily something ought to turn ■up, for no f one <I«?trvcs a turn-up more than vonl'v onl ' v€i - y wont-hy hu-sband. How, af we could on-ly hang'on till the Nvngan ui'cetin.j;, I fe-sl sure we could pretty nearly ecoop the nccl there " "Quite so !" muttered Alec ; "but the JJyn-jan mc.etmg is two months off. and the plasters will fasten on us within three weeks. How, then, are we to weather Ahe storm?" "Why not have a weedir>,g;-out sale?" I timidly suggested ; "you have «Tv>ut 24 horses* working, mere or less, and another batch of two and three-year-olds ready to ~et into collar. Why not get rid of .half of the former and put the young 'uns jn.o work at once '." Alec mad-e a .grimace of disgust. Tliere was nothing he hated -so much as parting ■vri:h Wood etock of his oixm. .breeding Mrs Alec knew it too. "Oh, let me ,30 to mother, Alec. deaT !" «he said, noting the pain in his eyee. "Bo! She will ibdp tis, I know. And half of it will (be mine, dear. Do let me go to Sydney and &?e mother!" '"No!" Alec shook his head slowly; '"not while a chance remains. I don't like selli-r. x, th.?. ncddl-as that have grafted for me. but Hales is quite right. I can't afford to «tick to them all, co we will weed them out. Let us see what .we can most do without. I wcj't fell old Jim — he must be a rcrLsionor when we've done with him. Wallace can go, and Abercorn ; eh, Hales?' "Yes. Wallace is a good half-miler yet, but we have got a better in Arr«ah-qo-on. Abercorn has recovered from his unsoundness and should fetch a fair price. I don't advise parting with Newbaven or .Multy, but Melositv can go out of the old lot," I answered. "Right !" said Alec; "that's three. I'll isell Cry HaA-oc. Marble. Blue Lookout, Wakeful Yet, Pretty Poliy, and Bachelor's Button. They're all young, and ouiqht to pay their "way. That's nine. Any more, Hales?"

. "We've go* better than AM-el-Kader, Sarahontae, or Chicane ■ coming on," I suggested. "Would you cell them?" "Yes; we'll get them away too. Coal Heaver, old EditSh, and Jellybags I intend to pension, also Ironbark Jim. We'll sell Paddy the Ram ; someone might take 0. fancy to him. — he's a splendid hack. Tbait's about all, I think." " Oh ! that's thirteen !" cried Mrs Alec ; "you'U have to sell another, or take one out. Don't leave it at thirteen, dear; fcnait would mean more bad luck!" "What d'you think, Hales?" asked Alec, smiling. ""Mrs Alec is quite right — don't let us tempt luck. WooLd you sell Solution?" "No!" replied Alec, decidedly. "She's , a pot of mine, and she did me a good , turn once that I cannot forget. I think I Aiulty will have to go." "00 be it!" I answered. "He's exceptionally good, and b«6 many a fine race left- in him, but we've got one coming on that will be as good as, if not better than, him, I fancy." "ifou mean ?" queried Alec. "Blue Flyer," I replied. " Has he quite recovered from last year's accident?" asked Mrs Alec. "Does not show a sign of it," replied , Alec. "Hales is not far but. Blue ! .Flyer an-ay turn out a top-noibeher yet. [ Well, where shall we sell them? Cobar, 1 Bourke, or Barthurst?" "Too well-known by the bajjdicappers hereabouts to command a decent price. I think it would pay to eend them down to Sydney. Racing i 6 booming down there, and most of the nags are g^ood-looking enough to compare with their handicap I horses. Try Sydney, O most potent direcj tor of my turf career!" I suggested. [ "I will. That settles it !" remarked Alec. "To-morrow we'll set a"bout the business." * Mrs Alec sighed with relief, and, returning into the house, came out again with a tray on which were a decanter, a syphon, an<l two tumblers. "We'll drink success to the sale. Now then, Hales, my boy, no heel taps; here's fiiiccaas to the sale !" "Success to the sale !" I echoed, arjd we breathed more comfortably, now that come more definite plan of campaign had been arranged. Alec's perennial vivacity reI turned once more, and he began discussing I ways and means with added zeal. "You said the Nyngan meeting, Hales?" he remarked * immediately after ' absorbing his lubricant, while he refilled his pipe meditatively. "We've got Newhaven, Solution, Carbineer, Blue \Flyer, and Arrah-go-on in fairly good work, and by Xyngan they ought all to 'be cherryripe. But, my boy, time to a hungry man is an everlasting tide that creeps, snail-like, on an endless ocean of mud and never appears to turn — excuse the rotten metaphor ; — we must anticipate it. There is the Nymagee me-sting three weeks hence. Have we j nothing that we could aainex the big hauI dicap, with there'; Is tliere nothing we could get fit in that time?" "Only old Carbineer. He's an old stager, and he comes along quicker than any of tbe others. You can- try him at Nymagee, but he will get an awful steadier to carry," I answered. "I know that; but he can carry it. Look at the way he lumped that list 41b homo in the Bachelor's. Bag at Cannobar last year. He likes weight, and weight I will never stop a .good 'un. Yes, well enter him for the Nymagee Handicap." ' "It's a hundred pounds stake," I j answered, "and there'll be- a good few outsiders after it. Still, I have great faith ki old "Jim,' ard I think, if fairly treated. I he wiP hold his own. By all means give him a go*." "And we'll get into the market early — before the weights are out. Thoee Cobar bookmakers will lay 10 to 1 for lonic I ? hots ; we'll have half a century on — 40 I for me and 10 for you, old boy. How cToes that do you?" "It does me* proud, 0 my gallant employer !'" I replied with enthusiasm. "I am only waiting to score two-fifty, and then — lunS, then " "And then for Polly Cartright, «h? '0 love, young love, bound in -thy rosy band ' How dees it go, Hales?" "Let sage or cynic prattle as ho will, tbe^e' hours, and only these, redeem life's jears of ill," I continued. '"Fine !" &aid Alec ; "Shakespeare ain't it?" ' , "Xo, my friend ; it comes from Byron's ; Chilrle Harold.' He very aptly describes ihe ch.irms of the Camelot Qr«in — as Mi«, ■ Cartriiht is shied by all the Western District — in the tam-e poem, where he save. i "Whc-e large blue eyes, fair locki", and j snowy hands might shake the saintt»hip of an anchorite,'" I answered. 1 "You're a. bit too O<-.*&y for me when it conies to literature, H;i]<s ; but it is good ) to listen to, and I like 3 our supreme j knowledge of tho poets. It's <lon nright, ; clever. No wonder Mii-s Polly eoltoi.cd j to you. The CVrtna;hts are wor^e off than I I am by a lon^ chalk, and Cainelot Stai tion ifcn't worth a brc^ farthing to-day. • Old Cartriiht wiil be triad to <_<.>l fomio 'uf I the jrirlfi off his hanJo. Bui two-fifty! What 011 earth can you do with two-lift} ''.' I "Ah !" There was a rcminLcc-tnt em- \ phasis in my ejaculation. "WlTan a wun j has learned by sheer hitrd nece:=it\- to I know to what lengths e»en one amtill I sovereign will go, what Vori \ist;.3 of pcs- ! .sibility can he not coi;tcmi/, :e \\iih tv. o hundred and fifty of them ! Five acres ! of s;ood coil at £10 an acr-e ; a tiny fouri roomt-d shooting-box, plainly but cosily ' furnished ; a good noddy or two. boucht 1 cheap 1 }*, and well pltvccd ;-a hundied herd ; of pi izc poultr}* rored on the place, and I a lailway 6tation handy to the pioduca I markets — that's all I w;uit. Ye t; aI- ! I j could deem my- elf ;> kirn of jiiiinite k\.o c I lK.d I that ideal place !"" "Well spoke!" Alec thumi<'! me heartily on tl« back. "Tl>t:''^ a lot ill your idea. Peace of mind and enough. to Jive on is truly woith infinitely mo;e than a king's ransom. And Polly is just the girl will pull you through with it. I

never knew a housewife who approached my own jewel with more success. Good luck to you, Hales, and I hope Nymagee will prove the El Dorado that is to bring you the happiness you are ©0 anxiously looking forward to." j Can you not understand, then, my I gentle reader, with what perseverance and care I prepared our old champion, Carbineer, fo the Nymagee Handicap. 1 Night and day I tended him, and no gigantic speculator with millions to gamble with on 'Change ever devoted a keener attention to hie business. The handicap was a mile race, and 'old Jim,' as we called Carbineer, although now in his tenth year, was one of the speediest nnlers in the Western District. He was , a fine, big horse, and weight did not • trouble him. His legs were likeUron, and j time and again he Tiad come up after a spell in the paddocks and proved as sound as ever. He had recently been taken in ( hand after a three months' sojourn on I grass, and his tendons and muscles were evidently greatly benefited by the rest. He seemed to gallop more resolutely than ever, and in hitting out he strode along I with a machine-like movement that was I the acme of free galloping. Truly, I was , very pleated with his form, and looked I forward confidently to hie giving a great account of himself at Nvmagee. We quite expected a horee with his refutation to be top- weight in the'liandsjup wrth anything from Bst lOJb up to Set 41b. Judßje, then, of our pleasant surprise when the weights, appeared to find old Jim in tlie place of honour with Bst 71b only. True, fee had to give away weight down to 6st, but the lig^t- weights were aJI i crabbers he could have beaten with only & post age stamp on tihsir backs Consequently we were really jubilant, and .Alec increased his fifty pound bet to a hundred at prices varying from sevens to fours to one after the declaration of the weights. The first fifty was all on at .lcmg shots *aken blind, before the weights weie published. The only two horses likely to idve us trouble were Minnehaha and Nightshade, but at the weights we held them fairly safe. Carbineer came aionig splendidly in his work, and in a trial three duys before the raco did a mile in time that made tJie handicap a "moral" for us. So we started for Nymagee the day before with light hearts and a feeling of elation, that was to be, alas! but of short duration. I have mentioned before that Alec had a rabbit ehooteT en the run who was a disqualified jockey. In his own words, he had been " blown out for life^ for pulling a horse he was riding. This fellow, whom Alec had facetiously cliri&!:ened "Johnny Armstrong," bad been employed for some timi& as a groom and stable Jad by Alec. He had done his work well, and was invaluable to us in riding exercise work. It was in his charge that Carbineer went to Nymagee, 75 males away, he riding a back and leading the racehorse. We arrived a,t Nymagee on th© nif^M before the races, and 1 fed, groomed, and bedljtd Carbineer myself. He was then ?s fit as a fiddle. Johnny Armstrong 6lept m a room tit tlie front of the stables, au<i within a few yards of our 10-ose-box. At halt-past 5 the next moiuiixg A^c ond I got x-p and went over to the stables to &se to Carbineer. To our horror, wo found the ]M>or ©3d fellow in strong convulsions frothing at the mouth, sweating (piofuiely, and heaving heavily at the ■flunks I eiwid up the situation at a glance. Tha horse 'had been drugged pnst i«<l'3inption For one moment we stood paralysed, then Alec's disappointment and rage broke out like a volano. He rovdd frenziedly, wihile I rushed out to the nearest store for restoratives. I tried everything that lay in human 'knowledge. After ■adtmiirsternig powerful emetics., I massaged tlr» horse, iind built him tip with milk and brandy, then gruel a,Ttd brandy, and finally — after a large do:e of cV.orodyne — I got .somie maslied oavrots into him. But poor old Jim was a pitiabl-e ti^liit. Alec had hunted for liTs henchman, but he was now^re to be found. He had decamped during tbe night, and we did not see him a^ain for many a long day. He had evidently »been heavily bribed by fomaonc standing to lote a big sum over the race, and had meanly driwred our horse. A poor iecom.pen.se for all Alec's many kindnesses to him. Tliere is lit tie eke to say. We started Carbineer in tlie race, ami lie r.m -ameh- ri^ht to tbe end of fie ni'ilc, but was benten out of a place in a race t>h at wou'id have been at his absolute inc-ax'y. fit and well. We returned to the Folly in unfij^eakable mi>ery, and "Silence w.t with ntony face" cure move upon us, ov, Ing to tkis Shocking Revcavo.