A BOW AT A VENTURE.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume V, Issue 256, 20 June 1895, Page 10

A BOW AT A VENTURE.

Mr Samuel Bayswater was a young man of large independent fortune who was very strongly addicted to the pursuit of horse-racing. Some years back, on the demise of his father, he had expended a good deal of the hard-earned wealth of the elderly Bayswater in the purchase of racehorses and in keeping up an expensive racing establishment. >

Whether or not it was the result of his getting mixed up with a queer lot at the commencement of his turf career, or whether it arose merely through following his own natural instincts, is not altogether clear, but it is beyond question that a good many of his turf transactions were much of the same order as his associates —shady. More than once he had come perilously near to being warned off the turf, and indeed that he had managed to escape that condign punishment was a matter of some surprise to those who were behind the scenes. However, he did so escape, probably in a great measure owing to the fact that when matters had at last become altogether too warm for him, he elected to pose as an injured party, and, taking time by the forelock, sold off all his horses in training, ostensibly in disgust, and gave out that he had retired from the turf. Like many other wealthy men, especially those who. have inherited money, young Bayswater was of an extremely suspicious disposition. He was constantly discovering imaginary motives for the actions of other persons, being seized with the idea that their one object was to “ do ” him ; and he was quite incapable of understanding that every on 6 is not at all times necessarily occupied in scheming to defraud his friends and acquaintances. Avaricious to a degree, he was in many respects penurious. At the same time there were occasions when he did not hesitate to spend his money freely, and he was never so lavish as when endeavouring to defeat the plans of any one whom he fancied was trying to outwit him.

Although be no longer figured in the Calendar as an owner of racehorses — either in his own or under an assumed name —and for the matter of that entirely gave up going to race meetings, it

was evident, to those persons with whom he came daily, in contact that he still took considerable interest in the sport, since he was frequently to be found at the rooms of a certain t-urf commission agent who<carried.on ; business under the style of Pryce and Co , especially when any impor ant race meeting was in progress. Reddingham, a race town in the Northern Midlands, is somewhat farther from London than those who do most of. their racing on “ the home circuit ” care about travelling, so that on the afternoon of the day in September on which the principal race of this meeting took place, there was a rather l*j?g« attendance than usual in the rooms of Pryceand Co. The. Reddingham Handicap was a mile race of ■ a thousand pounds value, for which there were expected to be from twelve to fifteen starters. The race was set . to he run’ at a quarter past three, and. some quarter of an hour before that time, about a dozen persons in all were present, among the number been Bayswater. The names of the fourteen runners came through on-the tape some few minutes after three o’clock, and conversation as to the chances of the competitors thereupon became general. The majority of those present backed the horse which was favourite in what little betting there had been recorded, an animal called Bournemouth, as to who-e undeniable ohance to win Bayswater was very emphatic. The latter had the reputation of being an excellent judge of form, and was usually able to tell pretty accurately how horses ought to run if at their, best. His openly expressed confidence in the chance of Bournemouth had there'ore t.' e effect of con-vincing-one or two waverers, who straightaway followed the lead, of the majority present. Bayswater, to show that he bad the courage of his opinions, backed Bournemouih for a pony just before “3.2 L off 3.20’’ came up on the tape. Among the others present was a cer'ain individual named Barlow— more generally known as “ Fluffy.” He/was a yftuth of some three-and-twenty summers*a good deal qf time on his hands, who was supposed to be reading for the Bar. A good-natured sort of boy enough, with

pleasant manners, but inclined to draw the long bow at times. -Whenever he could get away, and it was not often that anything prevented him so doing, he was a regular attendant at all the race meetings round London. Still his love of racing was not likely to bring him to grief, as though he betted persistently his wagers were small, and he never betted more than he could well afford to pay. His great fancy was for backing all sorts of impossible outsiders, which he would pitch upon for most wild and out-of-the-way reasons, often for no real reason at all. As he was very lucky, the ventures sometimes came off, and it was then his habit to buttonhole his friends and acquaintances and to mysteriously hint at the means he had of obtaining direct information about horses in certain stables, and to unblushingly assert that he had been in possession of such special information about the particular animal which had just unexpectedly proved successful —a course of proceeding which caused those of his friends who knew and understood his little failing to say : “ A good fellow, Fluffy, in his way, but a bit of an ass about racing.” In about three minutes’ time the machine began to tick out a message again, and Pryce’s clerk called out “ Gold Lace won,” at which piece of information Bayswater gave quite a perceptible Httle start, previous to joining in the general expression of astonishment at the victory of such an outsider.

“ Bournemouth’s gone down then ? ” said he, addressing the principal of the firm. “ I suppose you didn’t lay the winner ? ” “ Yes, I did,” was the reply, “ but fortunately only to three sovereigns. Barlow backed it with me.”

“ Did he, indeed ? ” said Bayswater. “ Now, I wonder what on earth made him do that.”

Crossing the room to where Barlow, with whom he was slightly acquainted, was seated, Bays- t water at once entered into conversation with him.

“ So you managed to find the winner that time, did you not ? ” observed Bayswater in the blandest of tones. “ That showed very good judgment on your part.” “ Oh,” airily replied Fluffy, who, as a matter of fact, had backed Gold Lace for no other reason

than that he had seen the Lord Mayor’s carriage drive by the window a little before three with the coachman and footmen, in their full state livery, and who had devoted the few minutes that had elapsed since the result of the race was known to a rapid survey of guide books and sporting papers with a view of discovering where the winner was trained, and to get up what further particulars he could respecting it —“ I knew all about it. In fact,” continued he confidentially, “ I had very direct information —from some one in the stable.” Thia latter remark was followed by a pursing up of his mouth and the slow closing of both eyes, as if to say—“ There, now, that is all; don’t ask me to diyulge more.” On the winner’s price—loo to 6 —becoming known shortly afterwards, Barlow, who had now had a little more time to get up his subject, became somewhat more communicative. In the confidence born of success in having fluked on to a winner at 16 to 1, he gave free wings to his fancy, and proceeded to impart to Bayswater the particulars—entirely imaginary on his part—of a certain trial which he had seen reported in one of the sporting papers that he had in his pocket, and of which Gold Lace was there stated to be the winner.

“ If you will undertake to keep it strictly to yourself,” said he, addressing Bayswater in a low voice, “I can tell you something about another horse in the same stable as Gold Lace which may be of use to you.” “Please do,” said Bayswather. “You may rely upon my keeping absolute secrecy about anything that you tell me in connection with that stable.”

“ Well, then,” replied Barlow, with sublime audacity, once more drawing a long bow at a venture, “ I am told that they have a three-year-old in Daleby’s stable called Charminster which they have tried to be from 101 b to 141 b and his year in front of Gold Lace ! ” “ You don’t say so ! ” said Bayswater, becoming evidently much interested. “That must be something more than useful.' But, my dear sir, how do you manage to pick up such splendid information ? Do you know. Daleby ?”

“Well —er’ —no —not Daleby himself, but I have a friend in the stable.”

“ Have you, indeed ? —that is capital. No doubt, then, you will be able from time to time to let me know the information you get from him.”

Delighted at the notice taken of him by Bayswater, and at the respect for his knowledge of stable secrets which the latter displayed—so different from the way that his communications were usually received —Barlow at once became more mysterious than ever. But his reticence only had the effect of making Bayswater redouble his efforts to pump him still further. Indeed, so keen was he in the matter that he hardly left Barlow’s side the whole afternoon, and when the day’s racing was over he walked away in earnest conversation with him. More than that, he persuaded Barlow to come back later and to dine with him at his club, where he gave him an excellent diimnr, and plied him with wine and questions. But though Fluffy readily swallowed the wine, he could not be prevailed upon to answer the questions, and all Bayswater’s efforts to induce him to disclose the name of his confederate in Daleby’s stable were for an obvious reason unavailing. Why Mr Samueljßayswater was so particularly anxious to acquire this particular item of information from Barlow, may perhaps be gathered from the following conversations, the first of which took place in the ring at Reddingham about half an hour after the decision of the big race of the day. “ I suppose you fellows have had a good race, Slateham ?” observed one Fred Stokesley, addressing a leading bookmaker with whom he was accustomed to do business.

“ I haven’t, sir, I’m sorry to say,” was the reply. “ I was unlucky enough to lay the winner, and to money, too.” “ Indeed ! I quite thought you would all have had what you call a 1 skinner.' I didn’t hear the name of Gold Lace once mentioned.”

“ No, sir. Nor was it in my hearing. But we had a regular avalanche of covering money from the starting-price men in London at the very last minute, and there’s hardly a bookmakei' of any

account in the ring who hasn’t laid his book, and most of them a good bit over, too.” “ Really! You surprise me. Who are the people then ? Some clever division, I suppose ? ” “ About the cleverest clique going, sir ; and I might say, the very warmest. Though the horses run as Mr Hammer Smith’s, they are controlled and managed by Mr Samuel Bayswater. There’s no need for me to say much more than that.” The second conversation was held on the following day between Bayswater and a man named Smith, the nominator of Gold Lace, from which the following observation by Bayswater is taken : “ And in spite of what he said, I didn’t really believe that he knew anything, until, as a great secret, he told me—absolutely in Daleby’s own words —just how much better Cbarminster is than Gold Lace. I’d give a good deal to find out who it really was that gave him that information.”

—Sporting and Dramatic News.