The banner-enterprise., 1883-09-06

of my difficulties, providing mysel
with actual capital, and for making
my marriage with Lucy an immediate
possibility.
f "Sell livery blessed stick SWEEP
out the whole bag O. tricks! Paawl
the coat aft yer back! An crack tn,
bilin' on the Makeshift Colt !" wa
Jimmy'S advice.
, | found on inquiry that | had, curl
ously enough, drawn "the field" in
!, big sweepstakes at the Brush ant
Palette. AS the Makeshift Colt was
a name unknown to the lists, it ha(
not been put among those drawn, ant
consequently it belonged to me al
holder of "the field" ticket.
that's yours, thin, anyway" sale
Jimmy, referring to the sweep. &C
cepted this drawing, for my own part
as an omen of success. | was thor
oughly with Jimmy now.
l had little enough money but
quickly sold or pawned every availa.
BILE article that | had owned, even go.
ing so far as to raise money upon the
few bits of furniture and studio eff
fects that | had. l made up a purse
of about 40 s%overeigus, which really
represented every stick or rag in my
possession, except what stood up
right in.
Then my Irish monitor and myself
proceeded to visit certain book-mak-
ers. A remark that the first of them
mode to us was substantially repeat
ed by the rest.
"Never heard of your fancy till this
morning. Gave a hundred against
him to one or two parties that came
to get on him. Had to look up the
Guide to see if there was such a
horse at all. But can't give quite the
long price again. Make it eighties to
one for YOU
| put on thirty pounds at these
odds, and | also ''placed" the colt at
fifteen to one, putting on seven pounds
in that way. Jimmy was enraptured;
for if the colt carried off the event ]
should win $500 mint OF money
in our eyes. He himself had put on
all he could raise-how much exact
y do not know.
"It'S "a fOin time we'll be havin'
presently" he said. wont the
boys open their eyes whin yon an me
shows our pile! An see fwhat a base
of operationss We'll have Be the
mother av Moses, we'll be millionaireS
yet Good luck to the court.
l confess l had my misgivings, al
though the gambling fever had come
over me and iInpelled me to risk my
little all upon This horse. To me it
was a grand coup indeed. 1t meant
so much, y0u see; for either should
come out m actual capitalist, posses
Sor of n sun that to me seemed A.
most b0undless wealth-"a base of
operations as Jimmy called tor
should be completely aud utterly
broken.
You may imagine the state of mind
| was in-at II moment seeing u
simply golden prospect before me,
anon seized with the dismalest doubts
and fears. And the following day my
excitement grew hotter yet, for in all
the papers the Makeshift Colt was
now, Tor the first time, quoted in the
betting, and apparently he had come
into favor, as the price against him
had fallen to forties to one. Still
more |reassuring was the fact that
two sporting papers gave the Make
shift Colt as one of their three proba-
lie winners. The secret was a secret
no longer.
| now got into Il wild deliriOus
ecstacy of expectation, You can well
imagine how | felt. | went so far as
to telegraph to that relative of mine,
alleging that | was in want and had
sore need of his help. also borrow
ed some five pounds here and there,
and cracked it on with the rest.
My relative evidently smelled a
rat, ho"aver. He was a man of the
world, as the phrase goes, and bad a
low opinion of me, which | am now
open to confess was not wholly un.
warranted. He wired in reply:
believe you want to bet on Derby.
Will send ten pounds, but not until
Saturday morning, when expect it,
However, on showing his telegram
to the landlord of the Brush and
Palette, that worthy publican rapidly
advanced me the ten pounds l thus
"sold' my kind relative, you will oh
serve, through the fundamentally of
the general guide, philosopher, and
friend of good Bollemians.
At last came the eventful morning,
and Jimmy and | found ourselves in
a bark with some dozen others, driv-
ing from our "pub" down to Epson.
| need not say that had put on the
bulk of my ten pounds, getting forty
to one, and eight to n for a "shop."
long price still but the colt had
not come into general favor much,
and, indeed, actually started at little
below those odds.
All! | don't think | shall ever for
get that day, No, sir The fearful
agitation | was in has impressed
every detail of it indelibly on my
memory. Consider. | stood to win
.hree thousand pounds, which meant
o me a wife, a home, substance,
comfort, responsibility, a business.
n, Al. akk.. k..l I'LL. --. ri