Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-11-13
now oLD FoLKs Uoy THE oAKS

Us
a typical Krntlcki1n. odd Folks is 81 queer lit
he cuorcd hoy. who appeared at the stables one
day from nobody knows where ana was accepted
and made at home as an attache winning place
a. "a sort of king over the other stable bows be
cause Of his phenomenal accomplishments as "a
dancer his gift as story teller his strange ways,
and his 'gamyues. There was one thing. how
ever. that he positively refused to do. and that
was to ride the horses slyly telling Cob Bill as an
excuse that Lis left leg was "a little bogus; an
ef Won cher took notice oh me a-lanCiu. You ~,'e
! dun it all with my right leg, and dat lef lrg he
les kinda look on But the shrewd lad soon
found how fatal to his rule his inability to
ride, and he was anxious to redeem himself When
the great race Of all the season drew near to take
place on the Memphis track, he urgently bpsought
Col Bill TO let him ride the mare the favoritc
horse on which all the coonels hopes were Staked.
Col Bill good naturally put him of but when the
eventful hour arrived, and when word came that
the jockey who was to ride the mar to hoped
for triumph was dead drunk, old Folks
put ON heI back a last resort How this came
about, and how he rode the beautiful horse to vic
tory Is thus told:l
Col. Bill turned around, and there stood
Old Folks The boy touched his hat re-
spectfuly.
"Kunnel Bill, he cried with nervous
eageness, "Kunnel Bill, plea, sir, femme
ride de mare"
Colonel Bill felt little CLEAN of hope.
1t was with no change of expression, how
ever, that he said shortly:
"Why, you can't ride; what do you
know bout ridin' ?''
"Kunnel Bill" cried Old Folks sharply,
''et dat fool niggah Ike kin ride, / kin
ride. Ell dc mare don win you kin ies' &c
here Old Folks paused a moment for a
comparison, and then the colonels awful
threat TO Ike came back to him-''yOu kin
ies' skin me an cut my black yeres OFF. '
'Why, you couldn't sit on the mare. '
responded the colonel in more Modified
tone.
"Jes' try me" urged Old Folks with a
voice of keenest entreaty. "Jes' try me.
only plea, sir, try me once"
The colonel looked at his watch. Ii was
nearly two O'clock The horses would be
at the post in an hour There was no pos
sible hope of getting any one else. Then
came thought of the Mobile stable and
the treacherous Ike
"Old Folks, said the colonel with great
solemnity, 'you kin ride the mare: an ef
you beat that niggah Ike III give you mo-
money than ever you heard tell of in all
yo' life"
The Oaks was the big race of the meet
ing, and all Memphis turned out to see il
run. The crowd filled the grand stand and
overfowed into the inner field, lining the
young ladies in gay attire made little eX-
CARNATIONS and picked out horses to win
because they had pretty names. On the
lawn tile crowd dubbed up into excited
groups and fell away in quiet eddies, NOV
ing hither and thither, filled with the fever
of unrest, as shifting and uneasy as the
yellow waves dancing away of yOnder on
the bosom of the Mississippi, while all tn,
time the brazen throated ring brawled forth
its odds Everywhere there was motion
life The entry of the Mobile stable. Gle.
opatra, was the strong fayOrte. Thenews.
papers had been discussing her for weeks
and the public concluded that she was in.
yincible.
whats the matter with the colonel,
mare?" asked Joe Sutton the bigges
bOOkmaker in the ring, of a trainer who
bet him on the favoritc.
ooh, she can't win was the reply
"Grubbsy's went off on toot and they V,
got nobody to ride. It's walk for Cleo
patra. There won't be nothing else in it, .
81 never heard OF that boy before. .
unused the book-makcr, looking up at tn
list of jockeys. go. Folks; who is he?'
"Only a stable boy" answered the train
or. "a little niger that don't know II,
more about ridin' than you book-maker
knows about horses"
Joe laughed good-naturedly and wen
on with his book, lengthening the odd
against the mare. A strong tip was on
on Catalpa and Fairy Rose, the Californ
ians, and they were hotly played. Tn
Johnsons of Alabama sent a commission
in on their entry, Kathleen and Elizabeth
Blue Eyes found friends, and so did Tan
trum. The rank outsider was the colonel
mare.
"I'll lay fifty to one against Bills mare,
yelled the Chicago plunger, one of tn
heaviest betters in the Southern Circuit.
"Tll jes' go you a hundred" cried biz
ruddy-faced young man with wide-ope
blue eyes and tawny mustache, pushin
his way through the crowd The bool
maker hesitated a moment, and then rul
bling his odds at the same time, called OF
to his sheet writer:
Gan right, 5000 to 500" and then
the stranger walked away with the tick
in his pocket, he asked curiously: "Who
that fellow?"
'Don't you know him. responded Il
sheet writer "Why, that's Colonel Ri
himself"
The Chicago plunger watched the colOn
going down the line, and he noticed tn
wherever the odds were particularly lon
there the colonel would stop, and wherev
he stopped the odds were promptly shor
ened He saw the colonel at last leave Il
ring in the direction of the paddock wit
a big bundle of tickets in his hand.
The last bell had rung and the Joke,
had begun to mount. A big crowd WI
around Ike, who wore the blue-and-go
stripes OF the Mobile stable and who ne
er looked more important in all his lif
He pulled on the stirrups, to see if the
were all right, looked wisely at the arrang
ment Of the bride, struck his whip iaunt
ly against his leg, and strutted about, keel
ly enjoying the incense waited up to hi
by the crowd. He never even deigned
glance at Old Folks, who looked small,
and backer than ever sitting on the mare
back in Colonel Bills all white colors O
Folks pulled his cap over his eyes and sa
nothing
81 amt got no orders fur you, O
Folks" said Colonel Bill, as he gave Il
girth a little final tightening "You ju
lay with the bunch and don't 90 out al
make no runnin' Ell you manage to stiC
on till you come to the head of the stretC
the mare III eat them up. You don't ne,
no whip, for she amt never been hit
her life and wouldn't understand it, No
60 on and do your best. I'll never forg
you eff you win"
Old Folks answered never a word 1
pulled his cap down harder over his ey