uncommon amongst waiters and
shop-keepers, of shaming his whilom client out of anything approaching
pettiness, by the assumption of that air of blended superiority and
indifference we have all felt the force of at times.

I had drawn forth my roll with the laudable intention of chancing a two
or perhaps a five, when I was met with the startling proposition that I
"bet fifty each way, to win and for place," and this was followed by so
convincing an array of figures, weights, times and distances, that a
compromise of $20 to win, and a five-dollar bet for the boy, "who could
n't leave the paddocks, but had been promised that the right thing
would be done by him," seemed the least I could do, consistent with my
dignity and self-respect.

And now to hurry back to Murray. We found him standing watch in hand,
and he began to smile when he saw my companion.

"Well! well!" he exclaimed in a bantering tone; "so you 've fallen a
prey to Checkers, have you? What loser has he touted you onto, that's
'going to win in a walk, hands down'?"

"Now, there's a guy that makes me sick," interrupted Checkers, ignoring
the question. "Because he dropped a couple of 'bones' not long ago at
the Harlem track, he made a roar that's echoing still between this and
the Rocky Mountains. The next time I saw him I gave him a 'good thing'
he could have win out on, but he would n't touch it. He don't know the
right way around the track. The book-makers call him 'Ready-Money'--he
's so easy."

"Come off now, Checkers," laughed Murray, "you know you never guess 'em
right; the only time your horses win is when the others all fall down.
But really, Jack, what did you play?"

"I 'm playing Senator Grady, Murray; our friend here told me he could
n't lose."

"Well, he may be right," said Murray thoughtfully, "but I 'm not
playing the race that way. Domino first, and Despot third, is the way
I figure it ought to come. Grady I think will get the place, but the
odds are better on Despot for third. Well, let's go up in the
grand-stand now, and see them all parade to the post."

We chanced to find a place for three, in the seats almost opposite the
judges' stand, for I had taken Checkers with me for the pleasure I
found in hearing him talk.

As yet I had n't made up my mind about Checkers, and I was anxious to
question Murray privately concerning him. He certainly did not look
like a "tout," for the meaning of the word as applied to that genus n