whatever abe moss's opinion of barry tuxford might be, that astute gentleman had his own way, and purchased black boy for four hundred and fifty pounds. jack redland was satisfied, so was joel kenley, who remarked that it was quite evident barry tuxford was fully equal to half a dozen men like abe moss.
"i'm not so sure of that," said barry. "he's sharp enough, and i fancy he thinks he has got a good price for the horse. he asked me if i had any objections to letting him know when the horse was going out to win, and i said none at all, for the first time he started he would do his best."
"and what did moss say?" asked the trainer.
"he smiled and looked cunning, as much as to say—
"'you need not tell that fairy tale to me, you are not the man to run a horse out when the money is not on.'"
"i think that is probably correct," laughed joel; then seeing barry's countenance change, he added quickly—
"i mean what moss thought, not that his opinion was correct."
black boy was handed over to barry tuxford, and consigned to the care of bricky smiles, at kenley's stables. bricky commenced to feel important again, he had two horses to look after, and this was a move in the right direction.
joel kenley was amused at him, and satisfied with his work in every way, in fact he acknowledged to jack that a better man could not have been found for the job.
"it has given him a new lease of life," said the trainer, "and he'll be quite a different man in a few weeks."
joel kenley was not long in ascertaining whether his surmise as to black boy having been "bottled up" was correct. he tried him well, and was surprised at the result. he kept his knowledge to himself until he had given the horse a "dust up" with lucky boy. again the result was a surprise, for the western horse won rather easily at level weights.
joel was a trifle puzzled. he had discovered that black boy would probably be weighted at a stone below his proper form in the next big handicap, and he was quite sure lucky boy would be leniently treated, as handicappers usually, and sometimes foolishly, regarded these "outsiders" with a contempt that was not deserved.
the trainer chuckled quietly to himself as he contemplated the bringing off of one or two good coups. he dearly loved the excitement attending such proceedings, and although he would have scorned to order a horse to be "pulled," he had no objections to benefit by the hoodwinking of a handicapper.
somehow joel regarded handicappers as his natural enemies, and had frequently fallen foul of them, and asked for an explanation of the weights placed upon his horses. on several instances it was acknowledged that he had good grounds for his grievance, and this did not improve the temper of the handicappers.
although his horses ran in and out, as most horses will, there was no suspicion against him, and his reputation for honesty stood high. it was different with abe moss, who was regarded as a very smart customer indeed, and when it became known that a new patron of joel's stable had purchased black boy there was a general winking of eyes, and nodding of heads, amongst the "knowing ones."
the opinion of these would-be clever men was that abe moss would not have parted with black boy had the horse been any good. they were a little disappointed, because they had been carefully watching black boy's running, and had come to the conclusion some of his performances were "very hot" indeed, and they meant to reap the benefit of their observations when "the money was on." their time had been wasted, their opinions must have been utterly wrong, for had abe moss been "keeping" black boy for a particular race he would not have sold him.
in this they were wrong. abe moss was by no means inclined to play shady games for the benefit of others. he had of late received several hints that if black boy suddenly showed greatly improved form he might be called upon to have an unpleasant interview with the stewards of the jockey club. abe had a pious horror of stewards, he considered them superfluities, and said they were appointed to prevent honest men earning a decent living. as racing meant income to abe moss, he had no desire to be "warned off," and this was probably what would happen if black boy suddenly developed into a good handicap horse.
when barry tuxford came along with the avowed intention of purchasing a couple of horses, abe moss fancied he saw a way out of the difficulty. he argued that if he sold black boy to a new comer, and the horse won a big race he, knowing the true form, could back him, and yet not be called upon to explain. this was the reason he parted with black boy, and asked to be given the information as to when the horse "was going."
it was a surprise to abe when he knew black boy had gone into joel kenley's stable. he had a great respect for joel as a trainer, none for him as a man. he knew it would not take him long to find out that black boy was a great deal better horse than his form made out. judging others by himself, he came to the conclusion that when joel made this discovery he would keep it dark and profit by it, in which case he, abe moss, stood a very good chance of being left "out in the cold" when black boy won. he was half inclined to give a hint to barry tuxford as to the true state of affairs, but he did not know him sufficiently well, and it was not safe to run risks.
joel kenley had some inkling as to the truth of all this when he tried black boy. he surmised that abe moss had sold the horse, with a full knowledge of what he was capable of, in order to avoid serious consequences when he won. he told barry tuxford and jack everything, and also what he suspected was abe's object in selling.
"then we have two much better horses than we expected," said barry, "that is satisfactory, at any rate. i hope lucky boy will turn out the best."
jack laughed as he replied—
"my purchase will beat yours, barry; the second string will win."
"we shall see," he replied, good humouredly. "how would it be to run them both in a big race and let them take their chance?"
"there is not much to be gained by that," said joel, "unless one is put in to make the running for the other. in any case, i would like to let abe moss down, he deserves it."
"no favourite of yours, eh?" asked barry.
"no, he's about as big a rogue as we have on the turf. he bribes our young lads and ruins half of them, he's not fit to mix in honest men's society."
"in that case i have no objection to falling in with any plan you may suggest for keeping him in the dark, but we must play no games with the public."
joel kenley laughed as he replied—
"the public are apt to jump too quickly to conclusions, which are very often wrong and unjust, and when you commence to look after their affairs you take on a thankless task."
"nevertheless, there must be no suspicion about any of our transactions," said barry.
after a long conversation it was decided to enter both lucky boy and black boy for the sydney cup, and to run them both in two or three races before that date.
"the cup takes a tremendous lot of winning," said the trainer, "and i tell you candidly i do not think either of your horses good enough for it at present. they will improve, no doubt, at least i hope so, and probably lucky boy will be the better of the pair."
"what do you think of that?" said barry, laughing.
"time will tell," replied jack. "i have a presentiment black boy will win the cup outright."
"you are sanguine," said the trainer, smiling.
"i am, and if he wins i believe i shall also secure the black pearl," said jack.
"you are more likely to secure the pearl than the cup," said barry.
it was not long after this that barry tuxford received a letter from silas filey telling him that the black pearl was safe in his keeping, that it was a beauty, one of the best he had ever seen, and he wished he owned it. he requested him to put a price upon it, or allow him to make an offer for it. he made no mention of amos hooker's death, as he was not aware of it. there were sundry private matters touched upon, but the gist of the whole letter was an endeavour to obtain the black pearl at a fair price.
barry handed the letter to jack, who was overwhelmed with delight at its recovery, and was for sending at once to silas to forward it to sydney, so that he could send it to winifred without delay.
barry laughed at his impetuosity, and replied that the pearl was far too valuable to pass through the post, and that he must possess his soul in patience until they returned to fremantle.
"the best plan will be to let silas value it, and then you can pay over the balance after deducting your share. he will put a fair marketable price upon it, that i will impress upon him."
"but will it be safe in his hands, he seems to covet it?" said jack. "you say he is an old thief. i dare not trust him."
"he will not play me false for many reasons," replied barry, "and you may rest satisfied the pearl is quite safe."
"i shall not be content until i handle it again," said jack.
he wrote a long letter to winifred, in which he gave her a full account of the adventures of the black pearl, which he one day hoped to place in her possession. he then went on to describe their doings in sydney and told her about black boy and lucky boy, and what they intended doing with them. he asked her to tell sir lester that if black boy turned out well the horse would carry the black jacket and orange sleeves in the cup. he made many inquiries about the old places at home, and at the end hinted at what lay nearest his heart. he wrote hopefully of the future, and said he felt certain of securing a considerable amount of money in the course of a year or two. "so far all my ventures have turned out well, thanks to my good friend and adviser, barry tuxford, and there is no reason why my good fortune should not continue. i long for the time when i shall see you again, and wonder if i shall find you changed in looks and sentiments towards myself. i lay the flattering unction to my soul that you do like me just a little bit more than other people," and so on.
if he could have seen winifred's face when she was reading his letter he would have had no hesitation in taking her in his arms, as he did once before, and kissing her. her eyes glowed with the growing love she had for him, and her joy was unbounded.
when her father returned home he laughed and said—
"there is no need to tell me you have had some good news, win. is it a letter from jack. what does he say? how is he? is he prospering? when is he coming home? bless the lad, how i miss him."
winifred laughed heartily as sir lester poured forth his string of questions.
"give me time, father," she said, "and i will read you his letter."
they went out on to the terrace, and there she read him what jack had written.
sir lester listened, and as she read his face softened.
she did not falter as she read the words of love which seemed to breathe between the lines. she was so very happy, she fancied it was his voice she heard, the paper was alive with a warm glow, she would not have been at all surprised had he suddenly appeared before her.
"i wish he would come back, win," said her father, when she concluded, "we ought never to have let him go."
"it is for the best," she said, "and he will come back. then, father—oh, then——" and she hid her face on his shoulder.
"what then, win?" he asked, gently, as he stroked her hair.
