'I am going for the gloves,' he thought; 'if it doesn't come off', I'm
done anyhow.'
He went to another quietly dressed gentleman with a diamond pin and
a Jewish face. And as he went from one quietly dressed gentleman to
another there preceded him some subtle messenger, who breathed the
words, 'Mr. Pendyce is going for the gloves,' so that at each visit he
found they had greater confidence than ever in his horse. Soon he had
promised to pay two thousand pounds if the Ambler lost, and received the
assurance of eminent gentlemen, quietly dressed, that they would pay him
fifteen hundred if the Ambler won. The odds now stood at two to one
on, and he had found it impossible to back the Ambler for "a place," in
accordance with his custom.
'Made a fool of myself,' he thought; 'ought never to have gone into
the ring at all; ought to have let Barney's work it quietly. It doesn't
matter!'
He still required to win three hundred pounds to settle on the Monday,
and laid a final bet of seven hundred to three hundred and fifty pounds
upon his horse. Thus, without spending a penny, simply by making a few
promises, he had solved the equation with X.
On leaving the ring, he entered the bar and drank some whisky. He then
went to the paddock. The starting-bell for the second race had rung;
there was hardly anyone there, but in a far corner the Ambler was being
led up and down by a boy.
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