The "Crown" at Redbury was full in anticipation of the races, but
Dorrington managed to get a room ordinarily occupied by one of the
landlord's family, who undertook to sleep at a friend's for a night
or two. This settled, he strolled into the yard, and soon fell into
animated talk with the hostler on the subject of the forthcoming races.
All the town was backing Janissary for the Stakes, the hostler said,
and he advised Dorrington to do the same.
During this conversation two men stopped in the street, just outside
the yard gate, talking. One was a big, heavy, vulgar-looking fellow in
a box-cloth coat, and with a shaven face and hoarse voice; the other
was a slighter, slimmer, younger and more gentlemanlike man, though
there was a certain patchy colour about his face that seemed to hint of
anything but teetotalism.
"There," said the hostler, indicating the younger of these two men,
"that's young Mr. Telfer, him as whose uncle's owner o' Janissary. He's
a young plunger, he is, and he's on Janissary too. He give me the tip,
straight, this mornin'. 'You put your little bit on my uncle's colt,'
he said. 'It's all right. I ain't such pals with the old man as I was,
but I've got the tip that _his_ money's down on it. So don't neglect
your opportunities, Thomas,' he says; and I haven't. He's stoppin' in
our house, is young Mr. Richard."
"And who is that he is talking to? A bookmaker?"
"Yes, sir, that's Naylor--Bob Naylor. He's got Mr. Richard's bets.
P'raps he's puttin' on a bit more now."
The men at the gate separated, and the bookmaker walked off down the
street in the fast gathering dusk. Richard Telfer, however, entered the
house, and Dorrington followed him. Telfer mounted the stairs and went
into his room. Dorrington lingered a moment on the stairs and then went
and knocked at Telfer's door.
"Hullo!" cried Telfer, coming to the door and peering out into the
gloomy corridor.
"I beg pardon," Dorrington replied courteously. "I thought this was
Naylor's room."
"No--it's No. 23, by the end. But I believe he's just gone down the
street."
Dorrington expressed his thanks and went to his own room. He took one
or two small instruments from his bag and hurried stealthily to the
door of No. 23.
All was quiet, and the door opened at once to Dorrington's picklock,
for there was nothing but the common tumbler rim-lock to secure
it. Dorrington, being altogether an unscrupulous scoundrel, would
have thought nothing of entering a man's room thus for purposes of
mere robbery. Much less scruple had he in doing so in the present
circumstances. He lit the candle in a little pocket lantern, and,
having secured the door, looked quickly about the room. There was
nothing unusual to attract his attention, and he turned to two
bags lying near the dressing-table. One was the usual bookmaker's
satchel, and the other was a leather travelling-bag; both were locked.
Dorrington unbuckled the straps of the large bag, and produced a
slender picklock of steel wire, with a sliding joint, which, with a
little skilful "humouring," turned the lock in the course of a minute
or two. One glance inside was enough. There on the top lay a large
false beard of strong red, and upon the shirts below was a pair of
spectacles. But Dorrington went farther, and felt carefully below the
linen till his hand met a small, flat, mahogany box. This he withdrew
and opened. Within, on a velvet lining, lay a small silver instrument
resembling a syringe. He shut and replaced the box, and, having
rearranged the contents of the bag, shut, locked and strapped it, and
blew out his light. He had found what he came to look for. In another
minute Mr. Bob Naylor's door was locked behind him, and Dorrington took
his picklocks to his own room.
It was a noisy evening in the Commercial Room at the "Crown." Chaff
and laughter flew thick, and Richard Telfer threatened Naylor with a
terrible settling day. More was drunk than thirst strictly justified,
and everybody grew friendly with everybody else. Dorrington, sober and
keenly alert, affected the reverse, and exhibited especial and extreme
affection for Mr. Bob Naylor. His advances were unsuccessful at first,
but Dorrington's manner and the "Crown" whisky overcame the bookmaker's
reserve, and at about eleven o'clock the two left the house arm in
arm for a cooling stroll in the High Street. Dorrington blabbed and
chattered with great success, and soon began about Janissary.
"So you've pretty well done all you want with Janissary, eh? Book
full? Ah! nothing like keeping a book even all round--it's the safest
way--'specially with such a colt as Janissary about. Eh, my boy?" He
nudged Naylor genially. "Ah! no doubt it's a good colt, but old Telfer
has rum notions about preparation, hasn't he?"
"I dunno," replied Naylor. "How do you mean?"
"Why, what does he have the horse led up and down behind the stable
for, half an hour every afternoon?"
"Didn't know he did."
"Ah! but he does. I came across it only this afternoon. I was coming
over the downs, and just as I got round behind Telfer's stables there
I saw a fine bay colt, with a white stocking on the off hind leg, well
covered up in a suit of clothes, being led up and down by a lad, like
a sentry--up and down, up and down--about twenty yards each way, and
nobody else about. 'Hullo!' says I to the lad, 'hullo! what horse is
this?' 'Janissary,' says the boy--pretty free for a stable-lad. 'Ah!'
says I. 'And what are you walking him like that for?' 'Dunno,' says the
boy, 'but it's guv'nor's orders. Every afternoon, at two to the minute,
I have to bring him out here and walk him like this for half an hour
exactly, neither more nor less, and then he goes in and has a handful
of malt. But I dunno why.' 'Well,' says I, 'I never heard of that being
done before. But he's a fine colt,' and I put my hand under the cloth
and felt him--hard as nails and smooth as silk."
"And the boy let you touch him?"
"Yes; he struck me as a bit easy for a stable-boy. But it's an odd
trick, isn't it, that of the half-hour's walk and the handful of malt?
Never hear of anybody else doing it, did you?"
"No, I never did."
They talked and strolled for another quarter of an hour, and then
finished up with one more drink.