He removed
the racing plates you put on Panchito and substituted heavy work shoes,
but--Panchito will go to the post with racing plates. I think we had
better put a bet down on him."
"I wouldn't bet tin money on him," Danny Leighton warned. "He can
outrun anything in that field, even if he has broken training a little,
but those wise little jockeys on the other horses will never let him
win. They'll pocket him and keep him there."
"They'll not!" Kay's voice rose sharply. "Panchito will be off first,
no matter what position he draws, and Don Mike's orders to Allesandro
will be to keep him in front. But you are not to bet on him, father."
"Why not? Of course I shall bet on him."
"You know very well, Dad, that there are no book-makers of Tia Juana to
make the odds. The Paris Mutuel system obtains here and the public
makes the odds. Consequently the more money bet on Panchito the lower
will be his price. I'm certain Don Mike will bet every dollar he has
in the world on Panchito, but he will bet it, through trusted agents,
in pool-rooms all over the country. The closing price here should be
such that the pool-rooms should pay Don Mike not less than fifteen to
one."
"So you've been his confidante, have you?" Parker scrutinized his
daughter quizzically.
"He had to take somebody into his confidence in order to have his plans
protected," she confessed blushingly.
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