"You may well say that. He's won nearly all our big races at one time and another, and he's about as clever as any man can be with horses." Jack thought his informant looked like an old jockey, and was about to ask him if his surmise was correct, when the man saved him the trouble by saying with a smile,-- "I see you have sized me up. I was a well known rider fifteen years ago, but I got too old fashioned, it's the young 'uns get all the luck in these days." "I was going to ask you if you were a jockey," said Jack. "It does seem rather hard lines that a man who has given the best part of his life to his work should be discarded when he is old. I suppose you made sufficient to live on?" The man shook his head as he replied,-- "There was not much chance, I got a fair amount of riding, but the fees did not amount to much, it is different here to the old country, where a jockey can earn thousands a year." "I suppose so," said Jack. "You are a new arrival here?" "I am, I came out to Fremantle some months back." "Fremantle? Then perhaps you know Mr. Tuxford--Barry Tuxford?" Jack laughed as he replied-- "I ought to, he came here with me, we arrived the day before yesterday." "That's strange now, very strange. He'll know me if you mention my name--Bricky Smiles. I once rode a horse for him here, at Sydney, before he was sent to Western Australia; it won, and I believe he backed it to win a good deal more than he gave for it, at any rate I had a nice present, he was more liberal than some owners I could name." "I shall certainly tell him I met you," said Jack, "but I must hurry on, I am anxious to see Mr. Kenley." "I'll walk down the hill with you if you like," said Bricky. "Do," replied Jack, "I shall be glad of your company." There was a cool breeze blowing from Coogee Bay which made it pleasant and refreshing, and Jack contrasted his present surroundings with those of his pearl fishing experiences. He liked the look of the place, and thought, as many have done before him, that Randwick is especially favoured by Nature, and that a more suitable spot it would have been hard to find for training quarters. His companion watched him keenly, thinking to himself, "He's a good bred one, I'll bet; a bit different to some of 'em we get out from the old country." Bricky Smiles had met many men in his time, and experience taught him to pick and choose with discernment. "That is Joel Kenley's house," he said, as they turned the corner at the foot of the hill, and faced the wide clean road with neatly trimmed hedges and pretty picturesque houses. Joel Kenley's training stables were almost perfect in their appointment, and since he had taken over command, he had been careful to keep everything in order. Jack had seen many training establishments in the old country, far more extensive than this, but he thought he had never come across one that looked more business-like, or compact.