Under The Net - Iris Murdoch [36]
He winked a triangular eye at me, and in a moment he had placed forty pounds in a win double, Little Grange and Queen's Rook. While that was cooking we turned our attention to the Nottingham card. The three o'clock at Nottingham was a selling plate. 'Not interesting,' said Sammy. 'That's a race for horses with three legs, we'll steer clear of it. But the rest of the day's a wedding present. Let's make it really exciting and have a treble. Saint Cross in the three-thirty, Hal Adair in the four o'clock, and Peter of Alex in the four-thirty. I don't care for the four o'clock at Salisbury. That leaves the four-thirty at Salisbury, and that'll be won by either Dagenham or Elaine's Choice.' 'Well, put it on each way, for heaven's sake,' I said. I poured myself out another stiff glass. I am not a natural gambler. Sammy was on the phone staking twenty pounds at Nottingham. Then he was asking for the winner of the three o'clock race at Salisbury. I sat down on the floor. Sammy stood to lose more money than I had in the bank. My nerves were vibrating like the strings of a harp. I wished I'd never suggested it. 'Stop looking green,' said Sammy. 'It's only money! And just guess who won the three o'clock. Little Grange at two to one on!' This made it worse. 'But it's a double,' I said. 'Doubles never work. It's just a way of losing more than one's stake.' 'Shut up,' said Sammy, 'and leave the worrying to me. If you can't stand it you can go and sit on the landing.' He was working out on a piece of paper how much we were going to win. 'Queen's Rook won't lose,' said Sammy, 'but we're covered anyway by the four-thirty. Twenty-five quid each way on the two of them just to please you. There's security for you! You put it down and you pick it up!' I was working out how much we were going to lose. This was easier and could be done in the head. I made it a hundred and sixty pounds. I was tempted to go away and leave Sammy to it, but dignity forbade me to desert him in what was after all my own enterprise. Besides this, the question was academic, since too much whisky on an empty stomach had by now immobilized me completely. My legs felt as if they were stuffed with straw. I groaned. Sammy was ringing up about the next race. Queen's Rook had been beaten by a head but Saint Cross had won at Nottingham. This was worse than anything. 'Confound you,' I said, 'why didn't you do what I told you about Little Grange? Now we're forty pounds down and we haven't even won anything on Saint Cross.' 'That just makes it better sport,' said Sammy. 'Believe you me, today's your lucky day. What's today? Wednesday? Well, Wednesday's your lucky day. It's years since I've really gambled,' said Sammy, 'I'd quite forgotten the feeling!' He was rubbing his hands with hideous zest. 'You know, boy,' he said, 'it does me good to meet someone like you now and then. Makes me realize the value of money!' When the four o'clock race at Nottingham was won by Hal Adair, cool channels of sweat ran down my back and sides. I didn't feel it was my lucky day, and even Sammy was showing signs of strain. He drank what remained of the whisky and told me that the trouble with me was that I didn't take a thing like this in the right spirit. 'Getting cash is like taming a lion,' said Sammy. 'Never let it see that you care.' My head, after describing gentle circles, subsided on to the carpet, carrying the rest of my trunk with it. I turned my face under the sofa. 'Filthy lucre! Filthy lucre!' I could hear Sammy saying, with the voice of a man cursing the woman he has ruined. When 4.30 approached, the atmosphere was electric. Sammy was on the phone before the race was even started, but I hardly listened, I was too busy wondering how I would raise the money to pay him back. I decided that if I gave him the radiogram we'd be approximately quits. I could hear Sammy saying, 'Come on, Andy, look sharp. I've got a friend here who's biting the furniture.' Then I heard Sammy swearing. 'What is it?' I asked languidly. 'Elaine's Choice didn't run,' said Sammy, 'and Dagenham was fourth.' 'What about