Dalton would have given a good deal to ensure Neptune being beaten, and when he saw Dr Tom and Jim together it occurred to him that Willie Dennis was probably alone at the doctor's house.
He went out at the back and quickly made his way in that direction. He had no very distinct idea what he intended doing, but he was determined Willie Dennis must be incapacitated from riding.
'If the lad can't ride Neptune,' said Dalton, 'the horse will not run, because he won't be able to find another jockey.'
He had not forgotten his oath to Dr Tom, but he had kept it so long that he felt absolved from it, and to a man like Dalton oaths do not count for much.
He went stealthily as he neared the house, and, cautiously treading up the steps on to the verandah, he looked in at the open door.
Willie Dennis was asleep in a cane chair, and Abe Dalton, creeping round, saw one of the doctor's pestles, which he used for pounding various things in a mortar. He picked it up, and then, approaching the lad from behind, hit him a violent blow on the head.
Willie fell forward out of the chair, face downwards, on to the floor.
Abe Dalton rolled him over, and, looking at him, said to himself,—
'He'll get over it all right, but I reckon it's settled him for to-morrow.'
He put the pestle back in its place, and quickly leaving the house hurried back to the Gum Tree Hotel.