'And if at any time you can afford to buy Cudgegong you shall have it at a reasonable figure,' said Chris Shaw.
Jim's eyes glistened. He would have dearly loved to make Wanabeen and Cudgegong one property for Willie's sake, but it seemed beyond his most sanguine dreams.
He thanked Chris Shaw for his offer, but said there was very little chance of his being able to buy such a large station.
Chris Shaw went to Sydney, and Jim Dennis and Willie had their hands full with Wanabeen and Cudgegong.
Everything prospered, and they had no severe droughts. Jim Dennis put by all the money he earned as manager, and also made a big profit out of Wanabeen. He commenced to have hopes of realising his ambition after all.
Neptune had grown into a fine sire, and Jim Dennis had many good horses and mares by him.
One in particular he set great store by. This was Grey Bird, a beautiful horse the colour of his sire, out of a mare named Seamew.
Grey Bird was a four-year-old, and had won a couple of minor races at Swamp Creek and Barragong, but so far as the big meetings were concerned he was an unknown quantity.
Jim Dennis knew if he could win a race, such as the Sydney Cup, he could win a lot of money and not risk much. Against such a horse as Grey Bird the odds in a big race would be remunerative, more especially if Willie, an unknown rider in the metropolis, had the mount.
He had entered Grey Bird for the Sydney Cup, but it was regarded as a piece of bluff, and no one ever thought it was his intention to run the horse.