Certain Bet
Otakar Batlicka
It was seven o’clock in the evening in London, and the rain started. I stood in a long line, waiting to buy a ticket for a boxing match. After buying the ticket, I had some free time so I decided to have a meal at a nearby pub.
While eating, I was didn’t see who was entering or leaving. “Hello!” someone said beside me. I looked up and I saw a large man standing before me. It was my former sports teacher from my days in the English army. We greeted each other warmly and shook hands.
“What are you doing here?” my old teacher asked.
“Well, I’m here to watch the Lane versus Hardy match. I think it’s going to be a great fight. Both of them are excellent,” I replied.
“You’re right,” my teacher nodded. “But as you know, I now work at a sports club, and I hear a lot of inside talk.”
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I nodded and I said that I believed Lane would win. It seemed everyone thought this.
As we talked, a group of men and women entered the pub. They exchanged greetings with my friend, and one wealthy-looking man came to our table to shake hands with my old teacher.
“What do you think? I’m certain Lane will win. I bet any amount on it, especially before the fifth round ends,” the man said.
My old teacher shook his head and after a moment replied, “This time, I’m not placing any bets. But maybe my former pupil here would like to bet a pound or two.” He looked at me.
The stranger then turned to me, saying, “I believe in Lane. I’ll bet you £10 that he’ll win!”
“It’s a tempting offer,” my old teacher said. “If I were you, I’d take it.” He kicked me under the table and winked. So, I accepted the bet and shook hands with the stranger.
The stranger pulled out £10 from his wallet and handed it to my old teacher. I did the same with a pound.
“The winner can collect the money from our mutual friend here,” the stranger said as he went to his group.
“Who is that man?” I asked my friend.”He is a bookmaker. He has earned a lot of money on a horse racing but I don’t know whether he understands people as well has horses. Anyway, congratulations,” he told me. “I can give you the money right now but let’s wait till the end of the match. What if a miracle happened.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“What do you mean? A miracle? Everyone believes that Lane will win.”
“It depends,” said my friend and refused to tell me more. “It’s time to go.”
We left together and we went into the hall. We were sitting quite close to each other.
The bell rang and the match began. Both men were strong. Shouts encouraged Lane to start attacking. Most people clearly believed Lane would win.
In the first round, it was clear that Lane was better. He often hit Hardy very hard. My old friend looked at me smiling, but I didn’t believe I had any chance to win the bet.
The second round was the same. Lane was clearly better, but my old teacher was still smiling. I couldn’t understand why he didn’t believe in Lane’s victory. When he was younger, he used to box, which is why I thought he knew what he was talking about, but now I started to doubt him.
In the third round, I watched both boys carefully and saw that Lane seemed a bit more tired than Hardy. Moreover, his hits were not as hard as in the first and second rounds. During the break, my friend turned to me again and showed five fingers. He believed there would only be five rounds.
In the fourth round, Hardy was calm and protected himself. Lane attacked a lot, but Hardy managed to avoid the attacks. Suddenly, his left hand hit Lane’s chin and Lane fell down. “One – two – three – four – five… Eight,” Lane got up, “Nine…” Lane was ready again. The end of round four.My friend turned to me and he took out the money out of his pocket: “They are already yours.”
I felt much better now. But I remained cautious because such matches are often decided unexpectedly. The bell rang for the fifth round… What’s happening to Lane? He looks very weak now and he appears ill.
And then it happened. It was so sudden that I barely saw it. Hardy struck Lane with a right hand, and Lane went down immediately. That was the end.
People were upset and discussed what had happened. No one had expected Lane to lose. But how did my old teacher know? I approached him. He handed me the money.
“How did you know Lane would lose?”
“You see, Lane and Hardy are both professional boxers. But they prepare differently. Hardy trains daily, eats well, and is determined to win. Lane is not a bad guy, but yesterday at four o’clock, I saw him with his friends, drunk. A boxer who does that can never win. You know, young man, life is a constant struggle, and when I see someone unprepared for it, I bet they’ll lose.”
