Character Analysis
Bassett is the family's humble gardener. He got his job through Uncle Oscar, who he served under during the war. Bassett is a working class man with naively religious views—he thinks Paul's talent for picking winning racehorses is a gift from heaven. It seems like Paul is Bassett's master in the story, even though Paul is just a boy. This is partly by virtue of his class—Paul is the boss' son, after all—but it also suggests that Bassett is easily led.