Finally They Commenced Telling Marvelous Tales About Horses That They Had Ridden And Subdued, And I Said To Myself That

I had been told all about sheep that day, and there it was about horses, and I wondered how far

I would have to go to hear all sorts of things about cattle! But anything about a horse is always of interest to me, and those men were particularly entertaining, as it was evident that most of them were professional trainers.

There was sitting at the farther end of the table a rather young-looking man, who had been less talkative than the others, but who after a while said something about a horse at the fort. The mentioning of the post was startling, and I listened to hear what further he had to say. And he continued, "Yes, you fellers can say what yer dern please about yer broncos, but that little horse can corral any dern piece of horseflesh yer can show up. A lady rides him, and I guess I'd put her up with the horse. The boys over there say that she broke the horse herself, and I say! you fellers orter see her make him go - and he likes it, too."

By the time the man stopped talking, my excitement was great, for I was positive that he had been speaking of Rollo, although no mention had been made of the horse's color or gait. So I asked what gait the horse had. He and two or three of the other men looked at me with pity in their eyes - actual pity - that plainly said, "Poor thing - what can you know about gaits"; but he answered civilly, "Well, lady, he is what we call a square pacer," and having done his duty he turned again to his friends, as though they only could understand him, and said, "No cow swing about that horse. He is a light sorrel and has the very handsomest mane yer ever did see - it waves, too, and I guess the lady curls it - but don't know for sure."

The situation was most unusual and in some ways most embarrassing, also. Those nine men were rough and unkempt, but they were splendid horsemen - that I knew intuitively - and to have one of their number select my very own horse above all others to speak of with unstinted praise, was something to be proud of, but to have my own self calmly and complacently disposed of with the horse - "put up," in fact - was quite another thing. But not the slightest disrespect had been intended, and to leave the table without making myself known was not to be thought of. I wanted the pleasure, too, of telling those men that I knew the gait of a pacer very well - that not in the least did I deserve their pity. My face was burning and my voice unnatural when I threw the bomb!

I said, "The horse you are speaking of I know very well.

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