lating the shining backs
of his horses as they sped down the hill, and his eyes were friendly
as he watched the rolls of muscle writhing under their satin coats.

But when next he looked up his moment of gentleness had passed. His
easier moods were never of long duration. One swift glance again at
the distant hill, and then he turned from it and sat gazing at the
dank, oozy prospect of the low-lying flat he was just entering with no
sort of friendliness. The sharp hoofs of his team were flinging mud in
every direction, and the rattle of the wheels had deadened to a thick
sucking as they sank into the black mud. It was a heavy pull, but the
speed was not checked. It only needed an extra effort, and this the
willing team readily applied. He knew the spot well; and he knew that
beyond lay the hill, the crest of which had so held his attention a
few minutes before.

His thoughts traveled no farther than that hill. For the time at least
there was nothing beyond. Later it would be for him to consider that.
Just ahead of him lay the chances and changes which went to make up
such a life as his. This he knew. And somehow the thought stimulated
his pulses to a fuller appreciation of things.

In a few moments he was nearing the far boundary of the flat, and the
ascent of the hill was about to commence. He smiled. Yes, it was well
calculated. The hill would have to be taken at a walk. It was by far
the steepest of the journey. He remembered, too, that the crest of it
was reached by a final climb that became almost precipitous. He
remembered, too, that the black woods that crowded its sides at the
crest gave place to the skeleton trunks left by some long-forgotten
forest fire. Yes, it was the one spot on the whole journey best
calculated for what was to come.

The team no longer labored in the ooze. The ascent was begun. With
heads held high, with ears pricked and nostrils distended they faced
the big effort unflinchingly.

And the driver's mind was calculating many things. It was moving with
the swiftness of an able general's in the midst of a big action. He
glanced at the sky. Already the sun was hidden behind the western
hills. Already the shadows were lengthening and the gray of evening
was falling. The profound woods, dense and ghostly, had closed in. The
trail was so narrow that the dreary, weeping foliage often swept the
sides of the cart. But these things did not occur to him. His mind was
ahead, amongst those aged ske