reely."

"Look back," said Connor, feeling that the crisis had come and that he
must now put his fortune to the touch.

David turned on the stallion. "What do you see?"

"I see old Elijah. He drives the two mares, and the furrow follows
them--the blackbirds also."

"Do you see nothing else?"

"I see the green meadow and the sky with a cloud in it; I see the river
yonder and the aspens flash as the wind strikes them."

"And do you hear nothing?"

"I hear the falling of the Jordan and the cry of the birds. Also, Elijah
has just spoken to Rajima. Ah, she is lazy for a daughter of Aliriz!"

"Do you wish to know what I see and hear, David?"

"If it is your pleasure, brother."

"I see a blue sky like this, with the wind and the clouds in it and all
that stuff--"

"All of what?"

"And I see also," continued Connor, resolving to watch his tongue,
"thousands of people, acres of men and women."

David was breathless with interest. He had a way of opening his eyes and
his mind like a child.

"We are among them; they jostle us; we can scarcely breathe. There is a
green lawn below us; we cannot see the green, it is so thickly covered
with men. They have pulled out their wallets and they have money in
their hands."

"What is it?" muttered David. "For my thoughts swim in those waves of
faces."

"I see," went on Connor, "a great oval road fenced on each side, with
colored posts at intervals. I see horses in a line, dancing up and down,
turning about--"

"Ah, horses!"

"Kicking at each other."

"So? Are there such bad manners among them?"

"But what each man is trembling for, and what each man has risked his
money upon, is this question: Which of all those is the fastest horse?
Think! The horses which fret in that line are the finest money can buy.
Their blood lines are longer than the blood lines of kings. They are
all fine muscles and hair-trigger nerves. They are poised for the start.
And now--"

"Benjamin, is there such love of horses over the mountains? Listen!
Fifty thousand men and women breathe with those racers."

"I know." There was a glint in the eyes of David. "When two horses match
their speed--"

"Some men have wagered all their money. They have borrowed, they have
stolen, to get what they bet. But there are two men only who bet on one
of the horses. You, David, and I!"

"Ha? But money is hard to come by."

"We ask them the odds," continued Connor. "For one dollar we shall take
a hundred