overed with white-wash! D'you see? They're sick! And then all at
once they know they're seeing a miracle. They have been standing up
ever since the horses entered the home-stretch. Now they climb on one
another's shoulders. They forget all about thousands--the hundreds of
thousands of dollars which they are going to lose. They only know that
they are seeing a great horse. And they love that new, great horse. They
scream as they see her come. Women break into tears as the old man
shoots past the grand stand. Men shriek and hug each other. They dance.

"The gray streak shoots on. She is past the others. She is rushing for
the finish wire as no horse ever ran before. She is away. One length,
two lengths, six lengths of daylight show between her and the rest. She
gallops past the finish posts with Elijah looking back at the others!

"She has won! You have won, David. I have won. We are rich. Happy. The
world's before us. David, do you see?"

"Is it possible? But no, Benjamin, not Jurith. Some other, perhaps,
Shakra--Glani--"

"No, we would take Jurith--twenty-five years old!"

Connor's last words trailed off into hysterical laughter.

_CHAPTER SEVENTEEN_

David was still flushed with the excitement of the tale, and he was
perplexed and troubled when Connor's strange, high laughter brought to
an abrupt end the picture they had both lived in.

The gambler saw the frown on David's brow, and with an effort he made
himself suddenly grave, though he was still pale and shaking.

"David, this is the reason Jurith can win. Somewhere in the past there
was a freak gray horse. There are other kinds of freaks; oranges had
seeds in 'em; all at once up pops a tree that has seedless fruit. People
plant shoots from it. There you have the naval orange, all out of one
tree. It's the same way with that gray horse. It was a freak; had a high
croup and muscles as stretchy as India-rubber, and strong--like the
difference between the muscles of a mule and the muscles of most horses.
That's what that first horse was. He was bred and the get came into this
valley. They kept improving--and the result is Glani! The Eden Gray,
David, is the finest horse in the world because it's a _different_ and a
better horse!"

The master paused for some time, and Connor knew he was deep in thought.
Finally he spoke:

"But if we know the speed of the Eden Grays, why should we go out into
the world and take the money of other men because they do n