f the great
horse from Connor, but the reality was far more than the words.

"And this, Glani, is Ruth."

She touched the velvet nose which was stretched inquisitively toward
her, and then looked up and found that David was smiling. A moment later
they were riding side by side down the avenue of the eucalyptus trees,
and through the tall treetrunks new vistas opened rapidly about her.
Every stride of Abra seemed to carry her another step into the life of
David.

"I should have called Shakra for you," said David, watching her with
concern, "but she is ridden by another who has the right to the best in
the garden."

"Even Glani?"

"Even Glani, save that he fears to ride my horse, and therefore he has
Shakra. I am sorry, for I wish to see you together. She is like
you--beautiful, delicate, and swift."

She urged Abra into a shortened gallop with a touch of her heel, so that
the business of managing him gave her a chance to cover her confusion.
She could have smiled away a compliment, but the simplicity of David
meant something more.

"Peace, Abra!" commanded the master. "Oh, unmannerly colt! It would be
other than this if the wise Shakra were beneath your saddle."

"No, I am content with Abra. Let Shakra be for your servant."

"Not servant, but friend--a friend whom Glani chose for me. Consider how
fickle our judgments are and how little things persuade us. Abraham is
rich in words, but his face is ugly, and I prefer the smooth voice of
Zacharias, though he is less wise. I have grieved for this and yet it is
hard to change. But a horse is wiser than a fickle-minded man, and when
Glani went to the hand of Benjamin without my order, I knew that I had
found a friend."

She knew the secret behind that story, and now she looked at David with
pity.

"In my house you will meet Benjamin," the master was saying
thoughtfully, evidently encountering a grave problem. "I have said that
little things make the judgments of men! If a young horse shies once,
though he may become a true traveler and a wise head, yet his rider
remembers the first jump and is ever uneasy in the saddle."

She nodded, wondering what lay behind the explanation.

"Or if a snake crosses the road before a horse, at that place the horse
trembles when he passes again."

"Yes."

She found it strangely pleasant to follow the simple processes of his
mind.

"It is so with Benjamin. At some time a woman crosses his way like a
snake, and because of h