them now.
David, do not judge Timeh with a wrathful heart.

"Let the sins of Elijah fall on the head of Elijah, but let Timeh go
unpunished for my faults."

"You grow old, Elijah, and you forget. The judgment of David is never
colored by his own likes and dislikes, his own wishes and prejudice. He
sees the right, and therefore his judgments are true."

"Aye, David, but truth is not merciful, and blessed above all things is
mercy. When you see Timeh, think of Elijah. How he has watched over the
colt, and loved it, and played with it, and taught it, by the hours, the
proper manners for a colt and a mare of the Garden of Eden."

"That is true. It is a well-mannered colt."

Elijah caught at a new straw of hope.

"Also, in the field, if two colts race home for water and Timeh is one,
she reaches the water first--always. She comes to me like a child. In
the morning she slips out of the paddock, and coming to my window, she
puts in her head and calls me with a whinny as soft as the voice of a
man. Then I arise and go out to her and to Juri."

Ruth was weeping openly, her hand closed hard on the arm of Connor; and
she felt the muscles along that arm contract. She almost loved the
gambler for his rage at the inexorable David.

"Consider Juri, also," said Elijah. "Seven times--I numbered them on my
fingers and remembered--seven times when the horses were brought before
you in the morning, you have called to Juri and mounted her for the
morning ride--that was before Glani was raised to his full strength. And
always the master has said:

"'Stout-hearted Juri! She pours out her strength for her rider as a
generous host pours out his wine!'"

David frowned, but plainly he was touched.

"Juri!" he called, and when the noble mare came to him, he laid his hand
on her mane.

"Who has spoken of Juri? Surely I am not judging her this day. It was
Matthew who judged her when she was a foal of six months."

"And it was Matthew," added Elijah hastily, "who loved her above all
horses!"

"Ah!" muttered David, deeply moved.

"Consider the heart of Juri," went on Elijah, timidly following this new
thread of argument. "When the mares neigh and the colts come running,
there will be none to gallop to her side. When she goes out in the
morning there will be no daughter to gallop around and around her,
tossing her head and her heels. And when she comes home at night there
will be no tired foal leaning against her side for weariness."