up his customary feigned quest for worms for the
ladies. But the point was this -- with this last
flapping of wings the colt remained in a state of
perfect calm.

Thus he learned, and thus he continued to
learn, in nervous fear one moment, in perfect
calm the next. And though his hours of life were
few indeed, he nevertheless revealed an intelligence
far above the average of his kind. He
learned to avoid the mare's whisking tail, to shun
or remove molesting flies, to keep away from the
mare when she was at the feed-box. All of which
told of his uncommon strain, as did the rapidity
with which he gained strength, which last told
of his tremendous vitality, and which some day
would serve him well against trouble.

Yet in it all lurked the great mystery, and
Felipe, blustering to occasional natives outside
the fence during his week of debauch, while
pointing out with pride the colt's very evident
blooded lineage, yet could tell nothing of that
descent. All he could point out was that the mare
was chestnut-brown, and when not in harness
was kept close within the confines of the corral,
while here was a colt of a dark-fawn color which
would develop with maturity into coal-black.
And there was not a single black horse in the
mountains for miles and miles around. Nor was
the colt a "throw-back," because--

"Oh, well," he would conclude, casting bleared
eyes in the direction of the house, wearily, "I got
soom _vino_?? inside. You coom along now. We go

[[23]]

p022 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p023w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p024

v?