reappear; indeed, none of the men reappeared.
So after a time, swallowing his disappointment,
he turned his eyes upon the other horses. As at
noon, they were grazing industriously, and he
knew what was in store for him. He regarded
them a long moment, trying to bring himself to
graze also, but finding that his knowledge of better
things would not permit him. Yet there was
one pleasant surprise. The little gray, sounding
a soft whinny, made her way slowly toward him.
This was unexpected friendliness, for the horse
had seemed hostile earlier, and he promptly showed
his pleasure by licking her neck with lavish attention.
And though he found her coat gritty
with dust, he continued this generous attention
till she lowered her head and resumed her grazing.
This reminded him of his own fierce hunger, and
he promptly lowered his own head, following her
example with a kind of gratitude, and fell to grazing
with her, finding in her interest the one ray
of light in all the darkness of his distress and continued
disappointment. And thus he fed, keeping
with her to the limits of his tether, until, soon
after the candlelight had whisked out in the
shack, she lay down in the yielding sand with a
restful sigh. Pat understood this, but he regarded
it with uncertainty, knowing that he himself with
the coming of night always had protection in a
stable. Then, deciding that it was right and
fitting, especially as the sorrel also sank into the
sand, he himself bent his knees and lay down to
rest in the warmth of the desert.

[[169]]

p168 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p169w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p170

v?