tta-percha and not with iron! And then she
had a head so daintily shaped, small and spirited, that it was a joy to
look at her. Erik, who, in spite of his youth, was not a bad judge of
a horse, felt his heart beat like a trip-hammer, and a mighty yearning
took possession of him to become the owner of that mare.

Though he knew it was time for dinner he could not tear himself away,
but followed the procession up one street and down another, until it
stopped at the horse market. There a lot of jockeys and coarse-looking
dealers were on hand; and an opportunity was afforded them to try the
horses before the auction began. They forced open the mouths of the
beautiful animals, examined their teeth, prodded them with whips to see
if they were gentle, and poked them with their fingers or canes. But
when a loutish fellow, in a brown corduroy suit, indulged in that
kind of behavior toward the black mare she gave a resentful whinny
and without further ado grabbed him with her teeth by the coat collar,
lifted him up and shook him as if he had been a bag of straw. Then she
dropped him in the mud, and raised her dainty head with an air as if to
say that she held him to be beneath contempt. The fellow, however, was
not inclined to put up with that kind of treatment. With a volley of
oaths he sprang up and would have struck the mare in the mouth with his
clinched fist, if Erik had not darted forward and warded off the blow.

"How dare you strike that beautiful creature?" he cried, indignantly.

"Hold your jaw, you gosling, or I'll hit you instead," retorted the man.

But by that time one of the royal grooms had made his appearance and the
brute did not dare carry out his threat. While the groom strove to quiet
the mare, a great tumult arose in some other part of the market-place.
There was a whinnying, plunging, rearing, and screaming, as if the whole
field had gone mad. The black mare joined in the concert, and stood
with her ears pricked up and her head raised in an attitude of panicky
expectation. Quite fearlessly Erik walked up to her, patted her on the
neck and spoke soothingly to her.

"Look out," yelled the groom, "or she'll trample you to jelly!"

But instead of that, the mare rubbed her soft nose against the boy's
cheek, with a low, friendly neighing, as if she wished to thank him for
his gallant conduct. And at that moment Erik's heart went out to that
dumb creature with an affection which he had never felt toward any
l