the fire, he was up betimes to sail with the wind, to take advantage of
the stir-up that the public mind had got; and he secured a lot of new
business.

"Now, Mr. Hartigan, why don't you insure that horse of yours? Just think
where you would have been if you hadn't got him out in time last night.
Why, I knew a man who bought a horse for fifty dollars in the morning,
insured him for two hundred and fifty dollars at noon, and next night he
was burnt up. The very next day he got his check for two hundred and
fifty dollars. That's the way our company does business; all in
twenty-four hours."

The idea of a joyful profit out of Blazing Star's incinerated remains
was distinctly unpleasant, much like asking a mother to realize on her
baby, and Hartigan took out no policy, but it had the effect of making
him try to set a market value on the horse.

It was late in the season now, October was nearly gone; but still he and
Belle rode forth together.

"What is next Sunday's lesson?" was Belle's very usual question. "Well,"
said Hartigan, "I came across a text that filled me with joy. 'When
Amaziah, King of Judah, was murdered,' it says, 'They brought him upon
horses and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.'

"Brought him on horses. What a picture, Belle! Just think of that royal
stiff strapped square across the backs of four fine horses, all bridled
together, and then driven madly across the desert, through the land of
the freebooting Arabs, who would be more than apt to seize the corpse
and hold it for a ransom. What a race! You bet they had horses then!
They were Arab stock all right. I wonder no artist ever put that royal
funeral on canvas. How does it strike you, Belle?"

"Wild enough and picturesque enough for the Black Hills; but I don't
seem to get the lesson, I might almost add another text to your list: 'A
horse is a vain thing for safety.'" Then, suddenly, she said: "Have you
seen Colonel Waller lately?"

"No."

"Is it too far to ride there?"

"Not if you can stand it."

"I can; but I wish you'd tighten my cinch."

Jim was well pleased to be her groom; and, hauling on the strap, his hat
tipped off and his head touched her knee, she laid her hand on his head
and a thrill went through him. Belle knew the game and the risks, in
spite of her very old-fashioned parents. All along, she had held him
back to a certain line; even though it was clearly understood to both of
them and all their world that h