ther, and found abundant cause for laughter. Twice they
went careering, then back to Belle, and when next Jim's itch for speed
and life sent him circling, Belle was rested enough to follow
everywhere.

At a quarter to two the bugle of the Fort was blown, and there issued
forth the proud procession with Red Rover in the middle, led beside his
jockey, who rode a sober pony. It was Little Breeches this time. There
is one thing that cannot be explained away, that is defeat. Peaches had
been defeated; his chance came no more.

Red Rover was magnificent, trained to a hair, full of life and fire. Of
all the beautiful things on earth, there is nothing of nobler beauty
than a noble horse; and Rover, in his clean-limbed gloss and tensity,
was a sight to thrill the crowds that were privileged to see him spurn
the earth, and arch his graceful neck, and curvet a little for the
subtle joy that comes of spending power when power is there in a very
plethora. Every white man's eye grew proudly bright as he gazed and
gloried in his champion and fear left all their hearts. At the starting
post, they swung about, Little Breeches mounted, and a mighty cheer went
up. "Ho, Red Cloud! Where's your horse? Bring on your famous Buckskin
now"; and the rumbling of the crowd was rising, falling, like the sound
of water in a changing wind.

Far down the valley, near the Ogallala Camp, a new commotion arose and a
wilder noise was sounding. There was the shrill chant of the "Racing
Ponies" with the tom-toms beating, and then Red Cloud's men came
trotting in a mass. As they neared the starting point, the rabble of the
painted warriors parted, and out of the opening came their horse, and
from the whites went up a loud and growing burst of laughter. Such a
horse as this they had never seen before; not the famous Buckskin, but
_the mysterious pinto pony_, wonderful, if weird trappings could make
him so. On his head he wore an eagle-feather war-bonnet; his mane was
plaited with red flannel strips and fluttering plumes; his tail was even
gaudier; around each eye was a great circle of white and another of
black; his nose was crossbarred with black and red; his legs were
painted in zebra stripes of yellow and black; the patches of white that
were native to his coat were outlined with black and profusely decorated
with red hands and horseshoes painted in vermilion; on his neck was a
band of beadwork, carrying a little bundle of sacred medicine; and,
last, he