intervals demanding tickets; no old women with sour babies;
no obtrusive boys with double-priced books and magazines; no
other boys with peanuts, apples, and pop-corn; nothing, in fact,
save one's own social circle but a civil genie, not of Irish
extraction, to fly alongside to mix the juleps and carry the
morning paper.

It was very natural to consider whether there wasn't a yard or
two left somewhere of that valuable carpet, and to regret that on
the whole probably the original owners had occasion to use the
entire piece.

Then the thought was very naturally suggested of the marvellous
wooden horse with the pegs in his neck, who soared with his
riders a great deal higher than does Mr. Wise in his clumsy
balloon, and always came down a great deal easier than ever Mr.
Wise did yet. Of course the Cash Customer was from the start
perfectly convinced that _that_ breed of horses is long since
extinct, so long ago that no record of them is now to be found in
either the "American Racing Calendar," or the "English Stud
Book."

Then very naturally came thoughts of the broomstick changes of
the more modern witches. Perhaps, he thought, these are the colts
of the wooden horse, degenerate, it is true, and lacking in the
grace and symmetry of their extraordinary sire, but still perhaps
not inferior in speed or in safety of carriage.

The thought was a brilliant one, and it was really worth while to
inquire into the matter and pursue this phantom steed until he
was fairly hunted down and bridled ready for use.

It needed no long cogitation or extended argument to convince
Johannes, the "Individual," the Cash Customer, of the immense
practical value of such a steed, to say nothing of his costing
nothing to keep, and of its therefore being utterly impossible
for him to "eat his own head off," and of his never growing old,
and of his never having any of the multitudinous diseases that
afflict ordinary horses without any intermixture of magic blood,
and therefore of it being out of the question for anybody to
cheat his owner in a horse-trade.

Why, only think of his value for livery purposes in case his
happy proprietor was disposed to let other folks use him for a
proper compensation. He could of course be trained to carry
double, and no doubt Mr. Rarey, or some other person potent in
horse education, could easily break him to go in harness.

It wasn't likely, Johannes cogitated, that the judges would allow
him to enter hi