ed his fingers sharply--"quick lak thot"--he snapped his
fingers again--"there's my _potrillo_ grown big lak a house! And
so--"

"But how you knowin' thot's thee horse?" interrupted the other. "How you
knowin' thot for sure?" Evidently Franke was beginning to entertain
grave doubts concerning this visit to the corral.

But Felipe only sneered. "How I know thot?" he asked, disdainfully. "I'm
joost tellin' you! I know! Thot's enough! A horse is a horse! And I know
thees horse! I know every horse! I got only to see a horse once--once
only--and I'm never forgettin' thot horse! And I'm makin' no meestake
now--bet you' life!" Nevertheless, flicked with doubt because of the
gravity of the other, he turned his head and gazed back at the horse
long and earnestly. Finally he turned around again. "I know thot horse!"
he yelled. "And I'm tellin' you thees, Franke," he went on, suddenly
belligerent toward the other. "If you don' t'ink I'm gettin' thee right
_caballo_, I have you arrested for stealin' thot seex dolars thot
time! Money is money, too. But a horse is a horse. I know thees horse.
Thot's enough!" Yet he relapsed into a moody silence, puffing
thoughtfully on his cigarette.

Behind the outfit, Pat continued along docilely. In a way he was
enjoying this strange journey across the mesa. It was all very new to
him, this manner of crossing, this being tied to the rear of a wagon,
and he found himself pleasantly mystified. Nor was that all. Not once
had he felt called upon to rebel. In perfect contentment he followed the
rigging, eyes upon the outhanging reach, for he was intent upon
maintaining safe distance between this thing and himself. Once, when
they were mounting up to the mesa, he had met with a sharp blow from
this projection--due to sudden change of gait in the horses--and he only
required the one lesson to be ever after careful. As for the men
forward, he knew nothing of them, and never, to his knowledge, had seen
them before. But in no way was he concerning himself about them. Nor,
indeed, was he worrying over any part of this proceeding. For in his
dumb animal way he was coming to know, as all dumb servants of man come
to know, that life, after all, is service, a kind of self-effacing
series of tasks in the interests of others, and that this ambling along
behind the vehicle was but one of the many kinds.

"And," suddenly broke out Felipe, who, having threshed the matter out to
his satisfaction, now felt sure of