clear mountain
water. Then away he raced until our fifteen minutes were up. I was
glad to quit. He was too active for me to enjoy riding without a
saddle. Right up to the door of the car he trotted, seeming to
understand that his journey was not yet finished. He entered
unhesitatingly and took his place. I battened down the bars, nailed
the doors into place, filled his tub with cold water, mixed him a
bran mash, and once more he rolled away. I sent him on this time,
however, with perfect confidence. He was actually getting fat on his
prison fare, and was too wise to allow himself to be bruised by the
jolting of the cars.

The bystanders seeing a horse travelling in such splendid loneliness
asked, "Runnin' horse?" and I (to cover my folly) replied evasively,
"He can run a little for good money." This satisfied every one that
he was a sprinter and quite explained his private car.

At Bismarck I found myself once more ahead of "54" and waited all day
for the horse to appear. As the time of the train drew near I
borrowed a huge water pail and tugged a supply of water out beside
the track and there sat for three hours, expecting the train each
moment. At last it came, but Ladrone was not there. His car was
missing. I rushed into the office of the operator: "Where's the horse
in '13,238'?" I asked.

"I don't know," answered the agent, in the tone of one who didn't
care.

Visions of Ladrone side-tracked somewhere and perishing for want of
air and water filled my mind. I waxed warm.

"That horse must be found at once," I said. The clerks and operators
wearily looked out of the window. The idea of any one being so
concerned about a horse was to them insanity or worse. I insisted. I
banged my fist on the table. At last one of the young men yawned
languidly, looked at me with dim eyes, and as one brain-cell
coalesced with another seemed to mature an idea. He said:--

"Rheinhart had a horse this morning on his extra."

"Did he--maybe that's the one." They discussed this probability with
lazy indifference. At last they condescended to include me in their
conversation.

I insisted on their telegraphing till they found that horse, and with
an air of distress and saint-like patience the agent wrote out a
telegram and sent it. Thereafter he could not see me; nevertheless I
persisted. I returned to the office each quarter of an hour to ask if
an answer had come to the telegram. At last it came. Ladrone was
ahead and would ar