Chapter 9
Down all the length of the mountain-desert and across its width
of rocks and mountains and valleys and stern plateaus there is a
saying: "You can tell a man by the horse he rides." For most other
important things are apt to go by opposites, which is the usual way
in which a man selects his wife. With dogs, for instance—a quiet
man is apt to want an active dog, and a tractable fellow may keep
the most vicious of wolf-dogs.
But when it comes to a horse, a man's heart speaks for itself,
and if he has sufficient knowledge he will choose a sympathetic
mount. A woman loves a neat-stepping saddle-horse; a philosopher
likes a nodding, stumble-footed nag which will jog all day long and
care not a whit whether it goes up dale or down.
To know the six wild riders who galloped o
