第19章 MONGREL AND THE OTHER HORSE

"Sage-Brush,you have been listening?"

"Yes."

"Isn't it strange?"

"Well,no,Mongrel,I don't know that it is.""Why don't you?"

"I've seen a good many human beings in my time.They are created as they are;they cannot help it.They are only brutal because that is their make;brutes would be brutal if it was THEIR make.""To me,Sage-Brush,man is most strange and unaccountable.Why should he treat dumb animals that way when they are not doing any harm?""Man is not always like that,Mongrel;he is kind enough when he is not excited by religion.""Is the bull-fight a religious service?"

"I think so.I have heard so.It is held on Sunday."(A REFLECTIVE PAUSE,LASTING SOME MOMENTS.)Then:

"When we die,Sage-Brush,do we go to heaven and dwell with man?""My father thought not.He believed we do not have to go there unless we deserve it."