"
"Well, aren't you?" asked Samuel.
"Not very much," said the other carelessly. "Here's Punch--what do you
think of him?"
The occasion for this was a dog, the most hideously ugly object that
Samuel had ever seen in his life. "I--I don't think I'd care for him,"
he said hesitatingly.
"He's a Japanese bulldog," observed the other. "He cost three thousand
dollars."
"Three thousand dollars!" gasped the boy in horror. "Why should anyone
pay so much for a dog?"
"That's what he's worth," said the other with a laugh.
They went to see the horses, which were housed in a palace of their
own. There were innumerable rows of stalls, and a running track and
endless acres of inclosures. "Why do you have so many horses?" asked
Samuel.
"Father ran a stock farm," said the other. "I don't have much time to
give to it myself."
"But who rides the horses?" asked Samuel.
"Well, I go in for sport," replied Lockman. "I'm supposed to be quite
a dab at polo."
"I see," said the boy--though to tell the truth he did not see at all,
not having the least idea what polo was.
"If you're interested in horses, I'll have them find you something to
do here," Lockman went on.
"Oh, thank you," said the boy with a thrill. "That will be fine!"
He could have spent all day in gazing at the marvels of this place,
but his host was tired now and started back to the house.
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