CHAPTER I 



TOD Sloan's reminiscences 



My Christened Name — Beyond the Dreams of a Black Dog — Ignorance 

 and Fear of Horses — First Time in the Saddle — Men I have met 



After the death of my mother when I was five, and of 

 my adopted parents, or rather the people who adopted 

 me, under their own name, Blauser, I had various 

 designations. My real name, that which I was 

 christened by, is James Forman Sloan. The name 

 Todhunter came from my father nicknaming me 

 " Toad " (because I was so small), and then shortened 

 to Tod, and the " Todhunter " was the variation of 

 someone, I forget whom. 



AVlien I was left alone by those I have never ceased 

 to grieve for, my first faithful friend was a black dog, 

 Tony. We would sit trying to entice fish out of the 

 water, where they were not before I came around with 

 my rod, and I felt he looked at me as if he thought 

 something of the very small boy beside him. He would 

 gaze at me when I played chequers, for I was seldom 

 if ever beaten : it was a sort of gift handed me by 

 Nature to be a phenomenon at the game. In fact, 

 I had an uncanny vision for the game known in 

 England as draughts. 



But neither Tony nor I knew what was before me. 

 There was never an idea round about my home in 

 Kokomo, Indiana, that a horse was anything but a 

 curiosity. My father had never driven even a donkey. 

 How could Tony know — scared as I always was at the 

 idea of a horse — ^that I should some day shine in the 



