74 THE WONDER-BOOK OF HORSES 



curiously-shaped bits of colored glass, rolls of 

 wire, and many a strange instrument and tool, 

 the uses of which were known only to Atlantes 

 himself. Sometimes the people in the valley be- 

 low saw thick clouds of black smoke coming out 

 of the chimney of the wizard's den, as they called 

 it; and belated travelers, groping along the high- 

 way on dark nights, reported that they had seen 

 sheets of flame and balls of red fire shooting from 

 the high tower. 



Atlantes had not been long in his lofty perch 

 before he was the terror of all the country 

 round about. When he ventured down into the 

 valley, the poor folk who saw him would cross 

 themselves and mutter prayers to the Virgin and 

 look at his feet to see whether they were not 

 hoofed. Men would go miles out of their way 

 rather than venture along the highroad that 

 ran directly beneath his aery; and strange tales 

 were told of children and knights and ladies that 

 had been spirited away by his enchantments and 

 held in captivity by him. But old Atlantes cared 

 little for what people said about him, so long as 

 they did not disturb him in his studies and ex- 

 periments. 



Like other alchemists, he hoped that his ex- 

 periments would some day lead him to the dis- 



