THE GREAT WOODEN HORSE 213 



was thrown wide open. A great multitude poured 

 out, and the mad race that was made for the shore 

 was hke the scramble of boomers on our Western 

 frontier when lands are given away by the Gov- 

 ernment. Soon thousands were on the beach, 

 looking eagerly for whatever the Greeks might 

 have dropped, but seldom finding anything more 

 valuable than a broken comb, a bit of leather, or 

 some small pieces of crockery. All were shy of 

 the southern part of the beach, where the strange 

 monster stood among the reeds. Everybody could 

 plainly see now that it was a horse. Its huge 

 head, its arching neck, its broad back, its flowing 

 tail, were visible from every part of the beach; 

 and the boys who had ventured nearest said 

 that it stood firmly on a broad platform of 

 planks. 



That it was an immense horse, and that it was 

 made of wood, nobody could dispute. But why 

 had the Greeks built it, and why had they left it 

 there? Presently a number of the king's coun- 

 selors came out to look at the strange object and 

 decide what to do with it. Some advised that 

 it should be drawn into the city and lodged within 

 the tower, there to be a kind of permanent exposi- 

 tion of the folly of the Greeks. Others were in 



