" The
truth is, that every man has his vulnerable point, and Jack's was horses.
When the mob had been put through the yards, all the unbroken horses were
given into the Quiet Stockmas's care, and for the next week or two the
stockyard became the only place of real interest; for the homestead,
waiting for the Wet to lift, had settled down to store lists, fencing,
and stud books.
It was not the horses alone that were of interest at the yards; the calm,
fearless, self-reliant man who was handling them was infinitely more so.
Nothing daunted or disheartened him; and in those hours spent on the
stockyard fence, in the shade of a spreading tree, I learnt to know the
Quiet Stockman for the man he was.
If any one would know the inner character of a fellow man, let him put
him to horse-breaking, and he will soon know the best or the worst of
him. Let him watch him handling a wild, unbroken colt, and if he is
steadfast of purpose, just, brave, and true-hearted, it will all be
revealed; but if he lacks self-restraint, or is cowardly, shifty, or
mean-spirited, he will do well to avoid the test, for the horse will
betray him.
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