I have four reins in my
hands. I must put these four reins into my left hand, properly gather
the whip handle and the bight of the lash in my right hand, and throw
that lash past Maid without striking her and into Prince. If the lash
strikes Maid, her thoroughbredness will go up in the air, and I'll have a
case of horse hysteria on my hands for the next half hour. But follow.
The whole problem is not yet stated. Suppose that I miss Maid and reach
the intended target. The instant the lash cracks, the four horses jump,
Prince most of all, and his jump, with spread wicked teeth, is for the
back of Milda's neck. She jumps to escape--which is her second jump, for
the first one came when the lash exploded. The Outlaw reaches for Maid's
neck, and Maid, who has already jumped and tried to bolt, tries to bolt
harder. And all this infinitesimal fraction of time I am trying to hold
the four animals with my left hand, while my whip-lash, writhing through
the air, is coming back to me. Three simultaneous things I must do: keep
hold of the four reins with my left hand; slam on the brake with my foot;
and on the rebound catch that flying lash in the hollow of my right arm
and get the bight of it safely into my right hand.
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