"Nay," he said, "the boy has iron sinews in that slight body. Look how
he holds the horses in! He is saving their strength till they need it.
Seven times, child, seven times he has to go round this great circus and
past the 'nyssa'. You will see, he will catch up what he has lost, yet.
Hippias, you see, is holding in his horses, too; it is his way of giving
himself airs at starting. Now he is close to the 'nyssa'--the 'kampter'
--the 'meta' they call it at Rome; the smaller the bend he can make round
it the better for him, but it is risky work. There--you see!--They drive
round from right to left and that throws most of the work on the lefthand
beast; it has to turn almost in its own length. Aura, our first horse,
is as supple as a panther and I trained her to do it, myself.--Now, look
out there! that bronze figure of a rearing horse--the 'Taraxippos' they
call it--is put there to frighten the horses, and Megaera, our third
horse, is like a mad thing sometimes, though she can go like a stag;
every time Marcus gets her quietly past the Taraxippos we are nearer to
success.--Look, look,=-the first chariot has got round the nyssa! It is
Hippias! Yes, by Zeus, he has done it! He is a detestable braggart, but
he knows his business!"

This was one of the decisive moments of the race. The crowd was silent;
expectation was at the utmost pitch of tension, and Dada's eyes were
fixed spell-bound on the obelisk and on the quadrigas that whirled round
the bourn.

Next to Hippias came a blue team, and close behind were three red ones.
The Christian who had succeeded in reaching the nyssa second, boldly took
his horses close round the obelisk, hoping to gain space and get past
Hippias; but the left wheel of his chariot grazed the granite plinth, the
light car was overset, and the horses of the red chariot, whose noses