Into the paddock he was let out, by means of a door in his stall worked by winches from above. In the afternoon sunlight he pranced and curvetted about, a joy to see.
"Let me show Felix what he is like," one of the younger horse-wranglers suggested.
"You can," the Villicus agreed. "We all know how agile you are and how quick at vaulting a fence."
The fellow vaulted into the paddock when Selinus was at its further corner. The moment the beast saw him he charged at full-run, screaming like an angry gander, the picture of a man-killer, ears laid back, nostrils wide and red, mouth open, teeth bared, forehoofs lashing out high in front, an equine fury. The lad vaulted the fence handily when Selinus was not three yards from him and the brute pawed angrily at the palings and bit them viciously.
"Want to try, Felix?" the Villicus asked me again.
Without a word I vaulted the enclosure within two yards of Selinus. He stood, ears cocked forward, nostrils quiet, mouth shut, all four hoofs on the ground, quivering all over.
Inch by inch I neared him till my hand touched him. He trembled like an aspen-leaf, but did not attack me.
"Hercules be good to us all!" exclaimed one of the men.
After that I did with Selinus all I had done with the first stallion-colt, gentling him, leading him by the nose, mounting him, riding him, crawling under his belly, between his fore-legs and hind-legs, pulling his tail, slapping him liberally all over. Then, timidly, urged by their comrades' jeers, the two wranglers whom I invited brought me a saddle and bridle and I bitted him and held him while they saddled. Then I rode him.
Afterwards, with much misgiving, but shamed into boldness, the chief horse-wrangler mounted him and rode him.