There were so many horses. Benaiah was right where he needed to be. Right in the middle of the large group of commoner horses. He enjoyed being near them, the smell of them, the low noted nicker as the curious ones stuck their noses out for a gentle nudge as he made his way by.
Benaiah also likes the reminder a horse can give about how big you think you are as two horses squeeze you between them playfully as you try to pass by the fodder bale.
Benaiah was enjoying talking to the Bedouin boy and tending the horses but couldn’t ignore the roar of the crowd at the other end of the oasis where the fights were taking place.
Being older he understood the feeling of excitement that would rise up within him upon hearing the roar but being older he also knew what was making the people so loud…Â
someone else was losing,Â
possibly an arm.
As his head was up he caught sight of a man making his way toward the horse herd.
As it was getting on in the evening he was hard to make out but Benaiah did not miss the purposefulness of his stride as he made his way to the horses.
The man lashed his mount to a nearby Tamarisk tree and started to inspect the horses.
Each one. Very thoroughly. Very expertly.
Benaiah being one who liked to learn things watched him over the back of one of the nearby horses.
He obviously knew what he was doing and as he had made his way nearer to Benaiah, Benaiah could tell this was a man of war.
Benaiah moved over near the Bedouin boy and asked if he knew who this man was.
“I don’t know his name yet, my father call’s him ‘The Hittite’. He is here to buy horses. Most of them if not all of them my father can provide. He is outfitting a band of raiders North of here, I think.”
Other buyers had started to show up also hoping to secure some horses for themselves. Depending on how many they needed Benaiah didn’t think this ‘Hittite’ was the type to turn away empty handed.
The buyers seemed to represent every tribe and nation from around here and Benaiah wondered, “I wonder why they can all be peaceful here, together, but not once they return home with their war horses?”
Benaiah stopped the boy and asked him his name.
“tahiati ‘ana jibrayiyl”, “Greetings, I am Gabriel.”
He introduced himself with a smile on his face as he was clearing some horse manure.
They both let out a short laugh.
Benaiah had made his way over to Gabriel’s father and stood on the edge of the serious horse buyers.
As he blended into the small gathering of men he could hear them talking abut the number of horses and the quality. Human behavior never ceased to amaze Benaiah.
Some of the buyers were low end buyers who did nothing but complain about every little thing knowing full well that they could only afford one or two of the general herd and also knew full well they could never afford one of the horses which received special attention.
Their job in life it seemed was to try and make everyone else miserable around them.
Except for the Hittite.
He seemed to have an invisible shield around him that caused all the other buyers to give him his own space.
Benaiah appreciated that.
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