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Algebraic Number Theory and Fermat s Last Theorem
4th Ed 4th Edition Stewart Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Stewart, Ian, Tall, David
ISBN(s): 9781498738392, 1498738397
Edition: 4
File Details: PDF, 2.43 MB
Year: 2015
Language: english
 Mathematics
FOURTH
EDITION

Updated to reflect current research, Algebraic Number Theory and

Algebraic Number Theory

Algebraic Number Theory and Fermat’s Last Theorem

Fermat’s Last Theorem, Fourth Edition introduces fundamental ideas of
algebraic numbers and explores one of the most intriguing stories in the

and Fermat’s Last Theorem

history of mathematics—the quest for a proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem.
The authors use this celebrated theorem to motivate a general study of
the theory of algebraic numbers from a relatively concrete point of view.
Readers will see how Wiles’s proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem opened many
new areas for future work.

x + xy + y= =zz
n n n
New to the Fourth Edition FOURTH EDITION
• Provides up-to-date information on unique prime factorization for
real quadratic number fields, especially Harper’s proof that Z(√14) is
Euclidean
• Presents an important new result: Mihăilescu’s proof of the Catalan
conjecture of 1844
• Revises and expands one chapter into two, covering classical ideas
about modular functions and highlighting the new ideas of Frey, Wiles,
n n n

x +y =z
and others that led to the long-sought proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem

n n n
• Improves and updates the index, figures, bibliography, further reading
list, and historical remarks
Written by preeminent mathematicians Ian Stewart and David Tall, this text
continues to teach readers how to extend properties of natural numbers to

x +y =z
more general number structures, including algebraic number fields and their
rings of algebraic integers. It also explains how basic notions from the theory
of algebraic numbers can be used to solve problems in number theory. Stewart • Tall n n n
K26583 Ian Stewart • David Tall

w w w. c rc p r e s s . c o m

K26583_cover.indd 1 9/11/15 10:15 AM

Algebraic Number Theory
and Ferm ’s Last Theorem
at
FOURTH EDITION
This page intentionally left blank
Algebraic Number Theory
and Ferm ’s Last Theorem
at
FOURTH EDITION

Ian Stewart
University of Warwick
United Kingdom

David Tall
University of Warwick
United Kingdom
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742

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Contents

Preface to the Third Edition ix

Preface to the Fourth Edition xv

Index of Notation xvii

The Origins of Algebraic Number Theory 1

I Algebraic Methods 9
1 Algebraic Background 11
1.1 Rings and Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.2 Factorization of Polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.3 Field Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1.4 Symmetric Polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1.5 Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1.6 Free Abelian Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.7 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

2 Algebraic Numbers 37
2.1 Algebraic Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.2 Conjugates and Discriminants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.3 Algebraic Integers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.4 Integral Bases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.5 Norms and Traces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
2.6 Rings of Integers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
2.7 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

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vi Contents

3 Quadratic and Cyclotomic Fields 63

3.1 Quadratic Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.2 Cyclotomic Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.3 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

4 Factorization into Irreducibles 75

4.1 Historical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.2 Trivial Factorizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4.3 Factorization into Irreducibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.4 Examples of Non-Unique Factorization into Irreducibles . . 84
4.5 Prime Factorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.6 Euclidean Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
4.7 Euclidean Quadratic Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.8 Consequences of Unique Factorization . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
4.9 The Ramanujan-Nagell Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
4.10 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

5 Ideals 103
5.1 Historical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
5.2 Prime Factorization of Ideals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
5.3 The Norm of an Ideal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
5.4 Non-Unique Factorization in Cyclotomic Fields . . . . . . . 124
5.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

II Geometric Methods 129

6 Lattices 131
6.1 Lattices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
6.2 The Quotient Torus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
6.3 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

7 Minkowski’s Theorem 139

7.1 Minkowski’s Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
7.2 The Two-Squares Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
7.3 The Four-Squares Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
7.4 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

8 Geometric Representation of Algebraic Numbers 145

8.1 The Space Lst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
8.2 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

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Contents vii

9 Class-Group and Class-Number 151

9.1 The Class-Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
9.2 An Existence Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
9.3 Finiteness of the Class-Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
9.4 How to Make an Ideal Principal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
9.5 Unique Factorization of Elements in an Extension Ring . . 162
9.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

III Number-Theoretic Applications 167

10 Computational Methods 169
10.1 Factorization of a Rational Prime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
10.2 Minkowski Constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
10.3 Some Class-Number Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
10.4 Table of Class-Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
10.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

11 Kummer’s Special Case of Fermat’s Last Theorem 183

11.1 Some History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
11.2 Elementary Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
11.3 Kummer’s Lemma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
11.4 Kummer’s Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
11.5 Regular Primes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
11.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

12 The Path to the Final Breakthrough 201

12.1 The Wolfskehl Prize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
12.2 Other Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
12.3 Modular Functions and Elliptic Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
12.4 The Taniyama–Shimura–Weil Conjecture . . . . . . . . . . 206
12.5 Frey’s Elliptic Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
12.6 The Amateur who Became a Model Professional . . . . . . 208
12.7 Technical Hitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
12.8 Flash of Inspiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
12.9 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

13 Elliptic Curves 215

13.1 Review of Conics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
13.2 Projective Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
13.3 Rational Conics and the Pythagorean Equation . . . . . . . 222
13.4 Elliptic Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
13.5 The Tangent/Secant Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

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viii Contents

13.6 Group Structure on an Elliptic Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

13.7 Applications to Diophantine Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
13.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

14 Elliptic Functions 235

14.1 Trigonometry Meets Diophantus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
14.2 Elliptic Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
14.3 Legendre and Weierstrass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
14.4 Modular Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
14.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

15 Wiles’s Strategy and Recent Developments 259

15.1 The Frey Elliptic Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
15.2 The Taniyama–Shimura–Weil Conjecture . . . . . . . . . . 261
15.3 Sketch Proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . 264
15.4 Recent Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
15.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

IV Appendices 277
A Quadratic Residues 279
A.1 Quadratic Equations in Zm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
A.2 The Units of Zm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
A.3 Quadratic Residues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
A.4 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

B Dirichlet’s Units Theorem 299

B.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
B.2 Logarithmic Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
B.3 Embedding the Unit Group in Logarithmic Space . . . . . . 301
B.4 Dirichlet’s Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
B.5 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Bibliography 309

Index 317

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Preface to the Third Edition

The title of this book indicates a dual purpose. Our first aim is to introduce
fundamental ideas of algebraic numbers. The second is to tell one of the
most intriguing stories in the history of mathematics—the quest for a proof
of Fermat’s Last Theorem. We use this celebrated theorem to motivate
a general study of the theory of algebraic numbers, from a reasonably
concrete point of view. The range of topics that we cover is selected to allow
students to make early progress in understanding the necessary concepts.
‘Algebraic Number Theory’ can be read in two distinct ways. One is
the theory of numbers viewed algebraically, the other is the study of al-
gebraic numbers. Both apply here. We illustrate how basic notions from
the theory of algebraic numbers may be used to solve problems in number
theory. However, our main focus is to extend properties of the natural
numbers to more general number structures: algebraic number fields, and
their rings of algebraic integers. These structures have most of the stan-
dard properties that we associate with ordinary whole numbers, but some
subtle properties concerning primes and factorization sometimes fail to
generalize.
A Diophantine equation (named after Diophantus of Alexandria, who—
it is thought—lived around 250 and whose book Arithmetica systematized
such concepts) is a polynomial equation, or a system of polynomial equa-
tions, that is to be solved in integers or rational numbers. The central
problem of this book concerns solutions of a very special Diophantine
equation:

xn + y n = z n
where the exponent n is a positive integer. For n = 2 there are many integer
solutions—in fact, infinitely many—which neatly relate to the theorem of

ix

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x Preface

Pythagoras. For n ≥ 3, however, there appear to be no integer solutions.

It is this assertion that became known as Fermat’s Last Theorem. (It is
equivalent to there being no rational solutions—try to work out why.)
One method of attack might be to imagine the equation xn + y n = z n
as being situated in the complex numbers, and to use the complex nth root
of unity ζ = e2πi/n to obtain the factorization (valid for odd n)

xn + y n = (x + y)(x + ζy) . . . (x + ζ n−1 y).

This approach entails introducing algebraic ideas, including the notion of

factorization in the ring Z[ζ] of polynomials in ζ. This promising line of
attack was pursued for a time in the 19th century, until it was discovered
that this particular ring of algebraic numbers does not possess all of the
properties that it ‘ought to’. In particular, factorization into ‘primes’ is
not unique in this ring. (It fails, for instance, when n = 23, although this
is not entirely obvious.) It took a while for this idea to be fully understood
and for its consequences to sink in, but as it did so, the theory of algebraic
numbers was developed and refined, leading to substantial improvements
in our knowledge of Diophantine equations. In particular, it became pos-
sible to prove Fermat’s Last Theorem in a whole range of special cases.
Subsequently, geometric methods and other approaches were introduced to
make further gains, until, at the end of the 20th century, Andrew Wiles
finally set the last links in place to establish the proof after a three hundred
year search.
To gain insight into this extended story we must assume a certain
level of algebraic background. Our choice is to start with fundamental
ideas that are usually introduced into algebra courses, such as commuta-
tive rings, groups and modules. These concepts smooth the way for the
modern reader, but they were not explicitly available to the pioneers of
the theory. The leading mathematicians in the 19th and early 20th cen-
turies developed and used most of the basic results and techniques of linear
algebra—for perhaps a hundred years—without ever defining an abstract
vector space. There is no evidence that they suffered as a consequence of
this lack of an explicit theory. This historical fact indicates that abstraction
can be built only on an already existing body of specific concepts and rela-
tionships. This indicates that students will profit from direct contact with
the manipulation of examples of number-theoretic concepts, so the text is
interspersed with such examples. The algebra that we introduce—which
is what we consider necessary for grasping the essentials of the struggle to
prove Fermat’s Last Theorem—is therefore not as ‘abstract’ as it might be.
We believe that in mathematics it is important to ‘get your hands dirty’.
This requires struggling with calculations in specific contexts, where the
elegance of polished theory may disguise the essential nature of the math-

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Preface xi

ematics. For instance, factorization into primes in specific number fields

displays the tendency of mathematical objects to take on a life of their own.
In some situations something works, in others it does not, and the reasons
why are often far from obvious. Without experiencing the struggle in per-
son, it is quite impossible to understand why the pioneers in algebraic
number theory had such difficulties. Of such frustrating yet stimulating
stuff is the mathematical fabric woven.
We therefore do not begin with later theories that have proved to be
of value in a wider range of problems, such as Galois theory, valuation rings,
Dedekind domains, and the like. Our purpose is to get students involved
in performing calculations that will enable them to build a platform for
understanding the theory. However, some algebraic background is neces-
sary. We assume a working knowledge of a variety of topics from algebra,
reviewed in detail in Chapter 1. These include commutative rings and
fields, ideals and quotient rings, factorization of polynomials with real coef-
ficients, field extensions, symmetric polynomials, modules, and free abelian
groups. Apart from these concepts we assume only some elementary results
from the theory of numbers and a superficial comprehension of multiple
integrals.
For organizational reasons rather than mathematical necessity, the book
is divided into four parts. Part I develops the basic theory from an algebraic
standpoint, introducing the ring of integers of a number field and exploring
factorization within it. Quadratic and cyclotomic fields are investigated
in more detail, and the Euclidean imaginary fields are classified. We then
consider the notion of factorization and see how the notion of a ‘prime’
p can be pulled apart into two distinct ideas. The first is the concept
of being ‘irreducible’ in the sense that p has no factors other than 1 and
p. The second is what we now call ‘prime’: that if p is a factor of the
product ab (possibly multiplied by units—invertible elements) then it must
be a factor of either a or b. In this sense, a prime must be irreducible,
but an irreducible need not be prime. It turns out that factorization into
irreducibles is not always unique in a number field, but useful sufficient
conditions for uniqueness may be found. The factorization theory of ideals
in a ring of algebraic integers is more satisfactory, in that every ideal is a
unique product of prime ideals. The extent to which factorization is not
unique can be ‘measured’ by the group of ideal classes (fractional ideals
modulo principal ones).
Part II emphasizes the power of geometric methods arising from Min-
kowski’s theorem on convex sets relative to a lattice. We prove this key
result geometrically by looking at the torus that appears as a quotient of
Euclidean space by the lattice concerned. As illustrations of these ideas
we prove the two- and four-squares theorems of classical number theory; as
the main application we prove the finiteness of the class group.

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xii Preface

Part III concentrates on applications of the theory thus far developed,

beginning with some slightly ad hoc computational techniques for class
numbers, and leading up to a special case of Fermat’s Last Theorem that
exemplifies the development of the theory by Kummer, prior to the final
push by Wiles.
Part IV describes the final breakthrough, when—after a long period
of solitary thinking—Wiles finally put together his proof of Fermat’s Last
Theorem. Even this tale is not without incident. His first announcement
in a lecture series in Cambridge turned out to contain a subtle unproved
assumption, and it took another year to rectify the error. However, the
proof is finally in a form that has been widely accepted by the mathematical
community. In this text we cannot give the full proof in all its glory.
Instead we discuss the new ingredients that make the proof possible: the
ideas of elliptic curves and elliptic integrals, and the link that shows that
the existence of a counterexample to Fermat’s Last Theorem would lead
to a mathematical construction involving elliptic integrals. The proof of
the theorem rests upon showing that such a construction cannot exist. We
end with a brief survey of later developments, new conjectures, and open
problems.
There follow two appendices which are of importance in algebraic num-
ber theory, but do not contribute directly to the proof of Fermat’s Last The-
orem. The first deals with quadratic residues and the quadratic reciprocity
theorem of Gauss. It uses straightforward computational techniques (de-
ceptively so: the ideas are very clever). It may be read at an early stage—
for example, right at the beginning, or alongside Chapter 3 which is rather
short: the two together would provide a block of work comparable to the
remaining chapters in the first part of the book. The second appendix
proves the Dirichlet Units Theorem, again a beacon in the development of
algebraic number theory, but not directly required in the proof of Fermat’s
Last Theorem.
A preliminary version of Parts I–III of the book was written in 1974
by Ian Stewart at the University of Tübingen, under the auspices of the
Alexander von Humbolt Foundation. This version was used as the basis of
a course for students in Warwick in 1975; it was then revised in the light
of that experience, and was published by Chapman and Hall. That edition
also benefited from the subtle comments of a perceptive but anonymous
referee; from the admirable persistence of students attending the course;
and from discussions with colleagues. The book has been used by successive
generations of students, and a second edition in 1986 brought the story up
to date—at that time—and corrected typographical and computational
errors.

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Preface xiii

In the 1980s a proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem had not been found.
In fact, graffiti on the wall of the Warwick Mathematics Institute declared
‘I have a proof that Fermat’s Last Theorem is equivalent to The Four
Colour Theorem, but this wall is too small for me to write it.’ Since that
time, both Fermat’s Last Theorem and the Four Colour Theorem have
fallen, after centuries of effort by the mathematical community. The final
conquest of Fermat’s Last Theorem required a new version that would
give a reasonable idea of the story behind the complete saga. This new
version, brought out with a new publisher, is the result of further work
to bring the book up to date for the 21st century. It involved substantial
rewriting of much of the material, and two new chapters on elliptic curves
and elliptic functions. These topics, not touched upon in previous editions,
were required to complete the final solution of the most elusive conundrum
in pure mathematics of the last three hundred years.

Coventry, February 2001. Ian Stewart

David Tall

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Preface to the Fourth Edition

There are three main changes to this fourth edition.

We provide up-to-date information on what is known about unique
prime factorization for√real quadratic number fields, especially Malcolm
Harper’s proof that Z( 14) is Euclidean.
We have added one very important new result: Preda Mihăilescu’s stun-
ning proof of the Catalan Conjecture of 1844. This states the only non-
trivial consecutive integer powers are 8 (= 23 ) and 9 (= 32 ). We discuss the
history of this problem and sketch the current version of the proof, which
is an extensive technical application of cyclotomic integers Z(ζ) where ζ is
a complex root of unity.
Chapter 14 of the previous edition has been split into two separate
chapters for reasons of length. Chapter 14 now covers classical ideas about
modular functions. Chapter 15 sketches the new ideas of Frey, Wiles and
others that led to the long-sought proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem. Section
15.4 on recent developments has been updated.
We have also corrected known typographical errors, extended and cor-
rected the index, improved several figures, updated the bibliography and
the further reading list, clarified a few historical remarks, and made many
small stylistic changes, usually to conform to current practice. Among
them is the replacement of boldface symbols such as R by ‘blackboard
bold’ symbols R.

Coventry and Kenilworth, May 2015. Ian Stewart

David Tall

xv

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Index of Notation

(q/p) Legendre symbol

Z Integers
Q Rationals
R Reals
C Complex numbers
N Natural numbers
Zn Integers modulo n
R/I Quotient ring
ker f Kernel of f
im f Image of f
hXi Ideal generated by X
hx1 , . . . , xn i Ideal generated by x1 , . . . , xn
R[t] Ring of polynomials over R in t
∂p Degree of polynomial p
b|a b divides a
Df Formal derivative of f
L:K Field extension
[L : K] Degree of field extension
K(α1 , . . . , αn ) Field obtained by adjoining α1 , . . . , αn to K
R(α1 , . . . , αn ) Ring generated by R and α1 , . . . , αn
sr (t1 , . . . , tn ) rth elementary symmetric polynomial in t1 , . . . , tn
N/M Quotient module
hXiR R-submodule generated by X
det (A) Determinant of A
(aij ) Matrix
Zn Set of n-tuples with integer entries
à Adjoint of matrix A

xvii

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xviii Index of Notation

|X| Cardinality of set x

A Algebraic numbers
fα (t) Field polynomial of α
pα (t) Minimum√polynomial of α
1
ω 2 (−1 + i 3)
∆[α1 , . . . , αn ] Discriminant of a basis
B Algebraic integers
O Ring of integers of number field
OK Ring of integers of number field K
NK (α) Norm of α
TK (α) Trace of α
N(α) Norm of α
T(α) Trace of α
∆G Discriminant of α1 , . . . , αn when this generates G
 
j
Binomial coefficient
i
U (R) Groups of units of R
a, b, c, p, etc. Ideals
a−1 Inverse of a fractional ideal
a|b a divides b: equivalently, a ⊇ b
N(a) Norm of a
Br [x] Closed ball centre x, radius r
kx − yk Distance from x to y in Rn
S Circle group
Tn Nn /Zn , the n-dimensional torus
v(X) Volume of X
v Natural homomorphism RN → Tn
Lst Rs × Ct
s Number of real monomorphisms K → C
t Half number of complex monomorphisms K → C
σ Map K → Lst
F Group of fractional ideals
P Group of principal ideals
H Class-group F | P
h(O) Class-number
h Class-number
a∼b Equivalence of fractional ideals modulo principal ideals
[a] Equivalence class of a
∆ Discriminant of K
Mst Minkowski constant ( π4 )t (s + 2t)−s−2t (s + 2t)!
I Ideal of Z(ζ) generated by 1 − ζ where ζ = e2πi/p

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Index of Notation xix

λ 1−ζ
z̄ Complex conjugate of z
Bk kth Bernouilli number
l Map Lst → Rs+t
U Group of units of O
φ(x) Euler function
RP2 Real projective plane
P The plane {(x, y, z) : z = 1}
Q The plane {(x, y, z) : z = 0}
CP2 Complex projective plane
∼ Equivalence relation for homogeneous coordinates
g2 , g3 Coefficients in Weierstrass normal form of a cubic
O Specific rational point on an elliptic curve
G Set of rational points on an elliptic curve
P ∗Q Geometric construction on elliptic curve
P +Q Group operation on elliptic curve
F (k, v) Elliptic integral of the first kind
sn u Elliptic function
cn u Elliptic function
dn u Elliptic function
ω1 , ω2 Periods of an elliptic function
Lω1 ,ω2 Lattice generated by ω1 , ω2
℘ Weierstrass ℘-function
P ⊕Q Renaming of P + Q for clarity
C ∪ {∞} Riemann sphere
SL2 (Z) Special linear group
PSL2 (Z) Projective special linear group
H Upper half-plane in C
D Modular domain
X0 (N ) Modular curve of level N
F Frey elliptic curve
P (N ) Power function of N
P (A, B, C) Power of (A, B, C)

✐ ✐

✐ ✐
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
sensitive region where you had nipped the real marauder, tearing
from him the clue which will sooner or later bring him to justice.”
The Poet took from his pocket a ragged square of blue-striped dark
cloth and submitted it for Clarence’s inspection. The colt laid back
his ears and nipped at it. The Poet cast a glance of solemn triumph
around the table.
“Friends and partners,” he said, “do we need any further evidence
that it was indeed Clarence who was a witness of the crime, and
performed this service for Napoleon and for justice?”
The point was overwhelmingly conceded.
“Doggone my skin!” whispered Gabriel to Amanda, “th’ colt
remembers that rag by th’ smell!”
The Poet put the damning evidence back in his pocket. Suddenly
Amanda nudged Gabriel.
“Of all things, Gabe, here comes Si Blodgett with a basket on his
arm!”
An undersized, sanctimonious person, with a smooth upper lip and a
tuft on his chin, carrying a covered basket, was approaching from the
driveway. He seemed pained at the evidences of festivities
progressing. When he had approached within a few yards of the
banquet-table he put down the basket carefully and said:
“Brother Gabriel, Sister Amanda, what is the meaning of this
unseemly scene of levity?”
The Poet looked interested.
“If, as your manner indicates,” he said suavely, “you don’t approve of
this little celebration, I recommend that you address your remarks to
headquarters. I speak for the host,—Napoleon, here at the head of
the table,—who is giving a birthday party to our friend and comrade,
Clarence.”
He waved his hand at the colt, and paused expectantly. The visitor
rolled up his eyes and raised his hands.
“Vanity, vanity, all is vanity!”
“Oh, your name must be Blodgett,” said the Poet. “I’ve often heard
you mentioned. Won’t you join us?”
“I would join you in prayer,” groaned Si Blodgett. “Would that I
might snatch you from the seat of the scornful.”
Gabriel chuckled. The Poet turned to the guest of honor, and
continued:—
“In conclusion, Clarence, and fellow members of Bos, Equus and Co.,
I wish to say for those of us to whom nature has given but two legs
instead of four, but has made partial compensation by bestowing
upon us the power of speech, that we are proud to claim you as
friends, as partners, as equals—”
“Stop!” groaned Si Blodgett, with hand upraised. “Remember Moses
and the golden calf!”
“Look here, Si,” said Gabriel, “don’t you slander our bull-calf. He
ain’t gold. He’ll be doggone good beef some day.”
“Oh, ye unregenerate!” almost screamed Si Blodgett. “Soon ye will be
bowing down to wood and stone!”
“Galatea,” said the Poet, “what’s the next course?”
“Carrots, George.”
While Si Blodgett continued to groan unavailingly, the carrots were
served. The Poet resumed his instrument, and never before was that
classic, “Hiawatha,” adapted for banjo and guitar, so inspiringly
rendered. It was repeated until Galatea produced the dessert of loaf
sugar, and Si Blodgett showed signs of frothing at the mouth over the
ungodliness of the scene. As Galatea tripped around the table,
dropping lumps of sugar into grateful mouths, Si Blodgett came
forward, stretching his arms across the table to Gabriel. He had
failed to notice that the colt was keeping one eye on him, with the
accompanying ear laid back.
“Oh, brother, brother,” he said, “beware—”
Whatever the warning was to be, it was cut short by a grunt caused
by the colt thrusting his hind quarters brusquely into Si Blodgett’s
stomach.
“Darn th’ critter!” exclaimed the exhorter, with an astonishing
change of voice and sentiment. And he slapped Clarence smartly on
the flank.
“Lookout, Si!” shouted Gabriel. “Th’ colt don’t like ye.”
Si Blodgett dodged barely in time to escape Clarence’s heels. The
other guests were becoming restless. The Poet and the Artist joined
Galatea beside Napoleon’s chair. The exhorter went and picked up
his basket, and, approaching Gabriel, said:—
“It is our duty to be good to those who despitefully use us. Brother
Gabriel, hearin’ you’ve been disapp’inted in your hatchin’ of Golden
Guinea eggs, and havin’ a couple o’ pair of the chicks to sell, I came
over to offer you the first chance. They’re scarce, you know. I’ll take
four dollars a pair.”
For the space of at least a minute there was amazed and breathless
silence. Even the Poet found himself speechless. Amanda stared at Si
Blodgett, and then at Gabriel, whose eyes were fixed on the basket
while he opened and closed his mouth dumbly. At length speech
burst from him.
“Si Blodgett, where’d ye git the eggs to hatch out them Golden
Guinea chicks o’ yourn?”
“The Lord cares for them that serve Him,” said the prudent exhorter.
“I got them eggs where you got yourn, an’ what’s more, I only paid
twenty cents apiece for ’em.”
“You was there, Si Blodgett, biddin’ agin’ me,” said Gabriel, doubling
up his huge fists, “an’ you heard th’ guarantee that there wa’n’t no
more Golden Guinea eggs for sale in th’ hull county.”
“That was true, Brother Gabriel; but, ye see, I’d already bought mine
three days before, an’ they wa’n’t for sale, neither.”
Gabriel gurgled and managed to swallow part of his wrath.
“Give us a look at them chicks,” he said.
Si Blodgett knelt down on the grass and picked at the knot of the
string that held the cloth over his basket.
“George!” exclaimed Galatea in a startled whisper, “look! That man’s
trousers are of dark cloth with a blue stripe!”
“Yes, but wait a bit. Look at Napoleon and the colt.”
The terrier had jumped down from his chair and was growling, with
bristling crest. Clarence, with ears laid back, had turned about and
was shaking his head at the man on his knees, whose back was
toward him.
The knot was refractory. Si Blodgett’s coat-tails fell apart, revealing a
key-chain, one end of which disappeared in his hip pocket.

THE GUESTS ATE

THEIR TURNIPS
DECOROUSLY

“There!” whispered Galatea. “See that patch!”

“Wait!” said the Poet. “The psychological moment approaches—Ah!”
With a sudden rush the colt fell upon Si Blodgett’s rear, nipped
savagely at the region of his hip pocket, and backed away
triumphantly with his teeth closed on a chain from which a bunch of
keys dangled. The man yelled in fright, then, seeing what was in the
colt’s mouth, as Gabriel sprang forward to capture the aggressor, he
jumped up, exclaiming:
“Never mind, Gabe; he’ll drop ’em in a minute.”
“Clarence!” said Galatea softly.
The colt took a high-kicking turn about the chestnut tree, swinging
the keys from his teeth, and then trotted up to the girl and dropped
them in her hand. Si Blodgett reached for them, but Amanda was too
quick for him.
“W’y, of all things,” she said, holding one of the keys in a firm grip, “if
here ain’t that lost key of our henhouse!”
Si Blodgett’s face turned red, then pale, and then he laughed
nervously.
“Ye don’t say, Sister Amanda. I was wonderin’ if it was yourn, the day
I found it in—in th’ road.”
Gabriel was beginning to look dangerous, but he couldn’t resist a
thrust at Amanda.
“What do ye go ’round sowin’ henhouse keys for, Mandy? Expect to
raise a crop of ’em?”
“I left that key in the henhouse door,” said Amanda stubbornly, “an’
that’s all there is to it.”
“O Lord, how long, how long!” groaned Si Blodgett, returning to his
exhorter manner. “But I don’t bear malice. I’ll take my basket and go
on my way in peace.”
“You’ll stop right where you are, Si Blodgett!” thundered Gabriel.
“Oh—er—Mr. Blodgett,” drawled the Poet, coming forward amiably.
“I believe you have the reputation of being an earnest worker in—er—
in the Lord’s vineyard?”
“If some have been brought to the throne of grace through my
exhortations, it’s only the Lord’s mercy. I make no boast. I will be
humble. I will take my basket and go.”
He stooped to pick up the basket, above whose rim peeped four little
Guinea chicks. The Poet’s gentle hand restrained him.
“Perhaps you’d better go, Mr. Blodgett—presently. But if I were you
I’d leave the basket, and—er—its contents.”
“I—I don’t quite understand,” said Si Blodgett weakly.
“Why,” said the Poet mildly, “one who is engaged in your chosen
work of—er—of saving souls ought to neglect no opportunity of
pointing a useful moral. Now, here is this little matter of
circumstantial evidence which seems to convict a—er—a holy man of
robbing his neighbor’s hennery.”
“Prove it! prove it! I defy ye!” snarled Si Blodgett.
“Be calm, Mr. Blodgett. Let us consider the subject from the
standpoint of the exhorter. Imagine yourself addressing an
assemblage of young men—young men who are a little wild, we will
say, who have raided watermelon patches, and are in a fair way to
break into their neighbors’ henneries. Think of the effect upon those
young minds when you tell them about the lost key of a looted
henroost found in your pocket!”
Si Blodgett laughed. “What does a key prove?”
“Then,” continued the Poet, “you go on to tell about the contributory
evidence—the fact that the real thief wore dark trousers with a blue
stripe, just like your own.”
“How do ye know he did?” snarled Si Blodgett, casting an uneasy
glance down the legs of his dark trousers with their blue stripe.
“Just like your own,” the Poet went on, “because, as the real thief was
carrying off the valuable eggs he’d come for, a yearling colt put his
head through a window into the hennery and playfully nipped him in
the region of his hip pocket, tearing away a ragged square of cloth,
which was found hanging to a nail on the window-ledge the next
morning.”
The Poet took Clarence’s trophy from his pocket and examined it
reflectively. Si Blodgett’s knees shook, and his mouth hung open.
“Finally,” said the Poet, “you might drive home your useful moral by
explaining to your young hearers that your own dark trousers with
their blue stripe bore a patch the exact size and shape of the square
of cloth torn from those of the robber of henroosts—Why, Mr.
Blodgett!”
At mention of the patch, the exhorter had turned and fled toward the
road.
“Hi, there! Si! Si Blodgett!” yelled Gabriel.
“No,” said the Poet, restraining him. “You have a good, serviceable
basket, and four fine, lusty Golden Guinea chicks—worth four dollars
a pair. Don’t be greedy.”
“Clarence, you’re a wonder!” said Galatea, with her arm about the
colt’s neck.
“Mandy,” said Gabriel, “you put these here chicks with their brothers
an’ sisters in th’ henhouse—an’ don’t go ’round sowin’ no more keys.”
 VI
Taurus Cupid, Esq.
s jocund Summer merged into placid Autumn, Gustavius
throve mightily and waxed fat. His shoulders broadened,
his voice deepened, his sharp-pointed horns acquired a
high polish through painstaking friction upon every
available object, and became rigidly embedded in his
thickening skull. He could summon the red glow to his eyes in
moments of anger, and he exulted in the knowledge that his stout
heart was bursting with courage. Gustavius was putting bull-calfhood
forever behind him, and each day brought him increased yearnings
for valorous deeds.
In view of this physical and moral transformation, Gustavius
wondered at his tolerance of the familiarities still recklessly practiced
by his comrades. But how could he stoop so low as to enforce respect
from a pig or a goat? The dog was eliminated from the problem,
because it was a dog’s natural prerogative to nip at the heels of
superiority and avoid punishment by flight. As for the mare, she was
uniformly courteous, and the playfulness of the colt disarmed him.
Concerning the two-legged members of the family, Gustavius felt
himself the victim of hereditary respect for the sternly authoritative
person called Gabe, and there was something so soothing in the
manner of the lank, long-limbed man who spent most of his time
lounging about the veranda that it was impossible to offer him any
sort of challenge. The red-headed girl—ah! Gustavius was not
ashamed to confess to himself that the bare sight of her made him
glow with docile affection.
“And yet,” said Reginald impudently,—for Gustavius’s later
reflections had unconsciously resolved themselves into speech, as he
stood with his comrades in the afternoon shade of the willows,—“and
yet a bit of anything else as red as that girl’s hair sends you into
convulsions of rage. Talk about inconsistency—”
“Shut up, pig!” said Clarence. “You’re jealous.”
Suddenly Gustavius began to bellow and paw the earth.
“What disturbs you, my son?” inquired Mrs. Cowslip, between the
finish of one cud and the beginning of another.
“It’s that rank outsider again, who is forever butting in with that vile-
smelling red wagon,” said Gustavius, lifting his nose toward the
lawn. “He angers me beyond words. I’ve laid for him a hundred
times, but he hasn’t a drop of sporting blood in his body; he’s forever
hanging on to the skirts of the red-headed girl.”
Galatea and the Artist, carrying a long, flat box between them, were
walking about the lawn midway between the house and the willows.
Presently they found a smooth, level space, opened the box, and
proceeded to drive into the ground two gaudily painted stakes and
some arches of wire.
“It’s very annoying the way that chap’s always about nowadays,”
admitted Reginald. “I was just thinking of going up to get my back
scratched, but it’s no use now.”
“My time will come one of these days,” said Gustavius. “Just let me
catch that chap alone once, that’s all!” And he began industriously
sharpening his horns on the stone fence.
It was nothing short of wonderful, the influence unconsciously
exerted by the Poet’s sister over these four-legged comrades whom
she had captivated on the very day of her arrival, as you cannot fail to
remember. Now Mrs. Cowslip, Cleopatra, Clarence, Reginald, and
William, who ordinarily prided himself on his independence of
action, left the grateful shade of the willows, and, with perfunctory
nibblings at grass, of which they were already over-full, slowly
approached the scene of preparations for that ancient and honorable
game called croquet. Soon that influence was too powerful even to be
resisted by Gustavius, notwithstanding the hated presence of the
Artist, and he moved sulkily after the others.
The Artist was pensive, and occasionally, as his adoring glance rested
on Galatea’s graceful figure, he sighed. His attention being thus
divided, it was not strange that he should miss the second arch.
“How foolish of you!” she said. “I can now save you further exertions
by taking your ball around with me.”
Being already past the first side arch and in position for the middle
one, with the Artist’s ball an easy victim, she was able to make good
her promise. The Artist could not regret his inevitable defeat; it left
him free to follow Galatea about and pour into her ears a lover’s
woes.
“Sweetheart, why do you continue so cold and distant to me? One
would suppose that when a girl is engaged—”
“Arthur, take your foot away from that arch!”
With beautiful precision she made the long “split” stroke, and was
safe for the first stake.
“As I was saying, dear, when a girl is engaged—”
“Arthur! you are trying to make me miss the stake! Can’t you play
fair?”
“I’m not playing at all, darling. I can’t play. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep.
One would expect a little mercy from a girl who wears his
engagement—”
“There! you moved your ball just as I was about to strike for it!”
The Artist groaned and replaced the ball. She plumped her own into
it dexterously from half-way across the field, and proceeded on the
home stretch.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to stand this suspense,” sighed the
Artist, “and yet you resist all my pleadings to name the day—”
“Arthur, I am playing croquet. Will you kindly stand one side?”
She played safely up to the last arch.
“If the date was fixed, dear, I think I could bear your lack of—
enthusiasm; that is, if the date were reasonably near—”
“Can’t you keep away from the handle of my mallet, Arthur? Now I’m
staked on your ball, and must risk all on one last stroke.”
“Oh, you’ll make it,” groaned the Artist. “I wish that ball was my
head. Any sort of attention would be better than none at all. I’ve lost
all hope of getting another kiss—”
“Ha! Whitewashed! whitewashed!” sang the girl, dancing about the
stake. “Perhaps there’s some other game you play?”
The Artist sat down on the grass with his head in his hands.
“Does your head ache, Arthur?”
“My heart aches. Darling, have pity on me and name the day when
we two—”
“Why, certainly—Wednesday.”
The Artist leaped to his feet.
“Day after to-morrow—how happy you make me!”
“Oh, I haven’t decided on any particular Wednesday.”
He threw himself back on the grass.
“But I’ve a feeling that it will be some Wednesday, Arthur, dear.”
Then she stooped over quickly and kissed him.
“I wondered whether Arthur would have sufficient diplomacy to let
you win, Galatea,” said the Poet, with a perfectly straight face, his
approach having been unobserved; “but it seems that I did him an
injustice.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” said Galatea with dignity; “but if you
want to make it a three-handed game, I’ll undertake to whitewash
you both.”
“Oh, there’s nothing in it for me,” drawled the Poet aggravatingly;
“however, I’m obliging by nature; I don’t mind simplifying things for
Arthur.”
Galatea, with her nose in the air, sent her ball through the first two
arches with a single stroke, and with the two thus gained took
position, made the third arch, and with a swift safe drive for the
middle one, which she missed, found herself well out of the way of
hostile balls.
“There,” she said; “I don’t mind giving you the advantage by starting
first.”
“Your generosity deserves a better reward,” said the Poet, as he
selected a mallet with great care, “but some twenty years’ observation
of the game has taught me that the croquet field is where friendship
ceases.”
The Poet’s lank, knobby figure was about as symmetrical as that of a
daddy-longlegs, but he had the eye of a champion marksman, and no
nerves at all. He followed his sister’s tactics, and improved upon
them. He took his position at the third arch with such nicety that in
striking through it he sent his ball to within a yard of where Galatea’s
lay.
“Any odds?” he asked coolly, as he clicked them together.
Galatea was scornfully silent. The Poet’s “split” for position at the
centre arch was defective, and with brutal disregard of the Artist’s
feelings he took position directly in line with the two first arches.
“Arthur,” ordered Galatea, “come straight through and use your two
strokes to get George’s ball.”
“Oh, well, if you’re going to play partners against me!” And the Poet
threw down his mallet.
“There’s no rule against coaching,” snapped Galatea.
But the Artist’s mind was not on croquet. The game resolved itself
into a contest between the Poet and his sister as to which should take
the greatest liberties with his ball. Thus they were neck and neck at
the centre arch on the home stretch, with the Artist still at his second
arch. Galatea missed, and the Poet found himself in cocksure
position for the last two arches and the stake.
By this time all the four-legged members of the firm of Bos, Equus
and Co. had drawn near and were watching the progress of the game
with lively curiosity. Reginald, with his customary assurance, now
advanced with ingratiating grunts out of the side of his mouth, and
rubbed his side against the Poet’s leg, who had a sudden inspiration.
“Two to one I can make it with the pig’s legs for arches,” he said.
Galatea experienced renewed hope. The Poet cajoled Reginald into
standing between the two arches with his kinked tail resting upon the
one nearest the stake. There was a narrow, though clear, space
between his legs, in line with the arches.

ALL THE FOUR-

LEGGED MEMBERS
OF THE FIRM HAD
DRAWN NEAR

“Attention, Reginald!” and the Poet struck his ball with just the
requisite force to send it through the two arches.
Unfortunately, at that instant Reginald sat down, and the ball,
striking his fat stomach, bounced hopelessly out of position. Galatea
dropped on the grass and shrieked.
“I’ll give you the game,” said the Poet. “It’s an antiquated pastime,
anyhow.”
“Sour grapes,” laughed Galatea.
“Not at all. I’ve thought of an improvement, that’s all,” said the Poet.
“Stay where you are, Reginald. William, come here.”
The goat put his nose in the Poet’s hand and followed him to the
other end of the field, where he suffered himself to be stationed
between the two arches opposite the pig. Over the two arches on one
side the Poet stationed Cleopatra and Clarence, and opposite them
Mrs. Cowslip and Gustavius. The bull-calf wrinkled his yellow nose
and looked mutinous, while his comrades seemed much gratified.
Then the Poet went calmly around the field and pulled up all the
arches, except the centre one, and said:—
“There, all we lack is a camel or an elephant for the centre—but
nothing is perfect in this world, at the start.”
“George,” said Galatea, wiping her eyes, “for out-and-out idiocy you
certainly take the prize.”
“Not at all. That’s what’s said at first about every great discoverer.
There hasn’t been a single improvement in this game in seven
hundred years. Now for the first time in history you’re going to see
croquet played with living arches—Ouch!”
Clarence had made a sudden playful leap from his position and
nipped the Poet’s lean thigh. He was led back and admonished so
severely that he meekly refrained from making any further
demonstrations.
With perfect gravity the Poet led Galatea and the Artist in a game of
croquet calculated to make history. If Mrs. Cowslip had not kicked
the Poet’s ball clear off the field when it bounced smartly against her
tenderest pastern, and if Gustavius had not destroyed the Artist’s
nerve by bellowing hoarsely in his ear at a critical moment, it would
have been a bewildering success.
“Anyway,” said the Poet, when Galatea had won through rank
favoritism on the part of Reginald, who refrained from sitting down
in her critical moment, “anyway, we’ve given one more
demonstration that all are born free and equal in the firm of Bos,
Equus and Co., even when it comes to croquet.”
“One thing I don’t understand,” said the Artist, who, being in love,
was quite hopelessly serious, “and that is how you manage these
animals turned out loose this way, when they become unruly, as all
animals are apt to at times.”
“The learned Professor of whom we rented this place, and who
attended to their early education, didn’t neglect that point,”
answered the Poet, with a solemn glance at Galatea which brought
before her mind’s eye a vision of their first exciting experience with
William and Gustavius. “In times of mutiny one magic word uttered
by the Professor brought them to their senses completely humbled.”
“Indeed!” said the Artist. “This is most interesting. I’ve heard of such
methods being used by animal trainers. What is that word, George?”
“Its efficacy, Arthur, consists in the rarity of its use. It is pronounced
only as a last resort, as familiarity would breed contempt for it. The
word, Arthur, is”—and he whispered in the Artist’s ear
—“Abracadabra.”
And Galatea related the circumstances of their single observation of
its potency,—as recorded in the early part of this veracious chronicle,
—with special stress on the advantages offered by a low-limbed
cherry tree in case of pursuit by an enraged bull-calf.
“What you have told me is really wonderful,” said the Artist. “Never
again will I doubt that domestic animals are possessed of reasoning
powers, as well as capacity for affection.”
“Here comes Gabriel,” said Galatea. “He looks alarmed. I wonder
what has happened?”
Gabriel caught his breath and said, addressing the Poet:—
“Si Blodgett fell off a haystack an’ thinks he’s goin’ to die. He wants
to confess about them eggs.”
“Oh, the poor man!” said Galatea.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve been mistaken for a clergyman—that is,
at first sight,” said the Poet. “Is he really badly hurt, Gabriel?”
“They ain’t no bones broke, but Si’s groanin’ somethin’ terrible an’
says it’s his insides.”
“But he can’t want me,” said the Poet. “Why, I put together the links
of circumstantial evidence that proved he stole the eggs.”
“That’s jest it. Si says you’re th’ Lord’s instrument sent to awaken his
sleepin’ conscience—darn him!—an’ he’s afraid of hell-fire if you
don’t come an’ hear his confession.”
“Poor man!” said Galatea, with tears in her eyes. “Come, George, I’ll
go with you. It’s only a step. Arthur, you wait here; we’ll soon be
back.”
Conducted by Gabriel, they disappeared down the road, and the
Artist was alone with his fate. He had no premonition of disaster. He
lay on the grass with his eyes closed, wrapped in the joys and
miseries of being in love.
The living croquet-arches, with one impulse, got their heads together
and considered the situation.
“I, for one, shall go and take a look around the kitchen,” said
Clarence.
“It’s the roof of the house for me,” said William; “I haven’t had a
good view of the surrounding country since strawberry-time.”
“What about that chap on the grass?” asked Gustavius. “What will he
be doing?”
“That reminds me,” said Reginald; “now’s your chance, Gustavius.
You’ve been longing to catch him alone.”
The bull-calf shook his horns sulkily. “I kind of hate to do it. He
seems to be a friend of the red-headed girl.”
“Besides, my son,” observed Mrs. Cowslip, “none of our race ever
attacks a sleeping person.”
“Leave that to me,” said Reginald; “it’s time an example should be
made of these outsiders.”
Clarence agreed with him. They began circling around the prostrate
enemy, gradually drawing nearer, nipping at his legs or arms and
darting away, until at length Clarence’s teeth brought their victim to
his feet with a yell of mingled surprise and pain. But the Artist was
not of a vengeful disposition.
“Ha! ha!” he laughed, “you’re spoiling for a frolic, I see!”
He ran toward the colt and then turned, as though inviting pursuit.
The invitation was accepted with a unanimity that thoroughly
alarmed the Artist. Even Mrs. Cowslip and Cleopatra were making
hostile demonstrations, while William was backing away with a
significance that caused the Artist to seize a croquet mallet as he
dodged about the field. This was enough for the bull-calf, who began
bellowing and pawing the earth, while his eyes turned red.
“Good fellows! good boys!” said the Artist, holding out his hand.
But they gathered about him closer yet, with snorts, bellows, and
grunts which convinced the Artist it was time to exert authority. So
he shouted in a stern voice:—
“Away! To the barn, all of you!”
For answer the indignant pig ran between his legs, all but upsetting
him, and the others crowded in closer yet. Thoroughly frightened,
the Artist decided that extreme measures were justifiable. Recalling
the magic word whispered in his ear by the Poet, he raised his hand
and thundered:—
“ABRACADABRA!”
The effect was instantaneous, but disconcerting. After one instant of
general stupefaction, Clarence stood on his hind-legs with his
forefeet beating the air, and addressed his companions in a shrill
whinny, which they readily understood to mean:—
“What! Shall a miserable interloper presume so far!”
“Let me at him!” roared the bull-calf, with horns low and tail high.
The Artist turned and fled, with Gustavius bellowing at his heels,
urged on by his comrades following close behind. Straight for the
house sped the fugitive. The low-limbed cherry tree was nearer, and,
luckily, he remembered it in time. Having sufficient presence of
mind at the last moment to fling his forty-dollar Panama hat into
Gustavius’s face, he swung himself into the tree, and was safe.
Gustavius kept one eye on him while practicing on the hat, which
was presently only an expensive memory.
Clarence, finding the kitchen door open, walked in. By way of a rain-
water barrel, the woodshed, and the water-tank, William mounted to
the peak of the house roof and proceeded to enjoy the prospect.
Reginald made himself comfortable in a veranda rocker. Mrs.
Cowslip found the soft earth of the tulip-bed conducive to
somnolence and cud-chewing, while Cleopatra grazed near by on
some late pansies. Such was the scene that presented itself to Galatea
when she returned alone, having found Si Blodgett more scared than
hurt.
“Why, Arthur!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing up there?”
“Call off your bull-calf, and I’ll come down and tell you.” The Artist
was annoyed.
“Gustavius? Why, he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“Wouldn’t he? Just look at my forty-dollar Panama!”
“Oh, Arthur, surely there must be some mistake—some
misunderstanding.”
“It’s past the misunderstanding stage when I’m treed like this.”
“You must have said something that offended Gustavius. He’s
terribly sensitive, poor fellow!”
“Said something! I treated them like friends and fellow citizens till
they all set upon me at once; then, seeing it was a conspiracy, I said
‘Abracadabra,’ of course.”
“Oh, Arthur! You forgot that you had no right—that you were not a
member of our family—yet.”
“They seemed to remember it all right—especially the bull-calf. I
nearly burst a blood-vessel getting up here.”
“It is really most unfortunate, Arthur.” She looked about her, at the
late pansies, at the tulip-bed, and at the house roof, and said
reproachfully: “William! Mrs. Cowslip! Cleopatra!”
The goat came meekly down from the roof. The cow and the mare
walked slowly off toward the barn, much mortified.
“You don’t seem to mind Gustavius—and me,” complained the Artist.
Galatea sat on the grass and took off her hat.
“You may come down presently, Arthur. I have long wanted to say
certain things to you, but you are so impulsive in your—in various
ways, that it seemed necessary for me to wait for some such
opportunity as this, when you are—otherwise occupied. Arthur, you
have pressed me to name a day for a certain ceremony—”
She was interrupted by a bellow from Gustavius, consequent upon a
sudden movement of the Artist, who immediately concluded not to
forsake his perch.
“Must you interrupt me, Arthur?”
“I didn’t; it was the bull-calf; I don’t bellow.”
“Well, Arthur, I would oblige you and set a date for our wedding if I
were quite sure that we understand each other.”
“Galatea, there’s nothing to understand except that I love you to the
extinction of every other thought or feeling, and always shall.” He
paused to regain his balance, for the tree was a small one, and
swayed under the stress of his emotion.
“Then, dear, if I set an early date, will you promise faithfully to love
me in all my moods, no matter what I say or do, and never be angry,
or dispute with me about anything?”
“Bless you, my darling! I swear it!”
“Have you no misgivings, Arthur?”
“None, none! Not one!”
“Not even when you remember that my hair is red?”
“I adore red hair!”
“But not on other girls, Arthur?”
“No; only on you, darling.”
“Thank you, Arthur, dear. If the second Wednesday in October, five
weeks hence, will suit you, then you may come down and kiss me.”
“Galatea!”
Gustavius pawed the earth, and he hesitated.
“Can a bull-calf stand between you and me, Arthur?”
“Never!” He leaped far out from the tree and took her in his arms.
Gustavius gave them one glance and walked away in disgust. Being
only a bull-calf, he did not realize that he had accomplished in a
single afternoon something which had baffled the little rosy god
himself for more than a year.
The sound of voices in the road brought the lovers back to earth.
“It’s all over,” said the Poet, catching sight of them. “Si Blodgett has
confessed everything, and his insides don’t hurt him any more.”
Gabriel had intercepted the rural delivery; he gave Galatea a letter
bearing a foreign postmark. She tore open the envelope, read two
pages, and exclaimed:—
“O George, it’s from the Professor! Just listen to this:—
“‘Finding the cause of the higher education of domestic animals
much farther advanced in Germany than in America, I have decided
to locate permanently in Berlin, where some promising pupils have
been placed in my charge, including a young ram with a wonderful
talent for algebra. I am therefore offering for sale the place which you
leased from me, at the very reasonable price of seven thousand five
hundred to you, knowing that my former pupils will thus continue in
good hands.’”
“Too bad,” sighed the Poet; “I’ve often wished I’d been born a
plumber.”
“Galatea,” said the Artist, “would you really like to have this place for
your own?”
“Oh, Arthur, it makes me weep to think of leaving Gustavius, and
Clarence, and Reginald—”
“And Cleopatra, and Mrs. Cowslip, and William, and Napoleon,”
added the Poet.
“You shall not leave them,” said the Artist, beaming upon them both.
“Give me the Professor’s address, Galatea, and you shall have a deed
of the place on the second Wednesday in October.”
“Eh, what’s that—the second Wednesday in October?” said the Poet.
“Why, on that happy date,” said the Artist, as Galatea flung her arms
about his neck, “Bos, Equus and Co. are to take in a new partner.”
 The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
U. S. A.
 TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
1. Silently corrected typographical errors.
2. Retained anachronistic and non-standard
spellings as printed.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GAMBOLLING WITH
GALATEA: A BUCOLIC ROMANCE ***

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