A FEW POINTERS. 351 



Experience has also taught the silent trader that 

 it is not necessary to look at the other man's horse if 

 you want to learn what is the matter with him, but 

 it is necessary to keep an eye on what is being done 

 with your own. You can put it in your pipe and 

 smoke it for a solemn fact, that when a man is making 

 all kinds of motions to learn if your horse is blind, 

 that he is anxious to get clear of one that has a bad 

 pair of eyes. If he asks about the heaves or begins 

 to look for spavins or ring bones, in nine times out 

 of ten you will find something of that kind on his 

 bag of bones. 



There was a day, however, when I did not think 

 that way. I was driving a stage over the hills in 

 Vermont, that paradise of horse swappers, and had 

 made a few good trades. Finally, one pleasant morn- 

 ing, a farmer with an eye for a horse and church mat- 

 ters, put a "fitty" one on to me. It was a bad piece 

 of business and might have been the death of some- 

 one, but, fortunately, I found it out before any dam- 

 age was done except a pair of broken thills and a 

 severe strain on my temper. There was no use 

 crying about it, however, and instead of sitting down 

 and taking my medicine, I made up my mind to get 

 even. 



Some time after the "fitty" horse had gone, as all 

 trading horses go, to another stable, I managed to 

 get a rip staving, fine five-year-old horse that could 

 make the old coach hum. I put him on the off side, 

 so that he would not be bothered when passing teams 

 and saw that he was kept busy from the time he 

 pulled out in the morning to the end of the run. I 

 had my reasons for it, as this clever young horse, not- 



