52 THE STRIKE AT SHANE'S. 



Accordingly the harness was put on Dick, and he 

 was hitched to the cart. He stumbled around like a 

 very lame horse, and made a very bad show of getting 

 along. No one but Shane would have undertaken to 

 drive him in the condition he appeared to be in. 



"Poor Dick," said Edith, as Shane stopped at the 

 house; "I don't think papa ought to drive him when 

 he is so lame," and she i)atted his neck and smoothed 

 out his long mane. "Don't drive him hard, papa," 

 she continued, "and I'm sure he'll do the best he 

 can." 



Shane made no reply, but drove away toward town. 

 The drive to town and return was a slow one, for even 

 Shane's hard heart would not permit him to drive a 

 lame horse out of a walk. Shane was rather proud 

 of the fact that he had succeeded in driving Dick, and 

 said that all the horse needed was exercise, and he 

 would be at work in a few d?.ys. He thought, per- 

 haps, a little exercise would do the rest of the horses 

 good. 



The next day Shane proceeded to hitch Dick up 

 again for the purpose of driving him. 



" There's no use talkin'," he said to Mike, " 1 have 

 got to put these horses to work." 



" Bether go slow," said Mike, "for if ye put thim 

 sick horses to work too soon ye may have dead ones." 



"It is better to have dead horses than useless ones, 

 just standin' round eatin'. A /lead horse don't eat 

 anything. It would be money in my pocket if they 

 were all dead," and he gave Dick a sharp cut with the 



