162 THE horse's rescur 



horses long, neither did I charge an}^ extra aside from 

 shoeiuL^. I soon saw thev could be humbuooed hv 

 nie, and easily too. But this was not wliat I was airn- 

 ing at. There were too man}^ at work at tliat now for 

 the [)ay. I did not cause the horse suffering, and they 

 <]id. My health fj'om this laboi'ious wcik was likely 

 to give out. I decided to make a bold stand right in 

 the hottest of this battle for the hoi'se. I would find 

 an old horse that was well known by many and was 

 stiff and lame, and what they called " founde]-ed " of 

 loLg standing. I searched around for a long tim.e to 

 find the one I wanted. I could hardly go amiss of 

 stiff and lame horses, and they were all for sale, but 

 W'ere not Vvhat I wanted. At last one came to me. I 

 saw str.ndinc; tied in the stj-eet an old-lookino", stiff, 

 white mare, poor in flesh. She seemed shriyeled and 

 dried up around her shouldei's ; her neck di'opped 

 down from withers; eyes surdvcn. She stood braced 

 out, with her feet huddled together. I looked her 

 leirs over. She war. of Messenger stock; her limbs 

 were as smooth and clean as a deer's. The hind feet 

 and legs were quite natural, and she stood well on 

 them. I looked in her mouth, and saw that she was 

 old. She had a parrot n^.outh — that is, the upper 

 teeth shut over the under ones. I knew she could 

 eat, for that kind of a mouth will allow the grinders 

 to come together when old. While I was looking" the 

 horse ovej", a man came who was her owner. That 

 was what I w.-is waiting foi'. I had made up mv mind 

 to liave this mai'e pi'oviding I could trace her past life, 

 if I had to pay twenty times as much as she was 

 was woi'th. Her stii'fuess was of longstanding; that 



