THE horse's rescue. 283 



s limber yet. She is four miles away, if tlieraaonwns 

 her yet that I sold her to. I had not seen this mare 

 from the time I sold her, nor her owner. I went on 

 foot. I found all at home. The man paid me. I told 

 him I wanted to see her. We went to the barn. She 

 stood there with a row of horses, with a rack of black, 

 moldy hay before her, and with plenty manure enough 

 to lie on ; very poor and dirty ; no one could have 

 sworn for certain she vras the same mare I sold to him 

 one year previous. 



I did not let him know what I wanted to see this 

 rnare for. There was a boy stood b}^ I told him I 

 would like to see her move off a little. She had shoes 

 on. This boy was soon on her back, sailing her up 

 and down the road. I saw at a glance she was limber, 

 and more so about the shoulders than she was when I 

 sold her. That was what I went four miles on foot 

 through deep mud to see if working another yeai- 

 after the cause was removed would make any more 

 improvement. It did. She was as limber as 'any 

 horse, and had as good knee action as she ever had.. 

 In that all horses vary some. I asked him if she ever 

 had been lame in any way since he owned her. He 

 said she had not. 



Eeader, this man never knew this mare had ever 

 been stiff or lame before he bought her, and he does 

 not know what mare it is ; neither does any that once 

 knew her, except the Woodrough ^brothers. I found 

 out what I went for, and sailed hom.e. 



Next thing was to look up a new field. I set sail- 

 I made up my mind to start somewhere in the lake 

 country. I stuck my stake at Lake Ridge, six miles 



