The Horse, as Comrade and Friend 



be her special guardian and pal. Look at the 

 vicious way he goes for her. Ears back hard 

 down on his neck, whites of eyes gleaming, and 

 snap, snap, snap of those savage teeth. That 

 stopped her ; and now he is going to have a go 

 at Disciple. He just gives one look over his 

 quarter to get Disciple's bearing, gives one last 

 vicious snap at the mare, and is round in a 

 flash with a bound, all eyes and teeth for you 

 or Disciple, it doesn't matter which. 



It was good for you that, knowing you might 

 have adventures, you had a lash on your hunt- 

 ing crop, so you get him on the neck Hke a 

 crack from a rifle. Well done ! or he would 

 have got you by the thigh. He is up in the air, 

 and so is Disciple, and for full ten seconds they 

 strike at each other with their fore feet like 

 professional boxers. You get another into 

 the gelding, the lash snapping round his hind 

 legs. You hurt him, and, on the instant, he 

 turns round his rump, and humps himself 

 together, with the intention of planting his 

 heels on Disciple's chest. But Disciple is not 

 having any that way. Disciple has risen before 

 the gelding lashes out, gets one foreleg over his 

 back, bends down and buries his teeth well 

 into the gelding's buttock. It's a proper good 

 grip, and Disciple can chew and does chew, 

 hard. That's enough ; it's a deuced tender 

 place when Disciple has done ; and, squeaUng 

 and kicking, the gelding makes for the mares, 



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