News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-22

TWO WOMEN AND A HORSE,

| TWO WOMEN AND A HORSE,
| 1t Is now nearly three weeks since WE
! TOOK horse to Keep. The family t.
whom ne belonged were going to spend
the summer in Europe We knew tn,
fletchers slightly. They called on u.
! 90 see If we would entertain Jacob, thei1
faithful steed. They said they knew i
we had him they should rest easy; anG
they knew that our horse was lame
now, and perhaps we might like to use
Jacob for his keep. Afterwards We
found out that though the Fletchers
might rest easy, we could not, We
! thought well of this proposition. We
decided we would have Kentuckv's
Enoes taken off and put her in our pas
! ture back of the barn.
When these people drove over from
the town where they live, they did not
drive their own horse, but came with q
neighbor. 1t happened that we had
never seen the horse that we were to
take until he came on the day his family
LETT for New York to take the steamer.
A man IN a very narrow open buggy
drove into our yard. Hitched to his
wagon behind him was an iron-gray
horse so tall that it made one gasp to
look at him. 1t was not that he was so
very heavy, but that his legs and neck
were so long. Now we knew enough
to be aware that it is not good sign to
''see too much daylight under horse"
One could see half the armament under
Jacob.
The man grinned as he said he guessed
this was the old Barton place. We said
it was.
well" he responded, jumping down
from his seat and beginning to unite the
halter which was fastened to the rear of
his buggy. 'WalI, I've brought We this
ere railroad bridge, ye see" "
My sister and | both stood with our
heads thrown back, gazing 1 immedi-
atelY suggested that 1t might be well to
eIiov i,ss;Ia -, heIs a1s a1s 'eso'1l aiSns
my sister added that we had had no ex-
perience in the wants of a dromedary,
or even of giraffe. The man grinned
still more.
Cant take him back, - he said; ''his
folks have gone. Hadn't We ever seen
this critter before ?''
''Never."
Then he laughed, and laughed so
long that we began to be angry. Jacob,
meanwhile, had begun to Craze. l saw
he had kind eyes; there was no vicious
appearance about him. My sister re-
marked that if she had money enough
to travel in Europe she thought she
should afford to sell Jacob, where upon
the man went off into another laugh,
and 1 asked sternly how many tricks he
had. As soon as possible l was told
that he hadn't any tricks; he was q
perfect horse, so far as he knew. The
Fletchers set such store by him they
wouldn't sell him at no price. and they
thought we women folks would appre-
ciate him.
Having said this with great solemnity
and emphasis, he put the end of the
halter into my hand, placed his foot on
the hub of the wheel, and sprang over
into his buggy. AS he drove away we
saw him swaying with laughter, and he
kept looking behind at the group he
had left.
1t was a good while before either of
u5 spoke. Our Gordon setter now walked
up from somewhere, glanced at us, and
walked away again, as if washing his
udnuS OF lnlS aualr,
81 guess we'll put him into the barn, !"
| said cheerfully after a while. "You
go in and turn Kentucky out"
Gertrude did as she was told. In a
moment | saw our horse walk out of the
west door into the pasture. She had a
loose box, and it was into this that
now led Jacob. The box was not the
largest kind, but it was roomv enough
for Kentucky to turn round IN, and she
was good sized animal. 1t never oc-
CURED to us that this apartment was
not large enough for any horse, or if it
was not, that anV horse of sense would
try to turn round in it.
We closed the door and stood a mo-
ment, asking each other what we were
going to do. We said we hated the
-Eletchers. We said we hoped they
would drown; but we withdrew that
|. ~ish for two reasons; first, because if
they drov ned we should have to keep
Jacob forever; secondly, because the
wish was wicked.
As we walked toward the house we
heard great noise of hoofs, and then
an ominous stiffness, in which we fan
cied was a kind of choking sound. We
ran back and flung open the box door.
There was Jacob describing curve
| across the room, his headquarters being
one end and his head the other. both
extremities being pressed SO hard
against either partition that he was
curved nearly into half circle, and ap-
peared to be smothering, so twisted was
his neck.
''Run for man !" cried out, looking
wildly round for something, knew not
what.
My sister started, while l recklesslv
caught up a whip and went at the
horse, f1Ourishing it across his back.
| He made tremendous movement and
curved up still more; so much so that
he released himself and stood head
toward me.
] ran after Gertrude and told her to
come back, that we did not want man ;
the horse had turned round. She did
not hear at first, and | screamed still
/ louder that we did not want any man.
Now she heard, and turned, walking
with great slOwness and dignity toward
me. Something in her aspect made me
look about, and / saw O gentleman
within few feet of me. He did not
attempt to disguise his merriment. he
said it did not appear to be good time
for him to call, and he would go on.
He was not urged to stay, but he was
/ invited to call some other time and see
the horse that we had taken to keep.
As soon as possible we hurried into
the barn and found Jacob with his
head in the meal barrel. We pulled
him out and decided that he could not
| be loose in his box, so we tied him to
the manger just as if he had been in a
stall. He was all right now. It being