Oxford Democrat., 1906-11-13
Bonfire
Broken For the
House of Jerry
BY sEwELL FORD
Copyright, 1903. by Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons
!OWN in Maine or up in Yer
, mont-anywherc. in fact. save
ST.j OH fancy stud farm-his col
Sci or would have passed for Sor-

49, or would have passed for sor-
rel. Being high bred hackney and
the pick Of Sir Bardolph three-year-olds
he was put down as Il strawberry roam;
also he was the pride of Lochlynne.
"'Osses. women and the weather. sir
amt to be depended on; but, barrin
haccidcnts. that ere Bonfire II fetch
us ribhon il any does, sir" IIaw-
kins, the stud groom, made this proph,
ecy not in haste or out of hand. but
as one WHO has reputation to main
tain and who speaks by the card.
So the word was passed among the
undergrCOals and stable boys that Bon
| fire was the best Of the Sir Bardoiph
get and that lie WAS going to the Gar.
den for the honor aud profit OF the
farm.
Well. Bonfire had come to the Gar
den. He had been there two days. 1t
was within few hours OF the time
when the hackneys were to take the
ring-and look at him! His eyes were
dull. his head was down. his nostrils
wept. his legs trembled.
About his stall was gathered little
group of discouraged men and boys
who spoke in low tones and gaZed
gloomily through the murky atmos'
phere at the blanket swathed, hooded
figure that seemed about to collapse
on the straw.
"'E amt got no more life in i'm than
sick cat" said one. 1.-THE Bellair
folks will beat us 'oller. Every one o
their blooming hentries is as fit as
fiddles."
"Ain't we worked on i'm for four
mortal hours?' demanded another.
"Wot more can we do"
"Send for old 'Awkins an tell i'm:
that's all"
A shudder seemed to shake the group
In the stall. 1t was clear that Mr.. Haw.
kins would be displeased, and that his
displeasure was something to be dread
ed. Bonfire, too. was seen to shudder,
but 1t was not from fear Of Hawkins
wrath. Little did Bonfire care just then
for grooms, head or ordinary. He shud-
dered because of certain aches that
dwclt within him.
In his stomach was queer feeling
which he did not understand. In his
head was dizziness which made him
wish that the stall would not move
about so. Streaks Of pain shot along
his backbone and slid down his legs.
Hot and cold flashes swept over his
body. For Bonfire had bad case of
car sickness-a malady differing from
seasickness largely in name only-also
well developed cold complicated by
nervous indigestion.
Tuned to the key, he had left the home
stables. Then they had led him into
that box on wheels and the trouble had
begun. Men shouted, bells changed.
whistles shrieked. Bonfire felt the box
start with jerk. and humping, rum
bling, jOlting, swaying, move some
where Off into the night.
In an agony Of apprehension, neck
stretched. eyes staring, ears pointed.
nostrls quivering, legs stiffened, Bon
fire waited for the end. But Of end
there seemed to be none. Shock after
shock Bonfire withstood, and still found
himself waiting. What 1t all meant
he could not guess. There were
the other horses that had been
taken with him into the box,
>ome plac;dly munching hay. others
ling curiously about. There were
d. familiar grooms who talked sooth.
lily IN his ear and patted his neck In
vain. The terror Of this thing, this
being whirled noisily away In a box,
had struck deep into Bonfire's brain,
and he could not get it out. So he stood
for many hours, neither eating nor
sleeping, listening to the noises, feeling
the motion and trembling as one with
ague.
OF course 1t was absurd for Bonfire
to go to pieces in that fashion. You can
ship Missouri MOdOc around the
world and he will finish almost as
sound as lie started But Bonfire had
blood and breeding and a pedigree
which went back to Lady Alice Of
Burn Brae, Yorkshire.
His co,tdom had been sort Of hot
house existence; for Lochlynne. you
know, is the toy Of Pennsylvania
coal baron, who breeds hackncys, not
for profit, but for the joy there is In 1t.
just as other men grow orchids and
build cup defenders. At the LOchlynne
stables they turn on the steam heat In
November. On rainy days you are ex-
ercised In a glass rooted tanbark ring,
and hour after hour you are handled
over deep straw to improve your ac-
ton. You breathe outdoor air only In
high fenced grass paddocks around
which you are driven In surcingle rig
by cockney groom imported with the
pgskin saddles and British condition
powders. From the day your name Is
written in the stud book until you
leave. you have balanced feed, all wool
blankets, fly nettings and coddling that
never ceases. This Is the method that
rounds you into perfect hackney form.
All this had been done for Bonfire
and with apparent success. but a few
hours of railroad travel had left him
with Il set of nerves as tensely strung
as those Of Il high school girl on grad
uation day That is why draft of cold
air had chilled him to the bone; that is
why. after reaching the Garden, he had
gone as limp as cut rose at n ball.
Hawkins, who had jumped into his
clothes and hurried to the scene from a
nearby hotel, behaved disappointingly.
He cursed no one. He did not even
kick a stable boy. He just peeled to
his undershlrt and went to work. He