Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-20

| were in the manager, wet and fragrant
| though Hector cared not even to sniff at
| them, but let his huge head a mountain in
itself droop lower and lower down.
Poor old cuss." whispered Skinny, kiss
| ing the horses rose furtively. Il hope to
| God yer amt bustedr'
The man came slowly out of the stall, and
| the big horse lay heavily down and closed
| his eyes.
"Hector's busted" said Skinny, trying tc
| explain the sorry situation in business
| like voice to the green hand who had been
left on watch.
The latter tip-toed over to Hector's stall
| and peered in mutey. Hector paid no at
| tention to him. Skinny threw two blankets
| over the PROSTATE horse and slid another
| rolled up for pillow under his head. The
| flies were buzzing lazily over the fragrant
| oats.
| Skinny, who seized every chance to swear
| at the green hand, 'phoned for veter-
| mary, and then stamped about like a
| baited bull. cursng the long delay. When
| the surgeon at last arrived with his little
| satchel, and looked at poor Hector with
| his lips hopelessy and shook his old bald
! head.
Hes pretty bad, amt he?" blurted
Skinny. "Oh. yes. I knew i'll felt sure
| from the first there wasn't no hope-oh,
yes. give him up clean from the start
Skinnys shoestring came united as he
| spoke. and he was long time fixing 1T.
| The veterinary, meanwhile, explained with
| serious hemorrhage and might even then
| be bleeding slowly to death inside.
Keep him quiet" he said warningly.
But Hector showed no disposition to
heavy breathing, oblivious to all that " ent
| on around him. Even toward evening,
when No. 10. grimy and unkempt, In tow
| of two strange horses, came rumbling up
| to the door. he did not offer to raise his
| head. He did not lift his heavy eyelids
| when the clumsy newcomers staggered and
| stamped on the slippery concrete, In their
| violent straining to accomplish jointly what
! he could have done alone. He did not
| prick up his ears when the wondering men
drew near and, staring at him In open
| pity, called "HectorI" softly with their
well-known voices; and even when his good
| friend Scraggs the STRAIGHTFORWARD dog
mascot Numbered crab-fashion into the
stall and shifted noisily with tickly whis-
| kers at the ice bandages, he gave no sign
of life. Nothing seemed to affect him. So
the men on tiptoe went soberly about their
| work of cleaning up; the flies continued to
| buzz undisturbed in Hectors manager, and
| Skinny with blind eyes, made mournful
pretense at furnishing UP the harness.
Suddenly, however. a strange thing hap
pened 1t was not that the alarm bell be-
gan to ring with its clear, glasslike note of
| Warrington that was a common, almost
| hourly, occurrence-but there came a noise
of a terrible effort from Hectors stall.
Awakened at last by the familiar bell, the
great horse seemed to be struggling to an
swer the summons. The straw flew fu-
riously in all directions. The partition wall
of the stall kicked loose by the mighty iron
shoes. scaled over the concrete floor ike a
square of pasteboard. Hector, airing with
nightly groan, came forth.
whoa, boy whoa, Hec, old man. cried
Skinny, running to his head
But Hector staggered against Skinny,
who rebounded backward against the tiled
wall: then the horse came laundering for
ward scattering fire with unsteady
tread Disregarding the blindness Of his
Hector took his accustomed place of honor
between the poles of the engine. But no
one came to fasten his harness; though he
stretched out his neck for the collar, no
collar was lowered upon it; and though he
opened his mouth for the bit, no bit was
placed between his teeth. Tottering then
from side to side, the red blood pouring
fight it out, and paved the air with his ter
rible hoofs falling at last. baffled, but not
conquered, upon the oaken pole of the en-
| CINE, which snapped beneath his weight
| with a deafening crack The glittering
dragon leaped back out of danger; but 1t
was a useless precaution, for Hector lay on
| the floor like @ stone.
silent wonder at the great quiet body,
which nearly reached from the brass pole
on their right to the brass pole on their
left. The strange horses, in the dim light
of their stalls stood spectrally gazing out
with outstretched neckS and pricked-up
ears; Scraggs crouched in shivering heap
in the desolate stall. where the flies were
buzzing. buzzing their mournful tune.
At last Skinny came limping forward, and
knelt stiffly by the silent head.
'Hector's gone" he said presently, in q
smothered voice.