The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1911-06-27
A WIDOWS
OLD HORSE
By N. QUAD
Copyright. 1911. by Associated LIT
crsry Press.

was in town. and she found o horse
auction going on. The last OF tho
bunch to be put up was an old cray
mare. She was skin and bone and
then some more The auctioneef did
not slsnder her character when he
called her an old skate.
There was a general laugh Of con-
tempt over the old mare. and then
some one bid 81. Out Of pure gym-
pathy the widow bid dollar more,
and the nag was hers She was guyed
by the crowd, but the prize was hitch
ed behind the wagon and reached the
farm In due time without having once
fallen by the wayside There were
two hired men 70 grin and chucIsIe and
talk about crow banqucts, but the wo-
man silenccd them with:
"Get along, you idiotsl Turn that
horse out TO grass and take good care
Of her. II she dies her hide Will be
worth all paid for her whole body"
This was early In the spring. Wben
the old mare began TO Gil up she began
to improve. In month her ribs could
no longer be counted from the high
way, and she began TO gamboi q bit, IL
was when another horse was turned
into the lot with her Of Sunday that
the surprise came One of the men
came up to the house end said 10 Mrs.
Saunderson:
"Say. you come down 10 the fence
and see that old mareY'
Dead, Is sheT We, if ~
Dead why, she's. the: liveiiest OLD
nag you ever set eyes on! Come
down.
The two horses were having play.
It was a ten acre meadow. and they
were circling It. The farm horse was
on the gallop and the old mare On
the trot. and yet he could not leave
her behind.
''She got that gait before a suiky for
sure" said the man.
'.Looks like IL TO me-" replied the
widow. "After this you feed her
few OATS every day and use the curry
comb, and don't either one Of you boys
say q word outside"
The Akron county, fair. always held
late in September. ranked next TO the
state fair. Some said the horse racing
was even better. because the track
was better. When The opening OF the
entries was announced the Widow
Saunderson said TO one Of her men:
I Joe, here's the money TO enter Lady
Gray. You can claim TO be the owner.
You go over to Johnsonviile. and bor-
row or buy a, sullfy and get 1it here on
the sly. The old mare Is, going into
the free fol; all, and you are going to
drive her."
And few days later she said 70 the
other man. go,
"Tim, Shere is hundred dollars.
You gofto town and loaf around for
two or three days Bet the money on
our horse.\ Get the best odds you can"
When day and date came they hoot-
ed the widows hired man and his
equine. They bad bet 8 TO 1 before.
now they bet 10 to 1. The widow had
500 In the bank. She drew every
dollar of it out, and Tim placed IL on
the mare.
That was race that Is talked OF
yet. a green driver. an old sulky and
a farm horse as soon as the mare
got on to the track her actions betray-
ed the fact that IL WAS a familiar
scene to her. and her driver had Che
sense to let her take her own way In
stead of hauling her about. When the
bunch got away at last he simply held
his horse steady and prayed with all
his might. She had "gone some" on
the highway. but she seemed to.be 'ay-
ing now. She picked up horse after
horse until she had the lead, and she
came in winner by such distance
that the other horses were hooted on
the track. Not skip. not break
just a fast and steady pace, and a
driver who was so scared that he had
to be helped down from his seat.
The roll of money gathered in by the
Widow Saunderson on her wagers and
by the sale of the mare after the race
was exactly the size Of a fifteen cent
tomato can. With the bundle In q Pill
lowslip she called on the minister of
her church few days later and said:
"Parson. l know you have figured
things up. How much TO paint the
meeting house?'
"a hundred and fifty dollars" he re-
piled.
"And how much for pew cushionsr'
! "a hundred"
"And for the red carpets in the
aisles"
"Fifty will do it,
"And can't we get an organ fol-
$5OO?"
eve certainly can"
"And bell?"
''Two hundred"
"And how much salary is due your
"Weli-ahem-well. don't like d
say so, but the sum is about 5000"
"Figure 1t up and count 1t out, par
son." said the widow as she handed
over the tomato can"
"But, widow. l don't understand"
"Won it at the county fair the othel
day"
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