Page:Black Beauty (1877).djvu/128

124 "Why, the horse has been down and thrown him! who would have thought the black horse would have done that? nobody thought he could fall. Reuben must have been lying here for hours! Odd too, that the horse has not moved from the place."

Robert then attempted to lead me forward. I made a step, but almost fell again. Halloo! he's bad in his foot as well as his knees; look here—his hoof is cut all to pieces, he might well come down, poor fellow! I tell you what, Ned, I'm afraid it hasn't been all right with Reuben! Just think of him riding a horse over these stones without a shoe! why, if he had been in his right senses, he would just as soon have tried to ride him over the moon; I'm afraid it has been the old thing over again. Poor Susan! she looked awfully pale when she came to my house to ask if he had not come home. She made believe she was not a bit anxious, and talked of a lot of things that might have kept him. But for all that, she begged me to go and meet him—but what must we do? There's the horse to get home as well as the body—and that will be no easy matter."

Then followed a conversation between them, till it was agreed that Robert as the groom should lead me, and that Ned must take the body. It was a hard job to get it into the dog-cart, for there was no one to hold Ginger; but she knew as well as I did, what was going on, and stood as still as a stone. I noticed that, because, if she had a fault, it was that she was impatient in standing.

Ned started off very slowly with his sad load, and