Page:Frank Owen - Rare Earth, 1931.djvu/83

 means of deriving contentment had ever been to watch men working on their knees in the soil. But now he was denied even this comfort He wished to be alone, to be alone to think. And because he wished so hard for solitude, he often sought for it in vain. Neighbors commenced to call to him as they passed along the quiet roads. Men who had seldom even nodded to him paused to speak with him. People felt sorry for Jethro.

One such was Samuel Gage, a rather shiftless farmer whose place adjoined Jethro's on the south. As he was driving by in a rickety carriage, he stopped to talk awhile.

Jethro was amazed at the thinness of the horse. Every bone showed on the poor animal and it appeared as though it had not had a meal for weeks. Samuel Gage noticed Jethro's scowl at the condition of the horse and smiled.

"Don' blame me for the way this yere 'orse looks," he said. "Only bought the poor thing yesterday. Since that time I've done nothin' but feed it oats an' carrots. But all my efforts is no account. That 'ere 'orse is like a well. Yer