Page:Saxe Holm's Stories, Series Two.djvu/116

106 And she settled herself back in the broad front seat with a content and pleasurable anticipation which radiated from every feature, and made itself felt like sunshine.

"Is n't this lovely, mamma?" she exclaimed. "What a lucky thing that old Kate went lame! These horses are a thousand times better that Mr. Goodenow's. In fact," she added, "that 's no way to speak of them; they would be superb horses anywhere; they 're not to be spoken of as the same sort of animal as Mr. Goodenow's."

"No," said John quietly.

The tone of the monosyllable meant so much that Fanny Lane exclaimed—

"You love your horses very much, Mr. Bassett, do you not?"

"They are my only brothers," replied John, "I have taken care of them since the day they were born."

"Oh, how perfectly delightful!" cried Fanny. "That 's the very thing I have always thought I should like to do,—have a colt for my own in the very beginning, when I could play with it as I would with a kitten."

"Yes, that 's the only way to have the real comfort of a horse," said John. "They are more intelligent than dogs, and much more loving, if they ever had a chance to show it. You ought to see Tom play hide-and-seek with me; he will hunt the whole place over and never give up till he finds