“I’d just like to show these New York dandies the sort of horses we can raise in Vermont,” he said, apparently oblivious of the fact that the best and first part of True’s raising had been done in Massachusetts. “Even if we can’t afford to use all that ody cologne, and wear frills on our shirt fronts. They say these two horses were bred on the Winooski at the Ethan Allen farm, but this one”—he indicated the horses as he spoke—“is from down New York way.”
Evans walked around and looked at them critically.
“Good horses, all of them,” he remarked, with appreciation, “and fresh.”
“Rested all night at the Inn,” Nye corroborated, resentfully.
The Morgan was working himself up over the scent of the cloak—any test for him against the horse on whose saddle it lay was as good as won already. He had an intuition that Mistress Lloyd would like him to defeat the Coxcomb, whose horse was a fretful, vicious animal—handsome enough, it was true, and with many races to his credit—but he was too full of conceit and self-confidence to please Morgan.
The Ethan Allen horses were quieter and gave the impression of reserve power. All three were stylish and well cared for, while Morgan was ungroomed and neglected; there were a few burrs in his heavy black tail, too, which seemed to strike the New Yorkers as extremely amusing. The Morgan, himself, however, had never seen anything very comical about a mere cockle-burr, and was nettled at their foolish remarks and jeers.
“Yes,” repeated Nye, “fresh as flowers, and fed to the top-notch. Those men have a fine plan to take us down a peg or two.”
“Is it a clean, fair race, think you?” asked Evans, under his breath.
“It’s no clean and no fair race,” Nye gave reply, indignantly, and in the same low, resentful tone he added,[9] “they want our horse to run three separate races, one after the other, and him all tuckered out with a day’s plowing.”
“It ain’t fair,” agreed Evans, vehemently. “My horse ain’t only tired, but my saddle and bridle, that I left over here t’other day, ain’t light and easy like theirs. It ain’t reasonable…. Not but what Morgan can do it,” he added, quickly, “but it’s hard on him.”