“What’ll I do to him? Punch his head?” demanded knight errant.
“No, shake it most off!” commanded Jean. “He nearly made mine shake off,” she concluded, as she pushed her hair from her eyes and jerked her hat back into place. “My goodness just look at the state I’m in and look at Baltie; I don’t know what Mammy will say. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself, you great big bully, to torment a girl and a poor old blind horse. Oh, I wish I were a boy! If I wouldn’t give you bally-whacks.”
A smile broke over knight errant’s face, but his victim trembled in his boots.
“All right then, here goes, since you won’t let me punch it,” and Jean’s injunctions to shake her tormentor’s head “most off” seemed in a fair way to be obeyed, for the next second its owner was being shaken very much as a rat is shaken by a terrier and the head was jerked about in a most startling manner.
“Now get out! Skiddoo! And if we catch you and your gang out this way again you’ll have a pretty lively time of it, and don’t you forget it either,” said knight errant with a final shake, and Long Stick was hustled upon his way toward his friends who had not paused to learn his fate.
This boy who acted as spokesman, and who appeared to be a leader among his companions, then said:
“I say, your old horse is pretty well knocked up, isn’t she? How far have you come? Better drive into the school grounds and rest up a bit before you go back. Come on!” and going to Baltie’s head the lad took hold of the rein to lead him through the gateway.
Baltie never forgot his manners, however great the stress under which he was laboring, so turning his sightless eyes toward his new friend, he nickered softly, and rubbed his muzzle against him. The lad laughed and raising his hand stroked the warm neck as he said:
“Found a friend at last, old boy? Well, come on then, for you needed one badly.”
“Guess he did!” said Jean. “My gracious, I don’t know what we would have done if you boys hadn’t come out to help us. How did you happen to hear us?”