“What is it? What is it?” asked all the other animals that were waiting by the hole in the fence. These were the horses and the ponies who had not gone into the swamp.
Dapple Gray quickly told them of the trouble. At the same time he said:
“Don’t any of you go in there. The ground is too soft now and if a lot of you horses trample on it that will make it so much the softer, and The Man and his friends will have trouble getting in with their ropes and boards. So please keep out.”
The horses promised they would, while Dapple Gray and Tinkle’s mother ran as fast as they could across the meadow. They wanted to get to the long lane which led to the barn, not far from which was the house where lived “The Man,” as the horses called Mr. John Carter, the stock dealer.
“How are we going to tell him that Tinkle and the others are in the mire?” asked the pony’s mother. “We can’t talk man-talk, you know.”
“Yes, I know,” said Dapple Gray. “But I guess I can find a way to make him understand. I know what I’ll do,” he said, as he galloped on. “I’ll pick up a piece of rope in the barn and take it to The Man in my teeth. He’ll know that means we want him to bring other ropes and get the horses out of the swamp.”
“I hope he will understand,” said Tinkle’s mother.
“Oh, I think he will,” replied Dapple Gray, hopefully.