Patrick thought he would be gone only a few minutes, so he left Tinkle outside in the stable yard.
“I guess he will be all right until I come back,” said the coachman.
But it took longer to put up the salve than he had supposed, so he was nearly half an hour away from the barn. And there was no one in the house, for the cook and maid had also gone away on visits when the family left.
And in that half hour something happened. Two men drove a big, empty moving van down the street past the Farley house. In the side-yard was an old-fashioned pump and, seeing it, one of the men said:
“Let’s stop off and get a drink. It’s a hot day and I’m thirsty.”
“I am too,” said the other man.
They stopped the van in a side street near the stable yard, and pumped some water for themselves. Tinkle walked over near the fence and looked at the men, for he was a bit lonesome.
“That’s a fine pony,” said one of the men, wiping off the drops of water from his mustache.
“He sure is,” agreed the other. “Look at him making a bow; would you!”