Being pretty hungry, I nibbled away at it until a groan from Queen startled me. "Ain't you any better?" queried Julie. "No, I am shaking so I can hardly stand; how I do wish I had a blanket!"
"Wonder he don't see to rubbing us down," I said.
"Rubbing us down!" Julie spoke with scorn. "Unless Master comes out himself, as he generally does, there'll be no rubbing down to-night. About daylight they'll come around with an old currycomb and all but take the skin off us, along with the mud that will be formed out of the sweat and dust that ought to be rubbed off to-night."
"Oh, I wish Master would come!" moaned Queen; "I am almost burning up now."
"Got fever," remarked her mate, who seemed to have been around the world a good deal and grown used to everything.
After what seemed an age, a light flashed into the barn and two strange horses were tied in the next stalls. The same man led them. After throwing them some hay he came into my stall.
"Here, you fool, why don't you eat your hay, not muss over it?" he cried angrily, pushing it together with one hand while with the other he dealt me a blow across the nose. It was the first blow that I had ever received, and it hurt me in more ways than one. Just then a boy came in with a peck measure of oats.
"There hain't none o' these critters tetched their hay hardly; 'nd their boss hez gone to bed sick, so I guess we'll 'conomize on the oats till mornin'."
"All right."