"Humph!" said Julie, but Queen groaned and I felt like it.
Before morning of that wretched night I lay down; I could not help it, I was so tired, hungry and sad.
Sure enough, by daylight (or lantern light in that windowless barn) the man and boy were at us with currycombs as if we had had no more feeling than barn doors. Then we each had a meager portion of oats. Julie and I ate ours readily enough, but poor Queen was too ill.
When the man noticed this he swore a little, then lengthened her halter strap and ordered the boy to scatter some straw over the filth in all our stalls.
By and by Master came out looking wan and haggard in the dim light. "Poor girl!" he said, tenderly, running his fingers along the edge of Queen's jaw to the pulse.
"Mercy, Queenie, what a pulse—ninety!" Then he questioned the man as to his care of us, but never a word of truth he got in reply, but we could not tell.
"Lead her out into the daylight," Dr. Dick ordered, adding: "Haven't you a lot or yard where all my horses can be turned in for awhile?"
The man demurred, but Master soon brought the landlord and we were taken out into the sunlight. So busy was the former administering a dose of aconite to Queen that he did not at first notice me, but when he did an angry ejaculation escaped his lips as he pointed to my side. I was astonished, too, when I saw instead of my spotless coat, a great yellow stain.
"Is that the kind of beds you provide?" he cried, turning to the landlord.
"I am sure there seemed to be clean straw in the stalls," the latter replied, "I'll ask the man."