Bunty unharnessed the horse, leaving the bridle, to the bit of which he fastened a rope. Rex looked the horse over dubiously. It was rather a formidable order for one who had never been on a horse.
‘C’mere and I’ll give yuh a leg,’ ordered Bunty.
‘I shall probably need an extra one,’ said Rex, who was not without a sense of humor, even if he did not understand what Bunty meant.
But he managed to get on, almost falling off the other side, as the horse twisted nervously.
‘Give him his head,’ grunted Bunty. ‘Don’t yank! Keep on the road and yuh can’t miss the town. And tell ’em to come, and quick as they can.’
‘Yes, sir,’ said Rex politely, as he rode away, keeping a tight rein on the animal.
After the first shock of being on the horse, he began to rather enjoy the sensation. He thumped the animal with his heels, and was almost unseated when the horse jerked ahead quickly.
‘That is what makes them go,’ decided Rex, wishing it was daylight instead of darkness.
It seemed rather lonesome until some coyotes started yapping from the side of a hill, which cheered Rex up a little. He thought they were dogs.
But Bunty Smith had made a mistake in not explaining to Rex that there were other roads, which might confuse a man who knew as little about roads as Rex did. It was too dark for Rex to tell one road from another, and when the horse stopped at the forks of a road, Rex didn’t know just what to do.