She put her hand on Cloudy's neck like to tell him how it was "too bad the trail stopped short that way" but she never got to say the words—The feel of the sweat and lather that covered the horse left her dumb, and then she noticed how hard he was breathing.
The thrill of the run had turned to sudden worry and fear for what she might of done, and another sort of excitement took a holt of her as she realized and then wondered what to do. She stepped away from the horse and wide eyed looked at him, she'd never seen a horse shake and quiver all over like that one was doing, he seemed like hardly able to stand up, rocked back and forth like he was going to keel over any minute. Cloudy was "jiggered"[7] and his staggering scared her all the more. She must do something, and quick.
The first thing that came to her was to try and cool him off before, as she figgered, he fainted from being overheated. She tore at the saddle and worked at the latigos till it was loosened, then she pulled it off and with the blanket throwed it to the ground. Steam raised off the pony's back, and at the sight of that the girl got excited all the more. Then she spotted the mountain stream below and just a little ways.
She led the horse careful and over to it, and then, thinking steady of quick ways to cool the horse off, she figgered it a good idea to lead him in the water and where it was the deepest. She skipped from boulder to boulder till finally a place was found where the water came up above the pony's knees, and there she let him stand, while with her cupped hands she splashed the cold snow water on his chest, shoulders, and back.
A half an hour or so of that, and the horse at last quit quivering, showed signs that he was cooled off and got his breath all o. k. again. After a while he drank, and then drank some more, and the girl watching him felt sure that the worst was over and that the horse was saved. She smiled, petted him on the neck, and felt relieved at the natural way he'd got to acting again.
The sun was hitting for the tall peaks to the west when the girl finally decided Cloudy was all right again and fit to start back. He was good and dry by then and felt cool; she'd kept him in the shade all the while, and being that mountain shade is not at all warm at that time of the year, the old pony was near shivering from the cold by the time the girl led him back to the saddle and put it on him again.
The ride back to the stable was like a funeral march as compared with the one starting out, the horse was kept on a slow walk all the way, and every care was taken by the girl so that only the easiest trail was followed; she worried as she rode along and noticed that the horse didn't seem to be the same as before, his step wasn't so sure and he'd stumble when there was nothing on the ground for him to stumble on, and then he'd sway like he was weak.
It was away after dark when finally the stable was reached, the stable man was there and waiting, and greeting the young lady with a smile he asked:
"Did you water Cloudy before you left?"
"No," says the girl, "but I watered him on the mountain where I turned to come back."