The landlord rose again and scrutinized the horse's legs. “I don't know as I ever noticed 't he'd capped his hock before.”
“Didn't you?”
“Done it kickin' nights, I guess.”
“I guess so.”
The landlord drew the whip lightly across the colt's rear; he shrank together, and made a little spring forward, but behaved perfectly well.
“I don't know as I should always be sure he wouldn't kick in the daytime.”
“No,” said Bartley, “you never can be sure of anything.”
They drove along in silence. At last the landlord said, “Well, he aint so fast as I supposed.”
“He's not so fast a horse as some,” answered Bartley.
The landlord leaned over sidewise for an inspection of the colt's action forward. “Haint never thought he had a splint on that forward off leg?”