--or something."

She was secretly relieved that her swatter plan had not been accepted,
for she had a marked aversion to killing flies. Indeed many a royal
battle had she waged with Winnie over the matter of killing flies that
found their way into the house; Sarah, left alone, would slowly and
painfully have captured each fly alive and unharmed and given him his
freedom via the front door.

"Horses sometimes wear nets--or they used to when they were used for
driving," explained Richard, beginning to pound the wheel in place.
"As a horse ran or trotted, the net hobbled up and down and was
supposed to keep the flies off; that wouldn't be any use when a horse
is walking slowly around a field. A blanket would keep them away from
Solomon, of course, but he'd die with the heat."

"I'll invent something for him," said Sarah comfortably.

"Where are the other girls?" asked Richard hastily.

A few weeks' acquaintance with Sarah had already taught him the
expediency of keeping her in action. Sarah on the move might do some
very startling things but a contemplative Sarah presented possibilities
that were limitless.

"Hugh came and took Rosemary and Shirley with him," answered the small
girl balancing on the fence. "I didn't want to go. I don't like
automobiles much. When I grow up, I'm going to have a hundred horses
and pigs and cows and everything."

"That'll be fine," Richard approved. "There now, I think that will
work. Have to be moving on, Sarah; you going to wait for me to come
round again?"

"No, that isn't any fun," said Sarah with more frankness than
politeness. "Guess I'll go out to the orchard."

"Don't go through the upper field," commanded Richard, gathering up the
lines.

Sarah scrambled down from the fence and reached for Solomon's glossy
black tail.

"Why not?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because Mr. Hildreth turned the old ram out to pasture there this
morning, that's why," said Richard. "Here, what are you trying to do?"

Sarah had grasped a handful of the horse's tail and was pulling on it
wildly. Old Solomon turned his head around and stared at her
reproachfully.

"I want to get enough hairs to make a ring," explained Sarah. "The
washwoman is going to show me how next time she comes, but she said I
had to get the hair."

"How many do you think you need?" said Richard, laughing as he released
the tail from the covetous clutch of the small fingers. "You won't
want more than half a