g wrong with his mouth, and Mr. Wood turned back his
lips and examined it carefully. This he was able to do, for there were
large windows in the stable and it was as light as Mr. Wood's house was.

"No dark corners here, eh Joe!" said Mr. Wood, as he came out of the
stall and passed me to get a bottle from a shelf. "When this stable was
built, I said no dirt holes for careless men here. I want the sun to
shine in the corners, and I don't want my horses to smell bad smells,
for they hate them, and I don't want them starting when they go into
the light of day, just because they've been kept in a black hole of a
stable, and I've never had a. sick horse yet."

He poured something from a bottle into a saucer and went back to Pacer
with it. I followed him and stood outside. Mr. Wood seemed to be washing
a sore in the horse's mouth. Pacer winced a little, and Mr. Wood said:
"Steady, steady, my beauty; 'twill soon be over."

The horse fixed his intelligent eyes on his master and looked as if he
knew that he was trying to do him good.

"Just look at these lips, Joe," said Mr. Wood "delicate and fine like
our own, and yet there are brutes that will jerk them as if they were
made of iron. I wish the Lord would give horses voices just for one
week. I tell you they'd scare some of us. Now, Pacer, that's over. I'm
not going to dose you much, for I don't believe in it. If a horse has
got a serious trouble, get a good horse doctor, say I. If it's a simple
thing, try a simple remedy. There's been many a good horse drugged and
dosed to death. Well, Scamp, my beauty, how are you, this morning?"

In the stall next to Pacer, was a small, jet-black mare, with a lean
head, slender legs, and a curious restless manner. She was a regular
greyhound of a horse, no spare flesh, yet wiry and able to do a great
deal of work. She was a wicked looking little thing, so I thought I had
better keep at a safe distance from her heels.

Mr. Wood petted her a great deal and I saw that she was his favorite.
"Saucebox," he exclaimed, when she pretended to bite him, "you know if
you bite me, I'll bite back again. I think I've conquered you," he said,
proudly, as he stroked her glossy neck; "but what a dance you led me.
Do you remember how I bought you for a mere song, because you had a
bad habit of turning around like a flash in front of anything that
frightened you, and bolting off the other way? And how did I cure you,
my beauty? Beat you and make you stu