front end with a great flourish. The poor horses
were much dejected, and stood with their heads down. They had
eaten but little of the hay. Water was what they wanted.

"We must hitch up and go on without waiting for breakfast," I
said to Ollie. "It can't be far to water now, and they must have
some. Jack can be cooking the grouse in the wagon."

So we were soon under way, keeping a sharp lookout, for any
signs of a house or stream of water. We had gone five or six
miles, and were descending into a little valley, when there came
a loud whinny from Old Blacky. Sure enough, at the foot of the
hill was a stream of water. The pony ran toward it on a gallop,
and as soon as we could unhitch the others they joined her. They
all waded in, and drank till we feared they would never be able
to wade out again. Then they stood taking little sips, and
letting their lips rest just on the surface and blinking
dreamily. We knew that they stood almost as much in need of food
as of water, as they had had nothing but the hay since the noon
before. There was a field of corn half a mile away, on a
side-hill, but no house in sight.

"I'm going after some of that corn," I said to the others.
"If I can't find the owner to buy it, then I'll help myself."

I mounted the pony and rode away. There was still no house in
sight at the field, and I filled a sack and returned. The horses
went at their breakfast eagerly. But twice during the meal they
stopped and plunged in the brook and took other long drinks; and
at the end Old Blacky lay down in a shallow place and rolled, and
came out looking like a drowned rat.

In the meantime Jack had got the grouse ready, and we ate it
about as ravenously as the horses did their corn. We had just
finished, and were talking about going, when a tall man on a
small horse almost covered with saddle rode up, and began to talk
cheerfully on various topics. After a while he said:

[Illustration: The Careful Corn Owner]

"Well, boys, was that good corn?"

We all suspected the truth instantly.

"He did it!" exclaimed Jack, pointing at me. "He did it all
alone. We're going to give him up to the authorities at the next
town."

The man laughed, and said: "Don't do it. He may reform."

There seemed to be but one thing to do, so I said: "It was
your corn, I suppose. Our only excuse is that we were out of
corn. Tell us how much it is, and we'll pay you for it."

"Not a cent," answered th