t an animal not
bein' able to look a man in the eyes, an' I never saw the wild animal
'at could; but I've seen three man-eatin' stallions in my time 'at
could look clear to your liver, an' a bulldog can do it too.

First off he tried to bite, but I got him a shoulder-blow right on the
nose. It made him wink, an' he reared an' struck at me with his front
hoofs. I ducked to the left an' the minute his hoofs came down I
slipped thumb an' forefinger into his nostrils, an' tried to jerk his
head around to the right; but I'd thrown him once before that way an'
he was too quick. He threw up his head before I could grip his mane
with my left, an' a reachin' kick with his right hind foot tore my vest
away.

He floundered me around consid'able for a spell, but at last in tryin'
to jam me against the wall I got hold of his mane. I braced my feet
against the wall an' liftin' myself, I got his ear in my mouth an' I
bit it. It was a trick I'd learned from ol' Monody, an' I sure bit hard
an' close to the head. For mighty nigh a minute he stood it fightin',
an' then he give a groan. He hadn't had a sniff of air through his nose
since I'd grabbed it, an' he wasn't no bulldog, he was a satin-skinned
thoroughbred, an' he couldn't stand the anguish in his ear.

He groaned an' then he shivered an' then of a sudden I let go his ear,
jerked his head around to the right, pulled up his left front foot with
my left hand an' heaved with my shoulder. Down he went an' as he fell I
leaped across him, an' put my weight on his head. Then I took my
fingers out of his nose an' patted him.

I hate to whip a hoss, I hate to break the pride of any livin'
creature; but when I start in to do it I don't just pester him. I wait
until I have good reason an' then I convince him--whether he's able to
live through it or not. I stroked old Pluto's ears an' nose, all the
time murmurin' to him, an' durin' the murmurin' I told the boys to file
out. I never shame nobody in front of anybody if the' 's any other way
round.

Well, Pluto was drippin' with sweat an' havin' his bit ear rubbed was
mighty soothin' to him. We all like a lot of babyin' after we've been
hurt, whether we own up to it or not, an' Pluto wasn't any exception to
the rule. After a while I explained everything to him an' told him that
if he'd just act like a human bein', he'd be treated like a king; but
if he wanted to carry on like some savage varmint we'd have to remove
his hide an inch at a tim