Talk of kicking! Why don't you put one foot before the other now
and then when you're in the cab? The abuse master gets for your
sake is quite shameful. No decent horse would bring it on him.
Depend upon it, Ruby, no cabman likes to be abused any more than
his fare. But his fares, at least when you are between the
shafts, are very much to be excused. Indeed they are."
"Well, you see, Diamond, I don't want to go lame again."
"I don't believe you were so very lame after all -- there!"
"Oh, but I was."
"Then I believe it was all your own fault. I'm not lame. I
never was lame in all my life. You don't take care of your legs.
You never lay them down at night. There you are with your huge
carcass crushing down your poor legs all night long. You don't
even care for your own legs -- so long as you can eat, eat, and
sleep, sleep. You a horse indeed!"
"But I tell you I was lame."
"I'm not denying there was a puffy look about your
off-pastern. But my belief is, it wasn't even grease -- it was
fat."
"I tell you I put my foot on one of those horrid stones
they make the roads with, and it gave my ankle such a twist."
"Ankle indeed! Why should you ape your betters? Horses
ain't got any ankles: they're only pasterns.
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