gained his feet and, with a glance at the last
figure remaining at the fire, took off his boots
and rolled up in his blanket. For a long moment
je stared curiously at the other bowed in thought.

"Ain't you goin' to turn in?" he finally inquired.
"You ain't et up by nothin', be you?"

The lean man slowly lifted his head. "I was
thinkin'," he said, half to himself, "of a -- a kind
of horse's prayer I once see in a harness-shop in
Albuquerque."

The other twisted himself under his blanket.
"How did it go?" he asked, encouragingly. "Let's
all have it!"

The lean man arose. '"To thee, my master,'
it started off," he began, moving slowly toward
his blanket. Suddenly he paused. "I -- I don't
just seem to remember it all," he said, and sat
down and pulled off one of his boots. He held
it in his hands absently.

The Professor urged him on. "Let her come,"
he said, his face now hidden in the folds of his
covering. "Shoot it -- let's hear."

"'To thee, my master, I offer my prayer,'" I
presently continued the other, turning reflective
eyes toward the flickering coals. "'Feed me,
water me, care for me, and, when the -- the day's
work is done, provide me with shelter and a clean,
dry bed, and, when you can, a stall wide enough
for me to lie down in in comfort. Always be
kind to me. Talk to me -- your voice often means
as much to me as the reins. Pet me sometimes,
that I may serve you the more gladly and know

[[225]]

p224 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p225w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p226

v?