aybe it's your neck is broke, or your thigh, or
your collar-bone at least. He 'll give you a straight plunge up in the
air, about ten feet high, throw his head forward till he either pulls
the reins out of your hands or lifts you out of the saddle, and at the
same moment he'll give you a blow with his hind-quarters in the small of
the back. Och, murther!' said he, placing both hands upon his loins, and
writhing as he spoke, 'it'll be six weeks to-morrow since he made one of
them buck-leaps with me, and I never walked straight since. But that is
not all.'

'Come, come,' said I impatiently, 'this is all nonsense; he only wants a
man with a little pluck to bully him out of all this.'

As I said these valorous words I own that to my own heart I didn't
exactly correspond to the person I described; but as the bottle of port
was now finished, I set forth with my companion to pay my first visit to
this redoubted animal.

The mill where the stable lay was about a mile from the town; but the
night was a fine moonlight one, with not an air of wind stirring, and
the walk delightful When we reached the little stream that turned the
mill, over which a plank was thrown as a bridge, we perceived that a
country lad was walking a pair of saddle-horses backwards and forwards
near the spot. The suspicion of some trickery, some tampering with the
horse, at once crossed me; and I hinted as much to the groom.

'No, no,' said he, laughing, 'make your mind easy about that. Mr. Ulick
Burke knows the horse well, and he'll leave it all to himself.'

The allusion was a pleasant one; but I said nothing, and walked on.

Having procured a lantern at the mill, the groom preceded me to the
little outhouse, which acted as stable. He opened the door cautiously,
and peeped in.

'He's lying down,' said he to me in a whisper, and at the same moment
taking the candle from the lantern, he held it up to permit my obtaining
a better view. 'Don't be afeard,' continued he, 'he 'll not stir
now, the thief of the earth! When once he's down that way, he lies as
peaceable as a lamb.'

As well as I could observe him, he was a magnificent horse--a little too
heavy perhaps about the crest and forehand, but then so strong behind,
such powerful muscle about the haunches, that his balance was well
preserved. As I stood contemplating him in silence, I felt the breath of
some one behind me. I turned suddenly around; it was Father Tom Loftus
himself. There was the wor