so did Sally. I didn't see
theirs, but I could guess what they said, and I could trust Sally to
praise Jim. Still, all the praises in the world wouldn't reconcile
Mother to what I was going to do. I could hear her saying: "Who _is_
he?" And I was sure she would add, "How much has he got?" But whatever
happened, we were not going to give each other up.

Jim had promised Mr. Trowbridge to pronounce judgment on a horse which
he thought of buying, and the man who wanted to sell the creature
brought it to the farm about eleven o'clock. Sally had come, to tell
about the letter she had just posted to Mother, and Jim was in the
sitting room writing his. I think he had forgotten about the horse,
until Mr. Trowbridge appeared, looking rather excited.

"Say, Jim," he exclaimed, "Jake Jacobsen's here with the horse. He's
round by the barn now, and you might as well have a look at it; but
it's an awful brute, and I ain't going to take it, at any price."

"What's the matter with the horse?" asked Jim, sealing up his letter,
and looking interested.

"It's mad crazy, that's all; but it's enough for me. I thought there
must be something wrong for Jake to be offering it at the price he did.
He led it here, and you just ought to have seen the brute dance and
make ugly eyes when first Albert and then I tried to get astride of it.
Jake swears the only reason he'll sell cheap is because his wife has
taken a dislike to the horse, and what she says, goes with him. He's
ready to bet anything the animal's as mild as a lamb, only a bit
frisky, and certainly it's as handsome a beast as I ever laid eyes on.
But he'll have to get rid of it at the fair."

"I'll come," said Jim, getting up.

I jumped up too.

"Oh, please don't have anything to do with such a vicious creature," I
begged. "You might be killed."

Jim laughed. "The horse isn't sired that could kill me, I reckon. I
know them too well. Why, little girl, I was brought up among horses.
You can trust me not to run too big risks, now I've got something to
make life worth living."

Stan has often told me that men hate girls to fuss over them, so I bit
my lip and didn't tease any more, but I was far from happy. I didn't
like the look in his eyes.

"May Sally and I go and see the horse with you?" I meekly asked.

"I'll ride him up to the house, if I find he's worth your seeing," Jim
said. "But you mustn't worry if we don't come this way for awhile. I
may have to work with him a bit