ok at his own horse--a good
look--and if I'd been a fellow that painted pictures, and that kind of
thing, I could draw a middlin' good likeness of him now.

By George! how fond I am of a good horse--a real well-bred clinker. I'd
never have been here if it hadn't been for that, I do believe; and many
another Currency chap can say the same--a horse or a woman--that's about
the size of it, one or t'other generally fetches us. I shall never put
foot in stirrup again, but I'll try and scratch out a sort of likeness
of Rainbow.

He was a dark bay horse, nearly brown, without a white hair on him. He
wasn't above 15 hands and an inch high, but looked a deal bigger than
he was, for the way he held his head up and carried himself. He was deep
and thick through behind the shoulders, and girthed ever so much more
than you'd think. He had a short back, and his ribs went out like a
cask, long quarter, great thighs and hocks, wonderful legs, and feet of
course to do the work he did. His head was plainish, but clean and bony,
and his eye was big and well opened, with no white showing. His shoulder
was sloped back that much that he couldn't fall, no matter what
happened his fore legs. All his paces were good too. I believe he could
jump--jump anything he was ridden at, and very few horses could get the
better of him for one mile or three.

Where he'd come from, of course, we were not to know then. He had a
small private sort of brand that didn't belong to any of the big studs;
but he was never bred by a poor man. I afterwards found out that he was
stolen before he was foaled, like many another plum, and his dam killed
as soon as she had weaned him. So, of course, no one could swear to him,
and Starlight could have ridden past the Supreme Court, at the assizes,
and never been stopped, as far as this horse was concerned.

Before we went away father and Starlight had some terrible long talks,
and one evening Jim came to me, and says he--

'What do you think they're up to now?'

'How should I know? Sticking up a bank, or boning a flock of maiden ewes
to take up a run with? They seem to be game for anything. There'll be a
hanging match in the family if us boys don't look out.'

'There's no knowing,' says Jim, with a roguish look in his eye (I didn't
think then how near the truth I was), 'but it's about a horse this
time.'

'Oh! a horse; that alters the matter. But what's one horse to make such
a shine about?'

'Ah, that's the poin