It was nearly midnight. I heard a horse’s feet far away. Sometimes the sound went away. Then it came closer. The road to Earlshall went through the woods. I hoped someone was looking for us.
The sound came very near. I knew the sound of the horse. It was Ginger. She was pulling a dog-cart (a small carriage with two wheels). I neighed loudly. Ginger neighed back to me. I heard men's voices.
The carriage stopped near Reuben Smith. A man named Robert jumped out. He looked at Reuben Smith on the ground. Robert said that Reuben Smith did not move.
The other man, Ned, looked at Reuben Smith too. Ned said Reuben Smith was dead. Reuben Smith's hands were cold. His hair was covered in blood. The men felt very sad.
Then the men looked at me. They saw my cut knees. They thought I fell and threw Reuben Smith off. They did not know about my lost shoe. They wondered why I stayed near the body for hours.
Robert tried to lead me forward. I took one step and almost fell. Robert saw my foot. He saw that my hoof was broken into pieces. He was very angry with Reuben Smith.
Robert knew that Reuben Smith was drunk. Only a drunk man would ride a horse on stones without a shoe. Robert felt sorry for Reuben Smith’s wife, Susan. Susan was very worried at home.
The men had a difficult job. They had to take the body and the horse home. Ned put Reuben Smith’s body into the carriage. Ginger stood very still. She was usually impatient, but she understood the trouble.
Ned drove the carriage away slowly. Robert tied a cloth around my foot. Then he led me home. It was a long walk of three miles. I walked with great pain. Robert was kind and spoke to me gently.
Finally, we reached my box. Robert gave me some food. He put wet cloths on my knees. He put a poultice (a soft, warm dressing for an injury) on my foot. I was in pain, but I fell asleep on the straw.
The next day, the horse-doctor looked at me. He said my knees would always have scars. The healing was long and painful. The doctor had to use strong medicine to fix the skin. Then he used a fluid to make the hair fall off.
There was an inquest (a meeting with a judge to find out why someone died). People from the hotel said Reuben Smith was drunk. The gatekeeper said he was riding too fast. The men found my shoe on the road. Everyone knew it was not my fault.
Everyone felt sorry for Susan. She cried for Reuben Smith. She said the drink killed him. Susan had six children and no home. They had to move to the Union House (a cold, sad home for very poor people).