Reuben Smith was the man in charge of the stables while Mr. York was away. He was very good at his job. He was gentle with horses. He knew how to fix their health problems. Everyone liked him, and the horses liked him too.
But Reuben Smith had one big problem. He loved to drink alcohol. Sometimes he stayed sober for months. But then he would start drinking again. When he was drunk, he was a different person. He lost his job once because he was too drunk to drive. But the Earl gave him another chance.
In April, Colonel Blantyre had to leave. Reuben Smith drove the carriage to the town. I was the horse for the journey. At the station, the Colonel said goodbye. He told Reuben Smith to take good care of me. Reuben Smith rode me to a hotel called the White Lion.
Reuben Smith told the hostler (a man who takes care of horses at a hotel) to feed me. One of my shoes had a loose nail. The hostler saw it at four o'clock. But Reuben Smith was not there. He was with some old friends. He was drinking.
Reuben Smith finally came back at nine o'clock. He was very drunk. He was in a bad temper. The hostler told him about the loose nail. But Reuben Smith did not care. He shouted at the man. Then he jumped on my back and made me gallop.
The roads were very stony. Because we were going fast, my shoe fell off. If Reuben Smith was sober, he would notice. But he was too drunk. He hit me with his whip. He made me run faster on the sharp stones. My foot without a shoe hurt very much.
The sharp stones cut my hoof. The pain was terrible. Finally, I stumbled and fell. Reuben Smith flew off my back. He hit the ground with a lot of force. I got up, but I was limping. The moon came up. I saw Reuben Smith on the ground.
He did not move. He made one loud sound of pain, and then he was quiet. I was in a lot of pain too. My knees were broken and my foot was bleeding. But horses do not cry. I just stood there in the dark and listened. I waited for help to come.
It was a quiet night. I thought about the long summer nights from my childhood. I remembered my mother and the green grass at Farmer Grey's. I was very far from that happy place now.