Bred of the Desert: A Horse and a Romance

by Charles M. Horton

  CHAPTER IX

  THE SECOND GREAT LESSON

  Next morning Pat, imprisoned in a tiny stable, tried to get out bythrusting his head against the door. But the door would not give. Alonein semi-darkness, therefore, he spent the day. Twice a Mexican youthcame to feed and water him, but always the quantity was insufficient,and always the boy carefully locked the door after him. Because of this,together with the poor ventilation, Pat became irritable. He longed forthe freedom of the big corral--its sunlight, the visits of hismistress--but these were steadfastly denied him. And so through anothernight and another day, until he became well-nigh distracted. He stampedthe floor, fought flies, dozed, dreamed strange dreams, stamped thefloor again. After three days of this, sounds outside told him of thereturn of man and horses. But not till the next morning, and then quitelate, was he released from the odious confinement.

  Felipe bustled in, all eager for business. He drove his recentacquisition out into the corral and set to work harnessing one of theteam--the mate of the aged mare. When she was bridled and standing inthe trail in front of his empty wagon, he hurriedly returned to the newhorse, placed a bridle upon his head, led him forth, and swung him closebeside the other horse. He winced just a little at the incongruity ofthe team, though he did not let it delay him. He picked up the half ofthe harness and tossed it over the mare's back. Then he caught up theother half, and, preparing to toss it upon the black, began tostraighten out deep and unexpected tangles.

  "Well, you black devil," he began, as he twisted and turned themuch-bepatched harness, "you doin' soom work now! All you' life youhavin' mooch good times! Eet is not for thee fun thot you live, youknow?" he went on, academically, continuing to disentangle the harness."Eet is for thee work thot you live! Work--thot's thee answer!" Then,having straightened the harness at last, with a grunt of satisfaction hetossed it lightly up.

  Instantly there was wild commotion. With a kick and a plunge the horseflung off the harness.

  Felipe stood dumfounded. It had never occurred to him that the horse wasnot broken to harness. Horses reared as this one evidently had beenreared ought certainly to be educated to all kinds of service. Yet thishorse evidently was not. He scratched his head in perplexity. To break ahorse to harness was no child's play, as he well knew. To break a horseof this character to harness, as he well understood also, was a taskthat required exceptional patience and hardihood. What should he do?There was his constant press for money. The aged mare having almostdropped in the trail the evening before, was unfit for toil, and tobreak a horse to harness meant loss of time, and, as every one knows,loss of time meant loss of money. So what should he do? He was utterlyat a loss.

  Striding to the doorstep, he sat down and regarded the horse withmalevolent disgust. After a time, jerking off his hat savagely, he burstout into a thundering tirade.

  "You black devil! You haf give me more trouble than anyt'ing I haf everown--chickens, burro, pigs, horses, money--money, even--money I haf owethot robber Pedro! First you haf run away thot time! Then you haf mek mesteal you out of thot place couple days before! And now"--he suddenlyleaped to his feet--"now you haf mek me break you to thees wagon andharness!" He advanced to the startled horse and brandished his fist."But I break you!" he snarled--"I break you like a horse never was brokebefore! And--and if I don' break you--if you don' do what I haf say--Ibreak every bone inside!" With this he began feverishly to peel off hiscoat.

  And this is the lot of the dumb. Merely for not knowing what a manbelieved he should know, Pat was to be humiliated, was to be punishedfar beyond justice and decency. And because he was a horse abnormallyhighstrung and sensitive, this punishment was to be doubly cruel. To hima blow was more painful than to the average horse, even as a word ofkindness sank deeper and remained longer to soften his memory. On hismaternal side he was the offspring of native stock, but he was bloodedto the last least end of him, and while from his mother he had inheritedhis softer traits, like his affection for those who showed affection forhim, it was from his sire, unknown though he was, that he inherited analmost human spirit of rebellion when driven by lash or harsh word, andalso the strength to exercise it. In the face of these qualities, then,he was to be broken to harness and a wagon by a man!

  Felipe lost little time in preparation. He set out through thesettlement, his destination a distant and kindly neighbor. He moved at astride so vigorous that the good townspeople, roused by the rarespectacle of a man in a hurry, interrupted their passive loafing besidewell and in doorway, and turned wondering eyes after him. But if theireyes showed wonderment at his going, on his return they showed amazementand a kind of horror. For Felipe, acting for once in the capacity ofwork-horse, was straining along at the end of a huge wagon-tongueaffixed to a crude and mastodonic axle which in turn supported twomonolithic cart-wheels. It was a device by which he meant to break thehorse to harness, and, perspiring freely, and swearing even more freely,he dragged it shrieking for grease through the settlement, really atwork, but work which was not to be admired. Reaching the clearing infront of his house, he dropped the heavy tongue and whipped out a redhandkerchief with a sigh of relief. Also, as he wiped away theperspiration on his forehead and neck and arms, he turned baleful eyesupon the innocent cause of his toil.

  "You black devil!" he growled, after a moment. "I feex you now--bet you'life! And you can keeck--and keeck and keeck! You don' worry thees cartmooch! You black devil!"

  Then he became active again. He strode back into the corral, sought outan old harness and a huge collar, and dragged them forward into thetrail. Flinging them aside in the direction of the cart, he then turnedto the mare, removed the work-harness from her, and led her intoposition before the warlike vehicle. Again perspiring freely, but losingno breath now in abusive talk, he quickly harnessed her up and thenstrode forward to the black. After eying him narrowly a moment, heseized his bridle and led him back alongside the mare, where heproceeded nervously to harness him.

  "We see now," he began, as he picked up the massive collar. "You canstond still--thot's right! And maybe you can take thees t'ing--we see!"

  The collar was much too large for workaday use, but it was not too largefor this purpose. Its very size gave it freedom to pass over the headwithout the usual twisting and turning. Nor did the horse rebel when itwas so placed--a fact which gave Felipe much relief, since he nowbelieved that he would not have the trouble he had anticipated. Also,with the collar in position, he was but a moment in adjusting the hames,making fast the bottom strap, and hooking the tugs securely. Witheverything in readiness he then caught up the reins and the whip, andstepped away to begin the real work of breaking.

  "_Haya!_" he cried, and touched up the off-horse. She startedforward, as always with this command from her master. But she did not gofar.

  Pat was the cause of the delay. Understanding neither the contraption athis heels, nor the word of command from the man, he held himselfmotionless and pleasantly uninterested, gazing slowly about at thelandscape. Nor did he offer to move when the man cut him viciously withthe whip. The lash pitted his tender flesh and hurt mightily; but eventhough he now understood what was required of him, he only becamestubborn--bracing his legs and flattening his ears, forcefully resistingthe counter efforts of the mare beside him.

  And this was his nature. Long before he had demonstrated that he wouldnot be governed by a whip. That day in the Richardses' corral, when hewas broken to saddle, cruelty alone would never have conquered him.Cruelty there had been, and much of it; but with the cruelty there hadbeen other things--evidence of affection at the right moment, both inhis mistress and in the men about him, and these, coupled with quickunderstanding, had made the breaking a success. And had there beenevidence of kindness now, somewhere revealed early by this man, Patmight have drawn the cart as the straining mate at his side wasattempting to draw it. But there was no evidence of kindness, and as aresult he remained stubborn and wilful, standing braced and trembling,true in every particular to the spirit of his forebears.


  Nor was Felipe less true to the spirit within himself. Infuriated,uncompromising, believing this to be merely the cussedness natural withthe native horses, he abandoned all hope of instant success and gave wayto brutality. Dropping the reins and reversing the whip in his hands, hebegan to beat the horse unmercifully, bringing the heavy butt down againand again, each mighty thwack echoing down the canyon. The result wasinevitable. The horse began to kick--straight back at first, then,finding his hoofs striking the cart, he swung sideways to the tongue andkicked straight out. This last was sudden, and narrowly missed Felipe,who leaped to one side. Then, unable to reach the horse with the butt,he reversed the whip again and resumed his first torture, that ofpitting the legs of the horse with the lash.

  "Keeck!" he snarled, continuing to swing the whip. "Keeck! Keeck! I cankeeck, too!" He swung his arm till it ached, when he stopped.

  Whereupon the horse settled down. But his eyes were ablaze and he wastrembling all over. Also, while undoubtedly suffering added distressfrom the taut and binding traces, he continued to stand at right anglesto the mare--head high, nostrils quivering, mouth adrip with whiteslaver--until the spirit of rebellion appeared to grip him afresh. Witha convulsive heave he moved again, making another quarter turn, whichbrought him clear of the tongue and facing the vehicle. Then he set up anervous little prancing, whisking his tail savagely, now and againlifting his heels as if to strike. That was all. He gained no groundforward, nor did it appear as if he would ever move forward.

  "You--you--" began Felipe, then subsided, evidently too wrathful forwords. And he remained silent, gazing wearily toward the settlement, asthough about to call assistance.

  The stillness was heavy and portentous. Both horses were motionless.Felipe continued silent. Off toward the settlement all was still.Overhead, the early-morning sky pressed low, spotless and shimmering,brooding. Around and about, the flies seemed to stop buzzing. Everywherelurked the quiet. The earth appeared bowed in humiliation, hushed inprayer as for the unfortunate one, while up and down the trail, baskingin world-old light, lay dust of centuries, smug and contented in itsquiescence. All nature was still, gripped in tense quiet.

  The crack of a whip broke it. Felipe, suddenly bestirring himself, hadsprung forward and dealt the horse a blow with the butt. Across thenose, it had sounded hollow and distant; and the horse, whipping up hishead in surprised pain, now turned upon the man a look at once sorrowfuland terrible, a look which spelled death and destruction. Nor did heonly look. With a strange outcry, shrill and piercing, awaking thecanyon in unnatural echoes, he whirled in his harness and reared, reareddespite his harness, and struck out with venomous force. It was quick asa lightning flash, but, quick as it was, Felipe avoided it. And it wasfortunate that he did. Terror-stricken and dropping the whip, he sped tothe rear, to a point behind the cart, and there turned amazed eyes atthe pirouetting horse.

  What manner of horse was this, he asked himself. Could it be that thishorse, black as night, was truly of the lower regions? Certainly helooked it, balancing there on his hind legs, with his reddened eyes andinflamed nostrils! And--But what was this? From the corral had come ashrill nicker, the voice of the aged mare. But that was not it! With theoutcry, seemingly an answer to the black's maddened outcry, the blackdropped to all-fours again, turning quick ears and eyes in the directionof the sound! What manner of horse was this, anyway? Never before had heseen such a horse! He felt himself go limp.

  There is a call in nature that sounds for life against death. It is acall put forth in innumerable different tongues around the world, and itsounds somewhere every second of the day and darkness--through jungles,across swamps, down mountains, over plains, out of valleys. It is a cryof warning, a cry to disarm foes. It is an outcry of good as againstevil--the squawk of a hen to her chicks, the bleat of a sheep to herlambs, the grunt of a sow to her sucklings, the bellow of a cow to hercalf, the purr of a cat to her kittens, the whine of a dog to herpuppies, the drum of a partridge to her young. A cry from the heart tothe heart, an appeal of flesh to its own flesh, it is the world-oldmother-call.

  And the horse heard this call. He probably did not recognize in it acall of the mother-heart, any more than it was possible for the agedmare to recognize in his outcry the voice of her own flesh. What he didhear, no doubt, was the voice of a friend, one who understood andpitied, and would help if it could help. At any rate, he stood verystill, seemingly grateful for the evidence of a champion, seeminglyanxious that it sound again. But it did not sound again. Yet he made nofurther effort to give battle. He held to his attitude of intentlistening, ears cocked forward and eyes straining and tail at rest,until Felipe, stung into action by an idea wrought out of all this,hastened out from behind the cart and away in the direction of thecorral. At sight of him the horse became restless again, squaringhimself once more to the mare, stamping his feet and champing his bitnervously. He seemed to lose all recollection of the outcry, all thepeace it had engendered within him. Of such are the kingdom of the dumb.

  Possessed by his idea, an idea so brilliant that he himself marveled,Felipe was not long in putting it to test. He hurriedly bridled the agedmare and led her out into the trail. He placed her alongside theblack--for reasons which, had the _compadre_ Franke been present,Felipe might have suggested with a crafty wink--then hastily began tounhitch the team-mate. And it was just here that he proved hisforesight. In the work of unhitching the mate, he should haveencountered, and had expected, trouble from the black. But he did not.The mare sounded another friendly nicker when arranged beside him, andthe black, pricking up his ears sharply, turned to her and proceeded toestablish his friendship by licking her. So Felipe did not meet withdifficulty from that direction; nor did he have trouble in the directionof the team-mate herself. She seemed glad to be relieved from herunsuccessful task, and Felipe, glad to relieve her in the light of hisbrilliant idea, led her off to one side quickly, then returned and swungthe old mare into her place. He hitched her up, picked up the reins andwhip, and set about with his test.

  "We see now," he began, his voice quiet and encouraging. "Maybe you workwit' thee old woman! We see!" And he gave a low command.

  With the command Pat started forward, urged to it by the agedmare--pulling more than his share of the load. Perhaps it was due to herpresence; perhaps to the note of kindness in Felipe's voice. At anyrate, he moved, and he moved forward, and he moved with a steady pull.Yet he did not proceed far. Though he did not stop through rebellion. Itwas simply to renew his attentions to the old mare. He began to caressher as if he really recognized in this rack of an animal his own lostmother. But recognition, of course, was impossible. Long before, theonly source of recognition, appeal made through digestive organs, haddisappeared. Nevertheless, he lavished upon her unwonted affection untilFelipe gently but firmly urged him forward again. Then again heproceeded, pulling all of the load this time, bringing about a slack inthe traces of the mare and a consequent bumping of her hind legs againstthe cart which seemed to awaken some of her dying spirit.

  Up and down the trail they moved, the mare sedately, the horse actively,prancing gaily, appearing to take gleeful pleasure in his task, untilFelipe, kindled with elation and pride, decided to drive on into thesettlement and there become the object of covetous eyes. Therefore heurged the team forward to a point in front of the general store, wherein lordly composure sat Pedro, occupying his customary seat on an emptykeg on the porch. At sight of him Felipe's joy leaped to the heavens,and he pulled up the team, ostensibly to adjust a forward buckle, but inreality to afford Pedro an uninterrupted view of the beautiful black.Moving forward to the head of the horses, he watched out of the tail ofhis eye Pedro's lazy survey of the team.

  "Where you got thot horse?" inquired Pedro, after a long moment, as heslowly removed a cigarette from between his lips. "I mean," he added,"where you haf _steal_ thot _caballo_?"

  Felipe winced. But he did not immediately retort. He carried out hisbluff, unbuckling and buckling one of the straps, then mildlystraightened up
and faced the man.

  "Pedro," he began, tensely, "you haf know--Jose, Juan, Manuel,Francisco, Carlotta--all haf know--thot eet is only one t'ief in allthees place! And thot man--thot t'ief--is Pedro Garcia!"

  Pedro grunted. "Where you haf steal thot horse?" he repeated, withoutshow of anger. "You can give me thot horse," he continued, placidly."You haf owe me mooch money. I take thot horse for payment--everyt'ing.You give thot _caballo_ to me."

  Felipe turned to the team. "I give you one keeck in thee belly!" heroared. Then he touched up the horses and started back toward the house.Gone was all elation, all pride, all gleeful consciousness ofpossession.

  Gaining the clearing, he decided to try out the other horse with theblack. He realized that the aged mare was unfit, even though in the lasthour she had appeared greatly to improve, and he must accordingly matchup a team. So he unhitched her and swung the mate into place. He metwith disagreeable surprise, however. The black would not pull with thishorse. Instead, he held himself quietly at rest, gazing about sleepilyover the landscape, a trick of his, as Felipe had learned, when quietlyrebelling. Felipe looked at him a moment, but did not try to force himwith tongue or lash. For he was coming to understand this horse, and,concluding that sooner or later, under proper treatment, he wouldprobably accept duty with any mate, determined to abandon work for theday. Whereupon he unhitched the horses and led them all back into thecorral. Then he put up the bars and set out in the direction of thesettlement.

  Which ended Pat's second great lesson at the hand of man. He was soreand somewhat stiff from the struggle, but he did not fret long over hiscondition, for he soon awoke to the presence of that beside him in thecorral which caused him to forget himself completely. It was theworn-out structure of skin and bones who had befriended him in his hourof trial. He gazed at her a moment, then approached and fell tocaressing her, showing in this attention his power to forgetself--aches, sores, troubles--in his affection and gratitude toward allthings warranting affection and gratitude.