WHEN Halsey Eaton was eighteen years and Palo'mine was four they were as fine a specimen of a young man and mount as could have been found anywhere in Kentucky. From the slip of a boy who had ridden Sultan so successfully in the great fox hunt, Halsey had developed into a stalwart young man, large and well formed for his age. He was five feet ten inches in his stocking feet and weighed one hundred and sixty pounds. He had made good at the Blue Grass Academy in baseball and other athletics. He had camped and tramped and rode horseback in the Cumberland mountains. During his vacations he had lived out of doors for weeks at a time. The sun and the wind had tanned his face until he was as brown as a berry, while every muscle in his wiry body was like whipcord. He was also a popular boy with his mates. This was because he was always good-natured and generous, and a good sport, no matter what the game.
Palo'mine as a companion and a splendid specimen of a Kentucky thoroughbred was not much behind his young master. He was a dark rich chestnut with a white crescent in his forehead and when his coat was at its best it shone like satin.
He stood sixteen hands at the withers, and weighed ten hundred and fifty. He was built as a Kentucky thoroughbred should be. He was lean, muscular, and with little superfluous fat.
His shoulders and his hind quarters were powerful and ttie muscles played under his shining coat when he ran, as though his mechanism was oiled. His mane and tail were heavy and darker than his coat.
His crest was beautifully arched and he held his head as though he fully appreciated his breeding.
His ears were small and expressive. He was wide between his great liquid eyes, which always looked at the world in a wondering way, except when he ran and then they blazed with the fire of ambition.
His limbs were clean cut and his hoofs were small for his size. He took his fences with an ease that made you think he was full of steel springs, as he really was.
Halsey had taught him the hunter's art and was very proud of Palo'mine. He had finished second during the past two years in the great hunt and that was a wonderful achievement for a boy still in his teens. This annual fox hunt brought together some of the best hunters and riders in the Blue Grass country.
Halsey's first experience in open field riding had been gained on moonlight nights when he and a half dozen other men and boys rode after the coon dogs in that exciting autumn sport of raccoon hunting.
In the early autumn the corn fields were the favorite feeding ground of the raccoons and the hunting party would start them with the pack of specially trained coon dogs and then ride after the pack until the raccoon treed or holed, and he usually treed.
This riding was of the roughest sort, through cornfields, over fences, and it usually ended in one of the woodland pastures where the coon was quite apt to take refuge. If treed in the forest Mr. Coon could run from tree to tree and so make his capture doubly difficult.
In the woodland it was often rather dark and this gave an added thrill to the hazard of riding after the pack.
Halsey had begun training Palo'mine for fence jumping when he was only two years old. He had begun by jumping him over low hurdles and had increased the height by degrees, until he could now take a six foot fence with ease.
He was also a famous ditch jumper and could take a flying leap that made his rider's hair fairly stand up.
But it was on their long rides through the mountains that the boy and horse had become the best companions. In this companionship they were alone together, with the blue sky above them and the great dreamy mountains all about them. Many a night Halsey had slept with his head pillowed upon the saddle and with Palo'mine only a few feet away munching oats. This was his best night lullaby: the sound of the fine horse munching his supper, while the whippoorwill called in the thicket, the great owl hooted in the distant woods, or perhaps a little stream sang its drowsy song that is so soothing to tired nerves and aching muscles.
Halsey little dreamed as he took these pleasant horseback trips alone through the mountains, what they were training him for.
He little imagined the stern drama in which he and Palo'mine should play an important part in the years to come.
Summer had come and gone in the Blue Grass country, and September skies brooded over the land. The corn was in the shock, the tobacco hung in the long low sheds, curing. The persimmons were ripe and the opossum fat. This meant that the young men had enjoyed many a possum hunt, on the moonlight nights, and that many a fat possum had weltered in the brown gravy upon the platter for dinner.
Halsey Eaton had made his plans to go away to the great college at Lexington and he was to take Palo'mine with him. There was a fine race track on the fair ground in Lexington. It was one of the fastest tracks in the country and he wished to work out Palo'mine as a racer.
Hitherto he had merely used the fine horse as a hunter and a pleasure steed, but now he wished to see what racing stuff he had in him. Colonel Eaton had himself made arrangements with a Lexington jockey to help in the training. So there was the promise of a wonderful year ahead. Halsey could not have told whether he was most excited about his studies, or the thoughts of training his beloved steed.
It was as a thunderbolt out of a clear sky in midsummer when old Rastus came running into the house one morning crying: "Ah say, Palo'mine is done gone. His stall is as empty as an empty 'tater skin. He is gone. I done look at heem late las night. He is stole." Halsey raced to the stock barn, to find the old Negro's report was only too true. They searched the other stables and the outbuildings, but there was no trace of Palo'mine. Then the plantation was scoured from end to end, but Palo'mine had disappeared. Every negro on the plantation joined in the search, for Halsey was a prime favorite with them, but by nightfall nothing had been seen or heard of the horse. The Colonel was furious and Halsey was heartbroken. Finally the Colonel gave it as his opinion that the valuable horse had been stolen.
"I am mighty sorry, Halsey my boy. I would have given five hundred dollars rather than see it happen. But I am afraid the horse thieves have got him. I doubt if we ever see him again, but I will do everything that I can."
At the thought of losing his pal forever a great lump filled the boy's throat. He and Palo'mine were such chums. He had made such wonderful plans for the years ahead. He could not stand it. He would give up going to college if Palo'mine could not go with him. Why, he had depended upon Palo'mine to keep him from being lonesome. "Uncle," he cried. "I will find him. I won't go a step to college without him. I am going to find him." "All right boy, I am with you. We will see what can be done in the morning."
This was before the days of telephones but in the morning telegraph wires were set to clicking. A description of the horse was wired to every city in the state. Newspapers printed long ads for his discovery and recovery and a reward of five hundred dollars was offered for his safe return and no questions asked.
Halsey ate a hasty breakfast, as much of a meal as he could swallow with the great lump in his throat, and set off on another Kentucky thoroughbred to scour the country. He returned home in the late evening having covered forty miles. He had made a great half circle to the south, but had not seen or heard the slightest sign of the missing horse. The following morning he again set out and they did not see him again at the plantation for a week. While the young man was gone, sheriffs and constables from the surrounding cities were hunting. Several clues were run down, but all proved futile.
In the meantime Halsey was not idle. He rode from town to town. He interviewed all the police heads and sheriffs in the different towns. He consulted all the toll keepers on the turnpikes. He interviewed all the tavern keepers, and saw the hostlers in all the stables, but no one had seen Palo'mine.
At last the week for entering college came round, but Halsey kept right on in his search. He had said he would not go to college without Palo'mine and he meant to keep his word. Finally on the eighth day of his search he heard of a band of gypsies who were camping in a town ten miles away. This might be a possible chance. Gypsies were habitual horse thieves. Perhaps this band had his chum.
So on the following morning, at just sunrise, the young man in company with two constables descended upon the camp. They found the head of the band, a dark, sinister hairy faced man, just crawling out of his covered wagon. He was very surly and very indignant that they had come to his camp on such an errand. He had no such horse and had not seen such a steed. He would knife them if they didn't get out. But the constables showed him their badges and he subsided from his blustering attitude. They searched the camp from end to end, and looked over the horses, but Palo'mine was not there. They were about to give up in despair when a bright thought came to Halsey. Somehow he had a feeling that Palo'mine was there. He thought the dark sinister man looked guilty. The boy had noted a startled look in his eyes when he saw the constables' badges. He would leave no stone unturned. So he went from end to end of the camp whistling in a shrill high keyed whistle. This was the signal with which he had called Palo'mine when he was a small colt in the paddock. He had used it often since. If the horse was anywhere in hearing he would answer. But the whistling seemed to give no better results than the search had done. Thev were at the farther end of the camp away from the road and near to a thick woods, when Halsey gave one last despairing whistle. He thought it was answered by a very faint whinnying away in the deep woods but he was not certain. So he repeated the call. This time there was no mistaking the answer, it was a glad and almost continuous nickering. It seemed to say, "Here, here, here, don't go away, master." "I am here." "I cannot come to you." "Come to me."
Halsey and the two constables made all haste into the woods, the dark man following them. "I have a sick horse here in the woods," he explained, when he saw that it was useless to conceal the fact further, "but he is not at all the horse you describe. We found him in the road yesterday, and as he seemed to be lost we brought him along."
In answer to Halsey's repeated whistles the glad whinnyings soon brought them to the place where a tall proud chestnut was hitched with a strong halter to a small tree.
"That's Palo'mine," cried Halsey rushing forward.
"It's not the horse you describe," said the man. "You say your horse has a white crescent on his forehead. This horse is all chestnut."
"That's what I said," replied the young man. "You come around and look on this horse's forehead."
Halsey could hardly believe his eyes when he looked for the white crescent. It was gone.
The Gypsy laughed at his evident discomfort. "I told you this is not your horse," he said. "This horse is a chestnut." The chestnut gelding's delight with the coming of the young man was only too apparent. It was like the reunion of two long parted friends. The horse rubbed his nose against the boy's cheek again and again. He nickered each time Halsey whistled and in other horse ways displayed his great joy. But Halsey was confounded as to the crescent.
Finally one of the constables who was an old horse man began examining the horse's forehead critically. He parted the hair and examined it close to the skin. At last he grinned broadly at the discomfited Gypsy.
"Dye," he finally said laconically. "You did not do a very good job. It is an old trick, but you didn't get away with it this time. Then he parted the hair upon the horse's forehead and showed Halsey that the hair was still white close to the skin. The dye also rubbed off on the fingers after wetting them and rubbing it.
At first the Gypsy denied the accusation stoutly, but seeing his words had no effect upon the constables he pulled out a fat wallet and offered to settle.
"What do you say, young man?" asked the constable. "We ought to nab him now we have caught him. But I will leave it entirely to you. If he wants to settle for all the expense your uncle has been to, I will let him off if you say so."
Halsey was young and inexperienced and of a generous disposition. So when the Gypsy thief had counted out five hundred dollars and pressed it into his hand, he said "Let them go."
So the constables and Halsey started back to the city, while the Gypsy band hastily broke camp and disappeared from that part of the country. They had no mind to risk a chance of a lynching in a country where horse stealing is held as a heinous crime. But Halsey turned his face towards Eaton Manor and two days later rode up to the house with his beloved Palo'mine.
But the rejoicing at Eaton Manor over the return of Palo'mine was soon dimmed, for he almost immediately evinced symptoms of distemper. He had probably taken cold while being tied in the woods by the Gypsies, or that was what the veterinary thought. Halsey had noted that he was unusually short of breath during the ride home, but had not dreamed that he was sick.
Old Rastus, who was almost as much of a horse doctor as the real veterinary, shook his head and pronounced Palo'mine a very sick horse. "Ah don' like to discourage you, Massa Halsey, when you hez jus had so much trouble bout dat hoss, but Ah af eered that he is going to heb a close call, Ah suah am."
Rastus set to work under the veterinary's instructions to do what he could for the horse. He coughed and choked intermittently and sometimes seemed very much distressed for breath. His eyes and his nose ran and his breathing was very wheezy. The treatment was to steam his neck and thus keep down the swelling in the throat. He was put upon a bran feed and given physic.
Halsey could hardly be persuaded to go to the house for his meals, but hovered about his pal constantly.
"Masser Halsey," said old Rastus one day when they had been working over the splendid horse constantly for three days, "we can't do nothin more for him. He will jes hev to get well or die, jes as the good Lord says, you and me is powerless."
"But uncle Rastus, I can't have him die. Why, I have just found him. Why, he is my brother. I can't ever go to college without him."
"Well, Masser Halsey, Ah hope he gets well, but I don' know. He is powerful sick. Ah hain't never seen a sicker hoss. But we will hope for the best. But you can't help none jes hanging round here. You jes go along like he was all right. Dat is de best way. Ah've seen lots of good hosses, an somethin is alius ailin em. Dey is as ornery as folks bout being ailing."
Halsey tried to take Rastus' advice, but found it hard work. He tried to make plans for being away to college, but it seemed to him that everything would be spoiled if he could not take Palo'mine with him. He had lotted as much upon training the horse as he had upon the college life. But all things come to an end, and so Palo'mine's sickness reached the critical stage. Rastus and the boy hung about him and fussed over him continually. Palo'mine was so weak he could no longer stand.
Halsey would not go into the house to sleep, but said he would stay up with Palo'mine. He could not bear to leave him alone, when he was so sick. So old Rastus finally went home and the boy was alone with his chum. He smoothed out the beautiful horse's foretop and talked to him. "You must buck up, old Pal. I can't have you die, you are my best pal. I won't go to college without you. You just take a brace—I'll stay right here by you."
Palo'mine was in a large box stall, and as Halsey did not want to be far away from him, he threw down a bundle of straw and lay down beside his horse friend. They had camped before together so many times in the mountains. He would camp with him now. It might be their last night together.
The Colonel coming to the barn at about midnight found the tired-out boy sleeping beside the horse in the stall. Halsey was sleeping like log, and Palo'mine was breathing naturally and seemed much better. The Colonel at once awoke his nephew and told him the good news.
"He's sure escaped the Epperzootic dis time," said the old negro, "an' your uncle Rastus is one happy nigger. He's goin to get well sure as preachin."
With this good news, all repaired to the house for sleep after the long vigil.
With his natural strength to help him, Palo'mine regained his health by leaps and bounds and in two weeks he was entirely well. It was a happy day for both him and his young master, when they cantered away towards Lexington. Both were going to college. Halsey was to learn at the college while Palo'mine was to be taught the art of racing, at the hands of one of the best jockeys in Kentucky. Halsey was also to help in the training, and they would be together. So everything had come out well after all. Master and mount were again together. The trees and fences, and the broad fields, were flying past them. The joy of youth was in both the veins of the Kentucky thoroughbred, and those of the young man. Life with its adventures and its joyous battle, was all ahead of them, the sun was bright, the sky was fair, and all was well.