第77章

DIAMOND AND RUBY

IT WAS Friday night, and Diamond, like the rest of the household, had had very little to eat that day. The mother would always pay the week's rent before she laid out anything even on food. His father had been very gloomy--so gloomy that he had actually been cross to his wife. It is a strange thing how pain of seeing the suffering of those we love will sometimes make us add to their suffering by being cross with them. This comes of not having faith enough in God, and shows how necessary this faith is, for when we lose it, we lose even the kindness which alone can soothe the suffering.

Diamond in consequence had gone to bed very quiet and thoughtful--a little troubled indeed.

It had been a very stormy winter. and even now that the spring had come, the north wind often blew. When Diamond went to his bed, which was in a tiny room in the roof, he heard it like the sea moaning; and when he fell asleep he still heard the moaning.

All at once he said to himself, "Am I awake, or am I asleep?"But he had no time to answer the question, for there was North Wind calling him. His heart beat very fast, it was such a long time since he had heard that voice. He jumped out of bed, and looked everywhere, but could not see her. "Diamond, come here,"she said again and again; but where the here was he could not tell.

To be sure the room was all but quite dark, and she might be close beside him.

"Dear North Wind," said Diamond, "I want so much to go to you, but I can't tell where.""Come here, Diamond," was all her answer.

Diamond opened the door, and went out of the room, and down the stair and into the yard. His little heart was in a flutter, for he had long given up all thought of seeing her again. Neither now was he to see her. When he got out, a great puff of wind came against him, and in obedience to it he turned his back, and went as it blew.

It blew him right up to the stable-door, and went on blowing.

"She wants me to go into the stable," said Diamond to himself.

"but the door is locked."

He knew where the key was, in a certain hole in the wall--far too high for him to get at. He ran to the place, however: just as he reached it there came a wild blast, and down fell the key clanging on the stones at his feet. He picked it up, and ran back and opened the stable-door, and went in. And what do you think he saw?

A little light came through the dusty window from a gas-lamp, sufficient to show him Diamond and Ruby with their two heads up, looking at each other across the partition of their stalls. The light showed the white mark on Diamond's forehead, but Ruby's eye shone so bright, that he thought more light came out of it than went in.

This is what he saw.

But what do you think he heard?

He heard the two horses talking to each other--in a strange language, which yet, somehow or other, he could understand, and turn over in his mind in English. The first words he heard were from Diamond, who apparently had been already quarrelling with Ruby.

"Look how fat you are Ruby!" said old Diamond. "You are so plump and your skin shines so, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.""There's no harm in being fat," said Ruby in a deprecating tone.

"No, nor in being sleek. I may as well shine as not.""No harm?" retorted Diamond. "Is it no harm to go eating up all poor master's oats, and taking up so much of his time grooming you, when you only work six hours--no, not six hours a day, and, as I hear, get along no faster than a big dray-horse with two tons behind him?--So they tell me."

"Your master's not mine," said Ruby. "I must attend to my own master's interests, and eat all that is given me, and be sleek and fat as I can, and go no faster than I need.""Now really if the rest of the horses weren't all asleep, poor things--they work till they're tired--I do believe they would get up and kick you out of the stable. You make me ashamed of being a horse.

You dare to say my master ain't your master! That's your gratitude for the way he feeds you and spares you! Pray where would your carcass be if it weren't for him?""He doesn't do it for my sake. If I were his own horse, he would work me as hard as he does you.""And I'm proud to be so worked. I wouldn't be as fat as you--not for all you're worth. You're a disgrace to the stable. Look at the horse next you. He's something like a horse--all skin and bone.

And his master ain't over kind to him either. He put a stinging lash on his whip last week. But that old horse knows he's got the wife and children to keep--as well as his drunken master--and he works like a horse. I daresay he grudges his master the beer he drinks, but I don't believe he grudges anything else.""Well, I don't grudge yours what he gets by me," said Ruby.

"Gets!" retorted Diamond. "What he gets isn't worth grudging.

It comes to next to nothing--what with your fat and shine.

"Well, at least you ought to be thankful you're the better for it.