The  Rector  stopped.  He  did  not  know  the  horse  per-
sonally, for  it  was  three  fields  short  of  his  parish,  but  he
saw  that  the  poor  beast  wanted  water.  He  went  up,  and
finding  that  the  knot  of  the  halter  hurt  his  fingers,  stooped
down  and  wrenched  at  the  peg.  While  he  was  thus  strain-
ing and  tugging,  crimson  in  the  face,  the  old  horse  stood
still,  gazing  at  him  out  of  his  bleary  eyes.  Mr.  Barter
sprang  upright  with  a  jerk,  the  peg  in  his  hand,  and  the
old  horse  started  back.
'  So  ho,  boy  !'  said  the  Rector,  and  angrily  he  muttered  :
'  A  shame  to  tie  the  poor  beast  up  here  in  the  sun.  I
should  like  to  give  his  owner  a  bit  of  my  mind  !'

He  led  the  animal  towards  the  water.  The  old  horse
followed  tranquilly  enough,  but  as  he  had  done  nothing
to  deserve  his  misfortune,  neither  did  he  feel  any  gratitude
towards  his  deliverer.  He  drank  his  fill,  and  fell  to  grazing.
The  Rector  experienced  a  sense  of  disillusionment,  and
drove  the  peg  again  into  the  softer  earth  under  the  willows  ;
then  raising  himself,  he  looked  hard  at  the  old  horse.
The  animal  continued  to  graze.  The  Rector  took  out
his  handkerchief,  wiped  the  perspiration  from  his  brow,
and  frowned.     He  hated  ingratitude  in  man  or  beast.
Suddenly  he  realized  that  he  was  very  tired.
'  It  must  be  over  by  now,'  he  said  to  himself,  and  hastened
on  in  the  heat  across  the  fields.
The  Rectory  door  was  open.  Passing  into  the  study,  he
sat  down  a  moment  to  collect  his  thoughts.     People  were


MR.  BARTER  TAKES  A  WALK  197

moving  above  ;  he  heard  a  long  moaning  sound  that  filled
his  heart  with  terror.
