I have bethought me often
that in London town he would pine his heart away. He loves the
green glades of the woodland, and the free air of the fields and
forests. Methinks you would be a kind master; and he is a loving
and faithful creature. I might even lose him in London, where, they
tell me, rogues abound. I would sooner leave him in your hands; and
if I want him back some day, I will ask him of Captain Jack."
The bargain was struck. Captain Jack accompanied Tom to the
farthest limits of the forest, giving him meantime much information
about life in London, and astonishing him by the intimate knowledge
he possessed of life in every grade of society.
Tom listened in wonder and amaze; but Captain Jack answered his
questions in such a way as to leave him little the wiser. He
managed, however, to make friends with Wildfire almost as quickly
as with his master; for the two men rode by turns, and Captain
Jack's horsemanship was of that finished kind which every horse
understands and responds to.
"You are right not to take such a creature into London," said
Captain Jack, after trying the paces of Wildfire over a stretch of
springy turf. "Some sharper would soon make away with him; but it
will be a clever man who filches him from me! I will guard him as
my greatest treasure, and he will be worth more to me than the
guineas you carry in your bag.
Pages:
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53