you'll find out something wrong one of these fine mornings, or my name
isn't Jones.
Well, said Jerry pleasantly, I suppose I need not find it out till it
finds me out, eh? And if so, I'll keep up my spirits a little longer.
Then there came up a broad-faced man, dressed in a great gray coat
with great gray cape and great white buttons, a gray hat, and a blue
comforter loosely tied round his neck; his hair was gray, too; but
he was a jolly-looking fellow, and the other men made way for him.
He looked me all over, as if he had been going to buy me; and then
straightening himself up with a grunt, he said, He's the right sort for
you, Jerry; I don't care what you gave for him, he'll be worth it. Thus
my character was established on the stand.
This man's name was Grant, but he was called Gray Grant , or Governor
Grant . He had been the longest on that stand of any of the men, and
he took it upon himself to settle matters and stop disputes. He was
generally a good-humored, sensible man; but if his temper was a little
out, as it was sometimes when he had drunk too much, nobody liked to
come too near his fist, for he could deal a very heavy blow.
The first week of my life as a cab horse was very trying. I had never
been used to London, and the noise, the hurry, the crowds of horses,
carts, and carriages that I had to make my way through made me feel
anxious and harassed; but I soon found that I could perfectly trust my
driver, and then I made myself easy and got used to it.
Jerry was as good a driver as I had ever known, and what was better, he
took as much thought for his horses as he did for himself. He soon found
out that I was willing to work and do my best, and he never laid the
whip on me unless it was gently drawing the end of it over my back when
I was to go on; but generally I knew this quite well by the way in which
he took up the reins, and I believe his whip was more frequently stuck
up by his side than in his hand.
In a short time I and my master understood each other as well as horse
and man can do. In the stable, too, he did all that he could for our
comfort. The stalls were the old-fashioned style, too much on the slope;
but he had two movable bars fixed across the back of our stalls, so that
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