Untitled - Beeldbibliotheek

SAM AND SIMON 121That was not a pleasant episode, but Sam onlytried it once again in a lane near Kinross thefollowing Mondayand that time we were muchbetter placed with a good level road before us,where Herbert was able to deal with him : andsoon he found, yet again his life is full of thesediscoveriesthat it was not so good a gameas hehad thought.He had us in difficulties again on the Sundaythat we spent at Stonehaven. To understandthe wanton wickedness of his behaviour on thisoccasion it is necessaryto state that at Peterculterboth horses had been shod. The blacksmiththerehe was, I think, our premier blacksmith,the best shoer of horses that we met withwas overwhelmed with admiration of Sam'sfeet, which demanded no less than seventy-twoinches of his best iron. Such fine material hadhe to work upon and so admirable a job did hemake of it that he besought us to lend him Samfor a week.That might have slightly upset ourarrangements, and we were forced to refuse him.But he had assured us that he would keep himwell and feed him on the fat of the land.Therewas, at the Agricultural Show which was duein a week's time, a competition for the bestshodhorse in the North, and it was a safe thing