After school Becky and her cousin would ride their horses down the adjacent block where there were only three houses and rare traffic. Along this clay road Queen’s lace and black-eyed Susans were in abundance, and the girls would pick bouquets for their mothers. Farther on, there were pink wild roses protected by thorns that had a special fragrance.
As the horses came around the bend, three horses were seen in the field, which had little grass. Their backs were matted, and their ribs were visible. The horses were starving. Becky choked up. These animals were dying! The people in the ramshackle house were not feeding them. She would tell her father so he could bring hay down to them. Becky thought people were cruel, and the horses should be taken away from them. Bill knew, but he never promised to do anything. Becky did not know why, and it upset her. She did not know unspoken rules he followed about not interfering. Bill looked at her and was taken aback. He saw in her eyes the same rejection he witnessed when she met him for the first time at age three after he returned from the war.
Jolly was adapting to the farm after the racetrack. He surprised Bill and Mona by bringing the cows from the pasture for milking every day and saving them from the duty. Becky did as well, for she had a playmate in the chase around the fox pens just before the sun set in the evenings; her horse was a friend, as she had no siblings. Jolly would nudge her back and surprise her, making her laugh. He also was a comfort if she were sad, for she was a sensitive child and prone to worry. He would put his nose to her neck, and she would stroke under his velvet chin, especially if she were crying.
There was a neighbourhood boy on whom Becky had a crush. His family was rich, and he had a pony at an early age on which Becky had a ride. Now, he had a motorized bike and used to speed up the clay road, annoying Russ, the Lowther family's dog. One day Russ ran out as the boy was passing and knocked him to the ground. Bill checked the boy and then took the broom to Russ. Becky cried that the boy was hurt but angry that her father hit Russ, a gentle dog at most times. Jolly heard the concern. He provided an ear for Becky, for she poured her heart out to no one else. As it happened, the boy was scratched and bruised only, and Becky went to Russ and patted him. Bill was seen as the offender by both Mona and Becky. Days later Becky put the picture of her and the boy Mona took when they were younger back in her album.
