Still, she must have been very intelligent to have done
the office."
"She is thirteen years old, although she is small," replied Edward.
"And intelligent she certainly is, as you may see by her countenance.
Who would ever have imagined that our sisters would have been able to
do what they are doing now? It's an old saying, 'We never know what we
can do till we try.' By-the-by Humphrey, I met a famous herd of forest
ponies the other day, and I said to myself, 'I wonder whether Humphrey
will be clever enough to take one of them, as he has the wild cattle?'
For Billy is getting old, and we want a successor."
"We want more than a successor to Billy, Edward: we want two more to
help him--and I have the means of maintaining two more ponies if I
could catch them."
"I fear that you will never manage that, Humphrey," said Edward,
laughing.
"I know well what you mean," replied Humphrey: "you wish to dare me to
it--well. I won't be dared to any thing, and I most certainly will try
to catch a pony or two; but I must think about it first, and when I
have arranged my plan in my mind, I will then make the attempt."
"When I see the ponies in the yard, I will believe it, Humphrey. They
are as wild as deer and as fleet as the wind, and you can not catch
them in a pitfall.
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