[00:00.37] Chapter 14.
[00:02.17] Changes.
[00:05.18] There had been many changes in my life, and more were on the way.
[00:11.19] The first upset me greatly.
[00:14.96] My good friend, Captain, was bringing Jerry home from the station when an out of control Brewers cart, pulled by two shyer horses, smashed into him.
[00:26.71] It was terrifying, as Captain was dragged to the ground, then speared by a shaft from the cart.
[00:36.80] The drayman, whose cart it was, was later charged with drunken driving, but that was no use to Captain.
[00:45.62] His injuries were so bad that he would never work a full day again.
[00:52.63] Jerry could not afford to keep a horse that didn't work, but he refused to sell Captain to someone else who might work him to death.
[01:04.58] One sad day I was taken to the forge for new shoes.
[01:11.93] When I returned, my friend's stable was empty.
[01:18.88] Captain had been shot to save him from further pain.
[01:26.79] Shortly after that a new horse arrived.
[01:31.54] He was a fine-looking animal called Hotspur.
[01:37.78] I missed Captain terribly, but I gave Hotspur a warm welcome.
[01:44.69] At first he wasn't very friendly.
[01:48.85] He'd come from a very posh home and was pining for his old life.
[01:56.73] Hotspur soon settled though.
[02:00.42] What horse wouldn't with an owner as kind as Jerry.
[02:06.91] Christmas came and went, and we were very busy.
[02:12.43] The work was hard, and we often waited long hours in the cold to carry people home from parties.
[02:23.16] On New Year's Eve, Jerry and I took two men to a card party in the West End.
[02:31.51] We were told to collect them at 9:00, and although we arrived on time, neither of the men were ready to leave.
[02:42.05] It was a wet and windy night, and Jerry had a hard time keeping himself warm.
[02:50.65] It was gone 1:00 when the men finally wanted their ride home.
[02:56.94] By then the weather had got to Jerry's lungs and he was coughing badly.
[03:04.66] I was suffering too.
[03:08.45] My legs were numb with cold, and it was a horrible journey for both of us.
[03:17.07] Jerry was an honest man, and only charged the men what they owed, but they were not pleased.
[03:25.92] What a rip off, they grumbled.
[03:32.35] By the time we got home, Jerry was coughing so badly he could hardly speak.
[03:41.10] In spite of this, he helped Polly to rub me down and feed me before he went indoors.
[03:49.33] It was the last time I ever saw him.
[03:55.35] Late the next morning, Harry came to see Hotspur and me.
[04:01.57] When he was done, he left us in our stable as if it were a Sunday.
[04:09.36] Dolly came to visit us next, and she was crying.
[04:15.60] Jerry, her dad, was very ill, and the doctor had been called.
[04:26.60] Poor Jerry had chronic bronchitis, and the doctor didn't know if he would live.
[04:36.14] There followed many anxious days before Jerry began to get better.
[04:42.29] Hotspur and I were beginning to suffer too.
[04:47.49] We were full of energy and bored with standing around in our stables.
[04:55.13] Luckily, a good friend of Jerry's began to use us, and he even gave Jerry half of the money he earned.
[05:03.91] This was a big help to the family.
[05:09.90] The next time the doctor came, there was more bad news.
[05:16.24] The doctor said that Jerry must give up driving a cab, or he would die a young man.
[05:24.98] But what could he do instead?
[05:28.94] Jerry had to earn a living, or his family would end up in a terrible place called the workhouse.
[05:40.48] A week later, Dolly came tearing into the stables where Harry was grooming me.
[05:48.69] Guess what?
[05:51.68] She cried.
[05:54.52] Mrs. Fowler, the lady mum used to work for, has offered dad a job as a coachman.
[06:03.37] We're going to live in the country in a cottage with a garden, and I'm going to school.
[06:14.54] There's a job for you too.
[06:17.85] You're going to be a gardener's boy or a groom.
[06:25.85] Fantastic news, shouted Harry.
[06:30.29] I'd love to be a groom.
[06:33.52] When can we move?
[06:41.64] This was very good news for the Barkers, and I was pleased for them.
[06:48.63] But what of me?
[06:52.38] Jerry was the best owner I'd had since leaving Bertwick Park.
[06:59.12] I was no longer as fit as I'd been then.
[07:03.76] Who would want a horse like me?
[07:13.66] Jerry's friend, the one who was filling in for him, bought Hotspur.
[07:21.50] He also offered to find me a home.
[07:27.34] Jerry agreed, as long as I only went to a good owner.
[07:36.72] Leaving day came too quickly.
[07:41.91] Jerry was still not allowed to go out in the cold, but Polly and the children came to say goodbye.
[07:52.86] Poor old Jack, we wish you could come with us, they sobbed.
[07:59.80] Polly and Dolly kissed me, and Harry stroked me gently.
[08:07.56] Then I was led away to my new place.