Page 20 of Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Emily gave a curt nod. “Then it seems to me we have a real mystery on our hands.”

Chapter Eight

What should we do?” I wiped my sweaty palms on my cloak. Moments ago my hands had been close to frozen, and now they felt like the rest of me, which was burning up.

“Just what we are doing,” Emily said. “Asking questions and learning what we can about what happened the night Henry died. I believe our next step will be to examine the horse.”

I swallowed. “But that could be dangerous.”

Emily didn’t appear to be concerned by this. “We have to see these burns with our own eyes.” She stepped out of the stall and began walking back in the direction of the black horse.

I followed. I could not let my mistress be hurt by this animal on my account.

Terror hung his head over the stall wall and blew hot air out of his nostrils. He tapped his front hoof on the dirt floor. I saw the large and powerful hoof under the bottom of the gate to his stall. Thump, thump, the hoof hit the earth. I shivered as I imagined the floor as my brother’s head.

Emily walked up to the stall with her small, pale hand outstretched to the animal.

“Emily,” I warned.

Carlo whimpered next to me as if he agreed with my concern.

“Do not be afraid, Willa.” She let her hand rest on the bridge of the horse’s nose, and he stopped kicking at the ground.

I stared at her. “How did you do that?”

She looked over her shoulder. “Every creature most desires comfort when in pain. Now,” she continued in a firm voice, “since you are much taller than I am and will be able to see inside of the stall, peer into it and look for the burn marks on his left flank.”

Holding on to the wall, I perched on my toes and peeked over the stall door. I couldn’t see the horse’s flank from my angle. If I had been a foot higher, I believed I would be able to spot it. I dropped my heels back down onto the ground and looked around the stables. Across from Terror’s stall there was an empty gallon bucket. I grabbed it, turned it over, and stood on the bottom of it.

From my high vantage point, I could now see Terror’s left flank, and my heart ached at what I saw. There was a cluster of five red welts on his side. They shone in the light coming in from the stable window behind his stall because there was some sort of salve covering the top of each wound to soothe it.

“You poor thing,” I whispered.

“What do you see?” Emily asked from below me, and I described the gruesome sight as best as I could.

Terror turned his head then and looked at me with his left eye. His eye was round and brown, and I was so close I could see every eyelash that fringed his eyelids. I knew he was not a person, but there was sadness in those eyes, and I knew whatever may have happened to Henry, it was not this great beast’s fault. He had been tormented to kill.

“What are you doing?” a harsh man’s voice asked.

I jerked in surprise and the empty gallon bucket wobbled below my feet, causing me to hop off to the ground. Emily dropped her hand from the horse’s nose and stood straight. “Who are you?”

A large man with gray curls and suspenders that were pushed to the breaking point over his round belly scowled at us. “I’m Louis Masters, and I am the foreman of these stables. This is no place for a couple of women.” He said the word “women” like being such a creature was a fate worse than death.

Emily took her bonnet from me and put it on her head. “Well, Mr.Masters, we were just leaving.”

He glowered at us. “Why are you here?”

Emily lifted her chin. “I am Emily Dickinson,” she said, putting special emphasis on her surname. “I’m sure you have heard of my father.”

Masters blinked. “Yes.”

“Well, Father had asked me to visit the stables to see if it was a suitable place to board our horses while we are in the process of moving to the old family homestead on Main Street later this year. Of course, we would not want the horses to be disturbed by the move, but now I wonder with your harsh greeting if there is not a place we would be more comfortable storing our animals during that time.”

Masters paled. “Oh, Miss Dickinson, I am so sorry about how I spoke to you. The last few weeks have been strained here at the stables. We are low on staff, and I am desperate for more help. However, I can assure you that it will be all rectified soon. We would be honored to assist your family in any way.”

Emily tilted her head to the side. “Are you low on staff because Henry Noble was killed in these stables?”

Masters opened and closed his mouth. “It— It was a terrible accident. And we feel awful over what has happened, but anyone working for us must know how to control these large and powerful animals.”

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