Hard Times

Hard Times

Beauty is now part of the large cab company for which Seedy Sam, in Chapter 39, worked. Its owner is a cruel man, Nicholas Skinner. Beauty's driver is equally cruel, and the horse is worked much too hard and whipped until he bleeds. One day a family tries to hire Beauty's cab, but the young daughter of the family says Beauty looks too weak and should rest. She wants to hire a second cab to carry part of their load. She is overruled, and they take Beauty's cab, piled with the family's luggage. Beauty collapses on the drive.

When Beauty makes it back to Skinner's stables, a farrier examines him and diagnoses his main problem as overwork. With six months' rest, Beauty would be fit and able to work again. But Skinner would rather sell him for meat than let him rest. When the farrier tells Skinner of a horse sale at which Beauty could fetch a better price, Skinner begrudgingly agrees to feed and care for Beauty properly and try to sell him to a new owner. Twelve days later Beauty, hopeful of improving his lot, is taken to the sale.