Harry laughed. ‘Yeh, worked wi’ them all my life.’

‘A farm boy, eh?’

‘Hardly a boy,’ Harry retaliated. ‘Though I was a horse lad when I first started in farming, when I was twelve or thereabouts.’

Ellison appeared to consider. ‘Aye, go on then. What’ll you do, tek them in turn? There’s six of ’em.’

‘I’ll yoke two of ’older ones together and harness them to one of ’flat-bedded rullies from ’back of ’stable and give them a half hour round ’streets,’ he said, and then asked, ‘Who generally teks them out at ’weekends?’

‘Smith does. Usual drivers don’t come in on a Sunday.’

Harry nodded. From what he’d seen so far, young Jim Smith didn’t appear to do anything much apart from being at the beck and call of Ellison and some of the other men, who sent him off on errands whenever they needed something.

He enjoyed the opportunity of being out of the mill yard, even though it was a bitterly cold day. He’d driven horses every day of his working life when in Holderness, and as a lad had been taught to control the animals by command and rein; he didn’t know what system was used in town, but expected that they’d be used to heavy traffic and noise. The first two elderly mares trotted off quite energetically with their empty rully and he took them down to the bottom of Wincomlee and up and down some of the side streets on the way back, using gee back for a right turn and whauve for left, bringing them to a halt with whee, which they understood. He brushed them down on their return, gave them feed and water and filled the hay baskets and they blew down their nostrils at him as he fastened the stall doors and gave them a final pat.

He brought out the next two and did the same with them, and on his return Jim Smith was sitting on an upturned bucket eating a slice of bread.

‘Where’ve you been?’ he mumbled. ‘Who said you could tek ’em out?’

‘I checked wi’ Ellison,’ Harry said. ‘Have you onny just noticed they were missing? They need exercise, you know,’ he said, not waiting for an answer. ‘Even at weekends.’

Smith pulled a face but went on eating. ‘They work all ’week,’ he answered, his mouth full of bread. ‘I give ’em ’weekend off.’

‘They enjoy going out without pulling a heavy load,’ Harry told him. ‘They need to stretch their muscles just ’same as us.’ He led the animals into the stable and repeated the same routine of brushing and feeding as with the others, then brought out Nellie, who, he realized, was fast becoming his favourite.

Jim Smith got up. ‘Awright,’ he said. ‘I’ll tek ’other one out. I’ve nowt else much to do.’