He also talks about his difficult father and his intended wife back in England. This young man is not a skilled horseman and was not eager to enlist, but he treats Joey with kindness and consideration that, along with Topthorn's friendship, rank among Joey's greatest comforts. In the opening pages of Chapter 7, Joey explains that he was put under the charge of Trooper Warren, a lower-ranking soldier in Captain Stewart's regiment. Captain Stewart, who is convinced that Captain Nichols would be proud of Joey, briefly takes charge of Joey as well.
While this skirmish ends in a quick victory for the British, it comes at the cost of the lives of both men and horses-including the life of Captain Nichols. The horse rushes forward and senses that the weight of Captain Nichols is no longer on his back.
The hostile German forces, however, prove difficult to locate.Įventually, the regiment is alerted to the presence of a German infantry battalion, and the officers decide to engage the enemy. Fortunately, the regiment's spirits improve once the men and horses reach the open countryside. The British troops encounter another troubling spectacle, wounded soldiers, soon after their arrival on French soil. During this voyage, Topthorn provides Joey with a source of comfort and reassurance. Neither horse proves decisively faster than the other these two exceptional animals are stabled together before the troops set out for France.Īs Chapter 6 opens, Joey recalls the stormy crossing into France over the English Channel. When the regiment breaks into a final charge, Joey races alongside Captain Stewart's own horse, an imposing black stallion named Topthorn. Now receiving much kindlier treatment from the Colonel, Joey settles into the final few stages of training, which culminate in maneuvers on Salisbury Plain. Colonel Samuel Perkins appears, and Captain Nicholls urges him to treat Joey in a more pleasant and considerate manner. One day, Captain Nicholls is in Joey's quarters, talking to the horse about the impending battles: while many of the soldiers are convinced that the war will be quick and that the British will prevail, Captain Nicholls and another officer, Captain Jamie Stewart, fear that the war will be drawn-out and deadly. The officer also draws Joey's portrait in the course of these sessions. Fortunately, Joey finds solace in the visits of Captain Nicholls, who talks to Joey in a soothing manner and relates his thoughts about the war. Though neither violent nor short-tempered, Perkins is determined and demanding. The new routines that Joey must fall into are physically demanding, and are made all the harsher by the temperament of Joey's rider, Colonel Samuel Perkins.
Chapter 5 begins with a description of Joey's early, uneasy adaptation to cavalry training.
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