War Horse

Joey is taken away in a wagon and begins the journey to the British veterinary hospital. By now, the pain in his leg has progressed to the point where he finds it difficult to remain standing up, and he soon crumples to the wagon's floor. Upon his arrival, a group of soldiers gathers to see Joey: the only horse to survive no-man’s-land. They stand around admiring him until a Sergeant makes them clear the area, leaving a young soldier who has been assigned to tend to Joey’s wound alone with the horse. When the soldier first speaks, his voice “[sends] a sudden shiver of recognition through [Joey]” (123), though he can’t quite place from where he knows the man’s pleasant voice. The soldier leads Joey outside to clean him up. He tells Joey he won’t be able to give him food or water in case they have to operate on him. The soldier begins to whistle, and Joey realizes that “the way he whistle[s] as he clean[s] out the brushes [is] the whistle” that Joey would know anywhere: It belongs to Albert.

Joey rears up in joy, hoping that Albert will recognize him.