HooJ Beats 



their heads against each other's necks, I felt en- 

 couraged to speak to Miss Smithson herself. 



"How do you like Cleopatra?" she asked me 

 with a smile that disclosed some very pretty white 

 teeth, and then not waiting for me to answer: 

 "She's quite a handful, you know. Mr. Merry- 

 weather said he wouldn't let many people ride 

 her but you. You must ride very well, don't 

 you?" 



I swallowed hard. I never enjoyed a compli- 

 ment less. 



"Miss Smithson, are you going to jump that?" 

 I asked, pointing to the spite fence which someone 

 must have built to cut off his neighbor's view. 



"Of course," she said. "It's the only way out." 

 And then she began to laugh, and her blue eyes 

 twinkled. 



"Oh, I know, you're feeling rocky, everyone 

 does now and then," and she handed me a flask 

 about as big as a silver dollar. I had just time to 

 return it to her and take up my lines when there 

 was a series of hysterical cries from the woods. 

 Suddenly the pack seemed to have lost its mind, 

 and someone standing up in his stirrups and point- 

 ing toward the valley, over the highest part of 

 the fence, began to shout, "Gone away!" 



It had been my intention, as I have said before, 

 to jump the gate, which I calculated was several 

 42 



