Hoof Beats 



ing his horn like a crazy man as soon as lie sees my 

 horse. We're pals you know. " 



Striving felt his heart choking his throat. 



"You love Jerry," he asked a trifle painfully, 

 "and Jerry loves you?" 



"Of course." 



The girl looked at Striving. Striving was 

 staring ahead. 



"It's always like that, isn't it?" 



"How do you mean?" 



"Oh, nothing." 



The note of a horn carried down the wind and 

 they stopped to listen. The sound of a running 

 horse was quite clear — the rhythmic beats of hoofs 

 on the country road. 



"Jerry! He'll be so relieved to find me all 

 right, you know. I'll tell him what you did. 

 He'll never forget it." 



A man in a scarlet coat appeared around the 

 corner of the road urging a big half-bred chestnut 

 with a pair of long hunting spurs. All at once he 

 saw the two in the road and pulled up so abruptly 

 that it threw the horse to his haunches in the 

 road. 



"Phew!" he ejaculated, mopped his forehead 

 with his sleeve, and stuck his horn into its leather 

 case on the saddle. 



"Phew! Jane, you've scared me out of seven 

 78 



