ng man upon it in a
suit of light gray riding clothes, which in the afternoon sunlight
looked almost the color of silver. He was carrying his hat in his hand
and his hair was a bright yellow such as one seldom sees except in young
children. Indeed, he was so remarkably handsome that even Esther, who
rarely paid much attention to strangers, gazed at him for the moment
with interest, temporarily forgetting what Betty had been trying to
confess.

To her amazement, however, the rider made not the faintest effort to
give their carriage the right of way, but moved on directly in the
center of the road. Their driver, evidently recognizing the young man as
a person of distinction, then drove so close to the underbrush on their
right that both girls felt a momentary fear of being tumbled out.

Betty kept her lips demurely closed and her head held upright, with the
expression of pride and self-possession which she reserved for very
special occasions. However, it was difficult to maintain an atmosphere
of cold dignity when one was in immediate danger of being tipped out of
a rickety old carriage into a ditch.

The horse and rider approached nearly opposite the carriage, the young
fellow gazing haughtily but none the less curiously toward the two
American girls. Then almost instantly his unprepossessing manner changed
and his face broke into a smile which was singularly charming. Neither
of the two girls had often seen in Germany just this type of youth. He
was of only medium height, but perfectly proportioned, with square
military shoulders, and he rode his horse as though he and it were
carved from the same block of stone. Nevertheless there was no doubt but
that he was looking at Betty as if he expected some sign of recognition.
He was mistaken, however, for she let him pass them without even
turning her head in his direction.

It was after eight o'clock that evening when Mrs. Ashton, Betty and
Esther had finally come to the end of their melancholy dinner. For there
are few things drearier than eating alone the banquet prepared for a
long expected guest, when the guest has failed to arrive.

The dinner table had a miniature pine tree in the center, which Betty
had dug out of the earth with her own hands and decorated with the tiny
Camp Fire emblems which she and Esther always carried about in their
trunks, while waving from its summit was a tiny American flag. On either
side of the tree were the three candles sacred to all