d been seen in
that parish. With an indignant snort she wheeled around, kicking up a
cloud of dust by the suddenness of the manoeuvre. A less skilled rider
than Erik would inevitably have been thrown by two such unforeseen
jerks; and the fact was he had all he could do to keep his seat.

"Oho!" shouted Garvestad, "your mare shies; she'll break your neck some
day, as likely as not. You had better sell her before she gets you into
trouble."

"But I shouldn't like to have your broken neck on my conscience," Erik
replied; "if necks are to be broken by Lady Clare I should prefer to
have it be my own."

The peasant was not clever enough to make out whether this was jest or
earnest. With a puzzled frown he stared at the youth and finally broke
out:

"Then you won't sell her at no price? Anyway, the day you change your
mind don't forget to notify John Garvestad. If it's spondulix you are
after, then here's where there's plenty of 'em."

He slapped his left breast-pocket with a great swagger, looking around
to observe the impression he was making on his audience; then, jerking
the bridle violently, so as to make his horse rear, he rode off like
Alexander on Bucephalus, and swung down upon the highway.

It was but a few weeks after this occurrence that Captain Carstens and
his son were invited to honor John Garvestad by their presence at his
wedding. They were in doubt, at first, as to whether they ought to
accept the invitation; for some unpleasant rumors had reached them,
showing that Garvestad entertained unfriendly feelings toward them.
He was an intensely vain man; and the thought that Erik Carstens had a
finer horse than Valders-Roan left him no peace. He had been heard to
say repeatedly that, if that high-nosed youth persisted in his refusal
to sell the mare, he would discover his mistake when, perhaps, it would
be too late to have it remedied. Whatever that meant, it sufficed to
make both Erik and his father uneasy. But, on the other hand, it would
be the worst policy possible, under such circumstances, to refuse
the invitation. For that would be interpreted either as fear or as
aristocratic exclusiveness; and the captain, while he was new in the
district, was as anxious to avoid the appearance of the one as of the
other. Accordingly he accepted the invitation and on the appointed day
rode with his son into the wide yard of John Garvestad's farm, stopping
at the pump, where they watered their horses. It was early i