ark
arches of the forest. Here their progress was less interrupted; and the
instant the guide perceived that the females could command their steeds,
he moved on, at a pace between a trot and a walk, and at a rate which
kept the sure-footed and peculiar animals they rode at a fast yet easy
amble. The youth had turned to speak to the dark-eyed Cora, when the
distant sound of horses hoofs, clattering over the roots of the broken
way in his rear, caused him to check his charger; and, as his companions
drew their reins at the same instant, the whole party came to a halt, in
order to obtain an explanation of the unlooked-for interruption.

* In the state of Rhode Island there is a bay called
Narragansett, so named after a powerful tribe of Indians,
which formerly dwelt on its banks. Accident, or one of those
unaccountable freaks which nature sometimes plays in the
animal world, gave rise to a breed of horses which were once
well known in America, and distinguished by their habit of
pacing. Horses of this race were, and are still, in much
request as saddle horses, on account of their hardiness and
the ease of their movements. As they were also sure of foot,
the Narragansetts were greatly sought for by females who
were obliged to travel over the roots and holes in the "new
countries."

In a few moments a colt was seen gliding, like a fallow deer, among the
straight trunks of the pines; and, in another instant, the person of the
ungainly man, described in the preceding chapter, came into view, with
as much rapidity as he could excite his meager beast to endure without
coming to an open rupture. Until now this personage had escaped the
observation of the travelers. If he possessed the power to arrest any
wandering eye when exhibiting the glories of his altitude on foot, his
equestrian graces were still more likely to attract attention.

Notwithstanding a constant application of his one armed heel to the
flanks of the mare, the most confirmed gait that he could establish
was a Canterbury gallop with the hind legs, in which those more forward
assisted for doubtful moments, though generally content to maintain a
loping trot. Perhaps the rapidity of the changes from one of these paces
to the other created an optical illusion, which might thus magnify the
powers of the beast; for it is certain that Heyward, who possessed
a true eye for the merits of a horse, was unable, wi