nies plunged forefeet into the water and stood thus with noses
buried, drinking with eager gulps. "The afternoon is so hot and the
road so dusty," the speaker continued, "that the poor things were
almost choked."

She was the smaller of the pair, of medium height and having a
graceful, well-molded figure, with frank gray eyes, a nose showing a
few freckles, smooth soft cheeks slightly reddened by sun, and an
expressive mouth. Bryant judged that she had small, firm hands, but
could not see them as she wore gauntlets. He further decided that she
was neither plain nor pretty: just average good-looking, one might
say. An air of friendliness was in her favour, though what might or
might not be a prepossessing trait, depending on circumstances, was
the suggested obstinacy in her round chin.

"Don't you yourselves wish a drink? You must be thirsty, too," Bryant
addressed the young ladies. "If your ponies won't stand, I'll look
after them."

"Oh, they'll not run off, unless we forget to let the reins hang, as
has happened once or twice," said the girl who previously had spoken.
"For they're regular cow-ponies. At first we had a hard time
remembering just to drop the lines when we dismounted instead of tying
them to a post somewhere; and for a while we had a feeling that they
certainly would gallop off if we did let the reins hang, as we'd been
instructed. But they never did." She turned to her companion. "Imo,
aren't you thirsty? I'm going to get down and have a drink." With
which she swung herself down from her saddle upon the sand.

The second girl was tall and thin, lacking both the spirits and
stamina of the other; a crown of fluffy golden hair was hinted by the
little of it the young fellow could see under the brim of her big hat;
her eyes were of a soft blue colour, probably weak; while her face,
the skin of which was exceedingly white with but a tinge of the sun's
fiery burn, was regular of feature and delicately formed.

She walked to the rill languidly, where stooping she drank from her
palm. Most of the water that she dipped escaped before reaching her
lips; and Bryant doubted if she were really successful in quenching
her thirst. The heat, the dust, and the ride appeared to have been
almost too much for her strength, exhausting her slender store of
vitality. The other girl, who had coiled herself down by the
trickling stream and bent forward resting her hands in the water,
drank directly from the rivulet.

"T