ubject
hotly. A series of such very urgent letters went to Paris that Mr.
Hewlitt yielded, and wrote to Miss Todd asking her to be so kind as to
arrange the matter. Very fortunately for Diana the idea appealed to Miss
Todd; she wished to encourage riding amongst her girls, and was quite
willing to allow the experiment to be tried. She commissioned Mr.
Greenhalgh, a neighbouring farmer, to procure a suitable mount for a
young lady of fourteen, and to take charge of it in his stable. Diana
had to wait a week, in great impatience, while he made enquiries and
interviewed horse-dealers; then one red-letter afternoon she was taken
by Miss Todd to the farm, and introduced to the prettiest possible
little white pony. "Lady" was getting on in years, but still had some
spirit left in her, and she was accustomed to the saddle. Her owner,
considering that she needed a rest, was glad to hire her out for such
light work. Diana flung her arms round the pony's neck, and at once
began the process of making love to her, cementing the new friendship
with several lumps of sugar which she had brought in her pocket.

Then began a series of perfectly delightful rides. Miss Carr and Diana
would start out after tea, and explore all the bridle-roads in the
neighbourhood. Sometimes they would go up on the moors, and enjoy a
canter over the soft grass, or ride alongside the beautiful little lakes
that lay like gems among the hills. Diana did not much mind where they
went, so long as she could be upon Lady's back. Her new possession
naturally aroused wild longing in the breasts of a considerable number
of her schoolfellows. If it had been possible Miss Todd would have
arranged for a riding-master to bring horses to Pendlemere and give
lessons to some of the girls, but matters had not yet adjusted
themselves sufficiently after the war for such an ambitious scheme as
that, so she did the next best thing, hired a second pony, and sent
certain girls, whose parents wished them to learn riding, out in relays.
These elect few were regarded as favourites of fortune, but they were
obliged to take their luck in turns. They could only have one ride a
week each, and that was not nearly enough to content them. They wanted
at least two.

"If Miss Todd could hire another pony," sighed Wendy, "that would mean
we each got in a second lesson a week."

"Mr. Greenhalgh has tried, and says he can't hear of one anywhere,"
lamented Tattie. "Horses are scarce since the