and Nic turned to glance at his father's thin,
cleanly cut profile, to see that he was gazing straight before him
towards where the waggon could be dimly seen in front.

"Well, are you?" continued the doctor, without turning his head.

Nic was silent, and the horse stumbled through putting a foot into a
deep rut of the unkept road.

"Hold up, sir--steady, steady!" cried the doctor, drawing more heavily
upon the rein he still held, as well as his own; and then, after Nic had
shuffled back into the seat from which he had again been shaken, "I
said, are you too much alarmed to stop on?"

These words sounded very stern, and stung and hurt the boy to the quick.

"I have never learned to ride, father," he said reproachfully; "and it
is all fresh to me to be mounted upon a spirited horse like this."

"Of course it is: perfectly fresh. Then you feel afraid?"

"Yes, of falling off, father. I have nearly been down three times."

"Six, Nic. Well, get off and climb on to the waggon." Nic drew a deep
breath as his father checked the horses; and, stung more than ever, the
boy kicked his nag with his heels and sent it forward.

"Well, why don't you get down, sir?"

"Because I'd rather keep on and ride, father," said Nic huskily.

"Do you mean that, sir?"

"Yes, father."

"Thank you, Nic," said the doctor, turning to him with a smile. "I like
the boy who is not afraid to own that he is alarmed; and better still to
hear you say through your teeth that you will not be beaten--
metaphorically, of course. Now, then, we understand our position. This
is not boasting, mind--look at me. You see me here?"

"Yes, father," said Nic, feeling envious of the easy, upright position
of his father in the saddle.

"Let me tell you, then, that I feel as easy and comfortable here as if I
were seated upon a cushion in a carriage. More so, for this noble beast
knows me as I know him, and after a fashion we are as one together in
going over the ground. Do you understand what that means, Nic?"

"Yes, father; but you have learned to ride."

"Yes, and more, boy. It means the confidence which comes of knowledge.
When I came out here, years ago, I had not been on horseback for twenty
years; I was a miserable invalid, and when I mounted my horse--a
necessity out in a wild country like this--I suffered a martyrdom of
nervous dread. But I did what you have just done, made up my mind that
I would master my fear and ride, and I won. It