r me a fine horse, and I must make a
beginning to show you and him that I can ride. If Mr. and Mrs. Wayland
were here they would laugh at you. Don't come out to see me off, Mary.
Others would follow, and I don't want to be conspicuous. I do wish
people would mind their own business."

"No danger of my coming out. I don't want to see you break your neck,"
cried Mary, re-entering her room.

"You must let me go, Madge," said Mr. Muir, firmly. "I may have to
interpose my authority."

"Yes, do come, for Heaven's sake!" said Graydon.

"Very well," laughed Madge. "If I once get on, you and the horse may
both find it hard to get me off. Where are the horses?" she asked,
upon reaching the door.

"You must yield one point and mount near the stable," said Graydon,
resolutely.

"Oh, certainly, I'll yield everything except my ride."

Madge's horse stood pawing the ground, showing how obdurate and
untamable was his spirit. She exclaimed at the beauty of the saddle
and its housings, and said, "Thank you, Graydon," so charmingly that
he anathematized himself for giving her a brute instead of a horse. "I
should have satisfied myself better about him," he thought, "and have
looked further."

In a moment she had the animal by the head, and was patting his neck,
while he turned an eye of fire down upon her, and showed no relenting
in his chafed and excited mood. Graydon meanwhile examined everything
carefully, and saw that the bridle had a powerful curb.

"Well," said he, ruefully, "if you will, you will."

"Yes; in no other way can I satisfy you," was her quiet reply.

"Let us get away, then; spectators are gathering. You should be able
to hold him with this rein. Come."

She put her foot in his hand, and was mounted in a second, the reins
well in hand. The horse reared, but a sharp downward pull to the right
brought him to his feet again. Then he plunged and kicked, but she sat
as if a part of him, meanwhile speaking to him in firm, gentle tones.
His next unexpected freak was to run backward in a way that sent the
neighboring group flying. Instantly Madge gave him a stinging blow
over the hind quarters, and he fairly sprang into the air.

"Get off, Madge," cried Mr. Muir, authoritatively, but the horse was
speeding down the road toward the house, and Graydon, who had looked
on breathlessly, followed. Before they reached the hotel she had
brought him up with the powerful curb, and prancing, curvetting,
straining side-wise