less,' girls?"

Alec was dressed for his part with elaborate attention to details. Mr.
Ashe had been anxiously consulted, for the Eastern boy had no desire
to be dubbed a tenderfoot; and now, except for its spotless newness,
his costume was quite "Western and ranchified"--according to Blue
Bonnet.

[Illustration: "COMANCHE . . . LEAPED FORWARD LIKE A CAT."]

He was in khaki, too, with trousers that tucked into high
"puttees"--thick pigskin leggings which gave his long limbs quite a
substantial appearance and himself no end of comfort. A soft shirt
and a carelessly knotted bandana gave the finishing touches to his
attire. He had even turned in the neck of his shirt so as to be quite
one of the cowmen, secretly hoping that the girls would not notice how
white his throat was.

It was a gay cavalcade that cantered out of the big corral, the five
girls leading; Alec, Pinto Pete, and Uncle Joe forming a rear guard,
with Don and Solomon capering at their heels; while a crowd of little
"greasers" clung on to the bars, their eyes big with the wonder of it
all.

"Lucky we're not on the streets of Woodford," remarked Alec, looking
with amused eyes over the well mounted company.

"Why?" asked Blue Bonnet a trifle resentfully. "Aren't we grand enough
for the East?"

"Sure! But I'm afraid we'd be arrested for running a circus without a
license!"

This piece of wit so tickled Pinto Pete that he nearly stampeded the
bunch by bursting again into his ear-splitting laugh. Sarah grabbed
the handy pommel with a nervous clutch that was eloquent of her state
of mind. And that action was all that saved her. For Comanche, taking
Pete's guffaw for a command, leaped forward like a cat, and a moment
later the whole crowd was galloping madly across the level meadow.

It is probable that if Sarah's hair had not already been as light as
hair can well be, that wild ride would have turned it several shades
lighter. The terrors that were compressed into those two hours are
beyond description, while the bobbing, bumping and shaking of her poor
plump body left reminders that only time and witch hazel were able to
eradicate.

When they returned at noon Gertrudis had a wonderful dinner awaiting
them, and the riders, with their appetites freshened by the air and
exercise, fell upon it like a pack of famished wolves. All except
Sarah. Protesting that she was not in the least hungry, she went at
once to her room. On the little stand by her bed la