road-builder and his gang of Italians. A low barrier ran
across the road. It was not exactly needed, as they were not digging,
but laying crushed stone. The obstruction was simply for the
convenience of the boss, who desired to work unhampered.

"Shall we?" cried Warrington, mischief in his eyes.

"Yes." There was no fear in this girl.

On they went, in a cloud of dust. The Italians made for the ditches,
but the boss stood in the road and waved his arms in warning.
Presently he, too, ducked.

Hep! and over the pair went, landing clean and sound on the other side
of the barrier. Before the surprised boss could express himself, they
were far down the road. A curse was hurled after them, but they heard
it not. They hadn't hurt the road at all, but the authority of the
boss had suffered. He knew the girl, little snob! He would find out
who the man was, soon enough. And if he had any influence in the City
Hall, as he believed he had, he would make it tolerably warm for
yonder vanishing parties.

He had put up that barrier to signify that the road was closed; very
well, they'd see. Dirt under their feet, huh? All right. How he hated
them all, with their horses and carriages and dances and dinners and
clubs! Bah! He took a flask from his pocket and drank. Then he cursed
the laggard Italians, and mourned that a year and a half must pass
before he could sell their votes again. Bolles contracted for Italian
labor and controlled something more than eight hundred votes. McQuade
sublet various small contracts to him, and in return used the Italians
during elections.

That jump, harmless enough in itself, was to prove a bad inspiration
on Warrington's part. But it is always these seemingly inconsequent
things that bear the heaviest reckoning.

Half a mile onward they drew down to a walk, flushed and breathless.

"Perhaps we oughtn't to have done that," she said doubtfully, working
the numbness from her fingers. "No thoroughfare" had hitherto been
religiously respected by her; this was her first transgression, and
she wasn't entirely satisfied with herself.

"Pshaw! There's no harm done. There was no earthly reason why we
should have turned back to the fork and added two miles to our ride.
Don't let anything like that worry you; we went by too fast to be
recognized. Look! here's a big clover patch. I never pass clover
without wanting to get down and hunt for four-leaves. Shall we?"

She was out of the saddle before the qu