icks; and easy at that ... if Lily only
would! Oh, he'd soon make her graceful! But, for that, she would have to
obey, to let go the handle-bar at a sign, instead of endlessly seeking her
balance. For instance, Pa held her rein to prevent falls--there was
nothing spiteful about Pa, he never let you fall on purpose--and
Lily--"One! Two!--Count together, Lily!"--put one foot on the saddle, the
other on the handle-bar: "Three!" That's where she had to let go her
hands, smartly, and stand erect as she rode. The machine slipped under
her. Lily, shaking with fear, stooped to seize the handle-bar.

"Stand up, Lily! Show pluck, Lily!" said Pa.

Lily, accustomed to obeying blindly, drew herself up again. But,
sometimes, crash! The whole came tumbling down. Notwithstanding the rein,
Lily fell to the ground; and the bike, in addition, caught her a kick in
passing.

"Nothing broken? A tiny scratch; it's nothing. Tom, the white stuff!"

Tom left his Woolley-legs, brought a bottle of embrocation; a few drops of
that on the skin, a bit of sticking-plaster; there, that was all right.

"You see, Lily, you're not dead yet! Nothing to be frightened about. Come,
try again!"

The great thing was to hustle. Pa displayed so much enthusiasm--"Those
Pawnees, damn it!"--that Lily, for all her fears, was smitten in her turn,
ended by becoming exasperated against those Pawnees, felt a longing to
wring their necks!

She obeyed her Pa like an automaton, in her anxiety to do well.

"More graceful! That's it! Not so stiff!" said Pa.

"But, Pa, I can't!" protested Lily, soaked in perspiration.

"But you've got to, my little lady!"

They passed from one practice to another, almost without resting. Lily was
worn out, Pa seemed indefatigable.

Sometimes, practising was marked by interruptions. Maud's gouged eye
remained the typical accident. Another time, a girl lay fainting for ten
minutes after falling on her head; or else the stage was invaded by a
ballet. There was no end to it. On this particular day, they had a visit
from Harrasford himself, Harrasford the chief and master, who came along
with Jimmy; a visit which was the more sensational for being quite rare.
Pa, now that he was the owner of a troupe and sure of his position, would
not have been sorry to be noticed by Harrasford, just to impress Mr. Fuchs
and show him what they thought of Lily in London.

"Do your best, my Lily," said Pa. "He's watching us."

But bill-toppers, New Z