r to the narrow perch beside him, and with a nod to Bent
drove off. His breathless expedition relieved the leave-taking of these
young people of any ceremony.

"I suppose," said Mr. Dawson, giving a half glance over his shoulder as
they struck into the dusty highway,--"I suppose you don't care to see
anybody before you get to San Jose?"

"No-o-o," said Rose, timidly.

"And I reckon you wouldn't mind my racin' a bit if anybody kem up?"

"No."

"The mare's sort o' fastidious about takin' anybody's dust."

"Is she?" said Rose, with a faint smile.

"Awful," responded her companion; "and the queerest thing of all is, she
can't bear to have any one behind her, either."

He leaned forward with his expression of humorous enjoyment of some
latent joke and did something with the reins--Rose never could clearly
understand what, though it seemed to her that he simply lifted them with
ostentatious lightness; but the mare suddenly seemed to LENGTHEN herself
and lose her height, and the stalks of wheat on either side of the dusty
track began to melt into each other, and then slipped like a flash into
one long, continuous, shimmering green hedge. So perfect was the mare's
action that the girl was scarcely conscious of any increased effort; so
harmonious the whole movement that the light skeleton wagon seemed only
a prolonged process of that long, slim body and free, collarless neck,
both straight as the thin shafts on each side and straighter than the
delicate ribbon-like traces which, in what seemed a mere affectation of
conscious power, hung at times almost limp between the whiffle-tree and
the narrow breast band which was all that confined the animal's powerful
fore-quarters. So superb was the reach of its long easy stride that Rose
could scarcely see any undulations in the brown shining back on which
she could have placed her foot, nor felt the soft beat of the delicate
hoofs that took the dust so firmly and yet so lightly.

The rapidity of motion which kept them both with heads bent forward and
seemed to force back any utterance that rose to their lips spared Rose
the obligation of conversation, and her companion was equally reticent.
But it was evident to her that he half suspected she was running away
from the Randolphs, and that she wished to avoid the embarrassment of
being overtaken even in persuasive pursuit. It was not possible that
he knew the cause of her flight, and yet she could not account for
his evident des