e glanced coyly at me
over her sharp right shoulder, and said, 'Do you know, only such a
little while ago, I never even dreamed that we should ever become as
intimate as we are now; it seems almost incredible, does it not?'

'You must not say so,' I replied. 'Surely there is nothing singular in
my helping you a little with your riding?' Though it struck me that it
would have been very singular if I had.

'Perhaps not singular,' she murmured, looking modestly down her nose;
'but will you think me very unmaidenly if I confess that, to me, those
lessons have developed a dawning danger?'

'You are perfectly safe on the grey,' I said.

'I--I was not thinking of the grey,' she returned. 'Dear Mr. Pulvertoft,
I must speak frankly--a girl has so many things to consider, and I am
afraid you have made me forget how wrongly and thoughtlessly I have been
behaving of late. I cannot help suspecting that you must have some
motive in seeking my society in so--so marked a manner.'

'Miss Gittens,' said I, 'I can disguise nothing: I have.'

'And you have not been merely amusing yourself all this time?'

'Before Heaven,' I cried with fervour, 'I have _not_!'

'You are not one of those false men who give their bridle-reins a
shake, and ride off with "Adieu for evermore!"--tell me you are not?'

I might shake _my_ bridle-reins till I was tired and nothing would come
of it unless Brutus was in the humour to depart; so that I was able to
assure her with truth that I was not at all that kind of person.

'Then why not let your heart speak?'

'There is such a thing,' I said gloomily, 'as a heart that is gagged.'

'Can no word, no hint of mine loosen the gag?' she wished to know.
'What, you are silent still? Then, Mr. Pulvertoft, though I may seem
harsh and cruel in saying it, our pleasant intercourse must end--we must
ride together no more!'

No more? What would Brutus say to that? I was horrified. 'Miss Gittens,'
I said in great agitation, 'I entreat you to unsay those words. I--I am
afraid I could not undertake to accept such a dismissal. Surely, after
that, you will not insist!'

She sighed. 'I am a weak, foolish girl,' she said; 'you are only too
able to overcome my judgment. There, Mr. Pulvertoft, look happy again--I
relent. You may stay if you will!'

You must believe that I felt thoroughly ashamed of myself, for I could
not be blind to the encouragement which, though I sought to confine my
words to strict truth, I was inn