Westlake was a divine
dancer. Princeman, he had learned from Miss Stevens, who had spoken
with vast enthusiasm, was a base-ball hero. Hollis and Princeman and
Westlake were crack bowlers, also crack tennis players, and no doubt
all three were even expert croquet players. It was easy to see the
sort of men she admired. Sam Turner only knew one recipe to get
things, and he had made up his mind to have Miss Stevens. He promptly
sought Miss Westlake.

"Do you ride?" he wanted to know.

"Not as often as I'd like," she said.

Really, she had half promised to go driving with Tilloughby, but it was
not an actual promise, and if it were she was quite willing to get out
of it, if Mr. Turner wanted her to go along, although she did not say
so. Young Tilloughby was notoriously an impossible match. But
possibly Mr. Tilloughby and Miss Hastings might care to join the party.
She suggested it.

"Why, certainly," said Sam heartily. "The more the merrier," which was
not the thing she wanted him to say.

Tilloughby, a trifle disappointed yet very gracious, consented to ride
in place of drive, and Miss Hastings was only too delighted; entirely
too much so, Miss Westlake thought. Accordingly they rode, and Sam
insisted on lagging behind with Miss Westlake, which she took to be of
considerable significance, and exhibited a very obvious fluttering
about it. Sam's motive, however, was to watch Tilloughby in the
saddle, for in their conversation it had developed that Tilloughby was
a very fair rider; and everything that he saw Tilloughby do, Sam did.
En route they met Hollis and Miss Stevens, cantering just where the
Bald Hill road branched off, and the cavalcade was increased to six.
Once, in taking a narrow cross-cut down through the woods, Sam had the
felicity of riding beside Miss Stevens for a moment, and she put her
hand on his horse and patted its glossy neck and admired it, while Sam
admired the hand. He felt, in some way or other, that riding for that
ten yards by her side was a sort of triumph over Hollis, until he saw
her dash up presently by the side of Hollis again and chat brightly
with that young gentleman.

Thereafter Sam quit watching Tilloughby and watched Hollis. Curly-head
was an accomplished rider, and Sam felt that he himself cut but an
awkward figure. In reality he was too conscious of his defects. By
strict attention he was proving himself a fair ordinary rider, but when
Hollis, out of sheer showin