ess, turned aside from the path to jump his
horse over a fallen tree, and Miss Stevens out of bravado followed him,
Sam Turner well-nigh ground his teeth, and, acting upon the impulse, he
too attempted the jump. The horse got over safely, but Sam went a
cropper over his head, and not being a particle hurt had to endure the
good-natured laughter of the balance of them. Miss Stevens seemed as
much amused as any one! He had not caught her look of fright as he
fell nor of concern as he rose, nor could he estimate that her laugh
was a mild form of hysteria, encouraged because it would deceive. What
an ass he was, he savagely thought, to exhibit himself before her in an
attempt like that, without sufficient preparation! He must ride every
morning, by himself.

Miss Josephine and Mr. Hollis were bound for the Bald Hill circle, and
they insisted, the insistence being largely on the part of Miss
Stevens, on the others accompanying them; but Mr. Turner's engagement
at eleven o'clock would not admit of this, and reluctantly he took Miss
Hastings back with him, leaving Miss Westlake and young Tilloughby to
go on. The arrangement suited him very well, for at least Hollis' ride
with Miss Stevens would not be a tete-a-tete. Miss Westlake strove to
let him understand as plainly as she could that she was only going with
Mr. Tilloughby because of her previous semi-engagement with him--and
there seemed a coolness between Miss Westlake and Miss Hastings as they
separated. Miss Hastings did her best on the way back to console Mr.
Turner for the absence of Miss Westlake. Vivacious as she always was,
she never was more so than now, and before Sam knew it he had engaged
himself with her to gather ferns in the afternoon.

Upon his arrival at Meadow Brook, he found his express package and also
a couple of important letters awaiting him, and immediately held on the
porch a full meeting of the tentative Marsh Pulp Company. In that
meeting he decided on four things: first, that these hard-headed men of
business were highly favorable to his scheme; second, that Princeman
and Cuthbert, who knew most about paper and pulp, were so profoundly
impressed with his samples that they tried to conceal it from him;
third, that Princeman, at first his warmest adherent, was now most
stubbornly opposed to him, not that he wished to prevent forming the
company, but that he wished to prevent Sam's having his own way;
fourth, that the crowd had talked it