boy, what won't you do next?" She
scattered letters and papers from her lap and flew to the rescue. "Will
he kick, Andy? You little ruffian." She held out her arms coaxingly from
the top of the steps, and her face, Andy saw when he looked at her, had
lost some of its color.

"The horse is quiet enough," he reassured her. "But at the same time I
wouldn't hand him out as a plaything for a kid." He leaned cautiously
and peered backward.

"Oh--did you ever see such a child! Come to mother, Baby!" Her voice was
becoming strained.

The Kid, wrinkling his nose, and jabbering unintelligibly at her, so
that four tiny teeth showed in his pink mouth, moved farther backward,
and sat down violently under the horse's sweat-roughened belly. He
wriggled round so that he faced forward, reached out gleefully, caught
the front fetlocks, and cried "Dup!" while he pulled. The Little Doctor
turned white.

"He's all right," soothed Andy, and, leaning with a twist of his slim
body, caught the Kid firmly by the back of his pink dress, and lifted
him clear of danger. He came up with a red face, tossed the Kid into the
eager arms of the Little Doctor, and soothed his horse with soft words
and a series of little slaps upon the neck. He was breathing unevenly,
because the Kid had really been in rather a ticklish position; but the
Little Doctor had her face hidden on the baby's neck and did not see.

"Where's Chip?" Andy turned to ride back to the stable, glancing toward
the telegram lying on the floor of the porch; and from it his eyes went
to the young woman trying to laugh away her trembling while she scolded
adoringly her adventurous man-child. He was about to speak again, but
thought better of it, and sighed.

"Down at the stables somewhere--I don't know, really; the boys can tell
you. Mother's baby mustn't touch the naughty horses. Naughty horses hurt
mother's baby! Make him cry!"

Andy gave her a long look, which had in it much pity, and rode away.
He knew what was in that telegram, for the agent had told him when he
hunted him up at Rusty Brown's and gave it to him; and the horse of Andy
bore mute testimony to the speed with which he had brought it to the
ranch. Not until he had reached the coulee had he slackened his pace.
He decided, after that glance, that he would not remind her that she
had not read the telegram; instead, he thought he ought to find Chip
immediately and send him to her.

Chip was rummaging after something in