Carol learned that Prince Ingram was
tired of Frontier Days and had decided not to go on to Sterling, but
thought he too should linger, gathering up something worth while in Fort
Morgan. Carol looked at Connie reproachfully, but the little baby sister
was as imperturbable as ever.

Prince himself was all right. Carol liked him. David liked him, too.
And Julia was frankly enchanted with him and with his horse. But Connie
and Prince,--that was the puzzle of it,--Connie, fine white, immaculate
in manner, in person and in thought,--Prince, rugged and brown, born of
the plains and the mountains. Carol knew of course that Prince could
move into the city, buy a fine home, join good clubs, dress like common
men and be thoroughly respectable. But to Carol he would always be a
brown streak of perfect horsemanship. Whatever could that awful Connie
be thinking of?

The days passed sweetly and restfully on the Bijou lawn, but one day,
most unaccountably to Connie, Prince had an appointment with his business
partner down at Brush. He would ride Ruby down and be back in time for
dinner at night if it killed him. Connie was cross about that. She
thought he should have asked her to drive him down in the car but since
he did not she couldn't very well offer her services. What did he
suppose she was hanging around that ugly little dead burg for? Take out
the literary material, Fort Morgan had nothing for Connie. And since the
literary material saw fit to absent itself, it was so many hours gone for
nothing.

After he had gone, Connie decided to play a good trick on him. He would
kill himself to get back to dinner with her, would he? Let him. He
could eat it with David and Carol, and the little Julia he so adored.
Connie would take a long drive in the car all by herself, and would not
be home until bedtime. She would teach that refractory Material a lesson.

It was a bright cloudless day, the air cold and penetrating. Connie said
it was just the day for her to collect her thought, and she could do it
best of all in the car. So if they would excuse her,--and they did, of
course. Just as she was getting into the car she said that if she had a
very exceptionally nice time, she might not come back until after dinner.
They were not to worry. She knew the car, she was sure of herself, she
would come home when she got ready.

So off she went, taking a naughty satisfaction in the good trick she was
playing on that poor bo