d let him come within a mile of you," said
Shelley.

"When the right man comes I'll go half the mile to meet him? you may be
sure of that; won't I, Mrs. Stanton?" the Princess turned to mother.

"I have known girls who went even farther," said my mother rather dryly.

"I draw the line at half," laughed the Princess. "Now I must go; I
have been so long my people will be wondering what I'm doing."

Standing in the middle of the room she put on her hat, picked up her
whip and gloves, and led the way to the hitching rack, while all of us
followed. At the gate stood Laddie as he had come from the field. His
old hat was on the back of his head, his face flushed, his collar
loosened so that his strong white neck showed, and his sleeves were
rolled to the elbow, as they had been all summer, and his arms were
burned almost to blisters. When he heard us coming he opened the gate,
went to the rack, untied the Princess' horse and led it beside the
mounting block. As she came toward him, he took off his hat and
pitched it over the fence on the grass.

"Miss Pryor, allow me to make you acquainted with my son," said mother.

I felt as if I would blow up. I couldn't keep my eyes from turning
toward the Princess. Gee! I could have saved my feelings. She made
mother the prettiest little courtsey I ever set eyes on, and then
turned and made a deeper one to Laddie.

"I met your son in one of the village stores some time ago," she said.
"Back her one step farther, please!"

Laddie backed the horse, and quicker than you could see how it was
done, she flashed up the steps and sat the saddle; but as she leaned
over the horse's neck to take the rein from Laddie, he got one level
look straight in the eyes that I was sure none of the others saw,
because they were not watching for it, and I was. Laddie bowed from
the waist, and put the reins in her fingers all in one movement. He
caught the glance she gave him too; I could almost feel it like a band
passing between them. Then she called a laughing good-bye to all of us
at once, and showed us how to ride right, as she flashed toward the
Little Hill. That was riding, you may believe, and mother sighed as
she watched her.

"If I were a girl again," she said, "I would ride as well as that, or
I'd never mount a horse."

"She's been trained from her cradle, and her father deals in horses.
Half the battle in riding is a thoroughbred," said Laddie. "No such
horse as that ever ste