“I don’t,” she declared.
Therefore, it happened that less than an hour after breakfast two lads and two girls rode out from Meadwold, and Dick was not one of them.
Nevertheless, Merriwell had donned riding clothes offered him by Steele, and the quartet had no more than disappeared when he galloped out from the stable, astride the black thoroughbred.
Sparkfair found June in a nervous, excitable mood. Several times he detected her looking back over her shoulder as if half expecting to discover some one in pursuit of them. In truth, she was looking for Dick, but he had taken another course, and there was no chance that he would come upon them from the rear.
“I can’t get over the nervous feeling caused by that affair last night,” said June. “I was dreadfully frightened when that scoundrel leaped upon us from behind the rosebush.”
“But you proved yourself a heroine, June. You hung to him and yelled bloody murder until the fellows came up and nabbed him. At first I was sorry when I learned this morning that he’d escaped in the night. Now I’m rather glad of it. It saves us the trouble of pressing the case against him, and I don’t believe he’ll go back to Cambridge.”
“If he does——”
“If he does, I may have further trouble with him, but I’m not worrying over that.”
After a time Arlington and Agnes fell behind. Beneath some trees by the roadside they halted, and soon Dale and June passed from view. Finally discovering that their companions were not following closely, they drew rein and waited for them to come up. June was seized by a strange desire to be alone for a time, at least.
“I wish you’d go back and look for them, Dale,” she said. “Please do. You can overtake me. I’ll wait for you.”