"Come on, everybody," exclaimed Mr. Ashe in a resolutely cheerful tone, "we must make the most of the morning."
"Why?" asked Kitty before she thought, and then bit her lip. That word "why" was such a pitfall.
"Everybody has to take a siesta in the afternoon," explained Blue Bonnet. "It's too hot to move."
"Every afternoon?" demanded Debby.
"Every afternoon," repeated Uncle Cliff. "Anybody caught awake between one and four p. m. will be severely dealt with. It's a law of the human constitution and the penalty is imprisonment in the hospital, headache, and loss of appetite."
"What a waste of time," Sarah commented, privately resolving that she would not spend two or three precious hours every afternoon in sleep. One didn't come to Texas every summer.
"I see mutiny in Sarah's eye," said Blue Bonnet. "Wait till you've had a sunstroke, Sarah, then you'll wish you hadn't possessed such oceans of energy." She had put all unpleasant memories from her by now and was leading the way to the stables. Straight to Firefly's stall she went and threw her arms around her old playfellow's neck. In the few seconds before the others came in she had whispered into his velvet ear something that was both a confession and an apology, while Firefly nosed her softly and looked as pleased as a mere horse-countenance is capable of looking.
"Isn't he a beauty?" she challenged as the rest entered.
"A stunner," Alec agreed warmly, coming up to admire. "Wouldn't Chula's nose be out of joint if she could see you petting Firefly?"
"Victor has a rival too. Where's Alec's horse, Uncle Joe?"