The day was sultry, so, after proceeding a short distance, Kate said—
“I think I can find a cooler road, if you will permit me to be the guide. There used to be an old one, somewhere near here, which had become quite deserted before I went to Europe; it was grass-grown in many places, and must now present an unbroken sward, which will be a relief to the horses after toiling through these hot sands. For half a mile or more, the way leads through a cedar-swamp, where what we call a corduroy road had been laid down. We shall find it deliciously cool. Here is the very place.”
So saying, she turned her horse into an opening between the trees, where, in spite of the obliterated wheel-tracks, it was apparent a road had once run. Tall pines rose on either hand, stretching far away in a vista that seemed interminable, like pillars in a gothic colonnade. The air was full of the sweet aroma they shed. Their fallen tassels, faded to a rich brown color, carpeted the road.
“What a bit of ground for a canter,” said the Major, who was eager to test Kate’s horsemanship. “Shall we give our steeds a brush?”
“Willingly,” said Kate; and away they went.
It was a beautiful sight to see the two spirited animals cantering side by side, so that a blanket would have covered both. Arab was full of play, and turned continually to snap at his companion, which Kate laughingly permitted him to do occasionally, while at other times she wheeled him off with a dexterous turn of her wrist, which elicited the open admiration of Major Gordon.
Very soon, the natural emulation between the two mettled steeds began to tell on their pace, which gradually increased from a canter to a gallop. They went snorting along now, their necks arching at the strain upon the bit; their hoofs crackling the pine splinters that strewed the road; the foam flecking their glossy coats as they tossed their heads; and now one, and then another, momentarily succeeding in passing his antagonist, only however to be passed in turn.
“They are determined to try each other’s mettle,” said Kate, laughingly. “It’s as much as I can do to keep Arab in. Suppose we let them out and have a race in earnest.”
“Agreed,” said the Major, entering into the spirit of the thing as fully as his fair companion.
“You see yonder thunder-riven pine,” said Kate, pointing with her riding-whip. “It is probably half a mile off. The best one gets there first. Are you ready?”