Rocked, or fatigued, by the rolling of the cumbersome old coach, Gloria was soon fast asleep, and she slept through the whole night, undisturbed except by the stoppage at the post-houses to change horses.
At sunrise they reached Leesburg, where they stopped to breakfast and to change coaches, taking the Winchester coach.
They rode all day through the most beautiful passes of the lesser Blue Ridge and reached Winchester in the Valley in time for an early tea.
Here again they were to change coaches and take the Staunton stage.
David Lindsay would have prevailed on Gloria to stop and rest till morning, but she was determined to pursue her journey.
They had but an hour here before the starting of the Staunton coach, and Gloria made the most of her time to refresh herself by a wash and prepare comfortably for her second night’s ride.
After an excellent tea, for which their wintry day’s journey had given them a keen appetite, the young travelers took their seats in the Staunton coach and recommenced their journey.
And this second night, poor, disappointed David Lindsay slept as soundly in his seat as did the willful beauty, Gloria, in hers.
Not even the stoppage of the coach to change horses, amid the flashing lights of the roadside post-houses, or the getting off of old passengers and climbing in of new ones succeeded in arousing them, for if disturbed they would draw a long breath, slightly change position, and drop asleep again.
They never opened their eyes until the stage-coach stopped at Woodstock, when the tumultuous getting out of their fellow-passengers at once fully awakened them.