Still no one was visible. He was quite unreasonably disappointed, for Louise might not be returning for hours, perhaps not till the cool of the evening. Then, even as he stood irresolute, he saw a feminine figure on horseback come around a turn of the road in the distance.
He rode slowly to meet her, certain who it must be. From a distance he thought Louise looked startled as she recognized him, but she smiled as she rode up. She was flushed with the heat, and sparkles of perspiration stood on her nose.
“I didn’t know you woods riders came away up here,” she laughed. “Is Craig scouting for more turpentine?”
“No—no. I had to go up to the store,” Lockwood hesitated. “I had a sort of morning off. I turned into this road for the shade. I was just going back.”
He turned his horse and they moved slowly forward side by side.
“Yes, isn’t it powerfully hot for springtime,” said Louise. “It was cooler when I started.”
“Your father said you’d gone out riding——”
“Did you see papa?” she exclaimed, looking keenly at him. “Did he tell you where I’d gone?”
“Er—not exactly,” Lockwood equivocated. “I just called in as I passed, you know. By the way, what’s the matter with your father? He didn’t seem exactly cordial.”
“What did he say?”