"Oh, I must explain that in an affair of this kind I am expected to sustain the reputation of the cavalry. I forced myself to the front."
"Quite right. I kept the only man in the rear, who was capable of spoiling your reputation; you are under obligations to me."
"That wild man, you mean. He certainly has a wonderful pony, but you need not trouble about him if it is to please me only."
"I find this sun becoming too insistent; I think I will go back," said Katherine Searles. Many of the women also turned their horses homeward, leaving only the more pronounced types of sportsmen to search for another wolf.
"Having sustained the cavalry, I'll accompany you, Katherine."
"Miss Searles, please!" she said, turning to him, and the little gem of a nose asserted itself.
"Oh, dear me! What have I done? You permitted me to call you Katherine only last night."
"Yes, but I do not propose to divide my friendship with a nasty little gray wolf which has been eaten up alive."
The officer ran his gauntlet over his eyes.
"I am such a booby. I see my mistake, Miss Searles, but the idea you advance seems so ridiculous—to compare yourself with a wolf."