"What was?" inquired Belle.
"To take that red sunshade further off. It made me perspire to look at it."
"Red silk shuts out some of the worst rays of the sun," Laura explained wisely.
"Does it?" asked Tom. "I know there must be some excuse for carrying a red sunshade."
Then suddenly he colored, remarking:
"That wasn't very gallant of me, but I didn't mean it quite the way it sounds."
"And a red parasol helps throw a little tinge of color over a face that hasn't any too much color of its own," added Susie. "Clara is always more or less pale in summer."
"She might be a lot more pale if any of those wild cattle were to roam back this way," smiled Dr. Bentley.
Hardly had he uttered the words when, from the edge of the woods, there came a piercing scream, followed by a deep, bass bellow that seemed to shake the ground.
All hands turned instantly, to see Clara running frantically, waving the parasol in her fright, while not very far behind her charged a bull, its head lowered.