“Thirty,” corrected Ross. “But what does that matter when I’m in the company of such charming ladies?” he added, gallantly.
“And now he’s going to ride all the way back to-night!”
“Think of that,” gasped Mrs. Enderby, “and no moon!”
“How can you find your way?” asked Mrs. Bridges, to whom this was a mortally dangersome journey.
“Oh, it’s quite simple. If you don’t bump against a tree or fall into the creek you may be quite sure you’re on the trail,” laughed Ross.
Mrs. Redfield knew the true reason for his coming, and was not at all pleased, “for with all Lee’s personal charm,” she said to her husband, “she is socially beneath Ross Cavanagh, even in a State where social barriers are few.”
“Come out on the veranda,” suggested Cavanagh, “and I’ll show you the hills I must climb.”
Lee accepted innocently; but as the young people left the room Mrs. Enderby looked at her hostess with significant glance. “There’s the lady Ross rode down to meet. Who is she?”
“Her mother is that dreadful old creature that keeps the Wetherford Hotel in Roaring Fork.”
“No!” exclaimed Mrs. Enderby.