Glancing around to see if she were needed anywhere, Ann sank her silken slimness upon the chair next to the friendly lady.
“Yes, Mrs. Lewis,” said Ann, who had caught the name from Madeline when she had offered coffee. “I shall be glad to sit down a minute. Almost every one is served, I think.”
“I could scarcely find time to come,” returned Mrs. Lewis. “There were so many friends to visit; and I only now consented to come. I came with my daughter, who has been served.”
“Aha,” thought Ann, gravely listening and clasping her hands loosely in front of her. “She is not fond of food, but yet——.”
“They tell me that you are quite an expert in Western ways, riding, hunting, racing, breaking broncos and all. Ever had any encounters with the Indians?”
“Our Indians are all very peaceful, Mrs. Lewis. I ride a little, catch a few trout occasionally and can hit a mark when I shoot, but I never race and I would not know how to break horses or broncos.”
“Why I understood that your horse won a race at a fair.”
Now who had told her that? Ann felt decidedly annoyed. “He did,” she calmly replied, “but he was entered and ridden without our knowledge by a young man who worked for my father.”
“Of all things! How things can get twisted in the gossip one hears! But I suppose that it is true about the large fortune left you by the Indian whose life you saved?”