“And you ought to have seen her, Isabel, when she came back from her first ride on old Poky! You wouldn’t think Poky’s going could jolt anybody, would you?”
“She galloped awfully,” interrupted Cathalina, while the girls laughed.
“Cathalina did not have a hairpin or a ribbon left! Her hat was over one ear, her hair flying—well, I will spare her the rest! Ever there was a girl in distress she was it!”
“Well, I was in distress. That old riding teacher showed everybody how but me!”
“He probably thought that anybody on Poky didn’t need any showing.”
“Hilary, how you do rub it in!” said Isabel, reaching over to pat Cathalina, who was not minding it at all.
“She appealed to me!” urged Hilary in self-defense.
“That was the way my oldest brother taught me to swim,” Isabel continued. “He took me out to where I couldn’t stand and began to be floated off,—’n when I was yellin’—‘Jimmy, take me out,’ the wretch swam off with ‘strike out, Izzy’!”
“O, my,” gasped Avalon, “what did you do?”
“Well, you see I’m here,” and Isabel grinned at Avalon, who looked sheepish.