One warm, pleasant afternoon, when they had played about the house for some time, amusing themselves at the games they were wont to pass the time with in the East, Jan called to her brother:
"Let's go and take a ride on our ponies!"
"All right," agreed Teddy. "Where'll we go?"
"Oh, not very far. Mother told us we mustn't go very far when we're alone."
"That was before we knew how to ride," declared the little boy. "I guess we ride good enough now to take long rides."
"But not now," insisted Jan. "We'll only go for a little way, or I'm not going to play."
"All right," Teddy agreed. "We won't go very far."
So they went out to the stable where their ponies were kept, and there one of the cowboys kindly saddled Clipclap and Star Face for the little Curlytops. Uncle Frank had given orders to his men that they were to let the children have the ponies whenever it was safe to ride, and this was one of the nicest days of the summer.
"Don't let 'em run away with you!" laughed the cowboy, as he helped Jan and Ted into their saddles.
"Oh, Clipclap and Star Pace won't run away!" declared the little girl. "They're too nice."