"Where were you all last night?"
"I went out for a long ride," said Jim sulkily.
"And were you riding from eight o'clock till three?"
"No—I stopped a while to see a friend."
"What friend?"
"Oh, somebody you don't know—a fellow."
Controlling himself, he answered more gently; his dark eyes met hers imperturbably.
"Well, you oughtn't to stay out all night!"
"I didn't," said Jim reasonably. "And a fellow has to do something in this dead place."
"You shouldn't have taken your father's horse either, without permission."