“Presently out came the three, and then the fun began. Mr. Lewis stepped forward to mount Felicia, and at once Miss Gaiety backed away, snorting. Then the groom left us, and tried to hold her; but not a bit of it; every time Mr. Lewis tried to approach she’d get wild.
“Finally my Major joined in by walking over to help, and the mare at once put her head round and rubbed it against him, and stood as quiet as a mouse. So he says: ‘I’ve only my left arm, Miss Fairley, but I think we can manage it;’ and the next moment she was in the saddle.
“Lewis was pretty angry-looking as he went toward his own horse; and when he, too, began to back and snort and shiver, he didn’t look any better, you may be sure of that. You ought to have seen it! The brute caught him by the bridle, and then the grey kept backing away or dodging from him. Out on the lawn they went, cutting it up badly, then into Miss Fairley’s pet bed of roses, then smashing into the shrubberies. I never saw better acting. Any one would have sworn the horse was half dead with fright.
“It didn’t take very much of this to make Lewis lose all self control.
“‘You cursed mule!’ he raved, his face white with passion; ‘if I had a decent whip, I’d cut the heart out of you!’ And suiting the action to the thought he struck the grey between the eyes with his crop a succession of violent blows, until, in his fury, he broke the stick. Then he clenched his fist and struck Solitaire on the nose, and would have done so a second time if Miss Fairley hadn’t spoken.
“‘Stop!’ she called hotly, and Lewis dropped his fist like a flash. Felicia was breathing very fast and her cheeks were white, while her hands trembled almost as much as Solitaire had. Her face wore a queer look as she continued: ‘I—excuse me, Mr. Lewis, but I couldn’t bear to see you strike him. He—I don’t think he—something has frightened him. Please give him just a moment.’ Then she turned to my dear, saying, ‘Perhaps you can calm him, Major Moran?’
“I should think he could! Talk of lambs! Well, that was Solitaire when my Major went up to him. He let himself be led out of the flower-bed back to the road as quiet as a kitten. The moment Lewis tried to come near him, however, back away he would, even from my confrère. The groom tried to help; but it takes more than three humans to control a horse who doesn’t want to be controlled.
“After repeated attempts they got tired of trying; and then Mr. Lewis suggested, with a laugh that didn’t sound nice: ‘Well, Major, we mustn’t cheat Miss Fairley of her afternoon; and since you seem able to manage my beast, perhaps you’ll ride him, and let me take yours?’
“Usually I should have been very much pained at my comrade’s nodding his head, but this time it was exactly what I wanted. Whoop! Ride me? Neigh, neigh! If you ever saw a coward in an ague of a blue funk, that is what I was. I blessed my stars none of the Eleventh Battery were round! Lewis tried; but, do his best, I wouldn’t let him back me. When my Major interfered, I sidled up to my dear just as if I couldn’t keep away from him; but when he attempted to hold me for Lewis to mount, I went round in a circle, always keeping him between me and the brute. It was oats to me, you’d better believe, to see the puzzled, worried look on Miss Fairley’s face as she watched the whole thing.
“Well, they discussed what they called ‘the mystery,’ and finally agreed that they couldn’t ride that afternoon, so we horses were sent down to the stable, and the three went back to the verandah. Sagitta told me afterward what happened there.