"I'm afraid I must be going," he said desperately.
"Your horse seems to be getting impatient," Ruth replied, looking out of the window.
"It's not the horse I care for," he blurted out; "it's you."
"Me?" she questioned innocently.
"Do you think anything else matters when you are about?" he asked in a tone almost of defiance.
"I fear I do not understand," she said, with a bewildered expression in her eyes.
"Oh, you must understand," he replied vehemently. "You must have seen that I love you."
"No, no!"
"Don't interrupt me, please, now that I've started. Give me a chance—oh, do give me a chance. I've loved you ever since your father's sale. I'm sure it's love I feel for you. Whenever people talk about my getting married, my thoughts always turn to you in a moment. I waited and waited for a chance of speaking to you, and thought it would never come; and now that I've got to know you a bit——"
"But you don't know me," she interrupted.