"That wild man, you mean. He certainly has a wonderful pony, but you need not trouble about him if it is to please me only."
"I find this sun becoming too insistent; I think I will go back," said Katherine Searles. Many of the women also turned their horses homeward, leaving only the more p.r.o.nounced types of sportsmen to search for another wolf.
"Having sustained the cavalry, I"ll accompany you, Katherine."
"Miss Searles, please!" she said, turning to him, and the little gem of a nose a.s.serted itself.
"Oh, dear me! What have I done? You permitted me to call you Katherine only last night."
"Yes, but I do not propose to divide my friendship with a nasty little gray wolf which has been eaten up alive."
The officer ran his gauntlet over his eyes.
"I am such a b.o.o.by. I see my mistake, Miss Searles, but the idea you advance seems so ridiculous--to compare yourself with a wolf."
"Oh, I say, Miss Searles," said Shockley, riding up, "may I offer you one of my gauntlets? The sun, I fear, will blister your bare hand."
"No, indeed." And Butler tore off a glove, forcing it into her hand. She could not deny him, and pulled it on. "Thank you; I lost one of mine this morning."
Then she turned her eyes on Mr. Shockley with a hard little expression, which sealed him up. He was prompt to feel that the challenge meant war, and war with this girl was the far-away swing of that gallant strategic pendulum.
"Yes," Shockley added, "one is apt to drop things without noting them, in a fast rush. I dropped something myself this morning."
"Pray what was it, Mr. Shockley?"
"It was an idea," he replied with a shrug of the shoulders.
"An idea?" laughed she, appreciating Shockley"s discretion. "I hope you have more of them than I have gloves."
"I have only one," he sighed.
"Are all soldiers as stupid as you are, my dear sir?"
"All under thirty, I am sorry to say," and this from Shockley too. Miss Searles applied the whip; but go as she would, the two officers did not lose again the idea, but kept their places beside her.
"You are not very steady under fire," laughed Shockley.
"You are such an absurd person."
"I may be a blessing in disguise."
"You may be; I am unable to identify you."
"The chaperon is waving her whip at us, Miss Searles," cautioned Butler.
"Private O"Dowd is my chaperon, and he can stand the pace," she replied.
The young woman drove on, leaving a pall of dust behind, until the little party made the cantonment and drew rein in front of the Searleses" quarters. Giving her hand to the orderly, she dismissed her escort and disappeared.
"Well, Katherine," said Mrs. Searles, "did you enjoy your ride?"
"Yes, mother, but my horse is such an old poke I was nowhere in the race."
"The Major says he is a safe horse; one which can be relied on, and that is more important than speed. I do not want your neck broken, my dear."
"Neither do I want my neck broken, but I should like to be somewhere in sight during a run. The young officers desert me once a wolf is sighted; they forget their manners at the first flash of a greyhound."
"I know, daughter, but what can you expect? They go out for that purpose."
"Mr. Ermine doesn"t, or at least he is polite enough to say that he goes out to see me run, and not the wolf. If he is not sophisticated, he seems to have the primitive instincts of a gentleman."
"Mr. Ermine, forsooth!" And Madam Searles betrayed some asperity. "Is he presumptuous enough to present you with compliments? You had better maintain your distance."
"He is a perfectly delightful man, mother; so thoughtful and so handsome."
"Tut tut, Katherine; he is only an ordinary scout--a wild man."
"I don"t care; I like him."
"Katherine, what are you thinking of?"
"Oh, I don"t know, mother; I am thinking what an absurd lot men are.
They insist on talking nonsense at me. They do not seem to preserve their reserve; they are not a bit like the men back in the States."
"Well, my daughter, you must be careful not to provoke familiarity.
Young women are rather scarce out here, and you are not without your charms. I believe you use your eyes more than you should. Have a care; do not forget that quiet modesty is the most becoming thing in the world for a woman."
"I am sure I do nothing; in fact, I have to be constantly menacing these military youths to keep them from coming too near, especially Mr.
Shockley and Mr. Butler. I am in distress every minute for fear Mr.
Butler will say more than I am ready to hear."
Mrs. Searles was by no means averse to Butler"s attentions to her daughter. "A very fine young man," was her comment when she thought of him. Both women knew that the Lieutenant was ready to draw his sabre in Katherine"s behalf.
Katherine had met Butler while visiting St. Louis the year before, had come to know him well, and didn"t pretend to dislike him. His father and mother were dead, but his people were of consequence.
Mrs. Searles determined to ask the Major to make some inquiries about her daughter"s suitor, and meanwhile dismissed Katherine with the caution not to tempt this midday sun overmuch; "It will soon turn your peach-blow into russet apples," she told her, "and men, you know, like the peach-blow. Without it you might be less troubled by the young officers."
The sun was about to depart. The families of the officers were sitting under their _ramadas_ enjoying the cool. Butler and Shockley with two or three other men were seated with the Searleses when their attention was attracted by a commotion down by the quarters.
"What"s the circus?"
"Don"t make out; seems to be coming this way. It is--why, it is the scout Ermine!"
The group sat expectantly and witnessed the approach of John Ermine on his horse. At some distance to one side rode Wolf-Voice, and gradually through the dusk they made out some small animal between them--a dog-like thing.
The riders drew up before the Searleses" hut, and every one rose. The object was a scared and demoralized wolf with his tail between his legs.