"To-morrow--or the day after--or never!"
She laughed and put out her hand; and when he tried to detain her she
spoke to the horse and flashed away toward home. He listened, marking her
flight until the shadows of the valley stole sound and sight from him;
then he turned back into the hills.
Near her father's estate Shirley came upon a man who saluted in the
manner of a soldier.
It was Oscar, who had crossed the bridge and ridden down by the nearer
road.
"It is my captain's horse--yes?" he said, as the slim, graceful animal
whinnied and pawed the ground. "I found a horse at the broken bridge and
took it to your stable--yes?"
A moment later Shirley walked rapidly through the garden to the veranda
of her father's house, where her brother Dick paced back and forth
impatiently.
"Where have you been, Shirley?"
"Walking."
"But you went for a ride--the stable-men told me."
"I believe that is true, Captain."
"And your horse was brought home half an hour ago by a strange fellow who
saluted like a soldier when I spoke to him, but refused to understand my
English.
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