Then he adjusted the stirrups to fit her,
passed a hair rope from Midget's little hackamore to the pommel of
Moses' saddle, mounted the pinto, and proceeded with his first
adventure as a riding-master. Two hours of his valuable time did he
give that morning before the call of duty brought him back to the
house and his neglected crop of carrots. When he suggested tactfully,
however, that it was now necessary that his guest and Midget
separate, a difficulty arose. Shirley Sumner refused point blank to
leave the premises. She liked Bryce for his hair and because he had
been so kind to her; she was a stranger in Sequoia, and now that she
had found an agreeable companion, it was far from her intention to
desert him.
So Miss Sumner stayed and helped Bryce weed his carrots, and since as
a voluntary labourer she was at least worth her board, at noon Bryce
brought her in to Mrs. Tully with a request for luncheon. When he
went to the mill to carry in the kindling for the cook, the young
lady returned rather sorrowfully to the Hotel Sequoia, with a fervent
promise to see him the next day. She did, and Bryce took her for a
long ride up into the Valley of the Giants and showed her his
mother's grave. The gray squirrels were there, and Bryce gave Shirley
a bag of pine-nuts to feed them.
Pages:
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38