There was the clatter of ponies' feet, and nextminute as handsome a boy as ever sat in saddle, andas pretty and bright a lassie as you could wish tomeet, galloped into the clearing, and reined up theirspirited little steeds close to the spot where the menwere lounging.
Burly Bill stuck his thumb into the bowl of hismeerschaum to put it out, and Jake threw his pipeon the bank.
Roland was tall for his age, like Peggy. But whilea mass of fair and irrepressible hair curled aroundthe boy's sun-burned brow, Peggy's hair was straightand black. When she rode fast it streamed outbehind her like pennons in the breeze. What abright and sunny face was hers too! There was evera happy smile about her red lips and dark eyes.
"You've got to begin to smoke again immediately,"said the boy.
"No, no, Master Roland, not in the presence of yoursister."
"But," cried Peggy, with a pretty show ofpomposity, "I command you!"
"Ah, then, indeed!" said Jake; and soon both menwere blowing clouds that made the very mosquitoeschange their quarters.
"Father'll be up soon, riding on Glancer. This nagthrew Father, coming home last night. Mind, Glanceris seventeen hands and over."
"He threw him?"
"That he did, in the moonlight. Scared at a 'gator.Father says he heard the 'gator's great teeth snappingand thought he was booked. But lo! Jake, at thatvery moment Glancer struck out with both hind-legs-youknow how he is shod. He smashed the 'gator'sskull, and the beast turned up his yellow belly tothe moon."
"Bravo!"
"Then Father mounted mighty Glancer and rodequietly home.
"Peggy and I," he continued, "have ridden alongthe bank to the battlefield to hold a coroner's inqueston the 'gator, but he's been hauled away by hisrelations. I suppose they'll make potato soup of him."
Burly Bill chuckled.
"Well, Peggy and I are off. See you in the evening,Jake. By-by!"
And away they rode, like a couple of wild Indians, followed by a huge Irish wolf-hound, as faithful a dogto his mistress-for he was Peggy's own pet-as everdog could be.
They were going to have a day in the forest, andeach carried a short six-chambered rifle at the saddle.
A country like the wild one in which they dweltsoon makes anyone brave and fearless. They meantto ride quite a long way to-day and not return till thesun began to decline in the far and wooded west. So, being already quite an old campaigner, Roland hadnot forgotten to bring luncheon with him, and somefor bold Brawn also.
Into the forest they dashed, leaving the mighty river, which was there about fifteen miles broad probably,in their rear.
They knew every pathway of that primeval woodland, and it mattered but little to them that most ofthese had been worn by the feet of wild beasts. Suchtracks wind out and in, and in and out, and meetothers in the most puzzling and labyrinthine manner.
Roland carried a compass, and knew how to use it, but the day was unusually fine and sunny, so therewas little chance of their getting lost.
The country in which they lived might well havebeen called the land of perpetual summer.
But at some spots the forest was so pitchy dark, owing to the overhanging trees and wild floweringcreepers, that they had to rein up and allow Coz andBoz, as their ponies were named, to cautiously feelthe way for themselves.
How far away they might have ridden they couldnot themselves tell, had they not suddenly entered akind of fairy glade. At one side it was bounded bya crescentic formation of rock, from the very centreof which spouted a tiny clear crystal waterfall.Beneath was a deep pool, the bottom of which wassand and yellow shingle, with here and there a patchof snow-white quartz. And away from this a littlestream went meandering slowly through the glade, keeping it green.
On the other side were the lordly forest trees, bedraped with flowering orchids and ferns.
Flowers and ferns grew here and there in the rockfaceitself. No wonder the young folks gazed aroundthem in delighted wonder.
Brawn was more practical. He cared nothing forthe flowers, but enjoyed to the fullest extent the clearcool water of the crystal pool.
"Oh, isn't it lovely?" said Roland.
"And oh, I am so hungry, Rolly!"
Rolly took the hint.
The ponies were let loose to graze, Brawn beingtold to head them off if they attempted to take to thewoods.
"I understand," said Brawn, with an intelligentglance of his brown eyes and wag of his tail.
Then down the boy and girl squatted with thenoble wolf-hound beside them, and Roland speedilyspread the banquet on the moss.
I dare say that hunger and romance seldom treadthe same platform-at the same time, that is. Itis usually one down, the other up; and notwithstandingthe extraordinary beauty of their surroundings, for some time both boy and girl appliedthemselves assiduously to the discussion of the goodthings before them; that meat-pie disappearing as ifby magic. Then the hard-boiled eggs, thewell-buttered and flouriest of floury scones, received theirattention, and the whole was washed down withvinum bovis, as Roland called it, cow's wine, or goodmilk.
Needless to say, Brawn, whose eyes sparkled likediamonds, and whose ears were conveniently erect, came in for a good share.
Well, but the ponies, Boz and Coz, had not theremotest idea of running away. In fact they soondrew near to the banqueting-table. Coz laid his noseaffectionately on his little mistress's shoulder andheaved an equine sigh, and Boz began to nibble atRoland's ears in a very winning way.
And the nibbling and the sigh brought them cakesgalore.
Roland offered Boz a bit of pie.
The pony drew back, as if to say, "Vegetarians, weren't you aware?"
But Brawn cocked his bonnie head to one side, knowingly.
"Pitch it this way, master," he said. "I've got acrop for any kind of corn, and a bag for peas."
A strange little rodent creature, much bigger thanany rat, however, with beautiful sad-looking eyes, camefrom the bush, and stood on its hind-legs begging, nota yard away. Its breast was as white as snow.
Probably it had no experience of the genus homo,and all the cruelties he is guilty of, under the title ofsport.
Roland pitched several pieces of pie towards theinnocent. It just tasted a morsel, then back it rantowards the wood with wondrous speed.
If they thought they had seen the last of it, theywere much mistaken, for the innocent returned intwo minutes time, accompanied not only by anotherof his own size, but by half a dozen of the funniestlittle fairies ever seen inside a forest.
"My wife and children," said innocent No. 1.
"My services to you," bobbed innocent No. 2.
But the young ones squawked and squealed, andtumbled and leapt over each other as they fed in amanner so droll that boy and girl had to laugh tillthe woods rang.
Innocent No. 1 looked on most lovingly, but tooknot a morsel to himself.
Then all disappeared as suddenly as they had come.
Truly the student of Nature who betakes himselfto lonely woods sees many wonders!
It was time now to lie back in the moss and enjoythe dolce far niente.
The sky was as blue as blue could be, all betweenthe rifts of slowly-moving clouds. The whisper of thewind among the forest trees, and the murmur of thefalling water, came like softest music to Roland's ears.Small wonder, therefore, that his eyes closed, and hewas soon in the land of sweet forgetfulness.
But Peggy had a tiny book, from which she readpassages to Brawn, who seemed all attention, but keptone eye on the ponies at the same time.
It