In a little time a certain pride went beating through the veins of the doctor, the air blew more deeply into his lungs, there was a different tang to the wind and a different feel to the sun--a peculiar richness of yellow warmth.

And the small head of the horse and the short, sharp, pricking ears tossed continually; and now and then the mare threw her head a bit to one side and glanced back at him with what he felt to be a reassuring air.

Life and strength and speed were gripped between his knees--he flashed a glance at the girl.
But she rode with face straightforward and there was that about her which made him turn his eyes suddenly away and look far off.

It was a jagged country, for in the brief rainy season there came sudden and terrific downpours which lashed away the soil and scoured the face of the underlying rock, and in a single day might cut a deep arroyo where before had been smooth plain.

This was the season of grass, but not the dark, rank green of rich soil and mild air--it was a yellowish green, a colour at once tender and glowing.