Kitty Trenire | Page 8

much as opened my lips. I reckon 'twas the weather made me a bit
peppery like--"
"It was fate," interposed Kitty gravely. "It must have been something,
for sure," breathed Jabez, with a dreary shake of his head.

"Make haste and get Prue harnessed," said Kitty, "or the storm will
begin before we start, and then father won't let me go;" and Jabez, with
another gloomy shake of his head, rose from the upturned bucket and
proceeded with his task.
CHAPTER III.
A DRIVE AND A SLICE OF CAKE.
With one thing and another Jabez was so agitated as to be quite
incapable of hurrying, and Kitty, who could harness or unharness a
horse as well as any one, had to help him. She fastened the trace on one
side, buckled up the girths, and finally clambered up into the carriage
while Jabez was still fumbling with the bit and the reins. She caught the
braid of her frock in the step as she mounted, and ripped down many
inches of it, but that did not trouble her at all.
"Have you got a knife in your pocket, Dan?" she asked calmly; and
Dan not only produced a knife, but hacked off the hanging braid for her
and threw it away.
"I do wish I could go too," said Betty wistfully. "I'd love to drive all
over the downs at night, particularly if there was a storm coming. May
I come too, Kitty?"
But Kitty, for several reasons, vetoed the suggestion. For one thing she
wanted to be alone with her father, to try her powers of argument and
persuasion against the summoning of Aunt Pike and Anna into their
midst; for another, she felt that to be driving in the dark, and probably
through a storm, was responsibility enough, without the care of Betty
added; and she felt, too, that though her father might be induced to let
one of them go with him, he would, under such circumstances, shrink
from the pleasure of their united company.
"No, Bet," she answered firmly, "you can't come to-night. I--I want to
talk things over with father; but," with sudden inspiration, "I tell you
what you can do, and it would be awfully sweet of you. You coax
Fanny to get something very nice for supper by the time we come home,

and see that Emily has the table properly laid, and that the glasses are
clean, and that there are knives enough, and--oh, you know, all sorts of
things."
"I know," said Betty, quite as delighted with the responsibility thrust on
her as she would have been with permission to go for the drive.
Dr. Trenire came out presently with some letters in his hand, which he
gave to Jabez. "Post those without fail," he said, then mounted to his
seat. He was so absorbed, or bothered, or tired, that he did not at first
observe Kitty's presence, or, at any rate, object to it; and when he did
notice her, all he said was, "O Kitty, are you going to drive me? That is
very good of you; but isn't it rather late for you?"
"No, father," said Kitty, relieved by his tone. "I love driving by night,
and I--I thought it would rest you to have some one to drive. Perhaps
you will be able to have a nap on the way."
"I shouldn't be surprised if I did," said her father, with a smile. "I feel as
though my head is asleep already. Have we got the lamps?"
"Yes, I think everything is right," and, gathering up the reins, off she
drove down through the street.
Every one they met smiled and saluted them in some way, and Kitty
smiled back, well pleased. To be perched up on the box-seat, with the
reins in her hand, in a position of real trust, gave her the happiest thrills
imaginable. Horses, and riding and driving, were passions with her.
At the bottom of the street they branched to their left, and went more
slowly up a steep hill, which wound on and on, gradually growing
steeper and steeper, past villas and cottages and pretty gardens, until at
last all dwellings were left behind, and only hedges bordered the wide
road; and then the hedges were passed too, and they were out on the
open downs with miles of rough level grassland stretching away on
either side of them, broken only by the flat white road along which they
rolled so easily.

Up here, on this height, with nothing to intercept it, a little breeze met
them. It was a very faint little breeze, but it was refreshing. Kitty drew
in deep breaths of it with pleasure, for the closeness and
thunderousness of the atmosphere were very trying. The sky overhead
looked heavy and