Chapter VII

A Stranger

As the weeks passed, each day bringing its
period of companionship, this friendship and
understanding between them became perfect in
its simplicity. Pat learned to know her wishes
almost without the reins, and he showed that he
loved to carry her. Also, with these daily canters
on the mesa he developed in bodily strength, and
it was not long before he was in the pink of condition.
Yet it was a perfection that was only
natural for him. The quality of his blood was
shown in his nostrils, which were wide and continuously
atremble; in his eyes, which were bright
and keenly alert; and in his ears, which were
fine and vibrant. Stepping through town each
morning under Helen's restraining hand, he would
pick up his hoofs with a cleanliness and place them
down with a grace that always commanded the
attention of admiring eyes. But he seemed unconscious
of his quality.

Dressed in her usual dark riding-habit, Helen
entered the corral one morning for her daily canter
across the mesa. Already Pat was bridled
and saddled. But as she stepped alongside to

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v?