pitch. Rollicking tumbleweed did not worry him
any more than did the swirling dust-devils. These
were things of the desert, each the complexion
of the desert. But not so with scraps of paper.
Their whiteness offered a startling contrast to the
others, and, whisking about frantically, they increased
his fears. Then suddenly a paper struck
him, whipped madly across his eyes. It was unexpected,
and for an instant blinded him. Gripping
the bit in his teeth, he bolted.

His sudden plunge almost unseated Helen.
But, recovering, she braced herself grimly in the
stirrups and pulled mightily on the reins. But
she could not hold him. He increased his speed,
if anything, and hurtled across the desert -- head
level, ears flat, legs far-reaching. She braced
herself again, flinging back head and shoulders,
thrusting her feet far forward, and continued to
pull. But it counted for nothing. Yet she did
not weaken, and under her vigorous striving,
coupled with the jolting of the horse, her tam-o'-shanter
flew off, and her hair loosened and fell,
streaming out whippingly behind. And then suddenly,
struck with terror herself, she cried out in
terror.

"Pat!" she burst out. "Pat! Pat!"

But the horse seemed not to hear. Thundering
madly forward, he appeared blind as well as fear-stricken,
and Helen, suddenly seeing a barb-wire
fence ahead, felt herself go faint, for she had never
taken a fence, and she knew that Pat never had.
She must get control of herself again. And this

[[77]]

p076 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p077w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p078

v?