Page:Stewart Edward White--The Rose Dawn.djvu/68

56 on him, looked vaguely about him for Daphne, who had long since disappeared, and took his way out of the dining room, bowing right and left as he went. The wonderful negro held open the frosted doors—again "closed," as it was after nine o'clock. He alone of all those present managed to play up.

The pressure of the Colonel's affairs, that had prevented his giving time to Watson's explanations, seemed to lift somewhat when he had gained the wide, low, rail-less veranda. It was now well occupied. Ladies sat in deep rocking chairs; men walked up and down, or leaned over the ladies, or lounged smoking against the big square pillars. Children raced back and forth. It was approaching the hour of the daily ride. Practically all those not actually on the verge of the bedridden were preparing to sally forth on horseback. Everybody rode horseback, whether they knew how or not. It was in the air. Grandmothers who had never seen a sawhorse tried it on. The tiniest children, their legs sticking straight out across the backs of gentle beasts went forth in coveys under charge of steady old Spaniards. There were all degrees of skill, and there were all types of costume. The women rode side saddle and were encumbered with long skirts which they hooked up when afoot. The men used the stock saddle with high horns, with long stirrups hanging straight under the body, with flapping tapaderos—stirrup covers—that made a gay sound when they loped. Wide portable horseblocks with little nights of steps stood around for those to whom their own horses appeared like two-story buildings, however small the other fellow's horse might look. Some of the young ladies, however, were able by placing their feet in the cupped hands of their cavaliers to spring neatly into their saddles from the ground; and some of the said cavaliers loved to vault to their seats without touching stirrup at all. There was a great deal of clanking about, for all of the younger men and most of the older wore the huge loose-fitting big rowelled Spanish spurs that dragged and rattled on the floor.

The Spanish lads from the stables were continually trotting up, each leading four or five saddle horses which they tied to the iron rails. The names of the riders had been written on cards