Charley patted and soothed his fiery curveting steed into a walk, which was quite sufficient to keep it abreast of Maximilian Bray's ambling jennet, which kept up a dancing, circus-horse motion, one evidently approved by its owner for its aid in displaying his graceful horsemanship. "Nice day," said Charley, scanning with a side glance his companion's "get-up," and evidently with a laughing contempt. "Ya-a-s, nice day," drawled Bray, "but confoundedly dusty!" "Rain soon," said Charley maliciously. "Lay it well." "Bai Jove, no--surely not!" exclaimed the other, displaying a great deal of trepidation. "You don't think so, do you?" "Black cloud coming up behind," said Charley coolly. "Bai Jove, mai dear fellow, let's push on and get home! You'll come and lunch, won't you?" "No, not to-day," said Charley. "But I'm going into the town to see the saddler. I'll ride with you." "Tha-a-anks!" drawled Bray, with a grin of misery. "But, mai dear fellow, hadn't you better go on the grass? You're covering me with dust!" "Confounded puppy! Nice brother-in-law! Wring his neck!" muttered Charley, as he turned his mare on to the grass which skirted the side of the road, as did Bray on the other, when, the horses' paces being muffled by the soft turf, conversation was renewed. "Bai Jove, Vining, you'll come over to the flower-show to-morrow, won't you? There'll be some splendid girls there! Good show too, for the country. You send a lot of things, don't you?--Covent-garden stuff and cabbages, eh?" "Humph!" growled Charley. "The governor's going to have some sent, I s'pose; our gardener's fond of that sort of thing. Think perhaps I shall go." "Ya-a-s, I should go if I were you. It does you country fellows a deal of good, I always think, to get into society." "Does it?" said Charley, raising his eyebrows a little. "Bai Jove, ya-a-s! You'd better go. Laura's going, and the Lingon's girls are coming to lunch. You'd better come over to lunch and go with us," drawled the exquisite. "Well, I don't know," said Charley, hesitating; for he was thinking whether it would not be better than going quite alone--"I don't know what to say." "Sa-a-ay? Sa-a-ay ya-a-s," drawled Bray. "Come in good time and have a weed first in my room; and then we'll taste some sherry the governor has got da-awn. He always leaves it till I come da-awn from ta-awn. Orders execrable stuff himself, as I often tell him. Wouldn't have a drop fit to drink if it weren't for me. You'd better come." "Well, really," said Charley again, half mockingly, "I don't know what to say." "Why, sa-a-ay ya-a-as, and come." "Well, then, `ya-a-as'!" drawled Charley, in imitation of the other's tone.