"Yes, for a man, if he attempts to manage at all; but I suppose the majority of us are managed, if we would only acknowledge it. What chance has a man with a coaxing, clever woman?" "Look there," said Harcourt, as they were turning the first sharp angle in the road to which he had referred. "Where should we have been if we had gone round this point at our speed when I held the reins?" The steep embankment, with grim rocks protruding from the snow and with gnarled trunks of trees, was anything but inviting. "Come, De Forrest," continued Harcourt, "brush up your mathematics. At what angle, and with what degree of force, should we have swooped down there on a tangent, when the horses rounded this curve?" "O-o-h!" exclaimed Lottie, looking shudderingly down the steep bank, at the bottom of which brawled a swift stream among ice-capped rocks. "It's just the place for a tragedy. We were talking about heaven and the other place when the horses started, were we not? Perhaps we were nearer one or the other of them than we supposed." "O, hush, Lottie!" cried Bel, still sobbing and trembling; "I wish we had remained at home." "I echo that wish most decidedly," muttered De Forrest. "The whole evening has been like a nightmare." "I am sorry my expedition has been a source of wretchedness to every one," said Lottie, coldly. "Not every one, I'm sure," said Hemstead. "Certainly not to me. Besides, your expedition has made a pastor and a whole parish happy, and I also dimly foresee a seat in Congress for Harcourt as a result." "Very dimly indeed," laughed Harcourt. "Still,--now that our necks are safe, thanks to Mr. Hemstead, I'm glad I went. Human nature lies on the surface out at Scrub Oaks, and one can learn much about it in a little while. Come, little coz, cheer up," he said to Addie, drawing her closer to him. "See, we are down the hill and across the bridge. No danger of the horses running up the long hill before us, and by the time they reach the top they will be glad to go the rest of the way quietly." "You had better take the reins again, Mr. Harcourt," said Hemstead. "O Mr. Hemstead, please drive," cried the ladies, in chorus. "No," said he; "Mr. Harcourt is as good a driver as I am. It was only a question of strength before." "The majority is against me," laughed Harcourt. "I won't drive any more to-night. You take my place." "Well, if you all wish it; but there's no need." "Let me come over, too, and sit between you and Bel," said Addie, eagerly. "No, she can sit with Julian," said Lottie, "and I will go to Mr. Hemstead. He shall not be left alone." "O Miss Lottie! please forgive me," pleaded De Forrest; "I did not mean what I said a moment since." "Well, I'll forgive you, but shall punish you a little. Stop the horses again, Mr. Hemstead; that is, if you don't object to my company." The horses stopped very suddenly. "Please don't leave me," said De Forrest.