Suddenly it occurred to Beatrice that she might take Queen and ride a little way along the trail. She had been over the ground before and was not afraid to come back alone. Without saying anything of her intention, she appeared on the parade-ground, mounted, and met a chorus of protests. "It isn't safe for you to go alone," said Mrs. Franklin. "Please don't, Bee," added Katherine. "Really, Miss Manning," observed Doctor Norton, "it is not best for you to go." "I'm not afraid," replied the girl, with a toss of her head. The party she had determined to escort, individually and collectively, offered feeble objections, which were immediately waved aside. "I'm going," said Beatrice, "because I want to, and because it would break Queen's heart if we went back now." "What's all this fuss about?" inquired Ronald, sauntering up, and rubbing his eyes. The women explained all at once, in incoherent sentences; but Beatrice did not appear to hear any part of the conversation until he ended it by saying, "She can go if she wants to, because I'm going along." Beatrice bit her lip. "You are not," she said, in a tone of command. "Yes, I am," he laughed; "and, moreover, you are never to ride out of the gate of the Fort unless an officer goes with you." She turned and looked at him scornfully, and Ronald, still laughing, saluted. "A military order, Miss Manning." It was scarcely light when they started, with Beatrice leading the way. Queen's eager feet fairly flew, and the girl's pulses caught the exultant sense of life. The others fell far behind, and Beatrice doubled and crossed on the trail wherever it was possible. They had gone about six miles from the Fort when she reined in and waited for the others to come up, then made her adieux. "Why do you say good-bye?" asked Ronald. "Why, because I'm going back now." "Oh, are you coming back? I thought you were going to Fort Wayne." She made no reply, but watched the four riders as they turned a little away from the lake and went south-west over the prairie. A pack horse, Black Partridge, and four other Indians were following them. "What made you think I was going to Fort Wayne?" she asked. "Nothing, only you had such a good start. Besides, you live there, don't you?" "No," she said slowly, "I live here. I fought at Fort Wayne." "Indeed!" remarked Ronald, with polite interest. "Indians or soldiers?" The pink flush upon her face deepened. "Shall we go back, now?" "As you please, Miss Manning." She went ahead, leaving him to follow or not as he chose. "I wish Major was here," he called to her. "Why?" she asked, over her shoulder. "Because it's the same kind of a procession we had around the parade-ground, and I enjoyed that so much."