The next morning the riding lessons began, with the colonel and Miss von Schwertfeger, of course, in attendance. Walter von Prell appeared in riding boots and a jockey's cap. The forward inclination of the upper part of his body seemed to signify, "I am awaiting orders," and his respectfulness and obsequiousness kept him shifting from one foot to the other. For the first essay they had chosen a lamblike grey mare, narrow-chested and somewhat overtrained in the fore-hand, yet a smart, well-fed animal. Mr. von Prell proceeded very methodically to explain the construction of the saddle and bridle, showed Lilly how the girths are buckled, how the snaffle and curb rein have to lie, and how to keep the curb chain from choking the horse. Next came learning how to mount. When Lilly for the first time put her foot on his interlaced fingers she felt a warm thrill to the very back of her neck, as if this contact with him were a sign of secret understanding between them. "One, two, three," he counted, and there she was in the saddle. The colonel clapped his hands in approval, and Walter von Prell blushed with pride to the roots of his blond hair. From now on he had the game in his hands. "Who'd have thought that blusterer has such a lot of pedantry in his make-up?" said the colonel turning to Miss von Schwertfeger, who nodded silently and took a deep breath, as if something were oppressing her. By the time Lilly was ready to dismount, she had learned how to draw in the reins and slacken them and to turn to the right or the left; and she had even ventured a trot about the yard. In short, as the colonel good-humouredly remarked, "She was on the road to becoming the most dashing horsewoman in the army." The lessons followed in quick succession. Either Miss von Schwertfeger or the colonel was always present, and there was no opportunity for private conversation between Lilly and Von Prell. Von Prell maintained his stiff, abject obsequiousness, while Lilly burned with the desire to see his waggery flash up in a look or word intelligible to her alone. One day, it chanced, both guards were absent. The colonel was busied with the construction of a riding-ring, in which his gout might defy the inclemencies of the weather, and Miss von Schwertfeger was nowhere to be found. Lilly's heart beat violently when she met her friend, and the smile with which she held out her hand to him, expressed uneasy triumph. He responded with a sly thrust of his tongue in the direction of the terrace, where her honour was wont to stand. "She couldn't be found anywhere," whispered Lilly. "_What_ will we do?" he moaned, wringing his hands. "Why, without the worthy dame's protection we shan't even be able to mount." Deep blue heavens arched above. A cool breeze, heavy with the smell of freshly turned soil, blew across the courtyard. He pointed with a wily look to the open gate. She laughed and nodded assent.