The Press., 1908-02-05
On the Wings Of Pegasus.
Bv MARTHA COBB SANFORD
upright. 1907. by M. M. Cunningha

commented genial Mike as Marcia,
 one hand on his shoulder, the other
 on the pommel. sprang lightly into the
 saddle
 "HeavenlyY' agreed the girl, but the
 wistful expression in her eyes belled
 her gayety.
 'sWud ye be goin' alonew Queried
 Mike, skillfully adjusting the folds of
 her riding skirt
 .'It looks that way" laughed Marcia,
 unless I meet Lochinvar on the high way.
 q was only thinkin'. Pegasus is pret-
 ty fr-risky the day. Owin' to shtandin'
 so long in the shtall He's loikely to
 run wid ye. Miss Marcia. But av
 coorse if Misther Lock-pardon. miss.
 f'git the rist av is name-is goin' to
 meet ye''-
 Marcia interrupted him with merry laugh.
 "Oh, Pegasus and wi'! get along | all right. Pow his coat shines! No ! one ever took such gooi care of him
 as you do. Mike. He'd win the blue 1 ribbon at any horse show l Mike grinned appreciatively and tip l ped his cap
 I Now don't ye be doin' any jumpin'. 1 Miss Marcia" he cautioned. as Mar l cia, her proud chin. held high. gave 1 Pegasus a smart flick with her silver tipped crop and trotted off along the l smoothly raked drive "Phwat r-rud wud ye be takin', Miss ] Marcia?'' called the admiring groom after her.
 ''The Tanglewood road. guess" | Marcia answered back over her shoul ! der.
 There really was no guesswork about 1 it. Since certain memorable day nearly a month ago no other road had held for Marcia any charm-and yet I for three long weeks she had persist 1 ently taken another direction. Now, as she turned toward the high 1 way that led into the old winding road, her thoughts galloped ahead of her horses hoofs, and already in imagina- 1 tiOn she had brought Pegasus to l halt at the edge of the wood and was watching, spellbound. man and horse take jump after jump over the mead Ow wall.
 How she longed to try it herself: Pegasus vaulted beautifully. she knew. She had seen him take the bars many time when out at pleasure. But she had promised her father that she would never attempt it. That was the condition, in fact. by which Pegasus was her very own possession. Then she remembered with thrill how Pegasus had suddenly started and before she could control him had fol- lowed the lead of the other rider and bounded with the grace of a greyhound over the meadow wall. The unexpect- edness of 1t had quite taken her breath away. But. oh, was there ever any sensation so exquisite? Before she could recover from her surprise the unknown rider had gal lOped up beside her and. dispensing with even an apology for his lack of conventionality. exclaimed: "A mag nificent performance! Please accept my compliments"
 And she, conscious of the rising col or in her cheeks. had answered smil- ingly
 "The praise belongs all to Pegasus. I didn't know he was going to do it.''
 How incredulous the man had looked!
 "You mean?' he asked, doubting his senses.
 '"That never took a jump before. My horse followed your lead. was never more astonished in all my life"
 "In that case allow me to pay my compliments over again." the man had then said, looking at her with undis- guised admiration. Pegasus has a wonderfully clever rider"
 And then-Marcia blushed to recall it-she had spent the rest of that glori- ous morning in taking vaulting lessons from an unknown riding master. And If further truth be told she had let the accident of one day dictate the pro- gra 0le of the next. But after that discretion had come to the rescue. and romance was forced to beat reluctant but absolute retreat In other words, every day for three long monotonous weeks Marcia had resolutely avoided the vicinity of Tanglewood road.
 But today she had closed her ears to the prosaic arguments of prudence and literally given rein to her fancy. The air was as crisp and the sky as blue as on that other day. Her heart thumped with excitement.
 "'Faster. Pegasus. faster" she urged. touching the horses shining Hanks with her crop. We're almost there."
 When the edge Of the wood was reached she drew rein and with eager. shining eyes looked out expectantly over the brown meadows. There was no one in sight Well. she would have one jump anyway.
 Pegasus was as keen for the sport as Marcia herself. He took the wall | handsomely-not only once. but again and again. Then. gate of bars far ther down In the wall catching Mar cia's attention. she decided to put her horse at that. It was higher than the wall and would be glorious to fly over
 Just as Pegasus sprang for the leap the sound of hoofs galloping hard be- hind her caused Marcia to look back She recognized Mike on her fathers saddle horse, and the next moment, how she never knew, found herself hurled high over Pegasus head.
 As luck would have it, she landed on a heap of dead leaves blown by the winds against the flank of the wall and so was only badly stunned. When at length she recovered consciousness some one was kneeling beside her and bathing her forehead with cold water.
 Don't tell father. Mike," she plead ed faintly, her eyes still closed.
 No, miss.
 Then again after few minutes si- lence:
 Am 1 badly hurt. Mixer
 "Not the ghost of scratch. Miss Marcia. 1 couldn't have picked out a betther place fir ye to land myself-a