Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-14
BOLD BiIGY'S FAULT
By ANNE STORY ALLEN
By ANNE STORY ALLEN

fore her. and in a second they had passed
each other.
Poor little child" the man heard him.
| self saying.
| Il wish L knew him. cried MORA. with
| heart, and then she blushed all over her
face at what her heart had said
| Had you enjoyable rider asked
Aunt Laura at dinner.
| MORA said yes, and her aunt praised
the Talbot girls. She said it was nice
| for MORA to have them to ride with
| Then she oil her niece all about the
| manual classes and what the assistant
| rector had said and done. and how he
| had called it his pet work. the child of
| his heart and BRAIN And Mora gather
| ed that Aunt Laura was proud and
! happy to be the stepmother of the char
| tty that called the assistant rector father.
distinctly the figure of a man sitting tight
| to saddle and riding rather faster than
| the law permits down the gravelly path
by the river. Then she listened to Aunt
| Laura, and after while, as she ate
| her salad, she saw the head and shoulders
| of some one before her. but blurred a
| little and indistinct. Then when she sip
| ped her coffee she found in place of Aunt
Lauras countenance opposite her, a
mans face; a stern mouth. shut tight as
| II to keep its own counsel, and two mar
| velOusly dark eyes that melted from in
quiry to tender sympathy.
And Mora murmured: 1T would he
| NICE and then caught herself in fright.
Aunt Laura beamed upon her across the
table. Il was afraid you'd say no, dear
! child. l will take you next Thursday.
Dear DR.. Stone will be SO pleased" And
| she found she had committed herself to
visit the manual training class.
| AS the weeks went by MORA adjusted
| herself to conditions. She soon realized
| that Aunt Laura's philanthropy was
| chronic, not just now-and-then occur
| renee. Her absences from home were
| frequent. her time and attention prac-
! tically absorbed in the new project.
| Mora called on the Talbot girls, re-
| ported them we'll and full of social en-
gagements- She drove up the park.
/ through I'D street to the drive, around
| Claremont. down the drive, across I'D
| street, down the west SIDE across and out
| at 59th street and home. She reported
having had pleasant drive; that the
Smythes and the West-Joneses were driv-
| ing also, and had stopped their carriages
| and had spoken to her. She obtained from
her guardian goodly check for the
| half-orphans, and presented 1t, via Aunt
| Laura, to the assistant rector.
| Aunt Laura told her friend, Mrs. Tai
! bot, that she couldn't wish for sweeter
|
| charities.
X
| But there were hours many of them,
when Mora was not calling on the Tai
bots, nor getting checks for the charities.
nor watching dreamily the broad green
back of Thomas and Burns. And these
hours. strangely enough, We're seldom
alluded to by Aunt Laura, and grew to
| be Moira's life, her very own.
! Her guardian had selected for her a
horse, gentle creature of the Talbot
| variety. Mora had accepted it with
a quizzical look and. Its very nice, I'm
| sure" She rode that horse Thursdays
with her two companions.
| But one day a slender gray figure DASH
ed up the bride path, with a color in its
cheek and light in it's eyes that brought
an answering glow to some one who saw
it, And the horse that bore the slender
figure was a real live horse, an animal
that cooked its ears at bits of paper and
made believe it was going to fly to pieces
at the ''chugging'' Of a motor car.
Some one saw the two fly By, some one
turned and followed. Some one sat very
straight and unnOtcing he rode by
the gray little figure on the beauli1ul
black horse, but he caught the turn o.
! a proud head and knew that the gray
eyes that had haunted him mad looked
straight at him.
The next minute the black horse had
bolted. Like an arrow he was Off. Past
the man he flew, the small hands of his
rider tugging CALAMITY at the reins Mora
had been of ner guard: 1t was no easy
job to pull in Bold Billy, when she had
him fairly well in hand. Now he had
caught her mapping and was showing her
a thing or two.
The path was clear. Mora settled to
her saddle, unfrightened, but wondering
how long she would have the road to her
self; wondering when the mix-up that
was bound to come would be upon her.
Then she heard long, last gallop be-
hind her. Bold Billy heard it, too. and
wagged his ears wickedly, and increased
his stride bit. And MORA laughed a
little, for she knew some one was going
to reach her before the mlX-up took place
And she knew who the some one was.
Not his name, OF course, but that didn't
matter; she knew him, had known him
since that day in the park when she turn
ed her tear-filled eyes straight on two
that knew her, knew her instantly
She heard him right close behind her,
then a STEADY, little girl, steady!' and
glancing around, there was a brown muz-
zle near Bold Billy's flank and then the
brown mares head came alongside, and
then a gloved hand reached out for Bold
Billy's bride
1t was all over, and Bold Billy, not
bit ashamed, walked haughtily by The
brown mares side, while Mora explained
that it was her fault, that she had been
inattentive, that she knew Billy was apt
to bolt, but he never did it if you kept
him remembering that you knew about
it.
And the man who had stopped Billy
said, in a voice that shook just bit,
Your people shouldn't give you horse
like that.
Mora said, and her voice shook little,
too, that she didn't have any people ex-
cept an aunt and a guardian. and that
they had bought her a little sheep called
Maud, and it was because she had to ride
this other animal Thursdays that she had
been obliged to buy Bold Billy.
The man NODDED as if he understood
Moira's incoherent statement Then
Mora said quite boldly. Il have not told
my aunt about Billy. and I'm not going
to-" She spoke as she used to speak to
her father sometimes. throwing herself
on his mercy. Then she added. 1T would
only worry her.
1T would only worry her. the man
who had stopped Bold Billy echoed, but
he also said. DO be very careful
Mora raised grateful eyes.
II will be very careful she said, soft
ly.
Then he turned abruptly and she rode
toward home.
ua Cu-ora ror,ndIv himself after he