"Oh, never mind," Nan had said, consoling her: "it is only Mr. Drummond. And he will know how it was, and that we thought there was not a creature in sight." Nevertheless, she felt a little sorry in her heart that such a thing had happened. It would spoil Phillis's mirth, for she was very proud; and it might shock their mother.
"Oh, he will think us such tomboys for grown-up young ladies!" sighed Dulce, who was only just grown up.
"Never mind what he thinks," returned Nan, walking fast, for she was anxious to come to Phillis's relief. She joined them very quietly, and held out her hand to Archie as though nothing had happened.
"Is this a favorite walk of yours, Mr. Drummond? We thought we had it all to ourselves, and so the girls had a race. They will be dreadfully troubled at having a spectator; but it might be worse, for you already know us well enough not to misconstrue a little bit of fun."
"I am glad you judge me so truly," returned Archie, with a gleam of pleasure in his eyes. Phillis certainly looked uncommonly handsome, as she stood there, flushed and angry. But how sweet and cool Nan looked!--not a hair ruffled nor a fold of her dress out of order; whereas Dulce's brown locks were all loose about her shoulders, shaken down by the exercise. Nevertheless, at that moment Phillis looked the most striking.
"I am afraid my sudden appearance has put your sister out dreadfully. I assure you I would have made myself into thin air if I could," went on Archie, penitently; "but all the same it was impossible not to applaud the winner. I felt inclined to wave my hat in the air, and cry, 'Bravo, Atalanta!' half a dozen times. You made such pretty running, Miss Challoner; and I wish Grace could have seen it."
The last word acted like magic on Phillis's cloudy brow. She had passed over two delicately-implied compliments with a little scorn. Did he think her, like other girls, to be mollified by sugar-plums and sweet speeches? He might keep all that for the typical young lady of Hadleigh. At Oldfield the young men knew her better.
It must be owned that the youth of that place had been slightly in awe of Phillis. One or two had even hinted that they thought her strong-minded. "She has stand-off ways, and rather laughs at a fellow, and makes one feel sometimes like a fool," they said; which did not prove much, except that Phillis showed herself above nonsense, and had a knowledge of shams, and would not be deceived, and, being the better horse of the two, showed it; and no man likes to be taken down in his class.