"The hoofs of horses"-- "Iron!" cried his wife.

"The horses in Virginia go unshod! And what should a troop of horse do here, beyond the frontier, where even the rangers never come ?" The man shook his head, a frown of perplexity upon his bronzed and bearded face.

"It is the sound of the hoofs of horses," he said, "and they are coming through the pass.

Hark!" A trumpet blew, and there came a noise of laughter.

The child pressed close to her brother's side.