Will you please ride back as quickly as you can, and tell Jessie that Mr.Kearney is here, and ask her to join us ?" She watched her dazed escort, still speechless from the spectacle of the fastidious Miss Carr tete-a-tete with a common Mexican vaquero, gallop off in the direction of the canyon, and then turned to George.
"Now take me home, the shortest way, as quick as you can." "Home ?" echoed George.
"I mean to Mr.Prince's house.

Quick! before they can come up to us." He mechanically put spurs to his horse; she followed.

They presently struck into a trail that soon diverged again into a disused logging track through the woods.
"This is the short cut to Prince's, by two miles," he said, as they entered the woods.
As they were still galloping, without exchanging a word, Christie began to slacken her speed; George did the same.

They were safe from intrusion at the present, even if the others had found the short cut.

Christie, bold and self-reliant a moment ago, suddenly found herself growing weak and embarrassed.