Lanty（musing，withfaroff-eyes）。\"Thenthat’swhyshewassoawfulskeerdandfrightened！Justjumpin’outerherskinwithhorror。Ireckoneditwasab’arorpantheroraspook！Yououghttohavewaitedtillshegotaccustomedtoyourlooks。\"
Nevertheless，despitethiselegantraillery，Lantywasenoughconcernedinthesafetyofherhorsetovisititthenextdaywithaviewofbringingitnearerhome。Shehadjuststeppedintothealderfringeofadry\"run\"whenshecamesuddenlyuponthefigureofahorsemaninthe\"run，\"whohadbeenhiddenbythealdersfromtheplainbeyondandwhoseemedtobeengagedinexaminingthehoofmarksinthedustoftheoldford。Somethingabouthisfigurestruckherrecollection，andashelookedupquicklyshesawitwastheownerofthedagger。Butheappearedtobelighterofhairandcomplexion，andwasdresseddifferently，andmorelikeavaquero。
Yettherewasthesameflashofhisteethasherecognizedher，andsheknewitwasthesameman。
Alasforherpreparation！Withouttheknifeshecouldnotmakethathaughtyreturnofitwhichshehadcontemplated。Andmorethanthat，shewasconsciousshewasblushing！Neverthelessshemanagedtolevelherprettybrowneyebrowsathim，andsaidsharplythatifhefollowedhertoherhomeshewouldreturnhispropertyatonce。
\"ButI’minnohurryforit，\"hesaidwithalaugh，——thesamelightlaughandpleasantvoicesheremembered，——\"andI’drathernotcometothehousejustnow。Theknifeisingoodhands，Iknow，andI’llcallforitwhenIwantit！Anduntilthen——ifit’sallthesametoyou——keepittoyourself，——keepitdark，asdarkasthenightIlostit！\"