"By kindness we alone subdue," he said.

Dorothy stared at him. What could he mean?

Tavia seemed to have forgotten the predicament of her companions--she
appeared charmed by the stranger--who really was good looking.

"There comes the man who owns the horse," remarked Dorothy, as the
frenzied farmer, whip in hand, ran toward the stranger, yelling all
sorts of unintelligible things in the way of threats and predictions.
He would see to it personally, he declared, that these things would
happen to the man who dared ride his used-up horse.

"A fight to finish it off," exulted Tavia, and Dorothy, for the
moment, felt as if she could find it in her heart to despise so
frivolous a girl. The next second she remembered Nita, and turned back
to the wrecked hayrick.

"It's all well enough for you to laugh," complained the
badly-frightened Nita, "but I can't see where the joke comes in. Just
look at me!"

"A perfect beauty!" declared Tavia. "The rips are all in one piece.
That rent near the hem is positively artistic--looks like the river
Nile!"

It was some time later, but they were still in the roadway. The farmer
had patched up his damaged rig, but would not listen to the girls'
appeals to give them a lift toward town. He insisted it was all their