do something for me, ran forward and held the gun horizontally right
in front of my horse, which caused him to give a fearful lunge to the
right and down the hill. How I managed to keep my seat I do not know,
and neither do I know how that mad horse kept right side up on that
down jump. But it did not seem to disturb him in the least, for he
never slackened his speed, and on we went toward the stables, where
the cavalry horses were tied to long picket ropes, and close together,
getting their morning grooming.

All this time Lieutenant Golden had not attempted to overtake me,
fearing that by doing so he might make matters worse, but when he saw
that the horse was running straight for his place on the line, he
pushed forward, and grasping my bridle rein, almost pulled the horse
on his haunches. He said later that I might have been kicked to death
by the troop horses if I had been rushed in among them. We went on to
the stables, Lieutenant Golden leading my horse, and you can fancy how
mortified I was over that performance, and it was really unnecessary,
too. Lieutenant Golden, also the sergeant, advised me to dismount and
try another horse, but I said no! I would ride that one if I could
have a severer bit and my saddle girths tightened. Dismount before
Lieutenant Golden, a cavalry officer and Faye's classmate, and all
those staring troopers--I, the wife of an infantry officer? Never! It
was my first experience with a runaway horse, but I had kept a firm
seat all the time--there was some consolation in that thought.

Well, to my great relief and comfort, it was discovered that the chin
chain that is on all cavalry bits had been left off, and this had made
the curb simply a straight bit and wholly ineffective. The sergeant
fastened the chain on and it was made tight, too, and he tightened the
girths and saw that everything was right, and then Lieutenant Golden