Sir Jeoffry followed her in haste. 'Twould not have been to his humour now to have her brains kicked out.

"Hey!" he called, as he hurried. "Keep away from his heels, thou little devil."

But she had run to the big beast's head with another shout, and caught him round his foreleg, laughing, and Rake bent his head down and nosed her in a fumbling caress, on which, the bridle coming within her reach, she seized it and held his head that she might pat him, to which familiarity the beast was plainly well accustomed.

"He is my horse," quoth she grandly when her father reached her. "He will not let Giles play so."

Sir Jeoffry gazed and swelled with pleasure in her.

"Would have said 'twas a lie if I had not seen it," he said to himself. "'Tis no girl this, I swear. I thought 'twas my horse," he said to her, "but 'tis plain enough he is thine."

"Put me up!" said his new-found offspring.

"Hast rid him before?" Sir Jeoffry asked, with some lingering misgiving. "Tell thy Dad if thou hast rid him."