room that was more elegant than this. The room had a huge, four-poster bed, a dresser, a chifferobe, and a desk. Matt chuckled softly. He didn’t have enough clothes with him to fill one small drawer, let alone all the space that was available to him.
After breakfast the next morning, Kitty invited Matt to take a ride with her.
The barn where Spirit had been boarded for the night was unlike any barn Matt had ever seen. It was very big, with extremely generous size stalls. There was fresh water and feed at each stall, and the barn was kept so clean and fresh smelling that it was more like a hotel than a barn.
“Ha!” Matt said as he began to saddle Spirit. “I’ll bet you’ve never seen anyplace like this, before.”
Spirit whickered.
“Oh no you don’t,” Matt said with a little chuckle. “Don’t go getting used to living like this. Trust me, Spirit, you won’t be seeing another barn like this one.”
With Spirit saddled, Matt led him outside. He had been there only a few minutes when Kitty rode out.
“What do you think of my horse?” Kitty asked, taking in her horse with a wave of her hand.
“I would say you are particularly well mounted,” Matt replied.
Kitty laughed. “You would say that, no matter what, just because you are nice.”
“No,” Matt replied. “I mean it. He is just what you look for in a good-bodied horse. He has long, sloping shoulders, short, strong back, long underline, and a long, rather level croup.”
Kitty clapped her hands. “My,” she said. “You do know horses. Where did you learn?”
“I learned from a man named Smoke Jensen.”
“Jensen. Your last name is Jensen,” Kitty said. “Of course, we never knew each others last name in the orphanage. Is Smoke Jensen family?”
“You might say that,” Matt said. “You will remember that I ran away from the orphanage?”
“Oh, yes, of course I remember. Captain Mumford said you had died in the mountains, but none of us believed that.”
Matt chuckled. “I nearly did die,” he said. “But someone found me, then took me in as if I were his own. And the funny thing is, he wasn’t really that much older than I was at the time. He was a father, big brother, friend, whatever you want to call him. And he taught me everything I know.”
“So you took his name?”
“Yes.”
“Why, I think that is wonderful. Did he teach you how to ride?”
“Yes.”
“Good, let’s see how well he taught you to ride,” Kitty said. “Now, catch me, if you can.”
Suddenly Kitty’s horse exploded forward as if it had been shot from a cannon. Matt did not expect it, so by the time he realized he was being challenged, she was some distance ahead of him. Instead of heading for the road, Kitty galloped across the lawn, the hooves of her animal throwing up divots of grass. Matt had no choice but to dash after her.
Kitty was heading directly for the stone wall that surrounded the estate. The wall was high, not insurmountable, but high. Had it been an ordinary fence, or a row of shrubbery, it would not have presented much of a challenge.
But this wall was made of stone, and it was at least three feet wide. If the horse missed the jump, it could be fatal for the horse, and possibly for the rider as well. Kitty and her horse took the jump as if the animal had wings.
“Come on Spirit, don’t embarrass me,” Matt said, squeezing his knees against Spirit. “Damn, I didn’t mean that, boy. Embarrassment is the least of my worries. Just don’t kill yourself.”
Spirit made the jump as well, and Matt saw that Kitty had stopped just on the other side to look back toward the wall. She laughed when she saw Matt make the jump, then she urged her horse on, and it was all Matt could do to keep up with her.
Kitty maintained the gallop for about mile or so before she finally pulled up to a trot, followed by a cooling walk, then ending the ride at a grass-covered point that overlooked the Bruneau River. From this overlook, the river was about one hundred feet below.
It was obvious that Kitty had visited this spot many times, because there was a bench that overlooked not only the river, but also the Owyhee Mountains. Sitting on it, she invited Matt to join her.
Kitty was quite an attractive woman. Bareheaded, her blond hair glistened in the sun. Her eyes were shining, and her full-breasted figure was displayed to advantage in her riding habit.
“I’m impressed that you made the jump,” Kitty said.
“You are the first visitor I’ve had who has been able to make the jump. Most of them go around when they see the rock wall.”
“I confess that I thought about going around myself,” Matt replied with a laugh.
“I shouldn’t do that—challenge my visitors to make that jump, I mean. I would hate to think that my vanity might cost a horse its life.”
“It wouldn’t be your vanity, it would be the vanity of the rider who took the jump unless they knew they could make it.”
“I suppose that’s right,” Kitty said. She looked at Spirit. “That’s a fine horse you are riding as well. You call him Spirit?”
