Danger in the Dark - ZseZse

DANGER IN THE DARK. 287
sunrise. Anna Maria and Alonzo led the way,
mounted on noble horses, elegantly caparisoned; Miss
Glidewell followed, riding a very tall horse, and alongside
her rode Will Wimple, perched on a little pony,
talking with all his might, and nearly breaking his
neck to look up at his lady companion, which required
him to throw back his head as if gazing at the
stars; and his pony being a clumsy..,rough trotter,
bounced the little man upon his seat like a ball, to the
no little amusement of the facetious Mary. The rest
of the company were in the four-horse vehicle, bringing
up the rear. Emerging from a deeply-shaded
forest to an eminence thinly covered with pine-trees,
the immense prairie suddenly burst upon their view,
with all its resplendence and surpassing grandeur.
Instinctively, Maria and Alonzo at the same instant
reined up their horses, and all came to a halt, and for
some moments, in profound silence, contemplated the
imposing scene outstretched before them. It was an
uninhabited region, and had never been marred by
the hand of civilization. Flowers of the richest hue,
in endless variety, enameled the vast extended plain;
and the distant groves, dotting it here and there, appeared
like emerald isles floating in a sea of glory.
All gazed with rapture upon the magnificent prospect
except Wimple and the hounds - he was whistling to
them, and they were wagging their tails to him. Even
the horses pricked up their ears, and proudly lifting
their heads aloft, looked out with evident admiration
on the wide wide prairie I