Clare, and all the time Valders-Roan was standing tied to the

fence, in full view of all, utterly neglected. This spectacle



filled him with such ire that he hardly could control himself.

His first impulse was to pick a quarrel with Erik; but a second



and far brighter idea presently struck him. He would buy Lady

Clare. Accordingly, when the captain and his son had mounted



their horses and were about to start on their homeward way,

Garvestad, putting Valders-Roan to his trumps, dug his heels into



his sides and rode up with a great flourish in front of the

churchyard gate.



"How much will you take for that mare of yours, captain?" he

asked, as he checked his charger with unnecessary vigor close to



Lady Clare.

"She is not mine to sell," the captain replied. "Lady Clare



belongs to my son."

"Well, what will you take for her, then?" Garvestad repeated,



swaggeringly, turning to Erik.

"Not all the gold in the world could buy her," retorted Erik,



warmly.

Valders-Roan, unable to resist the charms of Lady Clare, had in



the meanwhile been making some cautious overtures toward an

acquaintance. He arched his mighty neck, rose on his hind legs,



while his tremendous forehoofs were beating the air, and cut up

generally--all for Lady Clare's benefit.



She, however, having regarded his performances for awhile with a

mild and somewhat condescending interest, grew a little tired of



them and looked out over the fiord, as a belle might do, with a

suppressed yawn, when her cavalier fails to entertain her.



Valders-Roan, perceiving the slight, now concluded to make more

decided advances. So he put forward his nose until it nearly



touched Lady Clare's, as if he meant to kiss her. But that was

more than her ladyship was prepared to put up with. Quick as a



flash she flung herself back on her haunches, down went her ears,

and hers was the angriest horse's head that ever had been seen in



that parish. With an indignant snort she wheeled around, kicking

up a cloud of dust by the suddenness of the manoeuvre. A less



skilled rider than Erik would inevitably have been thrown by two

such unforeseen jerks; and the fact was he had all he could do to



keep his seat.

"Oho!" shouted Garvestad, "your mare shies; she'll break your



neck some day, as likely as not. You had better sell her before

she gets you into trouble."



"But I shouldn't like to have your broken neck on my conscience,"

Erik replied; "if necks are to be broken by Lady Clare I should



prefer to have it be my own."

The peasant was not clever enough to make out whether this was



jest or earnest. With a puzzled frown he stared at the youth and

finally broke out:



"Then you won't sell her at no price? Anyway, the day you change

your mind don't forget to notify John Garvestad. If it's



spondulix you are after, then here's where there's plenty of

'em."



He slapped his left breast-pocket with a great swagger, looking

around to observe the impression he was making on his audience;



then, jerking the bridleviolently, so as to make his horse rear,

he rode off like Alexander on Bucephalus, and swung down upon the



highway.

It was but a few weeks after this occurrence that Captain



Carstens and his son were invited to honor John Garvestad by

their presence at his wedding. They were in doubt, at first, as



to whether they ought to accept the invitation; for some

unpleasant rumors had reached them, showing that Garvestad



entertained unfriendly feelings toward them. He was an intensely

vain man; and the thought that Erik Carstens had a finer horse



than Valders-Roan left him no peace. He had been heard to say

repeatedly that, if that high-nosed youth persisted in his



refusal to sell the mare, he would discover his mistake when,

• suspend [sə´spend] v.吊，挂；中止；暂停 (初中英语单词)


• wretched [´retʃid] a.可怜的；倒霉的 (初中英语单词)


• steamer [´sti:mə] n.汽船；轮船；蒸笼 (初中英语单词)


• professional [prə´feʃənəl] a.职业的 n.自由职业 (初中英语单词)


• amazement [ə´meizmənt] n.惊愕；惊奇 (初中英语单词)


• sensation [sen´seiʃən] n.感觉；轰动；轰动一时 (初中英语单词)


• suspicion [sə´spiʃən] n.怀(猜)疑；嫌疑 (初中英语单词)


• conscious [´kɔnʃəs] a.意识的；自觉的 (初中英语单词)


• admiration [,ædmə´reiʃən] n.赞赏，钦佩 (初中英语单词)


• stable [´steibəl] n.马棚 a.稳固的 (初中英语单词)


• anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)


• endure [in´djuə] vt.忍耐，忍受；坚持 (初中英语单词)


• instruction [in´strʌkʃən] n.教育；训练；指导 (初中英语单词)


• beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)


• instant [´instənt] a.立即的 n.紧迫；瞬间 (初中英语单词)


• knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)


• useless [´ju:sləs] a.无用的，无价值的 (初中英语单词)


• henceforth [´hens´fɔ:θ] ad.今后；从今以后 (初中英语单词)


• coarse [kɔ:s] a.粗(糙)的；粗鲁的 (初中英语单词)


• commence [kə´mens] vt.&vi.开始 (初中英语单词)


• princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)


• character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)


• privilege [´privilidʒ] n.特权 vt.给….特权 (初中英语单词)


• welcome [´welkəm] a.受欢迎的；可喜的 (初中英语单词)


• affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)


• devotion [di´vəuʃən] n.献身；忠诚；热爱 (初中英语单词)


• bestow [bi´stəu] vt.(把…)赠给；使用 (初中英语单词)


• immortal [i´mɔ:təl] a.不死的n.不朽的人物 (初中英语单词)


• absurd [əb´sə:d] a.荒谬的，可笑的 (初中英语单词)


• overlook [,əuvə´luk] vt.&n.俯瞰；忽略；观察 (初中英语单词)


• unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)


• peasant [´pezənt] n.农民；庄稼人 (初中英语单词)


• formerly [´fɔ:məli] ad.从前，以前 (初中英语单词)


• comment [´kɔment] n.&v.评论；评注；注意 (初中英语单词)


• glimpse [glimps] n.&v.瞥见 (初中英语单词)


• standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)


• impulse [´impʌls] n.推动(力)；冲动；刺激 (初中英语单词)


• presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)


• accordingly [ə´kɔ:diŋli] ad.因此；从而；依照 (初中英语单词)


• flourish [´flʌriʃ] v.茂盛；挥动 n.挥舞 (初中英语单词)


• resist [ri´zist] v.抵抗；对抗；抵制 (初中英语单词)


• meanwhile [´mi:n´wail] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)


• tremendous [tri´mendəs] a.可怕的；巨大的 (初中英语单词)


• awhile [ə´wail] ad.少顷；片刻 (初中英语单词)


• entertain [,entə´tein] vt.招待；娱乐；使高兴 (初中英语单词)


• earnest [´ə:nist] a.认真的 n.认真；诚恳 (初中英语单词)


• impression [im´preʃən] n.印刷；印象；效果 (初中英语单词)


• wedding [´wediŋ] n.婚礼，结婚 (初中英语单词)


• invitation [,invi´teiʃən] n.邀请；请帖；吸引 (初中英语单词)


• exquisite [ik´skwizit] a.精巧的；敏锐的 (高中英语单词)


• northward [´nɔ:θwəd] ad.&a.向北(的) n.北 (高中英语单词)


• overcoat [´əuvəkəut] n.大衣 (高中英语单词)


• draught [drɑ:ft] n.通风，通气；吸出 (高中英语单词)


• regarding [ri´gɑ:diŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)


• thermometer [θə´mɔmitə] n.温度计；寒暑表 (高中英语单词)


• roughly [´rʌfli] ad.粗糙地；毛糙地 (高中英语单词)


• descent [di´sent] n.出身，家世 (高中英语单词)


• dainty [´deinti] a.秀丽的 n.美味 (高中英语单词)


• prejudice [´predʒədis] n.偏见；不利 vt.损害 (高中英语单词)


• contend [kən´tend] v.竞争；斗争；争论 (高中英语单词)


• admirable [´ædmərəbəl] a.极佳的，值得赞美的 (高中英语单词)


• parish [´pæriʃ] n.教区(的全体居民) (高中英语单词)


• pastor [´pɑ:stə] n.牧师 (高中英语单词)


• hitherto [,hiðə´tu:] ad.至今，迄今 (高中英语单词)


• homeward [´həumwəd] ad.&a.回家(的) (高中英语单词)


• mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)


• notify [´nəutifai] vt.通知；报告；宣告 (高中英语单词)


• bridle [´braidl] n.(马)笼头；束缚 (高中英语单词)


• violently [´vaiələntli] ad.强暴地；猛烈地 (高中英语单词)


• occurrence [ə´kʌrəns] n.发生；(偶发)事件 (高中英语单词)


• shaggy [´ʃægi] a.蓬乱的；多粗毛的 (英语四级单词)


• unusually [ʌn´ju:ʒuəli] ad.异常地；非常 (英语四级单词)


• striped [´straipt] a.有条纹的 (英语四级单词)


• carcass [´kɑ:kəs] n.(动物的)尸体 (英语四级单词)


• crevice [´krevis] n.裂缝，罅隙 (英语四级单词)


• vicious [´viʃəs] a.不道德的；刻毒的 (英语四级单词)


• plebeian [pli´bi:ən] n.(古罗马的)平民 (英语四级单词)


• breeding [´bri:diŋ] n.饲养，教养 (英语四级单词)


• unreasonable [ʌn´ri:zənəbl] a.不合理的；荒唐的 (英语四级单词)


• aristocratic [,æristə´krætik] a.贵族政治的；贵族的 (英语四级单词)


• roadside [´rəudsaid] n.&a.路边(的) (英语四级单词)


• reputation [repju´teiʃən] n.名誉；名声；信誉 (英语四级单词)


• cautious [´kɔ:ʃəs] a.小心的；谨慎的 (英语四级单词)


• cavalier [,kævə´liə] n.骑士；勋章获得者 (英语四级单词)


• indignant [in´dignənt] a.义愤的，愤慨的 (英语四级单词)


• inevitably [in´evitəbli] ad.不可避免地；必然地 (英语四级单词)


• halter [´hɔ:ltə] n.缰绳，绞索 (英语六级单词)


• steadfast [´stedfɑ:st, -fæst] a.坚定的，不动摇的 (英语六级单词)


• monotony [mə´nɔtəni] n.单音；单调 (英语六级单词)


• pervade [pə´veid] vt.遍及；充满；渗透 (英语六级单词)


• annoying [ə´nɔiiŋ] a.使人气恼的；讨厌的 (英语六级单词)


• rivalry [´raivəlri] n.竞争；竞赛；敌对 (英语六级单词)


• good-looking [] a.漂亮的，美貌的 (英语六级单词)


• charger [´tʃɑ:dʒə] n.军马；委托者；控诉者 (英语六级单词)


• arched [´ɑ:tʃid] a.弓形(结构)的 (英语六级单词)


• beating [´bi:tiŋ] n.敲；搅打；失败 (英语六级单词)


• manoeuvre [mə´nu:və] n.=maneuver (英语六级单词)