At that,Willie turned and disappeared into the sales office, leaving the girls open-mouthed in dismay.
“Shut yer mouths, yer catchin’ flies,” Twister said with a grin.
“But, Twister, we didn’t even get a chance to see the others Willie bought,” Mary said, disappointed. “I thought we could help him pick them out.”
“And I didn’t think you were allowed to buy them before they went in the ring,” Jody added. “Doesn’t the sale barn get upset about that?”
“First off, I don’t think Will needed no help pickin’ out,” Twister replied. “And it’s OK to buy them before they go in the ring. The sales barn still gets the commission on them, and they don’t mind much because it saves them time. That’s three less horses they had to sell in the ring.”
Before either girl could ask another question, Willie appeared from the office holding four yellow slips of paper, one for each horse bought.
“We have to show these slips to the man on the way out,” Willie explained, “so they know we got the right horses.”
“Oh, Willie, can we help lead the horses out to the trailer?” Mary pleaded.
“Please?” Jody added.
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Willie said, glancing at Twister with a half-grin. “What do you think, Twister? You think they can handle one apiece? Maybe I should take two and you take one, and they can handle one between ’em.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Twister replied seriously. “After all, we don’t know these horses. They could be wild broncs for all we know.”
Mary and Jody looked from Willie to Twister, trying to figure out if they were kidding, but their faces gave away no clues. Willie simply turned and headed toward the center aisle of the sales barn, and Twister followed. The girls had no choice but to fall in step behind them. When they reached the end of the first row of horses, Willie stopped and turned to the right.
“Here’s the three I bought out back,” he said, gesturing to three horses tied closely together. “And the bay is tied just a couple horses down the other way. Now I’ll back these out, and then I’ll let you girls lead the quietest one to the trailer. Twister can lead the buckskin out first, you girls walk in the middle, and I’ll get the other two and bring up the rear.”
Willie placed his hand gently on the buckskin’s rump. “Hey buddy,” he said quietly as he sidled in between the two horses tied next to each other. The slipknot came untied easily in his hand, and he backed the horse out, handing the lead rope over to Twister. The horse blinked at the girls with enormous dark eyes and sniffed Twister’s hand like a dog.
“Ooh, he’s pretty,” Jody exclaimed. “I love his color!”
“All right, now, pay attention,” Willie said sternly to the girls. “Here comes your horse. She’s a mare.”
The mare was slightly smaller than the buckskin and an altogether different color. She was a light gray with darker gray dapples and a dark gray mane and tail. Her delicate bone structure and refined head contrasted with the stocky build of the buckskin, but one thing the two had in common was the large size and gentle expression of their eyes. It was all the girls could do to stand still long enough for Willie to place the lead rope in their eager hands.
“This one’s supposed to ride and drive, too. She was a carriage horse in New York City. Now be careful walkin’ her through the crowd,” Willie warned. “I’m right behind you with Stumpy and the bay.”
Mary and Jody tried to turn around to see what Stumpy looked like, but Willie waved them on. “You’ll see him soon enough. Get that mare movin’ right out to the exit. Stay behind Twister and don’t get too close to the horses on either side of the aisle.”
The new horses were led smoothly out of the barn and to the exit, where their papers were approved by the guard. The mare walked quietly between Mary and Jody across the parking lot, turning her head occasionally to gaze curiously at the various horses being loaded onto trailers for the trip home from the sale. When they arrived at their own trailer, Willie began giving orders.
“Now, you girls hold the mare and stand back while we load the others. If they all load easy on the trailer, which I think they will, we might even get home in time for milkin’.”
The gray mare became a little anxious, turning in circles and nickering softly while Willie and Twister loaded the other three horses. Mary and Jody patted her neck and talked quietly to her until it was her turn to load.
“All right, hand me the mare,” Twister said, taking the lead rope from Mary’s grasp. The mare quieted down immediately when she saw the other horses in the trailer and stepped up without a hitch when Twister led her on. She settled in easily next to the bay as Twister expertly tied her with a slipknot. Before the girls knew it, the doors were fastened, and they were on their way home.
But they still had not gotten a close look at Stumpy.
9
New Horses
MARY AND JODY could hardly wait to jump from the truck cab when they arrived at the McMurray dairy farm, and it seemed that the movie crew members were almost as excited as they were. Even before Willie brought the truck to a stop at the double doors of Lucky Foot Stable, a crowd of curious onlookers had assembled there, waiting to see the new horses. Even Mr. Gordon, the director, took a break from filming and stood at the front of the line, standing on tiptoe to try and see into the back of the trailer.
“Willie, they’re just as curious as we are,” giggled Mary, waving at the crowd with a superior air. “We’re lucky. We got to see the horses before anybody.”
“Well, we haven’t really seen them all yet,” Jody said. “What about Stumpy?”
“Nothin’ special about him,” Willie said nonchalantly. “Just an old, scrubby Mustang.”
“A Mustang!” Mary fairly shouted. “Willie, you mean like the wild horses of the West? I just read that book called Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West, by Marguerite Henry!”
Willie shook his head and chuckled, braking the truck to a stop just outside the stable doors. He stepped carefully from the truck with Mary and Jody following close behind. Twister emerged from the passenger side and went immediately to the back of the trailer to unload the new horses.
“Well, what did you find, Will?” asked Mr. Gordon, craning his neck to see inside the horizontal openings on the side of the trailer. The horses, only their heads visible, gazed curiously back at the gathering crowd.
“I think I got some nice, quiet ones,” Willie answered. “One of ’em ain’t much to look at, but he’s a real gentleman.”
“Willie, is that Stumpy? The one that ain’t much to look at?” Mary asked, forgetting her grammar for a moment.
“Yes, yes, that’s Stumpy,” Willie replied. “Here he comes now.”
Twister had untied the gray mare and Stumpy from the rear of the trailer and turned them carefully around so that they could step down easily onto the gravel lane. He stood now on the lane with a lead rope attached to their halters in each hand, waiting patiently for the two horses to sniff the air and look around at their new surroundings. Only when he felt that they were ready did he coax them gently from the trailer by tugging on the leads. The gray mare was the first to step gingerly down from the trailer, followed closely by Stumpy, who looked as though he would follow her anywhere. Only when Twister turned the horses toward Willie and relinquished his hold on the lead ropes did Mary and Jody get a good look at Stumpy.
“Oh, Willie, he’s cute!” Jody exclaimed. “He’s not as ugly as you said!”
“I didn’t say nothin’ about him bein’ ugly, I just said he wasn’t much to look at, and he ain’t,” Willie replied matter-of-factly.
Only when Twister turned the horses toward Willie and relinquished his hold on the lead ropes did
Mary and Jody get a good look at Stumpy.
And Willie was right. Stumpy had rather large ears and very wide-set eyes that looked even funnier because someone had completely shaved off his forelock, accentuating his broad fo
rehead. He was a dark bay with just one small white spot in the very center of his muzzle. His back was short and his chest was wide, giving the impression that his narrow hind end didn’t really belong to him. To finish the picture, the top of his tail had been rubbed to the point that the dock hair was sticking up at all angles, and his mane was a variety of lengths, causing it to flop over on both sides of his neck with some of the shorter hair sticking straight up in various spots along his crest.
“I can see why his name is Stumpy,”Mary observed. “He’s put together all funny, and he’s hardly taller than a pony!”
“Well, his name is Stumpy only because I named him that,” Willie said. “Didn’t have a name, as far as I know. Now the gray mare there, she’s a looker. We’ve got to think of a name for her.”
“Oh, Willie, can we name her? Please? We’ll think of the perfect name if you let us!”
“We’ll see, we’ll see. Now stand back and let Twister have some room. Here come the other two.”
Twister turned the second set of horses to face the rear doors of the trailer, but this time they were anxious to get out as quickly as they could to join Stumpy and the mare. Twister hardly had time to step down from the trailer himself before they were standing beside him, stretching their necks to sniff noses with their new friends.
“Well, you’ve got three good-looking animals there, Will,” Mr. Gordon exclaimed, patting Willie on the back. “And Stumpy looks…interesting. Let’s hope they ride well.”
“Well, you’re always takin’ a chance buyin’ them at auction,” Willie replied. “But I rode three of ‘em myself, and I watched the other one in the ring round up some wild horses. I think they’ll be all right if we give ’em a chance. And o’course, we only really need three, so one’s an extra just in case one of ’em doesn’t work out.”
“Do these two have names?” asked one of the crew members, reaching out to pat the buckskin on the muzzle.
“The buckskin is Augie, and the red bay is Hoppy. The man said he was named Hoppy because he jumped right over his stall door one day when he was a young’un.”
The crew laughed, and Mr. Gordon turned suddenly and remembered that they had a movie to shoot. “All right, gang, let’s get back to work. One more interior shot and we’ll be wrapped for the day. Will, let me know how these work out. You’re riding them this evening, I assume?”
“Yes, sir, Twister wants to give them a try,” Willie replied, tugging on his earlobe.
“Good. We’re about a day ahead of schedule, so we’ll be shooting the first riding scene tomorrow, if all goes well.”
Mr. Gordon walked away, followed by the crew, and Mary and Jody immediately turned to Willie.
“Willie, what did he mean by that? The first riding scene? Are we in the first riding scene?”
“Well, I reckon you are.We’ve got to get these horses ridden and settled in tonight, and we’ll have to work with the kids tomorrow morning to get them used to the horses. I was hopin’ we’d have a little more time, but we’ll just have to be ready. Good thing is, the shot that they’re doin’ is supposed to be the kids’ first riding lesson, so I guess it’ll be realistic if they’re unsure of themselves around horses they’ve never seen before.”
“But, Willie, do you know which kids they picked to be in the riding scene? Did they tell you yet?”
“No, but I’ll find out as soon as we get these horses put in the stable. They said they’d know by today. I’d like to use Lady and Gypsy’s stalls, and Star’s, too, if it’s all right with you girls. I’ll have to crosstie Stumpy in the aisle for now, since there’s only three stalls.”
“We don’t mind,Willie. Lady and Gypsy are out in the pasture and Star’s in the paddock. But when are you going to ride them? Can we watch? Please?”
Making no reply, Willie turned and walked the mare and Stumpy through the back doors of Lucky Foot Stable, followed by Twister with Augie and Hoppy in tow. Only after the horses were settled in the stalls and Stumpy was standing quietly in the aisle did he turn to Mary and Jody.
“I’m not goin’ to ride them, Twister is. And I think you girls should go home and get a good night’s sleep so’s you’ll be ready for tomorrow. Call time is usually pretty early.”
“What’s call time?” Jody asked, looking puzzled.
“That’s the time you have to be on the set to get ready for your scene. Could be as early as 5 a.m.”
“Oh, but Willie, it’s only six o’clock right now,” Mary protested. “We have plenty of time!”
Mary and Jody were not about to leave until they found out if Annie Mooney had been chosen for the movie. Willie, silent once more, turned and simply walked out the back doors of Lucky Foot Stable, leaving Twister behind with the girls.
10
Twister Mounts Up
“TWISTER, WE CAN watch you ride, can’t we? Our parents aren’t coming to pick us up for another hour at least.” Mary and Jody were determined to see which of the new horses were going to appear in the movie.
“I reckon it won’t hurt,” Twister said. “And since you’re so keen on stayin’, you can help me get the three saddles and bridles out of the trailer and bring ‘em down here to the barn.”
“We’ll help you, Twister! And we can help you put the saddles on, too. Willie showed us how,” Mary said with confidence.
Twister chose to tack up Augie and Hoppy and the gray mare first. Only once did Jody have to ask Twister for assistance with the cinch on Hoppy’s saddle. Mary had to think hard to remember how the strap worked on the mare’s cinch, but she figured it out without asking Twister’s advice. All the while, Star gazed curiously in from the paddock, his head over the Dutch door of the stable, stretching his neck and longing to sniff noses with the newcomers.
“It’s OK, Star,” Jody giggled. “I know you think we’re ignoring you, but we’re busy right now! We’ll come down and groom you later if we have time.”
When the horses were tacked up and ready to go, Twister led Augie from his stall and took Hoppy’s reins from Jody’s grasp. “I’m goin’ to lead these two out of the barn, and Jody, I want you to take Stumpy off his crossties and put him in Augie’s stall,” Twister instructed. “Then we’ll all walk up to the ring together.”
“Oh, Twister, do you think I could lead Star up to the ring so he can come up and watch with us? We really have been ignoring him lately!”
“Well, I reckon I can take these two up. Will is meetin’ us up there, and he can hold Hoppy outside the ring while I ride Augie. If Mary holds the mare, I guess you can hold Star. It’ll be nice to see if these horses get distracted by him or not.”
Jody quickly released Stumpy from his crossties and led him into the stall vacated by Augie, and then grabbed a lead rope and attached it to Star’s halter.
“Come on, boy! This is going to be fun!”
Jody and Star followed Mary and the mare out of Lucky Foot Stable and up to the ring, where Twister stood with Augie and Hoppy, waiting for Willie to appear. As the girls got closer, they were shocked to see Mary’s mother and Jody’s father standing by the gate, along with Vicki Beaumont and Brian McVey!
“Mom! What are you doing here already?” Mary gasped. Still embarrassed by the memory of her outburst upon meeting Brian, she avoided looking at him altogether.
“Well, Jody’s dad and I had dinner together, and we came up as soon as we were finished. We want to see the new horses too, you know!”
“And aren’t they nice!” Vicki cooed, rubbing her hand gently on themare’smuzzle. “What’s her name?”
“Oh, we haven’t named her yet!” Mary replied, suddenly remembering that they had to come up with a suitable name. “Let’s think!”
“Wow, this guy’s handsome,” Brian said, turning to Star and scratching him on the forehead. “Is he going to be in the riding scene?”
“Oh, no,” Jody squeaked, blushing. “He’s too young. We just brought him up here so he could see what’s going on.”
; “I know the perfect name for her,” Vicki whispered to Mary, as if it were their own little secret. “I think she has an exotic look, with her dark-rimmed eyes. How about Shalimar? I always wanted to name a horse Shalimar.”
Mary was silent for a moment, thinking to herself that Shalimar didn’t sound much like a Western horse, but she wasn’t about to disagree with Vicki Beaumont. “I think it’s beautiful,” she whispered back, patting Shalimar on the shoulder.
Willie suddenly appeared ringside, holding a half-folded piece of paper in his weathered hands. He pulled on his earlobe and then took off his hat and scratched the side of his head.
“Willie, what’s that?” Mary asked, cutting her eyes to the paper and trying to see what was listed there. “Is that the list of peoplewho got parts in the riding scene?”
“Now, don’t be so nosy,” Willie admonished, folding the paper over once more so that the names could not be read. “I’ll read them off after we watch these horses go around.”
Mary was busting to see the names on the list, but she knew that Willie would only share them in his own good time, so she turned her attention to the matter at hand, watching Twister ride the new horses.
Willie silently took Hoppy’s reins from Twister’s hands and stood back when Twister placed his boot in the stirrup and swung up on Augie. The big buckskin stood quietly, gazing curiously around the ring with his enormous eyes. Suddenly a shrill whinny sounded from the direction of Lucky Foot Stable. Augie and Star both responded at the same instant by stretching their muzzles to the sky and whinnying back.
“I guess old Stumpy don’t like bein’ left in the barn by himself,” Willie chuckled. “He misses his buddies already, and they only just met.”
Twister gathered the reins in one hand and nudged Augie forward with his boot heel, focusing the quarter horse’s attention away from Stumpy and back on the business of riding. From then on, Augie responded only to Twister. Jogging and loping smoothly around the ring in both directions, the stocky buckskin never took a bad step. Twister reined him in and grinned widely at Willie.
Mary and Jody in the Movies Page 7
