Stormchaser and the Silver Mist

by Belinda Rapley

  Mr Perryvale raised one eyebrow. “I thought it was common knowledge,” he purred. The girls stood waiting impatiently, wondering if Mr Perryvale was going to carry on. But instead he picked up his mobile phone, holding one hand up for quiet while he dialled a number. Then he spoke to one of his grooms, telling them where the ponies came from.

  “Organise the lorry to take those ponies back,” he said grandly, “and call Mrs Greenfield to let her know that they’re safe and on their way home.”

  The girls exchanged a quick look, impressed by his generosity. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, that incident a few months back. Young chap was caught in the act.”

  “So, who was it?” Charlie asked, her heartbeat starting to quicken.

  “A young man, on a motorbike,” Mr Perryvale said, puffing on his cigar again. The girls looked up sharply. “Thought it would be funny to open a gate and chase the ponies inside the paddock out onto the lanes.”

  The girls knew that they were all thinking the same thing – it was sounding pretty similar to what had happened at three yards in the last three weeks.

  Mr Perryvale continued. “It wasn’t widely reported at the time. That was just because I thought I could deal with it myself. Now I wonder if that was a mistake, given what’s happened recently.”

  “What do you mean, you thought you could deal with it yourself?” Rosie asked. She hoped Mr Perryvale would stop talking in riddles and hurry it along a bit. Dancer had just licked the bonnet of the highly polished Range Rover and left a big, grassy smudge. She wanted to escape before Mr Perryvale noticed.

  “I tried to smooth it over with everyone concerned, because the young man responsible was working for me at the time, you see,” Mr Perryvale said dryly. “It was a bad business, very bad. If word had got round that someone from my yard had been letting ponies loose in the village, well, it wouldn’t have looked very good for the Perryvale Polo Club. I had no choice but to sack the young fella. His father worked for me, too. I would have kept him on, but he said if his son was going, he’d go too.”

  Mia frowned, her brain starting to whizz from wondering who it was that let the horses out.

  Mr Perryvale took another thoughtful puff of his thick cigar. “Still, he found a new job quickly enough.” Mia noticed the large man glance toward the Abbey. “Some people aren’t so fussy about who they employ, it seems.”

  Mr Perryvale looked back to the girls, and smiled once more. “Anyway, must dash. Thanks again for your help with identifying the ponies.”

  “No probl—” Charlie started to say, as Mr Perryvale’s window smoothly buzzed upwards. Before she’d even finished the second word, the Range Rover had rolled off up the long drive.

  THE girls didn’t hang around once they got back to the yard. They slipped off their ponies’ tack and brought them brimming haynets. Once they’d slung rugs over the ponies, and tucked them up warmly, the girls headed for the farmhouse. In the cosy kitchen, Charlie, Mia and Alice helped haul Rosie out of her fancy dress, then they all raced up the stairs to change from their show outfits back into their usual riding gear. They ran downstairs again, grabbed their packed lunches and the hot chocolate that Mrs Honeycott had quickly whipped up, and headed for the hay barn. As they hungrily scoffed their lunch, they went back over the new information they’d got that morning.

  “So, we know that three lots of ponies have been let out,” Charlie said, biting into a cheese and onion pasty. “At Long Lane Livery, Mrs Maplethorp’s and now Greenfield Riding School. And each time a motorbike’s been heard nearby.”

  “And now we know that someone who used to work for Mr Perryvale was caught letting out horses from a paddock a few months back,” Alice added, wrinkling her nose. “Do you think it’s the same person now, back to their old tricks again?”

  “Maybe,” Rosie agreed, inspecting her turkey and stuffing roll before taking a big bite. “But we still don’t know who that person was, so it doesn’t exactly move the case forward, does it?”

  Mia grabbed her notebook from its hiding place in the barn and between mouthfuls of sandwich, turned to a clean page and wrote three neat headings:

  “Mr Perryvale may not have told us a name,” Mia said, “but did anyone else notice him glance at the Abbey when he mentioned it? I reckon the guilty person works there.”

  “In that case Mr Perryvale must be right…” Charlie added. “Nick Webb really can’t be fussy about who looks after his horses.”

  “We already know he’s not fussy, though, don’t we,” Alice sighed. “He lets Mr Pyke get away with shooting his gun near horses.” She couldn’t help feeling disappointed that the Pony Detectives’ early excitement about the Abbey Polo Club was disappearing seriously fast.

  “Do you think that’s why Archie was looking so shifty earlier, by the paddock?” Rosie asked. “Maybe he’s got some inside information about who’s been letting the ponies out?”

  Charlie gasped, and almost fell off the hay bale she was perched on.

  “What is it?” Mia asked, a bit miffed Charlie had thought of something before she had.

  “Mr Perryvale might not have named the person responsible,” Charlie said breathlessly, “but he said it was a young man and his dad… Archie’s brother, Billy, works for the Abbey, and so does his dad, Mr Pyke! It has to be them, doesn’t it?”

  “Billy’s one of the polo riders at the Abbey,” Mia added, feeling her heart start to quicken. “So he could have been employed by Mr Perryvale, along with his dad!”

  “Totally!” Rosie beamed. “How many other father and son pairs work at the Abbey? I’d bet my lunch that they’re the only ones! Oh, hang on – I’ll bet my empty wrappers. I’ve finished most of my lunch already.”

  “Well, there’s only one thing for it,” Charlie said, standing up and sounding determined. The others looked at her. “We have to get back into the Abbey. We need to see if there’s any evidence there that could pin this on Billy.”

  “Like what?” Rosie asked dubiously.

  “I don’t know yet,” Charlie said. “But if we can find out where Archie’s cottage is, we might be able to sneak in and find out what it was he slipped into his pocket at Greenfields.”

  “Charlie!” Alice cried. “We can’t break into people’s houses!”

  “All right, maybe not,” Charlie agreed, sheepishly. “But we can’t just sit around here, either. Let’s get our ponies tacked up again and go out. They haven’t done much yet today, so they’ll be okay. Otherwise we’ll have to wait until next weekend because it’ll be too dark after school. Come on!”

  Despite Charlie’s enthusiasm, Alice felt her heart flutter slightly. The thought of bumping into Mr Pyke and his gun again made her shudder. But she wasn’t about to admit that, and she followed close behind the others as they flew back out to the yard.

  The air was growing even chillier, but the girls barely noticed. They quickly slid their ponies’ bridles on, and were back on Duck Lane before Dancer had a chance to protest at turning out again.

  It wasn’t until they were half way to the Abbey that the mist started to snake through their ponies legs. It wrapped itself round the girls like a freezing blanket, only revealing the next few metres in front and behind them.

  “What do we do now?” Alice asked nervously, as the group slowed. She knew that if a car came along, even if it was going slowly, it wouldn’t see them until the last second. And to try and stay hidden in the Abbey woods, they’d left off their hi-vis gear. All they could hear was the clop of their ponies’ hooves, the noise bouncing off the mist and echoing around them. Scout’s step became more unsure and his ears flicked back and forward, like he was checking with Alice if everything was okay.

  “Look, there’s the turning onto Abbey Lane,” Charlie said, finding herself whispering, without knowing why. She could just about make out the metal sign, and knew that the Abbey was to their left. “We’re here now, so we might as well carry on. And look on the bright side – this mist will give us the perf
ect cover for when we get into the woods!”

  But Charlie was the only one who was keen to carry through their haphazard plan. Even Mia felt uncertain, now they were about to actually sneak into the Abbey grounds. She knew, though, like the others, that this might be their best chance to get inside and find some clues. She just wasn’t sure now they were actually here what they hoped to find. But even if there was just the tiniest chance of uncovering the truth behind the ponies being let loose, it was worth sneaking in for a dig around. If they didn’t, it was just a matter of time before a horse got hurt.

  “Come on, then,” Mia said, gritting her teeth as they turned up the lane. “Let’s get this over with.”

  At the edge of the murky woods the girls dismounted, but the last path they’d tried had already been blocked off. They began to search for another gap big enough to shimmy the ponies through, but had no luck. To Alice’s relief, they were about to give up, when a hushed cry came from the front of the group. It was Charlie, who was still at the front.

  “Here!” she hissed, as quietly as she could. The others led their ponies over to her, and in a snaking line, they walked into the dank, misty woods.

  The ponies’ hooves turned from metallic clangs to dull thuds as they stepped from the lane onto the peaty, woodland floor. Charlie had to hold a fractious Phantom with one hand and try to clear a path with the other as her horse tried to charge forward. They slowly made their way in the direction of the little cottage they’d seen previously, hoping it would be Mr Pyke’s. Distant but familiar voices soon told them that it was.

  “Shh, everyone!” Charlie whispered over her shoulder. “It’s just through the trees ahead!”

  The four girls could smell tangy wood smoke coming from the cottage chimney. They stayed back with their ponies, standing where they could just see the outline of the cottage, straining to hear what they quickly realised sounded like an argument by the open back door.

  “I’ve told you already, Archie! We can’t afford for anything to go wrong here, we have to make this place a success, no matter what. And that involves you keeping your mouth shut.”

  Mia glanced round, and mouthed the words ‘Billy’ to the others, who all nodded, recognising his voice at once.

  They could just make out Billy’s silhouette at the doorway to the cottage, with the light behind him. They could see that he was holding out something, but the mist was too heavy to tell what it was. Billy quickly pulled on a jacket and the girls saw Archie follow him out of the cottage. Their school friend looked worried. Billy hopped down the wooden steps and was about to walk away, when he paused and turned back to his brother.

  “Listen,” he said. “You did the right thing earlier. But don’t go and spoil it all by shooting your mouth off. Dad and Nick mustn’t hear about this. I’ll sort everything out, trust me. All right?”

  Archie nodded, sinking against the door frame, as if he wasn’t sure what to do next.

  With that, Billy strode over to a shed next to the cottage. He slung the doors open and disappeared inside. Archie suddenly seemed to come to life, and rushed after him. He stood anxiously outside the shed.

  “You can’t go over there now!” he called, his voice anxious and reedy. “It’s too misty! Billy, don’t!”

  A few seconds later they heard an engine splutter, then burst into life. The girls watched, as Billy emerged on a motorbike. It sounded high-pitched and tinny. The girls exchanged silent looks, their eyes almost popping out of their heads. Phantom pulled back on the reins, scaring himself as he tangled his hooves in the splintering undergrowth. He gave a short, explosive snort. Charlie quickly soothed him, one hand on his high neck, her heart racing as she glanced through the trees to see if her horse had alerted Billy and Archie to their hiding place.

  But Billy had his helmet on. He revved the bike and sped towards the Abbey entrance, oblivious to the girls in their hiding place. As the sound of the engine’s exhaust faded, Phantom continued to back up, scrunching through the brambles. Alice held her breath as Archie lingered at the doorway. Charlie soothed Phantom, and the other ponies stood stock still. Suddenly the silence was broken as Dancer let out a loud, lingering fart. Rosie’s mouth dropped open in horrified surprise. The girls desperately tried to stifle their hysterics, for fear of being discovered. But they needn’t have worried; Archie seemed lost in thought. In the next breath he turned back inside the cottage and quietly shut the door behind him.

  Even as the girls stood there, the mist began to waft away, slowly revealing more of the estate.

  “Well, that confirms it, don’t you think? Billy Pyke’s got a motorbike, and that’s like the last piece of the puzzle,” Charlie said, struggling to hold onto an increasingly agitated Phantom. “It has to be him that got sacked from Perryvale Polo Club, and this proves that he must be up to his old ways again!”

  “I thought he looked guilty earlier when we asked him about Molly and the Greenfield’s ponies!” Mia said, triumphantly.

  “The question is, why would he do it?” Alice asked. She felt excited about finding out who was behind the mystery, but a tiny part of her couldn’t help feeling disappointed, too. Billy might have been grumpy with them, but they’d seen him being nice to the polo horses. “What would make him do something that might end up hurting ponies?”

  “I don’t know,” Rosie said, “but I don’t think we should hang around here to try and figure it out, do you?”

  “Rosie’s got a point,” Mia agreed, “the mist might be disappearing but it’ll be getting dark soon. Come on. We’ll have to try and work it out later.”

  But with tangled brambles on the ground, not to mention the tightly packed trees, it was difficult to turn round. After a few minutes scrabbling about, the ponies got upset and anxious. The girls decided it would be better to go forwards and find the woodland gallops.

  “There must be an open exit we can slip through at the top end of the Abbey land,” Charlie said, trying to sound confident.

  “What if they’re all sealed up, though?” Rosie asked. “We might be trapped.” She was still feeling nervous. They hadn’t spotted Mr Pyke yet, which meant he could be lurking anywhere with his gun.

  “We’ll have to risk it,” Mia said, her cheeks getting red as she tried to stop a restless Wish from stepping into any brambles that might cut her legs.

  Charlie, Mia and Alice sprang back into their saddles, while Rosie struggled to bounce up onto a shifting Dancer. But as soon as they were mounted, their journey through the woods became easier. Rather than having to find paths wide enough for them and their ponies to walk side by side, their ponies could just pick their own way through the dense woodland.

  They rode, through pockets of mist, until they joined their favourite Abbey track. The Pony Detectives recognised it at once, even though they would normally reach it from a clearly marked entrance into the woods, straight opposite the stable yard.

  The track curved gently uphill, through dense trees on either side. Beyond the trees to their right, the Perryvale estate began. The woodland track was wide enough for two horses to be ridden next to each other, and it was springy under hoof.

  The ponies were still on edge, picking up on the girls’ mood.

  “Is everyone okay for a canter up here?” Charlie asked, as Phantom coiled up like a spring beneath the saddle. Her arms were aching from trying to contain him, and she didn’t know how much longer she could hold him. And she couldn’t put her finger on why, but now they’d used up their luck not being discovered by Billy and Archie, she wanted to get out of the Abbey as quickly as possible.

  The others agreed. As soon as Charlie softened her fingers on the reins, Phantom bounded forward. She heard the rhythmic beat of the other ponies trotting behind her. With barely the slightest shift in her weight, Phantom picked up canter. Charlie took her weight out of the saddle, and balanced over Phantom’s withers. Her horse lengthened his stride, his mane flowing as he began to calm beneath Charlie.

  Charlie f
elt herself starting to relax, too. The only thing they had to worry about now was finding a way out at the top of the estate. But she was sure there’d be another gap between trees further along the boundary. She felt herself start to smile, enjoying the thrill of sitting on a horse as powerful as Phantom, when suddenly a shot rang out into the silence, filling the air. It echoed in Charlie’s ear as loudly as if it had been fired right next to the path, right at her.

  Phantom seemed to pause in the air for a second, stunned, before pinning his ears back and bolting. Charlie grabbed the front of the saddle quickly, trying to stay on top as Phantom flew into a wild, uneven gallop. She knew he was running blind, in a panic that had taken him straight back to instinctive flight. There was no way she could turn Phantom, the path wasn’t wide enough, and all the time he was going straight he was picking up speed. She was almost being thrown out of the saddle with each stride, and one foot had slipped through her stirrup iron, making it difficult to balance as they galloped in and out of low lying mist patches.

  All Charlie could do was hang on until her horse began to tire, but she knew Phantom, and she knew that moment may take some time to come. Charlie was aware of shrieking behind her, but she didn’t dare turn round. She didn’t know if the others were still on board, or if any of them had come off. All she could think about was how stupid someone was to fire a gun that close to horses.

  The end of the wooded track loomed up ahead, suddenly appearing out of a patch of mist. Charlie had ridden up this path lots of times, and it used to peter out, then lead into a dirt track. But out of the swirling mist in front of her emerged a line of newly planted, tall hedge plants. Charlie closed her eyes, and braced for the impact, but Phantom swerved to the left at the last moment, narrowly avoiding them. Charlie somehow clung on, hanging sideways out of the saddle and losing a stirrup. Then they were careering off again along the edge of a field, following the new hedge.

  The icy cold air she was gulping in was burning her chest, and she had no idea where the path was taking her; the mist patches meant she couldn’t see far ahead. She pulled on the reins, but Phantom was still in full flight mode, and there was little she could do.