The Island Horse

by Susan Hughes

  The horse bobbed his head again. Again, he snatched a mouthful of grass. Again, he followed.

  “There are wild horses on this island,” her father had told her, and it was true. It made her heart sing.

  Ellie walked east, along the crest of the dunes, toward safety. Orchid followed closely.

  They walked on, she ahead, he behind.

  And after a time, she realized that they were not alone. She turned her head slowly. The herd was there! The island horse’s little family. Two mares, the yearling, the two foals.

  She saw them coming from the west, following along the crest of the dune. They were following their stallion, their leader.

  They did not come close. Sometimes they were out of sight, in a valley or hollow, as Ellie and the island horse topped and descended a low rise, or when lingering to graze. Or even, once, when the littlest foal lay down, its tiny, knobbly legs giving out abruptly.

  But Orchid seemed unconcerned. He seemed certain of their loyalty and their bond to him. He came forward after Ellie and put them in her care as well, trustingly. Sometimes he stopped to drink or to rub his leg daintily with his muzzle. And sometimes he was so close she felt his breath on her shoulder or her arm.

  The wind blew, and the waves surged against the shoreline. It was a day like every other on the island — wind, waves and sand. And yet today Ellie was walking with her horse, and she had never had such a feeling of happiness bursting inside her chest.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The morning turned into afternoon.

  We’re moving too slowly. The roundup will be starting soon, Ellie fretted. Maybe it’s started already!

  Ellie had never been this far along the island before. After walking eastward for some time, she had turned inland, found Lake Wallace and walked until reaching its eastern end. And all the while, she had worried that the roundup riders would come bursting upon them, hallooing and whooping, and sweep her little brood away.

  But they hadn’t, and she and the horses had kept walking, moving southward. Now they had reached the southern beach and were moving eastward again. They should come upon the sand hills soon. Soon, Ellie hoped.

  She was getting tired. She walked with her head down, determined. Trying to keep the pace brisk.

  As long as the roundup riders don’t come … as long as they don’t find us now … she told herself over and over.

  Suddenly, from atop a high ridge of sand, as she glanced out along the coast, searching for the hills, she saw strange tall bones rising in the distance. Astonished, she saw them sticking out of the beach, an enormous rib cage.

  What?! What strange animal is this? Could there be more, still roaming the shores? Ellie wondered fearfully.

  She shuddered, but she had nowhere to go but forward. She drew closer, along the ridge, her heart thumping. But as she came near, she realized, with relief, that the bones were not bones. Rather, they were the wooden skeleton of a wrecked ship. They were timbers, stripped to white by wind and waves.

  Ellie’s legs were weak from worry and her hours of trudging. She paused to scan the horizon again, looking for the hills. Her stomach grumbled. Realizing she was famished, she hastily ate a piece of cheese and drank a few sips of cold tea.

  There was no time to waste, however, so she walked on, and the horses followed. And then, as the sun had reached its summit and was dropping lower, into mid-afternoon, she stopped and looked ahead again, shading her eyes. Ellie saw shapes in the distance that looked like mounds, rising from the beach.

  There they were! The sand hills! Finally!

  She picked up her pace. Orchid and his family stayed near.

  But then, glancing back at him, always watchful, she saw his ears prick up.

  “Oh, no,” she cried because she, too, thought she heard something in the distance, approaching. The roundup riders? Was it them? She wanted to cry, to give up.

  The stallion raised his head higher, listening. He halted.

  Ellie stopped, too. She wanted to sink down, drown.

  Then Orchid turned his head, and looked at her. Fear and surprise were in his eyes … Was he going to panic? Flee toward danger?

  She couldn’t let it happen.

  “No, we have to hurry. We have to hurry! Come on!” she called. She would not let them find him. She would not.

  Ellie started to run. She summoned up all her energy and her hope and her love for the island horse, and she started to run as fast as she could.

  She ran toward the hills, and when she glanced back she saw Orchid duck his head and kick up his heels. Then he tossed his mane and reared, and now he was galloping after her.

  He caught up to her and continued on past her. He raced along the sand, tail high, hooves pounding. And now he was the leader. He was guiding Ellie, urging her onward.

  She ran after him, as hard as she could, buoyant, and behind came his little herd, trotting, anxious to keep up.

  As if they were all connected by an invisible thread, the stallion tore across the sand, exuberant and full of life, with Ellie and his family following.

  And they reached the sand hills. Orchid disappeared behind one hill, and the other horses disappeared after him. Ellie stopped running, stood panting. From where she was, from where any roundup riders might be, the herd could not be seen.

  It was late afternoon. But they were here, and no one had found them. Maybe it would be all right.

  Ellie walked in among the sand hills, found Orchid and sat down gratefully. The horse stayed nearby, eyeing her. Was he wondering if there might be another exhilarating tear across the sand? He tossed his head and pawed his hoof in the sand, restless.

  But after a time, the stallion settled. And he did not leave, although there was little food here, no grass at all. He dug down in the sand, and then drank the water that appeared. One by one, first the foals, then the yearling and then the mares came and drank. And then Ellie, watching and thirsty, went to the hole Orchid had made, and cupped her palm. Drank the fresh water.

  Satisfied, she sat back on her heels and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Then she gasped.

  Orchid was there. Right there, next to her.

  She sat still.

  Slowly, the horse stretched out his neck toward Ellie. He looked at her carefully. Then he hesitated.

  Ellie held her breath.

  Orchid’s ears twitched. His muzzle came close. She felt his nose touch her shoulder, her elbow. He pushed at her gently. His nostrils flared.

  Ellie remained still. She dared not move.

  Yet now he was nudging her palm. Once, twice. She felt his velvety nose on her bare skin.

  And so, slowly, slowly, she lifted her hand. She stroked his nose with the tip of her fingers. Once. Twice.

  Ellie looked into Orchid’s deep brown-black eyes, and he gazed back.

  It was a moment only. But it was everything to Ellie.

  Then, with a snort, Orchid stepped away. He tossed his head, and he flicked his tail. He headed back to stand near his herd.

  Now it was early evening. The sun was still in the sky, but it was low. The rays were sliding across the sea toward them. The horses were here. They were together, with her.

  Ellie, strong and determined, knew that no matter what happened, even if the roundup riders came and found them, she would protect the horse. She would not let him be taken. She and her father, and Sarah, would save Orchid and his family, too. Together they would not let the horses be taken from their home.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Ellie awoke in her father’s arms. A crescent moon was shining down on a crescent island.

  “Ellie, I found you,” he breathed. “You made it here!”

  “It’s over?” she asked, although she knew it had to be, because it was night.

 
He nodded. “Yes, sweetpea. The roundup ended long before the sun went down. They corralled sixteen horses in all. But it’s over now.”

  Ellie felt a pang. Sixteen wild horses had been taken. She knew some would be set free. Only the finest would be shipped away. But still …

  Her father asked anxiously, “And your horse …?” He lifted his head and looked around. “Is he here? Is he safe?”

  Ellie looked around, too. She saw sand and sea, and moonlight. But the wild horse had gone. And the others, too.

  “He’s not here anymore.” Ellie smiled at her father reassuringly. “But he came with me. He followed me here, away from the roundup. And his little herd came with us. I know he wasn’t taken.”

  “So, he’s safe. And his family as well.”

  “Yes, they’re all safe,” Ellie said. “Thank you, Pa, for helping.”

  “Oh Ellie, you’re welcome, but I didn’t actually do much!” he said lightly. “After lunch, we all headed out. I managed to tag along with two fellows who were heading this way. Although they seemed quite sure none of the stallions had claimed these sand hills as their territory, it was their job — our job — to check.”

  He chuckled. “Well, I was able to delay them along the way. Poor Cora! I fell off her twice, no, three times! The first two times, she looked surprised. The last time, she actually looked a bit sorry for me!” He chuckled again. Ellie grinned, picturing it.

  “And the lads weren’t angry at all. Just laughed at me and said I needed riding lessons. Then finally they said we should turn back or we’d miss the roundup completely. So we never made it all the way out here, in the end,” her father concluded.

  Ellie turned her head and pressed it against her father’s chest. She hugged him. He had made himself look foolish in front of these men just to help her. “Thank you, Pa.”

  “You know, I think it’s that lass Sarah you need to be thanking,” he said, hugging her back. “I heard she created quite a commotion in the middle of the afternoon. She raced out to the riders moving east with some strange story. Told them they were needed back at the Main Station right away. That the Ellie needed help.”

  Ellie caught her breath in surprise. But her father laughed — “The Ellie!” — and Ellie, relieved, laughed with him.

  “They all turned back right away. Almost came the whole way in before they got wind that she was leading them in a dance.” Her father shook his head, smiling. “She’s quite a one, that Sarah!”

  Ellie swallowed hard. Sarah had done all this for her! For her and Orchid and his herd.

  She hugged her father again, and he held her more tightly. She almost couldn’t believe it. Orchid and his family were safe. There would be another roundup sometime. Maybe next year. Maybe sooner. But Orchid and his family were safe for now, and to Ellie, tonight, this seemed enough. More than enough! It was wonderful.

  And I’m safe. Ellie felt it suddenly. She knew it. I’m safe. Even here, on this island. Maybe especially here, she thought, thinking of her father, Sarah, Orchid.

  Her father stood up, still holding Ellie in his arms. “Time to go home, sweetpea,” he said.

  Ellie’s father lifted her up onto Cora’s back. Then he mounted, sitting behind the saddle, wrapping his arms around her.

  Tomorrow, she would tell her father about naming the horse Orchid. She would tell him all about Sarah. And she would tell him that she’d like to continue her reading, writing and arithmetic. Maybe I could have lessons with Sarah, she thought. She imagined it for a moment and grinned. It would be fun!

  But that would all be tomorrow.

  Now, Ellie closed her eyes and leaned back sleepily against her father. They set out, making their way across the shifting, moonlit sand. Together, she and her father were going home.

  Author’s Note

  If you went back in time to when this story is set, in the early 1800s, you would not have had the pleasure of meeting Ellie or her father or Sarah. All the characters in The Island Horse are invented. They came from my imagination. However, the characters did grow out of real places and real situations, and I have based many of the details in my story on historical fact. Take Sable Island itself. This magical place actually exists. Look at any detailed map of Canada and you can pick out the tiny crescent-shaped island lying about 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the coast of Nova Scotia.

  It really is mostly sand and vegetation. There is only one tree on the whole island. And the island does grow and shrink in size over time. Storms, tides, currents and waves shift and shape its edges. As I write this, the island is approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) long and about 1.5 kilometers (one mile) at its widest. But if you checked today, its measurements might be different.

  And what a dangerous place it was for ships. Sable Island sits on a rich fishing ground and near a major shipping route. But it is often covered in fog, it is frequently hit by storms and there are unpredictable currents surrounding it. In the past, navigational tools were not always good enough to help sailors safely make their way around this treacherous location. That is why there were many, many shipwrecks near the island. In fact, there have been more than 350 recorded shipwrecks there since 1583. The island deserved its nickname, the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

  Also, there really was a lifesaving station on Sable Island. The first one was built there in 1801. Crews of men came to live and work on the island. They looked for shipwrecks during storms or foggy weather. They tried to rescue any survivors who were aboard. They also searched for shipwreck survivors who had come ashore. It was a hard life. But over time, the men began bringing their families to live on the island. For example, the first superintendent, who arrived on Sable Island in 1801, brought with him his wife, his children and several staff members.

  So it is likely that if a man such as Ellie’s father got a job on Sable Island, he would have brought his daughter along with him as well. It would have taken them more than one day to sail to Sable Island from Halifax, but they would certainly have traveled there on the supply ship. And yes, a shore rescuer would have patrolled the coastline on the back of a Sable Island horse, since it is also true that wild horses have lived on this Canadian island for hundreds of years.

  How did they get there? No one knows for certain, but the first horses probably arrived in the early 1700s. They were domestic or tame. Some say they were shipwrecked there. Others say they were shipped from the mainland to the island because it was a place where they could graze freely. However, over time the horses returned to being wild, living a natural life and moving in small herds.

  Just as in this story, some of the wild horses were regularly rounded up and sold in Halifax once or twice a year. This happened for decades, well up until the 1950s. Usually they were used for pulling wagons or riding. Then, in 1960, a federal government department thought the horses were starving. It decided to remove them all from the island and auction them off for dog food or glue. Shocked Canadians, including many children, wrote letters to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker to protest. Shortly afterward, a law was enacted to protect the wild horses.

  And now there are other laws, too, to protect the island and its horses. For example, no one can go there without written permission. No one can feed or interfere with the horses. Although scientists and researchers come to study the island’s unique wildlife and fragile habitat, no one lives on the island anymore. There are also hopes that, one day soon, this island may become a national wildlife preserve or park.

  Since I was a child, I have loved horses. And since I first read about Sable Island, this special home to wild horses, I have dreamed about setting a story there. When Ellie spoke to me in my imagination one day, it was time to create my own Island Horse world, made of fact, fiction and dreams. I am so happy to have shared it with you!

  About the Author

  As a child, SUSAN HUGHES was horse crazy. She read every
book about horses she could get her hands on, took riding lessons and even created an equestrian newsletter with a friend. The Saddle and Bridle Club magazine contained stories and articles about horses and was sold for five cents a copy. Now, Susan is the award-winning author of a variety of books for young readers, including Case Closed?, Virginia, No Girls Allowed and Earth to Audrey. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her family.