Strangers at the Stables

by Michelle Bates

  Rosie sat shell-shocked. She felt as though she was looking at a video that had been freeze-framed. Storm Cloud pirouetted in staccato movements, cannoning into the stampeding horses and then Whispering Silver reared, her eyes rolling in sheer terror, her legs flaying in the air as Beth clung on for dear life. Crash! In one split-second, Whispering Silver’s shoes struck tarmac and Beth was flung sideways from the saddle. There was a sickening crunch as Beth hit the ground. Whispering Silver thundered off down the road, taking horses and riders with her. Suddenly, Rosie snapped to her senses.

  “Pull on the reins! Try to turn them back!” She shouted instructions until she was blue in the face, but it was too late. Napoleon was the only horse left behind, and George was struggling to keep him under control. Jumping to the ground, Rosie rushed over to where Beth had fallen. She felt the panic rising in her throat as she looked at the pale face of the girl stretched out on the ground, her leg twisted awkwardly underneath her.

  “She’s dead!” George screamed.

  “No she’s not,” Rosie said as she felt for Beth’s pulse. “She’s unconscious, but there’s a very definite beat. We need help. Can you ride and phone for an ambulance? I’ll stay here with her. Tie Pepper to that tree over there.”

  “Beth, Beth. Can you hear me?” She turned back to the girl, not waiting for an answer from George.

  “Go on,” Rosie said. “There’s a house some way up on the left. I can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s got a white gate. Call Tom at Sandy Lane too. Tell him what’s happened. Get him to come out and look for the others. And hurry,” she said urgently.

  Rosie watched as George turned Napoleon up the road towards Ash Hill, galloping away into the distance. Quietly, she bent over Beth, stroking her hair, talking to her all the time, not knowing what to say.

  “You’re going to be all right,” she whispered. “It was only a little fall. It looks worse than it is. Please, please be all right,” she said. But there was no reply from the white, immobile figure laid out beside her. It had started to rain now. Big drips of water ran in rivulets down Rosie’s back as she took off her coat and laid it over Beth to keep her warm. She didn’t know what else she could do. She felt so helpless kneeling there, waiting and waiting. Beth groaned as Rosie leant over.

  “Beth...Beth can you hear me?” Beth opened one eye and groaned faintly.

  “It’s...it’s my leg,” she murmured.

  “It’s OK. It’s OK,” Rosie said, patting her hand. “They’ll soon be here.”

  She looked at her watch. It could only have been five minutes ago that George had left for help, but it felt like ages. She thought she could hear something. Was it the sound of an engine in the distance? Her heart leapt as she jumped to her feet and then it sank again. Her mind was playing tricks on her. She grimaced as the sound faded away. Then she heard another noise and, as she stared into the distance, she could see a horse and rider cantering towards her. Rosie waited patiently as the figures got nearer and nearer. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was George.

  “The ambulance is on its way.” The words tumbled from the boy’s mouth. “They should be here any minute. And I phoned Tom...he’s coming out with Alex...how is she?”

  “She’s come round,” Rosie said. “Her leg’s hurting her, but I...” And then Rosie jumped up. There was a siren in the distance, getting louder and louder.

  “The ambulance!” George cried, jumping off Napoleon.

  Before Rosie knew it, an ambulance had appeared around the corner and everyone sprang into action. Neon lights flashed as three men jumped out and rushed over.

  “What’s her name?” one called.

  “Beth. She’s called Beth.” Rosie answered weakly, watching them as they unloaded a trolley from the ambulance.

  “Pulse is OK,” she heard one of them mutter to the others, laying his hand against her brow.

  “Temperature OK.”

  Rosie felt a wave of relief flood through her. Beth was groaning.

  “Do you hurt anywhere?” one of them was asking her.

  “She said something about her leg,” Rosie intervened.

  “OK, OK,” the ambulance man said kindly, motioning to the others to fetch something. Rosie looked on as they attached a support bandage to Beth’s leg. Gently, the three men rolled her onto a board and carried her over to the trolley.

  “What happens now?” Rosie asked.

  “We’re taking her to casualty...to Barkston hospital,” one of them said. “Can you phone her family?”

  “Yes, I’ll phone her mother,” Rosie said.

  “I’ll radio the hospital and get them to call out the police,” said the ambulance man. “Wait till they get here – they’ll tell you what to do,” he said, heading for the driver’s seat.

  “OK,” Rosie said miserably, shivering as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

  Beth smiled weakly as the men strapped her to the trolley and loaded her into the back, and then the ambulance drove off leaving Rosie and George standing on the roadside waiting. It had all happened so quickly.

  “Tom and the others should be here any moment,” George said. “In fact, there they are now.”

  Rosie turned around and looked back in the direction of Sandy Lane to see Tom and Alex running over.

  “Rosie...George. Is Beth OK?” Tom asked, striding towards them.

  “She’s been rushed off to Barkston casualty, but she was at least conscious when they took her off. Her leg is hurting her,” Rosie answered, clutching the reins of a rather impatient Pepper who was pawing frantically at the ground.

  “We must phone Beth’s mother as soon as we get back and tell her she’s been taken to Barkston,” Alex said sensibly. “Are you all right, Rosie?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” Rosie said, looking down at her dishevelled appearance. “Just a bit shocked. The police are on their way. I can’t get over it...the car didn’t stop. It must have seen the trouble it caused. Beth could have been killed and yet it didn’t stop.”

  “Did you get its number plate?” Tom asked.

  “No,” Rosie cried. “It all happened so quickly. It was a red sports car...a man driving it, but everything else is a bit hazy.”

  “What about you, George?” Tom asked.

  “I’m afraid it’s a complete blur,” he answered, shaking his head.

  “We’ve got to find the others,” Tom said, suddenly taking charge of the situation. “You wait here for the police. Which way did they go?”

  Rosie pointed vaguely in the direction of Ash Hill.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll go and look for them. I’m sure we’ll find them,” said Tom, confidently. “We’ll take Pepper and Napoleon off your hands. Just tell the police what you can remember.”

  Rosie watched as the two boys mounted the horses and disappeared into the distance. The police didn’t take long to get there and soon Rosie found herself going over the events once more.

  “I’m PC Dale,” the first policeman said as he strode over. “Can you tell me what’s happened here?” he asked kindly. “The hospital radioed that there had been an accident.”

  “Yes, yes there was,” said Rosie hurriedly. “The ambulance has taken Beth off – the girl who was thrown from her horse,” she explained.

  “Where are the other riders then?” he asked. “I was told there were a lot of you down here.”

  “There were.” Rosie paused for breath. “The horses bolted with their riders. Our friends have already gone to look for them...I told them which way to go...they’ve taken care of our horses...” The words tumbled out one after the other. “We were just waiting for you before we went back to the yard.”

  “We won’t keep you long...just a few details, then we’ll run you back to the stables,” the policeman said, opening a notepad. Rosie watched as he drew a map of the surrounding roads.

  “So where did this car come from then?”

  “The Colcott junction over there,” said Rosie. “And very
fast.”

  “But it didn’t actually hit anyone?”

  “No,” Rosie said hesitantly. “But it drove very close to us.”

  “And it seemed as though it speeded up,” George added.

  “What sort of speed would you estimate it was going at then?” PC Dale turned to George

  George looked doubtful. “It’s hard to say. It just looked very fast,” he said.

  “And where were the horses on the road?” he asked, turning back to Rosie.

  “In single file.” Rosie paused to draw breath. “We were practising for our road safety exams, so we wouldn’t have ridden any other way.”

  “That’s good,” said PC Dale. “And how many people were there in the vehicle?” he went on.

  “Just one – a man I think,” Rosie answered. “But I didn’t get a clear view of him. It all happened so quickly.”

  “What about you?” PC Dale asked George.

  “Well, no,” said George. “I was too busy trying to hold my horse.”

  “And did either of you get the registration number by any chance?” he asked.

  “No, I’m afraid not,” Rosie said.

  Rosie watched as PC Dale scribbled one last thing down and snapped his notepad shut.

  “Is that all you need to know?” Rosie asked quietly.

  “For now,” the policeman said in a kind voice. “If you want to get into the car, we’ll give you a lift back to the stables.”

  Rosie and George climbed into the back. Rosie stared out of the window. She couldn’t believe all this had happened – only an hour ago she had ridden so confidently out of Sandy Lane.

  “Do you think you might find the driver?” she heard George asking the police, as they drove back along the winding roads.

  “Hmm.” PC Dale was hesitant. “To be honest with you, we’re in a very difficult position – as the car didn’t actually hit anything...”

  “But it was obvious the man drove too close to us,” George interrupted.

  “Maybe,” PC Dale went on. “But it’ll be very difficult to prove, and without a vehicle registration number it’s unlikely we’ll be able to find him anyway.”

  Rosie wasn’t listening to the continuing conversation. As she stared dejectedly out of the window, her mind drifted off. That car had definitely speeded up, it had been no accident. Poor Beth. As the police car turned into the drive off Sandy Lane, visions of the girl lying crumpled on the ground flooded Rosie’s mind. She took a deep breath. What on earth were they going to tell Nick and Sarah?

  4

  HOLDING THE FORT

  “Well, it could have been worse,” said Charlie. “At least all the other riders are back in one piece. And none of the horses are injured.”

  It was late in the day, and the Sandy Lane regulars were huddled in the tack room. It seemed as though they’d been there for hours, just trying to decide what to do. And it had been a long day. A day that had started off so promisingly and ended in disaster.

  “It’s as Rosie suspected,” Tom said, putting down the phone from Beth’s mother. “Beth’s broken her leg.” He took a deep breath. “They reckon it’s going to take at least six weeks to heal, so she’s not going to be around at Sandy Lane for some time. She’s going to have to stay at home till she’s fully recovered.” Tom looked around the tack room at the gloomy faces staring back at him.

  “What did her mother say we should do?” Rosie asked. “Who’s going to run Sandy Lane?”

  “Don’t worry, Rosie,” Tom replied. “It’s all in hand. I said we’d phone Nick’s friend. Beth’s mother was going to do it, but she seemed quite relieved when I offered instead. I suppose I’d better ring him now.” Tom reached for the number on the notice board.

  “What’s his name?” Rosie asked.

  “Dick Bryant,” Tom answered. “Shhh.” Tom motioned to his lips as he dialled the number and waited patiently.

  “No answer,” he said finally.

  “We’ll have to phone Nick and Sarah,” Rosie said.

  “No,” said Tom. “I don’t want to worry Nick and Sarah if we don’t have to. They’ve got enough to think about at the moment. We’ll pack things up here, then if we can’t get hold of Dick Bryant tonight, we’ll try him again tomorrow.”

  “But what about tomorrow’s lessons?” Rosie said. “Shouldn’t we cancel them?”

  “No...not yet,” said Tom. “We’ll manage. It’s only for a day. I can always take over Beth’s lessons and then we’ll divide the hacks between us.”

  Rosie wasn’t convinced.

  “Look,” said Tom. “By tomorrow, we’ll have got hold of Dick Bryant and things will be back to normal.”

  “Unless we don’t phone Dick Bryant at all...” Charlie started.

  “Oh Charlie!” Rosie exclaimed. “Not another of your mad schemes.”

  “Not that mad,” he went on. “We could run Sandy Lane ourselves. It is the Easter holidays after all. I’m sure we could manage until Nick and Sarah get back. They’d be so pleased...”

  “Don’t even think about it,” Tom said. “We can’t possibly do that. Nick would go mad.”

  “I suppose you’re right,” Charlie said, shrugging his shoulders. “It was just an idea. You must admit, it would be fun.”

  “Fun, but totally mad.” Tom was cross now. “But we can hold the fort till tomorrow evening can’t we?”

  There were faint murmurings and then everyone nodded in agreement.

  “OK. If that’s all agreed, I can think of twelve hungry horses waiting to be fed. Let’s get going.”

  “I’ll nip across to the cottage and lock up,” said Alex. “Turn some lights on, make it look lived in...that sort of thing.”

  “Good idea,” said Tom. “There’s a spare set of keys in the drawer. Make sure you do it properly. Oh and don’t let’s say anything about what’s happened yet,” Tom went on. “Not until we’ve got everything sorted. You know what parents are like. They’ll only worry and one of them is bound to try and get hold of Nick.”

  There was a quick pause as everyone exchanged nervous glances. Rosie felt uneasy. She didn’t like keeping things from her parents. Still, it was only for a day and no one else seemed worried by it. She didn’t want to be the odd one out.

  Quickly, she followed the others into the yard as they set about packing up the stables for the night.

  The next morning passed uneventfully at Sandy Lane. Tom still hadn’t managed to get hold of Dick Bryant. Every time he rang there was no reply. At two o’clock, the regulars met in the tack room and delegated tasks for the afternoon.

  “I’ll take that private lesson and Rosie and Jess – do you think you could take the 2 o’clock hack out?” Tom asked.

  “Of course!” said Rosie, her eyes lighting up. It was the hack that went to the lighthouse – her favourite ride. Hurriedly, she skipped to Pepper’s stable.

  “Did you hear that, Pepper?” she called. “We’re taking a hack out this afternoon.”

  Pepper turned round to look at her and snorted lethargically.

  “Come on, where’s your energy?’ she asked the little black and white pony.

  “All right Rosie?” Jess’s head appeared over the door.

  “Fine.” Rosie smiled at her friend.

  “Can you tack up Blackjack?” Jess asked. “David Taylor’s here and his mother wants to see him mounted for his private lesson.”

  “OK, I’ll be there in a moment,” Rosie said quickly. “Hello Mrs. Taylor,” she called, hurrying over to Blackjack’s stable. “I’ll just get Blackjack’s saddle. Tom’s taking David’s lesson this afternoon.”

  “Tom?” Mrs. Taylor looked surprised. “But where’s Beth?” she asked, concerned.

  “She’s had an accident,” said Rosie. “She was knocked off her horse by a car.”

  “Is she all right?” Mrs. Taylor asked.

  “I’m afraid she’s broken her leg,” Rosie said. “And it’s going to take six weeks to mend.”

  “Oh
dear.” Mrs. Taylor was hesitant. “But is Tom capable of taking lessons?”

  “Yes. He’s an excellent rider, and it’s only for today – some of Nick’s friends are coming in to help tomorrow,” Rosie said, silently praying that she wouldn’t be struck down for lying. Well, it was only a little white lie. She was sure that when Tom got hold of Dick Bryant, he’d come round straight away.

  Rosie gritted her teeth as she tightened Blackjack’s girth. “Come on, breathe in,” she said to the little black pony. “We’ll be back to normal tomorrow,” Rosie went on, leading the pony out of the stable.

  “Hmm,” Mrs. Taylor answered. “I suppose that’s all right then – if it’s only for today. And you did say that Tom is a good rider...”

  “The best,” Rosie interrupted.

  “If Nick trusts him, I’m sure it will be all right. Come on, David,” she called to her son.

  Rosie helped the little boy into the saddle and circled the pony around the yard as Tom hurried over.

  “Hi David,” Tom called. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” the little boy answered, his eyes shining.

  Rosie smiled as she watched them set off to the outdoor school for the lesson.

  “I’ll be back at three to pick David up,” Mrs. Taylor called, getting back into her car.

  “All right Mrs. Taylor,” Rosie answered. Hurriedly she made her way back to Pepper’s stable and, after tacking him up, led him out to join the rest of the riders who had gathered in the yard for the hack.

  There was a girl from the year below her at school on Minstrel, a boy with dark hair riding Hector, a blonde girl she didn’t recognize with Jester and Jess was on Storm Cloud.

  “All ready?” Rosie asked the riders.

  “Yes,” said the blonde girl, lifting up the saddle flap to tighten the girth.

  Excitedly the riders wound their way out of the yard. Jess headed the line and Rosie brought up the rear. The horses trotted down the drive and into the lane. Rosie felt the spring in Pepper’s heels as they turned into the fields.