by Orr, Wendy
The two thieves in the truck were even more nervous. They’d planned to drive all night and be far away by morning. But it had taken so long to load Midnight into the float that now it was nearly daylight. Soon people would be arriving at the stables to feed and exercise the horses. They’d see that the last stall was empty and call the police.
‘We’ve got to get off this road,’ the leader muttered. ‘There’s no way I’m going back to jail!’
But the road from the stables ran along beside the bush, and so far they hadn’t seen any side roads leading off it. They drove faster. The horses in the float whinnied as they were bumped and jolted. Finally, just as the sun came up, the truck slowed at a sign with picnic tables.
‘Are you crazy?’ the other thief shouted. ‘We can’t stop for a picnic – the police will see the float and catch us for sure!’
‘Not if we don’t have any horses with us,’ said the driver. He turned into the entrance to the park.
The horses felt the float stop. Branches crowded against the blackened windows so no light came through at all. No one came to get them out, or even to rub their noses and talk to them.
The stallion whinnied, and the white mare nickered quietly back. ‘Don’t worry,’ she seemed to say, ‘I’m here. We’ll be okay together.’
She wouldn’t have been so sure if she could have seen the two thieves. They were working as fast as they could, hauling wire and fencing tools from the truck deep into the bush.
At the top of a rocky ravine they stopped. ‘Perfect!’ said the leader, pointing down to the creek. ‘If they’ve got water, they’ll survive till we come back.’
‘There’s not much for them to eat,’ said the smaller man.
The boss thief laughed a nasty sort of laugh. ‘The hungrier they are, the easier they’ll be to catch.’
They began to string the wire through the trees to make a fence.
CHAPTER 3
he big black horse stamped so hard the whole float shuddered. Even Pebbles was getting twitchy: it was time for her breakfast. Any minute now someone should come with horse pellets for her and her friend. Usually it was a girl; other days it was a boy – but whoever it was would pat and brush her, check her feet and rub between her ears.
Midnight always snorted and skittered when the groom came into the big stall, but the mare liked being brushed. Even though she was so much smaller than the stallion, she would push in front of him. And the longer she stood, nodding her head in rhythm with the long strokes of the brush, the calmer Midnight became. By the time Pebbles was shining, from her combed-out silvery mane to her round black hooves, the stallion was ready to be groomed too.
Finally they would both be saddled and bridled. Midnight would begin to quiver again, but his companion would lead him calmly outside. Their riders would mount, and they would canter together around the track.
Sometimes the mare would go around the track two or three times; sometimes she was only halfway around when her rider reined her in. Wherever it was, Pebbles gradually dropped back till she could trot out the next gate. Then she and her rider would watch from the railings as her big black friend burst from a canter to a gallop. Faster and faster he’d go, his hooves thundering on the hard ground, his long legs flashing in a blur.
When he finally pulled up, his nostrils flaring red and shoulders lathered with sweat, no matter how much his rider stroked and soothed him, all that Midnight wanted was to see the silver mare. Only when she was standing beside him could he relax and enjoy the trainer’s praise.
But now it was full daylight. They were still in the horse float, and still hadn’t had their breakfast. Midnight tossed his head and tried to rear, but was jerked back hard by the short rope tying him to the bar. The silver mare quivered. She was tied too tight to reach over and nuzzle her friend, and now she was anxious too. She neighed impatiently when she heard the men return.
‘Get the mare out first,’ she heard one of them say.
The smaller thief untied the end of Pebbles’ rope and tugged her backwards out of the float. She stepped down cautiously and looked around. She’d never been in such dark dense bush before.
The leader stepped into the empty side of the float and untied the stallion’s rope.
‘Take her ahead—’ he called, but before he could finish the sentence, Midnight shot out of the float as if he was on springs. The thief bounced behind him on the end of the rope. He yanked the stallion’s head hard.
The other man was already leading the white horse to the ravine. She nickered anxiously, and Midnight whinnied back as he followed her into the wire corral. But as soon as she was let go, Pebbles trotted off to explore this strange new place.
The big black horse reared, ripping the rope out of the thief’s hands and galloping to her side.
‘That’s why we brought her,’ he said. As fast as they could, the two men looped the wire around trees to close the opening in the fence. ‘We’d have never got him in there without her.’
‘What if he trips on that rope?’
‘You try to get it off if you want – I’m not going in there with him again!’
The stallion trumpeted defiantly and the two men hurried back to the truck. They unhitched the float, shoving it as far as they could under a wide-spreading tree.
‘Hurry up!’ the leader growled, but the other man broke branches off bushy shrubs and heaped them up in front of the float, till it was nearly impossible to see from the road. Then he jumped into the truck too.
They sped out of the park and down the road.
Ten minutes later, they saw a police car racing towards them, lights flashing and siren wailing. It slowed for a moment as it came close, then sped on towards the stables. The two thieves laughed all the way to the highway.
CHAPTER 4
llie and Hannah lay on the living-room floor with Peanut between them, looking at the pictures in Hannah’s new dog book.
‘You’re the cutest,’ Hannah told Peanut. The puppy rolled onto his back, waving his front paws as if he knew exactly what ‘cute’ meant.
Mrs Cooper sat down on the couch with Peanut’s shaggy white mother on her lap. ‘And Molly’s the smartest, because she always watches the news with me!’
She flicked on the TV. On the screen, a tall black horse with a grinning jockey on his back skittered through a cheering crowd.
‘Last year’s winner of the Melbourne Cup, Master Midnight, was stolen from the Green Hills stables last night. The owner, Mrs Barrington, said that the stallion refuses to travel anywhere without his companion pony, Pebbles. The thieves apparently knew this, as Pebbles is also missing.’
Ellie wished there’d been a picture of the pony too. ‘Pebbles’ sounded just right for a round, shaggy Shetland. She’d have liked to see it together with that huge racehorse.
The two thieves were back in the park very early the next morning. While it was still dark, they pulled the branches away from the horse float, dragged it out from under the trees and hitched it to the tow bar.
The boss thief got a bucket and a scoopful of oats from the back of the truck.
‘Let’s hope they’re hungry,’ said the other man.
‘I just hope they’re still there!’ said the leader.
In the soft predawn light, they followed the trail they’d used the day before, and pushed through the bush to the ravine. The horses were down at the creek, nosing for the blades of fresh grass that grew by the water. They were very hungry.
The men ducked through the wire gate. The leader swished the oats in the bucket. ‘Breakfast!’ he called, in the friendliest voice he could manage. ‘Come and get it!’
Pebbles scrambled quickly up the hill.
Midnight hesitated, but when he saw his friend’s head dip into the bucket, he neighed and charged after her.
The smaller man clipped a rope onto Pebbles’ halter. The other grabbed the bucket away from her and swished the oats again to call the stallion. The mare struggled to get it back.<
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The big black horse stopped. His nostrils flared. He didn’t like these men – but he knew that if Pebbles wanted what was in there, he did too. He stretched his neck out as far as he could and snatched a mouthful of oats.
The boss thief grabbed the rope dangling from his halter as the other man cut the wire gate open and led the white mare towards the horse float.
Pebbles was sure that she’d be fed as soon as she got into the float. She loaded quickly, and the big horse followed her. The boss thief tied the stallion’s head tight. ‘Now get the mare out!’
‘Hang on,’ said the smaller man. ‘I’ve got a foolproof plan!’ He closed the float gate, and snipped off the long silvery hairs of the pony’s tail with a pair of shears. Then he taped the grey tail on top of the stallion’s black one. ‘And now,’ he said, ‘let’s make him white!’ He took a spray can, and sprayed Midnight’s back and neck until they were covered with white shaving foam. Then he backed Pebbles out of the float. The leader slammed the tailgate shut before the black horse could move.
‘Now, what can you see?’ the smaller thief asked.
The boss checked from behind the float, as if he were in a car following it. ‘One white horse!’
‘And everyone’s looking for a black horse and a white pony!’
The two thieves high-fived triumphantly.
The stallion trumpeted angrily.
The mare neighed back, and refused to budge even when the men waved their arms at her and shouted.
Inside the float, Midnight thrashed and struggled. He tried to rear, and kicked the back door with his strong hind legs, but he was tied tight and the float was solid. He could not escape.
The boss thief clipped a rope onto the mare’s halter. Tugging and yanking, he hauled her back through the trees to the corral, and didn’t let her go till the other man had wired it shut again.
‘We can pick her up later if that black devil doesn’t settle down,’ he said. ‘Now let’s get out of here!’
With Pebbles’ grey tail floating behind the talegate, they disappeared down the road.
Peanut was supposed to sleep in his own basket, but as soon as the first rays of sun shone in the window, the puppy would always leap onto Hannah’s bed, cover her face with kisses, and then snuggle down to sleep beside her till it was time to get up. This morning, since Ellie was in the spare bed, he bounced back and forth between the two of them.
Ellie thought it was a good way to wake up before going to the animal shelter.
‘It’s the best way to wake up every day,’ said Hannah.
Pebbles raced back and forth along the fence at the top of the ravine, neighing desperately.
Her friend didn’t come back. After a while she gave up and went back to searching for something green to eat. There hadn’t been much grass to start with, and she and Midnight had eaten most of it the day before.
Hannah’s dad dropped the girls off at the shelter right after breakfast. They needed to be there early that morning, because afterwards Hannah’s family was driving up to the hills for a picnic. Ellie was going with them.
The little blue house was prettier than Ellie had imagined an animal shelter could be. She smiled as she stepped under the rainbow at the door.
Hannah tapped on the door, and they went in. A grey cat watched them from the windowsill.
‘Can I help you?’ squawked Gulliver, from his perch above the desk.
Ellie laughed.
Mona came in from the SMALL ANIMAL ROOM, with her little dog Nelly following close behind. ‘Where would you like to help?’ she asked Ellie.
‘Are there any horses?’ Ellie asked.
Mona shook her head. ‘You never know what’s going to turn up here next – but we haven’t had a lost horse for ages.’
So Ellie took some hay out to Bessy, the three-legged goat, and checked that her water trough was full. Bert arrived and showed Ellie how to brush the goat’s coat to get all the extra hair out and keep her skin healthy. Bessy liked being groomed. She leaned against Ellie as Ellie brushed, and rubbed her head against Ellie’s back when she’d finished.
‘She’s saying thank you,’ said Bert.
CHAPTER 5
olly and Peanut were in the car when the Coopers picked Ellie and Hannah up from Rainbow Street. ‘They’re part of the family!’ Hannah’s dad said. ‘We couldn’t go on a picnic without them!’
They drove along the coast for nearly half-an-hour before Mr Cooper turned onto the road into the hills. Hannah and Ellie were getting bored in the back seat. Peanut bounced between them, standing on Hannah’s legs to look out the right-hand window, then on Ellie’s to look out the left. He was very cute, but his claws were scratchy.
His shaggy mother sat quietly at Mrs Cooper’s feet. Every few minutes she’d stroke the dog’s ears, and Molly would look up adoringly at her.
Peanut adored Hannah, but he was too busy to stop and look at her.
‘Nearly there!’ said Hannah’s dad, pointing ahead to a sign.
They kept on driving. Now the road wound along with the hills and bush on one side and farms on the other. Ellie looked out at the farms, hoping to see horses. So far all she’d seen were sheep.
The day would be perfect if she could just see a horse.
Pebbles had covered every bit of the bush where she was fenced in. She’d scrambled down to the creek to drink and nosed the rocks to see if any of them were hiding something to eat. There was no food anywhere.
Now she was going along the wire fence with her neck stretched out under the bottom strand to reach the last bits of grass on the other side. She wasn’t a big horse, and didn’t need nearly as much to eat as Midnight. But she was getting very hungry.
Hannah’s dad followed the signs to a grassy clearing with picnic tables. The bush around them was thick and shady.
‘Let’s take the dogs for a walk before lunch,’ said Hannah’s mum.
Ellie was glad there were tracks to walk on. She’d be afraid to push her way through those trees. There might be snakes, giant spiders or other creepy insects waiting to drop into her hair … Peanut bounced on the end of his leash, but Molly walked politely, and Mrs Cooper let Ellie take her. The girls and the dogs ran ahead.
‘Don’t turn off to the lake – it’s too far!’ Hannah’s dad shouted.
Up ahead they could see flashes of blue water through the trees where the path curved and split.
The right-hand path led around the lake to where a creek flowed into it through a deep ravine. ‘LAKE CIRCUIT WALK: 10 KILOMETRES,’ said the sign.
‘We can do it after lunch,’ said Hannah’s mum.
Ellie looked longingly at the lake trail. She didn’t know why she wanted to go that way so badly – she just knew she did. But she turned around obediently and followed Hannah and her parents along the left-hand trail that looped back towards the car.
The picnic was fancy, with cold roast chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, carrot sticks, meatloaf, rolls, strawberries, peaches and a chocolate cake. It took a long time, and even when they were tidying up the plates and leftovers, and Ellie thought they were finally ready to go on the walk, Hannah’s dad poured two more cups of coffee.
‘To go!’ he said, before Hannah could protest.
They started back down the trail, the girls with the dogs, and Hannah’s parents with their coffees. This time, when they reached the lake, they turned right. Peanut and Molly sniffed the air happily, rushing from side to side to find smell-signposts in the bushes and see what other animals had crossed the path ahead of them.
Hannah’s dad stopped at a wooden bench on a curve where the creek flowed into the lake. The trail continued on down beside the creek.
‘We’ll sit here and finish our coffees,’ he said. ‘Catch you up in a minute.’
‘Don’t go off the trail!’ Hannah’s mum called.
Hannah and Ellie raced ahead with the dogs; even quiet Molly was bouncing as much as her son.
‘The air smells dif
ferent here,’ Ellie said.
Hannah took a big breath, tasting it. ‘Wild air!’
They laughed, and ran on.
The creek running beside the trail was shallow and narrow. It was cut deep into the rocky banks, as if a long time ago it had been a bigger, wilder river. The girls came to a wooden bridge and gazed down into the ravine below. It was steeper and deeper than it seemed from the trail. The dogs sniffed the bridge cautiously.
‘Come on!’ Ellie coaxed shaggy Molly, and they galloped across the bridge, their feet thundering like horses’ hooves. When they got to the path on the other side, the dogs raced ahead, relieved to be back on solid ground.
If she couldn’t ride a horse, Ellie decided, the next best thing was pretending to be one, with a dog tugging at the leash like a horse at its reins.
‘Hannah!’ Hannah’s dad shouted. ‘Ellie!’
The girls looked around; they hadn’t realised they’d run so far. They turned and ran back towards the bridge.
Hannah’s parents were staring down at the creek. ‘I heard something moving around in the bush – I thought maybe you’d gone down there and got lost!’ said Hannah’s mum.
‘I told you they wouldn’t go off the track,’ said Mr Cooper.
Mrs Cooper was still looking down into the bush. ‘I wonder what it was!’
‘Can we go see?’ asked Hannah.
‘It’s too steep,’ her mum said quickly.
They walked back across the bridge, the dogs leading the way.
Pebbles could hear voices. Voices meant people … and people meant food. People could get her out of this place.
She charged to the top of the bank, whinnying loudly. She trotted back and forth through the trees along the fence, and whinnied again.
No one came.
‘Did you hear that?’ Ellie asked. ‘It sounded like a horse!’
They were back on the trail around the lake. Everyone stopped and listened. Birds called and frogs croaked. No one could hear anything else.
