Lucky Horse

by Bonnie Bryant

Carole nodded.

  “Well, with just a few quick zips of this Velcro …” Colonel Hanson fidgeted with the pants for a moment, then pulled one leg off. “Ta-da! You’ve now got shorts!”

  Carole didn’t know what to say.

  “And I bet you thought this was a jacket, right?” He held up a tan-colored jacket.

  Again Carole could only nod.

  “It is. But it’s also a vest.” Colonel Hanson unfastened the arms of the jacket just as he had the legs of the pants and pulled off one sleeve. “If you’re out hiking in a jacket and pants and you get hot, with just four quick zips of Velcro, you can be in shorts and a vest!”

  Carole stood there, looking at her father holding up a vest that had once been a jacket, and pants that could soon be shorts, and started to laugh. She couldn’t help it. He looked just like someone you’d see on television, selling camping gear in a commercial.

  “Oh, Dad,” she laughed. “I’ve never seen as much Velcro and solar energy in my life. Compared to all this stuff you’ve got, staying at the Ritz would be roughing it!”

  Colonel Hanson’s eyebrows drew together in a frown. “You think so?”

  “Well, it is a lot of fancy equipment,” Carole said gently.

  “Yes, but it’s all so neat and makes camping so much easier. I can remember camping on maneuvers when the only shelter we had was the foxhole we dug ourselves and the only food was whatever we could scoop out of a can of K-rations.” Colonel Hanson shuddered. “Believe me, that was not fun.”

  “You’re right, Dad,” Carole said. “I forgot how much you’ve camped on duty.” She looked at him and smiled. “But don’t you think portable electric blanket liners for the down sleeping bags are a little much? After all, this is Virginia, and last night the low was only sixty.”

  Colonel Hanson looked at the array of equipment spilling from the car and smiled. “I suppose you’ve got a point.” He reached in and took the two fleecy liners out. But let’s take everything else. You never know what kind of weather you might run into.”

  “Okay, Dad.” Carole smiled.

  “Have you finished packing?” he asked.

  “Not quite.”

  “Why don’t you go finish up, and I’ll stow our gear in the car and we can plan on leaving in about half an hour.”

  “Okay.”

  Carole hurried back to her bedroom, her head spinning. With all the gear her dad was packing, she wondered if there would be enough room in the car for the small backpack she had planned to take.

  Well, if worst comes to worst, she thought with a chuckle, I guess I can sit with it on my lap.

  She went over to her bed and looked at the things she had spread out to pack. Since they were only going to be gone three nights, she’d laid out three pairs of clean underwear and socks, a couple of T-shirts, a sweatshirt, plus an extra pair of shorts for the daytime and jeans for cool nights. To that she’d added bug spray, a comb, toothbrush and toothpaste, a flashlight, and a new book about horses that she’d bought the week before. All her gear fit easily into her backpack.

  “Gosh,” she said aloud as she zippered the pack shut. “Next week I’ll be packing this with schoolbooks instead of camping clothes.” For a moment she felt as sad as Stevie. It had been a wonderful, horse-filled summer, and it would be hard to go back to the routine of school. She sighed, but there was nothing she could do except make the best of it. Anyway, she thought as she picked up her backpack and hurried out to the car, what better way to finish off a perfect summer than with a perfect, solar-powered weekend with Dad?

  ON THE OTHER side of town, Stevie and Lisa were preparing their own campsite in the hayloft above Belle’s stall.

  “What did you bring, Stevie?” Lisa stood on the ladder, her head poking up through the hayloft floor.

  Stevie piled three game boxes on top of a hay bale. “I brought Monopoly if we want to play a long game, Scrabble if we want to test our brains, and two decks of cards if we want to try our luck at gin rummy.” She pulled two other objects from her backpack. “Plus my little electronic game machine, my personal CD player, and two flashlights.”

  Lisa laughed. “Stevie, we’ve got electricity up here. There’s a light switch on that wall behind you.”

  “I know. But I figured if we turned on the lights at night we might keep some of the horses awake. Better to use our flashlights and keep everything as normal as possible for them.”

  Lisa wondered how normal it would seem to the horses to have Stevie Lake playing gin rummy right above their heads all night, but she didn’t say anything.Sometimes it was easier not to question Stevie’s logic.

  “Did you bring any clothes?” Lisa asked.

  “Clothes?” Stevie frowned and looked through her backpack. “I don’t know. I brought some horse magazines that I haven’t had a chance to read yet, and I brought sixteen extra double-A batteries, in case anything goes dead.” She looked up at Lisa. “No, I don’t guess I brought any clothes.”

  “Don’t you think you’ll need some?”

  “Yeah. But we can walk back home for clean clothes if we get really dirty, or if we find ourselves starving to death.”

  Lisa shook her head. “Don’t tell me you didn’t bring any food.”

  “I brought snacks and stuff for us to eat late at night. My mom said she’d fix us a tray of sandwiches later this afternoon.” Stevie smiled as Lisa climbed the rest of the way up the ladder and threw her backpack and sleeping bag next to Stevie’s. “What did you bring?”

  “A change of clothes, toothpaste, and soap.” Lisa shook her head. “Can you believe my mom actually wanted me to bring a first-aid kit and a weather radio? She acts as if we’re going to be camping on Mount Everest instead of in the Pine Hollow hayloft.”

  “Well, your mom means well,” Stevie said. She knew that Mrs. Atwood could get some pretty strange ideas about making sure Lisa was properly equipped for every conceivable circumstance.

  “Anyway, I threw in a notebook and pens, plus some bug spray and a new mystery I checked out of the library.”

  Stevie laughed. “Are you sure you’ll want to read a mystery in a spooky old barn? Remember, Max says it gets pretty scary at night.”

  “Like you told him, Stevie, all that’s just kid stuff.”

  Stevie looked around the loft. Her games, sleeping bag, and backpack were strewn across two hay bales, while Lisa’s gear was neatly piled in the corner. “Well, I guess that’s it for now. Looks just like home sweet home, doesn’t it?”

  Lisa nodded. “It sure does. Let’s go get busy with some of the chores we promised to do. Then we can come back up here and have some fun!”

  “BOY, THIS IS going to be great!” Colonel Hanson rolled down the window, letting the fragrant summer breeze blow through the front of the car. “I haven’t been to this part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in years, but I bet it’s as pretty as ever.”

  “When were you here last?” Carole smiled over at her dad.

  “About fifteen years ago, with your mom.” Colonel Hanson tuned the radio to his favorite oldies station. “I wonder if anything’s changed.”

  “Probably not the important stuff,” said Carole, thumbing through the field guides to Eastern forests and Eastern birds she’d brought along. She giggled. “I mean, they still probably have a lot of Quercus albas and Mimus polyglottos.”

  “Huh?” Her dad shot her a quizzical look.

  “White oaks and mockingbirds,” Carole answered with a laugh. “Those are their scientific names. It’s right here on page twenty-two.”

  “Are you taking those books with you just to show up your dear old dad?” Colonel Hanson chuckled.

  “No. I just wanted to see how many trees and birds I could identify. I know all the ones around Pine Hollow, but I bet we’ll see some new ones up in the mountains.”

  “That’s right.” Colonel Hanson turned onto the highway that would take them to the mountains. “And don’t forget we’ve got that telescope. You can watch birds wi
th it during the day, and at night we can take it up to Mount Stringfellow.”

  Carole looked puzzled. “Mount Stringfellow?”

  “Yes. It’s very famous. On clear days, from the mountaintop, you can see all the way into West Virginia, and at night you can see a billion stars. If the nights are as clear as they’re forecasting, we should be able to see the rings of Saturn.”

  “Really?” Carole said excitedly. She’d seen pictures of Saturn, but never the real thing.

  “You bet.”

  “Wow.” She settled back in the seat while one of her father’s favorite old bebop tunes came on the radio. “The rings of Saturn. This is really going to be a wonderful trip.”

  In the early afternoon, they rolled into the parking lot closest to their campsite. Only a few other cars were parked there, and the thick, surrounding woods made civilization seem like a distant memory.

  “Is our campsite far away?” Carole got out of the car and stretched her legs. She felt as if she’d been traveling for hours.

  “It’s about a mile that way.” Colonel Hanson looked at his map and pointed straight up a mountain.

  “Gosh, that’s pretty far. Are we going to lug all this equipment up there?” Carole watched as her father unlocked the back of the station wagon. The thought of carrying the solar panels and the solar stove and the six different camping chairs up a mile-long hill was bad enough, but after they’d finished hauling all the stuff up there, they’d have to set it up. By then it would probably be time for them to go to bed.

  “Oh, come on, Carole.” Her dad smiled. “Remember? We’re semper fi.”

  “I know we can do it, Dad. I guess I’m just a little surprised that you would want to take all this high-tech equipment with you.” She looked at her father. “I mean, you’re a rough, tough Marine colonel. You don’t need all this wimpy stuff.”

  Colonel Hanson laughed. “Well, that’s true. I don’t need all this stuff, and if I were with the troops, I wouldn’t have any of it. But today I’m with my baby girl, and I want to make this the most wonderfully comfortable camping trip she’s ever been on.” He leaned over and gave Carole a hug. “In fact, honey, if I could spend my whole life making your life easy, I would.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Carole smiled and hugged him back. Even though lugging all this super-duper camping equipment a mile up a mountain was a little silly, she could go along with it. After all, her dad had planned this weekend just for her, and it was going to be a lot of fun, whether they were in cushy sleeping bags or not.

  She looked at up him and gave a mock salute. “Just show me what you want me to carry, sir.”

  Her dad loaded her up with both backpacks, the sleeping bags, and a duffel bag full of the special camping clothes. He carried all the solar equipment, the tent, and the telescope. After two trips up and down the mountain trail, they stumbled into their campsite, tired and sweating.

  “Gosh,” Carole said, out of breath. “I thought we’d never get here.”

  “I know,” huffed Colonel Hanson, dropping the rolled-up tent on the ground. “I think that map was wrong. I think it was more like three miles instead of one.”

  “It felt like about ten miles, straight up!” laughed Carole.

  “Let’s catch our breath for a minute, and then we’ll set up camp.”

  They sat down on a fallen log bordering the small forest clearing that was to be their campsite. Colonel Hanson looked up at the tall trees surrounding them and frowned.

  “You know, if we can’t find a sunny spot around here, then we won’t be able to charge that solar cell, and all our solar equipment will be useless.”

  Carole pointed through the trees. “It looks like there might be a bigger clearing over that way. Want me to go look?”

  “Would you? You can scout for a sunny spot while I set up the tent. That way we’ll be in business in time to have some fun before the sun goes down.”

  “Okay.” Carole put the backpacks down and hopped off the log. “I’ll be back in a flash.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you, relaxing in our luxurious campsite,” her father chuckled.

  Carole set off through a tall stand of pine trees. Overhead a crow cawed from one of the top limbs. Carole looked up and smiled.

  “Wonder if you’re Cronius crokus?” she asked as the bird tilted its head and peered down at her. She’d have to look up crows in her book when she got back to camp. She walked a short distance farther, finally reaching the bright spot in the forest. It was a campsite that no one was using, and sunlight beamed down on rich green grass, making the air feel warm and dry.

  “This looks like a perfect place for solar panels,” she said aloud. “It’s big enough, and certainly bright enough.” She’d just turned to hurry back to her dad when she thought she heard a very familiar noise. Like the crow, she cocked her head to one side and listened again. There, floating on the breeze, was the undeniable neigh of a horse!

  Unbelievable, thought Carole. What kind of horse would be way up here? Quickly she turned and walked in the direction the sound had come from. Her father was still probably trying to figure out how to pitch the fancy tent—he wouldn’t be worried about the solar panel location for a while.

  She followed a slight trail that meandered through the trees and along the ridge of the mountains. About a quarter mile away, she saw it: A large green tent was pitched in a little clearing in the woods, and just to one side was a makeshift paddock of nylon rope strung around three tall pine trees.

  “Oh!” Carole cried in surprise. Inside the paddock stood two Appaloosas, both of which were looking directly at her. One was mostly white with brown spots, while the other was a strawberry roan. Smiling, she hurried down the trail. Why not say hello, especially when your next-door neighbors were horses?

  “Hi, guys!” she said softly as she approached the paddock.

  Both horses stepped forward as if eager to be greeted. Carole rubbed their noses. The spotted one nudged up close to her, while the roan arched his neck, just like a cat. They seemed to love the attention. Carole was wishing she had thought to bring some carrots when suddenly the flaps on the green tent opened.

  A bald man of average height came out. He wore black jeans and a long duster. A woman came out just behind him. She was blond and wore a red spangled cowboy shirt.

  “Hello,” the man said to Carole. “Can I help you?”

  “Oh, I was just saying hi to your horses,” Carole explained with a friendly smile. “My dad and I are setting up our tent two campsites over. I was looking for a sunny spot for some solar panels and heard your pals here.”

  The man and the woman continued to stare at her, unspeaking.

  “Uh, my name’s Carole Hanson, from Willow Creek, Virginia.”

  “We’re the Loftins from Henderson, Pennsylvania,” the woman replied.

  Carole smiled. “Do you camp with your horses a lot? Back home I ride almost every day.”

  “We camp with them as much as we can,” the man said, still not cracking a smile.

  “Well,” Carole said, suddenly feeling as if these people weren’t the least bit interested in striking up a conversation. “I guess I’d better be getting back up the mountain. My dad will be wondering what happened to me.” She gave the roan’s nose a final rub. “Looks like you have some wonderful camping companions.”

  “That’s right.” The woman gave the barest of smiles. “We do.”

  Carole hurried back up the path. Most horsepeople she met were friendly, even eager to talk about their horses. These two acted as if they were carved out of rock! Oh, well, she thought as she neared her campsite. I guess horsepeople come in as many temperaments as horses do.

  She found her father relaxing in a camping armchair in front of their tent. The tent was bright orange and looked so much like a giant mushroom that Carole could barely keep from laughing.

  “Hi,” she called with a giggle. “Guess what I found?”

  “A sunny spot for the solar panels?” />
  “Yes, but guess what else?”

  “What?”

  “Two Appaloosas. They’re over at the campsite past the next one. Their owners aren’t the friendliest people in the world, but the horses were great!”

  Colonel Hanson shook his head and started to laugh. “Carole, you’re the only person on the planet who would go looking for a sunny clearing on the top of a mountain and find two horses instead!”

  Carole shrugged. “I guess when your horse radar gets going, it’s hard to turn it off.”

  Colonel Hanson stood up and stretched his arms over his head. “Well, I’m glad you made some new four-legged friends. But now that you’re back, I think I’ll go set up those panels, then dig out a latrine.”

  “Good idea, Dad,” Carole said. “I knew we’d put some of your old Marine Corps habits to good use while we were up here. How about I start supper while you dig?”

  “Deal!” said Colonel Hanson. “Do you think you can figure out how to use the solar oven? It’s already charged up.”

  “I think so,” replied Carole. “If I can’t, I’ll just call my local solar expert, who happens to be close by.”

  Colonel Hanson lifted a small shovel over his shoulder and walked several yards downhill from their camp. In the meantime, Carole began to cook supper. Her dad had piled all the other camping equipment behind the tent, so she had to search a minute before she found the solar refrigerator. She took some cold chicken they’d brought from home, put it inside the solar oven, and turned the dial to 325°F. The oven made a strange chirping sound, but then a red light came on and the thing began to heat up. While the chicken was warming, she found their camp table and covered it with a cloth, then set up their chairs, adding two citronella candles to keep the bugs away. By the time her father returned from his digging, the candles were lit and the table was laden with a bowl of potato chips, two big glasses of fruit juice, and a plate of brownies for dessert.

  “Hey, Carole, this looks great!” her father exclaimed.

  “If the solar oven does what it’s supposed to do, then the chicken should be ready just about now.” Carol put on a mitt and opened the oven door. Amazingly, the chicken was hot and toasty brown, just as if she’d heated it up in their oven at home. Of course, they could have eaten it cold in half the time, but she didn’t guess that mattered. Her father was so proud of the solar oven that she was happy to use it.