by Poppy Shire
Laura looked desperately around for Luke, but he was right at the front of the herd, at the entrance to a narrow gap between the rocks. She saw him cup his hands around his mouth.
“We’re taking the first cattle in!” Luke called. “Follow on behind, not too fast!”
He turned his horse and rode alongside the first cows into the ravine. Laura stared after him. Should she gallop up to Luke and tell him what she’d heard? While she was trying to decide, Tex wheeled his horse around in front of her—and as he did, Laura noticed his hand. It had a deep scratch on it!
Tex cantered off in a cloud of dust, toward Hank, who was still at the back of the herd. A piece of paper fluttered out of Tex’s saddlebag as he cantered away. But Laura was too busy wondering what to do next to look closely at it. Everything was happening so quickly!
“Tex must be one of the thieves, too!” she whispered to Star. “Come on, Star. Let’s go and talk to Jolene again. She’s the only person we can trust!”
Chapter 7
Jolene frowned as Laura cantered up to her. “What have you heard now?” she asked. “Is my dad about to run off with everyone’s horses?”
“No, Jolene, please listen,” Laura begged her breathlessly. “Hank and Tex have gone right to the back of the drive. Hank has a loose spur and Tex has a scratch on his hand. They must be the cowboys I heard talking last night!”
Jolene still looked doubtful. For one awful moment, Laura thought she was about to ride away. “You’ve got to believe me!” she insisted. “I couldn’t have dreamed all that. You must help me before it’s too late!” But Jolene didn’t seem to be listening. She pointed at a thornbush just behind Laura.
“What’s that?” Jolene asked. “There’s something caught in the branches!”
Star trotted over to the thornbush. It was the piece of paper that Laura had seen fluttering out of Tex’s saddlebag. Laura leaned down and peered at the thick black writing. “Cattle sale!” she exclaimed. She snatched the paper from the bush, then trotted Star back to Jolene. “Look at this,” she said, handing it to her. “There’s a big cattle sale taking place tomorrow. The thieves must be planning on selling the cattle there.”
Jolene’s eyes opened wide as she read about the sale. “It’s in a town on the other side of the hills,” she muttered. She looked up in amazement. “You must be right. But I’ve never heard of a secret valley.”
Laura felt a rush of relief that Jolene believed her at last. “We have to stop the thieves!” she declared. “Let’s go and warn your dad!”
Jolene looked down the line of cattle that were walking steadily forward, and Laura followed her gaze. There was no sign of Red, Carlos, and Juan—they had all followed Luke into the ravine.
“We can’t,” Jolene whispered.
Laura frowned. “What do you mean?”
Jolene looked very worried. “We can’t warn my dad or Red or any of the others. They’ve already gone into the ravine.”
Laura was puzzled. “Can’t we catch them? We could ride along the top of the ravine and canter down ahead of the cattle.”
Jolene shook her head. “The sides are too steep and rocky. You can’t canter down them, and even if we could, we might scare the cattle.”
Laura gulped. She looked around. There were only four cowboys left at the back of the herd—Hank, Tex, Jesse, and Mark. As Laura watched, Hank and Tex left the others and cantered to the ravine entrance. They walked their horses into the mouth of the narrow gap, stopping the rest of the cattle from walking through.
Jolene’s blue eyes flashed in anger. “They’re dividing the herd in half!” she exclaimed.
It was true. As the cattle milled about in confusion at the entrance to the ravine, Jesse and Mark began to guide them away from the main trail toward the hills.
Laura wheeled Star around. “Come on, Jolene! We’ll stop them ourselves!”
Chapter 8
Side by side, Laura and Jolene galloped up to Hank.
“Hank, what d’you think you’re doing?” Jolene shouted. “You can’t steal the cattle. You’ll never get away with it!”
Hank looked surprised just for an instant. Then he threw back his head and laughed. “Too late!” he hollered. “There’s nothing you can do to stop us!”
Laura heard Tex laugh as well, and she felt a surge of anger. But she and Jolene couldn’t turn the cattle around by themselves, not with four cowboys to stop them from trying!
As the last of the cows plodded after their stolen companions, Hank and Tex cantered off behind them, waving their hats in a mocking salute.
“So long, Jolene!” called Tex.
Jolene’s cheeks flushed scarlet in fury. “We’ll follow them!” she declared. “We must be able to stop them somehow!”
She urged Smoky forward, and he jumped straight into a gallop.
Star shook her mane. “I think we need to come up with a plan,” she said.
Laura agreed. She stared at the rocky hills ahead of them. The cattle were disappearing one by one between a gap in the rocks. That must be the entrance to the secret valley!
“Wait!” she shouted after Jolene. “Come back!”
Looking annoyed, Jolene cantered back. “Come on!” she said. “We can’t let them get away!”
“I know,” said Laura. “But we have to try to get in front of the herd. There won’t be room to get past once they are in the secret valley.” She pointed at the hill beside the narrow gap. “But if we could climb up there, we might be able to overtake them.”
Jolene stared at the hillside. “That hill’s pretty steep,” she said doubtfully.
“I can manage it,” whinnied Star.
Laura gratefully stroked the mare’s neck. Star was so brave and loyal! “I think we should try,” she said to Jolene. “Once we’re ahead of the cattle, we’ll be able to ride straight at them. They’ll turn around in panic and we’ll be able to drive them back down the valley.”
Jolene thought for a moment. “It might work,” she said at last. “Let’s go!”
The two ponies began to pick their way up the side of the hill, puffing and blowing as they struggled up the rocky slope. When they reached the top, a cooling breeze blew against the girls’ cheeks. Laura steered Star carefully along the ridge and looked down into the secret valley. It almost made Laura feel dizzy! There was the line of cattle, plodding along with the cowboys riding beside them. Laura took a deep breath. It was so beautiful here—exactly how she’d always imagined it from her favorite movies. But she wasn’t here to enjoy the view. They had to stop the thieves!
The ponies trotted along the ridge until they had overtaken the cattle far below. Laura’s stomach turned somersaults all the way. She desperately hoped the cowboys wouldn’t look up! Fortunately, the cowboys were too busy guiding the cattle to spare a glance at the ridge above them.
Once the two girls were well ahead of the herd, Laura began to look for a good place for their ambush. They needed a gentle slope, so that Smoky and Star wouldn’t stumble as they galloped down. At last, they found the perfect spot, just around a bend in the valley. All they had to do now was stand still…and wait.
The girls listened, waiting for the sound of cattle’s hooves. The valley was silent apart from the shrill cry of a hawk. Laura gripped her reins more firmly. We can do it, she told herself.
Suddenly, Jolene pointed down the valley, where dust was beginning to rise in a pale yellow cloud. “They’re coming!”
The first cow appeared along the track, with two more close behind…then two more…and there was Hank, riding alongside them.
Laura patted Star’s neck. “Any minute now,” she whispered.
Jolene stared down at the herd of cattle. “I still can’t believe they’re doing this to my dad,” she muttered. “If he loses half the herd, no one will ever use him as a trail boss again. They’re supposed to be his friends!”
“I know,” agreed Laura, watching the line of cows get longer and longer. “But we’re going to
stop them, I promise.”
Jolene nodded, her eyes sparking with determination. There was a pause, then—
“NOW!” both girls shouted at once.
With a snort, Star plunged down the slope toward the cattle. Smoky followed, and the girls waved and hollered at the tops of their voices.
“Wooo-wooo-wooo!” yelled Laura, waving her lasso above her head. “Go on, Star!”
Star galloped toward the first cows, her mane blowing in the wind and her nostrils flaring. The cows stared at her in alarm—then started bellowing in fear. In seconds, the whole herd was leaping and scrambling around, fighting to gallop back the way they’d come. Laura caught sight of Hank and Tex. Their horses had panicked when the cows started stampeding, and both were rearing up, their front hooves pawing the air. Laura just had time to glimpse the cowboys struggling to stay on—and then all she could see was dust and cattle thundering past, out of the secret valley and back the way they’d come.
“We have to get to the front!” yelled Jolene. “We have to slow them down before they reach the ravine!”
There was only one way to get to the ravine ahead of the frightened cows, and that was to gallop straight through the middle of them. The cows were stampeding already, so for once it didn’t make any difference that Laura wasn’t riding carefully around the edge of the herd. She clung on as Star surged forward, leaping over boulders and bushes. Laura didn’t have to tell her what to do at all—the clever cow pony already knew! Out of the corner of her eye, Laura could see Jolene and Smoky galloping through the cattle as well. Jolene was slightly ahead of Laura.
After a few breathless minutes, Laura and Star arrived back at the main track and joined Jolene. She was calming the cattle down as they emerged from the secret valley by cantering in front of them and calling to them in a soothing voice. Laura copied her, and at last they managed to bring the cattle at the front of the herd back down to a trot.
“Try to let them into the ravine a few at a time,” called Jolene. “That way they won’t hurt themselves.”
Laura and Star blocked part of the way, so that the cattle trotted past her one at a time or just two by two. They eyed Star nervously, but she now stood still and calm with her ears pricked.
Laura let out a long sigh of relief. “We did it!” she called to Jolene.
“We sure did!” Jolene agreed.
They followed the last of the cows into the ravine. Laura looked back to see if the thieves had come out of the secret valley yet, but there was no sign of them. Suddenly Luke galloped around a corner up ahead. Laura guessed he had realized half the herd was missing.
“Dad! We rescued them!” called Jolene, waving at him over the backs of the cows. Luke listened in amazement as Jolene told her dad everything that had happened. “It was all Laura’s idea!” she finished.
Laura smiled happily. “This was our task, wasn’t it?” she whispered to Star.
The cow pony tossed her mane so that it flicked lightly against Laura’s fingers. “Yes, and we did brilliantly!” she whinnied.
There was the sound of hooves behind them, and Laura twisted around in her saddle to see the four thieves cantering into the ravine. They pulled their horses to a halt when they spotted Luke. Laura held her breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
Luke started to gallop over to the thieves. “Hey, you!” he said. But before he reached them, the four cowboys turned their horses and raced away in a cloud of dust.
Luke slowed his pony and trotted back to the girls. “They won’t get away with this,” he promised grimly. “When we reach the next town, I’ll make sure everyone knows what they tried to do. No one will use them on a cattle drive again, and they’ll be in big trouble when the sheriff catches up with them!”
Laura exchanged a delighted grin with Jolene. With the help of their brilliant ponies, they’d saved the herd!
Later that night, around a roaring campfire, Laura sat next to Jolene, wrapped in her striped blanket. The camp felt small now that there were only four cowboys left, but Luke said he would be able to find more drivers when they reached the town.
Carlos cooked an extraspecial meal to celebrate, and Juan played lively tunes on his violin for the girls to clap along to. River the calf left the herd for a while and came to stand behind Laura and Jolene as they sat together on a log. Laura felt a bit worried. She and Star had saved the cows, but what would happen to River when the Magic Carousel took her home?
Just then, River ducked his head down and nuzzled his nose into the back of Jolene’s neck. Jolene laughed and reached up to stroke his furry brown ears. And suddenly Laura knew River would be just fine without her, because Jolene would always look after him.
Next morning, Laura woke up when Red shook her gently by the shoulder. It was another beautiful day. Sleepily, Laura packed away her bedroll and took it over to Star.
“Hello, Star,” she whispered, stroking her warm chestnut neck. She knew that today would be her last day on the cattle drive, now that they had finished their task.
As they rode, the trail began to widen, and the cowboys passed other riders and a few rickety chuck wagons, throwing up clouds of dust from their wooden wheels. Laura patted Star’s neck and peered through the dust at Red, who was riding a little way ahead. The sunlight glinted on a metal buckle on his hat, and Laura felt as if she was in a golden haze of sparkling light.
Snatches of music began to play, and Laura looked around, puzzled. Where was it coming from? Then she realized that the hot dusty plain had faded away and she was surrounded by twinkling lights, flashing in pretty pink colors. The Magic Carousel came smoothly to a halt and Laura looked down. Star’s neck was no longer soft and warm. Her body and mane were made of painted wood once more. But her chestnut ears were still pricked, and as she slid out of the saddle, Laura was sure she heard her give one last little whinny.
Laura reached up and touched the pony’s little white star. “Thanks so much,” she whispered.
Her bangs fell across her face and as she pushed her hair back behind her ear, Laura felt something. She pulled it out and looked down at it in surprise. It was a stem of prairie grass! Laura closed her fingers around it, picturing the endless grassy plains. Riding on the cattle drive had been the greatest adventure of her life, and now she had something to remember Star by forever!
Acknowledgments
With special thanks to Gill Harvey
About the Author
POPPY SHIRE lives in the English countryside. She loves ponies—and writing about ponies—more than anything else in the world. Every time she goes to a fair, she looks for a Magic Pony Carousel! Unfortunately she hasn’t found one yet.
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Credits
Cover art © 2007 by Ron Berg
Cover design by Sasha Illingworth
Copyright
MAGIC PONY CAROUSEL #3: STAR THE WESTERN PONY. Text copyright © 2007 by Working Partners. Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Ron Berg. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition July 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-196659-0
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