Camp Club Girls Get a Clue!

by Renae Brumbaugh

  “Hey there, Buckeye. How are you doing, boy?” she asked as the dog trotted to her side.

  Buckeye sat beside her, content to have his ears scratched.

  Until he saw Cheetah.

  With a leap and a yowl, he was on his feet. Cheetah’s back arched. She hissed and spat before she sprang for the door with Buckeye close behind. Within seconds, McKenzie heard a frantic neigh and a piercing scream.

  McKenzie raced to the door. As Molly lunged against the gate, the latch slipped, and the horse raced into the open pasture. McKenzie was surprised to see that Bailey had hitched the old horse cart to her.

  McKenzie scanned the corral to find Bailey. She couldn’t see her anywhere. But then she spotted Bailey, her black hair flying behind her as she clung to the sides of the old horse cart! It dangerously careened from side to side as the nearly blind horse ran uncontrollably! Bailey screamed again, hanging on for dear life!

  The Stranger

  “Bailey!” McKenzie screamed. “Hold on!”

  She ran to the chestnut horse grazing nearby. Since she had no time to saddle the horse, she climbed the fence, and with a quick jump she was on his back. Clinging to his mane, McKenzie clucked and dug in her heels.

  The horse leaped forward and McKenzie raced after Bailey and the runaway horse. She leaned forward until she was almost lying on the horse’s neck, urging the horse to run faster. Soon she gained on the old brown mare. Bailey shrieked more, spurring Molly to go even faster.

  The wind whipped McKenzie’s hair and curls flew in her face, but she didn’t let go. Her only choice was to get close enough to the mare to slide onto her back. McKenzie prayed that the mare would slow down. With the extra weight of the cart and Bailey, Molly finally showed signs of tiring. McKenzie urged her horse onward, slowly gaining on the mare.

  When she was neck and neck with Bailey’s mare, McKenzie called out in a soothing voice, “Hey there, Molly. It’s okay. Easy, girl.”

  Soon the mare slowed. McKenzie glanced at Bailey still gripping the sides of the horse cart. The younger girl’s eyes were wide with fear.

  It’s now or never, McKenzie thought as she inched closer to Molly. She leaned over to the mare and grabbed the halter. With all her strength, McKenzie pulled herself onto the mare’s back.

  McKenzie tugged on the reins to slow down the mare, talking softly to Molly until she slowed to a walk. With another tug on the reins, McKenzie finally brought the mare to a halt.

  “You okay, Bailey?” McKenzie asked. Bailey still gripped the horse cart.

  Bailey didn’t answer for a moment; then she pushed her tangled black hair out of her face. “I think so,” she whispered.

  McKenzie leaned forward, feeling Molly pant beneath her. She couldn’t believe she had just ridden bareback and jumped onto a moving horse! She was glad it was over and that Bailey was all right.

  “Wow, that was some ride,” McKenzie said after she caught her breath.

  Bailey sat cross-legged and still in the cart. Her face was pale with little pink spots on both cheeks.

  “You can get out now,” McKenzie continued as she patted the mare. “This old girl’s not going anywhere for a while.”

  “I don’t think I can,” Bailey mumbled. “My legs are scared stiff. They won’t move.”

  McKenzie laughed. “You think you were scared? I can’t pry my fingers off these reins.”

  Bailey pulled her legs from beneath her and stretched. “You were great, McKenzie. I can’t believe you did that! It was just like in the movies!”

  “Well, if that’s Hollywood, I’ve had enough,” McKenzie said as she sat up straight. “Hey, where did my horse go?”

  The girls glanced around the pasture and spotted the horse about a hundred yards away.

  McKenzie took a deep breath. “We’d better go round him up and head for home. I’m going to have a talk with Buckeye when I get back. No more scaring cats around the horses.”

  “I don’t have to ride back here, do I?” Bailey asked from her seat in the horse cart.

  “No way. You can ride Molly back. She should be okay now that there aren’t any cats around.” McKenzie hopped off and helped Bailey onto the mare’s back. Her knees felt wobbly after her daring ride. She grabbed the reins and led the mare toward her horse.

  The girls didn’t speak as McKenzie walked beside Molly and Bailey. She glanced up at her young friend who was staring straight ahead, slouched in the saddle. McKenzie knew the runaway horse had frightened Bailey, but now that the incident was over, Bailey seemed more embarrassed than scared.

  McKenzie knew that her younger friend was a talented rider, especially for someone with as little training as she’d had. But Bailey had little confidence in herself when she was around the older Camp Club Girls. McKenzie knew how important it was for Bailey to be a good horseback rider, but this incident sure wouldn’t help matters.

  As the girls approached McKenzie’s chestnut horse, Bailey exclaimed, seemingly forgetting the runaway horse episode.

  “Hey, look. Someone else is out riding. His horse is gorgeous.”

  McKenzie looked across the fence, about fifty yards away, at a young man struggling with his horse. He was clearly frustrated with the animal, so he didn’t notice the girls. But Bailey was right, the horse was beautiful.

  McKenzie had never seen a horse like this one. She looked like a brown American paint horse with large white splotches and stockings.

  “Hey,” McKenzie called out. “Do you need some help?”

  The young man looked up, apparently surprised to see them, but he didn’t answer. His horse bounded closer to the fence, snorting loudly. The man jerked on the reins, but the horse reared on her hind legs.

  McKenzie stared in disbelief. He seemed to have no clue as to how to handle the animal. She felt sorry for the poor horse. The horse acted like she wanted to throw her rider.

  No animal deserves to be treated like that! McKenzie thought angrily.

  As McKenzie looked at the horse, she thought the horse looked familiar, but she knew if she’d seen a horse with that coloring before she’d remember it.

  “I can help you calm your horse, if you’d like,” McKenzie called out. “I’ve worked with horses quite a bit.”

  The young man glared at her and snapped, “I don’t need your help. I’ve got it under control.”

  McKenzie winced. It was clear he didn’t have things under control. He acted as if he’d never ridden a horse before.

  “Your horse is beautiful. What’s her name?” Bailey called, her eyes glistening.

  “Would you two just leave?” he stammered in a raised voice, ignoring her question. “Can’t you see you’re scaring my horse?”

  McKenzie looked sheepishly at Bailey. “I think we’d better go. Can you handle Molly by yourself? Then I’ll ride my horse.”

  Bailey patted Molly affectionately. “Sure. We’re friends now, aren’t we Molly?”

  McKenzie stepped up on the fence to mount her horse. The young man had gained some control of his horse. She clucked at her horse and headed back toward Sunshine Stables.

  In the distance, she saw a rider on horseback racing toward them. As he drew nearer, she recognized Derek. Within minutes, he pulled up alongside them, holding his battered white cowboy hat against his chest.

  “You two okay?” he asked breathlessly. “I heard screaming, and then I saw Molly flying across the pasture with Bailey in the cart. I was unloading feed, or I would have been here sooner.”

  Bailey looked down as a flush came over her cheeks. “I’m fine. I did a dumb thing, I guess.”

  Derek flashed a grin at Bailey but didn’t scold her. Apparently, he figured out what had happened.

  “Well, at least nobody was hurt. I don’t think I even want a ride that wild,” he said as he jumped off his horse. “Why don’t you take my horse, Bailey, and I’ll take Molly and the cart.”

  Bailey gave Derek a relieved look and slid off Molly. “I like that idea.”

&n
bsp; After Derek helped Bailey onto the saddle of his horse, he turned to McKenzie. “Are you all right riding bareback?”

  McKenzie assured him she would be fine. Then she asked, “Do you know that guy back there?”

  Derek looked to where she was pointing. “I don’t see anyone.”

  McKenzie looked back and sighed. Where could he have gone so quickly? “He was there a minute ago. He was riding a beautiful brown paint horse with white spots.”

  “And his horse wanted to throw him off,” Bailey piped up.

  Derek shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know anyone around here with a horse like that. Maybe one of the riders at Cedar Creek brought his own horse.”

  McKenzie hadn’t thought of that, but Derek was probably right. The rider had been on Maggie’s land, and he looked and acted like a beginning rider. McKenzie knew lots of adults who wanted to learn to ride and took lessons.

  McKenzie and Bailey led the way back while Derek followed them with Molly and the cart. As they rode back, McKenzie mentioned the flyer Maggie had brought over earlier.

  “I entered the calf-roping contest at the rodeo last year and it was a lot of fun. Would you want to be my partner? I would show you how to do it,” McKenzie swatted at a mosquito perched on her arm.

  “That sounds like fun, but how would we practice? Emma doesn’t have calves,” Bailey asked.

  “Maybe we could sign up for one of Maggie’s calf-roping sessions.” McKenzie urged her horse as they approached the backside of the old barn. “What do you think?”

  “I think it’s a great idea,” Bailey said. “I just hope Emma will let us.”

  Emma was waiting at the barn for the girls when they returned. “Thank God you two are all right,” she said, giving each one a hug. “You had me worried for a minute.”

  They told Emma the whole story as they groomed, fed, and watered the horses. They asked their instructor if they could sign up for calf-roping sessions at Maggie’s place.

  Emma thought for a minute and then said, “I don’t see why not. I’ll call her after supper. I’m starved. Let’s go inside. We’re finished here.”

  The girls fixed the toppings for a pizza while Emma made the crust. After placing the pizza in the oven, Emma went to call Maggie.

  The girls slipped out to the front porch as the sun dipped low in the western sky. Soon it would disappear behind the nearby mountains.

  McKenzie loved living near the mountains and had lived here all her life. With the mountains practically in her backyard, she could go skiing and snowboarding in the winter whenever she wanted. Sunshine Stables was in the valley about thirty miles from her home and had been a perfect place for her to train with Sahara.

  Buckeye came up the steps, stopping to sniff a baby kitten. Cheetah hissed at him from her perch on the porch railing. Bailey scooped up her little orange kitten and dove onto the porch swing, cuddling the tiny bundle in her arms.

  “Oh no you don’t, you big mean dog,” she scolded playfully.

  McKenzie called Buckeye to her side and scratched his ears. Soon he laid his head in her lap and closed his eyes, while McKenzie daydreamed about the rodeo. Every year she looked forward to competing, but this year it was hard to get excited. A part of her looked forward to it, but she felt almost guilty with Diamond Girl missing. If no one could find the horse, Emma couldn’t enter the rodeo. McKenzie couldn’t imagine the rodeo without Emma and Diamond Girl.

  McKenzie jumped when Emma opened the screen door with a loud creak. A wonderful smell of sausage and seasonings floated out.

  “Pizza’s ready,” Emma said. “I called Maggie, but she’s already filled the last two time slots. She did say you could go over and watch the other teams practice, though. McKenzie knows how to rope, but it would help you, Bailey, to watch the event a few times.”

  “When can we go?” Bailey slid into a chair at the kitchen table.

  “I told her Friday afternoon. Kids’ Camp will be over, so that will give you more time. How does that sound?”

  “Great,” McKenzie said. “Then we’ll have the other afternoons this week to work with our horses.”

  During supper the girls talked back and forth, but Emma said little.

  “You miss Diamond Girl, don’t you?” Bailey asked with her mouth full of pizza.

  Emma looked up suddenly. “I guess I do,” she said with a sigh. “I just hope she’s okay.”

  “We’re still working on the investigation,” McKenzie said. “We’re good at finding clues others miss.”

  Emma reached out and grabbed McKenzie’s hand. “I think this is an investigation for the sheriff, but you can keep trying if you want. Don’t forget the main part of this investigation is prayer, and we all need to remember that we have to accept God’s will in all this. He wants us to learn from this, no matter what happens, okay?”

  McKenzie knew Emma was speaking the truth. Her parents had always told McKenzie and her little brother that with God, everything happened for a reason. When bad things happened, it was to bring them closer to Him. God promised never to give them more than they could handle as long as they had faith.

  Emma pulled away and changed the subject. “Oh, by the way, McKenzie. Your mom called and said your outfit for the Junior Miss Rodeo Queen contest came in. I picked it up at Boots and Buckles when I was in town.” Emma disappeared into the dining room.

  She returned a minute later holding an outfit on a hanger. Bailey gasped and her eyes widened as she stared at the pants and top.

  McKenzie loved the outfit. In fact, it seemed prettier than when she and her mom had picked it out. The crisp black western style jeans looked perfect with the emerald green riding blouse, while dozens of matching green sequins on the cuffs and collar flickered in the light.

  “You’ll look gorgeous in this,” Emma said as she touched a sparkling sequin. “You’ll be the prettiest girl on the stage.”

  McKenzie said nothing. Usually she liked trying new things. But now heaviness settled in her stomach. If only she hadn’t let her mom talk her into entering the rodeo pageant. She stared at the riding outfit. Emma had told her she would have a lot of fun, but McKenzie was seriously starting to doubt that. She knew she would only embarrass herself as well as her family if she got up there on stage.

  She decided right then and there that she wasn’t going to let that happen. Competing in a rodeo queen contest wasn’t her thing. It was okay for Emma and okay for her mom, but there was absolutely no way she would wear that outfit. Not in the Junior Miss Rodeo Queen contest. Not ever! She’d figure some way out of it!

  The Ghost Rider Returns?

  “What’s the matter, McKenzie?” Emma asked. “Isn’t this the outfit you and your mom picked out?”

  McKenzie’s mouth felt dry as a cotton ball. “Oh, it’s the one we ordered, all right,” she stammered as she placed her elbows on the table and cupped her chin.

  Emma laid the outfit over the back of a kitchen chair. “Then what’s wrong?” she asked with concern.

  “She doesn’t want to be in the contest,” Bailey answered then slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oops. I’m sorry, McKenzie. I didn’t mean to tell.”

  Emma pulled out the chair next to McKenzie and sat down. “Is that right, McKenzie? Do you really not want to be in the contest?”

  McKenzie folded her arms on the table and put down her head. “Yes,” she mumbled. “I mean yes then no.”

  Emma gently stroked McKenzie’s hair as she asked softly, “But why? I thought you wanted to be in it.”

  McKenzie answered sullenly. “I don’t want to get all dressed up and stand in front of a bunch of people with judges staring at me. But I have to do it because Mom wants me to.”

  Emma stopped stroking McKenzie’s hair for a second. Then she started in again. “Ah. I see. Does your mom know you don’t want to be in it?”

  “Nope,” Bailey answered again with a sigh. She held the blouse up to her chest and checked the sleeves for length against her own arm
s. “She doesn’t want to hurt her mom’s feelings.”

  “Oh McKenzie, you need to talk to her if you feel that way. I’m sure she wouldn’t want you to compete if she knew you really didn’t want to.” Emma patted McKenzie’s arm. “But why don’t you sleep on it and call her tomorrow. You know, I was really nervous, too, the first time I competed. But I’m so glad I did. You might change your mind, too.”

  McKenzie looked up and thought about Emma’s words. Her instructor might be right, but McKenzie wasn’t ready to admit it just yet. It wouldn’t hurt to wait one more day to call her mom. Besides, she didn’t want to upset her mom this late in the evening.

  McKenzie stood up and began clearing the table.

  “Isn’t it about time to chat with your camp friends? Why don’t you see if anyone is online while I clean up the kitchen?” Emma gathered the remaining dishes and carried them to the sink.

  The girls headed into the office. After logging on, they noticed their other four friends were already chatting.

  Kate: Where have U 2 been?

  Alexis: Have U found the horse yet?

  McKenzie: Still working on it. Not many clues yet. Tho we did find Diamond Girl’s horseshoe in creek.

  Sydney: Maybe DG disappeared from that spot.

  McKenzie: We thot of that, but there was no gate and the fence across the creek had no holes.

  Elizabeth: It’s only been 2 days. Something will turn up. Remember Ecclesiastes 3:6 says, “a time to search and a time to give up.” I think God wants U 2 search longer. Don’t give up on DG yet.

  McKenzie knew the Bible verse Elizabeth was talking about. The scriptures talked about how there was “a time for every purpose under heaven.” McKenzie knew that everything happens for a reason, but right now she couldn’t imagine what that reason could be.

  Elizabeth: Hey, McKenzie, R U ready 2 B rodeo queen?

  McKenzie cringed. I want 2 drop out. I’ll get 2 nervous.

  Elizabeth: U can’t do that. U have 2 enter. U’ll do great.

  Alexis: Yeah. I would luv 2 B queen. U can’t quit!