“Sure,” Justin said, taking the bridle down from the saddle horn and approaching the mare’s head.
“Okay, when you’re ready, get on her and walk her in circles in the middle of the corral to get used to the feel of her. Don’t forget to tighten your cinch one more time.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Justin said, sliding the bit between the mare’s teeth.
In less than a minute he was mounted. The mare moved reluctantly at first but soon began to warm up and move out a little. Charlotte’s sorrel mare still seemed nervous and danced a little as she moved her to the center of the corral. Charlotte put her hand on the mare’s neck, stroking down her long, red mane.
“You may as well save your energy, girl,” she said soothingly. “You’re going to need it in a little while.”
The mare flipped her ears back toward Charlotte’s voice and seemed to take her words to heart.
Lee’s gray gelding was moving around the center of the corral in a slow trot. Lee sat straight with his heels down and held the reins loosely. He looked good on a horse, even though he didn’t have the long, lean body of a cowboy. From his perch atop the tall buckskin, Justin could see Casey in the second corral. She was struggling to get on a small Appaloosa, white with red spots all over his body, while Ty held the horse’s head and coached her in getting as close to the horse as possible before she tried to mount. This was one situation in which Casey seemed inept, something Justin had never witnessed before. It would serve her right if someone made fun of her awkward seat in the saddle, but it wasn’t going to be him.
Ty opened the gates of both corrals, and stepped onto his horse, a flashy dark brown gelding with white stockings almost to his knees.
“Ride out here and line up behind me single file,” he hollered. “We’re going once around the barn to be sure everybody’s all set for trail riding.”
Ty rode into the second corral and came out leading a bony sorrel mare with Brenda aboard. The mare looked ancient. Gray hairs around her head were gradually replacing the red ones. Brenda held onto the saddle with both hands. She let the reins lie across the old mare’s neck. At least she had on a pair of jeans this afternoon in place of the tight shorts, Justin observed. J.R. was behind her on another slow-moving older horse. The others followed them out and gradually formed a single file line. Lee held his horse up to be last in line, but Mrs. Farr waved him ahead and brought up the rear herself. As they circled the barn, clouds floated across the sun, making the afternoon seem cooler. Even the horses raised their heads a little higher and seemed glad of the momentary relief from the heat. Only Charlotte’s mare was still prancing nervously, while the others seemed to be settling down for another long ride.
* * * *
Ty turned his horse up the trail that led toward the river, leading Brenda’s mare behind him. The others followed obediently. The horses knew the drill. Single file. No passing. Follow the leader. How was he going to show off his horsemanship skills when they were all plodding along in a line? Justin was determined to have fun anyway. He liked his horse, Pesadilla, in spite of her weird name. Towering oaks and pecan trees arched over the trail, and for the first time today Justin felt himself start to relax. The rhythmic clopping of the horses’ hooves on the worn path was the only sound in the still air.
Weird that there’s no wind at all, Justin thought. There was almost always a breeze blowing in Texas. Even the birds were quiet. The trail meandered through the trees with an occasional side trail leaving the main trail. Minutes later, the sound of water rushing in the distance signaled their nearness to the river. The trail led down the bank of the river at an angle, and Ty took them at a walk down into the water. Ahead of him, Justin could see Charlotte’s horse hesitate partway down the bank. Charlotte let her stand and look at the water for a few seconds and then urged her forward. She snorted nervously as she stepped into the river. Only a few inches deep near the edge, the water was clear as glass. The rock bottom had moss growing on some of the larger rocks, and small fish darted around the legs of the horses. Ty led the line upriver. When he came to a deeper pool of water, he stopped and waved the campers forward.
“This is one of the many springs that flow into the Guadalupe River,” he explained. “If you look closely, you can see some sediment that looks like it’s boiling at the bottom.” He pointed at a spot that was easy to see beneath the clear water. “The sediment is disturbed by the water flowing out from below the ground.”
Brenda’s old mare pulled against the rope Ty led her with and lowered her head for a drink. Other horses followed her example.
“Don’t lose your hold on the reins if you let your horse get a drink,” Ty advised. Before he had gotten the words out, J.R.’s horse had pulled the reins out of his hand, and they had fallen in the water. J.R. leaned forward but couldn’t reach them.
“Just sit still. I’ll help you,” Ty said. Slowly he moved his horse through the water and up beside J.R.’s horse, leaned over, and caught the nearest rein, pulling the horse’s head up from the water. Flipping the rein to J. R., he leaned over again and flipped the second rein up, splashing water on J.R. and the horse.
“Thanks, man.” J.R. said, as Ty leaned over once more and tied the reins together in a knot just above the saddle horn.
“Let’s keep moving,” Ty said, heading upriver again.
The dirt riverbank where they had come down to the river soon gave way to rock bluffs on each side. Without trees shading the riders, the sun bore down with a vengeance. Travel was noisier now, with thirteen horses splashing through the water. At one spot, a deeper pool forced the riders to hold their feet up to keep from getting wet. Ahead of him in the line, Justin heard a shout and more splashing than usual, but he couldn’t see what had caused the commotion. A mile further, the river widened and the water was shallower. Ty crossed to the other side and led the way out of the water onto a large gravel bar that was above the water level.
“Casey’s horse is biting my horse on the butt,” James complained.
“I told him not to, but he keeps doing it anyway,” Casey said defensively.
“Hold your reins a little tighter, Casey,” Ty said. “When he reaches his head out to bite, pull on the reins so he can’t reach the horse in front of him.”
“I’ll try,” Casey said.
A trail led from the gravel bar, around the back of a gigantic limestone ledge that must have fallen long ago from the bluff above. On the other side of the ledge, a narrow path led between steep limestone walls toward the top of the bluff. The horses labored on the long climb. Justin could feel Pesadilla’s powerful hindquarters lunging forward when the trail was steep.
“Will you cut it out!” James yelled. His voice echoed in the confined space. The line of horses came to a stop.
“What’s wrong?” Ty called back.
“He’s biting again,” James hollered. “My horse jumps every time he does it.”
“Hold him back, Casey,” Ty called. There wasn’t room on the narrow trail for him to turn around and do something about it.
It was hot on the trail, and Justin was glad to start moving again. The taste of dust was in his mouth. At one point, the rock wall on the side closest to the river fell away, and they rode for a short distance along a ledge with nothing between the horses and a thirty-foot drop to the river below. Justin hoped that Casey’s horse didn’t decide to deliver another one of his bites right here.
Everything had gone so well that Justin had forgotten for a few minutes about the disasters that seemed to dog their group everywhere they went. He turned in his saddle and looked back at Lee and Mrs. Farr coming up the trail behind him. Causing another disaster seemed like the farthest thing from Lee’s mind right now. With his baseball cap pulled down over his eyes, he was watching the trail ahead just like everyone else.
Trees appeared ahead, and the top of the bluff was visible. The horses seemed to sense that the end of the climb was near and surged forward with renewed enthusiasm. Sweat forme
d on Pesadilla’s neck, and Justin’s hair was plastered to his head when they climbed over the top. Ty stopped the group in the shade of the trees and dismounted.
“We need to let the horses rest, and all of you need to drink some water from your canteens,” he said. “It’s easy to get dehydrated when it’s this hot. Loosen your cinch a little.”
The water was warm and tasted of plastic, but Justin drank deeply. Mrs. Farr’s face was flushed, and she walked her horse around into the shade. Everyone dismounted.
“Don’t let your horse eat grass with the bit in his mouth,” Ty instructed. “If they put their heads down, they can step on the reins. Then they get scared and try to jerk their heads up. Sometimes a horse will get a cut on his tongue from the bit. We don’t want that to happen.”
Justin noticed that Casey’s Appaloosa was feasting on the short grass under the trees. Casey made no attempt to do anything about it. She sat cross-legged on the ground as far from the little horse as she could get without letting go of the reins.
From the top of the bluff, Justin could see the river twisting its way to the horizon. A dark green ribbon of trees marked its progress in the distance across the endless sea of grass. Suddenly, he felt great. This was something he might want to do when he grew up, working as a wrangler at one of the big ranches in this part of Texas. Getting paid for it would be an added bonus, but the truth was he would gladly do it for free.
Fifteen minutes later, Ty led his horse out from under the trees. He gazed off toward the west, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his shirtsleeve.
“Tighten up your cinches,” he ordered. “We need to get moving.”
Justin tightened his cinch and took one last drink from his canteen. The sun was lower, and the shadows were getting longer. He climbed aboard Pesadilla and glanced toward the horizon. The view from the top of the bluff was so beautiful—he hated the thought that all too soon this ride would be over. Just above the horizon, a line of clouds had formed that Justin hadn’t noticed before. They churned and rolled threateningly. The underside of the clouds had a greenish tint that made Justin uneasy. He had a feeling that Ty wasn’t real happy about it either.
Chapter Six
“Stop biting, you creep!” James yelled above the clatter of horseshoes on rock.
Ty pulled his horse to a stop. He handed the lead rope to Brenda and rode back along the line to where Casey sat on her biting Appaloosa.
“Take him back and get in line behind that sorrel mare,” he said, pointing at Charlotte’s horse. “She won’t put up with any foolishness from him.”
Casey had both hands on the saddle horn.
“I don’t know how to get him to go back there,” she said. “He pretty much does what he wants.”
“That’s the problem,” Ty told her. “He’s supposed to do what you want.”
Leaning down from his saddle, he caught the Appaloosa by the reins and pulled him out of line. When he got to Charlotte, he moved the spotted gelding in behind her, just ahead of Justin.
“Your mare is one of the boss horses,” he told Charlotte. “He knows better than to bite her. If he gives any more trouble, just let me know.”
Charlotte nodded. Her horse had just begun to settle down, and she didn’t seem overjoyed at the prospect of having a biting Appaloosa behind her.
“Take up on your reins, Casey, and even them out. One is hanging down much farther than the other,” Charlotte said.
With one hand still firmly clutching the saddle horn, Casey worked the reins through her fingers until they were somewhat shorter. She seemed to have resigned herself to letting her horse be in charge. The line started moving again, and the horses clattered ahead over the rocks and into a grass-filled meadow. A brilliant, red bird with a long, forked tail clung to a shrub near the trail. Justin was so enthralled with its vibrant color that he didn’t notice the horses ahead of him had started trotting. Pesadilla took matters into her own hands and struck a trot. Her heavy-muscled frame didn’t lend itself to comfortable gaits, and Justin had to stand in the stirrups to keep from bouncing. Ahead of him, Casey was clinging frantically to her horse as it trotted in line with the other horses. She had already lost a stirrup.
“Stop! Stop,” she yelled. “I’m gonna fall off!”
Charlotte pulled her horse to a stop, and Casey’s spotted gelding crashed into its rear end.
“Whoa,” Charlotte said as her mare jumped forward. Charlotte and her horse both looked around anxiously. Charlotte’s mare laced her ears back against her neck, backed up a step to get closer to the Appaloosa, and kicked him in the chest with both hind feet. The mare squealed as she did it. The little Appaloosa jumped backward, nearly unseating Casey in the middle of the trail. Casey fell forward onto his neck, wrapped both her arms tightly around it, and slid to the ground. Leaving the horse to fend for himself, she walked to the side of the trail, sat down on a rock, and began to cry.
“For Heaven’s sake, Casey,” Charlotte said. “Where’s all your tough talk now?”
“Oh, shut up, Charlotte,” Casey sobbed, burying her head in her arms.
It took several minutes for Ty and Mrs. Farr to calm Casey down.
“I’m not getting back on that nag,” she said furiously. “He’s a menace!”
Okay, okay,” Ty said. “I’ll see if I can get someone to switch horses with you.”
He rode up the line and returned in a few minutes with J. R. walking beside him.
“All you have to do is keep the reins a little bit tight, and don’t let him get too close to the horse ahead of him. Think you can handle that?”
“I think so,” J.R. said. He stepped up beside the Appaloosa and climbed on. As soon as he got settled in the saddle, he tightened up the reins.
“Ride him down to the end of the line and back,” Ty instructed. “I want to be sure he’s going to behave himself.”
J.R. turned the little horse out of the line and nudged him gently with his heels to get him moving. He walked down to where Mrs. Farr sat aboard Gato, turned around, and came back.
“Good deal,” Ty said encouragingly. “I think you’ve got his number. Bring him up here and get in the line right behind Brenda. Casey, you can take J.R.’s horse.”
“Can’t I just walk?” Casey begged.
“Nope, you’d slow us down too much. Headquarters already called me on my walkie-talkie and said to come in. There are storm warnings for late this afternoon. Come on up here. The horse J.R. was riding is really gentle.”
Reluctantly, Casey followed Ty to the front of the line. J.R. followed on the Appaloosa. Soon they were moving again. The little Appaloosa seemed to have gotten the message, but Charlotte’s mare had developed a case of nerves again and was dancing and hopping along. Justin had to admire Charlotte’s cool. She had the most difficult mount on the ride, but she sat still and relaxed in the saddle, talking to the mare in a soft voice that didn’t sound the least bit whiney now. Ty set a faster pace, and the horses, appearing to understand that they were headed for the barn, lengthened their strides to keep up.
A half hour of steady travel brought them to the river again. The banks were not as high as they were at the first crossing, and the line of horses wound their way down to the river. There was a drop-off at the river’s edge where the horses had to jump into the water. The jump wasn’t much more than a foot down, but most of the riders stopped and looked at it apprehensively. Ty took his gelding down first and then came back up to talk to the riders.
“These horses make this little jump every day. They know how to do it. Just give them a loose rein, and keep one leg on each side of the horse.” He laughed at his own joke. “Squeeze with your knees,” he called as he jumped his horse into the water again.
Brenda’s horse didn’t jump, she lowered herself gently down the drop-off and into the water. J.R. and the biting Appaloosa leapt into the water with a tremendous splash.
“Wa-hoo!” J.R. hollered. Water dripped off his saddle and even his s
hirt was wet.
One by one, the riders made the jump into the river. Casey got off her horse and waded across to the other side, leading it with the bridle, but everyone else let out a yell and laughed hysterically once they were safely in the river. Again, Charlotte’s fractious mare was the one who tried to turn back and refused to jump. Charlotte encouraged her, but the horse was dead set against jumping into the water. Finally, Justin urged Pesadilla up beside her, caught the mare by the bridle, and led her off the bank. The two mares jumped together, landing with a terrific splash that soaked them both. Charlotte laughed as the water dripped from her hair.
“Well, that’s one way to get her to do it,” she said.
Crossing the shallow river without the trees to block his view of the sky, Justin noticed that the cloud bank was much closer. In the distance, he could see flashes of lightning, and occasionally the smell of rain came to him on the light breeze. He didn’t know how far they were from the barn, but if they weren’t pretty close, they would be wet when they got there. But then, they were already wet.
Mrs. Farr splashed up beside Justin and Charlotte. She looked tired and worried about the storm clouds, glancing at them apprehensively.
“I think we’d better pick up the pace a little more,” she said. “We’ve still got a ways to go. Come on, Lee,” she called over her shoulder. “Keep up with us.”
A distant roll of thunder underlined the importance of her words.
* * * *
A cool wind kicked up. Blowing across wet clothes, it felt energizing. The horses tossed their heads and snorted impatiently. An easy rock incline led out of the river, and the riders turned and traveled along the foot of the bluffs on the opposite side. The trail twisted through brush, and Justin lost sight of the riders at the head of the line. Partway up the rock ledge on his right, he spotted a ring-tailed cat leaping from one outcropping to another. He held Pesadilla back a little so he could watch its progress up the wall of rocks.
“Look up there,” he called to Mrs. Farr, pointing.
Speak of the Tiger Page 5
