Chasing Gold (12 page)

Haley rubbed her eyes as she read on, nodding slowly. Somehow, the way Maddie explained the concepts made much more sense than the way the textbook did. Or grouchy, impatient old Mr. Washington, for that matter.

Half an hour later, she was pretty sure she was starting to get it. Maddie had talked her through some of the problems in the chapter, and the concepts were almost starting to make sense.

[MADDIE]
Oops, my mom just told me it's time to turn off the computer. Should I ask her if I can stay on a little longer, or are u OK now?

[HALEY]
I think I'll be OK. Thanks, Maddie. U saved my life—and my clinic!

[MADDIE]
Anytime. That's what friends r for!

“Haley? Haley! Wake up.”

Haley swam out of a deep, dark sleep. Something was buzzing around her head. A giant bee? No, wait, it was her alarm, the sound attacking her like a physical threat. She reached out from under the covers and swatted at it.

“Ow,” she mumbled as she hit the corner of her bedside table instead.

A second later the alarm stopped.

“Haley.”

Haley cracked open one eye and saw Aunt Veronica gazing down at her. “Um, hmm . . . ,” Haley mumbled.

Her aunt crossed her arms. “Your alarm has been going off for ten minutes,” she said. “Didn't you hear it?”

Haley sat up and rubbed her eyes. “It was? Sorry.” Noticing her English book lying on the floor beside her bed, she hoped her aunt didn't see it. After signing off with Maddie, Haley had studied her math for another half hour or so, then decided to get a head start on the reading for tomorrow. She must have dozed off in the middle of it.

Her aunt looked concerned. “You look tired,” she said.
“You're running yourself ragged doing all this extra work lately. I'll tell the boys they can do their own morning chores today.”

“No!” Suddenly Haley felt much more awake. “It's okay, I'm fine. I'll do them.” She was feeling pretty good about her finances after earning that extra money the day before, but she didn't want to take any chances. If she didn't do the boys' chores, she wouldn't get paid. It would be heartbreaking if that turned out to be the difference between having enough to cover the clinic and having to stay home.

She climbed out of bed, stifling her yawn until her aunt had bustled out of the room. Pulling on her robe, she stuffed her English and math books into her backpack. She might be tired, but at least she was feeling a little more confident about that test. Maddie had really helped her understand the math chapter last night, and Haley figured she could finish the rest of the English reading in the car and in homeroom, and then do some last-minute cramming for the math test at lunch.

That shouldn't be a problem,
she thought.
Tracey and Emma probably still won't be talking to me anyhow.

A few minutes later Haley was in the barn. The horses had spent the night outside again, and for a second the thought of walking out there to get Wings made her feel so tired she nearly collapsed where she stood.

Then she remembered: It was Monday. The pony's day off from riding.

“Whew,” she murmured, leaning against a support beam for a moment.

The feeling of a cold nose against her hand snapped her out of it. Glancing down, she saw Bandit nudging at her.

“Ready for your breakfast?” she asked the dog with a yawn. “I guess I'll feed you guys first, then do the other chores.”

Soon the dogs and cats were fed. Haley let the chickens out, scattering a few handfuls of cracked corn for them to peck at. Then she stood there for a moment, trying to remember what else she had to do. With a groan, she recalled that the big stock tank had been getting low last night and would need to be topped off this morning. Hurrying out to the pasture, she slipped between the fence boards and dropped the hose into the tank. The hydrant was always
sticky, but today it seemed extra hard to pry up the handle. Letting out a grunt, she finally got the water turned on.

She returned to the barn while the tank filled. At least the stalls weren't very dirty, since they hadn't been occupied the night before. But nobody had mucked them out after the horses had come in for dinner the evening before, and there were a few piles of manure already attracting flies. For a moment Haley was tempted to leave cleaning them until after school.

Then she remembered that Mrs. Vandenberg had called yesterday after dinner asking if Haley could watch the triplets this afternoon. That meant she would have to get the stalls done now.

With a wide yawn, she went to fetch the wheelbarrow. It felt heavy as she pushed it into the doorway of Chico's stall. She yawned again as she scooped up a manure pile with the fork. She'd just tossed the manure into the barrow when Bandit trotted into the stall and pressed himself up against her leg.

“Out,” Haley ordered, giving him a shove with her foot. “No time to play today.”

Bandit whined, his fringed tail wagging slowly as he gazed at her. She shook her head.

“I'm serious. Go!” She made her voice stern and pointed to the aisle.

With one last whine, Bandit slunk back out. But he didn't go far—Haley had to stop the wheelbarrow to avoid running it into him when she moved on to the next stall.

“Go!” she exclaimed. “Get out of here, Bandit!”

The dog finally wandered off and Haley sighed, feeling slightly guilty for losing her temper with the dog. Oh well—too late now. She'd make it up to him after the clinic, maybe take him out trail riding in the woods or something.

It didn't take long to pick out all the stalls. Still, when she checked her watch she saw that she was running late. She'd need to hurry if she wanted to have time for even a quick breakfast.

Leaving the wheelbarrow where it stood, she rushed around getting everything else done. She was so tired that she almost dropped the basket while she was collecting the eggs, and she tripped over the same cat twice while she was watering the window boxes on the henhouse.

But finally, she was pretty sure everything was done except dumping the wheelbarrow. She grabbed the handles and rushed it across the barnyard. As she reached the gate, she suddenly thought about something. Had she turned off the water to the stock tank, or was it still running?

She bit her lip, willing her tired brain to remember as she swung open the gate and shoved the barrow through. She pushed the wheelbarrow toward the manure heap slowly, still trying to picture whether she'd shut off the hydrant and coiled up the hose, or . . .

Screee . . . CRASH!

A sudden squeal of car brakes from the road startled Haley out of her sleepy thoughts. With a gasp, she whirled around—and saw a limp, furry shape lying in the road just a few yards away.

“Oh no—Bandit!” she blurted out, glancing from the gate—standing wide open where she'd forgotten to close it—back to her favorite dog's still body.

CHAPTER

“PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE BE OKAY,
Bandit.” Haley's voice was shaky as she stroked the dog's blood-matted fur. Bandit was stretched across the backseat of her aunt's car, his head in Haley's lap. He was trembling, and his eyes were cloudy with pain. Even so, his tail thumped against the vinyl seat every time Haley said his name.

Uncle Mike glanced at the pair in the rearview mirror. “Hang in there, sport,” he said, his voice gruff with sympathy. “We'll be at Doc Hagen's place in five minutes. Your aunt's calling ahead, so he'll be expecting us.”

Haley just nodded, too choked up to speak. How could she have been so stupid, so careless? She knew Bandit was
always trying to follow her everywhere she went, and she knew how dangerous the highway could be, especially during the morning rush. How could she have forgotten to shut the gate behind her? Her gaze wandered to Bandit's left hind leg, which seemed to be lying at an unnatural angle.

Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the dog. At least her aunt and uncle had agreed to let her be late to school to go to the vet. She couldn't have stood not knowing what was going on.

The local small animal vet's clinic was located in his grand old Victorian house on the edge of town. The parking area was empty when they pulled in.

“Hang on,” Uncle Mike said as he cut the engine. “I'll help you carry him in.”

The clinic door swung open as Haley and her uncle carefully carried the dog between them on the old bath towel they were using as a makeshift stretcher. Dr. Hagen was in his late fifties, with kind blue eyes and a gentle way with animals.

“Easy, there,” he said. “Poor old Bandit. Bring him right in. . . .”

Ten minutes later Haley held her breath as the vet finished his examination and straightened up. “Well?” Uncle Mike said quietly.

Dr. Hagen's expression was somber as he gave Bandit a gentle pat on his head. “You won't be surprised to hear the leg is fractured,” he said. “That alone might not be so bad, but I'm pretty sure the hip is cracked too. That'll require immediate surgery if we want to save him.”

“Of course we want to save him!” Haley blurted out. She looked from the vet to her uncle. “Of course we do! Right?”

Uncle Mike rubbed his chin, not quite meeting her eye. “What're we talking, doc?”

“Unfortunately, it won't be cheap,” the veterinarian said.

“Nothing ever is.” Uncle Mike smiled, but it looked strained. “Lay it on me.”

Haley gasped aloud as the vet named a number. Uncle Mike winced. “That's a lot of money, doc,” he said quietly.

“But we can do it,” Haley said urgently, staring from one man to the other. “Right? We have to!”

Uncle Mike hesitated. He closed his eyes for a moment, then stepped over and squeezed Haley's shoulder. “I'm sorry, Haley,” he said, his voice hoarse and low. “I wish we could. But that kind of money just isn't in the family budget right now. Might be better to let him go.”

“What? You mean put him to sleep? No!” Haley was barely aware that she was crying. She stepped over and ran her hands over Bandit's soft fur. The vet had sedated him, but his tail twitched at her touch.

“I'm very sorry,” Dr. Hagen said. “I'll give you a moment.”

He stepped out of the exam room. Uncle Mike came over and stroked Bandit's head, his kind hazel eyes stricken.

“You know we'd do it if we could, Haley,” he said. “Bandit's a good dog. But with the tractor payments, and—”

“I'll pay for it,” Haley blurted out before she even knew what she was going to say.

Her uncle blinked, looking startled. “What's that now?”

Haley took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “I said, I'll pay for the surgery,” she said. “I have just about enough saved up.”

“Oh.” Uncle Mike shook his head. “But that money's for your riding clinic. This means—”

“I know,” Haley said before he could continue. She couldn't stand to hear him say it out loud. “I know. It's okay. There will be other clinics. But there's only one Bandit.” Her fingers ran lightly up the dog's familiar snout and over his sleek head. It was strange to see him lying so still, when normally he never stopped moving.