Horseflies (3 page)

“Whew!” said Stevie, out of breath. “I’d call that a draw. Nobody has to be a rotten egg today.”

Carole laughed. “Good. I don’t feel much like being one after all that bridle cleaning. Which trail do we want to take?”

“Let’s do the creek trail,” suggested Lisa. “We can have a nice ride across the meadow and then go wading in the creek.”

“Sounds good to me,” Stevie agreed.

The girls walked their horses to the back of the stable, where the creek trail began, then mounted. Prancer and Belle took off at a trot, eager to go for a run in the woods, but Starlight snorted and balked as if he would rather stay at the barn.

“Come on, boy.” Carole squeezed Starlight with her legs as she watched Stevie and Lisa disappear around the first curve. Starlight backed up instead of going forward and twisted his head around to look at Carole. “Everybody’s going that way, Starlight!” she cried, squeezing him with her legs again. Finally the bay gelding turned in the right direction and trotted quickly after the other two horses.

Spring fever
, Carole thought as Starlight caught up to Prancer.
He’s got spring fever and his muscles are tight. I need to ride him a lot more
.

The trail Stevie led them along went a little way through the woods. Above them the sunlight twinkled through a
leafy green canopy of trees, and a jaunty mockingbird trilled as they rode past. The sweet smell of blooming honeysuckle drifted through the air. “Isn’t this a wonderful day?” Stevie called over her shoulder.

“It’s absolutely perfect!” agreed Lisa.

“Want to canter when we get to the meadow?”

“Yes!” Lisa and Carole cried in unison.

They trotted until the woods thinned out into a grassy green meadow speckled with tiny yellow wildflowers. The ground was smooth here and the grass soft. It was the perfect place for a fast ride. The three girls pulled up side by side.

“Everybody ready for the first official canter of the summer?” Stevie asked with a grin.

Carole and Lisa nodded.

“Then let’s go, and the last one to the creek’s a rotten egg!”

The girls urged their horses into a canter. This time when Prancer and Belle bounded forward, Starlight did not hesitate but ran right along beside them, eager to be first.

Carole shifted her weight over Starlight’s withers and relaxed into the horse’s gait. She could feel his muscles moving beneath her as his hooves thudded on the grass. The breeze blew cool on her face, and the flower-dotted meadow passed by in a blur. Just ahead was a small tree that had fallen in a storm. As soon as Starlight saw it, he nosed ahead of Belle and Prancer and galloped even faster. To Carole, it seemed as if they were flying. As they approached the tree, Starlight slowed a bit to gather himself; then he jumped high and long
over the fallen trunk and branches. Carole closed her eyes as his powerful back legs lifted them into the air, but she wasn’t afraid. She suddenly knew exactly what it was like to ride a horse with wings. No wonder Bellerophon loved Pegasus so.

When she opened her eyes, the creek was coming up fast. “Whoa, boy,” she said softly, sitting back in the saddle and shortening her reins. Though Starlight settled down into a canter, he tossed his head up and down as if he really didn’t want to quit running yet.

“Easy, Starlight,” Carole murmured, patting his neck and turning him in a large circle. “You act like you’ve never galloped before.”

Starlight snorted once but finally slowed to a trot, then to a walk. Carole turned to watch as Stevie and Lisa cantered up beside her.

“Gosh, Carole,” Stevie said breathlessly. “I only said you’d be a rotten egg. I didn’t mean you’d be the rottenest egg on the planet forever!”

Carole frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you were going fast. Really fast.
Racehorse
fast.”

“Oh, Stevie,” Carole replied. She knew she’d passed Stevie and Lisa, but she didn’t think she’d gone that fast. Stevie tended to exaggerate, anyway.

“No, Stevie’s right,” said Lisa. “You guys were a blur. I didn’t think you were ever going to land after that jump.”

Carole couldn’t help grinning. “Wasn’t that wonderful? I felt just like Bellerophon must have on Pegasus.”

Stevie and Lisa exchanged amused glances. “Let’s let the
horses graze a little while we go wading,” Stevie suggested. She lifted one eyebrow at Carole. “Unless, of course, there are some lion-headed monsters around that you and Starlight want to take on.”

Carole laughed. “Not today. Flying on the ground’s good enough for me.”

The girls walked their horses to cool them down, then tied them to some low bushes that grew near the creek. Belle, Prancer, and Starlight were as much of a club as their riders, so there was little chance that any of them would run away. After they had begun to graze contentedly in the deep green grass, the girls sprawled out on the sun-warmed boulders that bordered the creek.

“Oh, these boots,” Lisa groaned as she pulled off one tall black boot. “I love them, but they’re awfully hot for trail riding.” Lisa’s mother insisted that Lisa have just the right clothes to do all the things she thought proper young ladies ought to know how to do. She always bought Lisa the very best, but sometimes Lisa wished her mother would listen to her more and just buy her what she needed.

“Maybe you’ll make enough money baby-sitting Jamie to buy a pair of short ones,” Stevie said as she pulled off her cowboy boots.

“Jamie’s parents would have to go to Europe for six months for that to happen,” Lisa said matter-of-factly. She pulled off her socks and stuck her feet in the cool water. “Anyway, I’ve got to come up with fifty dollars of my own money each month for riding lessons this summer.”

“Ouch.” Stevie winced. “That’s a lot.” She yanked off her socks and plunged her feet into the water. “Ahhh,” she murmured. “Bliss.”

“He’s a nice little boy, though.” Carole leaned over the wide, shallow creek and watched as tiny silver minnows darted around their toes. “Baby-sitting him won’t be bad. And maybe he can come to the stable again.”

Lisa smiled. “It was fun taking him around the ring on Nickel, wasn’t it? I felt like, I don’t know, a real honest-to-goodness horseback rider.”

“I know,” agreed Carole. “I did, too. It felt so good to show somebody how wonderful horses and riding are.”

Lisa reached down and splashed a handful of cool water where her hair fell against her neck. “I really appreciate your helping me with him today.”

“That’s what The Saddle Club is for,” Stevie chirped. “To help each other out, whenever we need it.”

“So you guys really do like Jamie?” asked Lisa.

“Sure,” said Stevie. “He’s cute. When he grows up, he’ll be almost as cute as Phil.” Phil Marsten was Stevie’s boyfriend. He rode at Cross County Pony Club, and when he and Stevie weren’t competing with each other to see who was the better rider, they had wonderful times together.

“Good,” Lisa replied. “I’m taking him to the Cross County Fair on Wednesday, and I was hoping you two might want to come along.”

Stevie sat up straighter. “I’m already supposed to meet Phil there. But if you and Jamie come along, we can all do the fair
together. Can you come too, Carole? Or are you sure you can tear yourself away from Pegasus and Beetlejuice?” There was a mischievous twinkle in her hazel eyes.

“Yeah, Carole,” Lisa teased. “I mean, gosh, it’s only three months until that project’s due. You don’t have true Lisa-itis if you’re not already thinking about it!”

“You two can laugh,” said Carole, “but these stories are really cool.” She turned toward Stevie and Lisa and sat cross-legged. “Bellerophon was a prince who had lost his kingdom. King Iobates sent him on a mission to destroy a monster called the Chimera, something no mortal man was supposed to be able to do.”

“Is this Chimera Mr. Goat-Breath?” asked Stevie.

“Right. Bellerophon knew he would probably be killed fighting the Chimera, and he was just about to ask for the king’s daughter’s hand in marriage.”

“Gosh,” Lisa said softly.

“But he was sworn to do what the king commanded. He was on his way to find the Chimera when suddenly the goddess Athena appeared before him. She gave him a golden bridle and told him to go and put it on Pegasus. That way, on a flying horse, he could kill the monster without being killed himself.

“Bellerophon knew about a spring where Pegasus was supposed to drink, so he went and hid in the bushes and waited. Sure enough, Pegasus came along and Bellerophon jumped on his back. Furious, Pegasus flew high up into the heavens,
but Bellerophon hung on and waited for his chance to slip the bridle into Pegasus’ mouth. After he did that, Pegasus became as gentle as—”

“Belle!” Stevie interjected.

“No, probably more like Patch,” said Carole.

The girls giggled at the thought of Pine Hollow’s gentlest, most easygoing horse suddenly sprouting wings and flying off to attack monsters.

Carole continued. “Anyway, after that, Pegasus and Bellerophon flew away to search for the Chimera, and they found it, sleeping at the mouth of a cave. Pegasus dropped down from the sky without a sound, but the Chimera woke up. They had a furious battle that lasted for hours, but in the end Bellerophon chopped off its head. The blood boiled out of its body and turned the ground to ashes.”

“So did Bellerophon get back and marry the king’s daughter?” Lisa asked.

Carole shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I haven’t read that far.”

Stevie chewed on a blade of grass and stretched out again on the warm rock. “I guess a book like that wouldn’t be too bad to read on summer vacation,” she admitted.

“I don’t think I’ll ever mind reading and writing about horses,” said Carole.

Stevie grinned at her two friends. “It just seems weird—Carole’s reading a book while Lisa’s teaching someone about horses!”

Suddenly a high-pitched squeal rang out. The girls turned and looked over at the horses. Starlight had sidled up to Prancer and was trying to bite her ear.

“What on earth?” cried Carole, jumping up and running barefoot over to Starlight. She grabbed his bridle. “He’s never tried to do anything like that before.”

“Is Prancer okay?” Lisa asked worriedly, hurrying up behind her.

“I think so.” Carole felt Prancer’s soft ear. There were no scratches, and the skin wasn’t broken. “She’s okay. I guess Starlight missed.” She looked up into Starlight’s big brown eyes. “What’s the matter with you, Starlight? You’ve been acting weird all day.”

“That is weird for Starlight,” agreed Lisa. “He’s never been antisocial before.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s just spring fever,” said Carole, giving Starlight a pat on the neck. “He wouldn’t have run that fast through the meadow if he’d been sick. I just need to ride him more and get all the winter kinks worked out of his muscles.”

“Well, you’d better work them out soon, or else we’ll have to buy Prancer a pierced earring!” Lisa laughed.

“Is everything okay?” Stevie called from her perch on the rocks.

“Just a bad case of spring fever on Starlight’s part,” Carole called back. “But they’re fine.”

The horses continued with their grazing, and Lisa and Carole returned to the creek. “Hey, why don’t we put our
boots back on and ride along the forest trail?” Stevie suggested. “We might see some fawns or fox cubs.”

“Fine by me,” said Carole. “Starlight obviously needs to work off some excess energy.”

Wiggling their toes in the warm sun, the girls let their feet dry, then put their boots back on. They hopped off the rocks and walked over to where their horses were still grazing. Stevie grabbed Belle’s bridle and, as usual, was the first to mount up.

“Last one to—”

“Wait, Stevie,” said Lisa. “Let’s just have a nice, relaxing ride back. We’re not in training for the Derby, you know.”

“I was just going to say,” Stevie replied as Carole and Lisa mounted their horses, “the last one to see something really neat needs glasses.”

“Okay.” Lisa laughed. “You’re on.”

For the rest of the afternoon, the girls rode over the rolling Virginia countryside, splashing through streams and cantering across the broad, open meadows. Stevie found a nest of newly hatched killdeers, and Lisa had to calm Prancer down when a graceful, honey-colored doe burst from the woods and bounded across the path right in front of them.

“That’s one for me and one for Lisa,” Stevie said as they trotted three abreast at a wide place in the trail. “Haven’t you seen anything neat, Carole?”

“I’ve seen lots of neat things,” said Carole. “You two just see them first.” Actually, Carole had been looking more at
Starlight than at the plants and animals on the trail. Riding all afternoon hadn’t done him the good she thought it would. Usually he was a cooperative, dependable horse. Since they’d left the creek, he’d shied at a leaf falling from a maple tree, he’d refused to go over a tiny mud puddle, and he’d tried again to bite Prancer, this time on the rump. It was as if he was determined to see how naughty he could be.

“You’ll do better tomorrow, boy,” Carole whispered. Starlight tossed his head and tried to go around Belle on the right, but Carole sat up straighter in the saddle. “I know just what you need, Starlight. A good ride every day this summer.” She smiled down at her horse.
It’s a good thing you’ve got me to take care of you
, she thought.
I know just what to do
.