Horse Spy (10 page)

The men were very polite, nodding to each rider as she went by.

“Do you ride here often?” Karya asked, looking around at the field and the woods beyond.

“As often as possible,” Carole told her. “We love our classes, flat and jumping; we always have a good time at our Pony Club meetings, mounted or unmounted. We love competing in shows, too. But there’s nothing we like better than a good trail ride.”

“And, as far as we’re concerned, any trail ride is a good trail ride,” said Lisa.

“Are there a lot of trails?”

“Dozens,” Stevie said. “We usually go about the same route because we have a favorite place to go to.”

“Are we going there?” asked Karya.

“Absolutely,” said Carole. “That is—if you want to.”

“I want to do it all,” said Karya.

Stevie, in the lead, looked back to see if everyone was ready to pick up a trot. She could see that they were, but she could also see something else. “Look at them,” she said, pointing back at the stable. The girls paused and looked back. What they saw was four tacked-up horses in the schooling ring and four riders trying to mount them.

The agents had obviously unloaded the horses and were getting ready to ride them, though the quickest glance revealed that two of them really didn’t know what they were doing. One was even trying to get on from the wrong side.

Stevie smiled. This was going to be a piece of cake!

“Ready to trot?” she asked. They trotted.

It was easy to see how much Karya was enjoying herself. There was a big grin on her face and she moved perfectly on Barq, rising and sitting with his trot as if she’d been riding him all her life.

“An Arab, just for me?” she called forward to Stevie.

“Yes, we thought you’d like that,” Stevie answered. “Plus, he’s a really good horse.”

“He sure is!” Karya agreed. Then she and the other girls all turned their attention to their goal—the woodlands that lay invitingly across the field.

The shade of the walk along the wooded pathway was as welcome when it came as the sunshine had been in the field.

“This is what I’ve been hoping for!” Karya said.

“And that’s the way we feel about it every single week,” Lisa confirmed. “There’s an open area up ahead where we can canter, too.”

“I’m ready!”

The girls rode on, chatting easily. It came as a pleasant surprise to each of them how naturally they seemed to get along—the three American girls and the Middle Eastern president’s daughter—and it served to remind each of them how strong a bond horseback riding could form between people.

“We joke sometimes that we couldn’t be more different,” Lisa said, briefly describing the differences among the members of The Saddle Club to Karya. “But horses bring us together every time.”

The walkie-talkie at Karya’s hip buzzed. She rolled her eyes up to the sky. “They can’t see me, and they worry,” she said. Slightly annoyed, she unclipped the device and pushed a button. She talked into it. There was a response. She and Alek spoke back and forth a few times.

She clipped the walkie-talkie back on her belt. “He doesn’t want us to canter,” she said. “He tells me that they have trouble tracking me when we go that fast.”

“We can trot,” Carole said.

“We can canter,” said Karya. Then she very carefully and very decisively turned off the walkie-talkie. And they cantered.

Before too long, Stevie was leading them off the main path and into the small clearing by the creek.

“This is beautiful!” said Karya.

“We knew you’d like it,” Carole said, dismounting. She secured Starlight to a bush and then held Barq’s bridle while Karya dismounted as well.

The girls led their guest over to the spot where they always took off their boots for the refreshing toe dunk. While they were removing their boots, they could hear horses going by on the main path. The riders spoke with one another, and there was no doubt that they were the agents, since they were speaking a language none of The Saddle Club recognized. The girls remained quiet, allowing the security men to pass.

“One … two … three …” There was a long pause. “Four,” Carole said.

“All clear, then,” said Karya.

The girls relaxed.

And then they heard another horse.

“Must be a really bad rider to be so far behind the bunch,” Lisa observed.

“Who knows?” said Stevie.

“Who cares?” asked Karya. “We’re here, and that’s enough for me.”

The girls settled in, feeling totally relaxed and alone for the first time.

“So what’s it like being the daughter of a president?” Stevie asked.

“Sometimes it’s a lot of fun,” said Karya. “Everybody is really nice to me. I go to school in the capital, and I know my teachers give me better grades now that my father is president than they did when he was merely a member of the congress.”

“That works for me!” Stevie said.

“I like that part, too, but then there are the times when I’m just not allowed to be myself—times I have to be places for show.”

“The list of stuff Alek read to us sure sounded boring,” said Carole

“And then there are times when I wish my teacher would tell me that I’m not doing a good job. It’s a little hard when you can’t trust people to be honest with you just because of who your father is.”

“I never would have thought of that,” said Carole. “I just felt sorry when you said you didn’t get to take care of your own horse.”

“And you were right to feel sorry. Most people laughed at me when they read that. I knew you really understood when I got your letter, and that’s how I knew I just had to be here. And I was right! This is perfect!”

“Wait until we show you the rest of the woods!” Stevie said.

“Do you really think we ought to do this, Stevie?” Carole asked, unsure exactly how her father would feel if he ever found out about their trying to elude the security agents.

“Definitely,” Stevie said.

“Absolutely,” agreed Karya.

“Okay,” said Lisa.

Carole sighed. “All right,” she agreed.

“What did you have in mind?” Lisa asked Stevie.

“Well, I thought we’d take the Rocky Trail up to where it meets the Pine Trail and then back down into the valley across that big open stretch—where we can really canter—
and then back into the maple stand to where it comes out next to the highway. We could cross there, but I think we’re better off doubling back across the creek before we get back to the pasture.”

“But the Rocky Trail can be dangerous,” Carole said.

“Not that part of it, and the mountain view is so beautiful from the top!” said Stevie. “And as long as we ride carefully and get back safely, there’s no harm, is there? What’s the worst that can happen—that Karya misses out on a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a hydroelectric plant model?”

“That’s about it,” said Karya, her eyes sparkling with delight.

“Then let’s go.”

The four girls pulled their boots back on and went back to their horses. The animals were ready for their drink at the creek; after their thirst had been satisfied, the riders remounted and took off across the creek in the opposite direction from the trail plan the girls had left with Max.

It didn’t take long for the security agents to become concerned. They’d expected the riders to reappear along the path they’d left for the visit to the creek.

Pretty soon the girls could hear the men calling out to one another. Then they could hear the
buzz-click
of walkie-talkies flicking on and off all around them. And they could also hear some of the agents calling to Karya.

Karya had a big grin on her face. It was infectious, and the girls had to share her excitement at the game they were playing with the security agents. For a moment she clicked on her own walkie-talkie and listened to the furious buzz back and forth among the riders and the men on foot. She
giggled at their chatter. Then she turned the walkie-talkie off again.

“Oh, this is wonderful!” she said. “Now show me this view of yours!”

“This way!” Stevie announced, waving them all forward.

O
NCE AGAIN
, Stevie was in the lead. She could feel the excitement of the chase welling in her chest. Around her, not more than several hundred yards away, agents of the ADR were searching for them, and she knew, deep in her heart, that they were not anywhere near as clever as she was. She could outfox the best of them. They were well equipped with electronic devices, but they didn’t know the woods, and from what she’d seen, they didn’t know much about horses or riding, either. This was going to be fun.

“Ms. Nazeem!” one man called out.

Stevie put her finger to her lips to remind them not to answer, but it wasn’t necessary. Nobody had any intention of responding.

“Karya!” came another cry.

“This way!” Stevie whispered, pointing upward.

The girls followed.

The Rocky Trail was as treacherous in parts as any trail the
girls had ever ridden. It was hilly and had twists, curves, and switchbacks. It also lived up to its name, which meant that it could be slippery for a horse’s hooves.

It wasn’t used often, and Max never bothered much about keeping it open. That meant that branches hung down low along the trail, and storms during the previous winter had laid a couple of trees across it. The girls proceeded slowly.

“You’re going to love this,” Stevie assured Karya.

“I already do,” Karya said, ducking a big maple branch. “We have no woods like this at home. It’s beautiful.”

“Karya!” came another cry from deep in the forest. The man’s voice yelled something else, too.

“What was that he said?” Lisa asked.

“He said I should, um, stop this nonsense right now. See, they’re not worried, just annoyed with me.”

“Are you going to get in trouble?” Lisa asked her.

“Only if they tell. And the only reason they’d tell is if we make a mistake.”

“And we won’t do that,” said Stevie. “We know exactly what we’re doing. Come on, there’s a clearing up ahead where we can make some time at a canter.”

Stevie focused her attention on the path, which she knew would become narrower and steeper before the clearing. The dappled sunlight laid patches of bright and dark on the forest floor, and all around, birds were chirping. The sounds intermingled with the cries of the agents and the occasional staticky crackle of a walkie-talkie. It was interesting how clearly sound carried through the forest.

And then she realized there was another sound. It wasn’t
behind them or below them. It was up ahead and it was unmistakable. It was a horse.

“Someone else is on the trail,” Stevie said to the riders behind her. Carole frowned. She hated the idea that one of the agents, who were so clearly inexperienced riders, might get onto this trail. The girls would end up rescuing him instead of the other way around.

“Nobody passed us, did they?” Lisa asked.

“No, and the only other way onto this trail is across the creek beyond the clearing,” said Stevie.

“Five horses,” Carole said, suddenly remembering and not liking what she recalled.

“What?” asked Karya.

“There were five horses,” said Carole.

“No, the agents only had four horses,” Karya said. “I’m sure of that. That’s all the van holds.”

“There were five horses on the trail,” said Carole. “First four went by, and then, a few seconds later, another. There’s someone else in the woods.”

“On this trail?” Stevie asked.

“Obviously,” said Lisa.

“But who?” Carole asked. “And why?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” said Stevie, giving Belle a little nudge that made her pick up her pace. The other horses followed obediently. As soon as the path leveled, Stevie began trotting. So did the other riders.

A fresh scattering of manure confirmed to Stevie that they were right—someone
was
ahead of them. Every ounce of logic she had (and while her friends often said she was totally lacking in it, Stevie knew better when it came to horses) told
her it didn’t make any sense. If one of the agents was trying to find them, why would he go along this obscure trail? And how could he not be aware that the girls were behind him? There was something very odd going on, and Stevie had every intention of getting to the bottom of it right away.

The woods opened up into a high meadow. It was time to canter. Stevie signaled Belle for the fast gait and the mare responded, eager for a chance to stretch her muscles in the open field. As they flew across the grassy expanse, Stevie pointed to the vista to their right.

“Beautiful! But let’s hurry!” Karya responded. She was as much into the spirit of the chase as Stevie and her friends were.

“We really shouldn’t go there,” Carole said, looking at the trail before them where it entered the forest. “It’s a dangerous trail. We can go back now.…”

“But who’s riding ahead of us?” Stevie asked. “We need to find out.”

“One of the security men could be in trouble,” Lisa reasoned.

“It’s an adventure!” said Karya. “Come on, girls!”

Carole sighed. Maybe her father would never find out. She nudged Starlight forward and followed Stevie, Karya, and Lisa into the woods, wondering what lay ahead.