Trail Ride (10 page)

Lisa followed the direction she was pointing and saw the horses down in a shallow bowl of grassland, grazing peacefully. A movement on the hillside caught her eye. “It’s the stallion,” she said, awestruck.

The horse stood above the herd on an outcropping of rock, nobly watching over his charges below, eyes and ears alert for the smallest signs of trouble. The wind rippled through his mane and made his long tail flutter as he eyed the newcomers warily.

“He’s checking us out,” Paula told them in hushed tones. “He knows me, but not you. Let’s give him a chance to make up his mind about you.”

After a few minutes of intensive staring, the stallion moved off, snatching a quick mouthful of grass here and there as he continued his patrol.

“Guess you guys passed muster,” Paula told them, nudging her horse forward. “He’s a smart one, that Shot Gun is.”

Lisa could hardly believe her ears. Unless she was mistaken, that had sounded suspiciously like a compliment. “Is that his name?”

Paula nodded. “Yep.”

“Do they all have names?”

“Nope.”

For a moment Lisa thought that was all Paula was going to say.

“Only the special ones,” Paula finished by way of explanation.

“What do you carry in your medical bag?” Carole asked after a long silence.

“The usual: antiseptic, gauze, tetanus shots, a couple of tonics. Of course, we can only do remedial first aid out here, but luckily we hardly ever need more. These animals seem to do fine all by themselves.”

As soon as they infiltrated the outer ranks of the herd, Paula and Carole started looking for any signs of injury among the members. Lisa felt a twinge of jealousy for their skills. Although she could detect the obvious ailments like a cut or a pronounced limp, it took trained eyes to ferret out the more subtle problems. Paula was obviously experienced at it, and Carole, with her veterinary training, wasn’t far behind.

There were times during the day when things seemed touch and go. Some of the horses, especially the ones with foals, were shy about letting the younger girls near. Paula, however, had a strong bond with them. Lisa watched with
surprise as time after time the wrangler sweet-talked a mare into letting her rub salve into a wound that was in danger of infection, gave a skittish foal a vitamin tonic, or simply picked stones out of a wary animal’s hoof.

Before long both she and Carole had developed great admiration for the usually taciturn woman.

“Okay,” Paula said. “We’re about finished here.”

Lisa held up a hand. “Wait.” She reigned to a halt. “Did you hear that?”

The three of them fell silent and listened intently.

“I don’t hear anything,” Paula said.

“Maybe it was my imagination,” Lisa admitted, “but—” At that moment the sound came again: a groaning.

“I hear it,” Carole cried.

“Definitely a horse,” said Paula. “And it sounds like it’s in trouble. Good ears, Lisa.”

Lisa felt a surge of pride.

“Could one of the mares be foaling?” Carole asked.

The wrangler shook her head. “I doubt it. Too late in the season. We’d better check it out.”

Led by the pitiful noises, it took only a few moments to locate the mare. She was lying on her side, sweating and groaning.

Paula knelt by the horse’s head and stroked her lathered
neck with gentle hands. “It’s okay now, girl. We’re gonna take care of you.”

The animal lifted her head and looked around at her flanks, then flopped back down.

“What is it?” Lisa asked, concerned.

“Colic,” Carole told her calmly. “Did you see the way she was looking at her belly? That’s one of the prime symptoms.”

Lisa may not have been an expert on horse problems, but even she knew that colic, if untreated, could kill. She knotted her hands together nervously. “Is there anything we can do?”

“You betcha,” Paula assured her. “Get that halter off my saddle. We have to get her on her feet, otherwise she’ll try to roll and possibly twist an intestine.”

Lisa hurried to do as she was told. “What causes this?”

“She probably ate something that didn’t agree with her,” Paula said, slipping the halter over the animal’s head. “And since horses can’t throw up, which is what you or I would do, we’re gonna have to help her get it through her system. Okay, let’s get her up.”

The three of them proceeded to pull, push, and prod the reluctant mare to her feet. The horse stood on widespread wobbly legs, head hanging low, periodically moaning.

“Carole, get me that bottle from my bag. The one with the yellow label. We’re going to dose her.”

The two girls watched anxiously as Paula proceeded to pour the contents of the bottle down the animal’s throat. “Hopefully that should take care of it. I’ll have to keep her walking for a while, though.”

“We can take turns,” Lisa offered.

For the first time since they had met, Paula smiled at her. “I’d be obliged if you would.”

For the next hour the three of them kept the mare moving continuously. At the slightest pause, the horse attempted to lie down again and roll or to paw at her stomach, but as time passed it happened less and less frequently.

Lisa was taking another turn when Paula called out, “Hold up there. Let’s take a good look at her.” She came close and ran an expert hand over the animal. “She’s stopped sweating, hasn’t tried to lie down for a while, no groaning and she dropped some manure. I think we’re out of the woods, ladies.”

Lisa smiled with relief as Carole straightened a crick out of her back.

“Here’s the thing,” Paula continued. “There’s another animal not far from here. He cut himself pretty bad a week or so ago, and I need to go check on him
before dark. Do you think I could leave you here alone?”

The two of them nodded.

“She still needs to be walked for another half hour before you turn her loose.”

“Don’t worry, Paula,” Carole said. “We can handle it. You go ahead.”

Paula nodded and mounted up. “Are you sure you can find your way back home?”

“Are you kidding?” Lisa said. “We know this ranch like the back of our hands. We’ll see you back at the house.”

With a tip of her hat, Paula rode off.

Carole sank back onto the soft grass.

“Hey, it’s your turn, lazybones,” Lisa chided her.

“Would you mind making a few extra rounds?” Carole pleaded. “I’ve got a huge headache.”

Lisa noticed her friend’s hat on the ground. “How long have you had that off?”

Carole shrugged. “Don’t know. A while I guess. I lost track.”

“You’d better put it back on, then,” Lisa urged. “You could get sunstroke, and that’s dangerous. As soon as I’m done walking the mare, we’ll get you home to rest.”

L
ISA WAS TIRED
and hungry when they finally arrived at the ranch, but she was elated about having helped the mare. Carole, on the other hand, seemed strangely quiet. Lisa figured that Carole, having worked with the veterinarian at Pine Hollow, had probably seen much more exciting things than a simple case of colic, but to her the afternoon had been a real adventure. Only one thing marred the return journey: About three-quarters of the way home, Chocolate had started to favor one of her legs. She’d asked Paula to look her over before their ride out to view the meteor shower that evening.

The large metal triangle hanging from the porch
clanged, announcing it was mealtime. “You girls hurry and wash up now,” Mrs. Devine called as they approached the house. “Or there won’t be anything left.”

Lisa laughed at the idea. Mrs. Devine always made enough food to feed a small army. “How’s Kate doing?”

“Not as well as I’d like. The doctor took some blood samples and gave her some medicine, but …” Her voice trailed off, and she looked very worried.

“Do you think we could see her for a minute before dinner?”

At first Mrs. Devine looked doubtful, then she seemed to change her mind. “Yes, of course. A quick visit from you might be exactly the thing to cheer her up.”

Lisa didn’t miss the emphasis on the word
quick.
“We won’t take long,” she assured her.

“We’ll just say hi,” Carole concurred.

They hurried down the hall and knocked lightly on Kate’s bedroom door.

“Come in.”

Lisa poked her head in. “Hi there,” she said brightly. When she got closer to the bed, she was taken aback by her friend’s pallor and the dark circles under her eyes. “Gosh, you don’t look so hot.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“Nice bedside manner, Lisa,” Carole scolded her, then turned to Kate with concern. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay,” Kate told her, waving a hand weakly in the air. “It’s only the flu.”

Lisa and Carole exchanged worried looks.

“I feel bad about the whole thing, though,” she moaned. “You two came all the way out here for some fun, and I had all these things we were going to do, and now I’m stuck in bed. I bet you guys are bored out of your minds. You’re never going to want to come back!”

“That’s not true,” Lisa reassured her. “We’re having a great time.”

“Not as good as if you were with us, though,” Carole added hastily.

Kate looked mollified. “I hear there’s a meteor shower tonight. You should go watch it.”

“We’re going right after sunset,” Carole told her.

“We’d better leave now, or your mom won’t let us come back,” Lisa said, edging toward the door. “Sleep tight.”

T
O THEIR SURPRISE
, Paula was waiting for them when they got to the stables. She had on her usual hangdog expression. “Bad news, Lisa. Chocolate’s out of action.”

“Her foot?”

Paula nodded. “It’s only a bruised frog, but she’ll need to rest it for a few days.”

Lisa nodded. “You can’t be too careful about the bottoms of a horse’s feet.” She was crestfallen. Outside of being very fond of Chocolate, she had been planning to ride her on tonight’s adventure.

“I saddled up Stewball for you instead,” Paula said, indicating the waiting horse. “I figured Kate wouldn’t be needing him.”

Lisa felt her stomach clench. She thought Stewball was a wonderful horse, but his personality was more suited to Stevie than to her. He had always struck her as somewhat mischievous, which was part of his appeal for Stevie. She, on the other hand, preferred an animal that was more solid and reliable. Still, she would have to make the best of it. If she and Carole were going to make it out to the dig in time to view the show, they would have to get moving. “Thanks, Paula, that was nice of you.”

“I wasn’t busy,” Paula grunted. “By the way, I stopped by and checked that mare on the way home. She’s fine. You two did a good job.” She headed back into the barn. “Have a good ride,” she called over her shoulder.

Lisa’s spirits were soaring when they set off. It was a little before ten o’clock and the night seemed perfect, the sky clear and cloudless. A soft breeze caressed her face and ruffled the long grass in front of them as they rode. It rippled like the surface of a vast emerald ocean. Earlier in the day she and Carole had agreed to watch the meteor shower from the top of the canyon that overlooked the archaeological dig site. They both felt that the presence of long-dead dinosaurs would lend a primordial feel to the whole event.

They cleared the last of the trees and approached the edge of the cliffs, the light of the moon highlighting the steep rocky walls of the canyon before them.

“I wouldn’t want to accidentally ride off the edge,” Lisa said a little nervously, looking at the immense drop to the bottom.

“Don’t worry, Stewball wouldn’t let that happen.”

Lisa didn’t share her friend’s confidence.

The two of them rode along the rim of the canyon for a short distance, searching for the perfect place to view the coming spectacle.

Lisa spotted an outcrop of rock. “Let’s tie the horses up and grab a seat,” she suggested, sliding easily from Stewball’s back. She noticed that Carole seemed to be moving a little slowly, but a sudden flash of light in the
sky distracted her from worrying about her friend. “Hurry up, I think it’s starting.” She untied the blanket from the back of her saddle, then spread it on the ground. She thought of dangling her legs over the edge but chickened out at the last minute.
No sense in taking unnecessary chances.

Then the meteors began streaking through the sky. At first there were only one or two with long moments between, but after a while they came in greater and greater numbers.

“They look like fireworks that haven’t exploded,” Lisa said. “Like when they shoot them up on the Fourth of July and you see that streak of light before they burst.”

“Uh-huh,” Carole said softly at her side.

“Of course, these are coming down, not going up. Hey, shouldn’t we be making wishes? Aren’t people supposed to wish on falling stars?”

“I guess so,” Carole replied quietly.

“Talk about efficient, we could get a whole year’s worth of wishes in one night,” Lisa said enthusiastically. “What shall we wish for?”

“How about a doctor?” Carole murmured.

Lisa turned and was shocked to find her friend curled up in a small ball. “Carole, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t feel very good. I think maybe I caught Kate’s flu,” she mumbled through chattering teeth.