Horse in Danger

by Michelle Bates

  Taking a deep breath, she crossed the yard and walked over to the stable. Hesitantly, she reached up to pull back the bolt and slid open the door. As she did so, a hand plunged forward and grabbed her into the darkness. Rosie found herself pulled into the stable and let out a loud scream.

  “Arrrghhh...arrrghhh...help, help!” she cried.

  “Sshh, keep your voice down,” a voice came out of the gloom. “You’ll disturb Dancer. Don’t scream.”

  The voice was a boy’s. It wasn’t menacing, so it wasn’t the tone that froze Rosie to the spot, rather it was the words he’d said. Dancer...he’d said Dancer. That could only be the stolen racehorse, Silver Dancer! As it came to Rosie, the blood pounded around her head. She tried to scream, but there was a hand clapped to her mouth and all that came out was a muffled wail.

  “Stop struggling...keep quiet and I’ll let go of you,” the voice came again.

  Rosie’s body stiffened with fear as the door was opened a fraction and the light flooded in. The person behind the voice turned her around to face him. It was the boy she’d seen in the black and white photo.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said gruffly.

  As Rosie stopped struggling a little, the boy took his hand away from her mouth and let go of her. Agitatedly, he ran his hands through his scruffy, dark hair.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “I-I’m on a treasure hunt,” Rosie stammered.

  “Look, I’m sorry I scared you,” the boy said.

  Rosie didn’t say anything, but she took a look behind her and saw the black thoroughbred racehorse standing there. She was a mare – an exquisite black mare. Rosie had never seen a horse quite like her. Her features were so fine, her legs so delicate that they didn’t look strong enough to take the weight of the muscled body above them.

  “She’s very highly strung,” the boy explained, fiddling with the horse’s forelock. “It’s all right girl,” he whispered. Now that Rosie could see the boy, she didn’t feel so frightened. As he talked to the horse, his voice had taken on a lilting tone that Rosie found strangely soothing.

  “Don’t think I don’t know who you are,” she said, quick to collect herself. “Everyone’s looking for you. You won’t be able to keep me here for long. They’ll come looking for me.”

  “Keep you here?” The boy looked surprised and then he started to laugh. “What makes you think I’d want to keep you here? I didn’t exactly ask you to come looking for us, did I?” he snorted.

  “No, but...”

  “Look.” The boy spoke roughly. “Now that you’ve found us, you’ve got to help us.”

  “Help you?” Rosie was indignant, quick to snap to her senses. “What? When you’ve stolen a horse?”

  “It’s not how it looks,” the boy muttered. “There’s more to it than that. I haven’t stolen Dancer, or rather I have, only it’s for her own good. Anyway, I can’t tell you what’s going on, but she was in trouble.” His words speeded up. “I’m going to give her back once Josh is back...once the coast’s clear...really I am.”

  “Once Josh is back. Once the coast’s clear?” Rosie said, repeating his words and playing for time. If only she could keep him talking, maybe she could make a run for it. Slowly, she backed towards the door.

  “Oh no you don’t.” The boy moved across the stable blocking her way. Rosie’s mouth felt dry.

  “I’m going to have to go now,” she stammered. “My friend’s waiting for me.”

  “No...” the boy started. It was then that Rosie noted a change of reaction in him. A nervous look crept across his face and he looked genuinely worried. He opened his mouth to speak again. “No...not just yet.”

  And as he said those words, he seemed to sound a little softer. Rosie relaxed a bit and took a closer look at him. He was younger than he’d looked in the photo...only a few years older than herself. She took a deep breath.

  “I’ve got to meet my friend at quarter to two,” she said, more boldly now.

  The boy looked intently at her and hesitated.

  “OK,” he said unsteadily. “I haven’t gone about this in the best way, have I? But we do need your help. We haven’t got enough food here to last. We’ve got hay, but it looks a bit old and Dancer needs oats to build up her energy. Do you think you could get some and come back here tomorrow?”

  Rosie hesitated. If agreeing to it was going to get her out of here, safe and sound, then she was ready to do anything.

  “Here you are,” the boy said, handing over a ten pound note.

  “Well, I-I...”

  “So you’ll do it?” The boy fixed Rosie with a piercing gaze and Rosie looked away. “If you won’t do it for me, at least do it for Dancer,” he said. “She needs the food.”

  Rosie twisted around and stared again at the gentle head of the racehorse behind her, then she looked back at him. “I can’t...I mean, I’ve got to know what’s going on. If I come back tomorrow, you’ve got to explain everything.”

  The boy looked doubtful.

  “Otherwise I won’t do it,” she said firmly.

  “All right then,” he said. “Come back tomorrow morning and I’ll explain, but you mustn’t tell anyone about this – or it’ll be big trouble.”

  Rosie nodded uncertainly.

  “You won’t regret this,” the boy said, sounding a bit more grateful now that Rosie had agreed to help. “I’m Jake by the way,” he said.

  “I know that,” Rosie answered. “And I’m Rosie.”

  Without another word, she hurriedly backed out of the box and made her way over to Pepper. Quickly, she untied the pony and mounted. Don’t look back, just ride away, she said to herself. And, as she rode down the drive and away from South Grange, she felt herself starting to relax. She was safe, wasn’t she? Now all she had to do was tell Nick what had happened...tell Nick what she’d seen and hand over all responsibility.

  5

  A GUILTY CONSCIENCE

  It was only when Rosie started to ride away from South Grange that she started to feel troubled. She’d as good as given her word, hadn’t she? She’d as good as said she wouldn’t tell anyone. Rosie bit her bottom lip, the ten pound note burning a hole in her pocket. The boy had trusted her. She couldn’t turn him in yet. And there had been something about the boy that had made her want to believe him too. He seemed so earnest. There must be more to his story than met the eye.

  As Rosie rode along, she realized that she’d been thinking so hard that her pace had slowed to a trot. She’d been riding like a robot. She’d have to get a move on. She looked at her watch. She was already five minutes late for Jess.

  Quickly, Rosie weaved Pepper this way and that through the trees and it was with a sigh of relief that she spied Jess’s figure in the distance waiting for her. Spurring Pepper on, she cantered over to her waiting friend.

  “Lost track of the time?” Jess looked cross. “I’m soaked through. What took you so long?”

  “Sorry, I rode further than I’d thought and it took me ages to get back.”

  “You can say that again,” Jess grumbled. “We’ve only got an hour and ten minutes left. Still, I got the one about the watery reserve – that was over by Mr. Wells’ pig farm – blue. And then there was a green ribbon by the garage and orange by the lamp post at the end of Sandy Lane. Oh, and the pink and purple were easy as well,” she said, her voice speeding up in excitement as she shuffled through the questions. “They were by the duck pond and the old barn. So that gives us six. How many answers did you get?”

  “Sorry, what was that?” Rosie looked vague.

  “I said how many answers did you get?” Jess repeated.

  “Oh er.” Rosie looked embarrassed at this point. “Well none actually.”

  “None!” Jess looked cross. “What do you mean none? I’ve managed to find five. What have you been doing with yourself? There’s not much time left. Are you listening? Rosie, are you listening to me?”

  “Yes, yes,” Rosie said hu
rriedly.

  “You look as though you’re miles away. You haven’t really been listening to a word I’ve been saying, have you?”

  “Yes, I have,” Rosie answered her. “And I’m sorry, I haven’t done as well as you but–” Rosie shrugged her shoulders. She couldn’t really defend herself. Jess was right – she hadn’t actually been listening. Her thoughts had kept straying back to South Grange. What on earth had she done? And what did that boy, Jake, mean that it wasn’t how it seemed? Unanswered questions swam around her head. Nervously, she bit her bottom lip, the rain coming faster now as it dripped down her waterproof jacket.

  “Have I done something to offend you?” Jess started again. “You were so keyed up about this treasure hunt earlier and now your heart doesn’t really seem to be in it.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry,” Rosie started. “I guess I’m just tired and fed up. Let’s go and look for the clue at Sandy Lane Cove – the one we couldn’t find earlier.”

  “All right,” Jess said in a disgruntled fashion. And so the two girls made their way towards Sandy Lane Cove in silence. They cantered through the trees, looking everywhere they could think of as they went, but there wasn’t a colour in sight, and soon they had run out of time.

  “Come on. We’ve got to get back,” Jess said at last.

  Rosie didn’t say anything, knowing that she had let her friend down and she felt rather relieved when they reached the yard. Nick’s voice greeted them.

  “Hi, how have you done? Got all the answers already?”

  “No, only six,” Jess grumbled.

  Nick laughed. “They weren’t too difficult, were they?”

  Jess shrugged her shoulders. “Oh you know – Rosie and I aren’t all that good at this sort of thing,” she said diplomatically. She turned to look at Rosie, but Rosie was already leading Pepper off to his stable. And just then a group of half a dozen riders arrived back at the yard, Kate and Izzy amongst them.

  “We’ve got all but two of the answers,” Izzy called across to Jess.

  “Better than us then,” Jess muttered as she set off to sort out Skylark.

  It wasn’t long before the other riders started arriving back in dribs and drabs, with Tom and Alex back in the yard last.

  “Hmm, I suppose I’ll allow your entry,” Nick said, grabbing their paper of answers as he looked at his watch.

  “What do you mean? It’s bang on three,” Alex said.

  “I make it two minutes past,” said Nick. “But seeing as you haven’t won anyway, it doesn’t really matter.”

  “We haven’t won? I don’t believe it.” Tom looked crestfallen. “All of that work for nothing. Who’s won then?” he asked, watching as Nick planted eight ticks alongside their answers.

  “Well, Natalie Brown and Simon Blayney have beaten you for starters. They’ve got nine,” Nick grinned.

  “Oh well.” Tom shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t really mind. There was a feeling of camaraderie in the yard that afternoon and, as the riders gathered around, Tom was the first to lead the cheering. When all the marks were totalled, Natalie and Simon had indeed won and they went forward to collect their prizes.

  “OK everyone. Let’s get these horses cleaned up, then it’s open house for tea.”

  Nick and Sarah had invited everyone to the cottage and normally Rosie enjoyed such gatherings. Only today, she didn’t feel much like hanging around.

  Dragging her heels, Rosie made her way into Pepper’s stable and fiddled with his haynet. She didn’t want to be in the cottage right now, but she’d have to show her face soon enough. Sighing, she made her way over.

  The party was already in full swing when Rosie walked in through the back door. Riders were spilling out from each of the rooms, clutching their mugs of tea.

  “Come on, Rosie, or you’ll miss the food,” Jess cried, limboing herself under someone’s arm and up the other side as she scrambled to the table of food.

  Rosie hurried after her and soon the two girls had grabbed some crisps and sandwiches.

  “Sorry we didn’t help you out by Sandy Lane Cove,” Tom called across. “We were taking the treasure hunt very seriously.”

  “Well, we’ve got every right to be annoyed with you for wasting our time,” Jess said. “And you didn’t even win.” A mischievous grin spread across her face.

  Rosie felt strangely detached as all of this banter was going on around her, and absent-mindedly she found herself wandering off to the other side of the room. The voices faded away, leaving a humming throb as she gazed up at the old racing photos on the walls. She could still confide in Nick and tell him that she knew where the missing racehorse was. Rosie turned away, staring out of the window. And yet she’d said she’d go back. She couldn’t turn the boy in just yet – not until she’d heard his side of the story anyway. Rosie sighed, knowing she was digging herself in deeply.

  When Rosie woke the next morning, she felt strangely disorientated. For a moment she couldn’t think what had been bothering her. And then, as everything came flooding back, she started to panic. Lying quite still in the warmth of her bed, she thought about it all. Perhaps she shouldn’t go and see that boy after all. But she couldn’t just lie there. She needed some answers.

  Springing out of bed, she scrambled into her clothes and crept down the stairs. She lifted the chain on the front door and, stepping outside, made her way over to her bike. If she hurried she could get to South Grange and back in time for breakfast. Soon she was pedalling down the deserted roads at full pelt before she could change her mind. Past houses, fields and trees, she cycled, until she came to the end of Sandy Lane and indicated left.

  Feeling nervous, Rosie made her way across the scrubland and up the muddy driveway. Propping her bike up against the wall of the house, she made her way round the corner and turned into the old yard. There, she found the boy, Jake Goodman, in the yard.

  “I didn’t expect you this early,” he said boldly.

  But Rosie saw a nervous look cross his face that betrayed his fear.

  “I-I...” Rosie stammered. “Look, I haven’t been to the fodder merchant yet – I suppose I wanted to get some answers out of you first.”

  Jake smiled, and if Rosie hadn’t seen the fear on his face earlier, she would have thought it was a sneer.

  “Don’t you trust me?” he asked her. “I guess not. You can’t trust anyone, can you? I even considered moving away from here myself yesterday...thought you might go and raise the alarm.”

  “Oh.” Rosie didn’t know what to say. He’d never know how close she’d actually come to turning him in. She couldn’t bring herself to speak, and it was Jake who was the one who had to break the awkward silence.

  “How did you get here?” he asked bluntly.

  “I cycled,” Rosie mumbled, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

  “Well, thanks for coming,” he said. “What do you know already?”

  “Only what I’ve been told – that you’ve been working at the Elmwood Racing Stables for the past six months and that you’ve stolen their best horse.”

  Jake snorted.

  “And the head lad’s been to Sandy Lane too,” Rosie added.

  “O’Grady?” At the name, a nervous look flashed across Jake’s face.

  Rosie cast her mind back to the man she’d met at the yard. “Yes...yes I think that was his name. He wanted to know if any of us had seen you.”

  “I bet he did,” Jake said calmly, but Rosie could see he was stirred up by what she’d told him. His hands were shaking as he paced up and down the yard. “He’ll want to get to me before I can tell Josh everything.”

  “You’re not making any sense. Why don’t you just explain what’s going on here?” Rosie said bluntly, the frustration welling up inside her.

  Jake looked straight at her and Rosie saw the angry look on his face. “I’m trying to,” he said. “I don’t know where to start. It’s not that easy.” He took a deep breath. “You see, O’Grady was planning to nobble
her. He was going to ruin her chances in the big race...that’s what’s going on.”

  “Nobble her?” Rosie looked confused. “What do you mean?”

  “Nobbling, you know, doping, drugging...all the same really. I’ve known something was up for some time now – men used to appear at the yard whenever Josh wasn’t around but when I asked O’Grady about them, he told me to mind my own business. I didn’t mind that – not then. It’s always been my dream to work with horses. I didn’t want to lose my job. But then Josh went away and I overheard O’Grady on the telephone. He was talking about Silver Dancer and planning to dope her,” Jake laughed nervously. “And a couple of days later, I heard him putting a bet on another horse in her race and that confirmed it for me. You see, Dancer’s the clear favourite for the race. She should walk it.”

  Rosie looked shocked. She didn’t know what to say.

  “I had no choice. I had to take her. I had to get her out of the yard before it was too late,” Jake went on. Rosie went to interrupt him, but he held up his hand. “I know I should have tried to find out more, but I just saw red. I took her straightaway – that night. I guess when O’Grady found both of us missing, he put two and two together. So that’s the story. You don’t believe me, do you?”

  “It’s not that,” Rosie started uncertainly. “And now that I come to think about it, things do seem a bit strange – O’Grady said he didn’t want to get the police involved. It’s a bit suspicious.” Rosie thought hard, her heart beating faster. “But why on earth would he want to ruin her chances?” she mused. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Money,” Jake answered quickly. “I don’t know who’s paying him, but it’s big money. So, what do I do? I can’t return Dancer to a yard where she’s not safe and Josh isn’t around, so I can’t talk to him either.”

  “Have you got a phone number for Josh?” Rosie started thoughtfully.

  “No,” Jake answered.

  “So you can’t even try to speak to him directly?” Rosie mused.

  “No...”

  “Look, there’s someone I think might help you,” Rosie started. “Someone who might understand. You see, I ride at this local stables, and the owner–”