A Star Discovered

by JoAnn S. Dawson

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Geez, Annie, you scared me to death!” Mary yelped. “What are you doing here?”

  “Well, that’s not a very nice greeting,” Annie commented, peering over the top of her horn-rimmed glasses. “Can’t I come visit once in a while?”

  “Sure you can, Annie,” Jody answered, leading Star into his stall. “We just didn’t see you there, that’s all. You surprised us.”

  Annie didn’t reply, but she leaned over the top board of Star’s stall and held her hand out to him. Star instantly began licking her palm. Mary and Jody looked at each other, a little peeved at the effect Annie seemed to have on all members of the animal kingdom.

  “So, how’s he doing, anyway?” she asked, continuing to give Star a taste of her palm.

  “He’s doing fine,” Mary said shortly.

  “But we’re not,” Jody added glumly. Since Annie already knew about the dilemma, Jody figured it was OK to bring it up. And somehow it seemed easier for Jody to talk about it with Annie around instead of with just Mary. “We have less than a month to figure it out, and we don’t know what to do.”

  “Hmmph,” Annie replied, never turning away from Star. The only sound in the stable was a gentle snore coming from the sleeping Finnegan and the low intermittent cluck of Colonel Sanders who was still searching for stray pieces of grain.

  Then Annie said, “I know what you can do.”

  Mary and Jody looked at Annie, then at each other. Knowing that Mary would slowly go crazy trying to get information from Annie, Jody took the next step.

  “Well, OK, Annie. What can we do?” she asked.

  “Well, there was a man here today,” Annie began.

  “We know; we saw him. So what’s that got to do with Star?” Mary asked, already impatient with Annie’s reticence.

  “He was looking for Mr. McMurray, but he wasn’t home,” Annie said.

  “We know; we saw him go down and talk to your dad. What did he want?” Jody asked patiently.

  “Well, he wanted to look around the farm. He’s looking for a specific place,” Annie continued, turning from Star for the first time to face the girls.

  “A specific place for what?” Mary almost shouted, wanting to shake Annie to get the words out of her more quickly.

  “A movie,” Annie said.

  Mary and Jody stared at Annie speechlessly. Finnegan let out a particularly loud snore. Then Mary found her voice, as she always did.

  “What kind of movie?” she asked breathlessly.

  “I’m not sure, exactly. But the man said he was a location scout, and he needs a dairy farm for a movie, and there’s going to be horses in it too, and he wants Willie.”

  “Willie? Why does he want Willie?” Jody sputtered.

  “Well, him and my dad were talking, and my dad told him that Willie works here, and what with Willie being a famous wrangler and all . . .”

  Mary and Jody looked at each other without a word. Then they turned back to Annie.

  “Annie, what do you mean, a famous wrangler? What do you mean by that?” Mary demanded.

  “We didn’t know the whole story either, though Willie had told my dad some of it. But when my dad told the man Willie’s whole name, the man got real excited and said, “‘Will Riggins works here? Do you know who he is? Why, he worked with some of the best in the business in his day. He was in demand on all the western movie sets to wrangle the horses and help the actors with their riding. We could sure use him on this!’”

  Mary’s mouth opened wide and she grabbed Jody’s arm. “Jode! This all makes sense!” she said, wide-eyed. “Do you remember the time we went in Willie’s house to ask him where Star was, and we saw that picture of him with John Wayne? We never did ask him about that! He must’ve worked with John Wayne and who knows who else? Oh my gosh! Willie’s famous! And he can work on this movie and they’ll pay him, and he can use the money to save Star!”

  “That’s what I thought,” Annie said, deadpan.

  “But, Mary, even if they do use the farm for the movie and Willie gets a job, it’s his money. We can’t ask him to use it for Star,” Jody cried.

  Mary clamped her mouth shut tight and thought for a minute. “Well, no, we can’t. But I bet Willie will want to do it! I bet he’ll come up with the idea all on his own.”

  Then she turned to Annie and grabbed her arm. “Annie! Is that man still here?” she asked breathlessly.

  “I think so. My dad took him around the back of the barn to talk to Willie,” she said.

  Before Annie could say another word, Mary and Jody had flown out the door of Lucky Foot Stable and were headed for the big white dairy barn. Finnegan raised his head and whined once, but then he jumped up too and took off after them as fast as he could go.

  Mary and Jody fairly flew to the dairy barn with Finnegan nipping at their heels. But when they rounded the corner and saw Willie and Mr. Mooney standing on the barn hill in front of the big barn doors talking to the man with the clipboard, Mary grabbed Jody’s arm and they stopped in their tracks. Then, as if out for a leisurely roam around the farm, they nonchalantly strolled up the hill toward the trio, stopping about ten feet from where the men were engaged in serious conversation. Willie held up his hand to the men and turned to the waiting girls with eyebrows raised.

  “Um, Willie,” Mary said, smiling sweetly at the stranger. “Um, excuse us for interrupting, but we were just wondering, just wondering if . . if . . .”

  “We were just wondering if you wanted us to help feed the calves today,” Jody continued, smiling just as sweetly.

  “Feed the calves? Since when do you volunteer for that job?” Willie asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the girls.

  “Well, who do we have here, Will?” asked the man, smiling with his hand outstretched. “Good afternoon, girls. I’m Ted Crowley with Eyepatch Productions.” Ted Crowley shook hands with both girls and turned back to Willie. “Are these your barn helpers?”

  “I reckon you could call them that,” Willie muttered. “Now, why don’t you girls go . . . “

  “You know, we’re going to need girls just about this age for the film,” the wonderful Mr. Ted Crowley interrupted. “There are several scenes where the lead character is teaching riding lessons, and she’ll need some students on horseback. Would you girls be interested in helping us out with that?”

  “Film? There’s going to be a film?” Mary asked innocently. “You mean like a movie?”

  “Well, we hope so. We’ve been looking for a dairy farm just about like this one for our movie, and we’re hoping Mr. McMurray will agree to it. And just by dumb luck, we found Will here, who we’re hoping will agree to accept the job of head wrangler.”

  “Head wrangler!” Jody said, wide-eyed. “Does Willie know how to do that?”

  “Does he know how to do it?” Mr. Crowley asked incredulously. “Well, I guess he does! Hasn’t he ever told you . . .”

  “Now, now, why don’t you girls go on around the barn?” Willie interrupted, tugging vigorously on his ear lobe. “I guess I do need some help feedin’ those calves. Why don’t you go on now and get started?”

  “But, Willie, it’s only noontime, and the calves don’t get fed until three o’clock,” Mary grinned. “We have lots of time to talk to Mr. Crowley!”

  Mr. Mooney stole an amused look at Willie, who had taken off his hat and was scratching the side of his head in agitation.

  Ted Crowley shook hands with both girls and turned back to Willie.

  “Well, Mr. Crowley doesn’t have lots of time to talk to you,” Willie said pointedly. “He’s got things to do. Now get on around the barn and I’ll be around shortly.”

  In his last sentence, Mary and Jody recognized Willie’s you’d better mind me voice. They turned to head down the barn hill, but not before Mary took the opportunity to get in a parting shot.

  “It was very nice to meet you, Mr. Crowley, and we sure would be interested in helping you out with those riding scenes
in your movie,” she piped.

  Willie shook his head, Mr. Mooney grinned, and Mr. Crowley smiled and waved good-bye to the girls. When Mary and Jody reached the corner of the barn where the men could no longer see them, they took off at a gallop once again with Finnegan yipping happily beside them, to share with Lady and Gypsy the astounding news of their imminent film stardom.

  And to plan the salvation of Star.

  15

  Willie to the Rescue

  ON THEIR JOYFUL sprint back to Lucky Foot, Mary and Jody slowed down long enough to stop in at the big pasture where they found Lady and Gypsy grazing peacefully near the gate.

  “Lady! Gypsy! We’re going to be movie stars!” Mary called gleefully to the ponies, who responded by lifting their muzzles just inches from the grass. “And even better, we’re going to keep Star!”

  “Mary, don’t say that yet!” Jody said sternly. “We don’t know for sure, and I can’t get my hopes up, because it will be even worse if it doesn’t happen.”

  “Sorry, Jode, but I just think it will. I mean, this is so perfect! Mr. McMurray will get some money for letting them use the farm, and then he won’t have to sell it, and Willie will get paid for being the wrangler, and we might even get paid for being in the riding scenes, and then we’ll have enough money to pay for the breeding fee! Do you think they’ll pay us for riding in the movie?”

  “I don’t know, Mare, I’ve never been in a movie before! And maybe Mr. McMurray won’t want them to use the farm. You know how protective he is of the cows and everything. And Willie might think he’s getting too old to be the wrangler. What exactly does a wrangler do anyway? And what is a head wrangler? It sounds like he wrangles people’s heads or something,” Jody said despondently.

  “Now, stop being so pessimistic. Let’s go to Lucky Foot and tell Star what’s happening, and we’ll make a plan.”

  “How can we make a plan when we don’t know what’s happening?” Jody asked, still refusing to believe that something so wonderful could actually be forthcoming.

  When the girls entered Lucky Foot Stable with Finnegan trotting along behind, Mary could hardly contain herself long enough to reach Star’s stall where he was busy munching on his pile of hay. “Star!” Mary yelled. “You’ll never guess what . . .”

  Mary was abruptly stopped mid-sentence by Jody’s hand clapped over her mouth. “Mare, I’m not kidding. We are not going to talk about this any more until we know it’s true,” she commanded. “I’m not going to move my hand until you nod your head and promise.”

  Mary looked at Jody beseechingly with her big green eyes, but Jody only stared back sternly, actually tightening the grip on Mary’s mouth. Finally, Mary nodded slowly up and down and held up her right hand in the symbol of a solemn vow.

  “Good,” Jody said quietly, dropping her hand to her side. “Now, we are going to turn Star out in the paddock and do our chores around the stable and wait for Willie. He said he would be around soon, and he’ll tell us what’s really going on.”

  Mary picked up the broom from its place in the corner and silently began sweeping the packed dirt floor. After Jody led Star out to the paddock, she took a clean hard brush from her tack trunk and unclipped the half-empty water bucket from the inside post of his stall. Carrying the bucket to the back of the stable, she took it in both hands and flung the remaining water out the doors.

  “Hey! Watch that!”

  Jody’s father just happened to be entering Lucky Foot Stable at that unfortunate moment. Luckily, the water barely reached him, just splashing a little on his work boots and the leg of his jeans.

  “Daddy! What are you doing here?” Jody cried, dropping her bucket in surprise.

  “Well, I just finished up that trim work I’ve been doing in the farmhouse. I thought it would be a good day, since the McMurray’s were off to market. They got home just as I was cleaning up.”

  Mr. Stafford offered his carpentry services to Mr. McMurray in return for boarding Lady and Star. Whenever he had a spare moment from his own work, there was always something to be done around the farm.

  “Oh Dad, you won’t believe it! We might have some good news!” Jody cried, pulling her dad by the hand into the stable.

  “Ahem!” Mary coughed noisily in Jody’s direction, shooting her a look of warning.

  “Oh, but we really can’t talk about it yet,” Jody said sheepishly. “Not until Willie gets here.”

  “I’m here,” Willie said from the doorway. “How do, Mr. Stafford?”

  “Good, Willie, thank you. I hear you have some good news for the girls?”

  Willie tugged on his ear lobe and looked from one girl to the other. “Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. Depends.”

  “Depends on what, Willie?” Mary cried, unable to hold her tongue any longer.

  “Depends on how much damage the film crew does to the ground here. If they mess it up too bad, we might wish we’d never said they could do it.”

  Mary and Jody stared at Willie, trying to absorb the meaning of what he had just said. It was Jody who finally found her voice.

  “What do you mean, Willie? Did Mr. McMurray say they could do it?” she squeaked.

  “Well, Mr. McMurray got home just as the scout was leavin’,” Willie explained. “He laid out the idea to him, and it sounds like it might go through.”

  Mary and Jody squealed and joined hands, jumping up and down and turning in circles while Finnegan joined in, yipping excitedly. Mr. Stafford looked on, completely baffled by all the commotion.

  Mary and Jody squealed and joined hands, jumping up and down and turning in circles.

  “I did see that man talking to Mr. McMurray on my way down here,” he said. “What’s this all about, Willie?”

  “Oh, Dad, that man was here looking for a dairy farm they could use to make a movie . . .” Jody began.

  “And he wants Willie to be the head wrangler, and he wants us to ride in a riding lesson, and oh my gosh, I bet he might want to use Lady and Gypsy too, and . . .” Mary went on.

  “And then Mr. McMurray won’t have to sell the farm, and Willie can use the money he makes as a wrangler to save Star . . .” Jody cried. Then she stopped and clapped her hand over her own mouth at the words she had just let fly.

  Jody’s father looked at Willie, then sternly at Jody. “Jody, stop right now. If what you’re saying is really true, and Willie does work on the film, that’s his money, not yours. Now, I think you owe him an apology.”

  “I’m sorry, Willie,” Jody said, hanging her head. “I know it’s not my money. We just got carried away, hoping we could save Star. But, Dad, maybe we’ll get paid for being in the movie too and maybe we could use that money for the breeding fee.”

  Willie took off his hat and scratched the side of his head, then he rubbed his gnarly hand across his eyes before he spoke. “Jody, you will get paid for riding in the movie. But it won’t be very much. It won’t be enough to pay for the breeding fee.”

  Jody’s father patted her on the back sympathetically. Mary sat silently on a bale and looked up at Willie expectantly.

  “But now, look. I wasn’t expectin’ anything like this to happen, especially at my age,” Willie said quietly. “And I always figure things happen for a reason. Now, Mr. Stafford, I don’t have any family left, and I sure ain’t plannin’ on goin’ out and buyin’ any real estate at this time in my life. I’m pretty happy with the way things are.”

  Mary stroked Finnegan’s head and tried not to breathe. She looked back and forth between Jody to Willie as a faint smile played around her lips.

  “And I guess I care just about as much for that ornery bugger as anybody else,” Willie continued. “I already made up my mind that if these girls need that money to keep him around, I’d be happy to help out.”

  Mary tearfully hugged Finnegan around his neck. She was speechless for one of the only times in her life. Mr. Stafford put his arm around Jody and squeezed, then he held out his hand to Willie.

 
“Thank you, sir,” he said. “We definitely owe you one for this.”

  Jody, choking back a sob, looked at Willie with tears welling up in her eyes and simply put her arms around him in a grateful embrace.

  “Now, now, don’t get all weepy on me,” Willie said gruffly. “There’s work to be done. Didn’t you girls say you were goin’ to feed those calves for me today?”

  “We did, Willie. But, but . . . I think there is still a problem,” Mary said worriedly. “We only have a month to come up with the money! When does the movie start filming? Will we have enough time?”

  “They want to start pretty much right away, since they want to be done by the end of the summer. And I think I already took care of the money part. Mr. Crowley is going to talk to the production company, but he’s pretty sure they can give me an advance, since he thinks they’ll be real excited to have me as the wrangler, for some reason,” Willie said modestly.

  Jody smiled through her tears and looked up at her father. “Dad, did you know that Willie was a famous wrangler? He worked in all the movies when he was younger, getting the horses and even the actors ready for their scenes. And in this movie, he’s going to be the head wrangler. Willie, what is the head wrangler anyway?”

  For one of the only times since the girls had known him, Willie laughed out loud.

  “Head wrangler just means I’m in charge. If they need any other people to work with the horses or other livestock, I’ll be tellin’ them what to do.”

  The girls absorbed this information in silence, but they looked at Willie with a new respect—even greater than that which they already had for him.

  “Now, enough of this foolishness. Them calves’ll be bawlin’ their heads off pretty soon for lack of food,” Willie said, trying to sound grumpy.

  “I think I’m going to write a poem about this,” Jody announced.

  “Well, maybe you should write lots of poems and put them in a book, and we could sell it and get rich, and then we wouldn’t have to use Willie’s or our movie money to save Star,” Mary suggested.