Charlie and Mia had caught up and had flung themselves out of their saddles. The pair of them stood in silent disbelief for a split second, taking in the scene that greeted them.
Stormchaser let out a long groan, followed by a snort. He looked winded, and momentarily stunned. Then he jerked his head up. One front leg, then the other, slipped between the metal bars as he stretched them out to stand.
For a moment, everyone was still. Then Stormchaser seemed to realise that he was trapped. Like an explosion, the bull-like bay suddenly burst into life. He thrashed in an attempt to get up. It was like he couldn’t understand how he could kick his back legs, but not his front legs. And all his efforts did was trap his front legs even more and set him off into another frenzied attempt to stand.
The Pony Detectives were paralysed by the sight of the wild, crazed horse in front of them, his billowing breath heavy and stressed. There was no way they could safely get near him. The ear-splitting screech of metal shoes on the iron bars shattered the silence as the bay horse struggled furiously again, but in vain. He came to another uneasy, abrupt halt, his sides heaving.
Stormchaser looked around desperately, wildly, towards the group of girls and their ponies. He locked eyes with Mia, and in the stillness that followed, he let out a piercing neigh. Mia felt as if he had spoken straight to her, crying out in a direct, urgent appeal for help.
She responded instinctively. In an instant, Mia put her own fear to one side and walked quickly to where Storm was lying. She had to rescue him. Without thinking, she dropped on her knees next to the grid. She took hold of his head as firmly as she could, and held him close to her to try and secure him. The bay horse paused for a moment. Lying there, his massive bulk shaking and his nostrils flared red, he looked once more at Mia. His head was broad and Mia could feel his heavy skull beneath his silky, hot skin. His breath was coming in sharp billows.
For the briefest moment Storm was still. Mia felt his head shift ever so slightly. He fixed her with his deep, black eye, drawing her in. She felt a tingling sensation, like she was being examined by a fierce intelligence. Despite his obvious pain, there was pride and majesty staring back at Mia, and momentarily, she felt privileged to be allowed to get so close to such a raw force.
In that second, it was as if Stormchaser was thanking her for responding to his call.
Then the strange connection melted away. Storm attempted to stand again. He panicked, setting off another round of metallic clashes. Mia closed her eyes and held on for dear life, as she was thrown around by the almighty power of the horse beside her. It was all she could think of to do, to try and keep him as still as possible by anchoring his head. That way the damage to his legs might be less devastating.
She could hear the warning cries of her friends behind her, but Mia clung on, desperate to help the powerful horse, feeling the pulse thudding in his neck. She couldn’t abandon him now. But suddenly, she sensed Storm fall into an uneasy calm.
“Someone’s coming!”
Mia heard Alice cry out, but she didn’t dare let Stormchaser go. And, as he heard running footsteps, and distant cries somewhere behind him, he began once more to try to stand, and to panic.
Mia glanced round, and her heart froze. Mr Pyke was racing through the mist towards them, his gun slung over his arm. She watched as he assessed the situation in a heartbeat, and took his gun with the other hand. Mia gulped for breath, and felt a warm tear roll down her cheek, tensing as Stormchaser began to thrash around once more. She turned back towards Storm, tightly closing her eyes. Mia wanted nothing more than to shield the magnificent horse from the bullet that she felt sure would follow. But as his fight rose again she was unable to think of anything other than holding Storm still. She didn’t yet know if his legs had been broken in the fall, or in the flailing around once he was down, but it was looking less and less likely that he could get out of this unhurt. Mia gripped Storm as he wildly battled to stand once more, then just as suddenly, he appeared to calm again, groaning deep within his chest.
There was a pause. The gunshot hadn’t rung out as Mia had expected, and she dared to look up. She saw the gun on the grass by the edge of the grid. Mia immediately felt her heart start to find a rhythm again. She wanted to sob with relief, but she held it in, not wanting to scare Storm. She watched, her breath unsteady as Mr Pyke quickly weighed up the situation. He didn’t flinch, or give anything away, and immediately got on to his radio.
“Nick, get the vet quickly, up by the cattle grid,” he barked. “And the fire brigade, there’s a horse stuck in the cattle grid.” There was a pause. “It’s Storm.”
Then he turned to Mia. She braced herself, but, to her surprise, she had no need to.
“I would ask what on earth you four girls are doing up here on your own, when we told everyone to stick to the red flag route,” Mr Pyke said in a gentle voice, “but for now, I think we should focus on what’s happening here. Have you got any idea how Storm got out of his stable?”
“We think we might,” Alice said cautiously, feeling relieved that Mr Pyke wasn’t furious. She didn’t want to bring Scout any closer, so she spoke from where she stood, a little distance away. Even so, she could see Mr Pyke’s anxious expression, and she decided to be honest about what they’d been up to. “We… we wanted to find out why it was so unsafe to ride in the Abbey land. So, we ducked away from the ride at the first chance. We headed towards the stables and we’d nearly got there when we heard someone coming out of the woods, opposite. Then we saw Mr Perryvale limp back over to his Range Rover and drive off.”
“Storm’s door was already open by then,” Charlie added, one hand still resting on Phantom’s neck, “and he was gone.”
Mr Pyke’s face flashed with a silent anger, and his cheeks flushed a deep red. “That man’s a disgrace to the horse world,” he spat out. Storm started to move again. Mr Pyke helped Mia to hold him as still as they could. Only this time, Mia noticed, Storm’s fight had lessened, like the fire inside him was slowly fading.
In the uneasy silence that followed, Charlie said in a whisper, “We found some holes dug into the ground in the woods. Did Mr Perryvale do that, too? To try and injure your polo team?”
Mr Pyke laughed mirthlessly. “That’s just the start of it. We found barbed wire half buried into the gallops, too. He even put up a crop scarer on his field on the edge of our best training ride.”
“What’s a crop scarer?” Alice asked, leaning against Scout for warmth.
“It sounds like a gun,” Mr Pyke explained. “It goes off randomly to scare birds away. Only trouble is, it spooks horses. It’s on Mr Perryvale’s land, so there was nothing we could do, but he put it right next to our woodland gallops. That’s why we shut off all the rides, we had no choice until we could work out what to do about it, what was safe and what wasn’t.”
Charlie suddenly felt her own cheeks flush red, and she bit her lip. “We thought that was you shooting your gun.”
Mr Pyke’s eyes widened. “Why would you think I’d do anything so dangerous?”
Rosie, still feeling pretty dazed from her fall, piped up. “Er, because you carry a gun?”
“For pheasant shooting, away from horses.” Mr Pyke muttered. “I wouldn’t take pot shots at horses, or riders.”
The four girls exchanged a quick, guilty look.
“Mr Perryvale has been determined to ruin Nick,” Mr Pyke said, “ever since he walked out.”
“So why did Nick leave?” Charlie asked, as Phantom began to get restless. She moved him further away, so he didn’t unsettle Storm.
“Nick confronted Mr Perryvale about all the top horses that kept disappearing after they’d been ruined,” Mr Pyke told them, keeping an eye on Storm as he spoke. “Mr Perryvale muttered about them being rehomed, but no one ever heard about any new owners. Billy was as suspicious as Nick about what had happened to them, and he was determined to find out. He hung back one evening and overheard Mr Perryvale talking to Max, asking him to dump anoth
er couple. Well, Billy tried to smuggle them out first to save them, but Max caught him. Max bragged to Billy about what he did for Mr Perryvale. He used to take them quite a distance away, so no one got suspicious. But they must have got lazy, because the last two were dumped on your doorstep. Anyway, Mr Perryvale was furious with Billy for interfering. He was sacked on the spot, and Mr Perryvale kicked me and Archie out too. That was the final straw for Nick. He took on the Abbey and he offered us jobs as soon as it was up and running.”
Mia carried on stroking Storm’s forelock, as everything started to fall into place, including Mr Perryvale dumping Cracker and Frostie. But one thing didn’t make sense. “So, why didn’t you say anything when you realised that the tracks in here were being sabotaged?”
Mr Pyke glanced at Storm. His flanks were still heaving, his restfulness temporary and uneasy. “Well, we weren’t sure who was behind it all to begin with,” Mr Pyke confessed. “And even when Nick began to suspect Mr Perryvale, we had no proof. Nick was just starting to realise the depths that Mr Perryvale could sink to, so he was worried about making things even worse for his horses. But it looks like Mr Perryvale’s pretty much done his worst, and achieved what he set out to do. Storm’s chances in the Winter Cup are over…”
Mr Pyke didn’t look at the girls. Instead he cleared his throat and fell silent. As Mia felt the warmth of Storm seeping through her coat, she couldn’t help wondering if it was just Storm’s chance of playing in the Winter Cup that had ended.
The sound of an engine broke through the mist. It grew louder, and a silver estate car suddenly appeared, approaching from the other side of the cattle grid. As the car braked, Nick and Estoni leapt out. A tall man carrying a leather bag climbed out after them – the vet, Mia supposed. Just behind, flashing lights glowed in the mist. The fire engine had arrived.
At the new disturbance, Storm broke out into a fresh, vigorous attempt to stand. Within seconds the tall man was approaching, a long needle in his hand. Without a moment’s hesitation he knelt by Storm’s side. As Storm paused for a second, the man expertly administered an injection. Storm snorted and shook his head, but the man held on firmly.
Before Mia had even counted to three, Storm’s head grew heavy in her arms. She felt tears well in her eyes and tumble down her cheeks. She looked up at the others desperately.
“I’ll take over from here,” Estoni said gently, crouching next to Mia, his eyes fixed on his favourite polo pony. Mia didn’t want to let go, but she knew it was important for Estoni to hold his horse. She dropped one kiss onto Stormchaser’s closing eyelid, then slid out to let Estoni hold him. He cradled the bay horse’s head, and whispered softly into his ear.
Mia felt stiff and bruised as she stood up and watched Nick place a rug over Stormchaser’s prone, still body. The girls stood next to their ponies, unable to find any words. They heard Fran’s voice, and looked up to see the Charity Ride a short distance ahead of them, shocked by what they had stumbled across. Mr Pyke quickly walked towards the group, ushering them back down to the arena. They disappeared once more into the mist, and their voices faded.
Nick turned to the Pony Detectives. “You’d better get your ponies back and warmed up,” he said wearily, as the firemen got began to fetch their metal cutters and winches from the engine. “We can take everything from here.”
The girls nodded. Then Nick caught sight of Rosie’s pale face and Dancer’s clotted injuries and his eyes opened wide.
“What on earth happened here?”
Charlie took a deep, jagged breath, and started to explain.
THE Pony Detectives woke up together on Christmas Eve, in Rosie’s bedroom. The silvery mist had finally rolled away and the sun had come out and thawed the frozen landscape. The events of the day before already seemed completely unreal to all the girls.
When Nick had found out exactly how the girls had been involved with trying to save Storm, he’d had his vet check Dancer thoroughly. All her wounds had been cleaned out and dressed, and the vet had declared her fit enough to travel. Nick had loaned all the ponies rugs and one of the grooms had dropped them back at Blackberry Farm in Nick’s own horsebox.
Despite their parents’ protests, the girls had refused point blank to go home, and had stayed the night at Blackberry Farm, giving their ponies lots of fuss and extra treats. Dancer even had extra hay in her haynet, and the four friends had done a special midnight check to make sure they’d got over their ordeal. Dancer was loving all the extra fuss, and drooped her head every time one of them walked past, just in case another treat might come her way.
Dancer was stiff when Rosie turned her out in the morning. The strawberry roan mare was walking gingerly, but Rosie knew after the vet check that it was nothing that some quiet walking on a lead rope around the lanes over the rest of the Christmas holidays couldn’t cure.
“I think someone ought to tell Dancer that,” Charlie smiled, as Dancer looked round for sympathy. Rosie gave her pony a huge hug; she couldn’t have been more proud of Dancer for being so monumentally brave. Dancer gave her a droopy headed look, then nudged her pocket.
“Dancer, this can’t go on forever you know,” Rosie smiled, finding a slightly limp carrot in her jacket and holding it out for her mare. Dancer chomped it contentedly, before hobbling off to join the others at the hay piles.
The girls spent the rest of the day in a bit of a daze. They sat in Rosie’s toasty kitchen until the afternoon sun dipped behind the trees, and it grew dark, busily wrapping the presents they had bought and stashed in the tack room for their ponies. The girls had got so cold the day before, partly from shock, that it had taken them ages to finally warm up, so Mrs Honeycott made sure they had a constant supply of hot chocolate.
“I still feel a bit weird, actually,” Rosie said as she put down the Sellotape. “I’d better have another chocolate from the tree to boost my sugar levels.”
“I don’t think it’ll just be Dancer who milks this for ages, do you?” Alice winked at Mia.
As they wrapped, the friends went back over what had happened the day before. With Mia’s photos of the boot print and tyre tracks that were left when Cracker and Frostie were dumped, not to mention the fragment of the number plate from Max’s bike, Nick had been sure that the police would agree to investigate Mr Perryvale, and his head lad. And he was hopeful that Billy’s name would be completely cleared in the process.
“I wonder if the investigation will be finished before the Winter Cup,” Rosie said.
“I hope so,” Charlie replied, with a slight frown. “But even if it’s not, I don’t reckon the Perryvale team would dare turn up to compete. They’d get booed out of the arena!”
“Especially after what happened to Stormchaser…” Alice choked, tears suddenly filling her eyes without warning.
“Either way,” Rosie said quickly, trying to cheer things up before everyone got upset, “we’ll need to get some sleep after everything that’s happened in the past few weeks. Or we’ll snore our way through the whole thing!”
“No snoring allowed,” Mia said, forcing a bright smile. “Nick promised us the best seats in the house – remember?”
After the final present was wrapped, the girls took them out to the stables and carefully slid them into the stockings hanging on the front of the stable doors. Then they brought their ponies in and spent ages pampering them.
“They were all seriously brave yesterday,” Charlie said, still thrilled by Phantom almost matching strides with the most awesome polo pony ever.
“I know,” Mia grinned, “I can’t wait to give Wish her presents so she feels even more special.”
“I just wish we could stay here tonight,” Alice sighed. “I’d love to wake up with Scout on Christmas morning.”
Just as they’d finished their stables, a car pulled up and Alice’s mum jumped out.
“Time to go home,” she called across the yard.
“Do we have to?” Alice asked, half-joking. She’d jump at the chance of mov
ing into Blackberry Farm to be near Scout all the time, but only if she could bring her mum and dad too.
“You’ll be back here first thing tomorrow,” Alice’s mum laughed, “I don’t think you’re going to miss that much in the meantime, do you?”
After what had been going on in the last few weeks, the Pony Detectives weren’t quite so sure. But now they knew that Mr Perryvale and his head lad were going to be investigated, they could sleep a bit easier, and finally look forward to Christmas Day.
Mr Honeycott dropped the four friends off at the Abbey’s main entrance a week later, on New Year’s Eve. The girls squeaked with excitement as they waved goodbye to Rosie’s dad, then walked up the main drive. The sky was bright blue, and cloudless, but it was still freezing. Alice felt herself shiver and linked arms with Rosie to keep warm.
The car park at the top of the drive was lined with huge, flashy horseboxes. Polo ponies, gleaming in the winter sun, were tied to them in rows, standing patiently. None were from Perryvale, Charlie was pleased to see.
Throngs of people, dressed up in glamorous winter clothes and looking really smart, were milling about and chatting. Mia was dressed in her finest riding gear, including her elegant furry hat, so she looked as immaculate as most of the other guests. The other three had made a real effort too, but they were already looking whipped by the wind, and within seconds of arriving, Rosie had spilled a drink down her front, staining her jacket.
There were so many people busily swirling around them, they couldn’t find Mr Pyke. There was a brass band playing off to the right, on the edge of the woods, and the arena, with fairy lights wound all around the seats, had been turned into a grotto. Waiters slinked through the crowd, holding out trays of nibbles and glasses filled with hot punch. Rosie clocked where the waiters were coming out from, and planted herself nearby. The others dragged her away after the fifth piping hot sausage roll had disappeared into her mouth.
Stormchaser and the Silver Mist Page 14