“Nope. I’m sure she’ll do fine.” There was a pause as the woman gave The Saddle Club a fake smile—and The Saddle Club continued to stare back in utter shock.
“So, you’re saying you want to pay for her now?” Lisa questioned.
“That’s usually what a check is for, isn’t it?”
“Yes—oh, yes,” Lisa replied. Then, trying to sound as innocent as possible, she added, “I guess you don’t, ah, know about vet checks, then?”
The woman frowned at her. “Vet checks?” she said.
“Oh, it’s nothing—just a silly little habit some people have of making their veterinarian check a horse before they buy it,” Lisa said hurriedly.
“Oh yeah?” the woman said. “Maybe I’d like to hear more about this silly little habit.”
“It’s nothing—really. Garnet is fine, absolutely fine,” Lisa said, looking up at the ceiling and then down at her feet.
“Fine? You’re sure?” the woman demanded.
Lisa nodded. “Definitely. One hundred percent fine. No problems at all. No medical problems.”
The woman stepped back and narrowed her eyes at Lisa. “Maybe I should have a vet check if—”
“It’s really not necessary. Forget I even mentioned it. Look, why don’t you just write that check out, and Garnet will be yours before you can say—”
The woman put her hands on her hips. “Wait just a minute here, young lady. I’m not an idiot, you know. I see perfectly well what’s going on.”
“You do?” Lisa asked nervously.
“Of course. You’re trying to pull the wool over my eyes. You know, you may feel that just because you and your little friends ride in the Pony Club that you can take advantage of people. Think that’s pretty funny, huh? Well, let me tell you something, I never even wanted to be in the Pony Club! I despise the Pony Club! For all I care, the Pony Club could drop off the face of the earth, okay?”
“Okay,” Lisa said meekly.
“So, you can just keep your Pony Club and your vet checks and your stupid horse, too, okay? Okay? I know when I’m being duped!”
Lisa nodded. She, Carole, and Stevie watched the now red-faced woman stalk out of the ring. At the gate, the woman turned. “Did I mention I go foxhunting in Ireland every year?” she yelled.
SEVERAL MINUTES AFTER she had gone, The Saddle Club was still standing silently, staring at one another in disbelief. “What exactly went on here?” Carole finally asked.
“I can’t say that I know,” Lisa replied.
“Basically, another one just bit the dust,” said Stevie. “And it’s back to the drawing board.”
“Right,” said Carole. “Thank goodness Garnet survived.”
“Well, naturally: She is one hundred percent fine. No medical problems at all,” Lisa joked, raising her hands to high-five Carole and Stevie.
EVEN THOUGH LISA had saved the day at the last minute, the girls were frustrated. It didn’t help that while they untacked Garnet and put her away, they could hear Veronica driving the farrier nuts with her overly detailed instructions about Danny.
“Are you sure you’re not using the rasp too much?” Veronica asked, anxiously examining Danny’s off-fore foot.
The farrier took a deep breath. It was obvious that he was trying to keep his temper in check. “Yes, I’m sure,” he said testily.
“Remember he needs pads on all four feet, not just the front,” Veronica whined.
“You’ve told me that three times already,” the farrier said.
Veronica shrugged. “Just watching out for my baby,” she said. She turned to stroke Danny, cooing baby talk at him. “My wittle bumpkin, my wittle sweetheart needs his tootsies to be perfect, don’t you, Danny?”
“Is it me, or is the air in here nauseating?” Stevie asked.
“Danny doesn’t seem thrilled, either,” Lisa pointed out. It was true: Once again, the beautiful horse was more or less ignoring Veronica. He had a bored expression on his face, and his ears flopped back lazily.
“I guess he’s not the touchy-feely type,” Carole mused.
“Hello, girls, how’s it going?” The Saddle Club turned to greet Mrs. Reg, who had emerged from the office. Max Regnery’s mother was one of their favorite people at Pine Hollow, even if she did tell long, sometimes cryptic stories. Today she didn’t pause to chat, but went directly to speak to Veronica.
“A message for you, dear: I just returned a call to the Kingsleys’ vet in Kentucky. He’s going to fly in tomorrow to check Garnet.”
Stevie, Lisa, and Carole looked at one another in horror. “We’ve got to do something,” Carole whispered.
Stevie’s mouth tightened into a determined line. “We will.” Before they could guess what she had in mind, Stevie motioned Carole and Lisa into the empty office. She searched the desk, but it was bare: There wasn’t a phone number to be found. Then, all at once, she looked at her friends, grinned, picked up the receiver, and hit Redial.
“BUT WHAT IF the whole plan doesn’t work?” Lisa asked. She, Stevie, and Carole were gathered in the locker room on the following afternoon. Although they had gone over the plan a hundred times, it was hard to believe it would really go off as planned.
“Trust me,” Stevie said confidently, yanking on her breeches, “we’ve already done the hard part. Besides, remember who thought this up: yours truly. And don’t my schemes always work?”
“No,” Carole said, grinning. “A lot of times your schemes completely backfire, and we get into trouble and you have to get us out.”
“And if we don’t pull this off, Veronica will have a cow,” Lisa said.
Now it was Stevie’s turn to grin. “Right, but if we do pull it off, then she won’t have a horse! Or, at least, she won’t have two horses! Ha ha, two horses, get it?”
Carole and Lisa rolled their eyes and went back to pulling on their boots. It was nice that Stevie was so confident about her plan. They just wished they felt the same. Instead their stomachs were churning the way they did the night before horse shows. But it was too late to back out now.
“Ready, crew?” Stevie asked.
“Ready, captain,” Carole replied, saluting smartly. Now that they were committed, they might as well do their best to follow Stevie’s plan.
“Ready,” said Lisa. The three of them clicked their heels together and marched to Garnet’s stall.
While Lisa took Garnet out and cross tied her, Carole and Stevie got a grooming kit and a pair of clippers from the tack room. “All right, troops: Attack,” Stevie commanded. And all three of them attacked, giving Garnet the grooming of her life.
First Carole went at the chestnut coat with a rubber currycomb, digging up big clouds of dried sweat and dirt. She brushed the dirt away with a body brush, then set about detangling every hair in Garnet’s tail. It actually felt good for her to have something to throw herself into so that she wouldn’t think about Cam too much. The night before at dinner, she had told her father the news. Colonel Hanson’s advice had been to keep as busy as she could.
While Carole curried and brushed, Lisa combed Garnet’s mane and forelock. Then she pulled the mane until it was the proper length, wrapping the long hairs around her fingers and tearing them, a few strands at a time. As Lisa knew, the pulling didn’t hurt because horses have so few nerves at the base of their manes. Stevie picked out the mare’s hooves, following up with a coat of polish. All three of them shined her with rub rags until they were panting. A determined air had settled over them, and they worked in silence. Finally Carole plugged in the clippers and trimmed Garnet’s muzzle, bridle path, and ears.
“You know,” Carole said when she had finished and turned off the clippers, “we should hire ourselves out at shows. She looks like she’s ready for a national championship.”
“Talk about ‘before’ and ‘after’!” Lisa exclaimed with pride. Garnet’s appearance had improved so much that she looked like a different horse—which, after all, was the point. What was more, she seemed to r
elish all the attention She stood still and looked happy and alert, with her ears pricked up.
“Before we congratulate ourselves too much, we still have to do something about her stall,” Stevie reminded them. In a jiffy Lisa was raking Garnet’s bedding to cover up the mare’s pacing habit. Meanwhile Stevie and Carole smoothed out the chewed wood with sandpaper. It wouldn’t look perfect, but it would at least camouflage her faults.
“My, aren’t we industrious today.” Max paused to survey the girls’ handiwork. “You really gave Garnet the royal treatment, didn’t you?”
When The Saddle Club nodded, Max asked, “Any special reason for all the hard work? I mean, Garnet’s pretty much sold to the Kingsleys.”
“Just trying to be helpful,” Stevie said firmly.
Max looked doubtful but didn’t press the point. “Speaking of the Kingsleys, where is Veronica? Have you seen her? She was supposed to meet me and the Kingsleys’ vet ten minutes ago. And neither of them are here.”
Stevie mocked surprise. “Really? That’s funny. Because I heard that the vet couldn’t come. Something about an emergency in Kentucky.”
Max raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Funny how I’m always the last one to know.”
“I think Veronica said that the vet was going to have to reschedule for next week or something. Yes, that was definitely it,” Stevie said.
Though he seemed surprised, Max thanked Stevie for letting him know, shook his head wearily, and headed off down the aisle.
“At least that’s what Veronica thinks,” Stevie murmured when he was safely out of earshot.
“And you’re sure Veronica believed it?” Lisa asked.
“Positive,” Carole said. “Why wouldn’t she? I know from working with Judy Barker that vets have emergencies all the time. Horses get colic, turn up lame—the works. And if they’re valuable, the owners get frantic very fast. Besides, Lisa, you were completely convincing.”
“Really?” Lisa asked.
Carole nodded. “I knew you could act, but I didn’t know you could fake a Kentucky accent. Pretending to be the vet’s secretary and calling both Veronica and Henrietta—that was great!”
“Hey, don’t forget I was the one who called the Kingsleys’ vet back and told him not to come. That was pretty good acting too, wasn’t it?” Stevie asked.
“To be honest, your Mrs. Reg imitation could use a little work. Remind me to give you a few pointers sometime when—” Lisa didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence because Stevie had smothered her in hay.
Carole, however, stopped the skirmish before it could really get going. They had worked too hard on Garnet to mess her up now. Carefully they returned the horse to her stall and covered her with a clean, white stable sheet. She looked magnificent—much, much better than she had the week before.
“I think all the exercise she got in the demonstration rides is doing her good, too. She isn’t hyper anymore,” Lisa said.
“After meeting Henrietta Kingsley, Jimmy Jones, Rosie Lee, and the jack-of-all-trades woman, I’m surprised she has any life left in her,” Carole said, laughing. It was truly shocking, the kind of people who had turned up thinking they needed a “fifteen-point-one-hand purebred Arabian.”
Carole reached over the stall door and gave the mare a good pat. “Just do your stuff, Garnet,” she told her. “You have to make this work, too.” Garnet stepped forward and gave Carole a friendly nuzzle. She was the picture of good care, attentive but relaxed.
“That’s right,” Stevie warned sternly. “We didn’t do all this work for nothing, you know.” In response, Garnet whiffled softly through her nose. “Humph, I’ll believe it when I see it,” Stevie said.
“So now all we have to do is wait, huh?” Lisa asked.
Carole glanced at her watch. “Yes, and if all goes according to schedule, we shouldn’t have to wait long.”
BEFORE LONG, THE Saddle Club heard the sound of a car pulling into the Pine Hollow driveway. A peek through the window revealed that it was the car they’d been waiting for. Keeping their fingers crossed, the girls went to the stable door to greet Katie Miller and her parents.
“I’m so glad you called me!” Katie exclaimed. “I can’t wait to see the new horse for sale. None of the other horses we’ve looked at have seemed even half as nice as the first one I saw here.” As she spoke, Katie gave her parents a slightly sulky look. Mr. and Mrs. Miller crossed their arms over their chests and glared back.
Noticing Katie’s look, Lisa felt her hopes rise. So Katie really had liked Garnet as much as she seemed to! That was the main thing. Now if only the rest of the plan worked as well …
“I can’t believe the lies some people will tell you when they’re trying to sell you a horse,” Katie said. She was chatting happily as The Saddle Club led her and her parents down the aisle. “One person advertised an ‘attractive, quiet gelding.’ ”
“Let me guess,” Carole said. “He was anything but.”
“Unless you call being Roman-nosed and swaybacked ‘attractive’ and taking off with me three times ‘quiet,’ ” Katie joked. “And then there was an ‘experienced hunter’ who had never jumped outside a ring before and wouldn’t walk through water.”
“Isn’t there a law against false advertising?” Lisa asked.
“If there is, then I’ve met a bunch of criminals,” said Katie. “I guess the only good part about looking at all these horses is that I’ve gotten pretty good at riding all kinds of them. Speaking of which, who’s the new horse for sale at Pine Hollow?”
The Saddle Club looked a little shamefaced, but Stevie brazened it out. “This way,” she said, leading the group straight past Garnet’s stall. As they went by, Garnet poked her nose over the door with interest. “Hey, girl,” Stevie said, giving her a cursory pat.
Katie’s eyes grew huge. She sucked in her breath. “Isn’t this Garnet?” she asked.
Stevie nodded. “Sure is. The horse we wanted you to see is right over—”
“Oh, look at her, Mom! Dad! Remember her? Remember Garnet? See how pretty she is!” Katie had stopped outside the stall to admire the chestnut mare.
Carole and Lisa exchanged hopeful glances: Garnet was playing her role perfectly. She pricked her ears up at the Millers, turning her fine Arabian head toward them.
Mr. Miller peered at Garnet with curiosity. Mrs. Miller pushed her glasses up on her nose to get a better look. “You don’t mean that this is the horse you tried here before?” Mrs. Miller said finally.
“Of course it is, Mom. I’d know that nice face anywhere,” Katie gushed. She reached out to scratch Garnet behind the ears.
“But she looks so different,” Mr. Miller protested.
“She’s just groomed better, that’s all,” Katie responded. “I knew she’d look this good with some care.”
“She seems calmer, too, dear,” Mrs. Miller murmured.
Stevie let them admire Garnet for a few more minutes before dragging the three of them to look at the other horse “for sale.” She knew she had to play it carefully and let Garnet’s transformation sink in slowly. “Here he is,” she said, with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. “Here’s Patch.”
The Millers looked a bit surprised at the old, stocky pinto. Around Pine Hollow, Patch was known for being a great lesson horse for beginners. He was slow and arthritic, so he never scared even the youngest kids. Of course, he was totally wrong for Katie—something that Stevie, Lisa, and Carole were banking on. If she happened to take a liking to him—well, that was one “if” they didn’t dare imagine.
“He looks … sweet,” Katie said, a doubtful note in her voice. Patch was at least a hand shorter than Garnet, whom Katie had fit perfectly.
“Great, we’ll have him saddled up in no time,” Stevie said as the three of them went to work.
“Are you sure you want to try him, dear?” Mrs. Miller asked quietly. “I mean, he looks nice, but didn’t you want something more … spirited?”
Before Katie could respond
, Stevie jumped in. “We know how important getting a safe horse is for you, and I can tell you, Patch is as safe as they come.”
“He ought to be, at nineteen,” Lisa added cheerfully.
Katie smiled wanly. It was obvious that she was very disappointed but didn’t want to be rude. “Sure I’ll try him. It can’t hurt,” she said. As she took the reins and led Patch out toward the ring, Mr. and Mrs. Miller dropped back to confer about something. The Saddle Club pretended not to notice.
Patch behaved the same as he always did: He walked and trotted at a snail’s pace and had to be coaxed into a canter. He wasn’t exactly disobedient, it just took him about halfway around the ring to summon up the energy to do what his rider asked him. Before long, Katie was huffing and puffing from having to use her legs constantly.
“So far, so good,” Lisa murmured cautiously to Carole and Stevie as Katie rode by, clucking and exaggerating her aids to try to get Patch to wake up.
Carole nodded. “For a minute I was afraid that Patch might betray us and act peppy today!” she whispered. “But I shouldn’t have worried.” Just at that moment Patch, feeling Katie sit back in the saddle a fraction, broke instantly to a walk.
“I know. Imagine Max’s face if we had to tell him we’d sold a horse for him—his best lesson horse!” said Lisa.
The three of them fell silent as Katie rode over. “Thanks for letting me try him, but—”
“Oh, but wait! You haven’t jumped him,” Stevie said. “He’s just as safe and steady over fences as he is on the flat—really!”
“I’m sure he is. It’s not that, it’s—”
“Great. Trot the cross rail a couple of times,” Stevie ordered.
Katie opened her mouth to say something but seemed to think better of it. Her good manners prevented her from arguing with Stevie. She headed Patch to the little jump, picking up a trot.
“You’re turning into a regular drill sergeant,” Carole remarked.
“I just had to make her jump him once,” Stevie confessed, nodding her head in the direction of Katie’s parents. “That way they’ll see that ‘safe’ doesn’t have to mean ‘slow.’ ”
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