Christmas Treasure

by Bonnie Bryant

  “At first I wanted to cry,” laughed Mrs. Atwood. “Then I looked up and saw Lisa and Eliot and Douglas looking at us like we were crazy, and then I realized that we were crazy!” She started laughing all over again.

  “It’s certainly been the most memorable meal of our vacation,” Sarah Ross said, collapsing on the floor in giggles. “The clooty dumpling that wasn’t!”

  James Ross and Mr. Atwood shook their heads at each other and smiled. “How about we help you guys clean up?” said Mr. Atwood as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. “Then why don’t we just go out and get a hamburger for dinner?”

  “Gosh, Dad, that would be wonderful,” said Lisa. “I can’t imagine anything that would taste quite as good right now.”

  They all pitched in and helped clean up the kitchen. James and Eliot and Mr. Atwood mopped up the floor while Sarah and Mrs. Atwood went to wash the clooty dumpling out of their hair. Douglas and Lisa were in charge of getting the twins free of flour. In a little while everyone reappeared in the kitchen, where all traces of the doomed dinner had disappeared.

  “Okay,” said Mr. Atwood as he put on his jacket. “Who’s up for burgers and fries?”

  “I am,” cried Lisa.

  “Me too,” Douglas added with a grin.

  “Then let’s go.”

  They all piled into the Atwoods’ station wagon and drove to a nearby restaurant that served the best hamburgers in Willow Creek. The hostess led them to a big table near a roaring fireplace, and everyone sat down to study the menu.

  “I’ll have the all-American cheeseburger and an order of french fries,” James said when the waitress returned to take their order. “I’ve been dying to see how you chaps really eat in the States.”

  “Really?” said Mrs. Atwood. “I thought you’d want food that you were accustomed to. I thought it would make you feel more at home.”

  “Oh, don’t misunderstand, Eleanor,” said James. “Your meals have been fantastic, but sometimes it’s fun to try new dishes.”

  “Yes,” agreed Sarah, who held the squirming Fiona on her lap. “It’s all been delicious, but we’re also keen to try some of your exotic American dishes.”

  “Goodness,” said Mrs. Atwood with a laugh. “Then tomorrow night we’ll order in pizza!”

  Everyone ordered hamburgers along with James, and they all shared huge orders of french fries and onion rings. They had apple pie for dessert, then drove back home to the Atwoods’ house.

  “This is perfect timing,” said Mr. Atwood as he took off his coat. “We’re just in time to watch the game on TV. James, Douglas, Eliot, I’ll pop some popcorn and we can settle back in the den for some serious football watching!”

  “I’ll join you later,” said Eliot with a smile. “I need to practice a bit on my pipes.”

  Eliot went into the kitchen while Douglas and the two dads disappeared into the den. Lisa heard the football game begin to blare over the TV set just as various shrieks and wails from the bagpipes floated out of the kitchen. Caitlin and Fiona ran into the living room, covering their ears and singing some new song they’d heard on a children’s TV show. Sarah Ross and Mrs. Atwood followed close behind, chatting about how groceries were so much more expensive in Scotland than America.

  Lisa looked around. She could barely hear herself think. She didn’t want to watch football or talk about Scottish groceries, and she certainly didn’t want to go into the kitchen and listen to Eliot’s squawking. Slowly she turned and began to tiptoe upstairs to her room. Even though she was supposed to entertain Eliot and Douglas, there was so much going on down there that she was sure she wouldn’t be missed.

  She tiptoed into her bedroom and closed the door. She could still hear the din downstairs, but not quite as clearly as before. She smiled. Despite all the Scottish food and the disastrous clooty dumpling, the Rosses seemed to feel very much at home here, and she was glad. She lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. It felt good to be by herself for a moment, not to have to answer anybody’s questions or show anybody where something was.

  This must be what it’s like for Max all the time, she thought suddenly. When he’s not dealing with us, he’s teaching younger riders and older riders and worrying about the horses and tending to Maxi and telling Mrs. Reg and Red O’Malley what to do and ordering supplies on the telephone—and lately he’s been even busier than usual.

  Suddenly she sat straight up in bed. She had just solved her Secret Santa problem. She knew exactly what she was going to do for Max. “I can’t run the stable, but I can give him and Deborah a whole day and night of free baby-sitting,” she said aloud. “They can go wherever they want and do whatever they want, all without having to worry about who’s taking care of Maxi.” She sighed as the wail of Eliot’s bagpipes came drifting up from downstairs. “I can’t imagine anything better than the gift of peace and quiet!”

  LATE THE NEXT AFTERNOON the Horse Wise riders gathered in Pine Hollow’s indoor riding ring. Phil and A.J. were there, and everyone was talking about the caroling and the Christmas party afterward.

  “Where is Lisa?” Carole asked Stevie with a worried frown. “She’s never late, and we should get going pretty soon if we’re going to catch everyone around dinnertime.”

  “She’ll be here.” Stevie grinned. “Remember? You told me everyone has to be late sometime in their life.”

  “Yes, but not tonight! This is the most important night of the year!”

  Suddenly a gasp went up from the carolers. Stevie and Carole looked toward the door. Lisa stood there in jeans and a parka, and standing on either side of her were two magnificently dressed Scottish pipers!

  “Lisa! Eliot! Douglas!” Stevie cried out, her eyes popping.

  They walked into the ring. Eliot and Douglas wore red plaid kilts, bright red jackets, and black caps. Eliot carried his bagpipes over his left shoulder.

  “Clan Ross reporting for duty, ma’am.” Douglas grinned and gave Carole a snappy British salute.

  Eliot patted his bagpipes affectionately. “We are armed and ready to sing!”

  “Wow!” said Carol, amazed at the guys’ wonderful outfits.

  “Can you actually play that thing?” Stevie blinked at the gangly plaid bagpipes.

  “Aye. Want to hear?” Eliot took a deep breath and put the chanter pipe in his mouth.

  “Not here!” Lisa stopped him just as he was beginning to blow. “That really will put the horses off their feed!”

  “You guys look terrific,” said Carole. “You’ll be the hit of Willow Creek!”

  “Thanks.” Douglas smiled. “Lisa told us about the Secret Santas, so we thought we’d surprise everyone and be Secret Scotsmen.”

  “Well, now that you’re here, I guess we’d better get started.” Carole stood up on a mounting block and tried to get everyone’s attention. She had just opened her mouth to speak when another murmur of excitement went through the crowd. She looked again at the door, and once more couldn’t believe her eyes. There stood the glamorous Tress Montgomery, and she was waving at Carole!

  Carole hurried to the door, where Tress Montgomery was waiting for her, smiling. The same cameraman stood behind her, along with another man, who held a long microphone.

  “Hi, Carole,” Tress said warmly. “Remember me? I interviewed you and your dad the night of the burglary at the toy warehouse.”

  Carole could only nod. How could she possibly not remember Tress Montgomery and being on television?

  “Good,” Tress continued. “Deborah Hale called me yesterday and told me you guys had organized a carol singing to help the Marines. Would it be okay if we taped it? It’s a terrific human interest story. They’ll run it on the news tomorrow night.” She looked around at the two kilted Scots mingling with the other singers and grinned. “This is such a great story, the national network might even pick it up.”

  “Sure,” Carole said, her voice coming out in a nervous squeak. “That would be wonderful.”

  “Great. Then we’ll go set
up outside and wait for you guys to come out.”

  With that she disappeared down the hall, the two men trailing behind her. Carole felt as if she were walking through a dream, but she managed to hurry back to the mounting block.

  “Okay, everybody,” she announced, her voice sounding strong once again. “I’ve got some big news. Tress Montgomery’s going to tape our caroling, and we’re going to be on TV tomorrow night!”

  An excited cheer went up from the carolers.

  “But right now, we need to get going and raise some money for the Marines.” Carole held up a nosebag Stevie handed her. “Stevie’s borrowed Belle’s own personal nosebag to keep our contributions in, so let’s hit the streets and see if we can’t come back with tons of money!”

  “All right!” said Phil and A.J. together. Carole hopped off the mounting block, and she, Stevie, and Lisa began to lead the procession through the stable. The TV lights went on as soon as they emerged into the frosty night. They hadn’t gone more than a few feet from Pine Hollow when Max’s voice rang out behind them.

  “Hey, Carole! Wait!”

  Everyone stopped and looked back. Max stood in the entrance of the stable. He grinned and tugged once on a long lead rope. Prancer stepped out into the TV lights. She was wearing a bright red saddle blanket with brass sleigh bells sewn along the edges. White felt letters that read USMC CHRISTMAS TOY CAMPAIGN had been glued to both sides of the blanket. Prancer seemed to smile for the camera as the TV crew rushed in for a close-up.

  “Wow!” breathed Carole along with everyone else. “Prancer looks magnificent!”

  Max chuckled. “Well, I guess I’ll have to tell you a little early, but I’m your Secret Santa. I thought helping you out with this campaign would be the special thing I could do for you.” Max patted a saddlebag that was slung over Prancer’s withers. “There’s also a small contribution from Deborah and me inside here, to get you started on your way.”

  He grinned at the group as he handed Lisa Prancer’s lead. “I hope all of you get so much money that Prancer will have to come home at a walk!” Just then Prancer nodded her head as if in agreement. Everyone laughed.

  “Thanks, Max.” Carole smiled at him. “Thanks so much!”

  She looked at the group of carolers. Twenty kids, two Scotsmen, and a fabulously decorated horse. She knew already that this was going to be one night she’d remember for the rest of her life. It was almost too good to be true.

  “Shall I pipe us out?” Eliot asked. “Surely I won’t terrify any horses out here.”

  “Please do,” said Carole. “Play something Christmassy!”

  Eliot hurried to the front of the group, with the TV crew close behind. He took several breaths to inflate his bagpipes, then turned and began to play. “O Come, All Ye Faithful” floated through the cold air as he marched slowly to the first house with all the carolers following him.

  “Gosh,” said Carole as she walked beside Prancer. “We’ve got a horse and a bagpiper and a TV news crew. Surely everyone in Willow Creek will give us money now.”

  “Well, we should certainly get everyone’s attention!” Lisa said with a laugh.

  At the first house, people were already waiting for them on the porch. “Mommy, look!” a little girl cried delightedly. “A horse with bells! And someone’s playing that funny instrument!” The group sang “Jingle Bells,” after which Carole ran up onto the porch and held the saddlebag out for a contribution.

  “We’ve never seen anything like this before,” the little girl’s father said as he dropped a ten-dollar bill into the bag. “We’re so glad you stopped by!”

  “Thank you,” Carole said. “And Merry Christmas!”

  “Merry Christmas to all of you!” the man replied. He and his family stood waving as Eliot piped the carolers on to the next house.

  Everyone loved the Pine Hollow singers. By the time they reached the last street they’d planned to carol on, one side of the saddlebag was almost full.

  “Looks like we’ve got a lot of money,” Lisa said as she peered at the array of bills. “Don’t you think we need to get back to Pine Hollow? Max said the Christmas party would start at eight sharp.”

  “Oh, let’s carol on one more street,” said Stevie. “This is so much fun, and if we take the shortcut through Mary Sanford’s backyard, we can carol down Clayton Lane. That’s the richest street in Willow Creek. Everybody who lives there is a millionaire!”

  “Isn’t there a creek at the bottom of the Sanfords’ backyard?” Lisa asked worriedly.

  “It’s no big deal,” Stevie answered. “We can all jump it.”

  “But you don’t understand,” Lisa said. “The last time I rode Prancer she was shying at all water crossings. She’s gotten so she really hates them. She might even buck.”

  Carole shot a worried glance at Stevie. She thought she’d gotten Prancer over her fear of water, but what if she hadn’t? If Prancer balked tonight, her whole Secret Santa project would be a flop. Still, she had to test her training method sometime, and there was a lot of money to be collected on Clayton Lane. She took a deep breath.

  “Why don’t we at least give it a try? Prancer might be so excited about running around at night with bells on that she’ll forget her fear of water. Maybe if you get on one side of the creek and call her, she’ll come across with me.”

  “Okay,” Lisa agreed dubiously. “I guess it’s worth a try.” Eliot piped them down Mary Sanford’s driveway. He jumped over the small creek, and the rest of the crowd followed. Soon only Stevie, Carole, Lisa, and Prancer were left on the other side.

  “Come on, Lisa,” Stevie said. “Let’s jump over. If Prancer sees you on the other bank she might go over without any problems.”

  “Okay.” Lisa and Stevie hopped over the creek while Carole led Prancer to the edge of the bank.

  “Okay, girl,” Carole whispered softly into Prancer’s ear. “I know it’s really cold tonight, but remember how easy this is, and how much fun it is to splash in the water.”

  “Come on, Prancer,” Lisa called from the other side of the creek. “Come on over here, girl.”

  Prancer’s ears pricked forward. Carole gave one gentle tug on her lead rope. Almost immediately the big horse stepped delicately across the creek, her sleigh bells jingling as she walked.

  “I don’t believe it!” Lisa cried. “It’s a Christmas miracle! She’s never been that calm around water!”

  Carole began to giggle. “I hate to break the news, but it’s no miracle. It’s just a little retraining.”

  “Huh?” Lisa blinked.

  Carole grinned. “I guess I may as well tell you now. I’m your Secret Santa. I knew Prancer’s old fear of water had returned. My dad gave me this new book about horse training, so I tried one of the techniques out on Prancer. It worked!”

  “So that’s why Prancer was warm before our last couple of riding lessons!” Lisa said.

  Carole nodded. “I’ve been working with her every day for the past week. We were Pine Hollow’s best-kept secret!”

  “Everybody knew?” Lisa asked.

  “Well, Stevie, Max, and Mrs. Reg did,” replied Carole. “And of course Prancer.” She reached over and gave Lisa a hug. “Merry Christmas!”

  “Thanks, Carole!” Lisa hugged Carole back. “Now I can ride in the competition next month!”

  Eliot piped them down Clayton Lane, Tress Montgomery and the TV crew reporting all the way. At first everyone was a little nervous about walking up to the mansions that lined the street, but the residents came out to greet them just as warmly as the people on the other streets had done. Everyone loved Eliot’s piping and Douglas’s kilt and the way Prancer jingled with every step. “That horse reminds me of sleigh rides in Vermont,” one man said as he dropped a twenty-dollar bill into the saddlebag.

  They caroled down both sides of the street until they came to a dead end. There stood the grandest house on the street. It blazed with lights in every window, and all sorts of expensive black cars line
d its driveway.

  “Gosh,” Lisa said. “It looks like they’re having a party. Maybe we shouldn’t disturb them.”

  “Oh, we may as well try,” said Carole. “It’s the last house we’ve got to carol at, and they may give us some money.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Stevie. “And when else are we going to get a chance to peek inside a house like that?”

  “Well?” Eliot shifted the pipes on his shoulder. “Shall we give it a go?”

  The girls looked at each other, then nodded. “Pipe on, Eliot!” said Carole.

  “Stout lasses!” Eliot put the chanter back in his mouth and began to play. Slowly the group made its way up the hill, past all the parked cars. When everyone had gathered on the enormous front porch, Carole rang the doorbell, and Stevie led a rendition of “Silent Night.” For what seemed like a long time, no one came to the door; then it swung open. Carole had just begun to say, “Toys for needy children campaign,” when the words died in her mouth. Standing there, dressed in an elegant blue velvet gown, was the elderly woman who’d given them one of her two dollars in front of TD’s!

  “Good heavens!” The woman blinked at Carole and Stevie. “You’re the girls who were collecting money at the mall!”

  “And you were the poor lady who gave us your next-to-last dollar!” Stevie blurted out. Carole nudged Stevie quickly with her elbow, but the woman had heard what she’d said. She threw her head back and began to laugh.

  “Well, I probably looked like that to you. I had just come from my oil painting class, and I’d forgotten my purse. A classmate loaned me two dollars to get home. One of the dollars I gave to you, the other I used for bus fare.” She laughed again. “No wonder you two thought I was a bag lady.”

  Stevie and Carole blushed with embarrassment, but the woman held the door open wide. She smiled at everybody—the carolers, Eliot, the TV crew, even Prancer in her fancy outfit.

  “Please come in for some refreshments, all of you,” she said. “Or at least all of you but the horse. We’re having a party and we’ve plenty to spare!”

  Lisa tied Prancer to a bush outside the house and joined the others inside. A party was indeed going on. Men dressed in tuxedos were chatting with women wearing elegant gowns. A woman was playing a grand piano in the huge living room while a black-coated butler served glasses of champagne from a huge silver tray.