Stevie gasped. “Mrs. Reg? She was in on this, too?”
“And Max,” Lisa confirmed with a nod. “Phil checked with them before he started the whole thing—that’s what he was doing when he pretended he’d lost his watch. He knew he’d never get away with it otherwise.”
“Those—those sneaky rats,” Stevie exclaimed. “So that’s why Mrs. Reg told that ridiculous poltergeist story.”
“It was also why my dad rented us that movie,” Carole said. “He knew about the whole thing even before Lisa and I did, from Max. They figured that if we watched that, we’d get even more crazy ideas about poltergeists.”
“I guess we ruined that part of the plan,” Lisa said. “We barely made it through the first half hour.”
“I can’t believe it,” Stevie declared.
“What?” asked Lisa. “That we fell asleep?”
“No! That I didn’t figure this all out myself,” Stevie said, shaking her head.
Carole shrugged. “I guess this means Phil is King of Pranks now, hmm?”
“No way!” Stevie said quickly. “If I hadn’t been distracted by that whole Black Magic mess—I suppose I have Phil to thank for ruining that one, too—I’m sure I would have guessed the truth right away.”
“Uh-huh,” said Lisa skeptically just as their ice cream arrived. She thanked the waitress, then picked up her spoon and took a bite of her hot fudge sundae.
“No, really,” Stevie said. “Anyway, Phil may think he’s won now—but not for long.”
Carole and Lisa exchanged slightly nervous glances. They recognized that gleam in Stevie’s eyes—she was out for revenge. But would she concentrate on Phil or include all of them in her scheme?
“Uh, Stevie,” Carole said. “Now that Halloween’s over, that means no more pranks until next year, right?”
Stevie didn’t answer for a moment. She just smiled, picked up her spoon, and dug into her black-and-orange ice cream concoction. After taking a bite, she finally replied, “Live in fear!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bonnie Bryant is the author of nearly a hundred books about horses, including The Saddle Club series, Saddle Club Super Editions, and the Pony Tails series. She has also written novels and movie novelizations under her married name, B. B. Hiller.
Ms. Bryant began writing The Saddle Club in 1986. Although she had done some riding before that, she intensified her studies then and found herself learning right along with her characters Stevie, Carole, and Lisa. She claims that they are all much better riders than she is.
Ms. Bryant was born and raised in New York City. She still lives there, in Greenwich Village, with her two sons.
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