Lisa nodded. “It makes me feel really safe,” joked Lisa, though she knew she and her friends all felt the same way. The presence of so many men trying to make them safe only served to make them feel endangered, totally aware of some new kind of vulnerability.
Within the circle, introductions were made quickly.
For all the fanfare that had attended her arrival, it seemed ironic that Karya so immediately put all three girls at total ease and made each one of them understand that they liked this girl who came with so many trappings.
“I’m so glad to be here!” Karya said, reaching out to hug her new friends. They were pleased to hug her back.
“You really want to muck out a stall?” Lisa asked her.
“Two!” Karya declared. “At home they never let me do anything!”
“We’ll let you,” Stevie promised. “In fact, we might even invite you back.”
Karya laughed. “Let’s get someplace a little quieter,” she said. She looked around at the circle of men who enclosed them. None of the security men was making a sound, so the girls knew that Karya didn’t mean quiet in the sense of noiseless. She just meant private.
“How about the dressing room?” Carole suggested.
“Much quieter,” Karya agreed. The girls showed her the way.
They knew the guards were standing outside the dressing area, but inside, it was just the four of them. Karya took her riding clothes out of the bag and slipped into them quickly. There were no royal patches, presidential seals, or flags on her shirt. They were just riding clothes, very much like the ones The Saddle Club were wearing.
“Whew,” Stevie said when Karya had changed. “I was a little worried you’d be dressed like the security guys.”
Karya laughed. “Aren’t they a hoot? All they know about riding they’ve learned from American cowboy movies. They blend right in here, don’t they?”
“Yes, like a dozen sore thumbs,” Lisa said, nodding. “Have you got them around all the time? I mean, they’ve been nice enough, but …”
Karya sat on one of the benches to explain. “Well, my father kind of insists on it,” she said. “He got elected, and most of the people who voted for him really like him. Unfortunately, some of the people who didn’t vote for him really hate him. They’ve threatened him and they’ve threatened me. They haven’t threatened my mother, which is why she gets away with one guard—he was in the back seat. When I’m not with one of them, I need to have several. I think the collection they’ve assembled for our ride is more than usual, but my father wanted it.”
“You mean they’re just doing their jobs?” Carole asked.
“I guess that’s a good way to put it,” said Karya.
“They sort of give me the willies,” said Lisa. “I was thinking about it when you got here. If it takes this many men to be sure you’re safe, then you must be very unsafe.”
“It’s not really like that,” said Karya. “And besides, after a while, you’ll find you can ignore them.”
“In those getups?” Stevie asked.
“It’s not any easier when they’re all wearing those subtle shiny black suits and bug-eyed sunglasses, is it?” Karya countered.
Stevie shrugged, laughing. “No, I guess not.”
“And besides, they won’t always be with us,” said Karya.
“They’ll let us ride alone?” Carole asked.
“Well, maybe not exactly let us …,” Karya said suggestively.
“I knew I was going to like you,” Stevie said.
The curtain that hid the dressing area was pulled back, and Mrs. Reg came in. She introduced herself to Karya and then turned to The Saddle Club.
“I heard some talk about mucking out stalls,” she began. “I think it’s a fine idea, but I hardly see how any of that is going to get done as long as you all are sitting in here talking up a storm.”
Karya stood up and saluted sharply. “Take me to the nearest pitchfork!”
Mrs. Reg smiled broadly and then glanced at Stevie, Lisa, and Carole. “You three could learn a thing or two from this nice girl,” she teased.
“See what we have to put up with?” Carole asked.
“And you love every minute of it, don’t you?” asked Karya.
“Yeah, but don’t let Mrs. Reg know that,” said Lisa in a stage whisper. Mrs. Reg ignored her.
The girls proceeded to the dirty stalls that had been saved for Karya.
There were three stalls to muck out, and then Nickel needed a grooming. It turned out that Karya was almost as good at picking out hooves as Stevie was, though Stevie was able to give her a couple of pointers.
“Some people think it’s strength,” Stevie said. “But it’s not at all. It’s the angle and leverage. It’s really—”
“All in the wrist?” Karya said, imitating Stevie’s motion.
“Yep,” Stevie agreed, admiring the way the clods of dirt and the small clump of gravel flew out of Nickel’s hoof under Karya’s now expert wrist action.
Once Nickel’s hooves were clean, Karya picked up a brush and began grooming the pony vigorously. He loved the attention, and it was clear Karya was enjoying herself.
A single guard—the one dressed in the fringed shirt—stood nearby. Stevie suspected that was just in case one of the horses pulled a gun on the girls. The guard had his back to the foursome. Stevie got an idea. Carole and Lisa knew it from the look on her face. Karya, too, knew a mischievous grin when she saw one.
Stevie put her finger to her lips. They all set down their grooming tools, tiptoed down the aisle, and sneaked into Penny’s stall, two doors down. They crouched down so that they could see through the cracks in the board. They waited.
Eventually Stevie had to toss a small handful of feed pellets at Nickel so that he would make a sound that the guard would respond to. Nickel snorted. The guard turned.
Even through the cracks in Penny’s stall wall, they could see the man’s face turn pale. His charge had disappeared! Instantly he began running down the aisle, poking at a bale of hay, picking up a pile of leathers.
He paused, clearly frantic. Carole knew what was going through his mind. Either he had to find Karya himself or he had to admit to his colleagues that he’d let her get snatched out from under his nose. Then he stopped and looked again. There was no exit door behind him and there were only four stalls until the dead end of the hallway. He knew then that it was a joke and he called her name and spoke in a language The Saddle Club could not understand.
Karya stood up, a little sheepishly. Lisa, Carole, and Stevie joined her.
“It was just a joke,” Stevie said.
“He knows that,” said Karya. “Only he says it wasn’t very funny and he promises we won’t get away with it again.”
“No, next time, we’re going to have to be much cleverer,” Stevie said. She noticed that Karya did not translate that for the agent. She just smiled.
The girls had completed their stable work, and it was time to finish the tour of the stable and then mount up for the best part of the afternoon.
“You’ve got to meet our championship visitors,” Lisa said, leading the way around to the other side of the U-shaped stable.
“Blue and Polaris,” Stevie added.
Carole explained why they were there; by the time they got to the stalls, Karya had the full story.
Frieda was standing by Polaris’s stall when they got there. The girls were a little surprised to see her, though she often seemed to show up to watch them work with Polaris and Blue.
Carole introduced Karya to Frieda, who seemed surprised to see them.
“Aren’t you going to be training this afternoon?” Frieda asked.
“No. This is the day we’re going for a trail ride with Karya. Remember?”
“Oh, right. Is that why all those weird men are standing around?”
“Yes,” Stevie told her. “But don’t worry. As soon as we leave, they’re all going to follow us so Max can give you a lesson in peace.”
>
“No, I’m not having a lesson this afternoon. I just stopped by,” Frieda said. “See you all later,” she added. Then, before the girls could walk away, Frieda returned her attention to Polaris, rubbing his cheek and patting his neck.
“She’s a little odd,” said Karya.
“She just started riding,” Carole said—as if that fact alone would explain anybody’s odd behavior.
“She went for a trail ride with us last weekend,” Lisa said.
“See?” Karya said, as if that proved something.
“What’s so odd about that?” Stevie asked. “You’re going for a trail ride with us today. We’re good riders and good company and she really learned a lot from us. Lots of people want to ride with us—even some presidential daughters! Who knows who’ll want to ride with us next week!”
“Let’s stop all this talking and get to the important stuff,” said Carole. Nobody asked what she meant.
Max and Red had tacked up all four horses while the girls had been doing the stable chores. Karya seemed a tiny bit disappointed that she hadn’t been able to tack up her own horse, but Max promised her she could untack Barq when they got back. “And I suspect my mother will let you soap the saddle, too, if you want.”
“It’s a deal,” Karya said, offering her hand.
The girls mounted their horses in the schooling ring and then walked them over to the doorway where the good-luck horseshoe was nailed. In turn, each girl touched the shoe.
“It’s one of our oldest traditions here,” said Stevie.
“See, nobody who has ever touched the horseshoe has been seriously hurt in a riding accident.”
“Some people say it’s because the shoe is good luck,” Stevie told her.
“Personally, I think it’s because it reminds us before every ride that riding can be dangerous and we have to ride safely,” said Carole.
“Whatever,” said Karya. “It sounds like it works.”
Before they had a chance to leave, Alek came over to Karya with a few final words of instruction and, it seemed, a warning. He also handed her a walkie-talkie and waited patiently, his arms folded, until she clipped it to her belt. Then, and only then, were they finally allowed to be on their way.
They began walking their horses across the ring toward the gate to the paddock. Every ride began at a leisurely walk so that the horses had a chance to warm up. It also gave Stevie a chance to look around. As she and her friends moved toward the gate, the security agents spread out along the trail ahead. Stevie observed that one of them, standing in the middle of the field, held a pitchfork. In an effort to “blend in,” the man had managed to stick out in the most bizarre manner. Well, she reminded herself, he was just doing his job.
Then she spotted a very large horse van rumbling along the road. “What’s that?” she asked.
“Those are horses for the security men,” Karya said.
“Max has horses they could use,” said Carole.
“My father insisted,” said Karya.
“So be it,” said Lisa.
“Let’s have some fun,” said Stevie, her eyes once again twinkling in that manner that said trouble.
“No more hiding in stalls?” asked Karya.
“No, this time we’re going to be much cleverer!” said Stevie.
“Let’s do it!” Karya agreed.
THE GIRLS CONTINUED across the schooling ring at a sedate pace. Lisa dismounted, opened the gate to the paddock, and then, after everyone had passed through, closed it and latched it behind her before remounting and continuing toward the woods. As they walked and warmed their horses, they greeted the men who were stationed in the field along the path.
The men were very polite, nodding to each rider as she went by.
“Do you ride here often?” Karya asked, looking around at the field and the woods beyond.
“As often as possible,” Carole told her. “We love our classes, flat and jumping; we always have a good time at our Pony Club meetings, mounted or unmounted. We love competing in shows, too. But there’s nothing we like better than a good trail ride.”
“And, as far as we’re concerned, any trail ride is a good trail ride,” said Lisa.
“Are there a lot of trails?”
“Dozens,” Stevie said. “We usually go about the same route because we have a favorite place to go to.”
“Are we going there?” asked Karya.
“Absolutely,” said Carole. “That is—if you want to.”
“I want to do it all,” said Karya.
Stevie, in the lead, looked back to see if everyone was ready to pick up a trot. She could see that they were, but she could also see something else. “Look at them,” she said, pointing back at the stable. The girls paused and looked back. What they saw was four tacked-up horses in the schooling ring and four riders trying to mount them.
The agents had obviously unloaded the horses and were getting ready to ride them, though the quickest glance revealed that two of them really didn’t know what they were doing. One was even trying to get on from the wrong side.
Stevie smiled. This was going to be a piece of cake!
“Ready to trot?” she asked. They trotted.
It was easy to see how much Karya was enjoying herself. There was a big grin on her face and she moved perfectly on Barq, rising and sitting with his trot as if she’d been riding him all her life.
“An Arab, just for me?” she called forward to Stevie.
“Yes, we thought you’d like that,” Stevie answered. “Plus, he’s a really good horse.”
“He sure is!” Karya agreed. Then she and the other girls all turned their attention to their goal—the woodlands that lay invitingly across the field.
The shade of the walk along the wooded pathway was as welcome when it came as the sunshine had been in the field.
“This is what I’ve been hoping for!” Karya said.
“And that’s the way we feel about it every single week,” Lisa confirmed. “There’s an open area up ahead where we can canter, too.”
“I’m ready!”
The girls rode on, chatting easily. It came as a pleasant surprise to each of them how naturally they seemed to get along—the three American girls and the Middle Eastern president’s daughter—and it served to remind each of them how strong a bond horseback riding could form between people.
“We joke sometimes that we couldn’t be more different,” Lisa said, briefly describing the differences among the members of The Saddle Club to Karya. “But horses bring us together every time.”
The walkie-talkie at Karya’s hip buzzed. She rolled her eyes up to the sky. “They can’t see me, and they worry,” she said. Slightly annoyed, she unclipped the device and pushed a button. She talked into it. There was a response. She and Alek spoke back and forth a few times.
She clipped the walkie-talkie back on her belt. “He doesn’t want us to canter,” she said. “He tells me that they have trouble tracking me when we go that fast.”
“We can trot,” Carole said.
“We can canter,” said Karya. Then she very carefully and very decisively turned off the walkie-talkie. And they cantered.
Before too long, Stevie was leading them off the main path and into the small clearing by the creek.
“This is beautiful!” said Karya.
“We knew you’d like it,” Carole said, dismounting. She secured Starlight to a bush and then held Barq’s bridle while Karya dismounted as well.
The girls led their guest over to the spot where they always took off their boots for the refreshing toe dunk. While they were removing their boots, they could hear horses going by on the main path. The riders spoke with one another, and there was no doubt that they were the agents, since they were speaking a language none of The Saddle Club recognized. The girls remained quiet, allowing the security men to pass.
“One … two … three …” There was a long pause. “Four,” Carole said.
“All clear, then,” said Karya.
<
br /> The girls relaxed.
And then they heard another horse.
“Must be a really bad rider to be so far behind the bunch,” Lisa observed.
“Who knows?” said Stevie.
“Who cares?” asked Karya. “We’re here, and that’s enough for me.”
The girls settled in, feeling totally relaxed and alone for the first time.
“So what’s it like being the daughter of a president?” Stevie asked.
“Sometimes it’s a lot of fun,” said Karya. “Everybody is really nice to me. I go to school in the capital, and I know my teachers give me better grades now that my father is president than they did when he was merely a member of the congress.”
“That works for me!” Stevie said.
“I like that part, too, but then there are the times when I’m just not allowed to be myself—times I have to be places for show.”
“The list of stuff Alek read to us sure sounded boring,” said Carole
“And then there are times when I wish my teacher would tell me that I’m not doing a good job. It’s a little hard when you can’t trust people to be honest with you just because of who your father is.”
“I never would have thought of that,” said Carole. “I just felt sorry when you said you didn’t get to take care of your own horse.”
“And you were right to feel sorry. Most people laughed at me when they read that. I knew you really understood when I got your letter, and that’s how I knew I just had to be here. And I was right! This is perfect!”
“Wait until we show you the rest of the woods!” Stevie said.
“Do you really think we ought to do this, Stevie?” Carole asked, unsure exactly how her father would feel if he ever found out about their trying to elude the security agents.
“Definitely,” Stevie said.
“Absolutely,” agreed Karya.
“Okay,” said Lisa.
Carole sighed. “All right,” she agreed.
“What did you have in mind?” Lisa asked Stevie.
“Well, I thought we’d take the Rocky Trail up to where it meets the Pine Trail and then back down into the valley across that big open stretch—where we can really canter—and then back into the maple stand to where it comes out next to the highway. We could cross there, but I think we’re better off doubling back across the creek before we get back to the pasture.”
Horse Spy Page 7