Scout and the Mystery of the Marsh Ponies

by Belinda Rapley

  Alice pulled her baseball cap down and noticed the others do the same while they furtively looked around.

  “There she is!” Alice whispered, nudging Rosie, who had spotted her too. She was sitting in the middle, further along on the same side as them but right at the bottom of the rows of seats. Their position was perfect. The girls could see her, but she had no idea they were there.

  “I wonder what she’s up to,” Rosie said quietly as Mrs Valentine nodded discreetly at the auctioneer. He ever so slightly raised his gavel towards her, acknowledging her arrival, before turning his attention back to a spotted pony in the ring.

  “That’s what we’re about to find out…” Mia replied, as she held one hand up to her cap.

  Charlie and Alice exchanged glances, jiggling their legs with nervous excitement, hoping that at any second Mrs Valentine was going to do something obviously underhand. They just didn’t have a clue what it might be.

  A couple of hours later, after what seemed like a thousand lots had walked and trotted in and out of the ring, they were still sitting there, feeling slightly less excited, their legs stiff and their eyes glued to Mrs Valentine’s slightest move. Rosie shifted in her seat, aching from the hard metal.

  “Do you think she’s actually going to do anything?” Charlie asked, checking her watch. At this rate Jock was going to be collecting them before Mrs Valentine had even got going.

  “Maybe she’s just come to buy a pony, and there’s nothing dodgy going on after all,” Rosie suggested, her stomach starting to rumble as another horse walked out of the ring, this time without being sold.

  “But if she was buying she’d have a catalogue, wouldn’t she? Just like everyone else who’s been bidding,” Charlie pointed out, wondering if they were on a wild goose chase.

  They looked over to the entrance, but no other horse came in and the auctioneer announced that it was time for a short break. Rosie checked her watch. It was getting near to twelve o’clock. Almost lunch time. Her face brightened instantly.

  “Perfect, I’m just going to nip out to grab a burger…”

  Just as Rosie went to stand up Mia suddenly pulled her back down and the four of them almost fell off their seats, ducking behind the ones in front. Mrs Valentine was finally on the move. They waited until she’d walked through the tunnel before clattering over the seats, jumping down the last few steps and rushing after her. They kept their heads low, their eyes fixed on the wide-brimmed hat that bobbed through the crowds.

  “She’s heading for the stables!” Alice whispered as they hopped between the groups of chattering people. They kept their distance, with their eyes glued to the hat as it disappeared into the temporary stable block nearest to the auction ring.

  The block was open at both ends, with horses and ponies in stables facing each other. Mrs Valentine glided straight through the wide walkway in the middle, not stopping to check any ponies as everyone else around her was doing, or even to pat one of the noses poking out. It was noisy in there, the air filled with people chatting and laughing, and with ponies neighing and metallic clangs as hooves kicked out against the dividers. It was only when Mrs Valentine got to the far end of the stable block that she hesitated for a moment.

  The girls instinctively turned to pat the nearest pony, pulling down their baseball caps and bunching up together. Rosie glanced over and noticed that Mrs Valentine was standing by the last stable, checking over the stable door, before having a furtive look around. Rosie quickly glanced down at the floor. When she turned back, Mrs Valentine was gone.

  They hurried to the far end of the stables, poking their heads carefully around the edge. A few metres beyond the last stable, outside the block, they saw the auctioneer step out of a tent flap at the rear of the marquee. They quickly ducked back round the edge of the stables.

  “That flap must be just behind his rostrum,” Mia whispered under her breath.

  They heard a delicate cough, and with a flutter of their hearts they realised that Mrs Valentine was lurking just outside the end stable. Mia nervously looked around her. They needed to hide: if Mrs Valentine and the auctioneer walked back into the stables, they’d see them at once.

  “In here.” Mia pointed, quietly drawing back the bolt on the last stable. They all piled in with a docile-looking chestnut horse who stood resting one back leg, her eyes sleepy. They crowded round the small, open window that looked out onto the area where Mrs Valentine was standing. They could just about make out the conversation. Mia pulled her phone from her pocket and started taking a video, holding the camera slightly above the open window so that she could pick up the voices.

  “So how are our ‘investments’ going?” the man asked, hushing his deep, huge voice.

  “Very well, Roger. I’ve got another one maturing tomorrow,” Mrs Valentine replied, a thin smile in her voice. “So you’ll get your slice very soon. It’s a good one, too.”

  “That’s what I like to hear.” Roger laughed greedily and mopped his hairy brow. “I’ve got another one for you too, lot 107 – next one in the ring. Nicely put together chap, fallen on hard times but should make someone a super all-rounder. The plan’s the same as usual: I’ll keep the price low for you, in return for my share of the profits when you sell.”

  “Of course, Roger. After all, why change a winning formula?” Mrs Valentine smirked. “Lot 107, here we come.”

  Roger Green nodded, with a wide, satisfied grin, as Mrs Valentine turned on her heel and reappeared in the stables. Rosie, Alice, Charlie and Mia all bent over at once, suddenly paying a lot of attention to the chestnut’s hooves.

  “Are you interested in her?” A voice called out. They turned to see a friendly-looking man standing by the door.

  “Oh, er, no, just checking her hooves, that’s all,” Rosie explained, trying to make herself look official, tapping her nose and making the others giggle. “We’re with Jock, the farrier, you see.”

  “Oh, right,” the man replied, looking confused, as the girls raced down the stable block and re-took their seats just as lot 107 entered the ring and the auction re-started.

  Immediately, the difference in Roger Green was obvious. He remained quiet, as a sweet dun pony, who looked a bit uncared for, walked in nervously. Roger spooked him each time he was paraded past him, by dropping his hammer or coughing suddenly, and the little pony grew increasingly jittery. Normally, Roger would be into his sales chatter by now but this time he remained silent for some time before gradually building up. The enthusiasm in his voice was missing; he wasn’t drumming up any interest. There was only one bidder: Mrs Valentine. She waited for as long as possible before raising her hand. Another person entered the bidding for a couple of minutes, and there were a few rises in price, but with Roger’s subdued commentary the dun was quickly knocked down cheaply to Mrs Valentine. She hurried from the ring with a secretive smile as the girls hid their faces.

  “So that’s what she’s up to!” Mia shook her head as they jumped down the stairs and followed the hat once more. “Roger Green keeps the price low for certain ponies who have potential but who are looking a bit ragged, and Mrs Valentine buys them, puts them out on loan then sells them once they’ve been improved.”

  “Then she splits the profits with Roger!” Charlie added as they saw Mrs Valentine disappear into a small Portakabin which had a printed sign saying ‘SALES’ on the door.

  “And the one ‘maturing’ tomorrow”, Alice said, her stomach lurching at the thought, “must be Scout.”

  They stood just outside the Portakabin, straining to hear as Mrs Valentine filled in the necessary paperwork, getting the dun pony signed over to her. They heard her counting out money. She wasted no time on small talk, and they soon heard her step out of the office and saw her head off in the direction of the stables. Keeping their caps pulled down, they watched as she quickly reappeared leading the dun pony and headed towards the car park with its hundreds of horseboxes.

  They tried to keep behind Mrs Valentine but got blocked
by the crowds. Just as they started to get closer at the edge of the car park, a stern-faced attendant in a hi-viz jacket stepped in front of them.

  “You girls can’t go into that horsebox park unaccompanied,” he announced solemnly. “Sorry.”

  The girls watched Mrs Valentine frantically as the dun pony was swallowed up among the sea of horseboxes.

  “Quick, we’ve got to find Jock!” Charlie cried.

  “Ah, I was just looking for you four.”

  The girls turned. They’d never been so glad to see anyone.

  “Perfect, because we have to go, like now!” Rosie said urgently, pulling on his arm. “Mrs Valentine’s bought a new pony. She’s taken him over to the car park so she must be about to load him in her trailer before making her escape!”

  “We know what she’s up to,” Alice explained as quickly as she could when she saw Jock frowning, “but we didn’t get a chance to confront her before she disappeared into the horsebox park. The only chance we’ve got now to challenge her about what she’s doing is if we follow her trailer – then we’ll find out where she lives and we can talk to her there instead!”

  “If we don’t,” Mia added, “the next chance we’ll get won’t be until tomorrow, when she comes to collect the money from Tallulah’s dad and it’ll be too late by then – Scout will be sold! We have to talk to her today, now we know what her game is – it might just make her change her mind about selling!”

  “We’d best get going then!” Jock said, looking at Alice who was pale and jittery.

  But at that moment they saw the back of a trailer roll towards of the exit of the racetrack with a dun pony’s rump and tail just visible inside. Within seconds it disappeared from sight. The five of them ran to Jock’s Land Rover and jumped in. But Jock was parked furthest away from the exit, and as they pulled out they got stuck in a snaking queue of trailers all converging towards it at the same time.

  After what seemed like for ever Jock was finally roaring away from the racetrack. There were horse trailers everywhere, almost all of them being towed by Range Rovers or Land Rovers – they all looked the same!

  “We’ve lost her!” Alice said, starting to panic. “What do we do now?”

  “Trouble is, there are lots of different roads Mrs Valentine could take to get back to your neck of the woods,” Jock said, leaning forward over the wheel, nose pressed to the window and his foot down hard. “And there’s no knowing which one she’d have taken.”

  Everyone fell into an intense silence, racking their brains for a plan.

  “I’ve got it!” Mia suddenly exclaimed. “It’s obvious! Mrs Valentine won’t be going straight home – she’ll be dropping off the dun pony first. And we know exactly where that’ll be if the pattern’s the same as before, don’t we?”

  Alice, Charlie and Rosie looked at each other as they bumped about in the back of the jeep, holding on to whatever they could.

  “Dragonfly Marsh!” they all cried, breaking into smiles.

  “Yes!” Mia replied. “We can cut her off there!”

  “Ah, now though,” Jock explained apologetically, “I need to be at my next job straight after I get back. It’s at two o’clock.”

  “I know! If you drop us back at Blackberry Farm,” Charlie said, all fired up, “we can ride over to the marsh and then catch Mrs Valentine there as she drops off the dun pony!”

  Jock looked anxious. “Well, if you really have to, but make sure you ring me straightaway if you run into any trouble. Deal?”

  The girls agreed excitedly, knowing that the chase was back on. They sat on the edge of their seats, willing Jock to get back as fast as his Land Rover could carry them.

  As soon as they came to a halt at Blackberry Farm they leaped out of the Land Rover, shouting their thanks and goodbyes to Jock, who told them to hurry. He called out good luck as the doors slammed and the girls raced to the tack room. The ponies were already in their stables as Rosie had called her mum earlier to ask if, on this one occasion, she could bring them in from the paddock and give them some hay.

  Dancer looked rather taken aback as Rosie rushed into her stable, giving her a quick kiss and a hug before she had the briefest of flick-overs and was tacked up. The strawberry roan mulishly left her stable, her head stretched out, not enjoying all the rush around her, as the others brought their ponies out onto the yard and jumped into the saddles. Even Beanie looked bewildered as Rosie raced past, patting his soft head briefly before she lifted Dancer’s saddle flap to tighten the girth.

  “Just this once,” Rosie said as her mare stubbornly puffed herself out on purpose, “I need you to sprout wings and not be on a go-slow day…”

  Rosie led her to the concrete mounting block, closing the yard gate behind her after the others had all jogged out, and climbed on board. Pirate, sensing that they were on a mission, was already cantering on the spot, and as soon as Charlie relaxed her hands slightly he burst forward, with Scout jogging just behind. Wish strode out and even Dancer sensed their urgency and didn’t do her usual loitering by the gate but followed the others quickly, a surprised look in her goggly eyes.

  They trotted briskly along the track, out onto Duck Lane, then turned off on the first bridleway, cantering every bit that they could, even if it was only for a few strides through the woods, until they reached an open field and let the ponies fly. When they reached the end, Alice glanced over her shoulder as she pulled up and saw Wish right behind her and Dancer not far off, a look of pink determination on Rosie’s face.

  Charlie glanced at her watch. Jock had driven as fast as his jeep would allow, which hadn’t been all that fast, but she could guarantee that a car and trailer with a pony loaded would be slower. Even so, they’d be cutting it fine to get across to the marsh in time. She pressed a willing Pirate on and he took off once they’d got through the next gate and had shut it behind them.

  The others flew after him, with Wish excited by the chase and enjoying herself as she raced alongside Scout, who had his head down, galloping fast. Alice and Mia were out of their saddles, tucked low like jockeys on their ponies’ backs. Dancer was only a few strides behind as they thundered across the long, open, undulating field. At the end of it they pulled up and rode out onto a lane. They walked the ponies along in tense silence. They knew that they had to get to Dragonfly Marsh in time to catch Mrs Valentine unloading lot 107, so that they could tell her everything they knew, but the ponies needed a quick break too.

  “Everyone ready?” Charlie asked up at the front after they’d been walking quickly for a while, turning in the saddle to see how the others were doing. They all nodded back and Charlie popped Pirate back into trot, the ponies’ rhythmical hoof beats echoing on the lane between the overhanging leafy trees. Suddenly they ducked off onto a bridleway and found themselves on a path alongside some ancient, dilapidated post-and-rail fencing. Beyond that lay Dragonfly Marsh.

  They cantered the last bit, riding along the fence line until they got near to the gate where Mrs Valentine would have to unload the dun pony.

  The landscape had opened up, with the flat marsh stretching to the right of them, so they could see for what felt like miles. And that’s when they noticed the puff of dust and just saw in the midst of it a trailer. The only trouble was, it wasn’t heading in the direction of the gate, but away from it. And there, standing nervously in front of them, was lot 107 with the sticker still stuck on his rump.

  “We’re too late!” Rosie cried desperately, collapsing on Dancer’s neck as they reached the dun. He neighed and rushed forward, poking his head over the gate to meet them and looking grateful for the company.

  Mia watched as the puff of dust slowly snaked into the distance.

  “I’ve got to follow her,” Alice suddenly said. Her insides, which had been tied in knots on the way over, suddenly started somersaulting at the thought, but she didn’t have a choice, Scout’s future hung in the balance and she’d do anything to keep him. Mia pulled their map out of her saddle pouch. They
quickly flipped it open, turned it round and studied it.

  “Look, the track Mrs Valentine is driving along goes right around the edge of the marsh before it comes out onto a little lane,” Charlie said. “If we ride straight across the marsh, we’ve still got a chance of cutting her off!”

  Rosie looked as worried as the dun.

  “I’m not being funny but I don’t know that Dancer will make it across there,” she said seriously. The marsh was uneven, with tall reeds and marsh grasses. There were paths but they were fairly narrow, criss-crossing across the boggy land. If they came off the paths, who knows what they might be sploshing about in? It made Rosie shiver just thinking about it. “Dancer could end up being swallowed by the bog. And what if we got lost? We might still be riding round at midnight!”

  “Er, it’s a marsh, Rosie, not a swamp,” Charlie reminded her, but Rosie wasn’t convinced.

  “I know! Why don’t me and Rosie stay here while you two both ride across?” Mia suddenly suggested. “That way we split up, but Dancer doesn’t have to wait here on her own.”

  “Perfect! Charlie, what do you reckon?” Alice asked, knowing they couldn’t hang around talking about it much longer; they had to get going. “I can go on my own if you’d rather not come?”

  “Try and stop me,” Charlie smiled, pushing her hat onto her head.

  Alice felt a rush of relief at not having to go it alone, grateful that Charlie and Pirate were both fearless. She opened the gate and rode through it, leaving the safety of the path. Scout stepped lightly onto the vastness of Dragonfly Marsh.

  Mia jumped out of the saddle and handed her reins to Rosie. She followed Charlie and Alice off the path into the marsh and clicked shut the gate behind them. Then she pulled the belt off her jodhpurs and slipped it over the dun pony’s neck, holding both the ends so she could keep him with her and Rosie, rather than let him race loose after Charlie and Alice. Mia watched as Scout and Pirate jogged along the narrow track which was just about visible, before they disappeared into a dip, ducking out of sight below the level of the tallest reeds.