said. “That’s dangerous. You could have killed Polaris.”
“I never intended to kill him,” Frieda said. “I just wanted to borrow him for a few days. And I want to thank you three for all the help you gave me.”
“Not like you needed our riding lessons,” Carole said.
“Hardly,” Frieda agreed. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to pretend to be a bad rider when you’re not?”
“You nearly had us fooled,” said Lisa.
“I had you
completely
fooled,” Frieda responded.
She was right about that.
“Well, we’ve got
you
fooled now,” said Stevie. “You can’t get away from us. And we’ll protect Polaris.”
“I’ve already won,” said Frieda. “Polaris picked up a stone way down at the bottom of the hill. He’s good and lame by now. I don’t have to borrow him. He’ll never be able to perform in the show, and that’s all we ever really wanted. And there’s nothing you can do about it. If you tell someone, I just say I took Polaris out for a ride. So what? Okay, I didn’t have the authority to do it, but they can’t throw me in jail. What’s Max going to do? Ban me from the stable? I don’t plan on coming back anyway. And even if you do say anything, I’ll be long gone by the time you get back to Pine Hollow. So thanks for all your help—I’d never have been able to do it without you. Good-bye.”
With that, before anybody could stop her, Frieda slid downout of Polaris’s saddle and walked straight into the thick underbrush that surrounded the hilly meadow. The girls couldn’t follow her on horseback and didn’t want to. They wanted to look after Polaris.
Carole slid out of Starlight’s saddle and walked over to where Polaris stood, favoring his right forefoot, confirming Frieda’s assertion that he’d been lamed.
Stevie looked at the woods where Frieda had disappeared and explained to Karya what was going on.
“The highway’s right down there, maybe a half a mile. I’m sure she’s got a trailer and a truck waiting. She’ll get away all right, but she won’t get away with this.”
“She won’t get away, either,” Karya corrected Stevie.
Once again she clicked on her walkie-talkie and spoke into it. She looked puzzled, glancing expectantly up at the sky.
When she was done talking, she told the girls that her agents swore they had the kidnapper surrounded.
“Kidnapper?” Lisa asked. “Frieda’s a horsenapper.”
“Well, they don’t know that,” said Karya. “But anyway, they assure me that nobody is escaping their—what’s the word?—dragnet?”
“That’s the word,” said Stevie.
F RIEDA WAS GONE , but Polaris was safe. Their dash up the treacherous hill had paid off, as had Stevie’s good memory of the paths, which had enabled them to surround Polaris and Frieda. Maybe Frieda had gotten away—just for now, if Karya’s agents were doing their job—but the girls had Polaris.
Carole patted Polaris’s neck reassuringly. The other girls joined her.
Polaris stood nearly motionless except for his chest, which heaved while he caught his breath from the exhausting chase up the mountain.
Carole picked up his reins and held him near the bit while she patted him. “It’s okay, boy. We’re here and we’re going to look after you.”
“We won’t let anything else happen to you,” said Stevie.
“We shouldn’t have let this happen, either,” said Lisa.
“We didn’t
let
it happen,” said Stevie.
“Of course we did,” Lisa said. “In fact, we practically gave Frieda instructions on how to do it!”
“What do you mean?” Stevie asked.
“Don’t you remember what she said? How she couldn’t have done it without us? Well, we told her all about the trails, especially this one that leads out to the highway.”
“I guess I did that,” said Stevie.
“And then I told her she’d be able to steal the Regnery family silver today because everybody was going to be so busy looking after Karya.”
“How were you to know that a nice
“I never intended to kill him,” Frieda said. “I just wanted to borrow him for a few days. And I want to thank you three for all the help you gave me.”
“Not like you needed our riding lessons,” Carole said.
“Hardly,” Frieda agreed. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to pretend to be a bad rider when you’re not?”
“You nearly had us fooled,” said Lisa.
“I had you
completely
fooled,” Frieda responded.
She was right about that.
“Well, we’ve got
you
fooled now,” said Stevie. “You can’t get away from us. And we’ll protect Polaris.”
“I’ve already won,” said Frieda. “Polaris picked up a stone way down at the bottom of the hill. He’s good and lame by now. I don’t have to borrow him. He’ll never be able to perform in the show, and that’s all we ever really wanted. And there’s nothing you can do about it. If you tell someone, I just say I took Polaris out for a ride. So what? Okay, I didn’t have the authority to do it, but they can’t throw me in jail. What’s Max going to do? Ban me from the stable? I don’t plan on coming back anyway. And even if you do say anything, I’ll be long gone by the time you get back to Pine Hollow. So thanks for all your help—I’d never have been able to do it without you. Good-bye.”
With that, before anybody could stop her, Frieda slid downout of Polaris’s saddle and walked straight into the thick underbrush that surrounded the hilly meadow. The girls couldn’t follow her on horseback and didn’t want to. They wanted to look after Polaris.
Carole slid out of Starlight’s saddle and walked over to where Polaris stood, favoring his right forefoot, confirming Frieda’s assertion that he’d been lamed.
Stevie looked at the woods where Frieda had disappeared and explained to Karya what was going on.
“The highway’s right down there, maybe a half a mile. I’m sure she’s got a trailer and a truck waiting. She’ll get away all right, but she won’t get away with this.”
“She won’t get away, either,” Karya corrected Stevie.
Once again she clicked on her walkie-talkie and spoke into it. She looked puzzled, glancing expectantly up at the sky.
When she was done talking, she told the girls that her agents swore they had the kidnapper surrounded.
“Kidnapper?” Lisa asked. “Frieda’s a horsenapper.”
“Well, they don’t know that,” said Karya. “But anyway, they assure me that nobody is escaping their—what’s the word?—dragnet?”
“That’s the word,” said Stevie.
F RIEDA WAS GONE , but Polaris was safe. Their dash up the treacherous hill had paid off, as had Stevie’s good memory of the paths, which had enabled them to surround Polaris and Frieda. Maybe Frieda had gotten away—just for now, if Karya’s agents were doing their job—but the girls had Polaris.
Carole patted Polaris’s neck reassuringly. The other girls joined her.
Polaris stood nearly motionless except for his chest, which heaved while he caught his breath from the exhausting chase up the mountain.
Carole picked up his reins and held him near the bit while she patted him. “It’s okay, boy. We’re here and we’re going to look after you.”
“We won’t let anything else happen to you,” said Stevie.
“We shouldn’t have let this happen, either,” said Lisa.
“We didn’t
let
it happen,” said Stevie.
“Of course we did,” Lisa said. “In fact, we practically gave Frieda instructions on how to do it!”
“What do you mean?” Stevie asked.
“Don’t you remember what she said? How she couldn’t have done it without us? Well, we told her all about the trails, especially this one that leads out to the highway.”
“I guess I did that,” said Stevie.
“And then I told her she’d be able to steal the Regnery family silver today because everybody was going to be so busy looking after Karya.”
“How were you to know that a nice
Similar Books
