Ponies at Owls' Wood (12 page)

Hannah looked. Down the hill were the headlights of what was clearly a large vehicle. It had reached Mrs Walters's house, about three-quarters of a mile away. From the strength of the lights and the dark shape of the lorry, it looked as if it might be a horsebox.

‘They must be coming for the ponies tonight, not tomorrow,' Jess said in despair. ‘That means that Pete will find them gone, and I'm dead.' There was panic in her voice. ‘What shall we do?'

The girls looked around and saw that they were close to a gap in the hedge. There was a crop coming up in the field on the other side that would get trampled, but that couldn't be helped.

‘Let's turn in here,' said Hannah, ‘quick, and we'll get behind the bushes. They may not see us.'

The lorry was advancing slowly. The mares turned as the girls asked them to, and were ridden boldly onto the field, swinging left sharply to draw in near the hedge. The foals followed.

Jess and Hannah dismounted and froze as the lorry's powerful engine pulled up the lane and passed them. A whinny rang out into the night, but just as they looked at each other in horror, they realised that the sound had come from the lorry, and not from one of their group.

‘I don't believe it,' muttered Jess. ‘He's got another load coming. He brings them in as fast as we can lead them away. That explains why he's been on the phone all evening.' The whinny was followed by the sound of kicking.

‘Shut it!' A voice from the front of the lorry shouted out into the night. Hannah had been able to get a glance at a man and a woman sitting in the front of the horsebox as it went by. She recognised the woman.

The girls waited a while then remounted and came back out onto the lane. They were now very near Hannah's field, and they pushed the ponies on with a last burst of energy. Hannah opened the padlocked gate and led her group in, with Jess following close behind. But it was then, as Polly came cantering over to see who had arrived in her field
now,
that one of the geldings did a massive spook and shot back out of the gate and away down the lane towards the village. There were whinnies of fright and confusion from the others, who seemed to know that this was not supposed to have happened.

‘Damn,' swore Hannah. ‘Just as we almost made it! I'll go after him. I'll ride Polly – she's used to the area and I know she'll be a help.'

But Jess was trembling. ‘What shall I do if Pete comes? He's bound to come. If he's sending ponies away tonight as well as taking new ones, he'll have gone down to the shed by now to get them. Or, at least, he'll go as soon as that horsebox arrives. He'll be out looking for them, and for me …' She looked as if she might cry. ‘This time I'll have pushed him too far. Ponies to him mean money.'

‘Don't panic!' Hannah reassured her. ‘We've still got time to call the police and with all this lot to show them they'll
have
to believe us, and maybe they might even catch the horsebox people as well. If I go and try to find the gelding you could take the others out of sight of the road. There're some carrots in the shed and you could scatter them up the far end of the field. Then you hide in case Pete comes. But there's a lot of country between your farm and here, so it may take him a while if he's searching. I'll ring the police.'

Hannah said all this trying to sound calm and confident to reassure her friend, although that was not how she felt inside. Keeping her hands as steady as possible, she dialled 999.

During the course of the next five minutes, Hannah wondered how the police ever caught anybody at all. She had her mobile in one hand while she answered endless questions about the emergency she was reporting, while with the other she struggled to get a head collar onto Polly, along with two lead ropes to form reins, and manoeuvre her out of the gate.

However, this time at least, her call was sent to police headquarters and was taken seriously. She was told that a car would arrive as soon as possible. With a huge sense of relief, she jumped onto Polly's back and set off down the lane at a fast trot. She scanned the countryside for movement and thought she saw the outline of a pony ahead, but wasn't sure. To save Polly's feet and so that she could go faster, she turned into the nearest field and cantered along the edge of it, all the time looking. Polly's coat was wet and Hannah had to hang on to her mane to stay on. Behind her, she wondered if she heard the sound of a car engine, but she saw no lights.

Hannah pushed her pony to go faster and they galloped around the edge of the field opposite Mrs Walters's house. That was where Hannah thought she'd seen something but, whatever it had been, it was not a pony. She came back to the lane and then, with a sudden intuition, she looked over the hedge into Mrs Walters's garden.
There!
In the back, where Mrs Walters grew her vegetables, was the gelding. He was standing in amongst a neat row of cabbages, and looked poised to flee at any moment. Hannah was about to dismount and lead Polly over to him when she heard a voice she knew.

‘Whoa boy, there's a good boy. Come to me!' And then, ‘It's OK. I've got him!'

It was Tom. His bike was thrown over Mrs Walters's lawn and he'd slipped a rope through the pony's head collar and was talking calmly to him.

‘You're supposed to be saving horses, not letting them loose all over the countryside,' he said to Hannah. ‘We just got back from London and I was watching for you from upstairs. Then I heard you all clattering up the lane, and this one legging it, so I thought you could do with some help. I dropped from the window and gave chase. I can't think how you managed the rest without me.'

‘We managed fine,' protested Hannah, though her relief was evident in her voice. Tom handed her the gelding's rope.

‘But could you go back to the field and help Jess?' Hannah asked him, ‘I'll lead this one and we'll be there in a sec.'

Tom jumped on his bike and was off, while Hannah turned Polly and led the gelding out of Mrs Walters's garden and back up the lane.
Mrs Walters must still be asleep,
she said to herself, as no lights had come on, but Hannah could see that her lawn had been churned up by hoof marks and her cabbages trampled.
I'll explain tomorrow,
she thought. She persuaded the still nervous gelding to trot with her, and set off up the hill as fast as she could get the horses to go.

10

Dirty White Scarf and Miss Lycra

But Pete had found them. The engine Hannah had heard earlier was his van, and as she approached Polly's field she saw he was standing just inside, staring at the grass. He then began moving towards the far side of the field, where Hannah knew Jess would be hiding.

Hannah felt herself go cold all over. She thought of Jess shrinking away into the corner of the field at Pete's approach, and wanted to cry out and stop that terrible man, but her voice wouldn't come.

As Pete disappeared into the darkness, Hannah slid from Polly's back and led her and the gelding back into the field. She heard Pete shouting and saw the other ponies running round in alarm. Then saw him coming towards her, holding Jess by the collar of her thin jacket and shaking her violently. Hannah rushed forwards.

‘Let her go!' She kicked at his ankles. He turned towards her swearing loudly, and she kicked him again. He dropped his hold on Jess, and turned to catch her, but she ducked out of his reach. Then she tripped over something in the dark.

‘Yes! It's your interfering little boyfriend!' Pete raged at her. ‘And you'll join him on the ground when I get hold of you. How dare you come onto my property and steal my ponies. I'll see you locked up for this!'

‘No! We'll see
you
locked up,' shouted Hannah. She saw that Jess was crouched down next to Tom, but couldn't do anything to help either of them as she had to keep out of Pete's way. She could hear Tom groaning, and thought with relief that at least he was alive! Suddenly Pete changed tack and started coming at Jess again, when there was the sound of another engine as a lorry arrived from the direction of the Steeple Chase and pulled up in the lane.

‘Hey Pete!' A man shouted from the front seat. ‘Where were you? Your partner was crying and she said you'd gone out looking for someone. We've dropped off the ponies. We left them in the field by your house. But where are the lot we're supposed to pick up? We were going away again when we saw your van. Is this the new pick up point then?'

‘No it's not the new bloody pick up point you moron!' shouted Pete. ‘But it is for tonight. Get these bloody ponies loaded and hand me the money. In fact, you can hand me the bloody money first.'

‘
We
can't load them,' said the man, ‘that's your job. We've had enough trouble tonight trying to find where you'd gone. What are these kids doing here?'

‘They're interfering is what they're doing. I'll open the gate and you back that lorry in quick. Let the ramp down and I'll round this lot up – they don't need tying. Take the lot. The boat sails in the morning then we'll lie low. Grab that fat one first.'

‘She's not fat!' shouted Hannah. ‘That's my pony and you can't have her, or any of them. So much for your rescue centre,' she called to the woman, who leaned out of the lorry window and swore at her.

‘So it's you is it, little Miss Busy. When you're not cycling into people you're out stealing ponies in the middle of the night. You wait till I get my hands on you.'

But Pete had opened the gate and got a whip from the back of his van, and as the slow, heavy engine reversed the lorry into the open gateway, he started to walk round the field, cracking the whip and driving the ponies towards the ramp. The woman jumped out of the lorry and released the catches.

Where are the police? They must arrive soon
, thought Hannah desperately.

She shouted at Pete: ‘The police are coming, they'll be here any minute!'

‘We'd better be quick then,' Pete spat at her, and brought his whip down sharply on the back of one of the poor mares.

‘We'll get these to the boat then we're out of here,' Hannah heard the woman say. ‘We'll ditch the lorry and catch a boat ourselves, but not before I've dealt with that little cow. She's got it coming to her.' The woman had been joined by the driver, an unpleasant-looking man with a dirty white scarf around his neck.

‘I thought you said there'd be money in horse meat,' Hannah heard him say, ‘but you never told me it'd be this much trouble.'

Hannah and Jess came as near to the ramp as they dared, to try and prevent the ponies piling into the lorry. But Pete had managed to get Polly in, and Jack was following with one of the geldings. The others were running about in fear and confusion, the foals calling as the second mare stalled on the ramp and tried to reverse, only to receive a crack of Pete's whip. She barged into Polly and was caught. The foals followed her.

‘Take that lot for now,' called Pete. He bent to haul up the ramp.

‘Get him!' shouted Hannah as, spurred to fury by Pete's actions and in terror of his taking her precious pony away, she jumped on his back and started battering him wherever she could reach. Jess attacked from the side. Hannah leaned over and pulled hard at his scraggy beard and Jess yanked his hair for all she was worth. He swore horribly but stood up and brushed them off as if they were just irritating flies round his head. Hannah was aware of Tom staggering to his feet and joining them, and the three of them attacked Pete again from every angle, kicking and fighting for all they were worth. But he was too strong for them and he soon managed to haul up the ramp and bang on the back of the lorry to indicate that it should leave. The man with the scarf had got back into the driver's seat and started the engine. Miss Lycra looked round for Hannah.

‘I owe that girl one,' she said to Pete. ‘Just let me smack her round the ear!'

‘Never mind her,' Pete told her, ‘we'll see her another day.'

But something was happening outside the gate. The lorry had stopped and was blowing its horn loudly. There was an obstruction.

‘Drive, damn you!' shouted Pete.

‘Oh no you don't,' said a familiar voice. ‘Hannah! What on earth's going on?'

‘Dad! They've got Polly in there. Stop them!' she called, running round to his car.

Her father had parked his car in front of the lorry. ‘They're not going anywhere,' he said.

Then another voice she knew broke in: ‘Hannah! Have you found Delia?'

‘Charley!' Hannah gasped in surprise, ‘how did you get here?'

‘I'll explain later. Have you got Delia?'

‘No,' said Hannah, ‘unless she's with the ones that were taken to the farm tonight. But how come you're here, and with Dad as well?'

‘It's a long story,' began Charley.

Just then, blue lights came flashing up the hill and two police cars arrived with sirens blazing. The ponies shut in the lorry stamped and snorted in terror.