The Runaway Racehorse (3 page)

CHAPTER 4

“Whirlaway could have gotten that when he was rolling in the mud,” Dink said. “He probably rolled over a rock or piece of wood.”

“Yeah, probably,” Josh said. He wiped his soapy sponge over the strange sign and it disappeared.

Dink trained the hose on Whirlaway again to rinse off the soap.

Ruth Rose found some towels hanging on the wall, and they rubbed Whirlaway’s coat.

When he was dry and shining, Ruth Rose unhooked Whirlaway’s lead from
the post to put him in his stall. “Come on, boy,” she said.

Whirlaway rolled his eyes at Ruth Rose. He stiffened his legs and refused to walk.

“Good job, kids!” Forest said as he walked into the barn. “He looks like a new horse!”

“He won’t go in his stall,” Ruth Rose said.

“Let me try,” Forest said. He took the lead from Ruth Rose and began stroking Whirlaway’s neck. He spoke softly in the horse’s ear. After a minute, Whirlaway walked into his stall. He stuck his nose into the oats bucket and began eating.

Forest closed the stall door behind Whirlaway. “He was probably a little spooked from being out during the storm and coming home to all these strangers,” he said.

Just then Sunny rode through the
barn’s rear doors on a mountain bike. She hopped off, leaned the bike against a wall, and strode over in tall, muddy boots. “There’s the bad boy,” she said, reaching over the stall door to pet his nose.

Whirlaway rolled his eyes, threw his head up, and backed into a corner.

“Easy, boy,” Sunny murmured. She looked at Forest. “He seems scared of me.”

“He did the same thing with me,” Ruth Rose said.

The five humans watched the horse, who was also watching them.

“Maybe he doesn’t feel good,” Dink suggested.

“Could he have eaten something bad while he was gone?” Josh asked.

“It’s possible,” Forest said. “But he looks fine. And he just ate some oats.”

Sunny studied the horse. “I hope he runs okay tomorrow.”

“How far away is Saratoga?” Dink asked.

“A few hours. It’s near Albany,” Sunny told him. She looked at Forest. “I’ll come over at six and load Whirlaway into the trailer. I’ll be there in plenty of time for him to relax before his race.”

“Good,” Forest said. “Now let’s go see what Warren bought for our supper.”

Forest looked at his horse. “No more disappearing tricks, fella,” he said.

Sunny pulled the stall’s top door shut and checked that the latch was in place.

“See you tomorrow in Saratoga,” she said. The kids watched her straddle her mountain bike and ride out the door. She looked funny pedaling a bike in muddy rubber boots.

Uncle Warren was back with groceries. Soon they were all eating a hearty meal. After supper, they finished the Scrabble game.

At nine o’clock Forest stood up and yawned. “Long day tomorrow,” he said. “I’m ready to turn in.”

“Sounds good to me, too,” said Uncle Warren. “See you all in the morning.” He patted Dink on the head and left the room.

The kids padded down the hall to
their rooms. As Dink and Josh were crawling into their beds, they heard a knock.

Ruth Rose opened the door. “Nice Daffy Duck jammies, Josh,” she said, marching into the room with her book.

“Quack-quack,” Josh said.

Ruth Rose sat on the end of Dink’s bed with the book on her lap. “I want to read you guys something,” she said.

“Oh, goody,” Josh said. “Can we have milk and cookies, too?”

Ruth Rose held up her book. “This is really about learning to ride your own horse,” she said. “But there’s a chapter about jockeys.”

She opened the book and began reading:
“Jockeys must earn the horse’s trust. A good jockey does this by feeding and grooming the horse regularly Most horses learn to like their jockeys and become friends.”

Ruth Rose looked up from the page. “Does anything strike you about that?” she asked.

“Like what?” said Josh.

“Well, did you notice how Whirl-away acted around Sunny?” Ruth Rose said.

“He sure didn’t seem very friendly to her,” said Dink.

“Yeah, he backed away as soon as she came in,” said Josh.

“Exactly,” Ruth Rose said. “I think Whirlaway’s
afraid
of Sunny!”

CHAPTER 5

A hand on his shoulder woke Dink from a sound sleep. The light next to his bed was on.
The Black Stallion
lay on the bedcovers, still opened.

Through sleepy eyes, he looked into his uncle’s face.

“Morning, Donny,” Uncle Warren said quietly. “Time to get up.”

“Hi, Uncle Warren,” Dink said.

“You boys have to hop to it,” Uncle Warren said. “Forest wants to get on the road right after breakfast.” He smiled at Dink and left the room.

Dink tossed his pillow over at
Josh’s bed, then walked into the bathroom. Josh grumbled, but soon they were both dressed and headed for the kitchen.

Forest and Ruth Rose were sitting at the table eating oatmeal. Uncle Warren took a pot off the stove and filled bowls for Dink and Josh.

“Everyone sleep all right?” Forest asked.

“I did,” Ruth Rose said. She spooned some brown sugar over her cereal. Today her color was purple: purple leggings, purple blouse, purple headband, purple sneakers.

“Me too,” Dink said. “Except for Josh’s snoring all night.”

They ate quickly, then left the house and piled into Forest’s car. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose sat in the backseat. They each had their books, and Josh had brought his pillow.

Forest turned out of his driveway and drove through Larchmont. After
making a few turns, he was on a wide highway. Dink saw a sign that said
ALBANY
, 120
MILES
.

A few hours later, they arrived in Saratoga Springs. Forest pulled his car into a parking lot.

They all climbed out of the car and stretched their legs. Under tall trees, Dink saw long green barns. Near the barns, men and women were grooming horses, feeding horses, exercising horses. There were horses everywhere!

Ruth Rose took pictures of horses and one of a barn with the sun shining on the green wood.

“Let’s go find Sunny,” Forest suggested. “She’ll be in barn E. Stall number twenty-one.”

They cut through some trees, following a wide path. Barns stood on both sides of the path. Each barn had a large letter painted on one side.

The gravel walkway was crowded with people. Some were walking horses; others were just looking.

“There’s barn E,” Josh said, sprinting ahead.

Forest, Uncle Warren, and the kids found Sunny outside stall 21. She had one foot on a bale of hay and was
buffing her riding boot with a cloth. A can of black boot polish sat on the floor.

“Hi, Sunny,” Forest said.

Sunny wore white riding pants. Her silk racing shirt was green with yellow stripes on the arms. Circling her left arm was a cloth band with the number 21 stitched on. Her hair was tucked up
under a hard hat covered in yellow silk. Oval-shaped goggles rested on the hat’s visor.

Sunny dropped the cloth and smiled. “Hi, everyone,” she said.

“Any problems?” Forest asked.

“He didn’t want to walk into the trailer this morning,” Sunny said. “And he
definitely
didn’t like me getting him ready once we got here.”

“Good morning, Whirlaway,” Forest said to his horse. “Why are you giving Sunny a hard time, eh, boy?”

Everyone peered into the stall. Whirlaway was standing in a corner with his eyes on the newcomers.

“He looks terrific, Sunny,” Forest said. “Nice job.”

Sunny had brushed Whirlaway’s coat till it gleamed. The white tape she’d wrapped around his ankles looked snowy against his nearly black coat.

“Why do you wear goggles?” Ruth Rose asked Sunny.

“To protect my eyes,” Sunny said. “During races, the horses in front of me kick up dirt. You should see me when I race in the rain. Totally covered in mud!”

“What time is the race?” Dink asked.

“We’re in the second one,” Sunny said. “Two o’clock.”

“We’ll be cheering you on,” Uncle Warren said.

“Can I take a picture of you and Whirlaway?” Ruth Rose asked.

“Sure,” Sunny said. She walked into the stall and put her hand on Whirlaway’s halter. Whirlaway rolled his eyes at her and threw his head back.

Ruth Rose is right,
thought Dink.
Whirlaway doesn’t like Sunny at all.

Ruth Rose snapped a picture.