The Runaway Racehorse (5 page)

CHAPTER 8

“Maybe Whirlaway is sick,” Uncle Warren suggested on the way back.

Forest nodded. “I’ll call the vet and get him to come over,” he said.

The kids sat in back. Josh slept against his pillow with his mouth open. Next to him, Ruth Rose read
Learning to Ride.

Dink’s book was on his lap. He gazed out the window, watching the scenery flash by. The hum of the car’s tires made him feel sleepy. His eyes closed.

The next thing Dink heard was his uncle’s voice saying, “Almost home, kids.”

Dink opened his eyes, blinked, and looked out the window. He recognized the shops just before Forest’s driveway.

“There’s a photo place,” Ruth Rose said. “Can we stop, Forest?”

“Sure thing,” Forest said. He pulled up in front of the small shop. A cheerful sign in the window said
PHOTO FINISH. ONE HOUR!

Ruth Rose hopped out and ran inside. She was back a minute later. “I got more film,” she said.

Josh sat up and looked around. “Where are we?” he asked.

Dink poked his finger at the back of Josh’s shirt. “Josh, there’s a black smear on your collar.”

Josh twisted his shirt around and stretched out the collar. “Yuck!” he said.
“Where did
that
come from?”

“Maybe it’s mud from Whirlaway yesterday,” Dink suggested.

“Dink,” Josh said, “I changed my shirt after we washed him.”

“Could you have leaned against wet paint or something at Saratoga?” Ruth Rose asked.

Josh thought for a second. “I don’t think so,” he said, “and if I had, there’d be more than just a mark on my collar.” He shrugged.

Forest made the turn into his
driveway, and a minute later they were home.

“I’ve got to change my shirt,” Josh said when they had all climbed out of the car.

“No! Let’s go see if Sunny and Whirlaway are back yet,” Ruth Rose said. She gave Dink and Josh a look.

“Great,” Forest said. “I’ll see if I can get the vet on the phone.”

Uncle Warren took Josh’s pillow and the books. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose headed for the barn. The stall was empty, and Sunny was nowhere to be seen.

“Okay, what’s up?” Josh asked Ruth Rose. They sat on hay bales.

“You know that picture I took of you guys with Dancer?” Ruth Rose asked. “Well, I think someone else was in it. Mr. Bunks!”

Both boys looked blank.

“The man in the sunglasses and
cowboy hat was Mr. Bunks!” Ruth Rose said.

“Are you sure?” Dink asked. “I thought that guy was the horse’s owner.”

“I think I recognized his big belt buckle from yesterday” Ruth Rose said. “I took a picture so we could be sure.”

“Well, if it was him, why didn’t Mr. Bunks tell Forest that he was going to be at Saratoga, too?” Dink asked.

“That’s what I want to know,” Ruth Rose said. “And why did he say he was out of the racing business?”

“Maybe Mr. Bunks doesn’t own Dancer,” Josh said. “He might have been there like us, just to see the winner up close.”

“But he and the jockey knew each other,” Ruth Rose said.

Dink nodded. “If that
was
Mr. Bunks at Saratoga,” he said, “he is
definitely
hiding something!”

CHAPTER 9

Just then Uncle Warren walked into the barn. He was wearing flip-flops and a bathing suit and carrying a towel.

“Coming for a swim?” he asked.

“Sure,” Dink said. The kids followed Uncle Warren toward the house.

“After we swim, let’s go get my film,” Ruth Rose said quietly.

The kids changed and joined Forest and Uncle Warren in the pool. They played keep-away with a plastic ball.

“Still no sign of Sunny and Whirl-away” Forest said, nodding toward the barn. “I sure hope they didn’t
have any trouble on the road.”

“We’re going to get my film,” Ruth Rose said. “Maybe she’ll be here when we get back.”

“There’s a safe bike path on the side of the road,” Forest said. “Have a nice walk.”

The kids dried off, pulled on their clothes, and headed across the lawn.

“I wonder what’s taking Sunny so long to get back here?” Dink asked as they hiked down the driveway.

“She could have stopped for food,” Josh said. He rubbed his belly.

A few minutes later, they walked into Photo Finish. Josh immediately spied a rack of candy, so he bought a bag of M&M’s.

Ruth Rose’s film was ready. She paid the clerk, and they started walking back to Forest’s, where they could look at the pictures in private.

Josh ripped open his candy and
began munching, one piece at a time.

When they got back to Forest’s, the kids headed straight to the barn. Sunny and Whirlaway had still not returned.

Ruth Rose opened the packet of pictures and took them out. There were a few of her cat, then the one taken by the train conductor.

The next pictures were of horses and the barn at Saratoga. Then there was one of the horses on the track, but it was blurry. Next was Sunny with Whirlaway in barn E.

The last picture was taken at the winner’s circle. It showed Dink and Josh with Dancer’s head between them. The man in the cowboy hat was standing in the background. He was wearing a leather belt with a big silver buckle.

“It’s Mr. Bunks, all right,” Dink said.

The kids studied the picture. Ruth Rose brought it closer to her eyes.

“Guys, do you see anything weird about Dancer’s forehead?” she asked.

“It looks shiny,” Dink said, peering closely.

“And darker than the rest of his face,” Josh observed.

“From a distance, you’d never notice,” Ruth Rose said.

“What could make it look like that?” asked Dink.

“Something dark, like shoe polish,” Josh said.

“Wait a minute,” Ruth Rose said. “Josh, let’s see that mark on your shirt.”

Josh leaned in so Dink and Ruth Rose could inspect his collar.

“It looks like shoe polish,” said Dink.

“Yes!” Josh said. “Now I remember! Ruth Rose, when you took our picture, I felt Dancer nudge me in the back.”

“So
Dancer
made that mark!” Ruth Rose said.

“But why would anyone want to put shoe polish on a horse?” Dink asked.

“I don’t know, but I know who could have done it,” Ruth Rose said. “Sunny was polishing her boots with black polish right before the race!”

“But Sunny doesn’t have anything to do with Dancer,” Josh pointed out.

Ruth Rose shuffled through the pictures until she found the one of Sunny and Whirlaway in barn E. She looked at it for a second, then placed it next to the one of Dink and Josh with Dancer.

“Wow,” Josh said. “The horses look like twins!”

Dink picked up the picture of Sunny in barn E. “Except this one has a white mark on his forehead.”

“The shoe polish could be covering
up a white mark on Dancer’s forehead,” Ruth Rose said.

“But why would Sunny, or Mr. Bunks, or
anybody
want to cover up a white mark on Dancer’s forehead? Why would it matter?” Josh asked.

Dink thought about that. Then he remembered Sunny’s comment after the race, about how she felt like she was riding a different horse. “That’s
it!”
Dink said, snapping his fingers.

“What’s what?” Josh asked.

“Guys, what if the horse we washed wasn’t Whirlaway?” Dink asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Josh.

“I mean, what if someone stole Whirlaway, then brought back a different horse to replace him?”

Josh and Ruth Rose just stared at Dink.

“Well, that would explain why he acted so strange,” Ruth Rose finally said.

“And why he blew the race,” Josh said.

“It would also explain the shoe polish,” said Dink.

“Huh?” said Josh.

“Well,” Dink said, “why would someone want to steal a fast racehorse like Whirlaway?”

“To win races!” Ruth Rose said.

“Right,” said Dink. “And if someone
did
steal Whirlaway and enter him in a race, he’d be sure to disguise him somehow.”

“Like covering up the mark on his forehead with shoe polish!” said Josh.

“So that’s why Mr. Bunks was there,” Ruth Rose said. “He must have stolen Whirlaway and entered him in the race as Dancer.”

“And I’ll bet Sunny’s working for him,” Josh said. “It would have been easy for her to switch the horses.”

“Plus, we saw her with shoe polish,” Dink said.

“I’d like to ask Sunny a few questions,” Ruth Rose said.

“Where
is
Sunny?” Josh asked.

“Good question,” said Ruth Rose, looking around the empty barn. She sighed.

“And if she did switch horses, how can we prove the horse she rode in the race wasn’t Whirlaway?” Dink asked.

“I know a way,” Josh said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sugar cube. “Forest said Whirlaway doesn’t like sugar. When Sunny gets back, I’ll offer this to Whirlaway—or whoever it is. If he eats the sugar, we’ll
know
it’s not Whirlaway!”