The Secret of the Stallion by Bonnie Bryant

Author:Bonnie Bryant
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780307825193
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-01-29T23:00:00+00:00

“BRILLIANT! YOU WERE all brilliant!” Tessa greeted the Horse Wise riders while they cooled their horses in the paddock by the stable.

“Oh, you’re just saying that because they’re your horses!” Lisa teased.

“Even the most brilliant horse needs a brilliant rider!” Tessa declared.

Max agreed. He stood next to Tessa, glad of the opportunity to thank her for the loan of the horses.

“You did a good job, girls. I’m proud of the team for winning two races and coming in second two times, but I’m even prouder of the horsemanship and teamwork I saw out there.”

“See? Just as I said: Brilliant!” agreed Tessa.

As soon as the horses were cooled, the girls dismounted and walked them back to their stables for a good grooming and a well-deserved snack of hay and water and a few carrots.

The girls slipped out of their riding habits and into jeans for grooming. When they came out of the dressing room, they found some of the lads there, offering to help groom. The Saddle Club demurred. Veronica accepted. She explained that she had an important errand in town and wanted to be sure to get there before the shops closed.

“Do you think she’s in such a rush to get to a clothing store?” Tessa asked Lisa as she watched Veronica rush out of the stable.

“More likely hardware or garden supplies,” Lisa said.

“To buy some flowers?” asked Tessa.

“No, a shovel,” said Lisa with a sly grin. The girls explained that Veronica was in search of a treasure trove.

“The duke’s jewels!” Tessa said. “What on earth makes her think she’s going to find that after all these centuries?”

“She’s already found a piece of it,” Lisa explained.

“A pearl,” Carole supplied.

“From the Duke of Cummington’s cache?” Tessa asked, clearly astonished.

“No, more like the Duke of Woolworth’s,” said Stevie.

“Oh, dear me, you three have been up to something and I’m afraid I’ve missed the best of it,” Tessa said, clearly understanding their prank.

“Oh, not necessarily the best,” said Lisa. “Just the first.” With that, she put down her currycomb and reached into the pocket of her jeans. She pulled out the rhinestone button she’d picked up from the street when she’d been walking with Enrico.

“What’s that?” Stevie asked.

“Well,” Lisa said, looking at it carefully. “Right now, it’s a rhinestone button, but in a minute—” She leaned over and searched through the grooming bucket until she found what she wanted. She brought out her hoof pick and probed under the rhinestone with the pointed end. There was a small crackling sound and the rhinestone popped out of its plastic bed. “In a minute,” she repeated. She reached into her purse, brought out an emery board, and carefully filed the bottom of the rhinestone, removing traces of plastic and glue. “In a minute, we have …”

“A diamond!” Stevie declared.

“Perfect,” said Carole.

“Brilliant,” said Tessa.

“The plot thickens,” Lisa said.

They hurried to finish the grooming. They had to be sure to plant the “diamond” before Veronica returned with a shovel.

When the last flake of hay was secured in the horses’ stalls, the girls exited the stables and returned to the scene of their crime.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.