Free Brumby Plains by Joanne Van Os

gone, the water soaked up by the thirsty ground, leaving little trace of the storm during the night.
    â€˜Come on, Sam!’ cried George, bursting into his room when it was still dark. ‘Let’s get going – it’ll be too hot to ride far soon!’
    Sam had not slept at all well. The strangeness of his dream had kept him awake through the night. He rolled out of bed, got dressed, andfollowed the sound of voices to the kitchen, where Tess and Darcy were already packing some lunch.
    â€˜Hey, you’re slow today. I thought you’d be out catching the horses by now,’ said Darcy as he put apples and oranges into a backpack. ‘Are you going to ride Saxon?’
    Sam shook cornflakes into a bowl and splashed some milk over them. He really didn’t feel very hungry.
    â€˜Yeah, I guess so. Mum hasn’t ridden him for a while and he needs a good walk, she said. Who do you want to ride?’
    Darcy shrugged. ‘Gidget’s getting a bit small for me. I’d rather ride something with a bit more pace, like Saxon.’
    Tess rolled her eyes at her brother.
    â€˜Gee, Darce, you think you’re such an ace rider. You know you couldn’t ride Saxon in a fit! And Aunty Sarah’d never let you anyway.’
    â€˜Shut up, Tess! I could so ride him if I had the chance. I’m as good a rider as Sam. I just don’t get to do it as often. Anyway, I didn’t mean I wanted to ride Saxon today. Sam’s taking him. I could rideToby. Or Sabre.’ Darcy looked at Sam, who frowned at his cereal bowl.
    â€˜You could take Sabre. He’s a bit harder to hold than Gidget, so you’ll have to watch him. We’re not going to be doing any racing though – it’s too hot, and it’ll knock the horses around. Dad said we can go so long as we rest up in the middle of the day, and take the saddles off them at the lake.’
    George came back into the kitchen with Old Jock the Fencer, and grinned broadly at the others.
    â€˜We caught all the horses already, so hurry up, you mob – the day’s nearly over! Mum and Dad have already gone out checking the bores, and you’re still mucking around here like a lot of old grannies.’
    Jock poured himself a cup of tea, and sat next to Sam at the table.
    â€˜Now you keep an eye on these young ’uns, Sam, me lad. Yer mum ’n dad won’t be real pleased if you don’t all come back in one piece. They said they’d be back by dark, so make sure yer home before ’em, or we’ll all be in hot water.’
    Jock helped with the saddling up, and they were gone before the sun had risen more than a finger width above the horizon. It was only about tenkilometres out to the lake, an easy walk while it was still fairly cool. Sam led the way on Saxon, his mother’s big brown stallion, stretching out an easy swinging pace that the other horses followed. Darcy was riding Sabre, but eyed Sam jealously, unable to keep from feeling bitter about everyone regarding him as a lesser rider than his cousin. Tess was beside Sam on Shona, a quiet chestnut mare with a white nose and a sweet nature, while George brought up the rear on Gidget, a step up for him from little fat Polly. George liked horses well enough, but he really thought that motor vehicles were the only way to travel. ‘At least with cars you’ve got proper brakes and steering,’ he would argue. ‘The brakes and steering on a horse don’t always work like they’re supposed to.’
    Sam was tired. He slumped a little in the saddle as he settled into the rhythm of the stallion’s gait, and thought over the strange dream of the previous night. It must have been a combination of the stories Vincent had told them the other night, and not enough sleep, and a good deal of feeling guilty about the cave in the first place, he decided. They shouldn’t have been up there, and they’d be in heapsof trouble if anyone