Free Mary and Jody in the Movies by JoAnn S. Dawson

That man’s probably never seen that horse before.”
    The horse was down on all four legs then, and the rider had him under control, cantering him up and down the small enclosure.
     Although the horse was a nice-looking gray, the bidding started at only three hundred dollars, probably due to his “acting
     up” in the ring. Still, there were two people bidding, willing to take a chance on him, and the price was steadily going up.
    “Twister, isn’t it really risky to buy some of these horses for the movie?” Mary asked worriedly. “How do you know they’ll
     be good? Maybe we’ll get them home and they’ll misbehave like that one just did.”
    “You’re right, Mary. When you buy a horse at auction, it’s always a chance you take. The movie people normally wouldn’t allow
     it. But this time they are, and it’s all because of Will.”
    “What do you mean, Twister?” asked Jody.
    “Well, they trust him. He’s known for having the best eye in the country for horseflesh. If anybody can pick out a nice, quiet,
     steady horse, even out of this rangy bunch, it’s goin’ to be Will.”
    Mary and Jody nodded in admiration, remembering that Mr. Crowley had said the very same thing about Willie.
    The second horse was sold for five hundred dollars. As he turned to leave the ring, the auctioneer began the bidding on the
     third horse, a rather gangly Appaloosa horse with a skinny neck. This time the rider merely nodded to the auctioneer, who
     simply said, “Good, sound, broke, and ready to go,” and started the bidding at four hundred dollars.
    Mary and Jody spotted Willie standing at ringside and watched him anxiously as each horse came into the ring. They hoped to
     see him raise his hand to bid on some of the prettiest ones, but Willie stood stock still, eyeing each horse carefully, his
     hands in his pockets.
    “Twister, what if Willie doesn’t see anything he likes? Will we go home empty-handed? What will the movie people do?” Mary
     asked breathlessly.
    “Don’t worry, he’ll see something. There’s over two hundred horses here today. He just hasn’t seen nothin’ he likes yet.”
    Just as Twister finished his sentence, there was a sudden commotion at the far end of the ring. Mary and Jody gasped along
     with the rest of the crowd as the side gate was flung open to allow a whole herd of six horses into the ring at once. But
     these horses were different from the others. Their manes were long and tangled, and their forelocks hung wildly, covering
     their eyes. They snorted and pawed, and their nostrils flared as they bucked and kicked around the ring. They were almost
     all the same dull brown color, except for the largest one, who was nearly black.
    “This must be the wild bunch the auctioneer talked about,” Twister said with a grin. “Now, watch, here comes a rider in the
     ring to try to round ’em up and calm ’em down.”
    Mary and Jody watched with mouths open in amazement as one of the sale barn riders on a small-boned bay horse rode directly
     into the midst of the chaos. The rider made a “Shhhhh” sound with his mouth as he maneuvered the little bay around the outer
     edge of the ring, herding the wild horses together until they were settled and moving as one in a unified circle. The herding
     horse trotted calmly, keeping his head high and his ears forward, gazing curiously at the ragged bunch without the least bit
     of fear in his eyes.
    “All right, boys, what’s your pleasure on this group?” the auctioneer asked, tapping his gavel lightly on the tabletop. “Straight
     off the plains, they are. We’re selling them by the piece, take one or all. Two hundred!”
    The horses continued trotting in a relentless circle, but no one would start the bidding.
    “Come on, boys, they’re here for sale. Don’t take much to calm ’em down. They’ll be like kittens in no time.”

    Mary and Jody gasped as the side gate was flung open to allow a whole herd of six horses into the ring