Free Horse Magic by Bonnie Bryant Page A

said as soon as Phil and Dinah were out of earshot.
    “What?” Lisa asked.
    “That Dinah hasn’t caught on to this whole Black Magic business yet,” Carole said. “I mean, Stevie hasn’t exactly been convincing.”
    “Hey, what do you mean by that?” Stevie asked, pretending to be hurt.
    Carole rolled her eyes. “Come on. That shoeing story was ridiculous. And why on earth would Max send one of the horses away just because some kids are coming? They see kids every day.”
    Stevie shrugged. “It is pretty amazing that she doesn’t suspect anything,” she admitted as they turned the corner toward the tack room. “But it does tie in perfectly with my master plan.”
    “Which is what?” Lisa asked.
    But just then Stevie let out a gasp. “Look!” she exclaimed. The girls had just reached the doorway of the tack room. Inside, everything was in its usual disordered state of order—except for one thing. Every bridle in the room was hung upside down on its peg.
    “Who could have done this?” Carole asked in amazement. “This must have taken forever!”
    “Maybe a poltergeist with a lot of time on its hands?” Lisa suggested weakly.
    Stevie shook her head. “This is really getting weird,” she commented. She patted her backpack. “I’m glad I brought that poltergeist book with me today. I’m beginning to think I may need it.” Her friends weren’t sure if she was joking or not. They decided not to ask.
    None of the girls had much time to think about ghosts, real or otherwise, for the next few hours. There was a lot to be done before the city kids arrived at one o’clock. While the other Pony Clubbers were hard at work preparing for the kids’ barbecue dinner and hanging decorations around the stable, Stevie was kept busy gathering a few last-minute props for the treasure hunt. Dinah and Phil had disappeared to one of their secret rehearsal places to make their final preparations. Carole and Lisa had to check over the ponies’ tack, and then the ponies themselves, for the riding lessons. Besides all that, of course, there were still the everyday chores to be done.
    “Oh, there you are,” a harried-looking Red O’Malley said, peering into the tack room, where Carole and Lisawere busy polishing the ponies’ saddles one more time. “Listen, could one of you do me a big favor? All this activity is getting to Prancer a little, and she’s kicking at her stall …”
    “Say no more,” Lisa said. “I’ll go try to calm her down.” It was well known at Pine Hollow that Prancer preferred young riders to adults. Lisa knew that she would have a much better chance of calming the mare than Red would.
    “Thanks, Lisa,” Red said gratefully.
    As Lisa hurried down the aisle toward Prancer’s stall, she could understand why the mare was upset. Even by Pine Hollow’s usual busy standards, the stable was awfully noisy today. Most of the horses were unperturbed—the hustle and bustle was no different from the atmosphere before a horse show or gymkhana. But Prancer was still young, and she hadn’t been at Pine Hollow as long as most of the others. Lisa knew that with time and experience the mare would learn to settle down. She smiled at the thought that Prancer was having the same problem Stevie had claimed the fictional Black Magic was having.
    “I know it’s a little noisy today, girl, but don’t be alarmed,” she murmured softly to the horse, reaching over the half door of her stall. Prancer’s ears swiveled toward her, and Lisa could have sworn the mare was listening carefully—and understanding every word. She knew that Max would scoff at that idea. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. “It’s a pretty exciting day for all of us,” she continued. “But it’s good-exciting, not bad-exciting. I guess it’s hard for you totell that, though; to you, it just seems like a lot of scary extra noise.”
    Beneath the riot of other sounds, Lisa heard a softer one much closer by. She stopped talking