Free Endurance Ride by Bonnie Bryant Page A

moving at all. She felt tears on her cheeks.
    Then suddenly her feet could move again. She thrust Starlight’s reins at Chloe and ran to the trail’s edge. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Stevie and Lisa doing the same thing. “Hang on, Max, we’re coming,” she yelled. She stepped over the edge and nearly somersaulted. She lost her balance and grabbed frantically at weeds. Small stones skittered down the slope.
    “Careful, careful!” Lisa shouted, grabbing Carole’s arm. They had to go slowly, no matter how desperately they wanted to hurry. Max seemed far away. Carole took another step and nearly fell again.
    “Like this,” Stevie said, sitting down and letting herself slide on her seat. “Like the horses did.” Sliding, slipping, they reached Max’s side.
    He was lying on his back with his face turned to one side, his head pointing downhill and still leaning against the rock it hit. The velvet cover of his helmet was torn, and the side of it was crushed. His skin was pale, and blood from a gash on his arm poured in a steady stream onto the ground.
    “Let’s get his head up.” Stevie grabbed his shoulder and started to pull.
    “No!” Carole yelled so urgently that Stevie instantlyfroze. “No,” she repeated. “I had first aid in gym class last spring, remember? We can’t move him. He might have hurt his back or his neck, and we could make it worse. We can’t let him move at all.”
    “Sorry.” Stevie backed away. They stared at Max, afraid to touch him.
    “We have to do something,” Lisa whispered.
    “Right,” Carole said. “Of course.” She couldn’t think. What came first? What had she learned? Gym class seemed like years ago.
    “Carole? What should we do?” Stevie asked, her voice uncharacteristically uncertain.
    “I’m thinking,” Carole said. She struggled to remember. “Let’s see. Breathing. He has to be breathing. That’s first.” She put her hand against Max’s cheek. How could she tell if he was breathing? His chest would move, that’s how. She looked carefully. Max was breathing.
    “Okay, then; he has to have a heartbeat. That’s second.” She remembered how to feel for a pulse on the side of the neck and was relieved at the strength of Max’s heartbeat.
    “So he’s not dead,” Lisa said quietly. It was what they had all feared.
    “No,” Carole said. “He must have a concussion, like Stevie did last year. He could be hurt in other places, but we won’t know until he wakes up or gets to a hospital.”She looked around the hillside. How would they get Max off the trail?
    “I’ll go for help,” Lisa said. “The end of the ride isn’t too far, so I’ll go there as quickly as I can. They’ll know what to do. You guys stay here and take care of Max—and Barq. No, really,” she added when Stevie started to protest. “Prancer is the fastest horse; she and Starlight got to rest more than Belle did at the last check; and, Carole, you obviously know more first aid than Stevie or me. And Chloe’s got all that trail gear—she might be able to help you. I’ll go.”
    “Maybe someone else will come along soon,” Carole said. “One of the other endurance riders.”
    “So many people passed us since the last check,” Lisa said. “We might be the last riders on the trail. Besides, we can’t wait.”
    “I know. Of course not,” Carole said. “I just wish I knew more what to do. Hurry, Lisa! Please hurry.” Lisa started up the slope.
    “Be careful!” Stevie shouted after her.
    At the top, Chloe listened anxiously to Lisa’s account of Max’s condition. “I’ll ride for help if you want,” she offered. “You can stay here. He’s your instructor.”
    Lisa blinked back tears. She wanted to stay with Max,and with Stevie and Carole. She was a little afraid of being on the trail alone, when her errand was so crucial. “No, I’d better go,” she said to Chloe. “You know more about riding on trails than we do, and you’re more prepared.