Free Pack Trip by Bonnie Bryant Page B

appeared very interested in getting away from the fire as quickly as possible now, it seemed that Mel would have a fairly easy job of it. She barked furiously and officiously. The horses meekly obeyed her.
    Eli took charge of Seth, who was too frightened by the fire to do anything at all. He even needed help getting into his saddle. When Eli gave Seth’s pinto a smack on the rump, the horse loped off to follow the others through the field. Seth clutched the horn of his saddle like a toddler on a merry-go-round.
    Lisa loped up to Stevie.
    “What’s Amy’s problem now?” Stevie asked.
    “It’s her ankle,” Lisa explained. “It hurts so much, she can’t kick her horse and make it lope.”
    “That’s it,” Stevie said. “I’m tired of standing by on this one. It’s time for action. Come on!”
    With that Stevie turned Stewball around and loped back to where Amy was holding her horse to a walk. The irony of the fact that Amy thought it was okay to lope along a rocky, hilly trail but insisted on a ladylike walk in a fiery field did not escape Stevie. Nor, it appeared, did it escape Lisa.
    “Amy, we’ve had enough of this,” Lisa said. “It’s time to hurry.”
    “My ankle—” Amy began.
    “My—” Stevie began.
    “Ahem,” Lisa cut her off, suspecting what she was going to say. “Let’s just do the job.”
    Stevie and Lisa knew exactly what had to be done. They got on either side of Amy. Each reached over and took one of her reins.
    “Hold on,” Stevie suggested. The two girls urged their horses to a lope. Amy’s horse followed very willingly. In fact, the horse was so glad to be moving that he quickly picked up to a gallop, trying to catch up with the rest of the group. As he passed between Chocolate and Stewball, Lisa and Stevie handed the reins back to Amy,who, not surprisingly, had had no trouble at all staying on.
    “Miraculous recovery!” Stevie observed wryly.
    When Lisa laughed, Stevie sighed with relief. If Lisa could find it funny, it meant the beginning of the end of Amy’s hold on her.
    Stevie noticed a sudden change in Stewball’s gait. He became friskier, prancing to the side. His nostrils flared, and his ears perked up, turning every which way. Stevie looked around, trying to figure out what had changed to make Stewball so tense. The answer came in sight, and it had four feet. A bobcat raced across the field, cutting directly in front of Stewball and Chocolate. As soon as it was gone, Stewball relaxed and resumed his determined lope toward the valley and safety.
    “I don’t think Stewball had much to fear from that little cat,” Stevie said.
    “A predator’s a predator,” Lisa reasoned. “And if that predator is running away from something at that speed, you know it must be frightful.”
    The two girls looked over to their left, where the fire was growing steadily, just in time to see a tall pine, consumed by flames, tumble onto the far side of the meadow. It ignited the dry prairie grass, and the flames began spreading wildly across the entire meadow.
    “Let’s get out of here!” Stevie yowled, kicking Stewball’s belly. It wasn’t a signal she had to give twice. Stewball had eyes and ears, and a nose to smell the smoke. He fled. Chocolate followed suit. Proper riding form dictated that the riders grip with their legs and hold their reins steady, above the level of the saddles, but proper riding form went out the window with the wild gallop that Stewball and Chocolate used to escape the fire. Both girls gripped as tightly as they could with their legs, but they also held onto reins, saddle horn, and mane with all their might. They certainly couldn’t afford a fall at the moment.
    The field sloped down to the right. Stevie and Lisa caught up with the rest of the riders, just in time to see them reach the edge of the grassy area, where they were forced to return to the woods.
    “Follow me!” Eli cried. He waved his arms to signal the beginning of the trail to Stevie