CHAPTER NINE

“BEWARE!” LILY CALLS. “BEWARE!”

Stogie calls, too. He screams after Beware, so loud and close that it hurts Lily’s ear. His hooves splash in the brook. He’s dragging Lily up the bank. For a second she feels her feet running in the air, not touching the ground.

Beware is across the field already. She has turned to look at them, but Lily knows she won’t come back. Beware wants to go home.

Stogie wants to be with Beware. He’s trotting, pulling Lily forward so fast she almost falls. Lily digs in her heels and pulls back. She presses her shoulder against Stogie’s shoulder. “Whoa!”

Stogie doesn’t slow down. One hoof bangs down on Lily’s foot, and off again, so quickly that it doesn’t seem to hurt. But halfway across the field Lily begins to feel it. “Beware! Wait!”

Beware does wait, but when Stogie gets close, she turns again. She trots along the little trail through the pines. Her ears are pricked, and she carries her tail gaily.

Stogie trots too, and Lily has to run to keep up. He knocks her with his shoulder. He bangs her with his knee. He pulls her along, and Lily can feel her body getting ahead of her legs. She’ll fall down, or she’ll have to let go, and Stogie will be loose again.

“Stop!” Lily screams. Her voice comes thin and breathless. The dark trees blur past. She can’t see.…

Yes, she can. Up ahead it’s getting lighter. They’re coming to the big hayfield. As soon as she reaches it, Beware will kick up her heels and start to gallop. Then Lily will have to let Stogie go.

I will not! The words are in Lily’s head because she has no breath left. But they’re strong just the same, strong with anger.

Lily looks ahead for the right kind of tree. Near the edge of the woods she sees one, a straight, sturdy young maple.

Closer. Closer. Beware bursts out into the hayfield and kicks up her heels. Stogie surges after, but at the same moment Lily steps off the path, to the other side of the tree.

The rope twangs hard against the trunk and slides across it as Stogie keeps going. Lily’s hands are pulled toward the tree. That will hurt. She’ll have to let go—

No. Lily lets go with one hand. She reaches around the tree and grabs the loose end of the rope. Now she has a loop around the tree and the free end tight in both hands. Stogie hits the end of the rope and snaps himself around to face Lily. The tree trunk bounces. Above their heads the leaves rustle and go still.

It all happened in a few seconds. Lily’s heart still pounds from running. Her breath moves her like ocean waves moving a boat. Stogie’s hot breath blows over her. Lily reaches around the tree and makes one more loop with the rope. There’s not enough end left to tie, but there’s enough to hold.

Stogie twists to look after Beware. He neighs and yanks the rope. Lily waits. Sometimes horses panic when they’re tied, lean back and pull with all their strength. If Stogie does that, even the two loops won’t hold him. Lily will let him go.

But Stogie has spent this whole day hitched to a tree. He bumps against the halter, tugs on the rope, and neighs. But he doesn’t panic, and he doesn’t pull hard. He seems to know that he is stuck again and that pulling won’t help.

While Stogie listens for Beware, Lily hears the quiet. Home is just two fields away. What is happening there? Does Gran see Beware coming home with no bridle? Is Gramp there, and does he know where to come looking? How long will Lily have to wait?

The sun is setting. It will be dark in a while. “We’ll stay here all night if we have to!” Lily tells Stogie. She shifts her weight off her aching foot.

Stogie seems to listen to Lily. Then he turns his head and neighs again, sending his voice as far as he can across the field and hill.

“Keep that up!” Lily says. “That’s good!”

Time passes slowly. Stogie doesn’t neigh as often. He looks tired and sorry for himself. Lily would like to pat him, but she doesn’t dare take a hand off the rope. Stogie must not feel that the rope can loosen at all.

Sweat dries and prickles on Lily’s face. Her nose itches. She leans close to the tree trunk and rubs it against the bark.

Has she been standing here a long time? It seems so, but the sun has still not set when Stogie suddenly turns his head toward home and pricks his ears. After a moment he neighs loudly. A second later a squashed old green hat rises over the crest of the hill. Then the pointed red ears of a horse: It’s Gramp! He’s riding! Gramp hardly ever rides. He says he’s too old and fat, and he likes to keep both feet on the ground. Now he is trotting fast toward Lily, squinting under his hat brim. Mom canters over the hill behind him on Beware.

Lily can’t wave, and she doesn’t want to shout. Gramp rides up close and looks hard at her. “All right, Lily?”

Lily nods.

Gramp’s whole body relaxes. He turns as Mom rides up. “All right, Barb,” he says. “She’s all right.”

Mom’s face slowly turns from white to pink. Lily looks away. They were scared, but she couldn’t help it. There was nothing else she could do.

Now Gramp looks at Stogie, and the rope, and the tree trunk. A smile begins on his face. “Where’d you find him?”

“His halter was caught on a branch, on the trail below where you cut wood.”

“I’d forgotten all about that trail,” Mom says.

“How’d you get him loose?” Gramp asks.

“I—” Lily stops. All at once she feels like crying, and she doesn’t feel at all like telling her story.

“Pop,” Mom says.

Gramp says, “I know. I’m just talkin’ while I figure out what to do next.” He climbs down stiffly from the red horse. “Will he let me come up to him, Lil? I don’t want to scare him and make him fight. What do you think?”

Lily considers. Stogie has never once acted the way she was afraid he would act. He didn’t strike at her when she stepped in front of him. He didn’t run when she pushed him. He let her put his halter back on.

“I think he’ll be okay,” she says.

Gramp hands the red horse’s reins to Mom. Slowly he saunters toward Stogie.

Stogie is looking past Gramp, at the other horses. But as Gramp get close, he starts to back. Gramp stops.

“Bring Beware up close,” Lily says. “He likes Beware.”

Mom dismounts and gives Beware to Gramp. That’s when Lily notices that Beware is wearing only a halter, with two lead ropes clipped to it for reins. Mom was cantering her like that!

“Gran must be worried,” Lily says.

“If we’re not back in half an hour, she’ll have Fire and Rescue out looking for us,” Gramp says. “I wasn’t too tore up”—Mom makes a little sound—“because I saw Beware’s bridle was off. Figured you’d done just what I told you.”

As he talks, Gramp leads Beware up to Stogie. While the horses sniff noses, Gramp reaches under Stogie’s chin and takes hold of the rope with both hands.

“You can let go now,” he says.

Lily’s hands stick to the rope a little. They are sweaty, and they hurt. Lily stretches them and rubs her palms. She has rope burns. She didn’t know that before.

“Take Beware,” Gramp says. Lily moves out from behind the tree and takes Beware’s lead ropes. Beware turns to sniff Lily’s hands, and Stogie sniffs, too.

Then he seems to notice Gramp. His ears flick back—not in a mean way, but in a thinking way. Gramp and Lily stand very still.

After a moment Stogie sighs. His neck lowers, and his ears droop a little.

“He must have had himself a heck of a day!” Gramp says. “Now, Lily, mount up and ride as close to him as you can. We’ll just stroll on home.”

It sounds easy, and it is easy. With Beware right beside him, Stogie doesn’t hurry anymore. He walks with his head low. He lets Gramp put a hand on his neck and rub him, and he even leans into Gramp’s hand.

“He likes it,” Lily says.

“He’s going to find a lot to like about me,” Gramp says.

Mom rides close to Lily. “Give me your hand.”

Lily reaches out, and Mom squeezes her hand tight. “Ow!”

“Sorry.”

They come over the last hill, and there is the barn and the big pasture with the cow and horses. The pony whinnies for Beware.

Up on the lawn stands Gran, straight and still. Lily waves, just once, so she doesn’t scare Stogie. Gran lifts her hand high over her head and waves back. Then she turns toward the house.

“You rode Beware without a bridle,” Lily says to Mom. “You cantered!”

“Yup, I was glad to see that,” Gramp says. “Need somebody to ride this horse for me!” He glances up at Mom under the brim of his hat. Gramp is always trying to get Mom to ride more. He thinks she works too hard.

“Linwood Griffin!” Mom says.

“Now, Barb. This horse means an awful lot to me. I’d ask Lily, but Lily’s got Beware.”

“Ride him yourself!”

“I’m too old and fat for a horse like this,” Gramp says. But Lily sees his eyes go faraway and sparkly. Gramp is imagining it. And maybe it could happen. Here they are, leading Stogie down the slope to the barn, after two whole years.

Lily smooths Beware’s black mane with her fingers.

Anything could happen.