As the girls trotted away from the truck, the snow turned to rain. Ruby hunched her shoulders and the day darkened to night. If it weren’t for Tinker’s fearless stride, and her sisters beside her, she would not have had the courage to keep going. After an hour, she could see nothing through the darkness.

‘Where is this stupid town?’ Kit said. ‘I’m getting soaked.’

‘It can’t be too much further,’ said Ruby, trying to stop her teeth from chattering.

‘Look, a light!’ Kit cried.

Ruby peered out from under the brim of her hat. Some way off, a dim orange glow blurred through the rainy night. She felt her heart lift. Light meant help: shelter, warmth, food. That’s if they were friendly.

She pushed Tinker into a canter, pulling Chance along behind her. The mare, as always, was uncooperative. After a while Ruby gave up and let her loose. Chance trotted along behind, keeping her own pace.

Before long, a short track veered off the road, leading to a small hut by a larger barn.

Kit pulled Kismet to a stop. ‘We shouldn’t knock on strange people’s doors,’ she said.

‘We have no choice,’ Lexie said. ‘Grampy and Analita will be freezing. We have to get help to them.’

They slipped off their horses and led them along the track. Before they reached the hut a gang of dogs burst into howling. A door swung open, revealing a thin old woman with stooped shoulders. A long plait of silvery red hair and a set of hooped earrings fell out from under a colourful beanie. She wore a fur-lined cowl and coat, and the hands that held the door open were gnarled with age.

‘Why it’s a herd of gypsy cobs,’ said the woman in a thick accent. She smiled as she spoke, revealing a golden tooth. ‘Who brings such horses to the Silver Mountains?’ Her eyes went straight to the necklace around Ruby’s throat and her expression changed. Some small spark of recognition flashed in her eyes. ‘And in the middle of the night too.’

‘You!’ said Ruby, recognising the fur coat.

The woman turned to walk back inside. ‘Come in. I cannot stand here with the door open all night. Too much cold air. Too much arthritis. You go and put your horses in the barn.’

‘You ran your crazy dogs in front of our truck,’ said Lexie, refusing to go in. ‘Did you know you caused an accident?’

‘Truck? What truck?’ The woman turned back to the door.

‘Our truck!’ said Ruby.

‘Oh dear,’ said the old lady. ‘We don’t get snow very often. The dogs are a bit out of practice.’ She frowned. ‘Remind me never to put that dog at the lead again.’ She tapped a finger to her temple. ‘Nothing up here, you know what I mean. I hope no one was hurt.’

‘Our mother and our grandfather are still trapped in the front.’

‘Your grandfather?’ The woman’s eyes narrowed and for a moment she looked troubled.

‘They need help,’ said Kit. ‘We need to call the emergency services.’

‘My phone is not working,’ said the old lady, ‘and it’s an hour’s ride to town. Much quicker if I help.’

‘But …it’s an emergency!’

The woman didn’t seem to hear her. Ruby didn’t like the way her eyes stayed on her necklace. She seemed mesmerised. Ruby pulled her collar up to hide it. The woman’s lingering glance travelled to Kit and then Lexie. She scanned their faces with a keen eye.

Ruby could feel Lexie and Kit’s unease.

‘I think we made a mistake,’ said Lexie. ‘We shouldn’t have bothered you.’

All three girls began backing away.

‘I think we should get the police,’ said Ruby out of the side of her mouth. ‘This lady is batty.’ She followed her sisters and leapt onto Tinker. The girls rode back into the darkness.

Before long, they heard the baying of dogs and the rattling of a sled. The old woman’s voice rose above the din. ‘Marshe, Cloudy. Hike, Rascal. Gee, Benifex!’

The dogs wheeled around to the right.

‘On by!’ she yelled, as her team of dogs overtook the horses. They pushed their shoulders into their harnesses as they hauled the sled. The old woman held up an iron bar as she bounced past the girls. ‘Ruby, Kit, Lexie, follow me!’

‘How did she know our names?’ asked Kit, clutching at her reins while Kismet whirled about in fright of the dogs.

‘I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,’ said Ruby. She turned Tinker and took off after her.

‘Wait for me,’ said Lexie and Kit together, pushing their horses to keep up.

The girls followed the howling dogs back into the night.

The woman was already at work by the time the girls caught up with her. Hunched over the iron bar, she wrenched at the door of Grampy’s truck.

‘How do you know our names?’ said Ruby as she jumped off Tinker.

‘Never mind that,’ was the answer. ‘Help me with this.’

The triplets took hold of the bar together and pulled. Once the door came open, they began on the dashboard, first freeing Grampy and then Analita. They rolled into the snow with the horse rugs wrapped around them. Shoddy fell out too.

‘Oh, thank goodness you girls are alright,’ said Analita. ‘I was out of my mind with worry.’

‘Thank goodness you’re alright,’ said Ruby.

Grampy looked anything but thankful. ‘You nearly got us all killed, you senile old woman,’ he snapped as he pulled himself out of the snow.

‘There’s gratitude for you,’ the old lady said. ‘You haven’t changed much.’

Grampy scowled. ‘And you’re still running those crazy dogs. At your age!’

The girls gaped from Grampy to the old lady. ‘You know each other?’

‘My long-lost brother-in-law,’ said the lady. ‘The crystal ball told me you were coming. It didn’t tell me you would wrap yourself around a tree in the middle of a blizzard.’

Analita stepped forward and smiled. She took the lady by the hands. ‘Ruby, Kit, Lexie,’ she said. ‘Meet your Great-Aunt Zelda.’

All three girls spoke at once. ‘We have an aunty?’

‘Great-aunty,’ Zelda corrected. She held her arms open to them. ‘I’m your Grandma Levinia’s sister.’

The triplets looked at each other and then to their mother. ‘Really?’

Analita nodded.

Kit went forward first, then Ruby, then Lexie. They cautiously gave the old woman a hug.

‘Come back to the hut and get yourselves warm,’ she said, giving them a squeeze. She smelled of lavender and wood smoke. ‘You won’t find anywhere else to stay tonight. You can put your horses in the barn.’ She turned and looked down her nose at Grampy. ‘You can stay here.’

Grampy glared back. ‘Your dogs just took off again.’

‘Oh, blast and blizzards,’ the old woman cursed. ‘Argh, that dopey Benifex; he’s got nothing up here, nothing!’ She tapped her finger against her temple.

‘Oh no,’ moaned Kit. ‘Shoddy has gone with them!’

The old labrador’s yellow tail disappeared around a bend in the track.

Aunt Zelda smiled at the triplets. ‘Come; he will follow my dogs home.’