4

Runaway Colt

MARY AND JODY flew as fast as their legs would carry them up the long gravel drive to Mr. McMurray’s house. Once in the back yard, they looked in all directions for some sign of Star. But Star was nowhere to be seen.

“I know he ran up this way!” Mary cried. “Oh, I hope he didn’t go around the other side of the house and across the road!”

“Mare, don’t say that!” Jody said, choking back tears. “Maybe he went over to Willie’s house!”

“But we would have seen him run over there. I think we need to check out by the road. Even if he did cross it, he’s probably fine. There’s not that much traffic.”

So the girls galloped to the front yard of the McMurray house and down the bank to the two-lane country road. They stopped at the bottom of the bank where a narrow ditch lay between the yard and the wide shoulder and, shading their eyes from the sun, gazed hopefully at the wheat field across the road—still no sign of the runaway colt.

“I don’t think he ran over there, Jode. If he ran into the wheat field, we’d see a path where he knocked the wheat down.”

“Well, where could he be then?” Jody asked desperately.

“I don’t know. Maybe we should get Mr. McMurray.”

So off they ran again to the back of the house. Jody was just about to knock when Mary grabbed her arm and pointed up the lane.

“Jody, look!” she cried.

Jody turned and her mouth flew open in shock for the second time that day. Calmly walking away from the girls and up the lane toward Lucky Foot Stable was Annie Mooney with a dog leash in her hand. And on the end of the dog leash was Star of Wonder, following easily behind and pushing Annie along with his muzzle only once in a while.

“What in the . . .” Mary began, and then she linked her arm through Jody’s and the girls trotted up behind the duo, slowing to a walk as they drew near so as not to spook Star.

“Annie,” Jody said quietly as they reached Star’s side, “what are you doing?”

“I’m taking Star back to the stable,” Annie said matter-of-factly. “He was loose.”

“We know he was loose!” Mary yelled. “Didn’t you see us looking for him?”

“No, I didn’t see you. I was in the trailer and I saw him go flying by the window.”

“And then what happened?” Mary asked patiently. Talking to Annie was sometimes like “pulling hen’s teeth,” as Willie would say.

“Well, I couldn’t do anything right away because I had just put Heath down for a nap. I made sure he was asleep, and then I went outside.”

“Then what?” Jody asked after a maddening pause.

“Oh, well, then I saw Star in my back yard eating grass, so I got a carrot.”

If Annie stopped talking one more time, Mary was sure she would burst. “Can you tell us the rest of the story, Annie? Did he run away from you?”

Calmly walking away from the girls and up the lane toward Lucky Foot Stable was Annie Mooney.

“Run away from me? Of course not,” Annie snorted. “He came right up and took the carrot and ate it, and then he followed me over to the door of the trailer. I reached inside and got my old dog Buster’s dog leash. Buster died a couple years ago, but I kept his leash to remember him by. Sometimes I have to put it on Heath, so he doesn’t run away when I take him for walks.”

Jody could see from Mary’s expression that she really was about to burst, so she took over the questioning.

“So then what happened, Annie? Did Star give you any trouble?”

“Trouble? Of course not,” Annie repeated. “He was good as gold.”

Mary and Jody could tell that they weren’t going to get any more information out of Annie, so they walked in silence the rest of the way back to Lucky Foot Stable. When they reached the open back door, Annie handed the end of the leash to Jody.

“Here you go,” she said.

Jody took the leash and turned to walk Star to his stall.

“Thanks a lot, Annie,” Mary said generously.

“I need Buster’s leash back,” Annie replied.

“Oh sure. I’ll get it,” Mary said, following Jody into the stable. She retrieved the leash and handed it to Annie.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you later,” Annie said. She turned and walked back to the house trailer.

Jody joined Mary at the door, and they watched together as Annie opened the squeaky screen door of the trailer and went in.

“I can’t figure her out,” Jody said.

“I can’t figure out how Star got behind the trailer without us seeing him,” Jody replied.

“He must have been in Mr. McMurray’s front yard when we were in the back, and then when we ran around to the front, he must’ve gone around the other side of the house and run down to the trailer,” Mary surmised.

“I think he ran away in the first place because he’s dying for some grass,” Jody decided. “I feel bad that Lady and Gypsy get to go out in the pasture with the cows, and Star has to stay in the old dirt paddock and eat hay.”

“I know, Jode. But you know Mr. McMurray won’t let him out there. He’s already mad about Lady and Gypsy ‘eating up his prrrofits,’” Mary said, imitating Mr. McMurray’s Irish brogue.

“Well, Mr. McMurray lets us walk him around the farm and graze him. He doesn’t mind when he eats grass outside of the pasture. Maybe we should tie him out somewhere where he can graze.”

Mary nodded, thinking over the possibility. “There’s a lot of grass behind the tractor shed,” she said. “Let’s go back there and see if there’s anything to tie him to.”

The grass behind the shed grew thick and lush, because it was not fenced in and never used to graze livestock. This is where Mr. McMurray kept all of the farm equipment that wouldn’t fit under the roof of the tractor shed. Mary and Jody walked around the open field, eyeing the beautiful grass and looking for a place to tie Star.

“There’s really not much open space,” Jody observed. “The equipment is too close together.”

“I know, but . . . hey, how about over there?” Mary pointed to a spot at the right corner of the field. There was only one piece of machinery there, and it was surrounded by open spaces of bright green grass.

“That’s good, but what can we tie him to?” Jody wondered. “I was hoping there would be a tree or something.”

“Well, we can tie him to that thing, whatever it is,” Mary replied.

“I think that’s what Willie uses to work up the fields,” Jody said. “I helped him hook it to the tractor one day. But it’s not a plow, it’s a . . . a . . . I think he called it a springtooth harrow or something like that.”

The machinery in question was low to the ground and possessed a series of curved teeth in rows, the blunt points of which rested on the grass.

“See, when Willie gets out to the field he lowers the teeth and they dig up the ground,” Jody explained.

“Well, whatever,” Mary said impatiently. “I think we could tie Star to this, and he’ll have plenty of room to walk all around it and graze to his heart’s content. Maybe that’s why he’s so ornery; he needs some grass to fill up his belly and calm him down.”

“It sounds like a good idea, but maybe we should ask Willie first,” Jody suggested.

“We can’t ask him. He said he was going to town after milking. And besides, he wouldn’t mind. Willie always says grass is the best thing for a horse.”

So the girls ran back to Lucky Foot Stable and led Star from his stall. They were halfway to the open field when Jody stopped. “Um, Mare, we have everything but the rope! I think we’re going to need a rope to tie him out with,” she said facetiously.

“Oh yeah,” Mary giggled. “Hmmm, let’s think.”

“I know!” Jody remembered. “There’s a long brown rope all curled up and hanging near the hayloft in the barn. I remember seeing it when we were building our hay fort. And it even has a clip on the end!”

“I’ll get it!” Mary yelled. Before Jody had even reached the grassy field with Star, Mary was back with the length of rope. The girls led Star through the field of equipment until they came to the place where the harrow sat.

“I know how to tie a slip knot!” Jody bragged. “My dad taught me. Here, Mare, you hold Star and I’ll get the rope ready.”

Mary allowed Star to drop his head and begin grazing while Jody threaded one end of the rope around a harrow tooth and expertly tied a knot that could easily be untied by pulling on that end, but not the other end, no matter how strongly Star might pull back. Jody clipped the rope to Star’s halter, but he was so busy grazing that he didn’t even notice the transfer from his lead rope to the long rope.

“See, he was starving for grass,” Mary said. “He’s going to love this!”

Mary and Jody sat down a short distance away and watched Star wander in a circle, sniffing the grass as if looking for the most succulent blades. Suddenly he turned and blinked at the girls once, raised his head, and looked around. Seeing no fence, and sure that he was free of restraints, he threw up his head and trotted away.

“Uh-oh!” the girls said in unison, jumping up from their seat on the grass. But before they could reach Star, he came to the end of his rope. His head jerked around and he was thrown off balance, but he stayed on his feet. He snorted and shook his head, and the surprised look on his face made the girls laugh in spite of their worry about him breaking his neck.

“Oh, Star, are you OK?” Jody said sympathetically, patting him on the shoulder.

“Good thing he didn’t get up much speed,” Mary observed. “I think he knows now that he’s tied. But we’d better watch him for a while to be sure.”

So the girls sat down once again and watched Star go back to grazing. He didn’t try another trot, but occasionally he would come to the end of the rope at a walk. When he realized he could go no further, he would turn quietly and go another route.

“He’s getting the hang of it now,” Jody said proudly. “He is so smart!”

“I think we could leave him out overnight, don’t you?” Mary suggested. “I’ve got to get home soon, and so do you. It would be a shame to take him in so soon, when he’s enjoying himself so much. And he understands the rope now, I think.”

“Hmmm, I don’t know, Mare. Do you think he’ll be OK?” Jody worried.

“Sure he will. We’ll be back first thing in the morning. He can eat all this grass down tonight, and tomorrow we’ll tie him someplace else. I really think the grass will help him calm down, and then he’ll be good for the show next week!”

“Well, OK,” Jody agreed, “but we’ve got to get him a bucket of water. Help me carry it over from the stable.”

So the girls carried the water, one on each side of the bucket, to Star’s grazing spot. They watched him a little longer to make sure he was concentrating on grazing and not escaping, and then rode home on their bikes in the summer twilight.