On Wednesday after school Alice-Miranda and Millie saddled up their ponies and headed out for a short ride. There wasn’t enough time to go on their favourite route over to Gertrude’s Grove, so instead they headed in the opposite direction, down along the river to Duck’s Flat.

‘We should go and see Miss Hephzibah and Miss Henrietta on the weekend,’ Alice-Miranda turned and called to Millie, who was having trouble getting Chops to keep up.

‘Caledonia Manor looks incredible. They should be ready to open the teaching college soon,’ Millie called back. She gave Chops a sharp kick in the flank, to little effect. ‘I think I might retire Chops soon and start riding Stumps instead.’

Chops seemed to take this rather personally and launched himself into a fast-paced canter alongside Bonaparte, who turned his head and attempted to give the old fellow a nip.

‘Bonaparte!’ Alice-Miranda tugged sharply on the reins. ‘Behave yourself, you naughty little beast.’

‘I’m not stopping now,’ Millie shouted as Chops surged forward, picking up the pace and belting off across the paddock. ‘Race you to the pond.’

Alice-Miranda urged Bony into a canter and then a gallop. She liked the way the crisp afternoon air prickled her face.

Millie reached their destination first, as Alice-Miranda knew she would. Although Chops impersonated a sloth most days, when he got going there was no way Bonaparte could beat him. Millie leapt out of the saddle and led the pony to the edge of the pond for a drink. Alice-Miranda did the same and the two girls stood side by side as Bony and Chops slurped the cool water.

On the far side of the pond swam a brown mother duck followed by five fuzzy ducklings.

‘Oh, they’re so sweet,’ said Alice-Miranda as she watched the little ones race to stay close to their mother.

Then something else caught her attention.

‘Do you see that?’ She tapped Millie on the shoulder and pointed.

‘What?’ said Millie, squinting into the distance.

‘I think it’s the top of a tent,’ Alice-Miranda decided. ‘We should go and say hello. The campers probably don’t know they’re on private property.’

Alice-Miranda gathered Bony’s reins and led him around the edge of the pond and over the stream via an ancient stone causeway. Millie and Chops followed.

‘Hello, is anyone here?’ Alice-Miranda called as she approached the camp site. A two-man tent was pitched beside a scrubby bush. Wisps of smoke rose from a camp fire and beside it, a young man was sitting on a log and cooking sausages. There was a billy boiling on the fire too.

‘Hello,’ Alice-Miranda called again.

‘Oh, hello yourself.’ The fellow stood up. He was short and stocky with dark hair and tanned skin and he had the most unusual tawny-coloured eyes. Alice-Miranda thought he looked about the same age as Mr Walt, probably late teens or early twenties.

‘That smells delicious.’ Alice-Miranda nodded at the sausages as they sizzled away. She held out her hand. ‘My name is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones and I’m very pleased to meet you, Mr . . .’

She waited for an answer.

The man’s brow wrinkled. ‘Um.’ He looked at the fire and then at her, then down at the ground. ‘Billy. Billy, uh . . .’ He hesitated for another moment. ‘Boots, Billy Boots.’ He stepped forward and took Alice-Miranda’s tiny hand in his.

‘Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Mr Boots,’ Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘This is Millicent Jane McLoughlinMcTavish-McNoughton-McGill, but she prefers Millie.’

‘I can see why,’ said Billy. ‘That’s more than a mouthful.’

Millie said hello and reached forward to shake the young man’s hand too.

‘Are you on holiday?’ Millie asked, glancing around at the camp site.

‘Sort of. Bit of a boy’s own adventure,’ he replied. ‘I’m picking up some work here and there. Finding my fortune I suppose you could say.’

‘Oh,’ said Alice-Miranda. ‘What sort of work do you do?’

‘I’m not fussy.’

And then like a lightning bolt, Alice-Miranda remembered. ‘Mr Boots, are you any good with horses?’

‘I’ve had some experience and I like ’em well enough,’ he replied.

‘Mr Walt is leaving us at the end of the week and we need someone to help out at the stables at school. You should come and see Mr Charles about the job. I’m not sure if he has anyone lined up but it can’t hurt to ask,’ Alice-Miranda fizzed. Then she stopped for a moment, frowning. ‘But I don’t think you can live here. I mean, it’s a lovely spot to camp but I can’t imagine that Miss Grimm will be very happy about it.’

‘I think there’s a flat above the stables,’ Millie offered. ‘Wally doesn’t live there because he lives in the village with his parents.’

‘Oh, it’s too perfect for words,’ said Alice-Miranda, beaming.

Billy nodded slowly. ‘Yeah, it sounds all right to me, I suppose.’

Millie nudged her friend. ‘Come on, we need to get going, Alice-Miranda. It’s getting dark.’

‘I hadn’t realised it was so late,’ Alice-Miranda replied. ‘But why don’t you come to the school tomorrow, Mr Boots, and ask to speak with Mr Charles Weatherly. I’ll let him know that Millie and I met you. Probably best to head over about morning tea time – that’s eleven o’clock.’

Billy reached out to give Bonaparte a pat. Bony bared his teeth, and then did the strangest thing. He licked Billy’s arm.

‘Oi, what are you doing!’ The young man pulled away.

‘Bony!’ Alice-Miranda giggled and tugged firmly on his reins. ‘That’s very strange. I’m sorry but that means he likes you. And believe me, he really doesn’t like most people at all – especially young men.’

‘I’ll take your word for it,’ said Billy, frowning at the pony. ‘They’re not all like him are they?’

‘Oh no, not at all,’ Alice-Miranda replied. ‘The other ponies are much friendlier.’

The two girls hauled themselves into the saddles and wheeled Bony and Chops around.

‘See you tomorrow,’ Alice-Miranda called.

‘Yeah, tomorrow.’ Billy raised his chin in a sort of backwards nod.

Millie and Alice-Miranda made it back to the stables with just enough time to give Bony and Chops a quick rub down and some food before the girls were due at their evening meal. As they were finishing up, Wally Whitstable and Charlie Weatherly drove up in the four-wheel drive with a fresh load of straw on board.

Alice-Miranda met them as they got out of the vehicle. ‘Hello Mr Charles, Mr Walt. I’m glad that we’ve run into you.’

‘Did you have a good ride?’ Charlie asked.

‘Yes, thank you,’ Alice-Miranda nodded.

Millie appeared from the tack room where she had just put Chops’s saddle away.

‘Good afternoon, Miss Millie,’ Charlie said with a nod at the red-haired girl.

‘Hello Charlie. Did Alice-Miranda tell you that we met a young man camping down near Duck’s Flat?’ Millie asked. ‘He’s on an adventure.’

Charlie’s brow puckered. ‘What sort of an adventure?’

‘I’m not really sure,’ Alice-Miranda answered. ‘But he was friendly and he said that he was looking for work.’

‘Is the fella any good with horses?’ Wally piped up.

‘He said that he’s had some experience and he likes them and so I thought perhaps he might be able to help out here – even if just for a little while,’ Alice-Miranda suggested.

Charlie smiled at this tiny child with her cascading chocolate curls and brown eyes as big as saucers. He wondered if there was any problem she couldn’t solve.

‘I suggested to Mr Boots that he should come over around morning tea time tomorrow,’ Alice-Miranda said.

‘Sounds good, don’t you think, Charlie?’ said Wally eagerly.

‘We’ll see,’ the older man replied. ‘You two girls had best be getting off to dinner and if Wally ever wants to go home tonight we’d better unload this straw.’