And then there was David. It was obvious that they both had dreams about David. And it was obvious that David had chosen Laura. Well, no time to think about that, thought Mandy. He understands Laura. And I come barging into their privacy just the other day. No wonder Laura was so upset.
“Well,” said Mandy to Solana, “I can’t stand around here all day wishing the past away. Nobody knows the trails better than me and Laura.” She thought about all the horseback exploring she and Laura had done over the years. No rescue party could find half of the places she and Laura knew about.
“Solana, we’re going on a little trip.” She slipped on Solana’s rope rein and swung up onto the buckskin’s smooth back. Then she headed out of the gate into the adjoining grassy field. She would have to make peace with her father later.
The sun beat down relentlessly. But the little Paso Fino gaited along without tiring. It was hard to believe that only yesterday she had been down with Founder. Mandy said a silent prayer that the ride wouldn’t hurt Solana.
It seemed like hours passed. Up one trail. Down another. Mandy could hear the sounds of the search party. “Laura! Laura!” the men called. But the only answers were their own echoes fading in the summer air.
Mandy’s stomach reminded her that she’d missed breakfast—and very likely lunch, too. But she couldn’t go back. Suddenly, she heard the sound of talking and horses snorting. She rounded a bend in the trail and came on some of the search party having lunch. She looked directly into her father’s surprised face.
“What in the blazes?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Mandy said, sliding off Solana’s back. “But I just couldn’t wait back at the house, doing nothing. Besides,” she hurried on, “I know all of Laura’s favorite places in these woods. I really think I can help.”
He stared at her for a minute, then nodded. “You win. Come have some lunch and then we’ll all take off again. How’s Solana doing?”
“Fine, I think.”
Dr. Wilson checked Solana over and nodded in satisfaction. Mandy sat down on the ground gratefully and quickly ate two sandwiches. She had started on an apple when her father finally spoke to her again.
“Got any ideas about where to look?”
“We used to like to go down by the creek a lot.”
“We’ve looked there already—covered every inch above and below. Right now there are four separate parties out, mostly friends and neighbors. If we don’t have any luck by morning, the sheriff will send in a group with dogs.”
“Morning?” asked Mandy weakly. “Do you really think something’s happened to her?”
“I don’t know. But the longer it takes, the worse it looks.”
Suddenly, a lone rider came trotting into their view. It was someone from another search party. He reined up short in front of Dr. Wilson. “We found her horse. He was grazing in a field about a mile from here. He has a slight limp. He must have thrown her. No telling how long he’d been wandering out there.”
Mandy’s stomach lurched.
“Saddle up!” Dr. Wilson ordered his group. “She’s hurt all right.”
Eight
RAIN! Its smell was in the afternoon air. Gray clouds scuttled across the sky and thunderheads boiled in from the north.
“This is lousy!” Dr. Wilson muttered. But Mandy knew it already. Rain would halt the search, end it before nightfall. Well, the others could turn back, but she wasn’t going to! The constant thought of her friend lying hurt some-place made Mandy feel physically ill. She urged Solana on, and the Paso responded with unfaltering speed.
“Wait up!” her father called. “If we have to go back, don’t get any ideas about going on without us,” he told his daughter.
“I won’t,” Mandy said. She was aware that she had disobeyed him once already today. Yet, she purposely let more and more distance separate her from the rest of the party. Finally, around one bend she veered off west and headed toward the creek.
Somehow she had a feeling about the creek. In summers past, they’d had lots of picnics along its banks. Mandy really felt that Laura might have headed there the night before. The water would have erased Diablo’s tracks. If she’d been thrown, she’d be lying down there, somewhere in the undergrowth and rocks.
Thunder rumbled and Solana strained to turn back for her stable.
“No, you don’t, girl,” Mandy said. “We’re in this together—all the way.”
The rain started with a dull drizzle, and in no time turned into a wicked downpour. The banks along the creek became very slippery. Mandy got off Solana and led her along the trail for safety’s sake. They stopped for a while under a canopy of green leaves. Solana nibbled, and Mandy waited for the rain to slack off.
By the time the rain stopped, it was dusk and darkness was coming fast. Still, Mandy led Solana around the creek bed. The rain had caused it to swell, and the water rushed loudly over stones and tree roots.
Solana heard the noise first. The little horse pricked up her short sensitive ears and gave a nervous snort.
“What is it, girl?” Mandy asked. She strained to hear what Solana was hearing.
There! It sounded like a moan, Mandy thought. No... just the creek. No ...it was a moan! Mandy began groping along on her hands and knees in the wet, thick undergrowth. The banks of the creek rose steeply. She could see the edge of the trail above whenever she looked up.
Mandy’s hand touched something soft. And at the same time, she saw a bright patch of cloth. It’s Laura! she thought. Mandy pulled quickly at the undergrowth, throwing away chunks of bushes and tall, wet grass.
It was Laura all right. She was lying facedown and was covered with dirt and debris. Gently Mandy turned her over. Laura moaned again, but appeared to be unconscious. Her face was pale. She felt cold.
“Please, Laura, please, wake up! It’s me. It’s Mandy.” She started to move Laura and then noticed the way her leg was bent backward. “It’s broken. I just know it. Oh, no. What am I going to do?”
Mandy was worried. Should she leave Laura and go look for the search party? Mandy wondered. No, it was dark now. The searchers would have all gone back to the Callahans’ to wait for morning. Maybe they would bring lights and keep on looking. Now two girls were missing.
Mandy imagined her father’s face. She thought about how worried he must be. She began to cry. She was scared. Solana whinnied from far behind her. Solana! Of course! She’d send the horse back without her. That way they’d know she’d found Laura.
But how? Mandy hunted for some paper. There was nothing to write on. How could she let them know? They’d keep on looking if they could narrow down the places to look. How can I tell them? she wondered.
Mandy’s eyes fell on the bright blue scarf around Laura’s neck. Of course! The scarves. Everyone knew about the birthday present. Mandy pulled off her own scarf and then gently removed Laura’s. She carefully tied up some small creek rocks in the red one and then went over to Solana.
“Here,” she told her horse, tying both scarves to the horse’s reins. “Now, go on back and get your supper.” She led Solana back up the steep bank and turned her toward the Callahans’ stable. “Please don’t fool around, girl. I need you to go back to the stable.” Mandy slapped Solana hard on the rump and sent her off at a fast pace. “Home!” she yelled.
Mandy watched her horse disappear out of sight. She hoped Solana’s hunger and natural instinct would take her back to her warm, dry stable. She sighed and felt more alone than she ever had in her whole life. Then she thought of her friend lying hurt and unconscious below. She scurried back down to her side.
Mandy knew enough about medicine to know that Laura was in bad shape. The way she had fallen, the twist of her leg, the color of her face left no doubt that she needed medical attention soon.
“Hurry, Solana,” Mandy muttered under her breath. Then she hunted around for some way to make Laura more comfortable. She realized that the search party had probably passed Laura more than once t
hat day. Because of the dense foliage, they had not seen her. With Laura drifting in and out of consciousness, she had probably never heard them calling her name either.
Mandy found some moss, shook it out and tried to cover Laura with it. She knew that it was important that Laura stay as warm as possible. Mandy’s own clothes were damp and she began to feel chilly in the rain-cooled night air. But she sat huddled near Laura’s head and settled down to wait out the long night ahead.
“Hurry, Solana,” she whispered again.
Nine
TIME is hard to measure when you’re alone in the dark. Mandy couldn’t even guess how long she’d been sitting there when she heard Laura groan. Instantly, Mandy leaned over her.
“Here I am, Laura. It’s Mandy. I’m right here and help is on the way.”
“M—my leg... ,” Laura whispered.
“I know. Don’t try to move. We just have to hang on a little longer.”
“What happened? How did you. ..?” Her voice trailed off.
“I guess you were thrown. We’ve been looking for you all day. Me, Dad, your family—half the countryside, in fact. But it won’t be long now.” Mandy tried to sound reassuring.
“Yes. Now I remember...” Laura grimaced with pain. “Diablo tripped. A hole of some kind. I fell... Diablo!” Her voice rose in alarm.
“He’s all right,” Mandy said. “We found him this afternoon. He was limping, but Dad thought he’d be fine.”
“That’s good.” Laura sighed. “How did you find me?”
“Just an idea I had. I remembered all the rides we used to take by the creek. I was just lucky.”
Laura grew very quiet and Mandy became alarmed. She felt that she had to keep her talking. “Laura?”
There was a long silence before Mandy heard Laura say, “Yes?”
“Why did you go out riding alone at night? Was it because of the mean things I said to you?”
More silence. Then Laura answered softly, “Because everything you said was true. I hated it when you got your own horse. You spent all your time with your horse.”
“I know. Oh, Laura, I’m so sorry. I was a rotten best friend. I didn’t help you train once all summer for Diablo’s fall show circuit. And David reminded me. ..”
The mention of David’s name put up another wall between them. “David,” Laura said painfully. “I wanted him to like me so much.”
“Oh, but he does,” Mandy urged eagerly. “Why, I saw you holding hands down by the lake. He even told me he likes you.”
“I was holding his hand,” Laura corrected. “But we were talking about you.”
Mandy decided to change the subject. “Let me tell you how I sent for help.” Quickly, she told how she’d tied their scarves on Solana’s reins and sent the horse back. “I just hope she has the good sense to go home,” she finished, half to herself.
Laura grew very quiet. “Laura,” Mandy said, shaking her gently. “Don’t slip away on me. Please, keep talking to me.” But Laura did not respond.
Mandy scrambled to the edge of the creek and dipped her hands into the cold water. She crawled back to Laura and patted her friend’s face with the water.
Laura moaned. “I’m so cold ...”
“I know. But it won’t be long now.” Mandy reassured her friend. She clutched her knees to her chest and prayed silently, “Oh, dear God, don’t let it be long now. Please.”
The night dragged on. Mandy tried to make Laura talk some more, but she only mumbled. Mandy found more moss and spread it over Laura, being very careful not to disturb the twisted leg. She went once more to the creek and took a long drink of water for herself. It helped refresh her, but did little to stop her growing hunger pangs.
Mandy began to think that when morning came she might have to set out on foot for help. She shuddered at the thought of leaving Laura out here alone. But she might have no choice. What if Solana had not made it back to the stable? What if she were off in some grassy field, wandering aimlessly?
“Well, I must stop thinking like that,” she told herself sharply. “Just take it one minute at a time. And try to get a little sleep.” Just a little—why she hadn’t been to sleep in her own bed for two nights now!
Two nights! The last forty-eight hours felt like ten years. How long ago it seemed since the start of the summer. How long ago since her birthday. ..Mandy drifted into a restless sleep.
In her dream, it was a brilliant white-hot day. She was standing and watching Solana graze in a large grassy field. She whistled and called to her over and over, but Solana acted as if she didn’t hear. Yet, when Mandy tried to climb over the fence into the field, she discovered that it was so high she couldn’t crawl over it. Helplessly, she called to her horse.
Then she saw Laura riding out into the field on Diablo. Mandy began to call to her frantically, but Laura couldn’t hear her either. Slowly, Laura got off Diablo. She walked slowly over to Solana.
Laura petted her, then signaled to the little Paso. Solana followed her like a puppy. “No, no!” Mandy yelled in the dream. “She’s my horse! Laura, don’t! Solana is mine!” But they never heard her.
Just then, David walked into the field. He was smiling at Laura. He took her hand and together they began to walk away. Solana followed obediently behind them both. Mandy called and called to them.
The day was hot and still, the grass tall and swaying. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get over the fence. From out of nowhere, rows and rows of shiny trophies appeared, each engraved with Laura Callahan and Solana de Omega.
From very far away, Mandy heard someone calling her name. “Mandy! Mandy!” Over and over . . . David . . . her father . . . Laura . . . over and over...
Mandy struggled through layers and layers of sleep. Again, she heard her name. With a start, she sat up and realized that someone really was calling her name.
“Mandy!”
“Daddy!” she cried, struggling to her feet. “Daddy! Here I am! I’m down here, Daddy!”
From above the rim of the embankment, she saw a glowing yellow light. “Mandy! We’re here, honey!”
Suddenly, the air was filled with voices, and her father was sliding down the steep incline. And suddenly he was there with her, hugging her to him. And she knew that she was safe— safe in her father’s arms.
Ten
LOOKING back, Mandy was never really sure of what happened during the rest of that night and the next two days. She remembered anxious faces, many helping hands, the horsedrawn stretcher made for Laura. She didn’t remember any of the ride back to the Callahans’, only someone giving her hot tea in the Callahans’ kitchen, then shedding her clothes and sliding between soft, flowered sheets.
Even the next morning, she could only vaguely recall the smell of bacon and coffee, a phone ringing, hushed voices and hours and hours of deep dreamless sleep. In fact, it was late the next afternoon before Mandy really woke up.
She awoke with a start and looked around the Callahans’ guest bedroom. She got up and wandered down the hall and into the bright, sunny kitchen. Her father and the Callahans were sitting around the table with mugs of hot coffee.
“Mandy!” Her father grinned. “Welcome back. You’ve slept almost ’round the clock. Come on, honey. Have some food.”
She sat numbly while Mrs. Callahan prepared her meal. Mandy listened to all the details of the past twenty-four hours.
“First of all, Laura’s going to be fine,” Mandy’s dad assured her. “Her leg was badly broken. It’s a good thing you didn’t try to move her. She’s in the hospital now. But she should be coming home tomorrow. Her leg will be in a cast for at least eight to ten weeks, but she will be fine.”
“Oh, Dad, I’m so glad!” Mandy smiled.
“And you, young lady,” he continued, “are something of a heroine. No, I mean it. That was quick thinking, Mandy, tying those scarves on Solana with the river rocks in them. That little filly made a beeline for home. Once we got your message, we gathered up some gear and l
ights and came right to you. I’m very proud of you, honey.”
She smiled at him, a little embarrassed. “Laura would have done the same thing for me.”
“And another thing,” he continued, “that young man, David—he has the makings of a real horseman.”
Mandy looked up quickly at the mention of David’s name.
“Why, he’s personally taken care of Solana ever since you’ve been catching up on your rest. He’s groomed her, fed her, exercised her— taken real good care of her. And I don’t think she’ll have any problems with Founder again if you’re careful.”
“Oh, Daddy, I’m so glad. I never wanted Solana to suffer.”
Mandy was happy that it had all turned out well. But she was anxious to see and talk to Laura as soon as possible. She hung around the Callahans’ the next day, waiting for them to bring Laura home from the hospital.
Seeing them carry Laura into the house made Mandy’s heart lurch. The cast looked so big and heavy. It covered Laura’s entire leg from the thigh to her ankle. After Mandy was sure Laura was tucked comfortably into bed, she rapped gently on Laura’s bedroom door.
“Come in,” Laura called.
“Hi,” Mandy said a little shyly.
“Hi,” Laura returned. “Come sit down by my bed.”
Funny, Mandy thought. They’d been friends for so long. They had lived through a nightmare together. Now they were acting like strangers.
“Thanks, Mandy,” Laura said. She sensed the awkwardness between them, too. “I’m so glad you found me out there and stayed with me. I don’t remember much, but I do remember that you were there.”
“What are friends for?” Mandy shrugged, embarrassed.
“Well, I guess that finished it for me and the fall riding show circuit.” Laura changed the subject sadly.
“No way!” Mandy said emphatically.
“What do you mean? I can’t train Diablo like this.”