Spirit Riding Free--The Adventure Begins

  Lucky smiled widely. That was Pru’s voice, and it was nearby.

  “Can you keep going?” she asked the stallion. He moved forward cautiously, his ears still pricked. Did he sense danger? His breathing was still rapid, but slowing with each step. Fortunately it was cool there, the cliffs shading them from the sun.

  BOOM!

  Lucky grabbed tightly as the stallion backed up, his head raised, his ears alert. They both looked up at the sky, where a plume of black smoke arose.

  The dynamiting had begun.

  30

  As Abigail sat on the ground, Boomerang nibbled on her hair. She pushed him away. “Boomerang, how many times must I tell you my hair is not food?” she scolded. He didn’t seem to care. He was bored because there was nothing to graze on, only cactuses, but luckily he was staying away from those. Pulling spikes out of Boomerang’s muzzle was not something Abigail wanted to repeat.

  She and Pru had ridden into Filbert Canyon and had stopped near a large boulder that was shaped like a sleeping dog. Walt, one of Mr. Granger’s ranch hands, had told Pru that he’d found some beautiful arrowheads at that exact spot. Even though Abigail had heard that Filbert Canyon was off-limits, Pru didn’t seem worried. “I hope Walt left a few for us,” Pru said as she jabbed the shovel into the dirt.

  This canyon was not Abigail’s favorite place. It was creepy in there, with steep walls that cast dark shadows, and even steeper ones that cut down to the river. The trails were difficult riding, which Pru loved, but Abigail was the sort who liked to take leisurely rides and enjoy the scenery—not worry about falling off a ledge or rolling down a steep hill. Pru had promised they would stay in the canyon and not touch the side trails, which suited Abigail just fine.

  Boomerang pushed against her, wanting more attention. She reached up and scratched his chest. A mournful sound drew their attention. A black vulture circled overhead, searching for carrion. Abigail gulped. “How long are we going to be here?”

  Pru dug another clump of dirt and tossed it aside. “It’ll take as long as it takes.” When Pru set her mind to something, she always saw it through. Abigail knew they wouldn’t leave without an arrowhead. “It might go faster if you helped.”

  “We have only one shovel,” Abigail said.

  “Yeah, guess that was bad planning on my part. You could sift through the dirt.”

  “Okay.” Abigail was about to pick up one of the dirt clumps when she noticed Chica Linda standing very rigid, her gaze focused on a distant point. A shiver darted up Abigail’s spine. She’d grown up on stories about places like this, where cattle rustlers and bandits hid from the law. “What’s the matter with Chica Linda? Do you think she hears something?”

  Pru looked up and shrugged. “Maybe.”

  BOOM!

  “What was that?” Abigail asked, scrambling to her feet. Boomerang and Chica Linda whinnied with concern.

  Pru stopped digging. “I’m not sure. Thunder?”

  “Thunder? Seems weird to have thunder today. What if there’s lightning, too? We shouldn’t be out here if there’s lightning.”

  Pru’s eyes narrowed as she looked into the distance. “Who’s that?” She pointed as someone on horseback rounded the corner. “Is that… Lucky?”

  Abigail couldn’t believe it. Lucky was charging toward them. And she was sitting, bareback, on the wild stallion. Maybe this was a mirage. The desert could play tricks like this. So Abigail closed her eyes real tight, then opened them. But it was still Lucky and still the wild stallion.

  “You’ve got to get out of here right now!” Lucky shouted to them as the stallion skidded to a stop. Lucky’s hair was a wild, windblown mess. Why did she look scared? “They’re dynamiting Filbert Canyon!”

  “Dynamite?” Pru said, turning to Abigail.

  BOOM!

  The explosion sounded closer this time. Abigail gasped. Pru dropped her shovel. Boomerang and Chica Linda went nuts, neighing and rearing, their eyes wild as the sound echoed between the canyon walls. A flock of birds took to the sky, followed by black smoke. Abigail grabbed Boomerang’s reins, trying to keep him calm. “It’s okay, boy. We’ll leave right now.” She grabbed the saddle horn and pulled herself up.

  “Holy moly, that was close,” Pru said as she flung herself into her saddle. Reins in hand, she stared at Lucky with disbelief. “When did you learn to—”

  BOOM!

  There was no time to ask questions. Again the horses reared, but Pru and Abigail held tight. “Okay, that was way too close!” Pru cried. “Let’s get outta here!”

  Lucky and the stallion took the lead, turning back in the direction they’d come. Abigail and Pru followed. But a rumbling sound filled the air. “Look out!” Pru called, pointing as an avalanche of rocks began rolling down the wall in front of them. The horses skidded to a stop. A cloud of dust filled the air as the rocks landed, blocking the entrance to the canyon.

  “Now how do we get out of here?” Lucky asked.

  “We have to go this way,” Pru said, turning around and leading them to a trail that wound steeply up the canyon wall. “It’ll take us up and over.” Abigail cringed. She’d been on that trail once before, and it had been a really tricky ride. But what choice did they have? They needed to get out of the canyon as quickly as possible. So she followed as Pru and Chica Linda began riding up the path.

  “Wait,” Lucky called. Abigail and Pru turned around in their saddles. Lucky and the stallion were at the bottom of the trail. “He doesn’t want to go that way,” Lucky said. She kicked a few times, but the stallion refused to move forward. He neighed. “He wants to go that way.” She pointed in the opposite direction.

  “No, this way’s better,” Pru said. The stallion bolted forward, passing Boomerang and stopping in front of Chica Linda. With eyes blazing, he blocked the path. Lucky held tight to his mane.

  “I’m no expert, but I think we should go the other way,” Lucky said.

  “The other way is longer,” Pru told her. “Besides, you don’t know these parts.”

  “It’s not me,” Lucky said. “It’s him.”

  Abigail trusted Pru, who knew the trails well. But she realized that Lucky was telling the truth. Lucky wasn’t making the decision here. She wasn’t experienced enough to guide the stallion or make him obey her commands. He was in control, and he’d chosen to block Chica Linda’s way. “Pru, maybe we should follow him,” Abigail said. “He’s a wild horse, so he probably knows all these trails much better than we do.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” Pru said stubbornly. She urged Chica Linda forward. As the palomino tried to step around the stallion, he reared up and slashed at her with his hooves.

  “That horse is crazy. Get out of the way!” Pru said angrily.

  BOOM!

  Another avalanche began to fall, directly up the trail. Before anyone could say another word, the stallion took the lead, with Boomerang and Chica Linda close behind. They raced toward the other path, the one neither Abigail nor Pru had explored. Abigail hadn’t turned Boomerang in that direction. He’d chosen to follow. Did he trust the stallion? Maybe they all should.

  Abigail gulped when she saw what lay ahead of them. Like the other trail, this one was narrow, but only one side was protected by a rock wall. The other side dropped deep into the canyon, where the river flowed. “I don’t like this,” Abigail said, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t like this one bit.”

  “It’ll be okay,” Pru told her. That was easy for Pru to say because she was one of the best riders in all Miradero. “Just keep focused, and we’ll be out of here soon. You ride in the middle.” It was odd for Pru to take the last position, but like the horses, she now seemed to trust the stallion’s lead.

  The stallion slowed his pace, hugging the wall as he stepped along the trail. When he kicked a small rock over the edge, Abigail made the mistake of watching it fall. It was a very long drop. She squealed. Boomerang glanced back at her. “Whatever you do, don’t look down,” she whispered to him.
“Just keep going.”

  She tried to keep her thoughts positive, but she couldn’t help imagining the worst. If this trail was blocked by another explosion, they’d have no way to escape. What would they do? Would she ever see her parents again? Would Snips have to go to school without her? How long could she and Boomerang survive on her canteen of water and her blueberry jam sandwich? Abigail didn’t want to think about such things. She gripped the reins and turned her focus to Lucky, who didn’t have a saddle or reins. One bad move and she could slip right off the stallion’s back. “Lucky, are you scared?”

  “Yes, definitely.”

  “Me too.”

  “Just keep hugging the wall,” Pru said. “The horses are too smart to step near the edge.”

  “Okay,” Abigail said, even though no one had ever called Boomerang smart. “I think we should talk about something to keep our minds busy. Otherwise I might get too scared to keep going!” Boomerang snorted. Then he bumped into the stallion’s rump. The stallion turned his head and gave Boomerang a warning glance.

  “Okay, I’ll start,” Lucky said as they rounded a bend in the path. The horses loosened more rocks, which rolled off the edge and down into the abyss. “This reminds me of a book I just finished. It’s called Journey to the Center of the Earth. Have you read it?”

  “No,” they both replied.

  “Well, there’s this professor and he has a secret map that supposedly leads to the center of the earth. So he takes his nephew and a guide, and they go into a volcano.”

  “On purpose?” Pru asked.

  “Yep.” Lucky paused as they turned another corner.

  “Keep talking,” Abigail pleaded as more rocks fell.

  “Well, they descend into the volcano, all the way down, where they find this giant cavern at the center of the earth, with a beach and an ocean.” Lucky went on to describe the world she’d read about, and Abigail was very happy to have someone who liked to talk as much as she did. It made her feel less frightened. Boomerang seemed more relaxed, too; his ears turned toward Lucky. “And there’s all this other weird stuff down there, like giant mushrooms and giant bugs.”

  “Ick,” Abigail said. “My brother loves bugs.”

  “How do they get out of the cavern?” Pru asked.

  “Well, they build a raft so they can travel on the ocean. And their raft gets sucked into this other volcano, and they get blasted to the surface!”

  Another explosion thundered in the distance, followed by the sound of more falling rocks. Abigail squealed again, but this time it was with glee, for they’d turned another corner, and a new sight awaited them. “We’re out!” she cried. “We made it!”

  Relieved to be out in the open, the horses broke into a gallop, getting some distance from the rock walls. Then they came to a stop and turned. Black smoke rose above the canyon.

  Lucky slid off the stallion’s back. “Looks like I owe you another apple,” she told him. Abigail couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t acting wild at all. He was even letting Lucky hug him.

  Pru and Abigail both dismounted. “You saved our lives,” Pru said to Lucky.

  Lucky shrugged. “It wasn’t me. It was… well, he doesn’t have a name, but he was the one who saved you.”

  “I still don’t understand,” Pru said. “I thought you couldn’t ride. How did you—”

  “Are you out of your minds?” The loud voice was unmistakable. Mr. Granger rode toward them, with Lucky’s dad and some ranch hands riding at his side. Mr. Prescott dismounted and pulled Lucky into a hug. Mr. Granger jumped to the ground and grabbed Pru. At first he hugged her, but then he held her at arm’s length. “Pru, I can’t believe you did that. You girls could have been killed.” His face was nearly as red as his bandana.

  “Dad, we’re okay,” Pru said apologetically. “I’m really sorry I worried you.”

  Abigail was glad her parents weren’t there. She’d gotten into trouble yesterday after picking all the lettuce in the garden for Boomerang. If her parents knew she’d been riding her horse in an off-limits area, they’d forbid her from riding. She’d lose Boomerang and be stuck with Señor Carrots.

  “Didn’t you see the danger signs?” Mr. Prescott asked his daughter.

  “No,” Pru said.

  “When we saw you riding out of the canyon, you scared the daylights out of us!” Mr. Granger said, more worried than angry. “It’s going to be a long time before I let you on a horse again!” He grabbed a rope from his saddle and looped it over the stallion’s neck. Abigail watched with amazement. The stallion didn’t try to escape. He didn’t buck or rear. He just stood next to Lucky.

  Pru stuck her hands in her pocket and looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry, Dad, it’s just…”

  “It’s my fault, sir.” Lucky stepped forward. She pushed her tangled hair from her eyes and looked up at Mr. Granger. What was she doing? None of this had been her fault. She’d saved them. Abigail and Pru looked at each other with confusion. “You see, I was taking this horse for a ride, but since I don’t actually know how to ride, Pru and Abigail saved me. I got stuck in the canyon, and they showed me the way out. I’m so sorry.”

  “Lucky, whose horse is that?” Mr. Prescott asked.

  “It’s my horse,” Mr. Granger said with puzzlement.

  Mr. Prescott frowned as he addressed his daughter. “Is this true?”

  “Yes, I took him out of Mr. Granger’s corral,” Lucky admitted. “I wanted to ride him. He’s the horse I saw from the train. The one the mesteñeros caught.”

  “This is very serious,” Mr. Prescott said. “You can’t take someone else’s horse.”

  Abigail began to squirm. This wasn’t fair. Lucky shouldn’t be in trouble. “Wait…” she said, but Pru stepped forward.

  “Dad, you’ve got it all wrong,” Pru said. “I’m the one who wanted to look for arrowheads. Abigail said Filbert Canyon was off-limits, but I didn’t think it would be dangerous. I got stubborn and didn’t listen. Lucky saw us heading out here and she rode the stallion to warn us. She ended up saving us because the stallion led us down a different path, one I didn’t know about. That’s how we got out.”

  Everyone looked at Mr. Granger, waiting for his reaction. Abigail was used to Pru’s father. He was strict and he had a hot temper, but he was also a genuinely nice man. He and Pru often quibbled about stuff but in the end, they always loved each other.

  Mr. Granger scratched his black beard, moving his gaze between Pru and Lucky. “Two different stories,” he said. “Which one is true?”

  This time, Abigail stepped forward. “Pru’s telling the truth. Lucky and the stallion saved us.”

  Now everyone was looking at Lucky and the wild mustang. He rested his chin on her right shoulder while she scratched his cheek. They sure seemed close. How is that possible? Abigail wondered. Lucky didn’t ride horses, and according to Maricela, she didn’t even like them!

  Mr. Granger pushed his cowboy hat up his forehead and glared at the mustang. “No one should be able to ride that horse. I haven’t broken him yet.”

  “He’s not broken?” Mr. Prescott smiled with surprise. “Well, I guess Lucky’s a natural.”

  Mr. Granger looked from Lucky to the stallion and cleared his throat. He turned toward Lucky. “Young lady,” he said, “seeing that you and the stallion saved Abigail and my daughter today…” He held out the rope. “You just became the owner of one hardheaded horse.”

  “What?” Lucky stopped scratching and her arm fell to her side. “He’s… mine?”

  “Al, are you sure?” Mr. Prescott asked.

  “He saved my girl’s life. I couldn’t be more sure about anything.” He pressed the rope into Lucky’s hand, and she took it. “Heck, he won’t let anyone else get near him. That horse has got a heck of a lot of spirit.”

  Lucky gasped. “That’s perfect. His name is… Spirit.”

  Abigail clapped her hands in delight. “This is the best day ever! Lucky, now you can go riding with us.” Lucky presse
d her forehead against the stallion’s. Abigail smiled. Yes, they really did belong together. What a perfect match.

  Lucky turned to Mr. Granger. “Thank you, sir, but are you sure about this?”

  “As sure as a pig in a puddle,” Mr. Granger said with a smile. “He’s yours.”

  “Thank you for giving Spirit to me, but…” Lucky took a deep breath. This was the right thing to do. “Spirit can’t be owned. When I was riding him, I felt… free. And if it’s all right with you, that’s how I’d like him to stay.” She slipped the rope from his neck. “Free.” She kissed his cheek. And then she stepped away.

  As if he somehow understood what had just happened, Spirit turned and raced away toward the distant hills.

  “Good-bye,” Lucky said, wiping a tear from her eye. Abigail put her arm around Lucky’s shoulder. Pru joined them, as did Boomerang and Chica Linda, watching as the stallion beat his wild rhythm across the frontier.

  And then, Spirit was gone.

  31

  Immediately following the incident with the girls, Lucky’s dad ordered the workers to place more DANGER signs around Filbert Canyon. Then he told them to take the rest of the day off; they would start again in the morning. When he and Lucky got home, he explained to Cora what had happened. “I’m never taking my eyes off you,” Cora declared, hugging Lucky until she turned blue. “Stealing a wild horse and nearly getting blown up!” Cora placed her hand on the wall, steadying herself. Was she going to faint for the first time in her life? The incident strengthened her resolve to leave Miradero as soon as possible. “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” Cora said, wiping a tear from Lucky’s cheek. “We’ll see your father as often as possible. I promise.” Cora mistook the tears for sadness, when really they were brought on by joy. Lucky had accomplished her task—to set the stallion free. It was the best feeling in the world.