Not far from the cabin was a pit in which were dying embers of a wood fire. The horses stopped of their own free will, as though they, too, were surprised. “Let’s stop and see if Bobby’s compass will be of any help.”Īnd then they came around a bend and found themselves in a large clearing, and to their amazement, right smack in the middle of it was a rustic cabin. “I haven’t the foggiest notion,” Trixie got out, panting. “They’re under control now,” Honey gasped, her face very white, “but where are we?”
As the path widened, Starlight came up so that the girls were now riding abreast. If only Honey, who was so much more experienced a horsewoman, were in the lead!īut finally, from sheer exhaustion, Trixie guessed, Susie gradually slowed from a dead run to a canter and at last to a trot.
To make matters worse, the path wound dizzily through the woods so that instead of galloping in a straight line, Susie kept swerving abruptly, sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, so that it was hard for Trixie to keep her seat in the saddle. Susie showed no signs of even slowing, but she might stumble on a rock, and then both girls would probably be thrown. He was following Susie so closely that Trixie knew if the mare suddenly stopped there would be a terrific collision and Honey might be badly hurt. The “devil” in this case was only Starlight, but Trixie guessed that he, too, was panic-stricken. Susie flew along as though pursued by a thousand devils. She pulled as hard as she could on the curb, yelling, “Whoa! Whoa!” to no avail. Branches of evergreens slapped Trixie in the face and brought blinding tears of pain to her eyes. Susie was in the lead and by the time Trixie did gather up the reins, she was out of control. While they had been talking both girls had let the reins go slack, and, almost before they knew it, both horses had bolted and were tearing along the narrow path. The blasts were so close by that Susie shied violently. He probably has a gun.”Īnd then, as though in proof of her statement, two shots rang out in rapid succession. Honey shuddered and said in a scared whisper, “That poacher might be in the thicket right now listening to every word we say.
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