The Fox Hunt (13 page)

“That’s what we mean,” Carole said. “See, all these ifs lead to trouble.”

“Trouble?” Once again, the word sounded unfamiliar coming from Stevie. “That’s not what I meant. When the four of them got the idea of making
a drag trail, that turned a really great fox hunt into an outstanding fox hunt. I mean, if it weren’t for me, you never would have had a chance to take an elephant on a fox hunt. You guys ought to be thanking me instead of trying to get me to change my ways.” She grinned proudly. Her friends understood that she was smiling then because she was happy at the way she’d been able to turn their arguments inside out and make herself come out on top. She wasn’t done, either.

“And, speaking of thanking me, you’re about to do it again, because my sharp eye has just spotted a wily fox skirting the edge of the ravine over to the left. He’s about to run through the creek, dash along the top of the fallen tree by the big old rock, and then scootch under the pile of brush next to the alfalfa field. The hounds, as you can see, are positively going wild. I think that if we hurry—really hurry—we can catch up with him by the time he reaches the fallen tree. Tallyho!”

She was off.

Carole and Lisa looked at one another, stunned. They’d never known anyone quite like Stevie before, and they were sure they wouldn’t ever again. She could be strange, wild, and definitely incorrigible, but she could also be an awful lot of fun. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad combination after all.

“Arf, arf!” Carole howled.

“After the hounds!” Lisa agreed.

Bonnie Bryant is the author of nearly a hundred books about horses, including the Saddle Club series, the Saddle Club Super Editions, and the Pony Tales series.