Autumn Trail by Bonnie Bryant Page A

she’d ever come up with a Thanksgiving project of her own. After all, with the play and the job at the stable, Stevie had
two
projects already.
    Topside’s rope had gotten a little tangled as he moved his head, so it took Lisa a moment to undo it. By the time she and Topside were ready to go, Lisa saw that Carole had taken Pepper’s halter and started to lead him out of the ring. But she had stopped and stepped back to look at him. Lisa could see that her friend’s forehead was wrinkled with concern.
    “Lisa,” Carole called, “have you noticed how uncomfortable Pepper seems? He doesn’t look well at all.”
    Lisa nodded. “I’ve noticed,” she said shortly.
    Carole and Stevie both turned to stare at her, surprised by Lisa’s harsh tone of voice.
    “Sorry,” Lisa apologized immediately, looking down at Topside’s lead rope in her hand. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
    “That’s all right,” Carole said, coming over to Lisa and putting her arm around her shoulders. “But what’s wrong with Pepper? How long has he been like this?”
    “At least since that night we brought him in from the pasture last week,” Lisa told them.
    “So that’s why you asked me to check on him today,” Stevie said. “Has Judy been to see him? Does she know what’s wrong with him?”
    Lisa nodded. “She’s seen him,” she said, so quietly that her voice was almost inaudible.
    “And?” Stevie said expectantly.
    “She said Pepper is … dying,” Lisa replied, looking up to meet her friends’ worried gazes.
    “Oh, no!” Carole and Stevie gasped in one voice. “How awful,” Carole whispered. “Poor Pepper.” She hurried over to hug the old gray horse, who was still standing patiently by the entrance to the ring.
    “There must be something Judy can do,” Stevie argued. “Hasn’t she given him any medicine or anything?”
    Lisa nodded and reached into her pocket. “She gave me this to give to him whenever he seems to be in pain.” She showed the other girls the medicine.
    “Well, I think he definitely needs some now,” Carole said. “Let’s take him back to his stall. We can give him some of the medicine after we put the rest of the horses away.”
    The others just nodded without saying anything further, since Veronica had just returned from Garnet’s stall. Even though she had been so nice lately, they still knew without discussing it that they didn’t want her to know about Pepper. That was something that should remain within The Saddle Club.
    “Hey, what are you all doing?” Veronica demanded. “I hope you’re not expecting me to put all these horses away myself.”
    “No, no,” Stevie answered quickly. “We’re helping.” She grabbed Delilah’s halter and led the docile maretoward the door. Carole followed with Pepper, and Lisa with Topside.
    Soon all of the horses were back in their stalls. Stevie had been trying to come up with a plan to get rid of Veronica while The Saddle Club took care of Pepper, but she needn’t have worried. Veronica announced that she wanted to give Garnet a bath before they left and strolled off toward her horse’s stall.
    Carole shook her head and stared after her. “She’s trying. I really think she’s trying.”
    “Well, maybe,” Stevie said, sounding a bit skeptical. “But, really, what would she have said if you’d insisted on leaving right now? I mean, she didn’t even ask.”
    Carole shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. As long as she’s taking care of her horse, I don’t mind waiting.”
    Stevie grinned. She should have expected that response. Carole’s first concern was always for the horses’ well-being.
    “Come on,” Lisa urged them. “Let’s go see Pepper.”
    Remembering their mission, The Saddle Club hurried to Pepper’s stall. The old horse was again standing facing the back corner, his head hanging low. But Lisa noticed that his breathing didn’t seem quite as labored as it had for the last couple of days.
    She mentioned this