The children sat on the corral fence as Cookie and the young woman talked to the policeman. “So,” the policeman said, writing in his notebook, “you’re the new head wrangler.”
The young woman nodded. “My name’s Alyssa. I’ve been riding here at the ranch since I was a little girl. Last month, when the head wrangler retired, I applied for the job. Cookie put me in charge of caring for the horses.”
“And you’re sure two of them were stolen?” the policeman asked.
“Where else could they be?” she asked, her voice shrill.
Cookie patted the young woman’s shoulder. “Every morning, Alyssa brings horses from the pastures to the corral so we can check them over.” Cookie pushed a wisp of white hair off her forehead. “Some horses need shots or ointments. Others need their hooves picked, or new shoes put on.”
“And we put out oats,” said Alyssa. “Honey and Bunny love their oats. They’re usually the first ones into the corral. But not … but not today …” She sniffed and stared down at her boots.
The children felt sorry for Alyssa. The horses were her responsibility, and now two of them were missing. “Maybe,” said Violet, “they jumped over the fence.”
“It’s too high,” said Alyssa.
“Besides,” said Cookie, “Honey and Bunny wouldn’t even try to jump. They are a couple of sweet old mares who spend their days grazing and sleeping.”
The policeman scratched the back of his neck. “Well,” he said, “I do recall reading about a ring of horse thieves working in the next county. But that was a few months back. I never heard of any horses stolen from around here. Has your ranch had trouble like this before?”
“No,” said the two women.
The policeman flipped his notebook shut. “You should call around. Ask your neighbors to keep an eye out for your horses.” He climbed into his car. “I’ll spread the word when I have time.” He drove away down the dusty road.
“I’ll go check the pastures one more time,” said Alyssa, riding off.
“And I need to get back to my kitchen before I burn up breakfast,” said Cookie. “I’ll ring the cowbell when it’s time to come eat.”
The four Alden children sat quietly on the fence, thinking. It was well known back home in Greenfield that the children loved to solve mysteries. But they never expected to find one at the Dare to Dream Ranch.
Finally, Jessie said, “Well, if you ask me, this doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“What doesn’t?” asked Violet.
Jessie turned to her sister. “Pretend you’re a horse thief.”
Violet gasped. “Oh, I would never steal—”
“Just pretend,” said Jessie.
“I’ll do it!” said Benny.
“Good,” said Jessie, “you’re the thief.” Benny made a mean face. “Perfect. Now, here you come, sneaking around this ranch in the dead of night. You see a pasture filled with beautiful horses. You can steal any one of them. So, do you steal a couple of tired old mares?”
“Not me!” said Benny. “I’d steal Lots-o’-Dots, ’cause he’s the best.”
“And I’d steal the fastest and the strongest horses I could find,” said Henry. “Like Lightning and Dragon.”
“Exactly!” Jessie said. “That’s why this doesn’t make sense.”
They sat quietly, thinking, watching the corral full of horses. The Aldens always felt a special bond with the rescue horses on the ranch. These children also knew how it felt to be homeless. After their parents died, they had run away and lived all by themselves. One stormy night, they found an old boxcar in the woods, and soon made it their home. They lived there until Grandfather found them and brought them to live with him. Like the rescue horses on Cookie’s ranch, the children knew how hard it was to be on their own, and how wonderful it felt to find a safe and loving home.
“What’s Dragon doing here?” boomed a deep voice. A big man rode up. He wore an old straw cowboy hat. His long blond moustache curled up at the ends.
“Dragon is my horse,” said Jessie. “I’m going to ride—”
“He’s not ready,” the man snapped. “He cut his leg. Alyssa was told to keep him in out in the west pasture until it healed.”
“Who are you?” asked Henry.
“Kurt Krupnik, the new ranch manager,” the big man said. “Alyssa better learn to listen to me if she wants these horses to stay healthy.
I told Cookie that girl is too young to be head wrangler.” Then he whirled his horse around and rode away.
“Do you really think something’s wrong with Dragon?” asked Jessie. They watched Dragon walk around the corral. He didn’t limp or seem hurt. Maybe Kurt was wrong. Maybe Dragon’s leg had healed.
Clang, clang, clang. A loud cowbell rang. “Break-fast,” called Cookie. Clang, clang, clang. “Come and get it.”
The hungry children scrambled down from the fence and joined the ranch hands and volunteers heading toward the main house. Violet was nearly at the door when she realized Benny was missing. Something was wrong—Benny was always first in line for food! She ran back to the corral. Benny still sat on the fence, scratching Lots-o’-Dots behind the ear.
“Benny,” she said, “you’ll miss breakfast.”
“I’m not going,” he said.
“Why not?”“
“If I leave, someone might come and steal Lots-o’-Dots. The way they stole Honey and Bunny.”
“Don’t you worry.” An old man limped up carrying two buckets filled with oats. He looked like Grandfather with his white hair and nice smile. But this man was a little shorter and a lot rounder. A ragged band of bright orange feathers decorated his cowboy hat. Some feathers were bent, and some were missing. “My name’s Bucky,” he said. “I volunteer here at the ranch. And I can guarantee that Lots-o’-Dots will be right here when you finish your breakfast.”
“How do you know?” Benny asked.
“Well, now, if there’s one thing Lots-o’-Dots likes, it’s a handful of these oats.” He held a bucket out to Benny. “If you feed him some, he’ll wait around for you to comeback.”
Benny scooped a handful of oats and held them out. Lots-o’-Dots gobbled them down and snorted for more.
“Are you sure no one will steal him?” asked Benny. He didn’t want to leave, but his stomach was growling for breakfast.
“I’ll keep an eye on him for you,” said Bucky. “Now, you’d better hurry. Cookie serves the best flapjacks in the county.”
“Flapjacks?” asked Benny.
“They’re like pancakes, but a whole heap bigger. And Cookie serves ’em up with powdered sugar and hot maple syrup.”
That did it! Benny jumped down from the fence and raced Violet all the way to the ranch house.
At the door, he stopped and looked back at the corral. Lots-o’-Dots poked his nose through the fence, waiting for Benny to come back.
The dining room rang with lively voices. There were wranglers who worked with the horses and volunteers who helped nurse the rescue horses. Cookie sat with the children at a long wooden table. A skinny man with thick black hair sat at the head of their table.
“This is Slim,” said Cookie. “Our regular doc broke his leg and can’t work for a couple of months. Slim here is filling in as the ranch’s veterinarian.”
“Wow, you’re an animal doctor!” said Benny.
“Like the vet who takes care of Watch.”
“Is Watch your horse?” asked Slim.
“Watch is our dog,” Benny said. “Watchdog. Get it?”
Slim grunted. “I love dogs,” he said. “Know all about ’em. Heck, I once wrote a book about how to raise dogs. It was called How to Raise Dogs. Yes sir, next to horses, I like doctoring dogs the best.”
Slim reached his arm across Benny for the syrup. Even though Slim’s hair was black, the hair on his arm was red. “Soon as I settle in,” Slim was saying, “I mean to get me a dog. Maybe two. Heck, maybe three.” Benny stared at Slim’s throat. A bump in the middle bounced up and down when he talked.
“Will you look at Dragon’s leg after breakfast?” Jessie asked. “Kurt said I can’t ride Dragon unless you say it’s all right. Dragon is right out in the corral.”
Slim frowned. “I told Alyssa to keep him out in the west pasture for a few more days. Until he heals.”
“Please,” Jessie begged. “He isn’t limping or anything.”
Slim leaned back in his chair, balancing on the back two legs. “I have a lot to do this morning. But I’ll try to check him out later.”
“Oh, thank you,” said Jessie, crossing her fingers as hard as she could.
“Slim, here, is real good at finding rescue horses,” said Cookie. “In the month since he moved here, he’s brought in a whole bunch.”
“That’s because people all across these United States know I like to help horses in need,” Slim said proudly. “I’ve been helping rescue horses for years.”
Benny watched the bump in Slim’s throat dancing up and down. Grandfather had a small bump in his throat. “It’s called an Adam’s apple,” he’d said. “It’s where the voice box is.” But Grandfather’s Adam’s apple never danced like Slim’s. Benny’s mouth hung open. Henry tapped his foot against Benny’s. Benny kept staring. Henry leaned over and whispered, “Stop staring.” Benny tried. But he just couldn’t help himself.
“There’s Alyssa,” said Cookie, waving. The wrangler’s shoulders sagged as she walked across the dining room. She took off her red hat and sat next to Cookie. “I searched everyone of our pastures,” she said. “Honey and Bunny are gone.”
Cookie picked up a spoon and clinked her water glass. The room grew quiet. She told everyone about the missing horses.
“Did any of you see or hear anything unusual last night?” she asked. Benny raised his hand.
“Yes, Benny?”
“I heard a horse whinny,” he said. Everyone burst into laughter. Benny slid down in his chair, embarrassed.
“Thank you, Benny,” said Cookie. “But here on the ranch, it would be strange not to hear horses whinny now and again.” She looked around the room. “Did anyone else hear anything?”
Benny was going to tell them about hearing a truck start up in the middle of the night. But he was afraid they’d laugh at that, too. So he just reached for the maple syrup and poured it all over his second helping of Cookie’s famous flapjacks.
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