Katie and the Mustang, Book 2 by Kathleen Duey Read Free Book Online Page A

stand still, he would only get worse.
    I was pretty nervous, too. The ferry was a creaking flatboat that held two wagons and a dozen or so people at a time. The ferrymen had long poles, and they shoved at the river bottom, moving the ferry along until they hit the deepest water in the middle of the river.
    Once they got that far, two men on the far side turned a crank that reeled in a long cable attached to the front of the ferry and dragged it through the strong current in the middle of the river. They used the poles again once it was back in the shallows.
    They just turned the whole process around to bring the ferry back. Mostly, it was empty coming back, but twice there were families with farm wagons on it. One group was dressed up like they were going to a wedding. The other family had a wagonload of provisions to sell.
    People surrounded them as soon as they made it plain that they had goods for sale. I saw Hiram walking toward them, his step quick and sure.
    I looked back out as the next two wagons on our side were moving up the ramp onto the deck of the ferry. The horses were tossing their heads, eyes circled in white, switching their tails. The rails around the ferry made it look like a stall—but no stall had ever shifted and swayed beneath their hooves before.
    I walked the Mustang up the street again, trying to calm him down. Hiram was carrying an oaken water barrel when he met me coming back. “How’s he doing?”
    â€œI don’t think he’ll let me lead him onto the boat. Hiram, the farm horses look fit to come undone riding like that, with the boat swaying and bobbing beneath them.”
    â€œYou ever been on a boat?”
    I shook my head.
    â€œCan you swim?”
    I shook my head.
    â€œYou afraid?” he asked me.
    I let out a long whooshing breath. “Maybe.”
    He smiled at me. “If you are, he will be. He trusts you. If you act like it’s too dangerous, he’ll believe you.”
    I looked at the Mustang. He was holding his head so high, I had to crane my neck. I reached up and touched his muzzle. The instant he felt my hand, he lowered his head and pushed his forehead against my chest.
    I glanced at Hiram.
    â€œSee? He’s depending on you.”
    I scratched the Mustang’s ears gently. “We’ve watched it go back and forth all morning,” I told him. “Nothing has happened. We’ll be fine.”
    Hiram hoisted the barrel to his shoulder and grinned at me. “Keep walking him—that will help. I want to buy whatever else I can before our turn comes up. Things are expensive here—but even worse on the other side, people say. I am glad we got the bacon in Des Moines at least. Katie?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI’ll teach you to swim. No reason why girls shouldn’t know how to swim.”
    I nodded, then started back up the road. As I walked, the Mustang followed me closely, easily. I almost never had to tug at the rope anymore, I realized. He kept an eye on me, and if I changed direction, he did, too.
    I knew Hiram was right. The Mustang was depending on me to take care of him in this jumble of wagons and people. I rested my hand on his neck as we walked.
    On the way back down the road, I saw the Kylers sorting out their stock. Polly and Julia and some of the younger girls were standing still, side by side, on one side of the oxen to keep them from wandering, it looked like. There were two older boys helping Andrew and the other Kyler men move the horses slowly away from the line of wagons.
    None of the girls smiled at me, though they all watched closely as I walked past on the road. I hadn’t been too friendly with them, I knew. But it seemed like they had no use for me at all. I had heard the younger ones’ names. There was a Mary May, probably named after her grandmother, and a Patience and a Hope. I knew this because their mothers were calling them constantly.
    There were two or three more, too,