Mystery Ride by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page B

need to check them, too.”
    “And we don’t even know them,” Stevie said. “They’re not going to like this.”
    They walked back to the stable door and pushed it open. It gave a loud creak.
    “Oh, no,” Stevie whispered.
    A light appeared on the boys’ side of the loft, and A.J.’s red hair appeared at the window.
    “What’s going on?” he said.
    Lisa, Carole, and Stevie were silent for a long moment.
    “Nothing much,” Lisa finally said.
    “It must be something,” A.J. said.
    Stevie looked around quickly, desperate for an excuse. “We’re … admiring the moonlight,” she said. “It’s so great!” Actually it was an ordinary half-moon.
    “Hey, I love moonlight. I’ll be right down,” A.J. said.
    The three girls looked at each other in dismay. “Of all people,” Lisa said. A.J. was known for his chattiness—and his inquisitiveness.
    Seconds later A.J. appeared in the doorway in a gray sweater. “This is fantastic,” he whispered. “All my life I’ve been looking for people who are as crazy about moonlight as I am.”
    Stevie rolled her eyes.
    “Just look at that ring around the moon,” he said. “Isn’t it fantastic?”
    “Unbelievable,” Lisa said.
    “You can really see the seas on the moon,” A.J. went on. “They’re not real seas, of course. They’re filled with dust. But they’re called
mare
, which is Latin for ‘sea.’ ”
    Carole yawned.
    “I guess the excitement of the moonlight has worn you out,” A.J. said.
    “It’s a killer,” Carole said. “Really draining.”
    “Have you guys made; progress on the mystery?” he asked. “I’m not asking for clues or anything, just a general progress report.”
    Lisa let loose with a yawn so large her jaw ached. “You know what?” she said. “I think I’ve had enough moonlight.”
    “Me too,” said Carole. “It’s not good to have too much at one time.”
    “You guys are wimps,” A.J. said cheerfully. “I’ll be out here watching the moonlight for hours.”
    “Tell us about it in the morning,” Stevie said as she stumbled toward the stairs.
    “A.J.’s a little strange,” Carole whispered as they crept up to the loft.
    “And he’s Phil’s best friend,” Stevie whispered. “It kind of makes you wonder.”
    As Stevie snuggled back into her sleeping bag, shethought that her plan hadn’t been a total success, but it hadn’t been a total failure, either. They hadn’t gotten a chance to check the guest horses, but at least they knew that none of the Pine Hollow horses was wearing barred shoes.

“P ANDEMONIUM ,” L ISA GROANED.
    “What?” said Carole.
    “Chaos,” Lisa said. “I think I’ll go back to sleep.”
    This, however, was not going to be possible. May, Amie, and Jackie were playing keep-away with a riding crop. The game involved a lot of jumping and shrieking. Corey was insisting that a thief had come during the night and stolen her toothbrush.
    Lisa sat up, wishing—for only a second—that she was at home in her comfortable bed. But then she saw an amazing sight. Veronica was sitting at her portable dressing table staring at herself in the mirror. There was nothing unusualabout this. Veronica spent half her life looking at herself in the mirror. But this morning she was staring at herself in dismay.
    Veronica’s hair gel seemed to have attracted every seed and bit of hay in the loft. Her rollers were coated with prickly tidbits.
    “Veronica, you look like a giant thistle,” said Stevie cheerfully. “And—to tell you the truth—the look suits you.”
    “It’s not my fault,” Veronica said crossly. “If only Pine Hollow had showers.”
    Corey and Amie were so amazed by Veronica’s new look that they started dumping hay on each other’s head, yelling, “We want to be beautiful like Veronica.”
    With a scornful toss of her head, Veronica picked up her brush, saying, “Some of my best ideas come out of problem situations.”
    “This I gotta see,” said Stevie, crossing her