than Mrs. Atwood.
“Oh, poor Belle!” Stevie said when Carole told her that she’d helped get blood samples from all the horses. Belle was a good-natured horse most of the time, but she wasn’t a very good patient.
“She didn’t fuss at all,” Carole told Stevie. “I held her halter and told her knock-knock jokes. I was trying to make her think I was you.”
Lisa and Stevie laughed. Everybody knew that it was good to talk calmly to a horse when it was upset, and Stevie had decided that if she liked knock-knock jokes, her horse undoubtedly did, too.
“Which ones?” Stevie asked.
“Isabel necessary on a bicycle,” Carole said.
“Well, she’s already heard that one,” Stevie said. “If she believed you were me, she probably thought I’d slipped a cog!”
“I didn’t say I fooled her,” Carole said. “I just said I tried.”
“Thanks,” Stevie said.
The girls knew that their joking contrasted sharply with the concern each of them felt, but it was a way of keeping themselves from crying, which seemed to be the only alternative. Given a choice, laughter was almost always better.
“I bet those horses are going to be fine,” Lisa said. “I mean, the more I think about it, the surer I am that they just weren’t exposed—well, probably not, anyway. I mean, Delilah was at Hedgerow Farms for three weeks and she’s not showing any symptoms. That’s what Judy said, right?”
“Right,” Carole said, but she didn’t sound as if she meant it, and her friends picked up on that immediately. Stevie glanced over at Lisa, who shrugged quickly, out of Carole’s sight. Carole could agree out loud; she could hope that Judy was right; but her jacket pocket still had carrots in it that belonged to Delilah. She couldn’t bring herself to tell anybody that, because then she might have to acknowledge out loud that something was wrong, really wrong. Loss of appetite was only one symptom of swamp fever, but it was a symptom.
Carole and Lisa didn’t stay long at Stevie’s house. Forone thing, Stevie still had to clean up the kitchen. For another, so did Lisa and Carole. And then Lisa mentioned that she wanted to leave plenty of time later in the evening to read the book Chad had given her.
They wouldn’t all be able to meet at Pine Hollow the next day because Lisa said she had to go to the library. Stevie frowned ever so slightly when she heard that, but she remembered that she and Carole weren’t going to try to stop Lisa from doing her work. They were just going to watch to see if they ought to. Okay, so she’d wait. Stevie said she’d see Carole at Pine Hollow the next afternoon.
“I know, I know,” said Carole. “You just want to make sure that Belle is okay after having to hear that old knock-knock joke from me, right?”
There was a twinkle in Stevie’s eyes. “Well, I did hear a good one today,” she said. “I’d tell it to you now, but I want to try it out on Belle first.”
L ISA SLAMMED HER lunch tray down next to Carole.
“Not a happy camper today?” Carole asked, surmising that so far, at least, Lisa wasn’t having a good day.
“Definitely not,” Lisa said. She examined the contents of her tray to see if she’d done any damage. Since only a container of yogurt and an apple rested on it, no harm was done.
“What’s the matter?” Carole asked, somewhat more sympathetically.
“It’s that Fiona,” Lisa said. “You wouldn’t believe her! Kissing up to the teacher all through history class. Mr. Mathios couldn’t even see through it. He just seemed to lap it up. Every time she said anything, he said, ‘Verygood, Fiona,’ like nothing anybody else in the class had to say was very good.”
Carole opened her milk carton and considered the situation. “Well, what did he say when you commented on something?” she asked.
“Once he said, ‘Good question,’ and another time he said he was glad I’d mentioned something. Oh, and about my quiz he said, ‘Nice work,
“Oh, poor Belle!” Stevie said when Carole told her that she’d helped get blood samples from all the horses. Belle was a good-natured horse most of the time, but she wasn’t a very good patient.
“She didn’t fuss at all,” Carole told Stevie. “I held her halter and told her knock-knock jokes. I was trying to make her think I was you.”
Lisa and Stevie laughed. Everybody knew that it was good to talk calmly to a horse when it was upset, and Stevie had decided that if she liked knock-knock jokes, her horse undoubtedly did, too.
“Which ones?” Stevie asked.
“Isabel necessary on a bicycle,” Carole said.
“Well, she’s already heard that one,” Stevie said. “If she believed you were me, she probably thought I’d slipped a cog!”
“I didn’t say I fooled her,” Carole said. “I just said I tried.”
“Thanks,” Stevie said.
The girls knew that their joking contrasted sharply with the concern each of them felt, but it was a way of keeping themselves from crying, which seemed to be the only alternative. Given a choice, laughter was almost always better.
“I bet those horses are going to be fine,” Lisa said. “I mean, the more I think about it, the surer I am that they just weren’t exposed—well, probably not, anyway. I mean, Delilah was at Hedgerow Farms for three weeks and she’s not showing any symptoms. That’s what Judy said, right?”
“Right,” Carole said, but she didn’t sound as if she meant it, and her friends picked up on that immediately. Stevie glanced over at Lisa, who shrugged quickly, out of Carole’s sight. Carole could agree out loud; she could hope that Judy was right; but her jacket pocket still had carrots in it that belonged to Delilah. She couldn’t bring herself to tell anybody that, because then she might have to acknowledge out loud that something was wrong, really wrong. Loss of appetite was only one symptom of swamp fever, but it was a symptom.
Carole and Lisa didn’t stay long at Stevie’s house. Forone thing, Stevie still had to clean up the kitchen. For another, so did Lisa and Carole. And then Lisa mentioned that she wanted to leave plenty of time later in the evening to read the book Chad had given her.
They wouldn’t all be able to meet at Pine Hollow the next day because Lisa said she had to go to the library. Stevie frowned ever so slightly when she heard that, but she remembered that she and Carole weren’t going to try to stop Lisa from doing her work. They were just going to watch to see if they ought to. Okay, so she’d wait. Stevie said she’d see Carole at Pine Hollow the next afternoon.
“I know, I know,” said Carole. “You just want to make sure that Belle is okay after having to hear that old knock-knock joke from me, right?”
There was a twinkle in Stevie’s eyes. “Well, I did hear a good one today,” she said. “I’d tell it to you now, but I want to try it out on Belle first.”
L ISA SLAMMED HER lunch tray down next to Carole.
“Not a happy camper today?” Carole asked, surmising that so far, at least, Lisa wasn’t having a good day.
“Definitely not,” Lisa said. She examined the contents of her tray to see if she’d done any damage. Since only a container of yogurt and an apple rested on it, no harm was done.
“What’s the matter?” Carole asked, somewhat more sympathetically.
“It’s that Fiona,” Lisa said. “You wouldn’t believe her! Kissing up to the teacher all through history class. Mr. Mathios couldn’t even see through it. He just seemed to lap it up. Every time she said anything, he said, ‘Verygood, Fiona,’ like nothing anybody else in the class had to say was very good.”
Carole opened her milk carton and considered the situation. “Well, what did he say when you commented on something?” she asked.
“Once he said, ‘Good question,’ and another time he said he was glad I’d mentioned something. Oh, and about my quiz he said, ‘Nice work,
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