tails swishing. A few pawed the ground. Noses were in the air, and nostrils were flared.
“Oh, look!” Carole said, suddenly seeing what was wrong and pointing. There, in a wooded section of a hill across the field and perhaps two miles away, a dark stream of smoke rose steadily.
“A forest fire!” Stevie cried. As both of them stared, the smoke began to billow and turned a deep orangered. Then, suddenly, flames shot up from the sooty mass.
The breeze that had brought the flames to the hillside then brought them the strong, acrid smell of the smoke.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” Carole said urgently. “Let’s get Eli.”
She didn’t have to say it twice.
“T HERE ’ S A FOREST fire, and it’s coming this way!” Carole cried out to Amy, who was sitting on a rock near the temporary corral. She seemed to be putting some kind of support bandage on her ankle, and she barely acknowledged Carole’s news.
“I hope we have enough marshmallows,” she said.
Since there was no point in wasting time arguing with Amy, Carole and Stevie ran past her to the campsite. By the time they reached it, the smell of smoke had penetrated the woods. Eli hurried back with them to see the view over the corral.
They found that the horses were now very restless, shuffling toward them, away from the approaching fire. The fire, though still small, was growing, fanned by the breeze.
“Look, that’s where it came from,” Eli said, pointing to a mountainside several miles farther away from them,now clearly burning. “See, some kind of spark or ball of fire rises up out of a larger flame section and leaps ahead of the main body of the fire. That’s one way secondary fires start.”
“You mean this is just a secondary fire?” Stevie asked.
“
Just
is the wrong word,” Eli cautioned her. “It’s definitely an offshoot from the other fire, and that makes it secondary. It’s still serious, though, and it’s still headed this way. Your first instinct was right. We’ve got to get out of here. If we can get back to the valley, we should be safe, but it’s a long trip yet, and it’s getting dark. We don’t have a second to waste.”
Eli told Carole and Stevie to round up the horses and prepare them to be saddled up. He went back to oversee breaking camp. Tired as they and the horses were, there would be no stopping until they were safe.
Carole decided that Stevie should walk into the corral and circle behind the horses, getting them to walk over to where Carole waited with halters and lead ropes. Stevie took a halter with her and slipped it over the head of the farthest horse, who happened to be Stewball. Stevie was glad about that. Whatever else could be said about Stewball, he was smart. Stevie clipped the lead rope on him and began to use him to move the small herd toward Carole.
Some of the horses were balky. Stevie didn’t know exactly what to do, as she tried to be in three or four places at once. Carole couldn’t help her. She had to stay where she was. Then Amy arrived, obviously sent by Eli and just as obviously reluctant.
“Go help Stevie,” Carole said. “She’s got to round the herd up and get them over here.”
“Oh, go boss someone else,” Amy said. “Your know-it-all act doesn’t work with me.”
Stevie couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could see that Carole was having trouble with Amy. The air was growing dim from the approaching smoke. They didn’t have time for trouble. They didn’t have time for Amy.
While some of the horses in the herd moved slowly and nervously toward Carole, others pranced and galloped every which way. Kate’s Appaloosa shot past Stevie and Stewball, running to the far side of the paddock. Another horse took two steps to the left and stood frozen, completely panicked. Stevie was near panic herself.
Just then help arrived, in the form of a four-legged expert at herding. Eli’s dog, Mel, came bounding across the field to Stevie.
“Eli always said
“Oh, look!” Carole said, suddenly seeing what was wrong and pointing. There, in a wooded section of a hill across the field and perhaps two miles away, a dark stream of smoke rose steadily.
“A forest fire!” Stevie cried. As both of them stared, the smoke began to billow and turned a deep orangered. Then, suddenly, flames shot up from the sooty mass.
The breeze that had brought the flames to the hillside then brought them the strong, acrid smell of the smoke.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” Carole said urgently. “Let’s get Eli.”
She didn’t have to say it twice.
“T HERE ’ S A FOREST fire, and it’s coming this way!” Carole cried out to Amy, who was sitting on a rock near the temporary corral. She seemed to be putting some kind of support bandage on her ankle, and she barely acknowledged Carole’s news.
“I hope we have enough marshmallows,” she said.
Since there was no point in wasting time arguing with Amy, Carole and Stevie ran past her to the campsite. By the time they reached it, the smell of smoke had penetrated the woods. Eli hurried back with them to see the view over the corral.
They found that the horses were now very restless, shuffling toward them, away from the approaching fire. The fire, though still small, was growing, fanned by the breeze.
“Look, that’s where it came from,” Eli said, pointing to a mountainside several miles farther away from them,now clearly burning. “See, some kind of spark or ball of fire rises up out of a larger flame section and leaps ahead of the main body of the fire. That’s one way secondary fires start.”
“You mean this is just a secondary fire?” Stevie asked.
“
Just
is the wrong word,” Eli cautioned her. “It’s definitely an offshoot from the other fire, and that makes it secondary. It’s still serious, though, and it’s still headed this way. Your first instinct was right. We’ve got to get out of here. If we can get back to the valley, we should be safe, but it’s a long trip yet, and it’s getting dark. We don’t have a second to waste.”
Eli told Carole and Stevie to round up the horses and prepare them to be saddled up. He went back to oversee breaking camp. Tired as they and the horses were, there would be no stopping until they were safe.
Carole decided that Stevie should walk into the corral and circle behind the horses, getting them to walk over to where Carole waited with halters and lead ropes. Stevie took a halter with her and slipped it over the head of the farthest horse, who happened to be Stewball. Stevie was glad about that. Whatever else could be said about Stewball, he was smart. Stevie clipped the lead rope on him and began to use him to move the small herd toward Carole.
Some of the horses were balky. Stevie didn’t know exactly what to do, as she tried to be in three or four places at once. Carole couldn’t help her. She had to stay where she was. Then Amy arrived, obviously sent by Eli and just as obviously reluctant.
“Go help Stevie,” Carole said. “She’s got to round the herd up and get them over here.”
“Oh, go boss someone else,” Amy said. “Your know-it-all act doesn’t work with me.”
Stevie couldn’t hear what was being said, but she could see that Carole was having trouble with Amy. The air was growing dim from the approaching smoke. They didn’t have time for trouble. They didn’t have time for Amy.
While some of the horses in the herd moved slowly and nervously toward Carole, others pranced and galloped every which way. Kate’s Appaloosa shot past Stevie and Stewball, running to the far side of the paddock. Another horse took two steps to the left and stood frozen, completely panicked. Stevie was near panic herself.
Just then help arrived, in the form of a four-legged expert at herding. Eli’s dog, Mel, came bounding across the field to Stevie.
“Eli always said
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