Saddlebags Read Online Free PDF Page B

the herd on the drive and you have to rescue them.”
    “I could do that,” said her mother. “I bet they’re cute.”
    “They are,” Lisa answered, shaking her head. “But it’s not that simple.” She paused to take a deep breath. “You know how Max is always telling us that riding is fun, but it’s serious too?”
    “Mmmhm,” answered Mr. Atwood.
    “Well, I just think you need to be aware that it can get
very
serious sometimes.”
    “We take it seriously enough,” said Mrs. Lake, waving one hand dismissively. “Frankly, I don’t see why you girls are getting so nervous. You’re being the party poopers around here, not us.
I
can’t
wait
to sleep under the stars.…”
    “And listen to my serenade,” said Mr. Lake. “ ‘I’m a headin’ for my first roundup!’ ”
    Frank rose from his chair. “You’ll all be fine. You girlscan keep your parents in line. Now it’s siesta time. I’ll see everyone later.”
    T HE GIRLS TOOK to their bunkhouse for the next hour. Their siesta time would be perfect for a much-needed Saddle Club meeting.
    Stevie stretched out on her top bunk and looked up at the beams in the roof. “Hmph,” she said. “Frank thinks they’ll be okay.”
    “And that we can keep them in line,” added Lisa grimly. “I bet they’ll be harder to handle than those stray dogies.” She groaned. “Speaking of dogies—did you hear my father making that dumb joke about submarine sandwiches? That was classic!”
    Kate giggled. “He’s just showing his dude colors.”
    Lisa groaned again.
    “I don’t know about you guys,” said Carole as she took off her boots and stretched out on her bunk, “but I thought my dad looked worse than ever on the ride this morning. He sways back and forth with Yellowbird’s gait, and the hat bounces left and right and it makes
me
dizzy! Either the hat’s going to fall off his head or he’s going to fall out from under the hat. I don’t know which’ll happen first!”
    “I think if my dad bursts into song one more time,” Stevie chimed in, “I may take
my
hat off and send it sailing straight at him.”
    “And my mom’s riding is making me sick,” Lisa said. “I mean, how could she be
my
mom? Maybe, once upon a time, she had a riding lesson. But if she did, it was at the yank-and-kick school of riding.”
    “Look, guys,” said Kate, “tons of the guests who come here are rank beginners. A lot of them know even
less
than your parents do—and they manage just fine. The only ones who really give us trouble are the people who think they can do more than they actually can. That can lead to danger.”
    “That’s just it,” said Carole. “I think—I
know
—my dad thinks he’s
much
more capable than he really is.”
    “Same with my parents,” Stevie declared.
    Lisa said, “Mine too.”
    “I’ll tell you what,” Kate suggested. “Why don’t we invite all the parents to join us tomorrow morning before the cattle drive, while we watch John train with Tex?”
    “Good idea,” said Lisa, quickly catching on to Kate’s idea. “Then they’ll see how much technique it takes tobe an excellent rider, and it’ll be fresh in their minds for the ride.”
    “Where exactly will the cattle drive take us?” Stevie asked.
    “Dad made it sound farther than it is,” Kate told her. “It’ll take us only a few hours to ride to the pasture northwest of here, where the herd is. Then we’ll sleep out. Next morning we’ll bring the herd to the back pasture near the ranch. It’s a cinch of a ride, and the herd’s not that big this time.”
    “So it’s really a one-day drive that Walter and John could handle without any help from any of us dudes, young
or
old,” Stevie remarked.
    “Well, that’s how we run the ranch,” answered Kate. “Guests come on a simple drive and get the feel and the thrill of riding the herd, sleeping under the stars, cooking out. You know. This same drive has been done by guests with less experience than the