Sea Horses Read Online Free PDF Page B

couldn't forget. Nor could she forget the dark shape she had glimpsed in the garden. However, a thought had occurred to her. Hadn't Joel said that the riding stable where he lived was just a short way up the valley? One of the horses could have got out during the night and strayed along the valley path to Chapel Cottage. It was a rational explanation and she very much wanted to believe it.
    Desperate to be sure, Tamzin said, ‘Nan, is it all right if I go to the riding stable this morning?’
    Nan looked up from her toast. ‘The riding stable? Oh, of course, you met Joel yesterday, didn't you?’ She smiled. ‘Yes, if you've been invited, you can go. Who knows: if you make yourself useful, you might be able to earn some riding lessons!’
    So a short while later, Tamzin set off. As she headed for the gate that led to the valley path, she looked carefully at the garden. There was no sign of any trampling, which was strange. But then perhaps she had scared the straying horse off before it could do any damage.
    The path ran between the high cliff headlands. It was a wet, muddy, uphill walk, and by the time the stables came in sight Tamzin's legs were aching. A big wooden gate led to the stable yard and as she approached it Tamzin saw Joel sweeping out an empty stall. She called his name and he looked up.
    ‘Hi!’ He came to meet her, but Tamzin was anxiously scanning the row of stables with ponies' heads looking out of the open top doors.
    ‘The horses,’ she said as Joel reached her. ‘Are they all here?’
    Joel looked baffled. ‘Of course. Shouldn't they be?’ He saw her expression and frowned. ‘What's the matter?’
    She told him what had happened during the night. ‘I thought it was one of your horses,’ she finished. ‘I thought maybe it had got out and…’ Her voice tailed off. Her heart was bumping and she didn't like the feeling.
    Joel shook his head. ‘No, it wasn't one of ours. Couldn't have been.’
    Tamzin swallowed. ‘Has anyone else round here got horses?’
    ‘Not close enough for one to have found its way down the valley. Tamzin, what's up? You look scared.’
    She wanted to tell him that she was scared, and why. But if she did, she would have to explain about the Grey Horse. How could she expect Joel to believe her? He would say it was just a silly story. He would probably laugh and tease her, and that would make things worse than ever. So with a great effort she forced herself to smile and tried to sound casual as she said, ‘Oh, I was just a bit worried, that's all. I mean, if the horse had escaped, and it hurt itself…’
    ‘Horses aren't daft,’ Joel reassured her. ‘Anyway, it might have been something else – or nothing at all. It sounds to me as if you dreamed it.’
    ‘Yes,’ said Tamzin. ‘Maybe I did.’ And she thought, I wish I could believe that .
    Joel said, ‘Well, now you're here, how about helping me with the mucking out?’ He grinned. ‘Then if Mum says it's OK, I'll give you your first riding lesson. You said you want to learn, didn't you?’
    Tamzin's worries about the Grey Horse melted away and her face lit up. ‘Oh, yes!’ she said. ‘I'd love to!’
    Mucking out was hard, smelly work but Tamzin didn't mind in the least. For the first time in her life she was involved with horses, and she loved it. She forked soiled straw out of the stalls, put down fresh, then helped Joel to fill all the water buckets from the tap in the yard. She made friends with more of the ponies, and also with three cats and a big dog called Barney, who looked like a woolly hay-stack and slobbered happily all over her jeans. She was delighted when Moonlight seemed to recognize her, and spent a long time stroking his muzzle and talking to him.
    ‘He really likes you,’ Joel said, coming into Moonlight's stall with a net full of fresh, sweet hay. ‘You can ride him on your lesson. He's ideal for a beginner.’ He hung up the hay net. ‘There! That's everything done. Come on then,