Stagecoach Read Online Free PDF Page A

room.
    “I love this part so much!” Hollie cried, bringing Lisa back to earth.
    “What part?” Lisa asked, silently reprimanding herself for not paying attention.
    “You know—trying on our costumes. As soon as I see mine, I start picturing myself onstage on opening night. It makes me shiver!” Hollie hugged herself with anticipation.
    Lisa followed her down the stairs and into a tiny room beneath the stage. It was crammed full of every kind of costume for every kind of show. There were racks of dresses in gingham and velvet, suit pants and jackets, farmer’s overalls, lace veils, silk kimonos, and even a feather boa or two. There were rows of boots and high heels, there were piles of felt and straw hats, there were baskets of hair ribbons and sashes. In the midst of it all sat a gray-haired woman with three pins in her mouth.
    “Come in, come in,” she said. “I’ve just finished pinning up Mr. Ryan’s trousers, so you can be next, Hollie.”
    Hollie ran and threw her arms around the woman and then introduced her to Lisa. She was Mrs. Roberts, the costume designer for more WCCT shows than anyone could remember.
    While Hollie got fitted for her orphan costume, Lisa tried on the things Mrs. Roberts had given her. A littleshyly, she examined herself in the full-length mirror. Her jaw dropped at the sight of herself in the red Annie dress, white tights, black patent-leather shoes, and curly red wig. With one glance all worries fled her mind.
    “I’m Annie!” Lisa cried.

“A T C PICK up a working trot and circle left twenty meters,” Stevie read out crisply. She and Carole had finished walking through the dressage tests that Mrs. Reg had given them and had decided to saddle up and try them on horseback before leaving for the day. Max had set up a standard “small” dressage ring—twenty by forty meters—in a flat, grassy area for them to practice in. That way they could get used to the actual size of the ring they would be riding in at the rally. Around the outside Max had placed the traditional dressage-ring letters in their proper order:
A
,
K
,
E
,
H
,
C
,
M
,
B
,
F
. The letters provided reference points for transitions from gait to gait. Stevie and Carole were taking turns reading the tests to each other.
    “
E
, sitting trot, prepare to canter,” Stevie continued. She looked up from the copy of the test to watch Carole and Starlight, Carole was sitting nicely in the saddle, despite the morning’s workout. Starlight still looked fresh, too, but he was more relaxed, now that the first lesson had taken the edge off him. “
A
, canter,” Stevie called. She watched Carole give the aid for the faster gait. It took a few beats past
A
before Starlight cantered.
    “I’ve got to prepare him earlier.” Carole panted, breaking to a trot and then a walk to talk with Stevie.
    “Yup,” Stevie agreed. “Maybe a couple of strides before
A
, you can give the aid. He looks good, though.”
    “Thanks, but we’re nowhere near as good as you two. Dressage is just never going to be Starlight’s favorite event. He’s always too busy thinking about the second phase: cross-country,” Carole remarked. She leaned down and patted the glossy neck. “Won’t you be surprised when instead of cross-country, we do another dressage test?” she joked.
    “At least Topside won’t mind—he’d be content doing twenty-meter circles all day,” Stevie said.
    “The team is really lucky to have you two,” Carole said seriously. “As Max reminded us, the lowest score wins in dressage, and I’m sure you two are his biggest hope for low marks at the rally.”
    Stevie nodded thoughtfully. Then she looked at Carole with a sparkle in her eye. “Finishing touches, huh?All right, Hanson. I’ll take that as a challenge. I’m going to ride the test again. This time pretend you’re Max, and be as critical as possible—I mean, notice every tiny fault, okay?”
    Carole was eager to agree. She dismounted and walked Starlight to