“He said it was part of their plan to put an end to Mill River,” George went on. “‘They’re stepping up their tactics,’ he said. Boy, was he mad!” George looked back at the man, who was talking excitedly to Mrs. Passano.
“Well,” Nancy said, “if the animal activists are behind this sabotage, then they’ve gone too far. The horses could really have been hurt on the barbed wire.”
“I’m all for helping the fox,” Laura said, “but I don’t want the horses injured.”
Nancy nodded, thinking. Were the animal activists guilty? Would they let other animals get hurt, just to achieve their ends?
And what if the hunt sabotage was related to the poisoning at Sky Meadow Farm the night before? Had the poisoner deliberately given a dose large enough to make the horse sick but not large enough to kill her? Would someone who loved animals have masterminded that?
Glancing over, she noticed that Laura and George had ridden toward Mrs. Passano, who was gathering the horses and riders together again. Nancy scanned the crowd for Mark Plonsky and his fellow activists, but she saw only horses and riders. No one was on foot. On the far edges of the field, there were only trees and horizon.
“Excuse me,” Nancy said to a girl her age who was sitting on a horse nearby. “Do the animal activists usually follow the hunt everywhere?”
“They try to,” the girl replied, biting her lip and glancing around anxiously. “But since they travel on foot, they can’t always keep up.”
Nancy nodded. Noticing the girl’s distracted manner, she asked, “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m just looking for my friend Alexa Shaw,” the girl said. “She’s supposed to be here today, but I haven’t seen her. I spoke to her just last night, and she was planning to come.”
Nancy frowned. Alexa Shaw . . . The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it.
Then, suddenly, she remembered. Wasn’t that the daughter of Mrs. Passano’s friend, whose father had been master of the hunt? She was the girl Laura said had wanted to buy Morning Glory so badly.
“Maybe she woke up sick this morning,” Nancy said.
“Maybe,” the girl said doubtfully.
Nancy watched as Mrs. Passano, Mr. Zachary, and another man carefully stripped the barbed wire from the fence. Even though they were wearing gloves, they had to work very slowly. Finally, they wound the wire into a coil and put it to the side of the fence. Then Mrs. Passano announced to the crowd that the fence was safe to jump.
After blowing his huntsman’s horn, Grant Hathaway jumped the fence and directed the hounds into the next field. After waiting a minute to give the huntsman a lead, Mrs. Passano followed, with the riders close behind. Nancy took the jump easily on Hopscotch, then charged up the hill. To her immediate right was Laura. Nancy admired her friend’s graceful form as Morning Glory galloped effortlessly up the hill.
George, to Nancy’s left, gave Nancy a gleeful smile as she urged Lancelot onward.
“What is this—a race?” Nancy yelled, grinning at George. Letting out a whoop, George galloped past Nancy.
The riders jumped several more fences, including a wooden triangular structure called a chicken coop. Nancy looked at the riders ahead of her. They had slowed down and were entering a wooded area. There was a narrow path down a hill. The horses followed one another single file. They crossed a stream at the bottom. Then everyone paused, listening for the hounds.
“What a fabulous run,” Nancy heard someone murmur behind her. “I’ll bet Charles Jackson’s new hunt won’t be as good as this.”
Turning, Nancy saw the girl who’d been looking for Alexa Shaw. She was talking to Mr. Zachary, the older man who’d helped George with Lancelot.
“Charles will be lucky if he can even get decent runs,” Mr. Zachary scoffed in a low voice. “His hounds aren’t trained yet, and his hunt isn’t recognized by any official fox-hunting association. He’ll never be able to attract riders away from us. If you ask me, he was nuts to leave Mill River.”
“Quiet!” another rider said. “I’m trying to hear the hounds.”
The horses moved forward again, trotting deeper into the woods. Guiding Hopscotch, Nancy wondered about the conversation she’d just overheard. Charles Jackson was Peter Greenbriar’s former employer, she remembered. Why would he have wanted to leave the Mill River Hunt? And why had he started up his own hunt? Nancy wanted to learn more.
At that moment the horses in front began to pick up speed. The sun shone through the trees, dappling the woodland with light. Birds chirped on either side, and patches of asters and goldenrod brightened the forest glades. Nancy realized that the day had grown quite warm. She wanted to unbutton her hunt coat, but the horses were beginning to canter. She needed to keep both hands on the reins.
The hounds started to bay loudly. Nancy guessed that they’d picked up the fox’s scent. As the horses galloped down the trail, Nancy had to concentrate on controlling Hopscotch, not allowing her to get too close to Morning Glory, who was just ahead.
The path took a sharp turn to the right. As she rode around the corner, Nancy saw the trail open up into a small clearing.
Suddenly, the horses before her came to a crashing halt. It was just like a pileup of cars on a highway. Horses reared up and shied, and riders collided with one another.
What’s going on? Nancy wondered, scouting around for the cause of the trouble.
Finally, she got a clear view into the glade. Nancy couldn’t believe her eyes!
In the middle of the clearing was a big stuffed fox—at least as tall as she was—standing upright and dressed in formal hunting clothes, complete with top hat, boots, and red coat!
Hopscotch remained calm at the sight, but Nancy saw Morning Glory, terrified, backing into a nearby tree. Laura was trying desperately to control him.
Nancy gasped as she saw Laura’s helmet hit a low-hanging branch—with a hornet’s nest hanging from it!
A swarm of hornets buzzed out, circling around angrily. Nancy winced. In seconds, the enraged hornets would strike their target—Morning Glory and Laura.
5
Angry Protests
Quickly, Nancy rode over to Morning Glory. While controlling her own horse, Nancy reached out and caught the reins on Morning Glory’s bridle and yanked him away from the nest. Morning Glory gave a small buck. Laura, surprised and thrown off balance, clung tightly onto his mane. Nancy realized Morning Glory had been stung!
Holding her breath, she watched the angry cloud of hornets swarm overhead, then buzz back into the nest. She sighed in relief.
“Easy, boy, easy,” Laura murmured, stroking her horse’s neck. “Calm down. Everything’s all right.” Looking up at Nancy, she said, “Thanks, Nan. You’re a better rider than you give yourself credit for. Not many riders could have pulled off a maneuver like that. You saved Morning Glory and me from being badly stung. I didn’t even see those hornets till it was too late.”
“I’m glad I saw them in time,” Nancy said. “Those stings really hurt. And a whole swarm of them . . . I hope Morning Glory’s okay.”
