The Runaway Racehorse Read online

  Here’s what kids, parents,

  and teachers have to say

  to Ron Roy, author of the

  A to Z Mysteries series:

  “Your books are my most prized possessions!”

  —Sumedha R.

  “Your books are great! I have just finished

  The Orange Outlaw, and you get two thumbs up!” —Patrick P.

  “The A to Z Mystery books are filled with fun and excitement, and I can’t seem to put them down.” —Kelsey S.

  “I will be so sad when I have read Z and there will be no more Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose.” —Jack P.

  “As a parent, I like your books because they show kids using their brains and doing the right thing.” —Carla C.

  “The excitement for reading that you have helped create is a blessing! One boy said his mother doesn’t know what has gotten into him because he constantly has a book in his hands. Now, if that isn’t a teacher’s dream!” —Tamela K.

  The R book is dedicated to readers.

  —R.R.

  To author and horse lover Jessie Haas.

  —J.S.G.

  CHAPTER 1

  Josh picked up a French fry, dipped it in ketchup, and drew his initials on his plate. When he ate the French fry, a glob of ketchup plopped onto his shirt.

  “Rats, this is my favorite T-shirt!” Josh said.

  Dink put down his book and grinned at his freckle-faced, redheaded friend. “Was your favorite shirt,” he said.

  Josh, Dink, and Ruth Rose were taking a train to Larchmont, New York, to visit their friend Forest Evans. Forest and Dink’s uncle Warren had bought a racehorse together. The kids were invited to watch the horse, Whirlaway, run in a race in Saratoga Springs.

  Josh picked up a napkin and wiped at the red stain. He only made it worse.

  “Josh is finger-painting,” Ruth Rose said to Dink.

  “Someday I’ll be a famous ketchup artist,” Josh said. He gazed out the window. “When do we get there?”

  “In a few minutes,” Ruth Rose said, checking her train schedule.

  “I can’t wait to see Whirlaway,” Dink said. “I’ve never met a real racehorse before. All I can think about is horses! That’s why I’m reading this.”

  He held up his book. It was The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. The cover showed a beautiful black horse with wild eyes and a flowing mane.

  Dink Duncan’s real first name was Donald, and his middle name was David. But when he first started to talk and tried to say “Donald David Duncan,” it came out as “Dink.” Dink had been his nickname ever since.

  “Look what I brought,” Ruth Rose said, pulling a book from her backpack. The cover showed a girl on a horse. The book’s title was Learning to Ride.

  “Josh, did you bring a horse book?” Dink asked.

  Josh grinned. “Nope. I figured you guys will tell me anything I need to know.” He dropped a few sugar cubes into his backpack.

  “Still hungry?” Dink teased.

  “They’re for Whirlaway,” Josh said.

  Just then the conductor walked through the dining car. “Larchmont is next,” he told the kids.

  “Oh, wait!” Ruth Rose said, digging in her backpack. She brought out her new camera.

  Ruth Rose liked to dress all in one color. Today everything was white, from her headband down to her sneakers. Even her camera was white!

  “Would you please take our picture?” she asked the conductor.

  “My pleasure,” said the man. He took the camera and focused it on the kids. “Say ‘cheese’!”

  “Cheese!” they all said.

  The conductor handed Ruth Rose her camera. “Have a great day,” he said.

  The train slowed, then stopped. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose grabbed their backpacks and walked to the end of the car. The conductor lowered a set of stairs, and the kids climbed down to the platform.

  Dink heard someone call his name. He saw his uncle Warren and Forest Evans walking toward them. Dink’s uncle was short and round and wore glasses. Forest Evans had a trimmed brown beard and wore jeans and a T-shirt.

  “Why, it’s Wink, Gosh, and Tooth Toes!” Forest said.

  The kids had met Forest when his painting had gotten stolen from Uncle Warren’s apartment.

  “Hi, Mr. Evans!” they all said.

  “Please call me Forest, okay?” he asked.

  Dink hugged his uncle.

  “How was the train ride?” Uncle Warren asked.

  “Great!” Josh said. “The hamburgers were awesome!”

  Forest led them to a black car and opened a rear door. The kids piled in with their backpacks. Uncle Warren sat next to Forest up front. Forest started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

  “How many horses do you have?” Josh asked.

  “Just Whirlaway,” Forest said.

  “Do you ride him in races?” Ruth Rose asked.

  Forest laughed. “No, I’m too heavy. Professional jockeys are small and light. I hired a woman named Sunny to be Whirlaway’s jockey.”

  “Awesome!” Josh said. “I’ve never met a girl jockey before.” Then he added, “I’ve never met a boy jockey, either.”

  Forest slowed down near a group of small shops and flipped on his turn signal. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose recognized the long, tree-lined driveway. They had been here once before with Dink’s uncle.

  A minute later, Forest stopped at his garage. At the end of a stone path stood a large brick house. Out back a stone barn nestled between a tennis court and a swimming pool.

  “Here we are,” Forest said.

  The kids climbed out of the backseat with their backpacks.

  “When can we meet Whirlaway?” Josh asked, looking toward the barn.

  “Right now!” Forest said.

  Uncle Warren headed to the house while the kids followed Forest toward the barn.

  Josh dug in his pocket and pulled out a sugar cube. “I brought this for Whirlaway,” he said.

  “That was a nice idea, Josh,” Forest said. “But Whirlaway doesn’t like sugar. He’s the only horse I’ve seen who doesn’t!”

  Josh stuck the cube back in his pocket as the kids entered the cool, dim barn. Dink took a deep breath. “It smells nice in here,” he said.

  “I agree,” Forest said. He also took a deep breath. “There’s nothing like the sweet smell of hay and horse.”

  “Don’t forget chocolate,” Josh added.

  They all laughed as Forest led the way to a stall near the barn’s rear doors. The doors were open and sunlight poured in. Out back was a truck parked on a wide area of gravel.

  The stall door was also open, but there was no horse inside.

  “That’s funny,” Forest said, closing the stall door. He thought for a moment, then smiled.

  “I’ll bet Sunny took Whirlaway out for exercise,” he said. “They should be back soon. Let’s go get you guys settled in the house.”

  He led Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose back outside and into the house. They passed through a small room with boots on the floor and jackets hanging on pegs.

  “This is the mudroom,” Forest said, untying and kicking off his boots.

  He took the kids through another door into the kitchen. The room was yellow with blue tiles on the counter and floor.

  Forest pointed to a low bench. “You can leave your backpacks there for now,” he said.

  The kids stood their packs on the bench. Dink glanced at a newspaper clipping stuck to the refrigerator door with a magnet. There was a picture of a dark horse with a diamond-shaped blaze on his forehead. The headline read LOCAL HORSE BEATS ALL.

  “Is that Whirlaway?” Dink asked.

  “That’s him,” Forest said.

  “He’s real pretty” Ruth R
ose said.

  “He’s even prettier in person,” Forest said, opening the fridge. “You kids like fruit?”

  “We like everything!” Josh said.

  Forest set grapes and strawberries on the table. The kids sat down and began to snack.

  Suddenly the door burst open. A small woman in jeans, riding boots, and a flannel shirt rushed into the kitchen.

  “Hi, Sunny,” Forest said. “Say hello to Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. They’re here to watch you and Whirlaway race tomorrow.”

  “He’s gone!” Sunny said, trying to catch her breath.

  “Who’s gone?”

  “Whirlaway!” she said. “I just got here to take him out. When I looked in his stall, it was empty!”

  CHAPTER 2

  Forest looked up in surprise. Then suddenly, his face relaxed.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll bet Whirlaway went to visit his mother again,” Forest said. “I’ll call Mr. Bunks.”

  “Who’s Mr. Bunks?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “Tinker Bunks owns the ranch next to my property,” Forest said. “He tried to raise horses for racing. He never had much luck, so he sold off his stock. That’s how Warren and I got Whirlaway. Mr. Bunks kept Whirlaway’s mother, a nice old mare named Biscuit.”

  “How does Whirlaway visit his mother?” Dink asked.

  Sunny frowned. “The rascal gets out of his stall and cuts through the woods,” she said.

  “I wonder when he got out this time,” Forest said. “He was here this morning when Warren got here. We went in and visited him.”

  “So he could have been gone all day!” Sunny said.

  Forest nodded slowly “Yes, it’s possible, Sunny. But let’s not worry. Last time he ran away, I found him safe and sound, munching hay with his mother.”

  Forest reached for the phone and dialed. He listened, then hung up.

  “Mr. Bunks’s line is busy,” he said. He looked at the kids. “If you’re finished, why don’t we jump in my truck and take a ride over there?”

  “I’ll throw down some fresh straw in Whirlaway’s stall,” Sunny said. She headed out the door toward the barn.

  Forest put the fruit back in the fridge and the kids followed him out the kitchen door.

  He led them to the gravel parking area behind the barn. Forest’s pickup truck was filled with bales of hay.

  “Who wants to ride in the back with the hay?” Forest asked.

  “I do!” Josh said.

  “I will, too,” Ruth Rose said. “Otherwise, Josh will be scared.”

  “Just make sure you hang on,” Forest said. “We’re taking the old logging road through the woods and it’s pretty bumpy.”

  Ruth Rose and Josh scrambled into the truck’s bed and sat on hay bales. Dink climbed into the cab next to Forest.

  Forest started the truck and drove into the trees. Dink bounced in his seat as the tires rolled over bumps in the road. Low branches brushed the top of the cab.

  Dink turned around to look through the rear window. Josh and Ruth Rose were laughing and holding on to the sides of the truck.

  A few minutes later, they came out of the woods. Up ahead Dink saw a barn and a house. Forest pulled into the driveway and stopped behind another truck.

  A dog was tied to a nearby tree. He leaped up and started barking.

  “Calm down, Buster,” Forest said out his window. “Be a good dog.”

  A man came from behind the barn. He was wearing a work shirt, jeans, and a leather belt with a big silver buckle. Muddy rubber boots came up nearly to his knees.

  “Lie down, Buster,” the man said. Buster stopped barking and flopped down on the ground.

  “Afternoon, Tinker,” Forest said.

  Tinker Bunks walked over and leaned on the door. He had a thin face, sharp blue eyes, and thick brows.

  “Good day to you, Forest,” he said. “That horse I sold you still running like the wind?”

  Forest nodded and smiled. “He’s won every race so far,” he said.

  “Winnin’ is good,” Mr. Bunks said. He looked off into the distance for a few seconds. “But I’m glad the racing business is behind me now. A lot of work, horses.”

  He peered into the cab. “So what brings you here today?”

  “I’m afraid Whirlaway has disappeared again,” Forest told Mr. Bunks. “Any chance he’s come to visit his mother?”

  Mr. Bunks arched his eyebrows. “Not so far as I know,” he said, glancing toward the barn. “Let’s go have a look.”

  The kids followed Mr. Bunks and Forest into a large barn. As they entered, Dink heard a horse whinny. “We hear you, Biscuit,” Mr. Bunks said.

  The barn was cool and dim. Dust hung in the air where sunlight came through high windows. A loft held rows of hay bales. The floor was swept clean.

  Dink peeked into several stalls. Each was clean and empty.

  Mr. Bunks stopped at a stall with its top door open. A pale brown horse with dark eyes stood there waiting. She had a small white mark on her forehead.

  “This is Whirlaway’s mom,” Forest told the kids. He patted Biscuit on her nose.

  “Have you seen your son today old girl?” Mr. Bunks asked his horse.

  As if she understood, Biscuit shook her large head from side to side.

  “I thought for sure he’d be here,” Forest said. He peered into a few of the empty stalls.

  “I’m afraid I’ve wasted your time,” Forest told Mr. Bunks. “Come on, kids. It’s time to call the police.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Tinker Bunks looked serious. “If he shows up, I’ll give you a shout.”

  “I’d appreciate that,” Forest said. “He’s running at Saratoga tomorrow.”

  “Is he now!” Mr. Bunks said. “I wish you luck.”

  They all left the barn. The sky had grown darker. As Forest drove through the woods, Dink heard thunder. Wind began to whip tree branches back and forth.

  Forest drove faster. “I’d better get us home before Josh and Ruth Rose have a shower!” he said.

  Forest parked behind his barn just as raindrops began to splatter the windshield. “Let’s run for it!” he said, leaping from the cab.

  Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose ran, squealing, as the clouds opened up. In seconds they were soaking wet.

  Inside the house, Forest handed them towels. They dried their hair and faces.

  “Why don’t you settle in while I call the police,” he said. “Ruth Rose, you’re in the blue bedroom. Guys, you’re bunking right across the hall.”

  The kids grabbed their backpacks and headed toward the back of Forest’s house. Ruth Rose stopped outside a bedroom with blue wallpaper.

  “See you guys in a minute,” she said, and disappeared inside.

  Dink and Josh walked into their room and changed into dry shirts.

  A minute later, Ruth Rose knocked and came in. Her wet hair was even curlier than usual.

  “What could have happened to Whirlaway?” she asked Dink and Josh.

  Dink looked out the bedroom window. Through the rain, he could see the barn. But he couldn’t see the barn’s rear doors.

  “You know, someone could have stolen him,” Dink said.

  “Stolen him!” Josh said. “In broad daylight?”

  Dink pointed. “You can’t see the back doors of the barn from the house,” he said. “Anyone could go in and out that way.”

  Ruth Rose peered through the streaming window. “How would you steal a horse?” she asked. “Would you need a trailer?”

  “Or the thief could just ride him away,” Josh said.

  “Let’s go look behind the barn for clues when the rain stops,” Ruth Rose said.

  “Maybe the police had some good news for Forest,” Dink said.

  They headed for the kitchen.

  Forest was also staring out the window into the rain. His shoulders were hunched, and he was nervously tapping his fingers on the counter.

  Uncle Warren was sitting at the table, drinking a mug of tea.

&
nbsp; “Did you call the police?” Dink asked.

  Forest turned away from the window and nodded. “Yes. They told me no one’s called in about a stray horse,” he said. “I’m getting worried.”

  “Do you think someone might have stolen him?” Dink asked.

  Forest looked at him and blinked a few times. “Stolen Whirlaway? I suppose it’s possible.”

  “Forest, have you any neighbors who own horses?” Uncle Warren asked.

  “A few, why?”

  “Because Whirlaway may not be the only missing horse,” Uncle Warren said. “Perhaps you should call around.”

  “Good idea. I will,” Forest said.

  “We’ll help you look for him when the rain stops,” Ruth Rose said.

  Forest nodded. “That’ll be great. Now I’d better get on the phone,” he said as he left the kitchen.

  The kids drank milk and ate cookies with Uncle Warren. They watched the rain streak down the windows.

  Forest came back a few minutes later. “I called two friends who own horses,” he said. “None are missing, but my friends said they’d keep an eye out for Whirlaway.”

  The rain continued. They played Scrabble. When it wasn’t his turn, Forest kept jumping up to call more neighbors.

  Finally the rain stopped and the clouds cleared. When Dink looked out the window, sunlight sparkled off trees and bushes.

  “I’ll go pick up some food for dinner,” Uncle Warren said. He took a set of car keys from a hook and left the house.

  “Okay, kids, let’s go look for my horse,” Forest said.

  He and the kids put on sneakers and headed through the kitchen door to the yard. The wet grass squished under their feet.

  They walked behind the barn. Forest headed toward the woods, whistling and yelling, “Whirlaway!”

  Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose checked the wet ground for tire tracks or footprints.

  “Nothing,” Josh muttered. “Even if there were clues, the rain washed them away.”