The Runaway Racehorse Read online

  A man wearing a cowboy hat and dark glasses reached up and shook the jockey’s hand. “Well done, Andy,” he said.

  “Piece of cake, Mr. Bee,” the jockey answered.

  “Guys, move closer,” Ruth Rose said. “I want to get a picture of you and Dancer.”

  Dink and Josh stepped over and stood in front of Dancer. Josh giggled when the horse butted him gently in the back.

  The jockey flicked the reins, and Dancer put his head between Dink’s and Josh’s shoulders.

  Ruth Rose snapped the picture. Her camera made a whirring noise, letting her know that the roll of film had run out.

  Dink looked at his watch. “Come on, guys. They’re waiting for us.”

  They hurried away and found Forest and Uncle Warren in the viewing box.

  “How does Whirlaway look?” Forest asked.

  “Tired,” Josh said. “Sunny loaded him and they took off.”

  “I guess we’d better leave, too,” Forest said. They headed for the parking lot.

  Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose walked behind Forest and Uncle Warren.

  Ruth Rose held up her camera. “I can’t wait to get my film developed,” she whispered. “I think that last picture is a big clue!”

  CHAPTER 8

  “Maybe Whirlaway is sick,” Uncle Warren suggested on the way back.

  Forest nodded. “I’ll call the vet and get him to come over,” he said.

  The kids sat in back. Josh slept against his pillow with his mouth open. Next to him, Ruth Rose read Learning to Ride.

  Dink’s book was on his lap. He gazed out the window, watching the scenery flash by. The hum of the car’s tires made him feel sleepy. His eyes closed.

  The next thing Dink heard was his uncle’s voice saying, “Almost home, kids.”

  Dink opened his eyes, blinked, and looked out the window. He recognized the shops just before Forest’s driveway.

  “There’s a photo place,” Ruth Rose said. “Can we stop, Forest?”

  “Sure thing,” Forest said. He pulled up in front of the small shop. A cheerful sign in the window said PHOTO FINISH. ONE HOUR!

  Ruth Rose hopped out and ran inside. She was back a minute later. “I got more film,” she said.

  Josh sat up and looked around. “Where are we?” he asked.

  Dink poked his finger at the back of Josh’s shirt. “Josh, there’s a black smear on your collar.”

  Josh twisted his shirt around and stretched out the collar. “Yuck!” he said. “Where did that come from?”

  “Maybe it’s mud from Whirlaway yesterday,” Dink suggested.

  “Dink,” Josh said, “I changed my shirt after we washed him.”

  “Could you have leaned against wet paint or something at Saratoga?” Ruth Rose asked.

  Josh thought for a second. “I don’t think so,” he said, “and if I had, there’d be more than just a mark on my collar.” He shrugged.

  Forest made the turn into his driveway, and a minute later they were home.

  “I’ve got to change my shirt,” Josh said when they had all climbed out of the car.

  “No! Let’s go see if Sunny and Whirlaway are back yet,” Ruth Rose said. She gave Dink and Josh a look.

  “Great,” Forest said. “I’ll see if I can get the vet on the phone.”

  Uncle Warren took Josh’s pillow and the books. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose headed for the barn. The stall was empty, and Sunny was nowhere to be seen.

  “Okay, what’s up?” Josh asked Ruth Rose. They sat on hay bales.

  “You know that picture I took of you guys with Dancer?” Ruth Rose asked. “Well, I think someone else was in it. Mr. Bunks!”

  Both boys looked blank.

  “The man in the sunglasses and cowboy hat was Mr. Bunks!” Ruth Rose said.

  “Are you sure?” Dink asked. “I thought that guy was the horse’s owner.”

  “I think I recognized his big belt buckle from yesterday” Ruth Rose said. “I took a picture so we could be sure.”

  “Well, if it was him, why didn’t Mr. Bunks tell Forest that he was going to be at Saratoga, too?” Dink asked.

  “That’s what I want to know,” Ruth Rose said. “And why did he say he was out of the racing business?”

  “Maybe Mr. Bunks doesn’t own Dancer,” Josh said. “He might have been there like us, just to see the winner up close.”

  “But he and the jockey knew each other,” Ruth Rose said.

  Dink nodded. “If that was Mr. Bunks at Saratoga,” he said, “he is definitely hiding something!”

  CHAPTER 9

  Just then Uncle Warren walked into the barn. He was wearing flip-flops and a bathing suit and carrying a towel.

  “Coming for a swim?” he asked.

  “Sure,” Dink said. The kids followed Uncle Warren toward the house.

  “After we swim, let’s go get my film,” Ruth Rose said quietly.

  The kids changed and joined Forest and Uncle Warren in the pool. They played keep-away with a plastic ball.

  “Still no sign of Sunny and Whirl-away” Forest said, nodding toward the barn. “I sure hope they didn’t have any trouble on the road.”

  “We’re going to get my film,” Ruth Rose said. “Maybe she’ll be here when we get back.”

  “There’s a safe bike path on the side of the road,” Forest said. “Have a nice walk.”

  The kids dried off, pulled on their clothes, and headed across the lawn.

  “I wonder what’s taking Sunny so long to get back here?” Dink asked as they hiked down the driveway.

  “She could have stopped for food,” Josh said. He rubbed his belly.

  A few minutes later, they walked into Photo Finish. Josh immediately spied a rack of candy, so he bought a bag of M&M’s.

  Ruth Rose’s film was ready. She paid the clerk, and they started walking back to Forest’s, where they could look at the pictures in private.

  Josh ripped open his candy and began munching, one piece at a time.

  When they got back to Forest’s, the kids headed straight to the barn. Sunny and Whirlaway had still not returned.

  Ruth Rose opened the packet of pictures and took them out. There were a few of her cat, then the one taken by the train conductor.

  The next pictures were of horses and the barn at Saratoga. Then there was one of the horses on the track, but it was blurry. Next was Sunny with Whirlaway in barn E.

  The last picture was taken at the winner’s circle. It showed Dink and Josh with Dancer’s head between them. The man in the cowboy hat was standing in the background. He was wearing a leather belt with a big silver buckle.

  “It’s Mr. Bunks, all right,” Dink said.

  The kids studied the picture. Ruth Rose brought it closer to her eyes.

  “Guys, do you see anything weird about Dancer’s forehead?” she asked.

  “It looks shiny,” Dink said, peering closely.

  “And darker than the rest of his face,” Josh observed.

  “From a distance, you’d never notice,” Ruth Rose said.

  “What could make it look like that?” asked Dink.

  “Something dark, like shoe polish,” Josh said.

  “Wait a minute,” Ruth Rose said. “Josh, let’s see that mark on your shirt.”

  Josh leaned in so Dink and Ruth Rose could inspect his collar.

  “It looks like shoe polish,” said Dink.

  “Yes!” Josh said. “Now I remember! Ruth Rose, when you took our picture, I felt Dancer nudge me in the back.”

  “So Dancer made that mark!” Ruth Rose said.

  “But why would anyone want to put shoe polish on a horse?” Dink asked.

  “I don’t know, but I know who could have done it,” Ruth Rose said. “Sunny was polishing her boots with black polish right before the race!”

  “But Sunny doesn’t have anything to do with Dancer,” Josh pointed out.

  Ruth Rose shuffled through the pictures until she found the one of Sunny and Whirlaway in barn E. She
looked at it for a second, then placed it next to the one of Dink and Josh with Dancer.

  “Wow,” Josh said. “The horses look like twins!”

  Dink picked up the picture of Sunny in barn E. “Except this one has a white mark on his forehead.”

  “The shoe polish could be covering up a white mark on Dancer’s forehead,” Ruth Rose said.

  “But why would Sunny, or Mr. Bunks, or anybody want to cover up a white mark on Dancer’s forehead? Why would it matter?” Josh asked.

  Dink thought about that. Then he remembered Sunny’s comment after the race, about how she felt like she was riding a different horse. “That’s it!” Dink said, snapping his fingers.

  “What’s what?” Josh asked.

  “Guys, what if the horse we washed wasn’t Whirlaway?” Dink asked.

  “What do you mean?” asked Josh.

  “I mean, what if someone stole Whirlaway, then brought back a different horse to replace him?”

  Josh and Ruth Rose just stared at Dink.

  “Well, that would explain why he acted so strange,” Ruth Rose finally said.

  “And why he blew the race,” Josh said.

  “It would also explain the shoe polish,” said Dink.

  “Huh?” said Josh.

  “Well,” Dink said, “why would someone want to steal a fast racehorse like Whirlaway?”

  “To win races!” Ruth Rose said.

  “Right,” said Dink. “And if someone did steal Whirlaway and enter him in a race, he’d be sure to disguise him somehow.”

  “Like covering up the mark on his forehead with shoe polish!” said Josh.

  “So that’s why Mr. Bunks was there,” Ruth Rose said. “He must have stolen Whirlaway and entered him in the race as Dancer.”

  “And I’ll bet Sunny’s working for him,” Josh said. “It would have been easy for her to switch the horses.”

  “Plus, we saw her with shoe polish,” Dink said.

  “I’d like to ask Sunny a few questions,” Ruth Rose said.

  “Where is Sunny?” Josh asked.

  “Good question,” said Ruth Rose, looking around the empty barn. She sighed.

  “And if she did switch horses, how can we prove the horse she rode in the race wasn’t Whirlaway?” Dink asked.

  “I know a way,” Josh said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sugar cube. “Forest said Whirlaway doesn’t like sugar. When Sunny gets back, I’ll offer this to Whirlaway—or whoever it is. If he eats the sugar, we’ll know it’s not Whirlaway!”

  CHAPTER 10

  “You’re a genius!” Ruth Rose said.

  “I know,” Josh said.

  Dink glanced around the empty barn. “Now all we have to do is wait for Sunny.”

  Ruth Rose stuffed the pictures back into the packet. “Well, I, for one, am not waiting around,” she said. “Come on, let’s go check out Mr. Bunks’s place again.”

  “What are we gonna do when we get there?” Josh asked as they hurried up Forest’s driveway.

  “Look for Whirlaway,” Ruth Rose said. “Do you still have those sugar cubes?”

  Josh patted his pocket. “Yep.”

  The kids cut behind Forest’s barn and headed for the logging road.

  A few minutes later, they reached Mr. Bunks’s house and barn.

  “I don’t see that dog anywhere,” Josh whispered.

  “And I don’t see Mr. Bunks’s truck,” Dink said.

  “Let’s check out the barn,” Ruth Rose said. The kids slipped into the barn. It was quiet and dim, with a little light coming through the dusty windows.

  “Biscuit’s gone!” Dink said, stopping in front of her empty stall. “Where is she?”

  As if in answer, they heard a horse whinny. “Come on,” Dink said, heading outside.

  Behind the barn was an open field with a path leading through the tall weeds. The kids followed the trail and entered a stand of trees. As they reached the far side of the trees, the kids stopped and stared. They were in a clearing in front of a long shed. A horse trailer was partially hidden behind the low building.

  The kids pulled open the wide shed door and peeked inside. Dink wrinkled his nose at the sharp manure smell.

  Half of the shed was fenced off with boards. Behind the fence was Biscuit, staring at the newcomers.

  In a separate stall next to Biscuit’s was another horse, wearing a halter. The dark horse looked just like Whirlaway, except that there was no white diamond on this horse’s shiny forehead.

  “It’s the horse who won,” Josh breathed.

  “Is it Whirlaway?” Dink whispered.

  Josh unwrapped a sugar cube, walked over to the fence, and held out his hand. The dark horse stepped closer for a sniff. Then he snorted and shook his head.

  “He won’t take it!” Josh exclaimed. He reached out and carefully touched the horse’s forehead. When he brought his hand away, his fingers were smeared with something black.

  Dink took a towel from a nail on the wall. Holding the horse’s halter with one hand, he wiped his forehead.

  More black came off, revealing part of a white diamond shape.

  Dink felt goose bumps crawl up his back. “Sunny did switch horses!” he said.

  “This is Whirlaway,” Ruth Rose said. She opened her envelope of pictures. She found the one of Sunny and the horse in barn E and held it up next to the real Whirlaway. “The horse back at Forest’s place is his double!” she said.

  “We have to tell Forest!” Josh said.

  “Tell him what?” a voice said.

  The kids whirled around. In the shed doorway stood Mr. Bunks and Buster. Mr. Bunks was still wearing the clothes he’d worn in the winner’s circle, including the silver belt buckle. “Sit, dog,” Mr. Bunks said to Buster. The dog sat at his master’s side. A low growl came from deep in his throat.

  “So you figured it out,” Mr. Bunks said. He nodded at the towel in Dink’s hand. “Even my boot polish trick.”

  His boot polish trick? Dink thought. Suddenly Dink realized the truth. Sunny had not been the one to put the boot polish on Whirlaway! It was Mr. Bunks! And it had been Bunks’s belt buckle that made the mark in the mud on the horse they washed! It wasn’t Sunny who had stolen Whirlaway. She thought she was riding Whirlaway in the race. Mr. Bunks had done it alone!

  Dink glanced around the dim shed, looking for another way out. The windows were closed and too high up.

  “Now, if you’ll just pass me those pictures,” Mr. Bunks said, holding out a hand. The man smiled, but it wasn’t the friendly smile he’d shown yesterday.

  Dink took the photos from Ruth Rose and handed them to Mr. Bunks.

  “We don’t need the pictures,” Dink said. “We know this is Whirlaway and we know you stole him from Mr. Evans.”

  Mr. Bunks laughed. “Whirlaway? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. “I bought this horse. Can I help it if he just happens to look like Whirlaway? Can I help it if he just happens to run like the wind?”

  He slipped the photos inside his shirt. “No one will ever prove I stole this horse from Forest.”

  “We won’t have to prove anything, Tinker,” a voice said. “Not with all these witnesses.”

  Forest, Uncle Warren, and Sunny-walked into the shed.

  * * *

  An hour later, everyone sat around Forest’s picnic table eating burgers.

  “How did you guys know where we were?” Dink asked.

  “I was coming back just as you were leaving,” Sunny said. “You had such determined looks on your faces, I decided to tell Forest.”

  “And we reached the shed in time to hear everything,” Forest said. “Mr. Bunks is going to jail.”

  “Did Mr. Bunks actually think he could get away with this?” Ruth Rose said.

  Forest nodded. “Well, he was lucky to find Whirlaway’s double. Even the white face diamonds are the same,” he said. “I was fooled, but Sunny noticed a difference.”

  “Whirlaway is usually so frie
ndly,” Sunny said. “I got suspicious when the look-alike acted like he didn’t know me. On the way home from Saratoga, I stopped at the vet’s. He took a blood sample that’ll prove the horse I rode isn’t Whirlaway.”

  “That horse is called Dancer,” Forest said. “Bunks switched names, too. Turns out the woman he bought Dancer from didn’t treat her horse very well. That’s why he was afraid of Sunny. Her voice reminded him of his abusive owner.”

  “What will happen to Dancer and Biscuit when Mr. Bunks goes to jail?” Ruth Rose asked.

  Forest winked. “I’ve arranged to buy them,” he said. “From now on, Whirl-away won’t have to run away to visit his mother.”

  “Awesome!” Josh said. He picked up his hamburger and took a big bite. As he did, a glob of ketchup squirted out and landed on his clean white T-shirt.

  A to Z Mysteries

  Dear Readers,

  One of the most interesting parts of writing the A to Z series has been selecting ideas and words for titles. Some titles have come easily, such as The Absent Author and The Deadly Dungeon. But other titles are much harder to come up with, such as those for the Q. book and the future X book.

  Some of you have helped by sending me your ideas, and I do appreciate that. The title The Invisible Island came from a reader in Ohio.

  Coming up with the R title was fun. After all, my name is Ron Roy, and one of my fictional friends is Ruth Rose. As I began to think about the R book, I made a list of some of my favorite R words. Here’s a short list. Maybe you can add some of your own favorite R things.

  RABBIT—what’s cuter than a bunny?

  RACCOON—I love their little hands

  RAIN FOREST—great sights, smells, and sounds

  RAINY DAY—I stay inside and read!

  RASPBERRY—ice cream!

  RED—like roses and robins’ breasts

  REDWOODS—so awesome to see

  REINDEER—how else would Santa get here?