Rodeo Rider Read Online Free Page A

He’d grown a lot since then. He was full of energy, and appeared to have a great liking for pajama bottoms.
    “He’s so cute!” Stevie cooed, kneeling down and patting the energetic ball of fur. Dude turned his attention from Stevie’s pajamas to her hand. He began licking it furiously. Then he jumped up on her and started licking at her ears.
    “Down, Dude!” Christine said sharply. It didn’t do any good at all. Stevie didn’t mind, though. She was enjoying patting and hugging the puppy. After a few minutes, Dude discovered an oak leaf skittering across the porch. He growled protectively and then pounced at it.
    “Time to wake everybody else up,” Christine said. Stevie opened the cabin door for her and the two of them went in.
    “Can you do reveille?” Stevie asked. Christine nodded. The two of them stood as if in formation and whistled the traditional “wake-up” song of camps and armies. It didn’t work on their friends, so they resorted to a more direct method.
    “Get out of bed, you lazybones! Look who’s here!”
    When Kate, Carole, and Lisa saw their visitor, they woke up immediately. Lisa and Carole hopped out oftheir bunks and ran to greet Christine. For a few minutes, there was a confusion of hugging, tooth brushing, and getting dressed. Within an amazingly short time, the five girls reassembled on the porch to visit until breakfast.
    It turned out that Kate had called Christine to tell her the girls were arriving. Normally, Kate and Christine would have had school that week, but Christine explained that Saturday’s rodeo was really a local festival and almost everybody in the area was participating in one way or another.
    “They used to try to keep school open during Rodeo Week, but they found that nobody came. No teachers, no students. The principals in the district got together and threw in the towel.”
    “That’s almost as much fun as burst pipes,” Lisa said.
    “Oh, I don’t know,” Kate remarked. “A planned vacation is never really as much fun as an unplanned one. I love the fact that you guys came on the spur of the moment, with nothing planned except the rodeo.”
    “Actually, there
is
something planned,” Carole said. The other four girls looked at her in surprise. “It’s something we talked about a while ago. We just never got to do it until now.”
    With that, Carole stood up and went into the cabin. Kate turned to Stevie for an explanation.
    Stevie shrugged. “Beats me,” she said.
    “I think I know what she has in mind,” Lisa said slowly. “And she’s right. It’s something we planned avery long time ago—the day we left here on our last trip.”
    Stevie thought back. And then she remembered.
    “Here it is,” Carole said, returning to the porch from the bunkroom, where she’d been rummaging around in her suitcase. She was holding something in her hand.
    Lisa and Stevie arranged the chairs so the five girls sat in a circle. Then Carole spoke.
    “Christine,” she began, “as you may know, Stevie, Lisa, and I formed a group we call The Saddle Club. We only have two requirements for membership. Members must be horse crazy and members must be willing to help one another out. There’s no doubt about it. You fit the bill perfectly. By unanimous vote, you’ve been elected to be a member. We hope you’ll accept our offer and wear the pin proudly.” Carole held out a small red jewelry box.
    Christine didn’t seem to know what to do. For a second, Stevie thought she might cry. But just then, Dude interfered. The puppy saw Carole’s outstretched hand and assumed she wanted to pet him. He came bounding up to Carole and bounced into her, knocking the jewelry box into the air. Christine caught it.
    Carole petted Dude while Christine opened the box. The early-morning sun glinted on the gift inside. The club pin was a silver horsehead. The horse’s mane was brushed back by the wind, as if he were racing joyously.
    “Oh,” Christine gasped. “It’s