9 The True Story

Chapter 9 THE TRUE STORY "Wake up." Jack opened his eyes. For a moment, he had no idea where he was. "Hi," said Annie. She was sitting on the couch near his. "I think Tuya and her family are outside." "Oh. Okay…" Jack sat up. "Hey… our ride last night… on the plain was… I don't know… unbelievable." "Yeah, but it was all spelled out in Morgan's rhyme," said Annie. "Right… it was," said Jack. Just then Tuya's mother came into the yurt. "Ah! You're awake!" Batu said, smiling. "Good morning, Jack and Annie." "Good morning," they answered.

"When we woke up at dawn, we were so happy to find you here," said Batu. "Tuya thought perhaps you had decided to stay with the other Eco-Volunteers. Where did you go last night?" "Oh, we just took a walk by the light of the full moon," said Annie. "It was a beautiful night," said Batu. "Khan is here now to take you back to the city. And he brought very good news. But first, you must have something to eat." "Thank you," said Annie. She and Jack stood up from the low couches and sat at a table near the stove. Batu gave them bowls of tea and slabs of crusty homemade bread with butter. "So, what's Khan's news?" asked Jack. "It is wonderful," said Batu. "When the sun came up, he discovered all of the Takhi were safe in the corral! He thinks he made a mistake last night when he counted them!" Annie smiled at Jack. For a quick moment, he wondered if they should tell Batu that they had found the horses.

But then… how could they explain their bike wheels spinning over the plain? And the white horse whirling out of the wind to lead the Takhi back home? Annie seemed to share his thoughts. "I'm glad they were never missing," she said. "Yes, what a relief," said Jack. He took a big bite of the crunchy bread. "Does anyone know who left the gate open?" asked Annie. "Oh, no one is to blame," said Batu. "The latch on the gate had broken. Khan discovered it when he went to check on the Takhi last night. He

used a rope to tie the gate shut. But then he made a mistake when he counted the horses inside the corral." "Oh. So it wasn't—" Jack stopped before he said me. Annie laughed and looked at him. "I'm glad no one was to blame," she said. "Aren't you?" "Very glad," Jack said. "Is the latch fixed now?" he asked Batu. "No, for now the rope is keeping all the Takhi safe inside," said Batu. "Khan will buy a new latch when he takes you to the city. Come now, he is waiting." Jack and Annie stood up from the table. Jack grabbed the tote bag. Then he and Annie followed Batu outside. It was a beautiful morning in the camp. The sunlight was bright. The air was crisp, but it wasn't too windy. Tuya's little brother was using a baby bottle to feed one of the lambs. Her big brother was chopping wood. Her dad was training a golden eagle perched on his wrist. The eagle stared at Jack and Annie.

Jack smiled at it. "That's the same one," he whispered to Annie. "I know," she said softly. Jack studied the family's large herd of horses. He saw brown horses, black horses, gray horses, and rust-colored horses. But there wasn't even one white horse. "Where's Tuya?" Annie asked Batu. "She's waiting in the minibus with Khan," Batu said. "She wants to ride with you to the city." "Oh, good!" said Jack. "Thank you for everything." "You are very good hosts," said Annie. Batu laughed. "And you are very interesting guests," she said. "Good-bye." "Good-bye!" said Jack and Annie together. Then they hurried down the row of yurts to the minibus. "All aboard!" said Khan. "Thanks!" said Jack. When they climbed into the bus, they saw Tuya in the back. They moved to the last seat and sat next to her. "I'm glad you're riding with us!" said Annie.

"Me too!" said Tuya. Khan started the loud engine. The minibus began bouncing over the dirt road. "What happened to you last night?" Tuya asked. "We went back to the nature reserve," said Annie. "What did you do there?" said Tuya. "Oh, we just…" Jack paused. Annie poked him. She nodded. Jack could tell she wanted them to tell Tuya what really happened. "Okay. Here's the true story," he said. "We borrowed two mountain bikes." "And we rode off in search of the missing Takhi," said Annie. Tuya's eyes grew huge. "But Khan told us today they were never missing!" she said. "Well, actually, they were," said Annie. "We saw three of them grazing on the plain." "No!" breathed Tuya. "Yes!" said Jack. "And we saw wolves come down from the hills," said Annie. "No!" said Tuya. She covered her mouth with