6. A Light in the Barn

Chapter 6 A Light in the Barn "I'll bet Mom and Dad and the others went for a walk," Bradley said. "Grownups love to walk in the dark." "But what about the party? And why didn't they say anything?" Brian asked. "We were busy playing Scrabble," Nate said. He looked at the wall clock. "Six o'clock."

"Time for the thieves to come," Brian joked. "Maybe they'll steal Nate instead of a laptop. Maybe they'll—" Lucy stood up and looked out the window. "Guys, there's a light on in your barn," she whispered. "I saw it in one of the windows." The three boys jumped up. They peered out into the dark backyard at the barn. "Nah, it's just a reflection from the lights in the house," Bradley said. Brian ran around and shut off all the lights. The light in the barn was still glowing. "The light is moving!" he said. "Oh my gosh, it is the thieves!" Nate said. "Run for cover!" "We're not running anywhere!" Bradley announced. "This is our house and that's our barn!" They huddled in front of the window, all eyes on the barn. "Why would the crooks be in our barn?" Bradley asked. "There's nothing out there but Polly and a bunch of junk."

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"Polly!" Brian yelped. "Maybe they got bored with stealing laptops, and now they're after ponies!" "The light is moving again!" Nate said. A small glow passed from window to window in the barn. "Someone is walking around out there!" Brian said. "Maybe they are taking Polly!" "Grab your coats!" Bradley yelled, jumping up. "Nobody steals the Pinto pony!" The kids scrambled into their coats and boots. "But what are we supposed to do?" Nate asked. "Those two thieves are big, and we're just little kids!" "We can at least look through the windows," Bradley said. "If we see them in there, we call Officer Fallon. I don't care if it is New Year's Eve!" Bradley opened the back door. "Walk like mice on ice!" he whispered. The four kids tiptoed single file across the backyard. The moon shone down, creating shadows on the snow.

"Look at these big footprints!" Bradley whispered. "They all lead straight to the barn!" The kids studied the footprints, then crept toward the barn door. "Guys, what's that?" Lucy asked, pointing. A dark lump sat on the snow a few feet from the closed barn door. Bradley peered at the object. "Everything else is covered with snow," he whispered. Lucy took a few steps closer. "Don't touch it!" Nate cried. "It could be a skunk! They come out at night!" "It doesn't have a white stripe, and it's not moving," Lucy said. She walked over and picked up the object. "It's a ski mask," Lucy whispered. "It's the one that woman thief was wearing. She must have dropped it here!" "So that must be them in the barn," Bradley whispered. "Let's go." The kids ran quietly to the side of the barn. Brian and Bradley dragged a bench under one of the windows. All four kids climbed onto the bench and peeked into the barn.

Their breath fogged the glass, and Bradley wiped it away. "Do you see anyone?" he asked, barely whispering. "Dad's lantern is lit on the workbench," Brian said. "But no thieves." "I see Polly, but she's not in her stall," Lucy said. "She's just standing in the middle of the barn, eating hay." "Josh must have let her out of her stall," Bradley said. "Let's try a different window." They carried the bench to the next window and climbed up for another look. "The same," Nate said. "Nothing." They moved the bench again, this time around the corner to the back of the barn. But when they stood on the bench and peered through the glass, they couldn't see anything. Something tall and pink was blocking their view. "What the heck is that?" Brian asked. "We don't have anything tall and pink." "It's standing right in front of the window," Nate said. "There's a ribbon on it," Lucy said. "Maybe it's a big Christmas present for you guys."