5. No Parade for Polly and Pal

Chapter 5 No Parade for Polly and Pal "Stop, Polly!" Bradley yelled. He watched as his two pets hurried away. They crossed Main Street and disappeared behind the Shangri-la Hotel. "Bad pets!" Brian yelled after the fleeing animals. "No treats tonight!" "Come on!" Bradley yelled. "We have to catch them!" He sprinted through the crowd. The other kids followed him. On the other side of Main Street, they ran behind the hotel. They saw the senior center, the

library, and the town hall. But they didn't see Polly or Pal. "Check in all the bushes!" Bradley yelled. The kids scattered and began poking through the shrubbery. They scared out a few birds and one rabbit, but no pony or dog. Bradley studied the ground. He knelt down for a closer look. "These are hoofprints!" he shouted. "Polly ran this way!" The kids stood in the hot sun and looked around.

"Maybe she and Pal went into the hotel and got a room," Nate said. "Maybe they called room service and got cookies and lemonade!" "Don't say lemonade," Brian complained. "I'm thirsty, and it's about a million degrees out here!" "Polly and Pal must be thirsty, too!" Bradley said. "Maybe they went to the river!" The kids raced past the library and crossed the bike path to reach the edge of the river. They looked up and down the river. A few ducks sped away, but Polly and Pal weren't there. "Where could they get to so fast?" Lucy asked. "It's like they disappeared!" "This is bumming me out," Brian said. "I was already planning my mayor's speech!" "Guys, we won't win unless we find Polly and Pal!" Nate reminded them. Bradley looked to the right, shielding his eyes against the sun. Then he peered to the left. "The sun is hot," he said. "Maybe they headed for the woods, where it's shady." The kids hurried north along the bike path. They kept their eyes moving, checking both sides

of the path and the river on their left. They stopped in the woods. They were all out of breath. They peered through the trees on both sides of the bike path. "Check for hoofprints," Bradley said. But they saw no prints and no runaway pony. "I'm still thirsty," Brian said. "When I'm onefourth mayor, I'll have soda pop every day!" "One-fifth, you mean," Bradley said. "Josh says he has to be one-fifth of the mayor, because he's part owner of Polly and Pal." "No fair!" Brian yelped. "He didn't even us help make the costumes!" "Guys, let's not argue!" Lucy said. "We have to keep looking!" Bradley held up a finger. "Wait," he said. He stood still, closed his eyes, and sniffed the air. The others looked at him. "I smell horse manure," Bradley said. His eyes snapped open. "The horseback-riding place is up there!" He pointed along the bike path. "Maybe Polly and Pal went to visit the other horses!" "Let's go check it out," Brian said. The kids started jogging up the path. It was hot, and they were sweating.

"I need a chocolate milk shake, and I need it right now!" Nate said. "We're almost there," Bradley said, pointing to a sign on the side of the trail. It said: RIDING TRAIL. WATCH FOR FAST HORSES! "Watch for manure, too," Brian said. Nate heard the noise first. "I hear drums," he said. "Or thunder," Brian said. "Great, it's gonna rain!" "No, I think it's horse hoofbeats," Lucy told him. "You're right," Bradley said. "Look!" Three horses with riders came galloping along the trail. The riders said, "Whoa!" and pulled up their mounts. Two of the riders were men wearing cowboy hats. The third was a woman with red hair tied in pigtails. "Hey, kids," the woman said with a smile. "Going riding?" "No, we're looking for our pony," Bradley said. "And our dog. They ran away. Have you seen

them?" "What do they look like?" one of the men asked. "They're both brown with white markings," Brian said.