6. Vanished into Thin Air

Chapter 6 Vanished into Thin Air "What?" the second man said. "Your pony wears a wig?" "Um, they were dressed for a Fourth of July contest," Bradley said. "Polly was supposed to be Thomas Jefferson. Pal—he's our dog—had a big Declaration of Independence on his back." "This sounds more like an April Fools' Day trick," the woman said. But she was smiling. "Try the stables next to the barn. Ask for Bucky, the stable manager."

"I hope you find them," the first man said. "Giddyup!" he told his horse. The three horses trotted away. The kids hurried up the horse trail. Soon they saw a red barn with a stable off to one side. Horse heads and necks stretched out over some of the stall doors. The stable yard was busy with workers and people who had come to ride the horses. "I wonder which one is Bucky," Brian said. Bradley stopped a guy who was carrying a bale of hay toward the stables. "Excuse me, are you Bucky?" Bradley asked. The man laughed. "Not hardly," he said. He pointed with his chin. "That's her in the pink shirt." "Bucky is a girl?" Brian said. The man let out a loud laugh. "Don't let her hear you calling her a girl!" he said. The kids walked over to the woman in the pink shirt. She was old enough to be a grandmother. Her skin was tanned and her arms looked strong. She was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. "Can I help you kids?" the woman asked.

"We're looking for a pony," Bradley said. "I got plenty of ponies," Bucky said. She gave the kids a once-over. "You're not old enough to ride alone. Where are your parents?" "We didn't come to ride," Lucy said. "Our pony and dog ran away and we wonder if they came here." "Polly's wearing a hat and wig," Nate said.

"Who's Polly?" Bucky asked. "Our pony," Brian said. "We dressed her for a contest. If we win, we get to be mayor for the day!" Bucky stared at Brian. "You kidding me?" she asked. "It was for the July Fourth parade," Bradley explained. "But Polly and our dog took off before it even started. Have you seen them?" Bucky shook her head. "Nope. But stroll over to the stables," she said. "I s'pose your pony might've snuck in there when I wasn't looking." Bucky walked away, shaking her head. The kids raced for the stables. The stalls on the right held tall horses. But there were five ponies on the left.

One was white. One was black. Three were brown. None of them looked anything like Polly. "She's not here," Bradley muttered. Nate gazed at the other ponies. "They look like they know something," he said. "Yeah, they know someone else is gonna be mayor for a day," Brian said. "The contest must be over by now."

The kids left the stable yard and took the bike path back to Bridge Lane. They kept their eyes open for any sign of Polly and Pal. "How can a pony and dog just disappear?" Bradley asked. "They didn't disappear," Lucy said. "They have to be somewhere we haven't looked." "Right," Nate said, "like up in a tree or down a rabbit hole." "No," Brian said. "We haven't looked in the most logical place yet." "And where is that, brother?" Bradley asked. "Home," Brian said. "Maybe Polly just went home. She could have run back to our house while we were searching everywhere else." "Brilliant!" Nate said. "Thank you, thank you," Brian said, taking a little bow. Bradley poked his brother. "I hope you're right!" he said. "I'm always right!" Brian crowed. "You're never right!" Nate said. The kids took off running.