Dude Ranch Detective Read online

  “We looked everywhere and couldn’t find him,” Bess explained.

  Ron and Linda glanced at each other. Then they both grinned.

  “Maybe Star disappeared,” Ron said with a little laugh.

  “Under the full moon,” Linda added.

  “See?” George whispered to Nancy. “I told you.”

  Nancy stared at Star’s empty stall. She had to find out where he was.

  “Let’s round up the ponies for the trail ride,” Ron said. He turned to Nancy. “Which one would you like to ride today?”

  Nancy’s heart sank. She really wanted to ride Star. But she pointed to a speckled pony in the stall next to Star’s.

  “That’s Freckles,” Ron said.

  While the wranglers saddled up the ponies, Bess turned to Nancy.

  “This is starting to sound like a mystery,” Bess said in a hushed voice.

  “It is a mystery,” Nancy said. She patted her notebook in the pocket of her overalls. “And I’m going to solve it.”

  George pumped her fist in the air. “Yes! Nancy Drew—dude ranch detective!”

  “Shh,” Nancy said. “I don’t want the others to know. At least not yet.”

  The other kids showed up for the trail ride. They were Iris and Peter and ten-year-old twins Nicole and Nicholas.

  “Howdy!” Josh said. He walked into the stable with his hands in his pockets.

  “Well, howdy, Tex!” Linda said. “Are you fixin’ to join us today?”

  “You mean . . . ride a horse?” Josh asked with a gulp. “Er . . . not today, ma’am. I’ve got to go and slop the hogs.”

  Everyone giggled as Josh ran away.

  “I think he’s scared of horses.” Bess sighed. “Some cowboy!”

  Ron and Linda led the ponies out of the stable. The ponies stood in a line as the kids mounted.

  “Hi, Freckles,” Nancy said when she was in the saddle. “It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just that I’m worried about Star.”

  When all the kids were on their ponies, Linda mounted her horse, Lulu. Ron climbed up on his horse, Blizzard.

  Then Linda led the line of ponies into the woods. The leaves and twigs on the ground crunched as they rode along the trail. Sunlight peeked through the trees.

  The twins rode behind Linda. Then came Peter, Iris, George, Nancy, and Bess. Ron was the last on the line.

  I’ll write Daddy and Hannah a new letter, Nancy thought as she rode through the woods. But this time I’ll tell them that mysteries can happen anywhere— even on vacation.

  After riding for half an hour, Linda called for a rest. Everyone dismounted and hitched their ponies to a fence. While the kids sat on the grass, drinking lemonade, Nancy waved her friends over to a big leafy tree. They sat underneath and got to work.

  Nancy opened her notebook and wrote “Where’s Star?” at the top. A few lines down she wrote the word, “Reasons.”

  “What are some reasons that Star might be missing?” Nancy asked.

  “He disappeared.” George jabbed her finger on the page. “Write the legend.”

  Nancy didn’t believe the legend, but she wrote it down for George’s sake.

  “What if Star was stolen?” Bess asked with wide blue eyes. “All cowboy movies have horse thieves.”

  “Star might have been sold, too,” Nancy said. “Dixie told me that he was worth a lot of money.”

  “And Slim acted weird when we asked him about Star,” George said. She narrowed her eyes. “Dixie and Slim—partners in crime!”

  Nancy wrote Dixie’s and Slim’s names in her notebook. “They’re just suspects for now,” she said. “When we get back to the stable I want to look for more clues.”

  “Nancy, Bess, George!” Ron called over. “It’s time to ride back now.”

  Nancy quickly shut her notebook. “Coming!” she called back.

  “What were you writing back there?” Iris asked as they mounted their ponies.

  “A crossword puzzle,” George said quickly. “We were looking for a three-letter word for — ”

  “Thief,” Bess said. “I mean—leaf!”

  The parade of ponies rode through the woods back to the ranch. This time they trotted straight to the stable.

  “Don’t forget,” Ron told the kids as they dismounted. “There’s a trail ride and picnic tomorrow morning at eleven.”

  While Ron and Linda brought the ponies to their stalls, the girls waited outside the stable door.

  “That’s funny,” Nancy heard Ron say. “There are no carrots left. Let’s get some more from the kitchen.”

  The girls backed against the stable wall as Ron and Linda walked out.

  “Alone at last,” George said.

  “Let’s go!” Nancy said.

  The girls ran inside. Nancy peeked into Star’s stall. She noticed that Star’s feed bucket was still full.

  “That’s a clue,” Nancy said. “Star wasn’t in his stall all day.”

  Nancy wrote “Full feed bucket” in her notebook. Suddenly she heard voices outside the stable.

  “The ponies must be back from the trail ride, Slim,” one voice said.

  “It’s Dixie and Slim!” George said.

  “We have to hide,” Nancy said. She saw a ladder that led up to a hayloft. “Up there!” she said.

  The girls scurried up the ladder to the hayloft. They lay on their stomachs and peeked over the edge.

  “Ouch!” Bess complained. “This hay feels like pins and needles!”

  Nancy heard the barn door creak open. Looking down, she saw Dixie and Slim enter the stable.

  “A check for fifteen dollars!” Slim said. He waved a small piece of paper in the air. “That’s a pretty penny, Dixie.”

  “Well, shucks, Slim.” Dixie laughed. “That horse was one fine critter.”

  “They sold a horse!” George whispered. “Dixie and Slim sold a horse!”

  Suddenly Nancy felt a piece of hay stick her leg. “Ouch!” she cried.

  George clapped her hand over Nancy’s mouth. But it was too late.

  “Who’s up there?” Slim demanded.

  Nancy froze. They were caught—and they were trapped!

  4

  Follow That Carrot!

  Nancy gripped her notebook. What would they do now?

  “Cluck, cluck!” George called down.

  “Buck, buck!” Bess joined in.

  Nancy smiled. Bess and George were pretending to be chickens!

  “Cluck, cluck!” George cried louder. But when she flapped her elbows she knocked Nancy’s notebook out of her hands.

  “Oh, no!” Nancy gasped.

  The notebook hit the ground with a clunk. Nancy peeked over the edge and watched as Dixie picked it up.

  “Well, now!” Dixie said. “I didn’t know chickens kept diaries.”

  Bess stuck her head up. “It’s not a diary!” she called down. “It’s Nancy’s blue detective notebook!”

  “Bess!” Nancy complained.

  “Well, it is.” Bess shrugged.

  “Busted!” George groaned.

  The girls climbed down from the loft.

  “So you’re a detective, huh?” Dixie asked Nancy. She handed her the notebook.

  Nancy nodded. “We heard you say that you sold a horse for fifteen dollars.”

  Dixie and Slim looked at each other. Then they burst out laughing.

  “That horse we were talking about was a wooden critter,” Dixie explained.

  “Wooden?” Nancy repeated.

  “The pretty blue horse you liked in the gift shop,” Slim said. “A guest bought him this morning.”

  Slim held out the paper. “See?”

  Nancy looked at the paper. It was a check for fifteen dollars. And it had been written by Mr. Marvin.

  “Bess,” Nancy said. “Your dad bought you the little blue horse.”

  “Cool!” Bess said.

  “That explains that horse,” George said. “But where’s Star?”

  Dixie
and Slim looked at each other again. This time they weren’t smiling.

  “Star, huh?” Dixie said slowly.

  Slim put his hand to his ear. “Did you hear that?”

  “Now what?” George muttered.

  “There’s a storm brewing,” Slim said. “We’d better board up the cowshed, Dixie.”

  The girls followed Dixie and Slim out of the stable. They stood and watched as the couple ran to the barn.

  “What storm?” George asked, glancing at the sky. “It’s totally sunny today.”

  “Oh, well,” Nancy said. “Someone at this ranch must know where Star is. But I don’t think it’s Dixie or Slim.”

  After Nancy crossed their names out of her notebook, she felt Bess tug her arm.

  “Here come my mom and dad,” Bess said. “They’re dressed like cowboys!”

  Mr. and Mrs. Marvin walked over. They were wearing western-style shirts and white cowboy hats.

  “We just got back from the grownups’ trail ride,” Mrs. Marvin said.

  “All that riding gave us an appetite,” Mr. Marvin said. “How about some lunch in the dining hall?”

  “Are you going to eat some more of that red-hot chili, Daddy?” Bess asked.

  Mrs. Marvin gave her husband a look of warning. “I think we’ll all have sandwiches today,” she said.

  The girls followed the Marvins toward the dining hall. Suddenly Nancy stepped on something that made a crunch. She looked down and saw two carrots on the ground.

  “Carrots!” Nancy said.

  “You want carrots for lunch?” George asked, wrinkling her nose.

  “No,” Nancy said. She kneeled down and pointed to two carrots on the ground. “It looks as if someone dropped carrots.”

  “There are some more,” Bess said, running ahead. She picked up three carrots from the ground.

  “There’s a whole trail of carrots,” Nancy pointed out. “And they lead right to Josh’s trailer.”

  Bess told her parents they would catch up with them in the dining hall. Then the girls walked quickly to Josh’s trailer. As they got nearer, Nancy heard a strange sound coming from inside. Sort of like a loud thump! thump! thump!

  George covered her ears. “It sounds like a team of horses in there,” she said.

  “Horses?” Nancy repeated. She stared at the carrots in her hand. “Horses eat carrots. And Josh’s parents were going to bring home a pony.”

  THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

  Nancy pressed her ear to the trailer door. She heard the sound of Josh’s voice.

  “Whoa, boy!” Josh was saying. “Whoaaa!”

  Nancy’s eyes opened wide. “Bess, George,” she said. “Could Josh be hiding Star inside this trailer?”

  5

  Wild West Pest

  This trailer is big enough for a horse,” Bess said. “Especially a pony.”

  Nancy knocked on the trailer door. “Josh?” she called. “Are you in there?”

  George banged on the door harder.

  “We know you’ve got a horse in there,” she shouted. “Come out and give yourself up!”

  Nancy rolled her eyes. George was watching too many detective shows on TV.

  “We’re going in,” George decided. She yanked the door open, and the girls dashed inside.

  Nancy looked around. She didn’t see a pony, just Josh standing in the middle of the trailer and staring at them.

  “Well?” Nancy asked Josh. “Where is he? Where is—”

  Something furry jumped into Nancy’s arms. She began to scream.

  “It’s a rabbit!” George cried.

  “A gigantic rabbit!” Bess shrieked.

  The rabbit wriggled against Nancy’s chest and shoulders. Then it jumped away.

  “Get him!” Josh shouted as the rabbit hopped all over the trailer. It jumped across the table and kicked over a bowl of fruit. Then the rabbit jumped on a shelf and knocked books and games to the floor.

  “He’s out of control!” George cried.

  Josh grabbed his lasso and twirled it over his head. “Rope them bunnies!” he shouted. “Yee-haaaa!”

  “No!” Nancy shouted. She grabbed Josh’s arm and the rabbit bounded out the open door. Everyone was silent as they stared out of the trailer.

  “He sounded like a horse,” George said with a shrug.

  Josh whirled around. He looked mad.

  “See what you went and did?” he cried. “You scared away my jackrabbit.”

  “Your rabbit?” Nancy asked.

  “Since when?” George demanded.

  “When I asked my folks for a pony, they said no,” Josh explained. “They said our apartment was too small and I’m too scared of horses anyway.”

  “We knew that,” Bess said.

  Josh blushed but went on. “While my parents were on a hike I saw the rabbit sitting in front of our trailer.”

  “And you brought him inside?” Nancy asked, her eyes wide.

  “Sure,” Josh said. He pointed to a pile of carrots on the kitchen counter. “I took those out of the stable while you were on your trail ride. You don’t think I’d eat all those carrots, do you? Gross!”

  Nancy folded her arms across her chest. “It’s not fair to take an animal out of the wild,” she said. “And it’s not safe either.”

  “You should know better than that,” Bess told Josh.

  “I know now” Josh said. He looked at the girls and began to laugh. “Did you really think I had a horse in here?”

  Nancy nodded. “A pony named Star is missing. Do you know where he is?”

  “How should I know?” Josh asked. He glanced at the window and a smile spread across his face. “Hey! I reckon I found another critter to take back home.”

  “What?” Nancy asked.

  Josh pulled a small red reptile from the windowsill. He held it by its long, wiggly tail. “A lizard!” he declared.

  Bess let out a huge scream. She turned around and ran out of the trailer.

  “Bess, wait!” Nancy called as she and George ran after her.

  “It was just a salamander!” George shouted. “A tiny little salamander!”

  Bess whirled around. “I don’t care!” she cried. “It was still icky!”

  Nancy could see that Bess was very upset. Her eyes were filling with tears.

  “All I wanted to do was ride ponies,” Bess said. “Now the ponies are disappearing and the place is full of creepy crawlies. I want to go home!”

  Nancy patted Bess’s shoulder. “You’ll feel much better after you eat lunch.”

  “Yeah,” George said. “Maybe they’ll have ice cream for dessert.”

  “Strawberry?” Bess sniffed.

  “Probably,” Nancy said.

  “I feel better already,” Bess said with a smile. “Come on. Let’s eat.”

  The girls ate hamburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. There was ice cream for dessert—chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.

  After lunch the Marvins took the girls to the lake. Mr. and Mrs. Marvin rented fishing poles. The girls borrowed three plastic pails to fish for minnows.

  “These minnows are so small they’re practically invisible,” George said. She skimmed her pail in the shallow water.

  Nancy’s eyes were on the water, but her mind was still on Star.

  “Josh didn’t hide Star,” Nancy said. She dragged her pail in the water. “So now we have no suspects. Zero. Zip. Zilch.”

  “Nuh-uh,” George disagreed.

  “What do you mean?” Nancy asked.

  “You’re forgetting about the legend,” George said. “Star could have disappeared by the light of the full moon. Remember?”

  “I remember.” Nancy sighed.

  The girls continued to scoop up minnows and spill them back into the lake.

  “Wow!” Bess said as she lifted her pail. “Wait until you see what I found!”

  “A big fish?” Nancy asked.

  “No, a big shoe,” Bess said. “A really big shoe!”

&nbs
p; “Big deal,” George said. “People are always losing their swim shoes.”

  Bess reached into her pail. She pulled out something silver. “Do horses go swimming?” she asked.

  Nancy stared at the curved object in Bess’s hand.

  “It’s a horseshoe!” she gasped.

  6

  Hoedown Lowdown

  Do you know what that horseshoe means?” George exclaimed. She dropped her pail on the ground. “The legend is true. Star disappeared and left behind his shoe.”

  “Like Cinderella,” Bess said in a hushed voice. “Except Cinderella didn’t disappear.”

  Nancy didn’t want to believe Annie’s story. But with Star missing and the horseshoe by the lake—who knew?

  “Annie was the one who told us the story,” Nancy said. “We have to find her and show her this horseshoe.”

  The Marvins gave the girls permission to leave the lake. Bess carried the horseshoe in her pail as they ran away from the lake and toward the stable.

  “Nancy! Bess! George!” a voice called. “Wait up!”

  Nancy spun around and saw Iris.

  “Come on, you guys,” Iris said. “I need all of you for this way cool game.”

  “Sorry, Iris,” Nancy said. “We don’t have time for a game now.”

  Iris’s shoulders drooped. “But I need three more kids to make up a team.”

  “We can’t, Iris,” George declared. “Something really important just came up.”

  “Well, the horseshoe game is important, too,” Iris insisted.

  Nancy stared at Iris. “Horseshoe game?”

  Iris waved her hand. “Come on. I’ll show you,” she said.

  The girls followed Iris behind the dining hall. A bunch of kids were tossing big silver horseshoes across a sandpit. Some of the horseshoes landed over a big spike at the end of the pit.

  “You get points if your horseshoe lands over the spike,” Iris explained.

  Nancy looked at the horseshoes lying in the sandpit. They looked exactly like the one in Bess’s pail.

  A boy with curly hair tossed a horseshoe over the spike. “I got one!” he shouted. He jumped up and down. “I’m a lean, mean horseshoe-hurling machine!”

  “Show-off,” Iris grumbled.