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the high mountain meadow, but she also loved the pine smell of the forest. She discussed the issue with John.
    “Yes,” he said.
    “Yes, what?” she asked. “Which do you like best?”
    “Yes means I like them both.”
    Carole laughed. “Yes” was a good answer to the question.
    It was getting warmer. Carole removed her windbreaker and her sweater and tied them around her waist. She was glad for the cowboy hat that kept the bright sunshine off her face and neck and out of her eyes. Soon she was rolling up her sleeves and wishing for a cool breeze.
    From the front of the line, Eli began singing. He had anice voice, which carried back to the other riders. Soon Carole and the others joined in on the familiar cowboy song, “The Streets of Laredo.” Carole had never been much of a singer and always found herself embarrassed to sing in public, even in groups, but there was something suggestive about the even beat of the horses’ footsteps at the walk that made singing seem like a logical activity. When Eli moved them up to a trot, they changed songs, shifting to the brisker “Camptown Races.”
    Pretty soon the whole group was singing cheerfully together, and all unpleasant thoughts had flown from their minds. Nobody was thinking about the cold night or about Amy’s high jinks on the trail the previous day. They were simply doing what they’d come to do. They were having fun.
    “Hey, let’s do the one Gene Autrey used to sing,” Lisa called out to the other riders.
    “‘I’m back in the saddle again!”’ Eli began, but it turned out that nobody, not even Eli, knew enough words to sing that one, so they tried making up nonsense words to it. Everybody took turns. Not surprisingly, Amy was excellent at nonsense words.
    “I sat in the saddle all day.
    “Too bad my horse ran away!
    “Since my horse was not there,
    “I used my saddle for a chair,
    “And I guess in this town, I’ll just stay!”
    There was applause when she finished, and demands for another verse. “Okay, I’ve got another,” she said. Then she began.
    “I’m out here, where my dog is my friend.
    “I guess we’ll be friends to the end.
    “We just ride here by the hour
    “Where it’s hot and we can’t shower.
    “No wonder there’s nobody to befriend!”
    Carole and the other riders applauded again. Amy was very clever, and at that moment Carole was glad she was along on the trip.
    When the sun was high in the sky, Eli led the riders off the trail, through a small patch of woods, and into a shady open area for a rest and some lunch. First, it was rest time for the horses. Everyone pitched in to untack them and let them drink from a nearby lake surrounded by rocks before they hobbled them in a grassy field near the water.
    “Perfect!” Stevie announced when she spotted it. “It was obviously put here to give us a place to swim on this hot, dusty day!”
    “No question about it,” Kate agreed.
    “Definitely,” Christine chimed in.
    “Can we?” Lisa asked Eli.
    “Don’t know why not, as long as you’re careful,” Eli said. “Tell you what. You’ve been such good singers and riders this morning that Jeannie and I will make the sandwiches while you all take a dip. Then you all can clean up after lunch while we take our swim. Deal?”
    “Deal!”
    “Do I have to remind you that you should never dive in unfamiliar water, especially since it’s been a long, dry summer and the water may be much shallower than you think?”
    “We promise, no diving and we’ll be super careful,” John assured Eli.
    “Everybody promise?” Eli asked, looking directly at Amy.
    She crossed her heart as she promised.
    It took only a few minutes for the riders to don their bathing suits and head for the pond.
    “Last one in is a—hey, Amy!” Stevie shouted. Everybody turned to look. Amy had climbed to a rocky ledge five feet above the water and was flexing her knees and swinging her arms.
    “No diving!” John called out.
    Amy grinned