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into my nightgown.
    Ma came in and checked my legs. Angry, red
scratches up the right one led to my knee, and they hurt a lot. She
cleaned the open wounds with carbolic while I bit my lip to keep
from yelling.
    “That should keep those scratches from
getting infected.” She went out and closed the door.
    A bit of warmth squirmed through me. Ma never
comforted my brothers after tending their injuries. I smiled and
began to think about how to handle training the horses, but my
pleasant interlude ended when Paul and Peter squalled from the
bunkhouse. I listened as the others said goodnight, not one bit
tired.
    After the house quieted, I lay awake. Things
had looked so good when the man from The Pony Express asked us to
provide mustangs. What would we do now?
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Only two days had
passed since the awful news about the Pony Express turned our lives
upside down. I still woke before everyone else and spent time with
the horses. But I had to be very, very careful and make it back
inside before the sun rose. This morning felt different, in a way I
couldn't figure out. I looked in all directions as I walked to the
corral, but I didn't see anything wrong.
    Nickers filled the air, driving me forward at
a fast pace. Once I reached the corral, I focused on nothing but
the horses.
    “Hey, Blaze.” I climbed the fence and stroked
his nose. “I can't ride you anymore now that Pa's back.”
    An ache rose within me, and I found it
impossible to ignore. After making sure no one was in sight, I
climbed onto his back and threaded my fingers through his mane.
    The most wonderful feeling in the world
rushed through me as he trotted in circles. This was the best
sensation the whole world. The wind chapped my cheeks, but I no
longer cared about acting like a lady. I had found the only place
where I felt like I contributed something important to my
family.
    Shadows lengthened in front of me. Blaze's
even, strong gait lulled me into a sense of safety, of believing no
one would catch me breaking the rule of not going into the
corral.
    Then the most horrible noise in the world
broke through my happiness. A door slammed. I looked around and
realized the sun had risen.
    “Oh no!” I touched Blaze's flanks with my
heels. “Hurry. I have to get inside before someone notices I'm not
in my bed.”
    He stopped at the same spot where I had
mounted him, but I remained on his back. The second worst thing in
the world had happened.
    “Ma and Pa told you to stay away from the
corral for a very good reason,” Adam said. His voice was very low,
not a good sign. “Get off that horse. Now!”
    Shaking in every muscle, I slid off Blaze's
back. Once on the ground, I stretched up as far as I could to
whisper in his ear.
    “It's not your fault. I wasn't supposed to
ride you.”
    Certain I faced not only a scolding but also
a spanking, I crawled under the middle rail while stepping over the
bottom one of the fence.
    “Walk with me,” Adam said. “I don't want what
we say upsetting the horses.”
    Too scared to say anything, I nodded. He took
off for the trail Pa used to drive the ponies to the stations and
stopped when we were a good distance from the house.
    “Those horses aren't safe for you to ride,”
Adam said. “All the Pony Express wants is saddle broke. You know
that.”
    “Uh-huh.” I scuffed a foot back and
forth.
    “Why?”
    He had asked the one question I never wanted
to hear. I had started doing this as a way to make sure Pa never
found out Peter and Paul had disobeyed him. But training the horses
had blown up into a major problem.
    “Abby.” Adam crouched in front of me. “I know
you wouldn't ignore Ma and Pa just because you wanted to ride.”
    I shook my head.
    “Talk to me,” he said. “Make me understand
why you snuck out so early.”
    “It was the only time I could do it,” I said.
“I know I should have told Ma about how Peter and Paul slept
instead of training the horses, but I hate tattling all the