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ideas—he’s an accountant. He thinks this could be a moneymaking business.” He grimaced. “Unfortunately, the brothers haven’t let me implement any of the changes I suggested, even though profits have been sagging more and more every year.”
    Carole shook her head in amazement. She knew as well as anyone that any venture involving horses was bound to be expensive. Still, she found it hard to believe that the camp they all loved was such a financial failure.
    Barry went on. “Finally, last year, the Winters went through a phase where they thought they were going to fix this place up and make it work. I had hoped that meant they would listen to my ideas. But they didn’t—they just fired half the staff, then threw up a few new cabins and built some tennis courts and expected that to do the trick. I guess I was hoping it would, too. I even convinced them to run this monthlong session this year, figuring it mightmake a difference in the profits.” He rubbed his temples again. “But when the Winters saw the numbers coming in, they decided it wasn’t worth it to them anymore. All they wanted to do after that was unload the whole place, and none of my great financial ideas could change their minds.”
    “Maybe you should try talking to them again,” Stevie urged. “You know, explain what a gold mine Moose Hill really is …”
    “Sorry, Stevie,” Barry said quietly. “It’s a little late for that. The deal is almost final.”
    “Almost?” Stevie repeated.
    Barry shrugged. “All but the final papers. Fred Winter told me they’re hoping to finalize everything in the next couple of weeks. And as you saw, the new owners are eager to begin construction right away.” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe this place will be gone by the end of the summer.”
    Carole thought she saw tears in his eyes, though he managed to keep them under control. She wasn’t sure she was going to be able to do the same. It didn’t seem possible that Moose Hill could be closing. They had never really talked about it, but Carole had always assumed that The Saddle Club would continue to come here every summer until they went away to college—maybe even after that. Now those happy plans were ruined. It seemed so unfair.
    Stevie was too upset even to think about crying. Sheknew what her mystery was all about now, and she didn’t like it one bit. The men in the black car had obviously been with the developers who were buying the camp. One of them had been the mysterious figure she and Carole had seen in the woods, too. And Barry’s recent moodiness now made perfect sense.
    Lisa was upset, too, but she felt as though she could hardly take in this new information. Her mind was already so filled with the things she had to do before the end of camp this year that she was afraid her head would explode if she started thinking about next year.
    Barry stood up. “You girls had better get going,” he said. “I’m afraid I’ve made you late for your classes. Just tell your instructors you were with me.”
    Stevie had almost forgotten that they were supposed to be in class. How could they even think about learning at a time like this?
    Barry started to show them out of the office, then stopped them. “Listen, I’d really appreciate it if you could keep this information to yourselves,” he said. “I haven’t even broken the news to everybody on the staff yet, and I’d hate to ruin the campers’ good time.”
    The Saddle Club nodded numbly. As Stevie hurried out of the rec hall with her friends, she was still having trouble thinking clearly about anything. One thought had seemingly taken over and was echoing through her mind: Could this really be the end of Moose Hill Riding Camp?

T HE GIRLS MANAGED to keep Barry’s secret until halfway through dinner that evening. It was easy at first—the news was so bad that for a while they hadn’t even felt like discussing it with each other. But by dinnertime the shock had worn off