Mary and Jody in the Movies (6 page)

The second horse was sold for five hundred dollars. As he turned to leave the ring, the auctioneer began the bidding on the
third horse, a rather gangly Appaloosa horse with a skinny neck. This time the rider merely nodded to the auctioneer, who
simply said, “Good, sound, broke, and ready to go,” and started the bidding at four hundred dollars.

Mary and Jody spotted Willie standing at ringside and watched him anxiously as each horse came into the ring. They hoped to
see him raise his hand to bid on some of the prettiest ones, but Willie stood stock still, eyeing each horse carefully, his
hands in his pockets.

“Twister, what if Willie doesn’t see anything he likes? Will we go home empty-handed? What will the movie people do?” Mary
asked breathlessly.

“Don’t worry, he’ll see something. There’s over two hundred horses here today. He just hasn’t seen nothin’ he likes yet.”

Just as Twister finished his sentence, there was a sudden commotion at the far end of the ring. Mary and Jody gasped along
with the rest of the crowd as the side gate was flung open to allow a whole herd of six horses into the ring at once. But
these horses were different from the others. Their manes were long and tangled, and their forelocks hung wildly, covering
their eyes. They snorted and pawed, and their nostrils flared as they bucked and kicked around the ring. They were almost
all the same dull brown color, except for the largest one, who was nearly black.

“This must be the wild bunch the auctioneer talked about,” Twister said with a grin. “Now, watch, here comes a rider in the
ring to try to round ’em up and calm ’em down.”

Mary and Jody watched with mouths open in amazement as one of the sale barn riders on a small-boned bay horse rode directly
into the midst of the chaos. The rider made a “Shhhhh” sound with his mouth as he maneuvered the little bay around the outer
edge of the ring, herding the wild horses together until they were settled and moving as one in a unified circle. The herding
horse trotted calmly, keeping his head high and his ears forward, gazing curiously at the ragged bunch without the least bit
of fear in his eyes.

“All right, boys, what’s your pleasure on this group?” the auctioneer asked, tapping his gavel lightly on the tabletop. “Straight
off the plains, they are. We’re selling them by the piece, take one or all. Two hundred!”

The horses continued trotting in a relentless circle, but no one would start the bidding.

“Come on, boys, they’re here for sale. Don’t take much to calm ’em down. They’ll be like kittens in no time.”

Mary and Jody gasped as the side gate was flung open
to allow a whole herd of six horses into the ring at once.

The crowd laughed then, but still no one took a chance.

“One hundred, one hundred apiece. You can’t lose at that price, folks,” the auctioneer pleaded.

A lone hand went up at ringside. Mary and Jody craned their necks to see whose hand it was.

It was Willie’s.

Even Twister gasped this time. “What the…” he began.

“Yep!” the Amish man yelped excitedly, pointing at Willie. But Willie shook his head and simply pointed at the bay herding
horse.

“He’s for sale, but not yet, we’re bidding on the wild herd,” the auctioneer said insistently. “What do I hear for the wild
ones?”

Still no one bid. Willie raised his hand once again and all in one motion lowered it, pointing his finger at the bay, who
was still trotting easily around the wild horses as though they weren’t even there.

“All right, then,” the auctioneer said in frustration. “We’ll let the bay horse go and then we’ll sell the others. Keep your
eye on them, boys. Look, they’re calmin’ down already. Six hundred on the bay!”

Willie didn’t raise his hand this time. The auctioneer glared at him and then banged his gavel. “All right, then, five hundred!”

Willie simply nodded.

“Yep!” went the Amish man.

“Five fifty! Who’ll give five fifty?” A hand went up across the ring, and the bidding began. The auctioneer launched into
the bidding at such a rate that it was hard to understand him. Several hands were in the air, all bidding on the bay horse,
as the little Amish man hopped up and down with each bid.

“What’s he saying, Twister?” Jody whispered. “He’s going so fast I can’t understand him.”

“He’s up to eight hundred already,” Twister said. “I don’t know how far Will’s going to go on him.”

There were just two people still bidding at nine hundred dollars, and one of them was Willie. The other was a man sitting
directly behind the auctioneer wearing a black cowboy hat and a shiny black rodeo jacket.

“Oh, I hope the rodeo man doesn’t get him,” Jody said anxiously, biting her fingernails.

“Nine fifty!” The auctioneer shouted.Willie nodded.

“One thousand! One thousand! Do I hear one thousand?”

The Amishman spun in a circle, scanning the crowd for another bid. The rodeo man turned questioningly to the man sitting next
to him, who shook his head no. The auctioneer asked once more for a bid of one thousand. Then the gavel came down with a bang.

“Nine fifty! To number one twenty-three. Now, I
need
a bid on these wild ones!”

Mary and Jody watched as Willie turned abruptly from ringside. He strode as quickly as he could toward the rear of the sale
barn, following the bay horse and rider as they left the ring. In an instant, the girls were on their feet and making their
way down the bleachers so as not to lose sight of Willie.

“Hey, wait for me!” Twister grumbled, excusing himself for almost stepping on the woman in front of him as he descended the
bleachers in pursuit of the anxious girls.

By the time Mary and Jody pushed their way through the crowd and caught up with Willie in the back alley of the barn, the
new horse was nowhere to be seen.

“Willie!” Mary panted, “we watched you buy the horse! Where did he go?”

“Oh, him?” Willie said nonchalantly. “I resold him already.”

The girls’ mouths flew open in shock at this statement until they saw Twister and Willie exchange amused looks.

“Willie! You did not! Can we go look at him? Please?”

“Well, hold yer horses. We’re just ‘bout ready to load up and go home,” Willie replied, turning toward the sale office.

“Go home?” Jody said, bewildered. “But Willie, you only bought one horse. I thought we needed at least three.”

“Well, I bought three others straight from the owners before they even went in the ring. Sometimes you get ’em cheaper that
way. And I was able to have a good long talk with the owners so’s I’d know what I was gettin’. And I rode each of ’em a little
bit out in the back here.”

“You rode them? But, Willie, we’ve never even seen you ride! Why didn’t you come get us?”

“Come get you? I didn’t have time for no foolishness. Now let me be so’s I can go pay the bill.”

At that,Willie turned and disappeared into the sales office, leaving the girls open-mouthed in dismay.

“Shut yer mouths, yer catchin’ flies,” Twister said with a grin.

“But, Twister, we didn’t even get a chance to see the others Willie bought,” Mary said, disappointed. “I thought we could
help him pick them out.”

“And I didn’t think you were allowed to buy them before they went in the ring,” Jody added. “Doesn’t the sale barn get upset
about that?”

“First off, I don’t think Will needed no help pickin’ out,” Twister replied. “And it’s OK to buy them before they go in the
ring. The sales barn still gets the commission on them, and they don’t mind much because it saves them time. That’s three
less horses they had to sell in the ring.”

Before either girl could ask another question, Willie appeared from the office holding four yellow slips of paper, one for
each horse bought.

“We have to show these slips to the man on the way out,” Willie explained, “so they know we got the right horses.”

“Oh, Willie, can we help lead the horses out to the trailer?” Mary pleaded.

“Please?” Jody added.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Willie said, glancing at Twister with a half-grin. “What do you think, Twister? You think
they can handle one apiece? Maybe I should take two and you take one, and they can handle one between ’em.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Twister replied seriously. “After all, we don’t know these horses. They could be wild broncs
for all we know.”

Mary and Jody looked from Willie to Twister, trying to figure out if they were kidding, but their faces gave away no clues.
Willie simply turned and headed toward the center aisle of the sales barn, and Twister followed. The girls had no choice but
to fall in step behind them. When they reached the end of the first row of horses, Willie stopped and turned to the right.

“Here’s the three I bought out back,” he said, gesturing to three horses tied closely together. “And the bay is tied just
a couple horses down the other way. Now I’ll back these out, and then I’ll let you girls lead the quietest one to the trailer.
Twister can lead the buckskin out first, you girls walk in the middle, and I’ll get the other two and bring up the rear.”

Willie placed his hand gently on the buckskin’s rump. “Hey buddy,” he said quietly as he sidled in between the two horses
tied next to each other. The slipknot came untied easily in his hand, and he backed the horse out, handing the lead rope over
to Twister. The horse blinked at the girls with enormous dark eyes and sniffed Twister’s hand like a dog.

“Ooh, he’s pretty,” Jody exclaimed. “I love his color!”

“All right, now, pay attention,” Willie said sternly to the girls. “Here comes your horse. She’s a mare.”

The mare was slightly smaller than the buckskin and an altogether different color. She was a light gray with darker gray dapples
and a dark gray mane and tail. Her delicate bone structure and refined head contrasted with the stocky build of the buckskin,
but one thing the two had in common was the large size and gentle expression of their eyes. It was all the girls could do
to stand still long enough for Willie to place the lead rope in their eager hands.

“This one’s supposed to ride and drive, too. She was a carriage horse in New York City. Now be careful walkin’ her through
the crowd,” Willie warned. “I’m right behind you with Stumpy and the bay.”

Mary and Jody tried to turn around to see what Stumpy looked like, but Willie waved them on. “You’ll see him soon enough.
Get that mare movin’ right out to the exit. Stay behind Twister and don’t get too close to the horses on either side of the
aisle.”

The new horses were led smoothly out of the barn and to the exit, where their papers were approved by the guard. The mare
walked quietly between Mary and Jody across the parking lot, turning her head occasionally to gaze curiously at the various
horses being loaded onto trailers for the trip home from the sale. When they arrived at their own trailer, Willie began giving
orders.

“Now, you girls hold the mare and stand back while we load the others. If they all load easy on the trailer, which I think
they will, we might even get home in time for milkin’.”

The gray mare became a little anxious, turning in circles and nickering softly while Willie and Twister loaded the other three
horses. Mary and Jody patted her neck and talked quietly to her until it was her turn to load.

“All right, hand me the mare,” Twister said, taking the lead rope from Mary’s grasp. The mare quieted down immediately when
she saw the other horses in the trailer and stepped up without a hitch when Twister led her on. She settled in easily next
to the bay as Twister expertly tied her with a slipknot. Before the girls knew it, the doors were fastened, and they were
on their way home.

But they still had not gotten a close look at Stumpy.

9

New Horses

MARY AND JODY could hardly wait to jump from the truck cab when they arrived at the McMurray dairy farm, and it seemed that
the movie crew members were almost as excited as they were. Even before Willie brought the truck to a stop at the double doors
of Lucky Foot Stable, a crowd of curious onlookers had assembled there, waiting to see the new horses. Even Mr. Gordon, the
director, took a break from filming and stood at the front of the line, standing on tiptoe to try and see into the back of
the trailer.

“Willie, they’re just as curious as we are,” giggled Mary, waving at the crowd with a superior air. “We’re lucky. We got to
see the horses before anybody.”

“Well, we haven’t really seen them all yet,” Jody said. “What about Stumpy?”

“Nothin’ special about him,” Willie said nonchalantly. “Just an old, scrubby Mustang.”

“A Mustang!” Mary fairly shouted. “Willie, you mean like the wild horses of the West? I just read that book called
Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West
, by Marguerite Henry!”

Willie shook his head and chuckled, braking the truck to a stop just outside the stable doors. He stepped carefully from the
truck with Mary and Jody following close behind. Twister emerged from the passenger side and went immediately to the back
of the trailer to unload the new horses.

“Well, what did you find, Will?” asked Mr. Gordon, craning his neck to see inside the horizontal openings on the side of the
trailer. The horses, only their heads visible, gazed curiously back at the gathering crowd.

“I think I got some nice, quiet ones,” Willie answered. “One of ’em ain’t much to look at, but he’s a real gentleman.”

“Willie, is that Stumpy? The one that ain’t much to look at?” Mary asked, forgetting her grammar for a moment.

“Yes, yes, that’s Stumpy,” Willie replied. “Here he comes now.”

Twister had untied the gray mare and Stumpy from the rear of the trailer and turned them carefully around so that they could
step down easily onto the gravel lane. He stood now on the lane with a lead rope attached to their halters in each hand, waiting
patiently for the two horses to sniff the air and look around at their new surroundings. Only when he felt that they were
ready did he coax them gently from the trailer by tugging on the leads. The gray mare was the first to step gingerly down
from the trailer, followed closely by Stumpy, who looked as though he would follow her anywhere. Only when Twister turned
the horses toward Willie and relinquished his hold on the lead ropes did Mary and Jody get a good look at Stumpy.

“Oh, Willie, he’s cute!” Jody exclaimed. “He’s not as ugly as you said!”

“I didn’t say nothin’ about him bein’ ugly, I just said he wasn’t much to look at, and he ain’t,” Willie replied matter-of-factly.

Only when Twister turned the horses toward Willie
and relinquished his hold on the lead ropes did

Mary and Jody get a good look at Stumpy.

And Willie was right. Stumpy had rather large ears and very wide-set eyes that looked even funnier because someone had completely
shaved off his forelock, accentuating his broad forehead. He was a dark bay with just one small white spot in the very center
of his muzzle. His back was short and his chest was wide, giving the impression that his narrow hind end didn’t really belong
to him. To finish the picture, the top of his tail had been rubbed to the point that the dock hair was sticking up at all
angles, and his mane was a variety of lengths, causing it to flop over on both sides of his neck with some of the shorter
hair sticking straight up in various spots along his crest.

“I can see why his name is Stumpy,”Mary observed. “He’s put together all funny, and he’s hardly taller than a pony!”

“Well, his name is Stumpy only because I named him that,” Willie said. “Didn’t have a name, as far as I know. Now the gray
mare there, she’s a looker. We’ve got to think of a name for her.”

“Oh, Willie, can we name her? Please? We’ll think of the perfect name if you let us!”

“We’ll see, we’ll see. Now stand back and let Twister have some room. Here come the other two.”

Twister turned the second set of horses to face the rear doors of the trailer, but this time they were anxious to get out
as quickly as they could to join Stumpy and the mare. Twister hardly had time to step down from the trailer himself before
they were standing beside him, stretching their necks to sniff noses with their new friends.

“Well, you’ve got three good-looking animals there, Will,” Mr. Gordon exclaimed, patting Willie on the back. “And Stumpy looks…interesting.
Let’s hope they ride well.”

“Well, you’re always takin’ a chance buyin’ them at auction,” Willie replied. “But I rode three of ‘em myself, and I watched
the other one in the ring round up some wild horses. I think they’ll be all right if we give ’em a chance. And o’course, we
only really need three, so one’s an extra just in case one of ’em doesn’t work out.”

“Do these two have names?” asked one of the crew members, reaching out to pat the buckskin on the muzzle.

“The buckskin is Augie, and the red bay is Hoppy. The man said he was named Hoppy because he jumped right over his stall door
one day when he was a young’un.”

The crew laughed, and Mr. Gordon turned suddenly and remembered that they had a movie to shoot. “All right, gang, let’s get
back to work. One more interior shot and we’ll be wrapped for the day. Will, let me know how these work out. You’re riding
them this evening, I assume?”

“Yes, sir, Twister wants to give them a try,” Willie replied, tugging on his earlobe.

“Good. We’re about a day ahead of schedule, so we’ll be shooting the first riding scene tomorrow, if all goes well.”

Mr. Gordon walked away, followed by the crew, and Mary and Jody immediately turned to Willie.

“Willie, what did he mean by that? The first riding scene? Are we in the first riding scene?”

“Well, I reckon you are.We’ve got to get these horses ridden and settled in tonight, and we’ll have to work with the kids
tomorrow morning to get them used to the horses. I was hopin’ we’d have a little more time, but we’ll just have to be ready.
Good thing is, the shot that they’re doin’ is supposed to be the kids’ first riding lesson, so I guess it’ll be realistic
if they’re unsure of themselves around horses they’ve never seen before.”

“But, Willie, do you know which kids they picked to be in the riding scene? Did they tell you yet?”

“No, but I’ll find out as soon as we get these horses put in the stable. They said they’d know by today. I’d like to use Lady
and Gypsy’s stalls, and Star’s, too, if it’s all right with you girls. I’ll have to crosstie Stumpy in the aisle for now,
since there’s only three stalls.”

“We don’t mind,Willie. Lady and Gypsy are out in the pasture and Star’s in the paddock. But when are you going to ride them?
Can we watch? Please?”

Making no reply, Willie turned and walked the mare and Stumpy through the back doors of Lucky Foot Stable, followed by Twister
with Augie and Hoppy in tow. Only after the horses were settled in the stalls and Stumpy was standing quietly in the aisle
did he turn to Mary and Jody.

“I’m not goin’ to ride them, Twister is. And I think you girls should go home and get a good night’s sleep so’s you’ll be
ready for tomorrow. Call time is usually pretty early.”

“What’s call time?” Jody asked, looking puzzled.

“That’s the time you have to be on the set to get ready for your scene. Could be as early as 5 a.m.”

“Oh, but Willie, it’s only six o’clock right now,” Mary protested. “We have plenty of time!”

Mary and Jody were not about to leave until they found out if Annie Mooney had been chosen for the movie. Willie, silent once
more, turned and simply walked out the back doors of Lucky Foot Stable, leaving Twister behind with the girls.