Runaway

Though Ned and Grace both offered reassuring reasons for her father’s sudden absence, Nancy was unable to fully accept the excuses. Still, there seemed to be little that she could do, since she had no idea where he could have gone.

Tuesday morning dawned rather cloudy and Nancy was a little afraid it might rain, but by the time they had finished an enormous breakfast of eggs, bacon, and French toast, the wind was herding the clouds away. The sun shone brightly as Nancy changed into the elegant blue satin gown.

She surveyed herself in the mirror. The gown had a pretty sweetheart neckline edged with faded ecru lace. It fit tightly to her slender waist, then flared over her hips to brush the tops of her feet.

“I just wish I had some high button shoes, ” Nancy told Grace and Jennifer as they watched her transformation.

“Your feet won’t show in the stagecoach, ” Grace assured her. “That’s why you need the hat. People can see il better than they can see the gown.”

Grace disappeared for a moment, returning with the wide-brimmed hat that was trimmed with a mixture of blue and white plumes. Though age had dimmed its elegance somewhat, Grace had cleaned it well and it was the perfect final touch to the costume.

“I almost wish I was going to be in the stagecoach with you, ” Jennifer said, looking down at her rather commonplace Levis and red and white chocked shirt.

“I wish you were, too, honey, ” Nancy told her, giving the girl a hug, “but you and Ned will be having fun, I’m sure.”

“Which reminds me, I’ll have to ask Ned which of the horses he wants to ride. We really must get started soon. The traffic is horrendous near where the parade forms.”

It took a surprisingly short time for Ned to agree to Grace’s suggestion that he ride Buck, a rather unexciting buckskin gelding. “He’s not the prettiest, ” she told him, “but he’s been in more parades than most people have and nothing bothers him.”

“Since I’m a novice at parade riding, I’ll honor his experience, ” Ned acknowledged. He looked very much the cowboy in properly faded Levis and a well-fitted brown and gold Western shirt.

The area where the parade formed was a beehive of activity and Nancy was a little concerned for Jennifer’s safety in such a busy crowd. However, she soon discovered that the Pony Club was to ride immediately behind the Fergusons’ stagecoach. She felt better knowing that both she and Ned would be able to keep watch over the girl.

Though it seemed the chaos would never be sorted out, by ten a.m. the harried and hardworking parade officials had managed to get everyone organized and the flag-bearing lead riders were ready to move out as the bands began supplying the bright marching music. The parade was underway!

Nancy was seated by the right-hand window in the small stagecoach with Mrs. Ferguson in the middle and another elderly lady at the window on the other side. “Just wave and smile, ” Mrs. Ferguson instructed. “You look like a very elegant turn-of-the-century miss going out to a party.”

Once the parade was moving, Nancy leaned out the window and waved to the crowd, then peered back to make sure that Ned and Jennifer were riding behind the well-cared-for stagecoach. “This is fun, ” she told Mrs. Ferguson. “I’m certainly grateful to you for the opportunity to ride in the parade.”

“Riding in the parade is fun, ” Mrs. Ferguson agreed, “but after about an hour of it, you’ll be glad you were born in an era with automobiles and airplanes.”

Nancy laughed as the coach bounced and she realized how little spring there was in the sturdy vehicle. “I think I see what you mean, ” she said.

“Can you imagine what it must have been like crossing the country in one of these? ” the third woman asked. “My great-aunt came west this way with two children.”

“I think it would be nice to have a dress with a thick bustle, ” Nancy joked, patting the handsome, but rather hard leather seat.

The two ladies laughed and agreed.

Everything rolled along smoothly for nearly half an hour. Nancy’s arm grew a little tired from waving and she began to realize that riding in the parade was almost as much work as marching in it would have been. Suddenly, however, she felt a tingling of premonition and she began to scan the crowd through the bright paint-trimmed window.

At first she saw nothing unusual, then a man leaped from the curb and yanked at the stagecoach door, pulling it open. At the same time, a second man threw something toward the front of the coach under the horses’ hooves.

Nancy screamed as the sharp, staccato explosions of firecrackers filled the air. The stagecoach jerked and swayed wildly and there were screams from outside as the terrified horses and people bounded in every direction.

Nancy leaned forward trying to catch the stagecoach door, but the vehicle was bucking too violently.

“Hang on, ” Mrs. Ferguson shouted, bouncing dangerously since she had nothing to grasp.

Nancy braced her feet against the framework where the opposite seat had been removed and wrapped one arm around her hostess’s waist. The other arm she used to grip the window support. Beyond the open door she could see the people scrambling frantically to get out of the way as the coach careened down the street. The team was running away!

Nancy tried to see ahead of the swaying, bouncing stagecoach, then almost wished that she hadn’t. They were racing toward the corner, and beyond the place where the parade was to turn was a barricade. On the other side of the fragile wooden barrier was a solid mass of people, all of whom seemed too frozen in terror to move out of the way of the frightened horses.

Suddenly, she heard the pounding of hoof- beats and a big buckskin horse thundered by the open door, Ned leaning forward on his neck. The reins hung loose as Ned guided the well-trained horse with his knees. Leaving his hands free, he used one to hold on to the saddlehorn, and the other to grab the reins of the right-hand lead horse.

For a moment, Nancy’s heart stopped as Ned was nearly jerked from the saddle. But moments later, more riders thundered by on the other side and the left-hand lead horse was caught and stopped. The stagecoach shuddered to a halt, no more than a few feet from the crowd.

At first, the silence seemed unbelievable, for it was broken only by the heaving breathing of the team; then slowly the clapping and cheering began. Nancy gathered her own wits and pulled herself upright, then stepped down from the coach, glad to find that her still-weak knees would support her.

“Are you all right? ” Ned asked, dismounting from the hard-breathing buckskin.

“Thanks to you, ” Nancy answered. “You were wonderful.”

“Buck was, ” Ned said modestly. “He didn’t even jump when the firecrackers went off.” He patted the horse’s wet neck. “What happened to the door? I thought sure you would fall out.” “We might have been badly injured if it hadn’t been for Nancy, ” Mrs. Ferguson stated as she, too, got out of the coach. “She held onto me and kept us both inside.”

“It was the blond man, ” Nancy said. “He came out of the crowd and pulled the door open, then the man with the mustache threw the firecrackers under the team.”

“Jennifer! ” Ned gasped and they both looked around just in time to see the girl trotting up on her pony. Her face was pale, but she smiled when she saw that they were both safe.

Nancy and Ned hugged the little girl, though none of them could say a word. Several of the parade officials came galloping up to congratulate Ned for his courage.

“Was anyone hurt? ” Nancy asked.

“A couple of people got skinned up getting out of the way, but we were lucky. Your friend here saved us from a real disaster.” He shook Ned’s hand. “You’re welcome on our parade committee any time. We could use a dozen more riders like you.”

Ned blushed at the praise, then looked around. “Do you think we can go ahead? ” he asked, his gaze more on Mrs. Ferguson and the other elderly lady than on Nancy.

For a moment, the two older women seemed to hesitate, then they straightened their shoulders. “If our ancestors could ride across country in these, I guess we should be able to manage the rest of the parade route, ” Mrs. Ferguson said stoutly. She looked up at the ashen-faced driver, who was still sitting on the driver’s box. “What about it, Jeff? ” she asked.

The man looked at the horses, all four of whom now stood with heads hanging, their dark hides wet with sweat. “I reckon you could shoot a cannon by them now and they wouldn’t jump, ” he confirmed. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t hold them before.”

“No one could, ” Mrs. Ferguson told him. “I just hope someone caught the idiot that threw the firecrackers.”

Nancy looked quickly toward the nearest official. He shook his head. “We were too busy trying to keep people from getting hurt. Do you have any idea who it was? ”

“I don’t know their names, but I can describe both the men involved, ” Nancy answered.

“Then you’ll need to talk to the police after the parade, ” the official told her. “I’ll have someone waiting at the end of the route. Meantime, I think we’d better get started. Everybody ready? ”

Ned assisted the ladies back into the coach, closing the door firmly behind them. His gaze met Nancy’s for just a moment and she could sense how terrified he’d been for her.

“Take care of yourself, ” she whispered, then watched as he mounted Buck and rode back with Jennifer to take their place with the other members of the Pony Club.

The stagecoach creaked and groaned as the team moved forward, and Nancy took a deep breath before she leaned out the window and waved once again. Her smile was in place and she hoped that it looked convincing to those who lined the sidewalk. Inside, however, she was busy trying to understand what had happened. Why had the men tried to injure her?

Could they have thought that Jennifer was in the coach? Or had they meant to kidnap Jennifer during the confusion that followed the runaway?