Good news, bloggers! Saved Girl sent me Chapter Two of "Andi Lost." Here it is. If you haven't read Chapter One yet, click here: CHAPTER ONE. When the entire story is completed I'll post it in its entirety without all this commentary at the top.

Andi--Lost!

Chapter 2

Copyright © "Saved Girl"

 
            Andi left the paddock on Taffy's back, glancing furtively around to be sure that none of the hired hands saw her. She was glad that she knew how to ride bareback because Taffy hadn't been broken to the saddle yet. She impatiently urged Taffy to a canter and soon left the ranch far behind her.

            Andi reached a large meadow and halted. She slipped off Taffy and turned a somersault, laughing with joy. She frolicked with Taffy for a few minutes           

       Suddenly she heard the clip-clop of another horse's hooves.

With a gasp she dove back onto Taffy and galloped to a clump of trees that would hide her from view. The horse entered her field of vision and on it was a lanky blond boy. Andi breathed a sigh of relief. It was her best friend, nine-year-old Cory Blake. who could be trusted to keep her secret.

            "Hi Cory," she yelled, riding out into view.

            Cory cantered towards her with a grin on his face. "Well, Miss Andi, I didn't know that you were allowed to ride alone."

            "I ain't. But you won't tell anyone will you?" she asked anxiously.

            He readily assented and said, "Do you want to play with me for a while?"

            "Sure. When do you have to be back home?"

            "Right after dinner," he replied.

            "Me, too."

            "Well then let's go wadin'."

            When they reached the stream they tied the horses to a tree and splashed around in the water.

            All of a sudden Andi heard something. "Listen, Cory."

            "Let's go see what it is," he said.

            They followed the strange sound and soon saw the strangest thing they had ever seen. There were two male ducks fighting.

            The ducks were slapping each other with their wings and hitting each other with their necks. It was obvious they were trying to impress some female. Sure enough, Andi soon spotted a female close by. She acted disinterested but Andi figured it was just a ploy to get the males to fight harder. Andi had seen girls in town do it before. She thought it was just as disgusting when the duck did it as when girls did it.

            Whether or not the female intended her indifference to have an effect on the ducks, it certainly did. They fought with a frenzied intensity; hitting and kicking and honking. Andi and Cory looked at each other and did their best to suppress their laughter. The fight lasted for a long time and held Andi's and Cory's rapt attention. When they finally stopped Andi got up and stretched.

            Looking up at the sun she exclaimed, "Look. It's already about 3 o'clock."

            "Wow I haven't even had lunch," Cory said.

            "Neither have I."

            "How abut we race to the meadow that is about a half a mile away and eat lunch there?" Cory suggested.

            Andi readily assented and in a moment they were off. She loved the exhilarating feeling of the wind whipping across her face. Taffy and Cory's horse were neck to neck for most of the race, but as they came closer to the meadow Taffy started to take the lead. They had almost made it to the finish when without warning Taffy reared and bolted, taking off at a breakneck pace. Andi screamed and tried to rein her in, but the frightened animal kept going. Looking behind her Andi could see Cory riding as fast as he could behind her.

            "I'm coming, Andi!" he called.

            Andi had no hope that he would be able to catch her. Taffy was going much too fast for any horse to catch her. She would just have to hang on and wait until Taffy grew tired.

            Andi had thought that she had been going fast before but now she realized that she had been trotting compared to the pace she was going now. The rushing wind brought tears to her eyes and she noticed that it had become much colder.

            The ride lasted for miles with Taffy never seeming to tire. It began to rain. Taffy reached the edge of a huge river and Andi hoped it would deter her but Taffy plunged in. When they reached the middle of the river Taffy could barely keep her head above the water as she fought against the raging current. When they reached the other side, Taffy scrambled up the bank and came to a stop.

            Andi breathed a sigh of relief and looked around. Suddenly a terrible realization came over her. She had no idea where she was.

[Read Chapter 3]