A Test of Courage

 By Evelynn M., ate 11

#9 Jared and Bullet

Sprinting eagerly to the barn, I tossed a few flakes of hay to the few horses we had. I let myself into my horse’s stall, picked up a brush, and started brushing briskly. “It’s finally here, Bullet! It’s the Fourth of July, and all that hard work is gonna pay off when we win that race. We’ll be just like Mama and Taffy when we fly across that finish line.”
      

   “Jared! Jared Prescott!” I heard Mama’s voice call. My shoulders slumped the tiniest bit, but I dropped the brush and jogged out of the dark barn. 

    “Comin’, Mama!” I called back and glanced longingly back over his shoulder at Bullet, who had raised his head and was staring at me over the half door of his stall. 

    Yanking my boots off at the door, I opened it and walked in. As my eyes adjusted to the more dim light of the early morning, I saw my mother cooking pancakes, my pa polishing a bridle, and my little sisters playing with chalk under the table. “Morning.” Pa said without looking up. “Wash up and sit down, Jared.” My mouth watered, and I hurried to obey. 

     “Andi, I gave the boys the day off so I will need to check everything before we leave.” Pa told Mama. He hung the bridle on it’s place on the wall. Picking Mama up, he spun her around and landed a light kiss on her lips before she protested, giggling. I wrinkled my nose, looking away. 

    “All right, I was wanting more time to get the girls ready anyway.” Mama replied, still breathless.

    “Pa, can I go to town early?” Both eyes turned on me. Pa looked at me funny and asked why. Me and my big mouth. I thought silently. I was going to say I wanted to visit Jen Blake, my school chum, but the truth came out before I had time to stop it. 

   “I need time to get Bullet ready for the race.” I blurted, then winced. 

   They glanced sideways at each other, and Pa’s normally warm brown eyes had turned steely and serious. He crossed his arms over his chest. “When were you going to tell us about this?” He asked. 

    I stuffed a big bite of pancakes in my mouth so I wouldn’t have to reply, and he turned and plopped his hat onto his head. “No. You’re not going.” He said and left the house. I heard him whistle for his horse, and knew the decision was final.

   My eyes started to water, but I forced the tears down. Instead, I lifted my chin and gritted my teeth. I was going to be in that race, whether Pa liked it or not. 

   

   I shoveled the rest of my breakfast in my mouth, then grabbed my hat off the bench and raced outside. I grabbed the bridle from the hook, not wanting to waste time saddling Bullet. I added my emergency pack containing a bit of food, a change of clothes, a small pistol Pa had given me, and a water flask. “Come here, Bullet.” I whispered, and my horse padded over quietly. Slipping on the bridle, I mounted with ease and nudged Bullet out of the barn. Mama was still inside, and she wouldn’t be out for a while since she had to get the girls ready. Pa would ride the fences quickly, and he wouldn’t be back for at least an hour. That gave me time to get to town. 

 I gave a short, low whistle and Bullet jumped instantly into a gallop. We followed the road to town, and the slowest we went was a quick lope. Bareback was easier on both of us, me being more comfortable and Bullet not having the extra weight. We soon heard the laughter and yelling of kids and adults alike, each celebrating the day of independence. 

    Bullet lifted his head and lengthened his stride as we got closer, but my eyes narrowed at the lone figure in the outskirts of town. He had a child about my age beside him, and it didn’t look like either one was too happy. The girl had tears running down her face, and the man had a mean scowl and a presence that gave me shivers. Suddenly I knew what I had to do. 

    I slowed Bullet to a trot and rode up to the pair. “Mister, I know this young lady. And she sure ain’t yours.” I said, knowing my eyes had turned to blue ice. He shot daggers at me with those cold brown eyes. 

  He tightened his grip on her. “Who says she ain’t mine?” He sneered. I glanced at the girl. Shooting her a reassuring smile, I leveled my eyes on the man. 

    “Well, it turns out that this here is my cousin, and unless you want to tell me you’re my uncle I’d say you’d better let go of her.” With this I yanked the pistol out of my sack and pointed it at the ground behind him. Of course to him, it looked as if I was pointing it straight at him. I gestured with my other hand for Lydia, named after my great aunt, to mount Bullet with me.  

    He dropped Lydia’s arm as she scuttled out of his reach. Not taking my eyes off him, I gave her an arm up and she settled behind me. Wrapping her arms around me, she let her head fall against my back. I felt her tears soak into my shirt and nudged Bullet into a lope as we left the man behind. 

    We galloped into town, and I heard the starting pistol go off. The race. I thought. It doesn’t matter- if I had been any later Lydia would have been long gone. 

   Suddenly, I spotted a group of men riding toward us. It was my uncles and Pa. Pa. Oops.

   Uncle Chad yanked his horse to a stop and leaped off, narrowly missing the eager rider galloping past. “Papa!” Lydia cried as she fell -literally- into his arms. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed. 

  Pa answered my look with an explanation. “She’s been missing for hours.” My mouth settled into a round o as I realized how lucky I had been to find her. I glanced at Pa again, but he didn’t seem angry, or even upset. Huh. I guess saving your cousin’s life softens the punishment for running away.  

   I slid off of Bullet and Lydia embraced me. We had been close before, but now we shared a bond neither of us could explain. 

   I saw Mama walking quickly toward us with a worried expression on her face. She had barely reached Pa before another of my school chums ran up to me. “Are you still racing? Everyone has been waiting for you.” He said breathlessly. My brow furrowed. 

     “I thought it already started.” 

    “That was just the warning shot- you still have time, let’s go!” My friend said. I glanced warily at Pa. He nodded, his eyes twinkling. I quickly leapt onto Bullet and followed my guide to the starting line. 

    The real pistol went off just moments after I was lined up, and the race flew by. Before I knew it, the finish loomed in front of me. Bullet covered the last few strides and-