Chapter 10
Two days later, as predicted, the posters had generated a lot of attention, and everyone on the ranch knew that Buell was missing. The missing horse was the talk of the ranch, and it seemed that no one had anything else they wanted to talk about.
Neither did Nate and Georgina.
Lilly, Katrina and Katanya had been called into the office. They sat on the couch in the office and waited to hear how much trouble they had put themselves in.
"Girls," said Georgina, "those posters..."
The girls cringed.
"Were a great idea," Georgina continued, "thank you for making them."
Lilly breathed a sigh of relief.
"But, unfortunately, there has been no news on Buell," said Georgina.
"Really? No one has seen him?" asked Katanya.
Georgina shook her head.
"How can no one see him? He is a golden horse."
"I don't know."
"Someone might have stolen him," Lilly said.
There.
She said it.
She came out and said it.
She had had two whole days with Buell solely on her mind, and she couldn't stop thinking about the dilapidated ranch. She had decided she was eager to go out and have a proper look.
"What makes you think that?" asked Nate.
Lilly then lost her nerve. People would have thought she was crazy, imagining that she saw the horse. People would have told her it was just wishful thinking.
"I don't know," Lilly replied, "it was just a thought."
"He has been missing for that long now," Katanya added, "that being stolen isn't that farfetched."
"No, it isn't," replied Nate, "and that's why we think we need to get the authorities involved. He's an expensive horse, so if someone has stolen him, it wouldn't take them long to work out selling him could bring in a lot of money."
That scared Lilly even more. She still thought that she saw Buell at that ranch, and what if the guy who owned it, Frank, sold the horse? Lilly really hoped that wasn't the case, and she was even more tempted to ride out there and have a look. She would have to keep thinking about it and force herself to tell someone. What if she was the one standing in the way? They could have found Buell sooner if she had have just come clean.
"Alright, that was all, girls," said Georgina, "off you go."
The girls nodded and then they left the office. They headed in the direction of the barn, and Lilly found she stopped in place. Katanya and Katrina soon noticed, and they turned around and looked at her.
"What's wrong?" asked Katrina.
"I don't know," replied Lilly, "I have a theory."
"What theory?"
"You know that ranch we rode past the other day, owned by that guy, Frank?"
The girls nodded.
"What if Buell is there?" said Lilly.
"What makes you think he is there?" asked Katanya.
"You'll think I'm crazy."
"No, we won't."
"Well, I am sure I saw him there. Just a glimpse. So, I am not entirely sure. But I am sure, too. I don't know...it's crazy."
"No, no, it's not crazy," said Katrina, "it's common news around this area that Frank is in a huge amount of debt, and we were just talking about how valuable Buell is."
