Terri Farley - Sea Shadow

How did horses put up with riding in dizzying Tilt-A-Whirl

This is the only part of the drive where Im

Darby kicked off her slippers at the waters edge.

As Darby climbed out of the truck back at Iolani

Darby stopped on her way to Sun House, pausing to

The next thing Darby knew, Kit was checking her arms

Hoku didnt care if she was a heroic horse.

The next morning, Darby woke to an unnaturally quiet Sun

Darby stalled. She lifted the soft rope rein over Hokus

In the distance, a rooster crowed.

The wild horses were knee-deep in seawater. Theyd gone out

Low tide came with a price.

Kit swam the gelding within about a hundred yards of

All at once, vehicles moved all around Darby.

In case anybody reads this besides me, which its too

Ellen Kealoha Cartermy mom, and since shes responsible for me

Wild Horse Island is imaginary. Its history, culture, legends, people, and ecology echo Hawaiis, but my stories and reality are like leaves on the rain-forest floor. They may overlap, but their edges never really match.

H ow did horses put up with riding in dizzying Tilt-A-Whirl horse trailers?

Darby Carter clung to the partition between herself and Hoku as the truck and trailer made a sickening swoop around a pond-sized puddle.

At first, it had seemed like a good idea to ride in the trailer with Hoku, so she could see firsthand how it felt. And from inside the truck, she couldnt read her fillys eyes or ears. So Darby had chosen this short drive from Iolani Ranch to Sugar Sands Cove Resort to give it a try.

Gazing through the open-sided trailer into the tropical forest, Darby decided a better question than how horses put up with such treatment was why ? They were bigger and stronger than the humans who asked them to go inside these wheeled torture chambers.

Hokus neck wrinkled like sorrel satin as she turned to regard Darby. Blinking and chewing her hay, the filly looked puzzled by her humans staggering.

I only have two legs to balance on, Darby explained to her mustang. You can brace with all four.

Hoku swallowed. She kept her eyes on Darbys and her ears pricked forward for more conversation.

Besides, horses must have a different sort of inner ear than humans. Otherwise, a rowdy girl like you would never get in a horse trailer for a second trip.

Hoku broke off their stare by nudging Darbys nose with her own.

Darby stumbled back, hit the far side of the trailer, and slid down to the floor. She rubbed her nose and considered the trailer from this new angle. It was a good thing shed scrubbed every inch of it clean before deciding to ride back here.

The truck and trailer made another swoop and this time the maneuver not only left her stomach someplace back down the road, it sprayed her with muddy water. Darby wiped her cheeks and tried to visualize Sugar Sands Cove.

The trip would be worth it. After a week of rain that had turned Iolani Ranch into a swamp, the warm white beach would be heavenly.

She was still amazed that her grandfather, Jonah, had allowed her to get up early and do this before school. Once they arrived, there wouldnt be time to do much except unload Hoku and head for the waves.

Darby sighed. She never would have been able to go swimming with a horse before school when she lived in Pacific Pinnacles, California. Only on Wild Horse Island did things like this happen!

She was imagining the sandy warmth against her bare feet and Hokus hooves, when dirt scratched the tires, pebbles pinged under the trailer, and the truck came to a halt that slammed her teeth together.

Enough.

Cade! Darby shrieked.

Shed been so eager to continue Hokus sea schooling, shed agreed to let the teenage cowboy drive.

What are you doing? she demanded when he didnt answer.

Jonah thought it was no big deal for Cade, who hadnt tested for his drivers license yet, to make short trips like this. Her grandfather often needed more help around the ranch than he had, so Cade did things like this all the time. Driving for agricultural purposes was even legal if he kept to the unpaved private roads belonging to Iolani Ranch.

Legal was one thing. Safe was another.

The truck door squeaked open. Why was Cade getting out of the truck?

Darby had opened her mouth to ask, when Cades shadow blocked the sunlight streaming into the trailer.

Stay down and stay quiet.

Hoku must have been as surprised as Darby, because the filly didnt flatten her ears or kick the tailgate.

Darby rarely obeyed orders without asking why, but this time she made an exception. Cades grim whisper kept her seated and silent.

As Cades boots moved away, Darby pictured the lanky guy with his blond paniolo braid tucked under his hat. She heard him striding around mud puddles, moving determinedly towardwhat? An injured animal he didnt want her to see? A place where the road had washed out?

Darby calculated that theyd driven about halfway to Aunt Babes resort. That meant they were passing near the taro fields.

Hokus uneasy nicker muffled the sound of a second pair of feet.

Good way to get run over, blocking the road like that, Cade said.

Who was he talking to?

Getting to her feet to peek out of the trailer was almost irresistible, but Darby managed to stay down.

Whats in the trailer?

The oily voice made Darby glad she hadnt moved. Cades stepfather Manny was out there. He owned the taro fields, so it made sense that hed be in the area.

Logic didnt stop Darbys goose bumps.

Kimo had said Manny reminded him of a pit bull and Megan had said Mannys head looked like a coconutround with dark, stringy hair.

Darbys mind didnt pull up a clear picture of Manny, just the information that he hurt horses and children, and the feeling that he was the scariest man shed ever met.

Why had he decided to block the road? And why should he care what was in the trailer?

Horse Im taking over to the tourist trap, Cade said, and Darby could tell he thought that if he could get Manny to poke fun at Babes fancy resort, hed stay away from the trailer.

It didnt work.

Which horse? Mannys voice moved closer. His shadow blocked the light.

Hoku drew back in surprise, but just for a second. Nostrils flaring, she lunged, colliding with the metal wall of the trailer.

That filly from Nevada.

This time Cades casual tone sounded strained. Was he afraid Manny had seen her? Had he?

So what? Darby asked herself. Manny was a small, mean man who stole ancient Hawaiian artifacts and sold them on the black market. Not a kidnapper.

The one with the white

Darby didnt catch the rest of what Manny said, but her gaze lifted to the white star on Hokus chest, the marking shed named her for, and she wished Manny hadnt known that detail about her horse.

Howd Mom do in the earthquakes? Cade asked.

He might be trying to distract his stepfather, but Darby heard the real concern in Cades voice. Not that Dee deserved it.