“Have you any idea who the man was?” Señor Roberto inquired in a cold voice.
Hitch said that he had not seen the man’s face and was sorry now he had not waited to find out.
“I’m mighty glad you’re all right, Miss Drew,” Hitch added, and walked back to the stable.
There was nothing more Nancy could do. Despite the groom’s story, she felt sure that he was the person who had thrown the stone. But why had he tried to harm her and Belgian Star?
“I’ll certainly watch him from now on,” Nancy decided.
She told Señor Roberto that she felt fully recovered from her spill, and if Belgian Star were all right, she wanted to continue her riding lesson.
The riding master was about to demur, then changed his mind. He was a firm believer in the idea that a rider who has fallen off should immediately mount his horse again if he has not been injured.
Hitch brought Belgian Star from the stable. Nancy and the riding master carefully examined the mare’s nose, and though there was a bruise on it, the horse did not seem to be suffering any pain.
“Are you game to go on with our lesson?” Nancy asked the mare, putting her arms around the animal’s gracefully arched neck.
For answer, Belgian Star went into the ring and waited for Nancy to climb on. This time she circled the ring several times before attempting to stand up on the horse’s back.
“Am I imagining it or is someone peering at me from among those trees?” she asked herself, trying to shrug off a distrustful mood.
As she rounded the curve on the next lap, Nancy was sure she was not wrong—someone was watching her. A feeling of uneasiness came over her.
Nancy had just about decided to practice stunt riding when a voice hailed her. She turned abruptly to see two girls running from the woods. They climbed onto the fence, laughing.
“Bess! George!” Nancy cried. “Where did you come from?”
She immediately turned Belgian Star around and rode up to the fence. She noticed that Bess Marvin, blond, blue-eyed, and several pounds heavier than Nancy, was holding a sketching pad and pencil in her hands.
“Hold it!” Bess ordered.
Nancy obediently sat still while her friend quickly sketched. Meanwhile, Bess’s cousin George Fayne leaned over the fence and patted Belgian Star. She was slim and athletic-looking. Her dark-brown hair was cut very short.
“Pretty nice horse,” she remarked. “Is your dad going to let you buy her?”
“Oh, Señor Roberto wouldn’t part with this mare for anything,” Nancy replied. “She’s a darling. I wouldn’t ride any other horse out here.”
“Let’s see you do some stunts,” George urged.
“Yes, please do,” said Bess. “I want to make several sketches.”
“All right,” Nancy agreed. “But, Bess, first tell me, when did you take up sketching?”
“Just this afternoon.” Bess giggled. “You might say I was inspired by reports of your fine riding.”
Nancy told the girls what had happened to her a short time ago and asked if they had seen a man running as they came through the woods. Neither of them had, but George offered to stand guard while Nancy did her trick riding.
Bess and George were amazed at their friend’s proficiency as an equestrienne. Under Roberto’s coaching Nancy somersaulted from Belgian Star and leaped back on the mare’s back as the horse cantered around the ring.
“You’re a whiz!” George said admiringly. “And you sure kept all this a secret.”
“How did you find out about my taking these lessons?” Nancy asked as the girls walked toward the stable.
“From Hannah Gruen,” George replied. “She’s worried about you and this trick riding, Nancy.”
“I know Hannah is concerned,” the pretty sleuth answered. “But I’ve promised not to break any bones.”
Nancy introduced her friends to Señor Roberto. Then she told them about the bracelet she had received from Aunt Eloise. Nancy asked the riding master if he had ever seen or heard about a horse-charm bracelet which had been presented to some circus performer by a queen.
“Why do you ask?” Señor Roberto wrinkled his brow, as if trying to remember something.