Horse Named Dragon by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

the striped shirt gripped the horse’s bridle. He pulled the horse up the ramp into the truck.
    “That’s the man who yelled at us for taking pictures,” said Violet.
    Henry held up his hand. Everyone stopped. The man went back into the barn and soon led out a beautiful gray horse with a white patch on its nose. Its tail was white and black.
    “That’s Buttercup,” whispered Jessie, “the stolen horse on the purple flyer! She’s been here the whole time!”
    “We need to get closer,” Henry said, “but I don’t want that man to see us.” Henry climbed off his horse and let go of the reins. He motioned the others to do the same. The horses walked off.
    “They’ll run away,” said Benny.
    “They’ll look for a place to graze,” said Henry. “We’ll find them later.”
    The children crouched low, moving silently through the tall hay. Soon, they were close to the barn.
    “Come on, you stubborn horse!” a man growled. The children fell to their stomachs so that they were hidden by the hay. They peered out as a man tugged a big black horse out of the barn.
    Jessie’s hands flew to her mouth. “Dragon!”
    “Where?” Benny whispered.
    “Right there.” The horse was all black. There was no big white dragon on its back. “I’m telling you, it’s Dragon,” said Jessie.
    “The shoe polish,” said Henry. “They used that black shoe polish to cover his white dragon. That way, even if someone saw him, they wouldn’t recognize him.”
    “I would,” said Jessie. “I’d know him anywhere.”
    Dragon wouldn’t get into the truck. He reared up, whinnying. The man yanked the reins. “Come on!” he shouted. “Git in there!” He yanked the reins again.
    Jessie started to get up but Henry pulled her back down. “Not yet. Wait until they’re inside the trailer. Then we’ll all make a run for the barn.” They watched as the man pulled Dragon up the ramp. It seemed to take forever. Finally, Dragon disappeared into the trailer.
    The children raced from the field to the barn. Inside, four horses stood tied near the door. “Lots-o’-Dots!” said Benny, hugging his horse.
    “Not now.” Henry pulled his little brother into one of the back stalls. The children huddled in a dark corner as the man walked into the barn. They held their breath as he untied a pretty red horse and led it out to the truck. A piece of paper was tacked to the stall wall. Someone had written a list of horses: Palomino, quarter horse, gray Arabian, brown spotted pony. “These are the horses he’s stealing,” said Henry. “We have to stop him.”
    Jessie jumped up. “I can slow him down!” She darted to the last three horses and untied their ropes. Then she slapped them on the rear. They bolted out of the barn.
    The man on the truck saw the horses escaping. “Hey!” he yelled. He jumped off the truck, chasing them. “Hey!”
    The children peeked out from the barn. The man ran one way, then the other. “Roy!” the man yelled. “Come help me!”
    The children ducked back as the truck door swung open and the driver stepped down. He had bright red hair and wore a white baseball cap turned backwards.
    “That’s the man who brought back Honey and Bunny,” said Benny. “He drove the trailer with the dinosaur stickers.”
    The man in the striped shirt captured one of the horses and led it back to the truck. “Help me catch the other two,” he snarled.
    “No way,” said the red-haired man. He leaned against the truck, laughing. “My brother and I steal ’em and we pay you to take care of ’em. It’s your job to load ’em into the truck.”
    “You and your brother are the sorriest horse thieves I ever did work for,” said the man in the striped shirt, chasing the last two horses. He kept stopping to catch his breath. Benny stared at the driver’s Adam’s apple. It bobbed up and down, just like Slim’s.
    “He must be Slim’s brother,” said Benny. “Slim has black hair, but the hair on his arms is