LITMIR.BIZ

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next to the fence as if she were waiting for Felicity. Slowly, Felicity untied the rope from the stake.

      Slowly, she climbed onto Penny’s back. At first, Penny trotted. Felicity sat up straight and held on to her mane. As Penny’s stiff trot eased into a smooth canter, Felicity leaned closer and closer to Penny’s neck. Soon they were flying across the pasture, moving as swift and sure as the wind. Penny’s hooves hardly seemed to touch the ground. Above them, the sky was pearly gray. The wind made Felicity’s eyes water. She had moved that fast only in her dreams.

      Every day Penny did something new. The first time Penny jumped over a small pile of hay, Felicity was so surprised she fell off the horse’s back. After that, they tried higher and higher jumps—a heap of rocks, a tree stump, a stack of logs. Felicity never fell off again. She learned that Penny tensed her neck just before she jumped. That was a signal to Felicity to hold on tight.

      Penny was full of surprises. One morning, she carried Felicity across the pasture in a gallop, then leaped effortlessly over the broken-down part of the fence. That morning they rode farther than ever before. Felicity lost track of time as they cantered deeper and deeper into the woods with no fences to stop them. When they jumped back over the fence, back into the pasture, Felicity retied Penny’s rope to the stake quickly. She knew it was late. The sky was turning pink, and the mist was lifting out of the meadows.

      Felicity ran home. She slipped into the stable as usual and changed from the breeches to her petticoats quickly. She was just rolling up the breeches to hide them under the bucket when she heard someone say, “You!”

      It was Ben.

      Felicity froze with the breeches in her hands.

      She said nothing.

      “What do you have there?” asked Ben in his coldest voice. He came forward. “What? You have my best Sunday breeches?” He took them out of Felicity’s hands and looked at them. “They’re wet and covered with mud!”

      He sniffed them. “Whoosh! They smell like a horse!” He looked at Felicity. “Felicity, are you—”

      Felicity interrupted him. “I’m sorry, Ben. I was borrowing them. I just…I just needed them.”

      Ben sat down. “Felicity, tell me what you are doing,” he said quietly.

      Felicity took a deep breath. “I’m visiting Penny—the horse at the tannery.”

      “That horse?” said Ben. His eyes were wide.

      “Oh, she’s so fine, Ben,” said Felicity. “She’s gentle and dear. And she’s so fast!”

      “What!” Ben exclaimed. “You mean you’re riding her?”

       “Oh, yes!” said Felicity. “It’s a wonder, Ben. It’s just like riding the wind.”

      Ben shook his head. “Felicity, I don’t know whether you are the bravest or the most foolish girl I’ve ever known,” he said. “I’d be afraid to ride that horse. She looks like she would throw any rider sky-high!”

      “She was afraid at first, but now she trusts me,” said Felicity.

      “How long have you been going out there?” Ben asked.

      “Every day since the rain stopped,” Felicity answered.

      “That’s almost one month!” Ben said. “You’ve been up before dawn, dressing in my breeches, and running out to see that horse for one month?”

      “Yes.”

      Ben sat still. He stared at Felicity and said nothing. Then he asked, “How long can you keep doing this? You can’t do it forever. Mr. Nye will surely see you someday. And Penny is his horse.”

      “I heard Mr. Nye say that anyone who could ride her could have her,” said Felicity. “I can ride her. So she will be mine.”

      Ben sighed. “Felicity, you set your heart on things too much. I don’t believe Mr. Nye or your father will let you keep that horse.” He saw Felicity’s stubborn frown, and he grinned. “But then I never would have believed you could have ridden that horse, either.”

      “I am going to get Penny away from Mr. Nye somehow,” Felicity said. “I have to.”

      “Aye,” said Ben. “You’d best do it soon.”

      “I can’t hurry Penny,” said Felicity. “I have to be patient with her.”

      Ben nodded.

      “So, then,” asked Felicity, “do you want your breeches back?”

      “Not smelling the way they do!” laughed Ben. “No, you need them more than I do. You keep them as long as you like. I’ll keep your secret.”

      “Thank you, Ben,” said Felicity. She gave him a quick grin and hurried in to breakfast.

      Sharing Felicity’s secret seemed to change Ben. He wasn’t so shy. Sometimes he whistled, and he even surprised everyone by joking once or twice at supper. And he was true to his word.

      That Sunday, Mrs. Merriman said, “Ben, have you still not found your good breeches? They were fine, expensive India cotton. ’Tis not like you to be so careless.”

      “I beg your pardon, ma’am,” said Ben. “I know where they are now.”

      Felicity felt her face growing red. Was Ben going to tell?

      “I lent them to a friend,” said Ben easily.

      “Indeed!” said Mrs. Merriman. “May I ask why?”

      “My friend needs them more than I do,” said Ben.

      “Well,” sighed Mrs. Merriman. “Dust off your old woolen breeches then. We needn’t go to church looking like a band of ruffians.”

      Felicity smiled at Ben. He had called her his friend. He truly was a friend to her.

      All that week, Felicity thought long and hard about what Ben had said. She knew he was right. She couldn’t keep her secret much longer.

      Independence

       CHAPTER 5

      elicity brushed Penny until she was as shining as the sun. She combed the horse’s mane and untangled the knots in her tail. Mr. Nye never brushed Penny, and usually Felicity was afraid to do more than pull the burrs off her coat. She did not want Mr. Nye to know someone was caring for Penny. But today was different. Today the secret would end.

      Penny knew something was happening. She stood very still and let Felicity brush her.

      “There, Penny, my beauty,” Felicity said at last. “No one would recognize you. You’re so clean and beautiful and so peaceful and calm.”

      Penny nudged her affectionately. Felicity rubbed Penny’s nose. “I love you, Penny,” she said. “Are you ready?”

      Penny stood next to the pasture fence and let Felicity climb on her back. Felicity wore her coral necklace for good luck. She wore her favorite gown, too, so that she and Penny would both look their best. “We’re off, girl,” Felicity said to Penny. “Now don’t you worry. Everything will be fine.”

      The sun was rising, tinting the rooftops gold, as Felicity rode down the main street. The few people who were up stared and wondered. Was that the Merriman girl, riding astride a horse? And what a horse it was! A beauty! Where did such a horse come from?

      Nan was carrying the

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