Gypsy Gold Read Free

to die of dehydration,” Sam said.
    Jen pressed an index finger to the bridge of her glasses and cleared her throat as if Sam’s words might come back to haunt them.
    Sam rushed on, “All we have to do is take the trail back down to the road. If we don’t see the horses by then, someone will drive by.”
    When Jen didn’t agree, Sam grabbed the jug and swished it around. Then, as if to seal a promise, she gulped half the water, and handed the jug to Jen.
    â€œHere’s to you, partner,” Jen joked.
    She drank, wiped her wet lips with the back ofher hand, then flattened the empty jug, folded it, and slipped it inside her backpack.
    Stomachs sloshing and backs draped with gear, the girls started downhill.
    Sam kept her eyes fixed on the trail ahead.
    She would not look back. It was melodramatic and stupid to think that the vultures were stalking them.
    And if they were, she didn’t want to know.

Chapter Two
    S am and Jen trudged down the hillside, trading the big iron skillet back and forth.
    â€œThis is my school project and I chose to bring that heavy pan, so let me carry it,” Jen protested, when she caught Sam trying to adjust her backpack to the weight of the skillet.
    â€œYou didn’t see me turning down those delicious biscuits,” Sam said. “This is fair.”
    Jen didn’t say anything, and a single sidelong glance told Sam that her best friend was settling into one of her moods. Because Jen was so smart, she was used to being in control of her life. When she wasn’t, she turned gloomy.
    â€œHey,” Sam said. “I still don’t get why you’redoing this report on turkey vultures.”
    Jen hefted the straps of her backpack, tossed each braid back over her shoulders, and glared at Sam. She wasn’t fooled by her friend’s attempt to distract her.
    Sam blew air up under her bangs, then resolved not to do that again. Her breath was too hot to make the gesture much of a relief.
    â€œOkay, I agree that they’re misunderstood and they’re just doing what vultures do, but how can you do a biology report on that? That has more to do with people than—”
    Jen cut her off. “That’s not what I’m studying. There’s evidence that if vultures eat something that died from sickness, their digestive system actually kills the destructive germs. Neutralizes them,” Jen emphasized.
    â€œReally?” Sam asked.
    Jen nodded and walked a few steps in silence before she continued, “Think of that. What if science could figure out how they do it? We could help humans and animals resist harmful germs.”
    They kept plodding along. Jen wore that weird, wondering smile for a couple miles and Sam tried not to brood over the realization that they’d gotten an awfully late start for the miles they might have to travel.
    It was past noon, later than either of them had thought, and dust roiled up from each footfall. It wasimpossible to breathe without taking a whiff of the powdery gray stuff.
    Sam coughed, then took one hand away from the straps of her backpack and cupped her hand over her nose and mouth.
    Wasn’t this just great? Sam’s mind grumbled. On her first real escape from the ranch in nearly a month, she was in trouble again.
    Her pulse kicked up at the thought of Ace trotting over the bridge to River Bend Ranch. Someone would look up at the sound of hooves, expecting to see her returning. Instead, they’d see a riderless horse.
    Sam shuddered. Such a sight would make any rancher’s heart stop.
    Sam trudged along faster, spurred on by the hope that she and Jen could find the horses before they ran home.
    Â 
    â€œWhere did they go?” Sam yelped about an hour later.
    â€œWho?” Jen asked, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
    â€œThe hoofprints,” Sam said, pointing at the dust before them. She whirled and looked back, then wet her lips and shook her head. She