"Ah-choo!" Cole sneezed.
"Bless you," Henry said.
"Thanks." Cole sniffed. "I'm allergic to cats."
It was two days after the family barbecue.
Henry was in the car with Cole and Maggie.
Uncle Bruce was driving them to the barn.
Maggie had another riding lesson, and the boys were going along to investigate the mystery of her missing stuff.
"Sorry, Cole," Uncle Bruce said. "Maggie's kittens have never been in the car.
But their hair gets all over everything, especially Maggie's clothes."
"At least the car doesn't smell like horses," Henry told Cole with a smile.
"Uncle Bruce makes Maggie put on her riding boots at the barn."
He pointed to a bag on the seat beside Maggie.
Her boots and socks were inside, along with her helmet and other riding gear.
Cole was the first one out of the car when they reached the barn.
"Fresh air!" he cried happily. "I can breathe again!"
Maggie rolled her eyes. "Don't get too excited.
There's a barn cat who lives here. Look, there he is."
She pointed to a cat who was sleeping in the sun on top of a hay bale.
"That's okay," Cole said. "I don't usually sneeze when a cat is outside."
They waved good-bye to Maggie's dad and hurried into the barn.
"The pony I ride is over here," Maggie said. "His name is Spot."
She stopped in front of a horse stall and set down her bag.
A pony looked out at them. When Maggie patted him, he nibbled on her hair.
Maggie giggled and gently pushed his head away. "Stop that, Spot!"
Henry heard a bark. A dog came running toward them. His tail was wagging.
A girl Henry didn't recognize came running too. "Come back here, Spot!"
"Hey! This dog has the same name as Maggie's pony!" Cole exclaimed.
He stooped to pat the dog. Cole wasn't allergic to dogs, just cats.
Maggie nodded. "Everyone calls the pony Big Spot and the dog Little Spot," she explained.
"Little Spot belongs to Eleanor.
She's one of the other riders in my group lesson."
By now Eleanor had reached them. "Hi," she said breathlessly.
"Sorry about that. But Little Spot is friendly."
"We don't mind," Cole said. "He's cute."
"Thanks." Eleanor picked up Little Spot. "See you later.
I need to get my pony ready."
She hurried off.
"Shouldn't you be getting Big Spot ready?" Cole asked Maggie.
"I want to show you around the barn first," Maggie said.
"That way you can start investigating."
"Good idea," Henry agreed.
He and Cole followed Maggie down the aisle.
A horse or pony looked out of each stall they passed.
Then they saw a pony standing in the aisle.
A boy was brushing it while a teenage girl watched.
The girl was holding a pitchfork.
"You're not doing that right, Zach," she complained.
"You're supposed to move the brush in circles."
"Leave me alone, Jill," the boy said.
Henry recognized them from his neighborhood.
Zach was in Maggie's class at school. Jill was Zach's older sister.
She and her friend Ashley sometimes came to the lemonade stand.
"Hi, Zach," Henry said. "I didn't know you rode horses."
"I just started." Zach frowned.
"My parents are making me because my sister has a dumb part-time job here."
"You'd have fun if you had a better attitude," Jill told him.
Just then a woman walked toward them.
"Did you finish cleaning the stalls, Jill?" she asked.
"Not yet, Ms. Wood." Jill hurried off to finish her chores.
Maggie introduced Henry and Cole to Ms. Wood.
"She owns the barn and teaches all the lessons," Maggie explained.
Ms. Wood smiled. "Nice to meet you, boys," she said.
"Maggie, it's time to get Big Spot ready.
And you need to change into your riding boots.
It's not safe to wear sandals in the barn."
"Sorry, I was just about to do that," Maggie said. "Come on, you guys."
They headed back down the aisle. On the way, they passed another girl.
Henry recognized her too.
Her name was Daisy, and she was two years ahead of him at school.
"Hi, Maggie," Daisy said. "Am I late for our lesson?"
"Not yet," Maggie told her. "But you'd better hurry."
Daisy rushed away. "I didn't know Daisy was a rider," Cole said.
"She started taking lessons at the same time I did," Maggie explained.
"How many people are in your lesson?" Henry asked.
"You just met them all," Maggie said. "It's Daisy, Zach, Eleanor, and me."
Henry nodded. So far he hadn't seen anything suspicious.
But he wanted to keep track of all the possible suspects.
They turned the corner and saw Big Spot's stall.
Maggie hurried to her bag and pulled out her riding boots.
"Oh no," she moaned. "One of my socks is missing!"