"Oh no!" Maggie exclaimed. "My shirt is ruined!"
Ms. Wood came over. "Oh dear," she said when she saw Maggie's shirt.
"What happened?"
"Big Spot slobbered on me!" Maggie said.
"Is pony slobber always blue?" Henry asked.
He didn't know much about ponies and horses.
But the blue stain seemed kind of strange.
Maggie scowled at him. "Of course not!" she said.
"Big Spot must have eaten something blue."
"None of our usual horse treats are that color."
Ms. Wood opened Big Spot's mouth to look inside.
She sounded a little worried. "I wonder what he ate."
"I can't wear this shirt in the show," Maggie wailed. "I look ridiculous!"
"Now, Maggie," Ms. Wood said.
"The judge won't be looking at what you're wearing.
She'll be looking at how you're riding."
"Maybe." Maggie didn't sound convinced.
"But I'll still look like a slob in front of everyone!"
"I have an idea, Maggie," Henry said. "Try turning your shirt inside out.
Maybe the stain won't show that way."
Maggie's face brightened instantly. "Henry, you're a genius!" she cried.
"I'll be right back." She ducked behind the stall door.
"Thanks, Henry." Ms. Wood smiled with relief.
"I think you just saved the day."
Seconds later Maggie emerged with her shirt turned inside out.
"Much better," she said. "Try not to slime this side too, okay, Spot?"
She put on the pony's bridle.
Then she hurried out of the barn leading Big Spot behind her.
Ms. Wood left too.
Henry headed back to the lemonade stand.
"Oh good," Uncle Bruce said when Henry arrived.
"I just saw Maggie getting on her pony."
"Yeah, her class will be starting soon," Henry said.
"Have you seen Cole since I left?"
"No." Uncle Bruce shook his head.
"But I could have used his help. The lemonade stand was pretty busy."
"The next class will begin in three minutes!"
Ms. Wood said over the loudspeaker.
"I want to find a good spot to watch the show," Uncle Bruce told Henry.
"Want to come along?"
"I have to stay with the lemonade stand," Henry said.
"I can watch Maggie from here."
Uncle Bruce nodded and hurried off.
There were no customers at the moment, so Henry sat down to think.
He needed to figure out whether Rebecca was the shirt thief.
He wished Cole was there to help him come up with a plan.
"Where is Cole, anyway?" Henry muttered.
He looked around. He didn't see Cole, but he saw Kira walking by.
She was still wearing her show coat, and her face was red and sweaty.
"Hi," Henry said to her.
"You look hot. Why don't you take off your coat for a while?"
Kira paused. "It's okay," she said. "I'm not that hot."
Henry wondered if she was afraid someone might steal her coat, just like someone had stolen Daisy's shirt.
"Have you seen my friend Cole anywhere?" he asked.
He described what Cole looked like.
"I know who you mean," Kira said. "I saw him earlier.
He was behind the barn helping Daisy wash some mud off her pony's legs with the hose.
That was over an hour ago, though.
Maybe longer. I haven't seen him since then."
She glanced at the ring, where Maggie and the other riders were trotting in a circle.
"Excuse me, I'd better go check on my pony."
She hurried off.
"Well, at least that's one mystery solved." Henry said with a sigh.
Now he knew where Cole had been earlier when Cole was supposed to be looking for napkins.
Too bad that wasn't the mystery Henry was trying to solve!
"Riders, please ask your horses to walk," Ms. Wood said over the loudspeaker.
"The judge is watching you now."
As Henry turned to watch the show class, he saw Cole hurrying toward him.
"Finally!" Henry exclaimed. "Where have you been?"
"Sorry," Cole said breathlessly. "I started to look for clues in the barn.
But then a little kid asked me to help her carry a saddle."
"Well, it took you an awfully long time," Henry said.
"Maggie's class is starting," Cole said. "We'd better watch."
Henry noticed that Rebecca was riding in the class too.
She wasn't riding Coco though. She was riding a different pony.
"Look, there's Rebecca," Henry said.
"We should watch her to see if she does anything suspicious."
"Why?" Cole asked.
Henry realized Cole didn't know that Rebecca was a suspect yet.
Henry told him what had happened between Rebecca and Daisy.
"That's weird," Cole said. "Look! I think the class is finished."
The riders were lining up in front of the judge.
A few moments later, Ms. Wood began announcing the winners.
Soon she got to the final ribbon.
"The first-place ribbon goes to . . . Maggie riding Big Spot!"