But God didn't say anything, so she went to sleep.

About three in the morning, she woke again. At first she didn't know why. Perhaps something had gone down the road, backfiring perhaps? Or had there been a gust of wind, rattling the TV aerial? No, the night was calm. She thought she could hear an engine idling. Muffled like the soft hoot of an owl. It was a steady rmm rmm rmm sound, quieter than rain. Maybe someone was parked on the street outside? People did that sometimes. They stopped and looked at a map, or, if there were two people, they changed places in the driver's seat. Was that it?

She went to her window and pulled the curtains slightly. She couldn't see any lights. That was odd. She lifted the latch and pushed the window open slightly. Now she could hear it, clearer, louder. Rmm Rmm Rmm. Someone was down there, beside the paddock, but she couldn't see anything because of the thick hedge. She heard the muffled thump of hoofs, and the quiet whinny of a pony. Zeras could hear the sound too. She was walking round her paddock, slightly worried.

All sorts of thoughts went through Shara's mind as she stood there, listening. She imagined burglars, or worse. She pushed the window right open and strained her eyes in the darkness. Now she thought she could see someone walking across the paddock, holding their hand out to Zeras. The pony moved towards the shadowy person, towards the hedge and out of sight. Someone was down there, doing something to the pony? Now Shara felt terribly alone and afraid.

She left her room and tip-toed down the stairs then she stopped, shivering slightly, and hesitated at the door. Should she wake her parents? What if she was just imagining it? They would be angry with her for spoiling their sleep. They would say she was just trying to make trouble with Linda. If there was really nobody there, or if whoever was there was doing something perfectly innocent, it would look as if she was trying to get her own back at her sister for not letting her have a ride.

She opened the door and crept across the driveway. Now she could hear the motor distinctly. The sound of hoofs on wood came to her ears too, like Zeras was going up a ramp. She heard the squeak of a bolt being tightened and the click of a door shutting. Should she go closer? Now she knew something was happening, she had to tell her father. But it was too late. The gently rhythm of the motor increased and something began to drive away. She heard the crackle of dead, dry grass as the wheels of a vehicle crushed it down. Shara ran to the end of the drive and stood on the road. All she could see was a small horse-float going away into the distance. There