The ponies, of course, weren't saying. They flicked their ears and looked in a mischievous way at her so she went over to them and stroked their soft, gentle muzzles. They knew she loved them.

Shara stayed beside the fence for a while, wondering what to do next. She didn't even know what she was going to say, should Mr. Clegg come along. The whole idea of coming to the Stud Farm suddenly seemed incredibly dumb. What on earth could she gain by asking Mr. Clegg if he knew anything about the disappearing ponies? He had nothing to do with them, once they were sold, didn't he?

Shara decided to have a look at the other ponies. She still had plenty of time to get home. At least another ten minutes free to wander around. She walked slowly along the fence and clicked to the ponies. She was thankful for her gumboots because the driveway was still a muddy bog in places.

Two beautiful tan ponies caught her eye. They were standing together, at the far side of a small paddock, nibbling each other's backs. When Shara called to them, they looked at her without moving. For a moment Shara thought one of the ponies was Zeras, then she laughed at her own foolishness. Both ponies were the wrong colour.

She slipped through the wires and walked towards them.

"Come on girls," she said, holding her hand out.

The ponies started to approach her. The one she thought was Zeras snorted as if it recognized her. Shara smiled.

"You've got a good memory!" she said, almost laughing with delight.

Now she was close enough to pat them. They sniffed her hands and pushed her with their noses and it was then that Shara noticed the same strange smell, like disinfectant, or shampoo, which she had noticed on her first visit to the Stud Farm. And she was on the point of turning to go away when she saw something that made her heart jump.

Suddenly, a truck arrived, grinding gears and slowing down on the road. It turned into the driveway, lurching and swaying like a ship on a swell. It was Mr. Clegg. The horse float in tow was almost hidden by the cloud of thick, black smoke from the exhaust and the wheels sprayed muddy water from the potholes like a series of fountains. As soon as the engine stopped Mr. Clegg jumped out and slammed the door. His wife did the same thing on the other side.

"Hey!" yelled Mr. Clegg, "Get off the paddock!"