A THUNDERSTORM ADVENTURE

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 177, 29 July 1939, Page 3 (Supplement)

A THUNDERSTORM ADVENTURE

"I don't intend to stay indoors on the last day of the holidays," said Deborah. "I shall saddle Peppermint and go for a ride, even if it docs rain eats and dogs. Will anyone come too?" "You arc. silly,'' said Rachel. "Look at the sky." "I shall go with Deborah," said Nigel, getting up. "Well, mind you clean your saddles and bridles when you get back. We may have all kinds of adventures, you never can tell. (!ome on. Nigel, you saddle the ponies while I change." A quarter of an hour later they set off on Peppermint and Humbug, the two New Forest ponies, one white and the other brown. The threatening clouds had rolled away, and the sun was shining brilliantly. "Whew! It is hot!" said Nigel, swishing a horsefly off Humbug with a hazel twig. "Where shall we go. Deborah? Let's try somewhere new. I know, let's go to Burswood and then turn into that narrow grassy lane we've never explored." "Right you are," said Deborah. "We can have a lovely canter. It may go for miles." The fields were green and springy after the recent rain, and the ponies were fresh and went bounding along at a great rate. "It's terribly hot." panted Nigel, as they cantered side by side. "I'm going to take my coat off." They pulled up the ponies, and, taking off their short coats, tied them to the fronts of their saddles. It wm still hot mid oppressive, but the sun was now partly obscured by a purple cloud, and the air was very still. "1 wonder why the birds aren't singing." ttaid Deborah. "Listen!" cried Nigel. There was a, distant rumble of thunder and the trees began to whisper mysteriously. "Come on." said Deborah. "We'd better hurry. Once we are in Burswood Lane we shall have a little shelter, even it it pours." They set off at a fast gallop across the remaining flplds. The ponies must have realised there was a storm coming, for they wore very excitable and pulled find snorted as they tore along. "Stop it. Humbug!" shouted Nigel. "She nearly bucked me off." he added. Soon they were in the lane, hut the storm was coming up steadily. The sky was black, and every now and then there wre menacing rumbles of thunder which grew louder. "What are we to do? It isn't very safe to be under trees, but we shall pet soaked through if we go out in the open once it starts to r» ; " " "'•' Pt'horah, rather nervously.

"I don't know what wo can do. I think tin; others were right, and we were asses to come," said Nigel, who was beginning to get cross. "Humbug, will you stop shying?" He switched her flanks with his hazel twig. "I think wp had better push on while we can and hope for the best,'' said Dcl>orah. "Oh. Peppermint is shying now, and there's absolutely nothing to shy at." Hut the next minute there was a blinding flash of lightning, and both ponies shied violently. And then the rain came down in torrent*. Half way along the lane was a disused barn, and here the children sheltered until the worst of the storm was over. The ponies soon grew tired of standing, so when the rain was a little les* violent they went on again. When they got to Burswood Nigel said, "Having come so far and got so wet. we might as well explore our little lane. We may still have an adventure." It wj>.s a very narrow little lane, so narrow that they had to go in single file, and there were tall, straggling hazel bnsbes on either side that brushed against their faces and spattered them with raindrops rs they rode by. There was some good springy turf under foot, but after continuing for a few hundred yards the track suddenly ended and they found themselves once again on a wide main road.

"Ob. misery!" groaned Deborah. "We are really too unlucky. I quite thought we should at least be nble to have a good canter. Still, we may as well go along here for a bit. There may be a better lane farther on." But the hard road seemed to continue for miles. There was no sign of a lane. and the hard surface was slippery after the rain. "Hold up. Humbug," said Nigel. The road was not only slippery but it was steeply downhill, and the ponies' leg.s began to slither. "Oh. 1 know they will break their knees!" cried Deborah. in despair, "Peppermint was nearly down just now. However much longer is this wretched rond going to last?" They went sliding and slipping on for a few more hundred yards, and then the road suddenly became bordered on erther side by a high wooden fence, and a little farther on there was. a round lodgekeeper's cottage and some big iron gates. These opened into a wide mossy drive, which looked as if it hadn't been used for ages. It was fringed by an avenue of tail beeches, and altogether appeared most exciting and mysterious. "I'm going in there," said Deborah; "I don't care who owns the place. We can't risk the ponies' knees any longer. Come on. Here goes for an adventure. This avenue opens out into a big park; there may even be a right of way." (To be continued on Saturday next.)