Amanda in Alberta: The Writing on the Stone (3 page)

Four horses waited by the barn, saddled up and ready to go. Uncle Jimmy helped Amanda onto a chestnut-brown he called Ginger. He then gave Leah a hand to mount a black and white.

“Tonto is a dependable horse who will look after you,” he assured Leah.

Sarah and Aunt Mary mounted black stallions.

Amanda looked over at Leah with a wide grin. “Do you think you'll like riding horses better than camels?”

“Oh, yes. I like horses. I took riding lessons in England the summer we lived in York.”

“You sure have lived in lots of different places.”

“My dad's job takes him to many locations. Mum and I go with him when we can.”

Sarah pulled up alongside. “That sounds exciting. I never get to go anywhere.”

“You should come with Amanda the next time she visits me,” replied Leah.

“Mom always needs me to help out on the farm. I probably wouldn't be able to get away.” Sarah looked down at her hands.

“Follow me, girls.” Aunt Mary led them through the farm gate and down a hill toward a clump of trees. “If we follow this path, we'll get to Sheep River Falls. It's a good ride and very pretty when we get there.” She looked over her shoulder. “Are you OK back there?”

“We're fine, Aunt Mary,” replied Amanda.

The older woman skilfully guided them through the trees and over more rolling green hills. “We call these the foothills,” she explained.

In the distance, rugged, snow-capped mountains poked toward the sky.

“Are those the Rocky Mountains?” asked Leah.

“Those are the famous Rocky Mountains,” replied Aunt Mary. “I've lived in these parts all my life, and I'm still astounded by them.”

“They look awesome, and so very huge.” Leah rode ahead with Sarah.

“Aunt Mary,” asked Amanda, “I know you do some work at the dinosaur museum, and you know a lot about history and stuff. What do you know about stones with writing on them?”

“Actually, I'm in the midst of doing some research on prehistoric stones with marks on them which could be very important. Why do you ask, dear?”

“Well, I found a flat, smooth stone. It has a mark on it that looks like it could mean something, but I don't know if it's important or not.”

“Let me have a look at it sometime and I'll let you know. Where did you find it?”

Before Amanda could answer, three riders came up behind them. Amanda swung around, startled. ‘Where did they come from?' she thought.

“Well, howdy!” The man leading the group grinned when he saw Amanda and Leah. “Fancy seeing you fillies here on the trail.”

“Hi, Andy!” exclaimed Amanda. “We're going on a trail ride with my Aunt Mary.”

“Howdy, Mrs. Johnson. How you doing these days?” Andy tipped his hat. “How's your research coming along?”

“Just fine, Mr. Rowlands. Just fine.” Aunt Mary answered with a furrowed brow. “What brings you out here?”

“Getting ready for a cattle drive and rounding up a few strays.”

Rustling came from a clump of bushes and a yelping dog emerged.

“What is it, Bart? Did you get stung by a bee?” Andy jumped off his horse, knelt down and felt around the shivering dog. “Ah, here it is.” Andy pulled something hard and prickly from behind the dog's back leg. “It's a burr. They can stick on a dog and drive him crazy if he can't get it off. This one was in an awkward place.” He patted the dog's head and scratched his chin. “There ya go, fella. You'll be OK. Now, go find those strays.”

Andy stood up and walked over to Amanda. He stroked Ginger's back while he said under his breath, “I heard you found an interesting stone. You know I collect stones. You might want to add it to my collection.” Then louder he said, “Have a good ride, girls, ma'am. The weather is perfect for it. Nice to see you all.” He climbed back on his horse and rode off with the other two men, leaving a trail of dust.

Amanda felt uneasy as they continued on their way. ‘How did Andy know I have the stone? Did he hear me mention it to Aunt Mary? What did he mean by me adding it to his collection and why was Aunt Mary not very friendly to him'?

The bright sun shone on the riders as they wound their way further up into the hills and through majestic pine trees. Soon they came to a river.

“How will we cross?” asked Amanda.

“Don't worry. These horses are used to crossing water. Sheep River is not very wide and it's shallow here. They can walk across. But if they had to, they could swim,” explained Aunt Mary as she coaxed her mount into the water.

Sarah followed her. Amanda looked over at Leah who had a worried look on her face.

“We'll be all right. Aunt Mary knows what she's doing. Our feet won't even get wet.”

She let Leah go ahead of her. Tonto walked into the crystal clear water and immediately bent down to have drink.

Leah gasped. “Oh no! I'm…I'm going to fall off.” She gripped the reins with both hands.

Aunt Mary and Sarah shouted from the other bank, “Come on, Tonto. Stop fooling around.”

The horse raised his head, shook it from side to side spraying Leah with water, and continued on as if nothing had happened. Amanda laughed.

“That was majorly unfunny. I'd appreciate it if you didn't laugh.”

“Don't English horses get thirsty?” asked Amanda.

“Perhaps, but they wait until I'm off before they have a drink.”

Rumbling water could be heard in the distance. A few minutes later they rounded a bend and found themselves in front of water cascading over slabs of rock.

“Wowza!” exclaimed Leah. “This is some sweet waterfall. Did you say it was called Sheep River Falls?”

“It's called Sheep River Falls because there are many big horn sheep in the area,” said Aunt Mary.

“Will we see some?” asked Amanda.

“Probably not. When it gets warm like this, they tend to go up higher in the mountains to keep cool. Let's let the horses have a rest and a drink while we stretch our legs.” Aunt Mary pulled out some canteens of water from her saddlebag. “I think we all need a drink too.”

The water tasted cold and fresh.

“Yum. That's so good. Why does water always taste better from a canteen?” asked Amanda.

BOOM!

Amanda jumped, spilling water down the front of her shirt. A thorny red flash shot across the distant mountains.

Aunt Mary glanced up at the dark cloud that suddenly appeared, blotting out the sun. “We'd better head back. Looks like we might be in for a sudden thunder shower.”

Amanda shivered.

Prepared for everything, Aunt Mary pulled out rain ponchos for everyone from her saddlebags.

Amanda giggled when she saw Leah in her bright yellow poncho with a pointy hood. “You look like Big Bird.”

“Well then, you look like a mini Big Bird,” Leah retorted.

“Sarah, you take the lead,” said Aunt Mary. “I'll follow behind to make sure everyone is all right.”

Another loud crack came from the mountains, followed by streaks of lightning across the darkened sky.

“Is it possible that we could be struck by lightning?” asked Leah, glancing behind her.

“Not likely,” answered Aunt Mary. “The lightning is not very close.”

The rain came down in torrents. Amanda had trouble seeing through the huge droplets on her glasses. The raindrops hurt when they hit her arms and legs. Water ran down into her runners. “Yuck! I hate this rain. Where did it come from so suddenly?”

“If you don't like the weather in Alberta, just wait a few minutes and it will change,” said Sarah.

“Ouch. These raindrops are really starting to hurt.”

“That's because it's no longer rain, it's hail,” replied Aunt Mary.

Amanda looked ahead. Frozen balls of ice, the size of marbles, bounced off the ground. Soon the trail turned white. It looked like snow—in July.

“Let's head over there, under the trees for shelter,” suggested Aunt Mary.

“Are you OK, Leah?” asked Amanda once they were away from the hail. “It won't last long. It never does.”

“I've never seen hail like this before. The horses don't seem to be bothered though.” Leah patted Tonto.

As quickly as it started, the hail ended and turned to rain, melting the white balls and leaving no evidence.

When they arrived at the river, a much different scene appeared before them than when they crossed it earlier. The water had risen with the downpour and it flowed much faster. Small whirlpools appeared in the centre.

“I don't think we should cross,” said a worried Amanda. “I-I'm not a very good swimmer.”

“You'll be all right. Your horse can swim. Just hang on. Look, Sarah is halfway across already,” assured her aunt.

Amanda coaxed the horse into the raging river. The cold water covered her already wet runners and the bottom of her jeans. She squeezed her eyes shut and whispered, “Get us across safely, Ginger.”

Soon she was on the other side with her cousin. She dismounted and turned to watch Leah cross on Tonto. Halfway across, Leah's saddle tilted to one side. Leah tried to straighten up but it kept slipping over. A whirlpool circled Tonto's legs, spooking him. He lifted his front legs and Leah went crashing into the angry water.

Amanda stared into the swirling water searching for her friend. “Leah!” she screamed when she couldn't see her.

Then she saw Leah's head bob and started to run toward the river.

“Stay where you are,” ordered her aunt.

Amanda stood on the shore feeling helpless.

Aunt Mary charged into the water, jumped off her horse and swam toward Leah. She put her arms around the young girl and swam with her to the shore.

“Is she all right?” Amanda ran to help drag her soggy friend to the river bank.

Leah coughed and sputtered. “I'm…I'm OK. Thanks to your aunt.” She shook her drenched head. “She sure is a strong swimmer, for an eighty year old.”

“She swims at the pool three times a week,” explained Amanda. She looked over at the riverbank. “Is everything OK? Aunt Mary?”

The older woman's face turned white as she clutched her chest. She gasped for air and couldn't seem to get any words out. She just shook her head. Then she fell forwards.

“I think she's having a heart attack! Sarah and Leah, go for help. I'll stay with her.”

“No,” said Leah. “I'll stay with her while you two get help. She just saved my life. I will not let anything happen to her.”

Sarah brought the horse blanket from Aunt Mary's horse and tucked it around her shivering body. “Let's go. I know the way.”

“We'll be back as soon as possible, Leah,” assured Amanda. “Everything will be all right.” She gave her friend a weak smile.

Sarah and Amanda hadn't ridden far when they heard barking. They rounded a grove of poplar trees and a dog ran up to them with his tail wagging.

“Bart!” Amanda slowed her horse. “Is Andy close by? Can you lead us to him?”

The dog barked, ran around in a couple of circles and darted back through the trees.

“Let's follow him,” said Amanda.

“Are you sure? Maybe we should go straight back to my house.” Sarah frowned.

“This could be faster.” Amanda headed for the trees. She soon heard a man's voice on the other side.

“What is it, boy?”

Coming through the trees, they saw Andy kneeling down and patting Bart's head. He glanced up and smiled. “What have we here? Where is the rest of your party?” Andy stood up abruptly. “By the look on your faces, I sense something's gone wrong.”

“It's Aunt Mary. She pulled Leah out of the river, and now I think she's having a heart attack or something. Leah's with her and we need to get her to a doctor.”

Andy whipped out his cell phone like a gunslinger pulling out his weapon at a gunfight. He called 911 for an ambulance and then Sarah's dad.

“We need to get her to the road. Good thing we have the chuck wagon with us. We had planned an overnighter. Good job, Bart. That dog can always sense trouble.”

They were soon back at the river. Aunt Mary looked awful, but managed a faint smile when Andy said, “Don't you worry, Mrs. Johnson. We have everything under control, thanks to these quick thinking young ladies here.”

Andy and a ranch hand loaded the older woman into the chuck wagon and took her and the girls to a nearby road where an ambulance waited. Uncle Jimmy and Amanda's mom arrived a few minutes later.

“Leah, Amanda, are you all right?” Mrs. Ross looked frantic. “I should have never let you go on the trail ride. Leah, you're shivering. We need to get you in the car right now. Jimmy can bring the horses home.”

Amanda held Leah's hand in the car. “I'm so glad you're OK. You sure had me worried for a minute there. I hope this hasn't ruined your holiday.”

“Oh no, not at all. It has turned into a great adventure.” Leah's icy cold hand squeezed Amanda's hand. “I'm sure glad you came back with help as quickly as you did.”

“You can thank Bart. That dog came to our rescue.”

After mugs of hot chocolate, showers and a good night's sleep, the girls felt much better the following morning.

“How's Aunt Mary?” asked Amanda as she slid onto a breakfast bar stool.

“I called the hospital and she's doing just fine. It was a mild heart attack, thank heaven. She's a tough old bird, that one.” Amanda's mom divided banana slices on top of two bowls of cereal.

“Can we go and visit her?”

Mrs. Ross placed a bowl in front of each girl. “Of course, dear. I thought we'd stop in at the Foothills Hospital on our way to Bragg Creek.”

Amanda burst into a huge smile. “Bragg Creek! Leah, you will love it there. Maybe we can visit Dan's uncle's studio. I'd love to see his art.”

“Sounds good,” said Leah. “Just as long as we don't have to cross a river…on a horse…in a storm.”

“I'm so sorry about that, Leah. Uncle Jimmy feels terrible. He was sure he had tightened the cinch of that saddle. It was so awful watching you as the saddle slipped sideways,” said Amanda.

“I'd have been all right if Tonto hadn't spooked.”

“That's the other thing Jimmy couldn't understand. Tonto should be used to fast running rivers.” Amanda's mom shook her head then said, “Eat up so we can get this show on the road.”

* * *

Aunt Mary's face lit up when all three walked into the room with a large bouquet of flowers. “Evelyn, you shouldn't have. Thanks so much. And thanks for bringing these two heroines to see me.”

She received hugs from everyone.

“I'm so sorry for endangering your lives. I never foresaw that terrible rain and hailstorm. To think my dear departed husband was a meteorologist. May he rest in peace. I just don't understand what got into that horse, Tonto. It was like he had a burr under his saddle.”

“It sure was good that we found Andy nearby,” said Amanda.

“Yes, he can be a good sort…sometimes.” Aunt Mary sighed.

“Come, girls.” Mrs. Ross motioned. “We'd better let Aunt Mary rest. We're off to Bragg Creek but I need to drop off some papers to a client in Cochrane first. Maybe we can stop for ice cream while we're there.”

* * *

Leah's eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw the wall of flavours at
MacKay's Ice Cream
. It didn't take her long to choose a scoop of caramel apple pie ice cream in a vanilla waffle cone.

“Come on, Amanda, make up your mind. We don't have all day.” Mrs. Ross tapped her on the shoulder. “You can never make up your mind when we come here.”

Amanda finally decided on a scoop of cherry custard ice cream in a regular cone.

“This has got to be the best—ever!” said Leah as she licked the ice cream running down the side of the cone.

* * *

Once in Bragg Creek, the girls walked down the boardwalk arm in arm, looking in the many shop windows.

“My mum would just love this place,” said Leah.

“Perhaps you can buy her something from here to take back home,” suggested Mrs. Ross as they passed another gift shop.

Amanda spotted a bookstore called
The Best Wordhouse in the West
when Leah shouted, “Hey, do you think this could be the shop belonging to Dan's uncle?” They stood in front of a window displaying First Nations' art. “Let's check it out.”

Inside they found an assortment of unique items such as beaded bags and moccasins, hand carved animals and bright coloured paintings.

Leah admired a hair barrette decorated with white, blue and purple beaded flowers.

“All this is made by the Siksika people.” A man in a black cowboy hat trimmed with intricate beadwork stepped out from behind a counter. “Oh—hi there. You're Dan's friends, aren't you? I'm Ed Crow Feather. We met at the Cowboy Boot Warehouse.”

“Hiya. Yes, I'm Amanda and this is my friend, Leah. We would like to see some of your work.”

“That's one of my paintings over there.” He pointed to a picture of a black eagle, silhouetted against a red background. “But mostly I do carvings. Come to the back, and I'll show you what I'm working on right now.”

Ed led the girls into a back room filled with an assortment of tools and chunks of stone. In the middle of the room, on a table, sat a large eagle partially carved out of granite.

“Wow! This is awesome. It looks so real. May I touch it?” asked Amanda.

“Of course.”

The stone felt smooth and cool as she ran her hand over the eagle's head and down its back.

“You are very good. The feathers look so real!” Amanda noticed a bowl of stones sitting on a shelf beside the carving. Some with marks on them. “What do those marks mean?”

“Oh, those. They mean nothing.” Ed picked up the bowl and put it on a top shelf.

Amanda would have liked to look at the stones more closely. She wondered what he was trying to hide.

Leah held a small carving in her hand. “Is this a dog?”

“No, that is a coyote.” Ed laughed. “Do you know why the coyote howls at the stars at night?”

The girls both shook their heads.

“Well, I will tell you. Legend has it that coyote was just being coyote when he saw the Creator placing the stars in the sky from a bag in a very orderly manner. Coyote asked if he could help and the Creator let coyote place stars in the sky, reminding him to be sure and put the stars up in an orderly manner. Coyote did it correctly, but, as is his nature, coyote became impatient and threw the whole bag of stars into the sky distributing the stars helter skelter. The Creator scolded him for his carelessness and for the mess he made. Now, coyote howls at night when he looks up and sees the mess he made with the stars.”

“That's such a cool story. Thanks for telling it to us.” Leah purchased the coyote carving for her mom and the beaded barrette for herself.

As they left the shop, the girls spotted Dan in a heated discussion with Andy Rowlands in the middle of the boardwalk. Both men appeared angry. Andy poked his middle finger at Dan's chest. They couldn't hear what he was saying as his back was to them.

“Leave my uncle alone. He doesn't know where it is, I tell you.” They heard Dan shout.

Andy turned around and saw Amanda and Leah. He pushed his hat to the back of his head and broke into a broad smile. “Well, if it isn't the heroes of the day. How is your great-aunt?”

“She's doing great. We just saw her this morning,” replied Amanda.

Dan spotted the gift shop bag. “I see you found my uncle's studio. I'm sure he was pleased to see both of you.”

“Leah bought something for herself and for her mom and your uncle showed us the carving of an eagle he's working on. It's so awesome. He also had some stones with carvings on them like the ones you have on the ranch, Andy. I sure wish I knew what those marks mean.”

Andy glared at Dan. Dan glanced at Amanda with dark eyes.

“They're just some old stones that don't mean anything.” Dan tipped his hat. “Enjoy the rest of your visit.”

“Oh, we will. We're going to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump tomorrow.” Amanda replied.

With a scowl on his face, Dan turned and stomped away.