Stillwater Equestrian Academy

Chapter 10

The dreaded day came where the bandits camped outside the palisade. They hadn't made a move yet. They were just checking out the palisade. They checked out the logs and found out that they were concrete that looked like logs. But what they didn't know was, solid steel was on the inside. That everything was welded together so they couldn't get anything through.

I had climbed up onto the palisade and laid face down. I raised my head just enough to see what they were doing down on the other side. I saw them trying to put pipe bombs against the wall and the gates. Then they set them off. But nothing happened. Just a little bruised was all. I climbed back down and reported to the head sentry what the enemy was attempting to do. That was his cue. He climbed up on the palisade with a bullhorn and then he addressed the army below.

"I want to address your leader." Tom said. "I have a great proposition for him. One he will love to hear."

I don't know what took place below. It seemed like it took forever.

"What is the proposition?" One man asked. "And how do you think it will change our minds? Why would it change our minds?"

"This is the proposition?" Tom said. "We challenge you to a rodeo. Whoever wins gets to keep Fort Stillwater. What do you say?"

"Hold on a minute! Let me check with my men and women!"

I tuned my hearing to what was being said outside the palisade.

"Ok men and women, if we can take this fort without spilling blood, that would be great." The leader said. "Besides, it's a fun way of taking it. What do you all say?"

One by one, the men and women gave their answers. And that was a yes.

I sighed a breath of relief. At least our plan can now be put into effect.

"Alright, you have a deal." The leader said with confidence.

"Let me go and let my leader know." Tom said. "That way we can set everything up for all of you."

He climbed down and ran to let the base commander know. It seemed to take forever. But it was only a few minutes. Tom climbed back up onto the palisade.

"You have a deal. But you are going to be sleeping outside there. We don't have enough houses for you. I'm sorry."

"That's ok." The man said. "We are use to it."

"Good. The rodeo is in two days. It'll start at seven in the evening. Alright?"

"Sounds good, Man. We're looking forward to it. Besides, a rodeo sounds great. My men and women need some entertainment."

I let out a gust of air and relaxed. We have two more days to practice. I ran to go and find Maddie. I found her at the stables, brushing Boomer down.

"Maddie, the bandits bought it. They're gonna compete. We have two more days to practice. Tomorrow and the next day."

"Great. Nervous?"

"No. We got this. They're signing the agreement now. Trick riding is the main competition they have to try and beat us at."

"Yeah, we got this, Stevie. We already have it bagged."

"Maddie, thanks for taking care of Boomer for me while I did what I was asked to do."

"You're welcome, Stevie. Besides, it's a pleasure to take care of him. Besides, you would do the same thing for me."

"You got that right, Maddie."

I helped Maddie clean and polish the tack and put it away. We headed back to the dorm. We explained everything to Ms Campbell and she was delighted that the bandits took the bait. She gave us some ice cream as a reward for letting her know. We were happy to eat it. We sat there and talked about the upcoming rodeo. Especially the trick riding event. Then we washed our own dishes and then headed upstairs for a much needed shower and then a much needed nap. We climbed into our own beds and went to sleep.
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