Back again with an update! Soooo sorry I didn't post sooner, it has been a CRAZY week. Yeah. So!

It's kind of obvious by now, but I'm not a millionare. AKA I don't own Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys.

Please review!

Enjoy!

Frank looked up at Nancy, who was leading them. Joe was directly behind her and Frank was directly behind Joe, but if he leaned to the side he could see her.

She looked like a natural on horseback, and definitely had experience. It somehow made her even more attractive to him. Even though, he did have a fear of horses. To some degree, at least. Frank bit his lip. He didn't want them to find out. It would make him look weak. And Frank Hardy could never be weak.

But, since Frank hadn't told them and just played it off like everything was cool and he was just inexperienced, Nancy hadn't had any qualms about sticking him on the biggest horse in the barn.

"How are you guys doing?" Nancy called back.

"Awesome!" "Great!" Joe and Frank replied, in that order.

"We're about to get to a large field after we come out of this part of the woods. Once we're there I'll give you a quick run-through on how to go faster safely!" She grinned at them.

Frank swallowed hard, and gave a fake smile back. "Cool!"

Joe emerged into the sunlight of the field on his horse, thankful to be out in the open. In those creepy woods, anything could jump out at you.

What an irrational fear. But he wasn't about to say anything in front of Frank or Nancy. Nuh-uh. He'd never hear the end of it.

Nancy kneed her horse around expertly to face them. "Okay, Joe! Ready?"

"Yes!" he smiled, patting Check's mane. "What do I do?"

"Have Check walk, and then give him a small kick, hold your hands forwards, and cluck."

Joe gave her an odd look. "Cluck?"

The titian-haired detective nodded. "Or make a kissing noise."

"I think I'll cluck. That's a little less awkward than kissing," He gave an exaggerated shudder.

Nancy rolled her eyes. "After you do that, Check should start moving at a jog, or, trot. It'll be kind of uncomfortable, but just grip with your knees."

Joe steered Check into position and gave a mock salute to Nancy. Then he gave Check a small kick. He walked. Well, that was step one.

"Okay, Checkers," Joe gave him a hurried nickname, "Let's do this!"

Joe kicked again, let up on the reins, and, taking a deep breath, lost all dignity attempting to cluck.

Thankfully, Check got the message and stepped it up to a bone-jarring, up and down, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump…

"Ow…" Joe hissed. This was definitely not comfortable. "Nance, this is not as much fun as I thought it would be!" He called to her.

"Tell him to go faster again!" She yelled back.

"Are you nuts?!"

"Not all the time, trust me."

Gritting his teeth in trepidation, Joe repeated the "speed up please" command.

To his complete surprise, he found himself comfortably sitting deep into a smooth, fast pace, which felt something akin to a rocking chair.

"Wha-a-a-at?" Joe blinked. "This is awesome!"

Suddenly he realized he was getting closer to the trees. His heart jumped into his throat. "Uh, Nan, how do I stop again?" Joe shouted, his voice slightly panicked.

"Give a firm tug on the reins and sit deep!" Nancy called from across the field.

He tried in. Check slid to such a quick stop that Joe almost flew over the horse's head! Giving a sigh of relief, he turned Check around and started back to where Nancy was now teaching Frank.

A few miles away, a man tore up a back road in the wilderness on a four-wheeler. Soon he reached his destination – a large gully. Parking the four-wheeler behind some trees, he jogged down the concealed path and between the cliff walls. Dust swirled around his feet as he stopped near a distinctive upright boulder. "Three. Two hounds and a fox. With studs," he called out, seemingly to no-one.

Immediately, a figure emerged from behind another rock. The two cowboy-looking men exchanged terse greetings.

"Two guys and a gal on horseback?" The second repeated.

The first confirmed it with a nod. "The horses are pretty good-looking."

"Were you able to get a good idea of the breed?"

He nodded. "The girl is riding a black Morgan horse. Smaller, but feisty enough. One of the guys, the blonde one, has a palomino thoroughbred. Looked like it had some Arabian in it."

"The palomino sounds good. And the third guy?"

"His horse is the one I'd bet my money on in a fight. I'd say a cross between a Clydesdale and a Percheron. Brown. He's gentle and not aggressive, but that can be changed. Besides, he's big enough to hold his own."

"How skilled are the riders?"

He snorted. "The only one that's any good is the girl. I think the dark-haired kid, on the draft horse, is probably the least confident. I could tell from how he's holding himself in the saddle."

The second man thought it over, fingering the leather strips hanging in a loop on his belt. He smiled. "I want them. Follow the normal plan. Get them lost so they have to stay the night out in the woods. Then we'll take the horses. Tomorrow I'll have Dave show up and kindly guide the riders back to civilization."

"Yes sir," the first man nodded and walked off, his long strides stirring up dust behind his spurs.