Chapter 10: The Run of the Paddock

Matoro was quick to begin doing his job the next day, By noon he was on Snowplow's back as they trotted along to the main part of town, observing his surroundings in interest. Today he had two errands: he needed to pick up a bakery order Simon had placed, and he needed to go to the tailor-shop to have a bridle and a saddle rug be repaired.

As he passed by the school, he noticed that all of the children seemed to be out for their lunch recess in the playground and field. When they saw him and Snowplow, several of them came running over in excitement. He slowed their pace to a walk, not wanting one of the kids to trip while following them from the other side of the fence.

"Hey," one of the school kids piped up, "I remember you from the Roundup races!"

"Yeah, you're the guy who always won!"

"You were like a silver bullet!"

Matoro laughed. "I wouldn't say I was the bullet…"

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah! You were the fastest guy there!"

"You were nothing but a blur!"

He chuckled again, and patted Snowplow's neck. "The real silver bullet was this guy. I was just along for the ride and to keep him on the track!" He winked at the children. "Now, you bunch focus on your studies. I don't want my appearance to be distracting you all throughout the day. Besides, I've got stuff I need to do. See you later!"

The kids' goodbyes echoed behind them as they continued on their way.

A few blocks later, they came across a couple of teenagers riding skateboards in an empty lot. Upon seeing the duo, the teens stopped what they were doing - he noticed that one of them had an odd, silver, square-shaped camera fastened to his head - and simply stared at them as they passed. "Good afternoon," he offered politely, not wanting to act like they weren't there. Behind them, he heard the two speaking excitedly about what they'd just seen.

The baker, a roly-poly man with a bald head and seemingly endless smile, greeted Matoro happily as he entered the establishment. "Hey-HEY! Here's the man who left Sunhigh in the dust! How can I help ya, laddie?"

"Simon sent me to pick up his order he placed yesterday. How have things been going?"

"Good as gold! OH! Speaking of which…" The man vanished behind the counter then popped back into view after a few seconds. "Got a few things other than Simon's order fer ya!" Two large wax-paper cookie-holding-bags were passed over the counter along with the order he'd been sent to retrieve. Peering inside, Matoro saw a large - as big around as a small dinner plate - vanilla cookie with bits of peppermint and white chocolate in it and a golden horseshoe frosted onto one side in the first bag. The second held several whole peppermint sticks. "Set these aside for you and your pal waitin' out there! Enjoy, my friend, and happy trails!"

"Thanks!"

The owner of his second stop, the tailor, was equally happy to see him doing well. "My stars! You really are determined to be a jack-of-all-trades, aren't you, you rascal?" he asked, smiling in goodwill. "What's Simon sent you for?"

"One of his bridles needs a new buckle, and a hole was torn in one of the saddle rugs." the Toa replied, handing over the damaged items. "Business going well for you?"

"It's going very well! In fact, my wife and I designed something we wanted you to have." He passed a good-sized sew-on patch over the counter and into the hands of the off-worlder. It was quite well-designed. Two thistles crossed stem-ends at the bottom, then continued upward and to each side, curving inwards just below the bud. They flanked a golden horseshoe that actually gleamed in the tailor-shop's lights. In the center, its points slightly overlapping the horseshoe, was a bright blue snowflake. And, at the top, there was a silver storm cloud, sending two white bolts of lightning streaked with yellow-green to the bottom-right and bottom-left. "Thought it quite a good symbol for the two of you."

"Wow… this looks amazing!" Matoro replied. "And… you made this just for Snowplow and me?"

"Sure did! And if you ever have the time later, just stop on by and I'll sew it onto his stable blanket for free."

Almost as soon as the shop owner turned to begin working on the asked-for repairs, though, a scream rang out. "THIEF! ROBBER!" And, immediately after, a blurred figure was sprinting past the view of the front doors.

Matoro didn't have to think twice. He had seen the thief's only gun, a small pistol, clatter to the ground in passing. The next moment, he was in pursuit.

It just so happened to be an early-out day for summer school, and both runners found themselves confronted with sidewalks crowded with children of varying ages on their way home or waiting for parents to pick them up. The thief, quite rudely, plowed through the youngsters, knocking them down or shoving them aside. But Matoro had no need to. As if he were in a minefield. he maneuvered his way quickly and easily through the startled, and sometimes even injured, kids, gaining on the robber bit by bit.

The robber finally gathered the courage to look back, and in the same moment terror entered the man's expression, Matoro covered the sidewalk before him with ice. Instantaneously, the chase was over; the thief's footing left him to fall onto his face, giving his pursuer ample opportunity to pin him to the ground, freeze his arms together behind his back, and remove all ice from the ground and the stolen handbag from the guilty grip. With that done, he hoisted the crook to his feet and began steering him back to his victim.

When he got back to the area in front of the tailor-shop, he was surprised to see quite the gathering already there - as they were to see him. A bus was parked outside that he hadn't noticed parked there when he and Snowplow first arrived, and the logo on its side mentioned "tourism". Many of the people around it smelled heavily of sunscreen. Two policemen were engaged in conversation with a woman who seemed to be one of the bus' passengers, and was rather distraught. More people still were gathering around, drawn to the scene by the shouting and noise.

Finally noticing the policemen's diverted attention, the woman followed their gazes to Matoro and seemed just as surprised as everyone else. Some of the people around the bus were murmuring in shock, lifting cameras and phones to capture photo and video. He brought the thief forward and stated, "I believe this is the crook you're trying to find." The police nodded, putting a pair of metal handcuffs over the man's frozen wrists, and began forcing him into their squad car after the purse was returned to its distraught owner.

Just then, one of the sunscreen-free bystanders stepped forward and, clearing her throat, spoke up. "Excuse me… but… might I be able to… interview you?"

He cast her a curious look. "Interview?"

"Yes, interview. You see, I happen to be a national news reporter for NBC, the television channel," she explained, "and, to be honest, I'm pretty certain you're worthy of a national broadcast. It'd be a story like none other."

Matoro wasn't too sure what to think. "I… suppose. I don't want any intrusion of the privacy of those I live with, though…"

"I promise there won't be. We'll simply call, and if it isn't a good time, we'll agree on a different time to schedule the interview. Where do you live, though?"

"Not far from here," he admitted. "Thistle Horse Ranch."

"Ah, I see… and your name would be…?"

"Matoro."

••••••••

It took a good amount of time for Matoro to finally finish all of the errands, check in with Simon, and head back home. And when he finally did, Austin and Taylor were waiting out front, looking a bit worried at how long he took.

"Where've you been all this time, pal?" the former of the two asked in concern.

"I… chased down a robber…"

"You WHAT?!" Taylor exclaimed, gaping at him. "We didn't hear about any robbery happening. When…?"

"It wasn't too long ago… it happened outside the bakery and the tailor-shop. Some hotshot decided to snag a tourist's purse, and happened to drop his gun by accident, so I decided I might as well chase him down. He sure injured a bunch of school kids in his haste, though…" Here, the Toa suddenly remembered something. "Oh, and, uh… a reporter there said she wanted to call to schedule an interview… but if she calls at a bad time, she's promised to reschedule for a time when we're not busy."

"All right. As long as you came out no worse for wear, I don't see any problems. Now, you go on and get Snowplow groomed up. He seems a bit tired." Austin relented.

"I'll be sure to."