Another packed week! :P

I don't own Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys.

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Enjoy!

"Hey!"

Nancy glanced up from watching the trail about an hour later, startled by the sudden shout. A young man stood by the trail up ahead, waving.

She stopped Gypsy close to him. "Can we help you with something?" she asked, taking in his appearance. He was wearing worn jeans, a t-shirt, a cowboy hat, and boots with spurs. Definitely out of place without a horse.

"I was riding and my horse spooked at a rabbit and threw me," the guy said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "and now I can't find my horse. I saw you three and wondered if you could help me out."

"Ouch. Not fun. My name's Nancy, by the way. Do you guys think you're up to it?" she turned back to Frank and Joe.

"No problem!" Joe grinned. "What's your name?"

"Ryan," the cowboy replied with a relaxed smile.

"I'm Joe. That," – he indicated Frank with one hand – "is my brother, Frank."

"Nice to meet you," Frank greeted.

"You can ride double with Frank, Ryan," Nancy offered. The large draft horse would easily accommodate two. She knew Joe's horse wouldn't enjoy the extra weight. While Gypsy would tolerate it, Nancy didn't exactly want to ride double with a man she didn't know very well.

"That would be fine. If you want to I can dismount and ride behind you. You look a lot more experienced than me!" Frank laughed.

Ryan grinned. "Sure. Looks like a great horse. Have you ridden double before?"

"Can't say that I have," Frank admitted.

Frank dismounted and Ryan swung into that saddle. It took a minute, but Frank finally managed to get up behind the saddle. "What do I hold onto?"

"The cantle, right here." Ryan patted the back of the saddle. His "passenger" complied.

The four kept riding, and Ryan gave them off-trail directions. He said that there was a lake a few miles in, and it was likely that his horse had gone there. Apparently there was road visible from the lake that would bring them back to the trail.

"Nancy… this… really… hurts."

Frank chuckled at Joe's complaints. They had been riding for a few hours now, and both brothers were starting to get sore.

"How much farther till the lake, Ryan? We should be getting back," Nancy called to them, her tone apologetic.

"It's right up about a quarter mile," the cowboy answered. "Thanks for the ride, I can walk it from here."

"If you'll be okay," Joe looked around the woods cautiously. If Frank didn't know better he'd say that his younger brother was nervous.

"I'll be fine," Ryan laughed, sliding off of Bart. Frank scooted back into the saddle.

"How do we get back?" Nancy asked.

"The road loops around about a hundred yards through the trees," Ryan turned to point, "that way. West. If you head into the sun ya can't miss it."

"Thank you!" Frank called.

"No problem!" Ryan waved. "The ride was great."

The cowboy jogged off through the trees and Frank watched, thinking it was a little bit odd… Oh well. At least they could head back now.

"Nancy."

Joe tried to get her attention.

"Nancy!"

She looked up from scanning the trees hours later as it was getting dark. "What?"

Joe sighed. "I didn't want to be the first to point this out, but we are officially lost."

"Yeah, and?"

"And it's getting dark, and we'll probably have to spend the night out here. In which case we'll need shelter or something. And I'd rather not set up camp without being able to see anything."

"I think Joe's right," Frank agreed from behind him.

"Okay," Nancy reluctantly nodded. She dismounted, and the brothers did to, though they were a bit sore and wobbly on their legs after the long hours of riding.

They eventually tethered the horses to a stand of oak, their leads loose enough for them to graze. Constructing rough lean-tos with tree branches, they crawled into them right as the light disappeared and fell asleep within moments.

Joe shivered as he drifted off. Spending a night in the woods? Not his idea of a safe thing to do.

Two figures crept steadily through the inky blackness. Armed.

So whatcha think? :)