‘October is wonderful for riding horses,’ Jane observed. ‘I have been no closer to a horse than Johnny West’s faithful steed…Thunderbolt…and he is much too small for me to mount him,’ Chet said with a sly wink. ‘We will be with a trained Horse Whisperer and it is supposed to be safe for first-time equestrians,’ Neva J. announced. ‘We will drive the 57′ Chevy to Giant City State Park which is just a few miles from Carbondale…and we will put the top down on the way…if we do not freeze,’ Neva J. smiled with a mischievous glint in her brown eyes. ‘We will be riding on a Bridle Path that goes through the middle of the woods,’ Billy B. said casually. ‘If you have not been in the middle of Woods you need to be prepared for a bit of a unique life experience,’ Billy B. continued. ‘Due to the close-growing trees and the plethora of foliage it can be difficult to see the Sun…and the wildlife makes peculiar noises and sounds that are a bit disconcerting,’ Chet said matter of factly. ‘I thought that you had never been on the back of a horse,’ Darryl asked with a smirk. ‘I read Darryl…books…,’ Chet answered.

Exhilarating was the trip from Eldorado to Giant City. It was a cloudy day and the forest was naturally dark. Each sound from limbs cracking to squirrels scampering…produced visions of monsters hiding in the thicket. ‘I believe that we need to ride in a westerly direction,’ said the Horse Whisperer. ‘You believe or you know,’ asked Chet who had almost fallen off of his Appaloosa. ‘Well I have lost my compass and it is so dark today it is somewhat difficult to determine the path directional markers, the HW replied. ‘I saw a group of riders just up the trail… let us see if we can meet up with them to help us in finding our way out of this spooky place,’ Neva J. suggested. ‘It seems to me that we are going back the way that we came,’ Darryl mused.

Oh good…there are the hitching posts that we saw when we first entered the Bridle Path…but who are those people,’ Billy B. asked. ‘Greetings fellow horse riders…my you look familiar…is this the end of the Bridle Path…or the beginning,’ Jane said with fear of the unknown in her voice.

The HWs’ horse was riderless…