Star Gazer (6 page)

Jordan frowned. “He'd probably be careful not to let anyone know who he is. Somebody might decide to get revenge or something.”

“Did Jacob say he knew for sure that a packer was going to buy this horse?”

“Not exactly. But he said it was a good possibility.”

“That would be horrible,” Nicole said, shaking her head. “What are you going to do?” she asked. “Do you want to use my phone to call your mom? I bet she'd let you buy her if you told her she's going to be sold for dog food.”

Jordan frowned. “Even if my mom said I could buy her, I still don't have enough money.”

“Well, it's not a done deal yet.” Nicole put her arm around Jordan's shoulders, lending sympathy for the bad situation. “There's still a chance that someone could buy her and give her a great home.” She steered her toward the exit. “Let's get back to our seats. My parents want to buy some lambs that'll be going through the sale ring right away. My mom has your bid card. You'll need it for your chickens.”

Jordan followed Nicole down the aisle, careful not to look back. She didn't want to see those big brown eyes begging for someone to take her home and save her.

When they got to the poultry cages, Jordan sent Nicole ahead to their seats while she took one last look at the chickens. A small crowd had gathered. There were several families and a few older men looking, too, trying to decide which ones they wanted to bid on.

One man in particular caught Jordan's attention. He was short and stout, with a bald head and a corncob pipe stuck between his teeth. He pulled bits of grain out of his pocket and fed it to the turkeys while making gobbling sounds. The big birds answered him back and everyone laughed.

When an announcement came over the speaker system warning the auction was about to start, the onlookers moved on.

Jordan remained by the chickens for a few more minutes, trying to decide if she also wanted one of the funny-looking hens with the big fluffy feathers on their legs. As she stepped forward, the toe of her shoe hit something. She looked down and saw a brown leather wallet lying in the dirt.

She picked it up, wondering who could have dropped it. Since it was right in front of the turkey cages, she thought of the funny little man who had gobbled with the turkeys. Glancing around quickly, she spotted him just leaving the barn and ran to catch him.

“Excuse me, sir!” She jogged to his side and stopped. “Is this your wallet?”

The man reached to check his back pocket. When he discovered his wallet missing, he took a closer look at the one Jordan held out to him. “Well, I'll be…” He flipped it open and showed his driver's license photo to Jordan. “You've got the right guy, and I thank you very much, young lady. Can I give you a reward for being honest? A lot of people wouldn't have returned a wallet.”

Jordan shook her head. “Thank you, but that's okay. I'm just glad I found you.” The man smiled his thanks and walked off, and Jordan headed to the sale ring to join Nicole and her family.

Jordan had thought it was noisy in the sale barn, but that was nothing compared to the auction area. Not only was everyone talking amongst themselves as animals were brought into the ring for the bidding, but there was also the constant banging and clanging of metal gates as each set of pigs or cows was brought through to the viewing pen.

And on top of it all was the voice of Jacob's dad, Leroy Yoder, blasting through the speaker system with his singsong auctioneer chant, telling buyers where the current bid stood. Prices went up and up until there was only one bidder remaining. Then the auctioneer pounded his gavel with a resounding
crack
as he hollered, “Sold!” At that moment the highest bidder owned whatever was on display.

“This is really exciting!” Jordan said, taking her seat next to Nicole. “I can't wait to bid on the chickens. I found a couple of sets that looked pretty good.”

Fifteen minutes later, a cage with three speckled hens was brought in. The chickens ran about the cage, flustered from all the noise and attention. From his spot in the auction area, Jacob caught Jordan's eye, then gave a nod in their direction, indicating that these chickens would be a good buy.

Her pulse raced as she got ready to make her first bid. She leaned forward on the edge of her chair.

“Are you going to be okay?” Nicole's dad asked. “I can bid for you if you want.”

“Thanks,” Jordan said. “I think I can do it.”

As soon as the chicken cage was placed on the platform in the center of the ring, Jordan snatched the bid card from her lap and stuck it in the air, waving it about excitedly.

The microphone crackled. “We love the enthusiasm, miss, but we haven't started the bidding yet.” Mr. Yoder winked in their direction.

Jordan felt her face grow hot, but she laughed along with the rest of the crowd. When the bidding finally started, she jumped right in with her card raised. He heart pounded with excitement as spectators took turns running up the bid.

When the gavel fell, Jordan was the proud owner of three speckled hens. She'd paid ten dollars apiece for them. She wasn't sure if that was a good deal or not, but she thought they were worth every penny.

“That was so much fun!” she said. “Where are those chickens with the fluffy feathers on their legs? I want to bid on them, too.”

Nicole's mom laughed. “Whoa, better slow down a little bit,” she cautioned Jordan. “I think you've got a touch of auction fever. If you're not careful, you'll be going home with a gaggle of geese and a bunch of potbellied pigs.”

“Bring 'em on!” Jordan joked, and they all had a good laugh.

A flock of sheep were herded into the ring, and Nicole's parents prepared to bid. Jordan let her mind drift back to Star Gazer. She crossed her fingers, hoping some nice person in this crowd would buy the big mare.

She scanned the faces, wondering if the packer was in the crowd. Her eyes lit on a tall, thin man with a hawk nose. He stood near the entrance to the sale arena, carefully watching the livestock that came through. Jordan wasn't sure what a packer would look like, but that man seemed to be the most likely candidate. Maybe she could distract him somehow when Star Gazer came through the pen.

Jacob herded some calves into the ring. The little red Herefords bolted about, confused by all the noise. Some bucked and played, others bawled for their mamas, and one flopped down in the middle of them all like he was going to take a nap.

They waited through another ten minutes of livestock showing, then the door to the sales ring opened. The crowd oohed and aahed as Star Gazer walked into the pen, her head held high and proud, even as she limped on her two front feet.

Jordan sat straight up. Butterflies swirled in her stomach.

“Take a look at what we got here!” Mr. Yoder's voice boomed over the speaker system. “This beautiful and talented mare comes to us from the famous Sutton Farm. She's got a bit of trouble in her two front feet. We're not really sure what the problem is, so this mare is selling ‘as is.' Can I get an opening bid?”

A low mumbling rippled through the room, then a shout of “Yep!” went up from someone standing near the back.

“Who is that?” Jordan asked Nicole.

He's one of the spotters,” Nicole said. “They listen and watch for bidders that the auctioneer might not see.”

“I've got five hundred!” the auctioneer shouted. “Do I hear six?”

Jordan quickly glanced over at Jacob to see if he knew who had made the bid. The look on the boy's face told her everything she needed to know.

The wrong person was bidding on Star Gazer.

seven

Jordan's world tilted as the bid quickly rose to six hundred dollars. “Who's bidding?” Nicole's mom asked, craning her neck to look.

“The bad guy and at least one other person,” Jordan said, still trying to see where the bid had come from.

Nicole squeezed her mother's hand. “Mom, we think it's a packer bidding on her. They're going to put her in a can if we don't do something.”

Nicole's mother shook her head in disgust. “I wish there was some way to keep those people out of here.”

“I have six hundred, looking for seven,” Mr. Yoder chanted.

Jordan picked up her bid card. “I've got about one thousand dollars. I've got to do something,” she said, “or Star Gazer is going to die.”

Nicole's mom looked alarmed. “But dear, I thought you were only here to buy chickens. Won't your mother—”

“Seven hundred!” Mr. Yoder shouted. “I've got seven hundred, looking for seven-fifty.”

The crowd buzzed with excitement, waiting to see who would win the bid.

“I've got to do it,” Jordan said, her hand shooting into the air. “I've got to at least try to save her.” She waved her card, praying Nicole's parents wouldn't stop her. They'd signed for her card, giving permission for her to bid. They probably regretted it now.

“Lookie here,” the auctioneer said in his singsong chant. “This little lady is going from chickens to draft horses.” The crowd chuckled along with him. “That's quite a jump there, missy.”

Mr. Yoder looked to Nicole's parents to verify that the bid was okay. Jordan figured they must have been stupefied, because they didn't object.

“I'll accept your bid of seven hundred and fifty dollars,” Mr. Yoder hollered into the microphone. “Do I hear eight?”

“Oh, dear!” Nicole's mother said as her hand went to her throat. She turned to her husband. “Do you think Jordan's mother is going to be okay with this? Should we stop the bid?”

In the time it took Nicole's dad to respond, the bidding went up another one hundred dollars.

“Mom, Dad, we've got to help Jordan,” Nicole pleaded with her parents. “Please let her bid.”

“Please, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, I'll take all the blame and punishment,” Jordan begged. “Even if my mom grounds me for a year. I can't let Star Gazer die.”

“I have eight hundred and fifty dollars,” Mr. Yoder said. “The young lady has been outbid. Would you like to bid nine hundred, miss?”

Jordan didn't dare breathe. She waited for the Wilsons' answer, praying that the hammer wouldn't fall before they gave it to her. If Mr. Yoder banged his hammer before she could give the next bid, then all was lost. Star Gazer would belong to the packer.

“Mom…Dad…you've got to decide now!” Nicole said.

Mrs. Wilson nodded. “Go ahead, Jordan. We'll figure something out when it's all done.” She shook her head. “But what am I going to tell your mother?”

Jordan raised her bid card as fast as she could. “Nine hundred!”

The other bidder instantly upped the bid to one thousand dollars. They were already at Jordan's breaking point.

Nicole placed her hand on Jordan's arm. Jordan wasn't sure if it was to get her attention or stop her from bidding.

“Whoever you're bidding against, they're not going to stop,” Nicole said. “Jacob told you they might go as high as eighteen hundred. You're already at your limit if you bid again. If that's a packer bidding against you, he's got tons of money to work with. He'll just keep running up the bid.”

Mr. Yoder continued his auctioneer chant. “I have one-thousand-one-thousand-one-thousand…Can I get eleven hundred?” he added, staring directly at her.

Jordan felt almost as bad as she had the day her dad walked out on them. She couldn't breathe and blood pounded in her ears, making it difficult to hear. She was outbid and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't, and
wouldn't,
ask the Wilsons to become any more involved than they already were.

“Are you in for eleven hundred?” the auctioneer asked.

It pained her to do it, but Jordan had to shake her head.

“One thousand going once…going twice…” He paused, giving them one last chance, then smiled sadly before banging his gavel. “Sold, to bidder number thirty-five for one thousand dollars!”

Jordan looked to Jacob. She had a hard time seeing him through the tears that pooled in her eyes. They locked eyes for an instant and he tipped his head to a man on the rail, indicating the winning bidder. “No…,” she whispered.
It couldn't be!

Standing by the rail was the short bald man who'd lost his wallet. The turkey gobbler! But he'd been so nice. He couldn't possibly be the man who hauled horses to the packer!

Jordan's breath came out in one big
whoosh
and her gut tightened. She swallowed hard, trying not to be sick. She could hear the sighs and booing of the people around her. They wanted her to have the horse, too.

She looked up, trying to catch the attention of the bald man who had won the bid. For the first time, he turned and looked to see who he'd been bidding against. Jordan saw the surprise register on the man's face when he realized who it was. Shaking his head, he left the auction block.

Nicole's mom grabbed her purse. “Well, we gave it a good try,” she said. “Let's just pay for our livestock and go.” She reached over and gave Jordan a motherly hug. “I don't imagine you want to stay any longer, do you?”

Jordan shook her head and gathered her things. She thought about going back to visit Star Gazer one last time, but knew she'd end up blubbering like a baby. Jacob would make sure the mare was well cared for until the packer loaded her up.

She took a deep breath and tried to smile at the people who gave her a sympathetic look or pat on their way to the payment window, but her heart was breaking. She hadn't been able to save the beautiful mare. She followed the Wilsons, trying hard to stop the tears that threatened to fall.

They had to wait in line for several minutes while the people in front of them settled their accounts. Jordan hadn't felt this miserable in a long time. Her stomach actually hurt. She just wanted to get this over with and go home. Maybe coming to the auction hadn't been such a great idea after all.