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Carole said.
    “Well, that means my little brother Billy will be with us, too. And we just realized he hasn’t made any arrangements for Mr. Munch,” Polly explained.
    “Mr. Munch?” Carole repeated in confusion. “Who’s Mr. Munch?”
    “That’s Billy’s pet—oh, wait, hold on a minute,” Polly said. Carole heard her shouting to someone downstairs.
“I’m on the phone.… Yes, I’m about to ask her.… I’ll be right there.”
Polly’s breathless voice returned. “Listen, I’ve got to be quick,” she said. “The thing is, we’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning, and Mr. Munch is homeless. So we were wondering if you and your friends would look after him as well as Romeo while we’re gone, even though he’s not a horse. My parents will pay you for it, of course.”
    More money meant less time before Carole got those videos. Forgetting about the lecture she’d given Stevie, she said yes immediately.
    “Oh, great,” Polly said, sounding relieved. “We’ll drop him off at Pine Hollow tomorrow morning. I already checked with Mrs. Reg and she said that’s all right—she’ll watch him until you guys get there after school. Thanks a million, Carole. Really.”
    “You’re welcome,” Carole replied. “Just one ques—”
    But in the background, she heard someone loudly calling Polly’s name. “Hey, I’d better go,” Polly said. “I’ll see you next Wednesday night, okay? Thanks again.” And with that, she hung up.
    Carole hung up, too. She thought for a minute. She wasn’t too worried about taking on another client. It wouldn’t be nearly as much work as the others, since this one wasn’t a horse. The only question remaining was what
was
it? Probably a cat or a dog, but which one? The Saddle Club would have to make arrangements to keep Mr. Munch at one of their houses. But Carole didn’t want to bring a dog home, since she had a cat. And she knew that Lisa’s father was allergic to cats.
    She picked up the phone. She knew Polly was busy, but it would only take a second to ask her what sort of creature Mr. Munch was. Although Carole tried several times, the Giacomins’ line was always busy.
    Finally she shrugged and gave up. It didn’t matter. Cat or dog or guinea pig, they could figure it out tomorrow. She returned to her research.
    A FTER SCHOOL THE next day Lisa and Carole walked to Pine Hollow together. Carole filled her friend in on the strange conversation with Polly.
    “I wonder what it is,” Lisa said. “Maybe a fish?”
    “With a name like Mr. Munch, it would have to be a barracuda,” Carole said with a laugh. “I bet it’s a dog. You know Polly’s little brother, Billy. He seems like a dog kind of kid to me.”
    “You’re probably right,” Lisa said. “Anyway, taking care of a dog or something will seem easy compared to taking care of three horses. Did you have any luck finding out what to do with Memphis?”
    “A little,” Carole replied. “I had to go through practically every book I own.”
    “I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Lisa said. “I just hope I can handle Honeybee.”
    “Don’t worry,” Carole said. “We’re here to help you with her.” She grinned. “It’s Aunt Eugenia you’ll have to handle on your own.”
    “Thanks a lot,” Lisa said.
    “Just kidding,” Carole said. “Listen, I’m going to run and check on Memphis first thing. Would you take my stuff to the locker room for me?”
    “Sure,” Lisa said, taking Carole’s schoolbooks from her. “After that I’ll probably go see how Honeybee is doing.”
    “I’ll meet you there in a few minutes,” Carole said, dashing off.
    Lisa carried her things and Carole’s to the student locker area and put them away. She glanced at Stevie’s cubby. It was in its usual state of disarray, but it didn’t look as though anything had been put into it that day. She guessed Stevie hadn’t arrived yet.
    Lisa headed toward Honeybee’s stall. She was only halfway there when she heard