ibby Shore ran to her room, grabbing her suitcase from the hall closet on the way. She dropped it on her bed and popped it open. She grabbed everything from the first and second drawers of her dresser and stuffed them inside. Then she emptied the contents of her other two drawers into her duffel bag. When she had grabbed her pillow and library book, she brought everything downstairs.

"Mom, Dad, I'm ready!" she called down the hall to the kitchen, where her parents were going over a map of Africa. She could hear their voices echoing down the hall.

"No, that's not our hotel. Ours is miles from there," said Dad.
"But it has to be this one! See? There's the restaurant at the corner-"
"Wait- here it is. It's on the next page," Dad said, turning the page.

"Mom? Dad? I'm ready." Libby entered the kitchen and sat down on the stool next to her mom, Jean Shore. "Still trying to find your hotel?"

"We're handling it. It'll be easier once we're actually in Africa."

Libby sighed loudly. "Libby, I don't like your attitude about this. You know we can't take you with. There would be no one to watch you when we get to Frank and Jacki's. You're going to have a great time at Matt's house."

Matt Delgado was Libby's best friend. She was staying at his house while her mom and dad went to Africa to check out a job for Mr. Shore. Libby's dad, Nathan, was a scientist. His friends, Frank and Jacki Morris, had recently started studying in Africa and they asked Mr. And Mrs. Shore to come out and stay with them until the expedition was over.

"I know," Libby said. "It's just. 10 weeks is a long time. I'm really going to miss you!" She threw her arms around her mom's neck. "So can we go now?"

"I'll never get you, Libby. One minute, you want to stay with us here, wishing everything would stay the same; the next thing I know, you can't wait to leave!"

Everyone laughed, even Libby. She knew it was true. She often changed Her mind so much that somebody had to make it up for her!
"So, are we going to go?" she asked again.

"Yes. We can check the map again in the airport, Jean. We said we'd bring Libby to the Delgado's at 3:15. It's already 3:52! Everybody in the car," said Dad, chattering away. That was his usual self: always talking.

Libby grabbed her bags and followed her parents out to the car. There wasn't much packed in because Mr. and Mrs. Shore had already sent their bags to Africa two weeks ago. Libby's dad started the car, and they were off! This was the last time Libby would ride in the car with her parents for months! She would really miss the trips to the movies and picnics at the park.

Finally, they pulled into the Delgado's driveway. " Grab your things, Lib. We've got to hurry to the airport," said Mom.

Her Dad grabbed her duffel and her pillow. Libby grabbed her suitcase and backpack. She had packed some of her most important things two nights before so she would not forget hem in all the confusion of getting read to leave.

Libby's Mom rang the doorbell; Mrs. Delgado answered. "Hi, Libby! Matt's in his room. I'll call him to help you with your things. She disappeared around the corner for a minute and soon returned with Matt. His smile stretched across his entire face.

"I couldn't wait for you to come! Wait till you see what I found." He grabbed her duffel and pillow from Dad and led her upstairs. Libby gave her parents a final good-bye hug and raced upstairs with Matt.

"What did you find, Matt?" she asked after setting her things in the guest room, which was across the hall from Matt's room. "Follow me. It's in the basement." They raced down the stairs, Matt leading the way. "Now you have to promise you won't tell anybody!" "I promise." He pushed open a cement door "Wow!" exclaimed Libby. "I knew you'd think it's cool," Matt said, stepping inside a small, dusty room. Then he tugged her inside after him.

"Who would not think this is cool? When did you find it? Do your parents know?" Libby had many questions, but she stopped when Matt put his hand over her mouth. "Someone's coming!" He pulled the door shut, closing them inside the secret room. "Don't say a word," he whispered. "My parents have know clue this is down here as far as I know. And I just know they won't let me come in here if they find out about it. "Too dangerous," they say."

"Matt?" a voice called from outside the room. It was Mr. Delgado. "Matt, where are you? Libby? Erika, they aren't down here. Maybe they went outside." A wide grin spread across Matt's face when he heard his father go back upstairs.

"They don't know about it. And it's almost impossible to find unless you look very closely. But I haven't shown you the best part yet. Follow me." Matt led Libby across the room to a dusty bookshelf. "I haven't opened any of them, but they must be at least 100 years old."
"Let's look inside one!" Libby suggested.
"Bad idea. What if they fall apart?"
"Oh, come on, Matt. Nothing will happen to them. And even if they do fall apart, who's going to know about them?" Libby said.
"I guess you're right. If we're very careful maybe we can even read them. OK, take one. I'll get a blanket for us to sit on. The ground is pretty dusty."
"All right."

Matt pulled open the door, grabbed a blanket and closed the door again. Libby chose a book from the shelf and brought it over to where Matt was laying out the blanket.
"Libby, bring my lantern over here," Matt said. "Then we can open the book." Libby set the lantern down next to the blanket the she sat down next
To Matt. "Ready?" Matt asked. He grabbed the cover of the book, but stopped before opening it to exchange worried glances with Libby. "Here we go."
The cover opened, puffing out a cloud of dust. They choked on the dust. "Hey," Libby exclaimed after the dust had settled. "The cover's still on!"
"But we still haven't turned any of the pages," Matt said. "Hey, this book belonged to my Great-great Granddad! This is old!" Matt turned the next page carefully.

Dear Diary,

Today I got the new horse. His name is Max. He is the sweetest little thing you have ever met. He will ask you for a scratch behind the ears and will not let you leave until you give it to him.
I plan on training him for the show someday. Maybe he will be ready to compete in a couple of years. We might win something, too! That is, if Jerry does not win it first. That Jerry will learn his lesson some day!
-Pete

"Cool! It's Granddad's diary!"
"I thought he was your Great-great Granddad," Libby asked.
"He is. I call all my Grandpas Granddad, no matter how many greats there are before it," Matt explained. "Want to read some more?"
"Sure! I'd like to know who that Jerry is," said Libby.
"Me too," agreed Matt.
Just then, a call came from upstairs. "Matt, Libby! Where are you two?" It was Mrs. Delgado and she sounded pretty worried.
"We'll read more later, OK?" Matt said.
"Yeah. Let's go upstairs. It's kind of cold down here anyway."

When they reached the steps, Mrs. Delgado saw them. "Where were you two? We've looked all over! I was starting to get worried." She put her hands on her hips and stared at them. Don't scare me like that again, OK?"
"We're really sorry, Mom. I was just showing Libby the kittens. Libby looked at Matt in surprise. She didn't know the Delgado's had kittens. She thought Matt's brother was allergic.
Matt winked at her.
"Oh!" Mrs. Delgado smiled. "Aren't they the cutest little things, Libby? Matt got them from his cousin, Allan. We wouldn't have kept them, but Brent was off at soccer camp and he rarely goes into the basement."
"Yes, they are cute." Brent was Matt's brother. "Is Brent back from camp yet?" asked Libby.
"I was calling you two because we're going to his soccer game tonight. Are you coming?" Libby looked at Matt, and he looked sideways at her.
"Actually, Mom, I think we'll stay here. We would like to play with the kittens some more. Libby said she knows how to teach them tricks, don't you Lib?"
Libby was confused, but she went along with Matt. "Um, yeah. You know, like sit and stay."
"Looks like you two will be busy then. Well, we're leaving in 10 minutes, so I guess I had better get dinner ready for you. How's hot dogs?"
"Sounds great, Mom. We'll be upstairs," Matt said quickly. Then he pulled Libby upstairs after him. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to make you so confused."
"What was that all about anyway? Kittens?"
"I needed to make something up so we could stay. Don't you get it? We can go in Granddad's room and read until they get home!"
"Can I see the kittens?"
"I bet we could find Granddad's first diary and we could read through his whole life!" Matt said, not hearing Libby.

As they headed to the kitchen, Mr. Delgado came out of his room with a camera and a roll of film. "Now, you two behave yourselves while we're gone. I don't want to come home to a mess."
Matt rolled his eyes. "Dad, you know I hate messes."
"Yes, I know. We're leaving now," he replied.
Mrs. Delgado set two plates on the table. Each had a hot dog, green peas, and a few apple slices arranged on it. "Good-bye, kids. We'll be home around 7:30, OK?"
"Sure, Mom," said Matt, sitting down in a chair. Libby sat down in the chair next to him. "Good-bye."
As soon as they left, Matt started talking about Granddad's diary again. "When do you think he started it? There sure are a lot of books down there. Hurry and eat so we can go down and read some more."
He was done long before Libby was. "Go down," said Libby. "I'll finish and then I'll come down."
Matt grinned, then raced down the stairs. Libby stared at the food in front of her. She was curious about the diaries, too. So curious she couldn't finish all her food.
She grabbed her plate, and put it on top of Matt's. Then she took them both over to the sink and ran down the stairs to the secret room.
Matt was going through the books on the shelf when Libby entered. "I think I found the first one. I'm just looking through the rest and putting them in order. Could you help me?"
"Sure. What should I do?"
"Look at the date on the first entry. Then put them in order according to the dates."
They worked for a few minutes, then put all the books back on the shelves; oldest dates first, newest last.
"This is the first one. Ready?" he opened it carefully and turned to the first entry. He started to read it out loud.

Dear Diary,
Wow! I can not believe I won this at the fair. It was really hard to beat Jerry. He is the most competitive person in all of Maysville.
When I found out that Wild Fire, my horse won the contest, I practically jumped up and down with joy! Jerry does not deserve to win.
Jerry Spidell Is my neighbor. He owns the so-called popular horse farm about a mile from us. It is called Greenleaf acres. The horses they raise are not treated with love and care. Jerry does not know the importance of love to a horse.
My farm is called Whispering Pines ranch. It is surrounded by pine trees and it seems so quiet sometimes, it seems the trees are whispering.
Right now I have 12 horses. Wild Fire is my oldest. I have had him for 20 years at least. Now I am 37, and have my own horse farm.
I used to live with my parents at Rolling Hills, their farm. I have always dreamed of moving here. I used to come here as a boy.
But all this does not matter, because this diary has a secret. If anyone besides me shall happen to open this diary and read its pages can use the magic. please do not use it unless you have a very important reason. It can only be used once, and if you use the magic up the diaries and this room in which you found the diary will disappear.
In the back pages of this book you will find a key. You will need it. Place this book on the bookshelf. Put the key into the lock on the left side and turn it to the right. You will be brought back in time to live in the world of my diary. You may bring with you one guest. Please do not let anyone else know about this secret or these books will be destroyed!

Matt stopped reading and flipped to the back of the book. There was no key! An empty loop of ribbon indicated that there was one long ago.
"Where could it have gone?" he asked.
"Maybe someone used it," Libby suggested.
"Impossible. Granddad said if the magic is used up, all the diaries disappear. And they're here; right in our hands! That's it, we have to find this key!"
Libby held up her hand to stop him. "Wait, what's your reason?"
"What are you talking about?" His face scrunched up in frustration. He wanted to find the key so bad, but Libby had understood what Matt's granddad had meant when he wrote in his diary.
"He said, 'Don't use it unless you have a very important reason.' If you ask me, this does not seem like a very important reason to go into your granddad's diary."
Matt grinned sheepishly. "I guess I wasn't really listening to what I was reading after I read the part about the magic. Okay, then where's the key?"
"Well, maybe it only shows up when you have an 'important reason'. Or. hang on a minute."
Matt watched as Libby moved to the bookshelf and grabbed the newest book off the shelf, the last of granddad's diaries, and opened it to the last page. Sure enough, there were false pages in the back, with a compartment big enough for a key.

"Matt, I found it!"
He stood up immediately and bent down to look at the key. It was silver, with a gold engraving of a horse on the handle. There were two teeth on the end of the key, and together they formed a fork.
"All right, Libby! I say we keep it in there and read all these diaries. What about you?"
All of a sudden, the front door opened. Matt shoved the book on the shelf and pulled Libby out of the room. They rushed to the den and. Matt handed Libby a kitten and took one for himself.
"Pretend we've been playing with them the whole time," he whispered.
"Okay," Libby said. "Let's try that one more time." Libby went along with their plan. Suddenly she stopped. "What's his name?" she whispered franticly. They could hear the basement door creak open and now footsteps were approaching the hallway that led to the den.
Libby kept her eyes on the kitten, but she was actually looking at the door of the den.
"That one's Marshmallow. You can tell by the fur; he's the only white kitten." Matt grabbed for the bag of cat treats above his head. It teetered on the shelf when his fingers brushed the bottom of it. Suddenly, the door creaked open, causing Matt to jump. The entire bag of treats broke open on his head.

Mrs. Delgado looked confused as she entered the room, seeing her son full of cat treats. But Libby had to laugh.
Soon, Matt was laughing, and after a while, Mrs. Delgado joined in.
Then Mr. Delgado joined them. "What's that smell?" They all began to laugh harder.
"Tuna!" Libby said between giggles. At that moment, Marshmallow decided to sample the treats that covered Matt's head.
Purring, he bit into one, jumped onto Matt's lap and rubbed against his arm. "I guess I'd better take a shower or these cats will be all over me through the whole night!"

When Libby was settled into bed, she fell fast asleep. But she didn't stay asleep for long. About four hours later, she woke to a sound just outside the guest room, which was where she was sleeping.
"Psst!" the sound came again. "Libby, wake up!"
She yawned and rubbed her eyes as she sat up. "Wha?" she said blankly. She was too tired to focus on anything except sleeping.
"Follow me, Libby." It was Matt. Libby tumbled sleepily out of bed and trudged to the doorway. Matt grabbed her arm and pulled her downstairs. "Wake up!"
Libby yawned again. "What are you doing? I just fell asleep, and you came in, woke me up, and I haven't a clue where you are taking me."
"Shh. they'll hear us. We're going to read the diaries." When they entered the room, Matt switched on the lantern and sat down on the blanket.
Soon, they heard scuffling above their heads. someone was awake! They had gotten through two of the diaries in the few hours. "Let's go upstairs," Matt said. He opened the door and grabbed the lantern, shoving it onto a near-by shelf, and then ran up the stairs with Libby close behind.
"What are you two doing up so early?" a voice greeted them as they entered the kitchen.
"Oh, good morning, Mom. We were just. playing with the kittens," Matt lied.
Mrs. Delgado raised an eyebrow. "Mmm. I put them in the garage last night. The garage is outside, you two were in the basement. I think you have some explaining to do."

Matt looked over at Libby; Libby looked over at Matt. What were they supposed to tell her? "Mom. it's not what you think. We were just-"
"This doesn't have anything to do with the hidden room in the basement, does it?"
Both Libby's and Matt's mouths dropped open. "You- you know about that?" Matt asked quietly.
Mrs. Delgado laughed. "You think I've lived here for 15 years and never found a secret room? I read all the diaries. I just finished the last one two years ago. It was hard to convince myself there was no magic."
"There- there isn't?"
Mrs. Delgado looked strangely at them. "You don't really believe it. do you?"
Libby and Matt nodded.
Mrs. Delgado laughed. "Well, there's only one way to find out!"
"What do you mean?" Matt said quickly. "Granddad said that we should only use it for a very important reason!"
"Oh, but I do have a reason! You see, your Granddad had written in his last entry that he had made a bet with Jerry Spidell, and he lost it.. And his ranch."
"Are you saying we could go back into the time of Granddad's diary and- and change the way that ended?" Libby asked.
"Exactly! What do you two say? Is it worth a try?"
When they had gotten into the secret room and found the key, they read the directions in Granddad's diary and suddenly the room began to shake. The walls crumbled. and then it all went blank.
A horse whinnied. Hooves could be heard pounding the ground. Matt and Libby opened their eyes.
"Libby, where's my mom?" Matt was saying. Suddenly he put a hand to his forehead. "I completely forgot. the diary said we could bring one guest. That would mean only two people can go into the diary."
"Well, she must be back in the secret room, then. So let's not worry about it. We've got to do what we've got to do. Let's find your Granddad."
They both looked around themselves. A sign told them they were at Granddad's ranch. All around them were corrals with horses in them. Some where galloping in the fields, some were eating or drinking, and some were being ridden.
A man wearing a cowboy hat and boots rode up to them. "And who may I ask are you two youngsters?" He asked in his southern accent. "I don't appreciate visitors during rodeo preparation."
"Are you- are you Pete, by any chance?" Matt asked.
"Yes-sir-ree, and you are?"
"Your Great-Great-Great- oh, I don't know, but I'm your grandson. We read your diaries and we decided to help you win the bet."
"Please, Mr. Delgado. We really want to help you!" Libby said when he looked strangely at them.
"Well, that would explain the strange clothes. But what do you kids think you can do about it? Can you ride?"
"Well. no. But we-"
"Well, then I suggest you get over there to Bill and he'll saddle up a couple o' horses for you. He'll tell you the basics, then you can follow me."
Matt and Libby smiled and then did as Granddad said. Bill chose two horses for them. One was a beautiful paint gelding with a big brown patch on his rump The other was a buckskin mare.
After they had mounted and Bill had given them a quick lesson, telling them how to walk, lope, turn, and stop, they hurried back over to Granddad, who was waiting for them by last corral.
"You two ready?"
"Sure, what do we have to do exactly?" Matt asked.
Granddad laughed. "You've got to help me win the bet. Spidell bet me that I couldn't round up 200 heads of cattle to his pasture by the end of the day. If I lose, he gets my ranch. All you've got to do is keep the cattle from straying. I'll do the rest. Ready?"
"No! We-"
But Granddad was already headed down the road to Jerry's ranch. It was at least 15 miles until they reached the ranch. Even then, they had to head out to the winter pasture- which was where the cattle were grazing- which was over 10 miles away.
Matt and Libby were getting tired already, when they hadn't even begun yet! Finally, they started the round-up.
Matt and Libby stayed on each side of the herd, while Granddad stayed in the back, riding back and forth to move the cattle. When one began to stray, Libby or Matt rode in its path to keep it with the herd.
It was almost sun-down, and they had another mile to go. "Let's get a move-on!" Granddad yelled.

When all the cattle had been herded into Jerry's summer pasture, they rode down the path to his ranch. Libby and Matt couldn't stop smiling, but Granddad looked grim. The sun had already gone down when they reached the house.
"I see you got some help with ya'" Jerry said, loping up the path. "I guess I'm going to have to let you keep the ranch, huh?"
"I don't think you have the heart to do that." Granddad said.
"Well, a bet's a bet. and it looks as if you've won this one. But not next year. No-sir-ree! I'll have over 300 head cattle next year. I'll win sooner or later!"
Granddad led them home, but soon everything began to shake again. Then it went black. Matt and Libby opened their eyes to a different home than the Delgado's had lived in before.
"It looks as if Granddad's bet has changed how our lives are," Matt said. His home now was in the country, where there were about 20 different corrals and 2 pastures on either side of the house.
"Look!" Matt exclaimed. "It's the paint gelding I rode at Granddad's ranch!"
"And the buckskin!"
They looked at each other. Somehow, they knew what each other was thinking. "Should we?" Matt asked.

They both ran off when Libby nodded and mounted their horses. Then they rode off to explore the woods behind the house.