With their plans for the afternoon set, the group broke up. Sarah and George got Miss Jones and Miss Morgan trussed up and leashed and led them off to get harnessed up. The teens waved as they set off, wishing them a good ride.

“So...” Tommy said to Michelle, when the adults had vanished from view. “Why don’t we head down to the corral with these to.”

“Sounds good...” His sister replied, “but I’m sort of worried out new friends might get lost along the way.” She grinned mischievously, eyeing Nicole and Rachel.

Nicole smiled back. “Oh? And what are you going to do to stop that?” She asked sarcastically, guessing what the answer would be.

She guessed right. Before the two friends could say another word, the ropes had come out again and the two of them had their hands tied behind their backs. After that, saying another word became distinctly impossible as both were soon securely gagged with bandannas. A second set of bandannas went over their eyes, leaving them in the dark.

“Don’t worry...” Michelle told her, taking hold of Nicole by the upper arm. “It’s not that far away...” Nearby, Tommy grabbed Rachel the same way. She was probably telling the truth, Nicole guessed, but with the blindfolds on and their usual way of distorting direction and distance, it certainly felt like they were being led all over the place by their captors/guides. Of course, for all she knew the two were leading them in circles. The two captive teens certainly had no way of knowing, and no way of doing anything about it if they were.

Finally, they were brought to a halt. Nicole felt hands going to the knot at the back of her head and the blindfold fell away. When she opened her eyes, blinking a bit, she found they’d been brought to another barn, a modern steel frame construction which, judging from the smell and the occasional moo coming from somewhere nearby, was currently in use housing livestock.

The four of them were standing at the gate to a large pen, currently empty. The bottom of the pen was covered in a layer of soft, loose dirt. “This is where we come to practice our calf roping skills.” Michelle explained. “We’ve got a rodeo coming up next month and we need all the practice we can get, you see.”

“Calf roping is really simple.” Tommy picked up from his sister. “The calf goes into the pen first, then we chase after it.” As he continued to explain, he walked over to where several ropes were looped over a hook. “The goal is to get the calf stopped and hogtied in as short an amount of time as possible.”

Nicole looked around, but didn’t see any calves around. It took her a moment to realize: she and Rachel were going to be the calves here. “You’re job is quite simple...” Michelle said, untying Nicole’s hands. “When one of us says go, you start running towards the other end...” She giggled. “We’ll take care of the rest!” She finished untying Rachel. In the meantime, Tommy had the ropes tied into a pair of lariats.

“So who would like to go first?”

Rachel, always eager, practically jumped forward, one arm shooting up. She’d taken a couple of steps before Tommy stopped her. “Give us a chance to figure out who’ll be chasing you!” He laughed. Turning to his sister, he asked, “Would you like to go first?”

Michelle nodded. “Best time gets to do whatever they want with our little “calves” while the other gets to muck out the barn this afternoon.”

Tommy grinned. “Sounds perfect to me!”

“And what happens if we win?” Nicole asked, speaking up. “Or can we win this?”

Michelle smiled back at her. “Oh? I guess it’s only fair...” She thought a moment. “My best time at the rodeo last year as 11.3 seconds. Tommy’s was 14.2.”

“And you’re never going to let me forget that...” Tommy muttered behind her.

Ignoring him, Michelle continued, “If either of you can beat those times...” She smiled. “Then we’re your prisoners for the afternoon and you can do what you like with us. Fair?”

“Fair.” Nicole and Rachel both agreed. Michelle got out her phone, ready to watch the time. Rachel got into a runner’s position, waiting for the signal while Tommy calmly looped his lariat in one hand, getting ready to throw.

“Ready...set...Go!” Michelle cried and Rachel dashed forward. A few seconds later, she gave the signal for Tommy as well. Rachel was a dozen paces ahead of him, but it wasn’t quite far enough. Whirling the rope over his head, Tommy got up some speed and then let it fly. Neatly, the open loop dropped over Rachel. When it was just above her mid section, Tommy pulled, yanking the lariat tight. Rachel took two more steps before the rope now tethering her to Tommy snapped taut, yanking her back. She lost her balance and fell onto her back.

In a flash, Tommy had closed the distance, taking in rope, hand over fist, to keep it taut. Before Rachel could get up, he was over her, grabbing her hands and then ankles, wrapping several loops around both until they were all joined together.

“And time!” Michelle said, pressing stop on her phone. On the ground, Rachel kicked and bucked, but despite the rush in which she’d been trussed she wasn’t having much luck getting loose. While she squirmed on the ground, Tommy walked back to the fence and took up a second lariat. “Your turn.” He said, smiling at Nicole.

Nicole nodded, getting set to run. She listened for Michelle’s shout to start. The second she heard it, Nicole took off, running at a slight angle, to steer clear of where Rachel was still feebly struggling in her hogtie. Behind the teen, she heard Tommy start forward, the whistling of the rope through the air as he whirled the lasso.

Having seen what happened with Rachel, Nicole thought she might try and dodge at the last moment, throw off his aim. Unfortunately, something about the way she ran, looking to the right, or her body started to turn tipped him off what she was planning and before he threw he had time to correct his aim. Nicole gave a cry as she saw the lasso go over her. Then all of a sudden, it snapped taut.

In that second, she managed to stop running, knowing it wouldn’t do her any good, and Nicole planted her feet in the soft dirt. As a result, she didn’t lose her feet, but she still wound up with her arms cinched tight to her sides, tethered to Tommy by the long rope which shrank, foot by foot as he steadily advanced, keeping the lead taut. Tug as she did against the rope, Nicole couldn’t get away from him and soon enough he was right beside her.

“Sorry ‘bout this.” He said, reaching over and scooping Nicole up in his arms. “But I’m on the clock.” He knelt down, rolling Nicole onto the ground, on her belly. From her position, she couldn’t see anything, but felt him grab her right ankle, quickly looping the rope around it. Though she kicked, her left legs was trapped just as quickly.

“Time!” Michelle cried. On the ground, Nicole gave a few bucks, pulling hard at the ropes which encircled her, but she had to admit she was caught.

“Not bad with that dodge.” Tommy told her as he stood up. He turned to Michelle. “See if you can beat those!”

“Gladly! Why don’t you get our two calves on their feet.” His sister replied. Tommy nodded, bending over. As quickly as he had tied Nicole’s hands and feet, it was just as quick releasing her. She got to her feet, stretching out sore limbs. Tommy went over and untied Rachel as well. The two teens went back to their starting position at the gate, where Tommy and Michelle stood ready, Tommy now with the phone to serve as stopwatch, Michelle getting the first lariat ready, making sure it wasn’t tangled and when the time came, she could throw it clean and straight and catch the two of them.

“Annnnd...go!” Tommy shouted. Rachel sprang forward, ducking forward slightly, ready to dodge when she thought Michelle was about to throw. A few seconds after, the calf-roper leapt into action, lasso whirling over her head. She paused just a second, taking her aim, then let it fly.

Rachel was slow to dodge and just as before was quickly lassoed around the middle and jerked off her feet. Before she could get back up, Michelle sprang on her, grabbing her wrists first, looping the long rope around one, then another, keeping each coil tight so  they would slip loose as she turned and grabbed for the kicking teen’s feet. Faster even then Tommy had, Michelle got Rachel pulled back into a tight hogtie.

Then it was Nicole’s turn. The second she heard Tommy shout “go!” she threw herself into a sprint, listening for the sound of Michelle following after her, whirling up the lasso and letting it fly. She ducked suddenly, trying to dodge to the right this time, but again Michelle seemed to have been warned by her body language and the lariat dropped over her head and shoulders.

Michelle waited a second longer then Tommy had to pull and when it cinched tight, it closed around her thighs, just above the knees, pulling them together suddenly. The teen came to am immediate halt, arms pinwheeling as she struggled to keep her balance, a struggle she finally lost, toppling over onto her belly. Fortunately, she was able to stagger her fall, so it didn’t hurt.

Just as before, Nicole’s captor was on her in a flash, taking up the slack rope, grabbing Nicole’s ankles, already forced close together by the lasso, and looping the rope around them once…twice…three times, then grabbing for her hands to lash them with the rope. Nicole gave a groan as she was bent back into a hogtie. Michelle stepped back to admire her handiwork. Though Nicole kicked and bucked, the ropes remained solid. She was caught once again.

“And time!” Tommy called. Nicole heard Michelle walk back to the gate. She could only squirm as the two put their heads together, comparing their times. After a minute, Michelle gave a loud whoop. “I beat you by 2.3 seconds!”

Her brother groaned. “Never going to hear the end of this now, am I?”

“Enjoy your afternoon in the barn!” His sister teased back. Nicole heard her walk back over. “Now, since I’ve got you two for the afternoon, what shall we do?” At her feet, Nicole twisted her hands and feet but she was no nearer to getting free. “Oh I know...” Michelle said, looking back over her shoulder at Tommy, who was trudging glumly towards the stables with a shovel. “It’s sooooo hot out and you two are all dirty from being hogtied like that, why don’t we head down to the pond and get you out of those dirty clothes and cool off with some skinny dipping!”

Nicole’s cheeks flushed a bit. Meanwhile, Tommy groaned. “awwww...sis...”

Michelle giggled, bending down. She grabbed the end of the lasso and pulled. Where Nicole had struggled the last few minutes and not budged them, it only took Michelle a few seconds to loosen the overlapping loops of rope and free Nicole. Before the teen to get up, Michelle had grabbed her wrists again and lashed them together again, more securely, with the rope. She pulled Nicole to her feet, then did the same with Rachel. Taking the rest of the lengths of rope in one hand, Michelle flicked them. “Alright girls, let’s go!”

Michelle led the other two away from the barn. To Nicole’s relief, before heading to the small, shaded swimming hole on the property, they swung by the campsite where Michelle untied them so she and Rachel could duck into the tent, one at a time, and change into their swimsuits. At the pond, Michelle stripped off her shirt and pants. She’d thought ahead and worn her bikini under them. After a long, hot morning and afternoon, jumping into the cool water felt like heaven.

When they’d been splashing around for fifteen minutes or so, they heard a sound through the trees, the tramping of feet, jingling of metal and quiet whirring of wheels. A second later, a small two-wheeled cart came into view through the trees. Hitched to the front were Miss Jones and Miss Morgan. They’d been stripped down to their underwear and over that a complex leather harness wrapping their bodies in a web of straps. Their arms were locked behind their backs in a pair of armbinders and they had bits between their teeth.

Riding in the cart behind was George and Sarah. George held two sets of reins which ran to the head harnesses on the two ponygirls while Sarah held a long bullwhip which fortunately seemed to be more for show. She cracked it high in the air with a shout and judging from the lack of welts on the backs of the pony team, nothing else.

“Hey girls!” Sarah called as they rolled up towards the pond. “We figured we’d take a break and water the ponies. Guess you had the same idea.” Her husband tugged gently on the reins, bringing the cart to a slow stop. Miss Jones and Miss Morgan stood at attention, panting slightly while the other two adults dismounted. George went to release the two ponygirls from the cart while his wife ducked behind a stand of bushes to get changed into her own swimsuit.

Pretty soon, the four adults had joined the girls in the bond, swimming and playing around. Tommy showed up not long after, having put in a tremendous effort to clear out the barn as quickly as possible and hurry over. If he was at all disappointed to find the girls were not, in fact, skinny dipping after all, he hide it well, changing into his swimsuit and joining the rest of them in the pond.

They swam until the evening then climbed out to dry off and change back into their regular clothes. Miss Jones and Miss Morgan were against hitched up to bring the cart back to its storage shed while the rest headed back to the house where they grilled out hamburgers. Later, when they had finished, Sarah turned to Nicole and Rachel. “So, do you want to go back to your campsite? Or the barn again?” It didn’t take them long to think. “Barn.” They both said, grinning.

Sarah grinned, leading them back towards the barn. “Turn around and put your hands behind your backs.” She ordered, grabbing rope from a box near the door. Grinning, the teens did so. As they did, they saw Miss Jones and Miss Morgan had already been tied up and laid down on a pair of blankets. Two more waited next to them for the teens.

Sarah grabbed Nicole’s wrists, crossing them, then began looping the rope around, snug but not tight. She did the same with Rachel. “Open up!” Sarah ordered. As Nicole did, a rolled up bandana was brought down over her head from behind and pulled between her lips. A second went over her eyes, leaving her in darkness. When Sarah had done the same with Rachel, the two were led over and helped down onto the makeshift bedding for the night.

Nicole felt the rope tighten around her ankles, then Sarah withdrew, leaving the four captives to squirm and struggle happily until they fell asleep. “Shame we have to head back tomorrow...” Nicole thought. But she knew this was one camping trip she’d remember for a long time...