Sweetheart, Sweetheart by Bernard Taylor

Author:Bernard Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw
Publisher: Valancourt Books
Published: 2015-07-13T04:00:00+00:00

19

In seconds I was through the gate and running as fast as I could down the road and into the field. Up ahead the horse plunged onwards, and I ran in its wake, following its track in the wheat, and watching as it got further and further away from me with every second, eventually seeing it disappear from my sight into the trees at the far edge of the field. I ran on through the broken wheat, cursing my deformity and my unrhythmic stride. The ground was rough beneath my inadequate sandals; I felt about as nimble as if I were trying to make progress through molasses.

Slowing, at last, I came to a stop and stood gasping for breath, looking about me. Down to my right the fields and hedges fell steeply away towards where the village lay; I could see the road winding by at the foot of the steep slope. There was no sign anywhere though of the horse or its rider. I called out wildly, “She­lagh!” and heard nothing in return but the sound of birds crying and my own breathing. And then suddenly, there on the horizon I saw the horse break from cover and come charging out into the open. Right there where the earth met the sky it reared up—the size of a toy in the distance—then whirled and took off down the hill towards the road below.

My heart was thudding from my exertions, and now my rising fear only increased that thudding; I knew that once the horse got well set on its course, with its own weight bearing it on, there would be nothing anyone could do to stop it. I swerved to the right, keeping ahead of it, my fear and desperation keeping me balanced somehow. And seeing the mare taking a semi-circular route I increased my speed, feeling the flesh bouncing on my cheeks as I ran on in the desperate hope of heading her off.

Coming up against the hedge at the end of the wheatfield I didn’t hesitate but scrambled through, while the briars tore at my skin and petals of dog roses fell about me like a gentle shower of pink snow. In the ditch beyond I tripped and sprawled, got up and out and ran on again, pounding over coarse grass, leaving the wheatfield further and further behind.

Up ahead I could see the road clearly now; it wasn’t more than two hundred yards away. And I was still in front of the horse. Half turning, briefly, it looked now as if it was coming straight at me, and only moments later I heard the thundering of its hooves. She­lagh, I saw as the horse came on, had thrown herself forward over its neck and was frantically clinging on with both hands, while the reins and the stirrups danced, madly, useless.

The horse drew closer still, and I put on a spurt; I had to try to keep level with it—if only for a couple of seconds; the hard surface of the road was just beyond the hedge, too near, too dangerously near.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.