The Black Stallion and the Girl by Walter Farley

Author:Walter Farley [Farley, Walter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-80499-0
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2011-08-16T16:00:00+00:00

“I GIVE YOU ARCTURUS”

14

It was late evening, the day of his return to Aqueduct, when Alec drove down the country road leading to Hopeful Farm. Reaching the main gate, he stopped the car and climbed the board fence. He paused on the top rail.

The fields and lower woods lay in ghostly silence before him, draped in a lightly veiled mist. Sounds carried easily across the silence. He heard the sharp neighs of mares, followed almost instantly by the nickerings of foals and the clatter of hoofs.

He had called Pam from New York, and had told her he’d be up right away. She had said that, if it was after dark, he would find her with Black Sand at a spring-fed pool they both knew well.

Alec jumped to the ground and walked across the pasture, his arms swinging loosely against his thin but hard frame. Like a smooth-gaited animal he moved quickly through the night mist, his nostrils sniffing the scents of pasture grasses and the warm bodies of horses. He could see the dark figures of broodmares and their suckling foals. The joy and excitement of being home and seeing Pam again grew with every stride.

His gaze followed the cleanliness of the white fences and well-cared-for fields. Unfortunately, Henry was right, he decided; they needed to win big purses to keep the farm going. It was not something on which they could lose money and charge off the loss on their tax returns, as did wealthy sportsmen who bred and raced horses for the fun of it. While such people were important, they were not the backbone of racing, as many thought. No, it was horsemen like Henry who carried most of the burden, and they waged war against each other to make a profitable living for themselves and the thousands they employed at farms and tracks.

Alec wondered if Pam would ever accept such materialistic goals and remain with him. She was still trying to make this the best of all possible worlds, while he was willing to accept it as the only world he had and make the best of it. Maybe they could reach a compromise.

The mist lifted and he could see the starry sky. It was a beautiful night. Peaceful. Healthy. Friendly. He climbed another fence and broke into a run, breathing deeply the air that was so cool and light.

“I’m back, Pam!” he called aloud, and then laughed because he knew she was still too far away to hear him.

Finally, tall trees loomed before him, like arrows aimed at the night sky. He slowed to a walk as he entered the woods that were part of the lower field. The light from the stars filtered through the beeches and elms and pines, making it easy for him to follow the path. He came to a large pool, fed by a spring, where he found her.

She was sitting on the ground, her back against the trunk of a tree and her head turned toward Black Sand drinking at the pool.

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