The Black Stallion Mystery by Walter Farley

Author:Walter Farley [Farley, Walter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-80501-0
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2011-08-16T16:00:00+00:00

BLACK ART

14

That evening Alec looked out his bedroom window into the night. Under the brilliance of a full moon the pasture grass held a tinge of green-gray. It was a peaceful mountain scene but it offered him little comfort. He hadn’t forgotten the new and dangerous note in Abd-al-Rahman’s voice when the Sheikh had suggested sending the Black after Ziyadah, perhaps that very night.

Alec had no doubt that his horse could run down Ziyadah if he had an even chance. The Black, too, had run wild much of his life and he had run to kill other horses. But how would he go with Alec on his back? And was it worth the chance they’d be taking in running over such terrain?

Alec looked up at the great mountain silhouetted against the sky, its peaks mounting like turrets into the stars, and then down at the gardens where hidden floodlights played upon the fishponds and fountains. As he took deep breaths of the cool air he watched the bats and birds that flew bewilderedly in the glare of the fountain lights. With his eyes he followed the curving jets of water that rose from the mouths of marble lions and tigers, of crocodiles and eagles. He listened to the sound of it falling into green pools, and he thought of Tabari, who had created this enchantment. For whom? Certainly not her husband. For herself then? To keep busy while Abd-al-Rahman sought Ziyadah?

Turning away from the window, Alec stepped from an alcove into the large bedroom. Tabari had furnished it with a brass bed and choice pieces of mahogany furniture that had evidently been imported from England. Scattered over the stone floor were thick, hand-woven rugs of soft colors. A fire burned in the fireplace to take the evening chill from the room, its flames sending a hollow roar up the wide chimney.

A large bathroom, with doors of padded leather, separated Alec’s room from Henry’s. Now, as the boy walked into the adjoining room, his friend said, “Put another log on that fire, will you please, Alec?”

Henry, in the pajamas and robe Abd-al-Rahman had loaned him, was already in bed, trying to read. His gray eyes seemed paler and he was shivering.

“Are you all right?” Alec asked anxiously. The room was warm and the top logs in the fireplace were blazing. But he obediently put another log on as Henry had asked.

“Sure, just a little chill. I was thinkin’ about being out in that cold last night. I guess that brought it on.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Look at me now, stretched out in the lap of luxury.” He waved a hand toward his bedside table, which held a steaming tray. “The Sheikh sent Homsi up with chocolate. Have some? There’s plenty and he brought an extra cup for you.”

“No, thanks,” Alec answered. Besides the hot chocolate there were dates, bread and honey. Henry looked very small in the big bed. A table in the center of the room was littered with

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