“It’s the beginning, all right,” he muttered to himself. “In fact, it’s begun.…”

“What’s that, Alec?” Henry asked.

“Nothing, Henry.”

They passed the brown house, and Alec saw a light in the living room. Maybe his father was already there, or maybe it was just his mother, awaiting their return.

The van pulled up in front of the iron gate and stopped while Henry and Alec got out to open it. Then the truck rolled through slowly, and they walked behind it, up the graveled driveway toward the barn. “Napoleon still here?” Henry asked. And after Alec nodded, the old man said, “Good. He’ll help quiet down the colt, just like he did the Black.” Henry’s gaze shifted to the large house on the corner, a few hundred yards from the barn. “You think the missis will be glad to see me, Alec?” he asked, and there was a skeptical look on his wrinkled face.

Alec smiled. “Sure, Henry. You’re her husband, aren’t you?”

“Makes no difference after you’ve been married as long as we have, m’boy,” Henry replied seriously. “Besides, she never wanted me to get mixed up in big-time trainin’ again … and I went and done it, over her head.”

“Then tell her you’re through with it, Henry,” Alec suggested. “Tell her you’re quitting Boldt and coming back.”

“Good idea, Alec,” Henry said, nodding his head. “I’ll tell her first thing.”

The van backed up to the barn, and the driver sat behind the wheel, waiting for Alec and Henry to rid him of his cargo. They opened the back, put the ramp down and walked inside.

The black colt stood there in the darkness of the van, his nostrils tingling with a scent that set his blood on fire. And the fire swept through him until his black body was quivering with eagerness and his eyes glowed with hate. His ears lay back, flat against his small head, which moved from side to side defiantly. He pulled at the rope which held him tight, and as the scent grew stronger in his nostrils and the sound of footsteps reached him, he snorted and kicked out his hind legs.

“Careful, Alec,” Henry cautioned as the boy moved ahead of him. “He could do some damage if he caught you in the head.”

The colt couldn’t turn, couldn’t see behind him. Alec moved quietly to one side of the van; then, with quickness and agility, he ran forward, closing in upon the fierce head. “No you don’t, Satan,” he said, as the colt bared his teeth and attempted to bite him. Snorting, the colt tried to pull away from this person who held his head. He heaved upward, frantic for his freedom. But the pressure on his head was still there when he came down.

“Got him, Alec?” It was Henry.

“He’s quieting down. Coming out in a minute.” Alec untied the lead rope and slowly turned the colt around in the van until he faced the door. Then, still holding him close, Alec led the colt forward, down the ramp, and stopped in front of the barn door. Henry closed the van, signaled to the driver, and the truck left, rolling slowly down the driveway and through the gate.

“I’ll see if everything is okay inside,” Henry said.

“I got the stall ready this morning,” Alec told him. “We’ll put Satan in the same one the Black used, right next to Napoleon.” As Henry disappeared inside the barn, Alec pressed his head close to the colt’s. “Your pop used it,” he said softly, “… and now it’s yours.”

Henry reappeared at the door. “Okay,” he said. “Bring him in.”

Napoleon pitched his gray head over the stall door as Alec led Satan into the barn.