He had given him a little grain, a little water, nothing more.

Long hours and miles passed as their flight progressed ever westward. The tall stallion had his eyes closed. Alec went over to the bucket seat at the side of the stall. He put a blanket on the metal seat and sat down, trying to make himself comfortable. He closed his eyes, but couldn’t sleep. So he thought again of the new life that would begin for him and the Black within a few more hours. Or really had begun! Their old life at the farm was already many hours behind them.

Here he was alone with his horse, the finest stallion in the world and still the fastest. Henry might not think so. Henry would say that there never had been a horse with more speed than Satan, never would be. And the racing world would probably agree with him. But with Satan retired from racing, the fans would forget him, too, just as they had the Black. There were younger horses coming up each year to hold their attention. New track records were already being made. New champions were being crowned. Night Wind, owned by the High Crest Ranch in Texas, had been named “Horse-of-the-Year” after last winter’s racing campaign. Soon the track experts would think of Satan only as a sire, just as they did the Black. There was no doubt that the Black was already proclaimed by all as a great sire. He had given them the champions Satan and Bonfire and Black Minx, and in the paddocks back at the farm were other colts and fillies, all promising in their own right.

But for a while, Alec thought, I can forget all that. Now the Black can be just another horse, roaming at will and running as he was born to run. No duties, no routines, no schedules.

Suddenly their steady flight was disturbed. The plane bucked, almost sending Alec out of his seat. There was a scrambling of the Black’s hoofs as he sought to keep his balance. The plane leveled off, only to lurch again a few moments later. Alec left his seat to go to the Black’s head. He was quieting him when the compartment door opened and the captain came inside.

“There’s a storm to our south,” he said. “We’re skirting the edges of it. Had to change our course and come up more to the north.”

“Where are we now?” asked Alec.

“Over western Nebraska. I doubt that the weather will get any rougher than it is now, but maybe you’d better sit down and fasten your seat belt.”

“No, I’d better stick close to him,” Alec said.

“Is he all right?”

Alec nodded. “Just a little uneasy.”

After the captain left, Alec stayed close to the Black, talking to him constantly as the plane’s bucking continued. For over an hour it went on, and the Black didn’t like it.