In a way they were very much alike, disdaining the company of other men for that of their horses.

Yet, Alec thought, how strange it was that he wanted to return when he had been so alarmed before. He looked into the captain’s dark, unblinking eyes as the man rose to join him.

“You are welcome any time,” the captain said, “but I had hoped you would stay even longer.”

The rays of the sun were still streaming through the small windows, but there was another clap of thunder in the distance.

“I don’t want to get caught in a storm,” Alec said. “I’ll get back late as it is. They’ll be worrying about me.”

Alec opened the door and the heat outside was scorching. To the south, just above the saw-grass spears, a heavy blanket of clouds shone in a bizarre light.

“I doubt it will rain, as much as we need it,” the captain said, following Alec down the steps. “Perhaps some wind and heat lightning but no rain certainly. I feel none in the air.”

Alec shrugged his shoulders. “The lightning will be quite bad enough,” he said. “I don’t mind getting wet—it’s lightning that really shakes me up.”

“You’re afraid?” the captain asked, a note of surprise in his voice. “You who have the courage to race?”

Alec smiled at the comparison but did not slow his strides. “A storm and a race are two different things,” he said, “calling for two different kinds of courage, if you wish to call it that. I’m afraid of lightning because I’ve seen too many animals killed in pasture by it, and my horse and I have had some terrible experiences in storms. They’re not easy to forget.”

“Then I wish you would stay,” the captain said hopefully. “You may be right about this storm. See how the thunderheads are coming this way!”

Alec glanced at the sky to the south, then back to meet the captain’s searching gaze. He wasn’t afraid of him any longer, but something brooded in those eyes. They held a hooded look, as if the man wanted something but would not divulge what it was.

Was it that he and the captain were wary and suspicious of each other, friendly but on guard? There was no doubt that the captain wanted him to stay, and perhaps that had been his intention when he’d shown him the old prints. But why did the captain want him there when it was evident that he was most happy alone? Otherwise, he would not be in such a remote place.

There was much Alec wanted to know but he had run out of time. Perhaps, as he’d told the captain, he’d come back another day. His strides lengthened until he was in a half-run. He wanted to reach his horse and get away immediately. It would give him time to decide whether or not he should return at all.

THE STORM
6

Thunder rolled and the fast-moving clouds began to blot out the afternoon sun. Alec ran faster toward the shed where he had left the Black. A storm at sea had brought him and his horse together and he’d never forget it. There had been other storms during his travels, almost as bad, and he knew how he reacted to them. It was not a softness he was ashamed of but an acceptance of a new way of life. His fear of storms was locked tightly inside him and he could do nothing about it.

“At least wait until the storm passes,” the captain said, running alongside.

“I think I’ll be able to make it.”

“As you wish,” the captain answered.

A ragged, violet lightning flash split the sky as they approached the shed. It shook them both and Alec could not hide the fear in his eyes.

“You’ll never be able to outride it,” the captain said. “You and your horse will be much safer under cover. It might well be over in a few minutes.”

Alec looked southward.