That he should find such a stallion now, after so many years of searching, was still another sign that pointed the way for him. He was determined that nothing would keep him from acquiring the Black for his mare. He was a man who took what he wanted. He was as remorseless as he was powerful.

The applause continued long after he stepped behind the black velvet curtain, but he did not return to acknowledge it.

THE BLACK STALLION
2

The stallion tossed his head, sniffing the spring air with dilated nostrils. He was a coal-black silhouette against the golden light of early morning. Within his great body was a fierce, insistent, almost intolerable longing for a mate. He became more excited than ever when the wind brought the sharp odor of mares to him from a distant pasture.

He gave a sudden shrill neigh which was clearly meant for the mares he could not see but knew were there. He gathered himself, rocked back on his hindquarters, and plunged forward. The morning echoed to the wild pounding of his hoofs as he raced down the field, his black mane and long, thick tail gleaming brilliantly in the sun.

He kept close to the arrow-straight fence which separated him from other paddocks and fields like his own, all green with lush grass. When he came to the end he stretched his head high, peering over the top board.

Now he could see the mares and he shrilled again the high, clear note of the stallion—challenging and passionate and urgent with life. His calls shattered the morning stillness and some of the mares raised their heads and turned his way. A few began to gallop in wide circles but the majority continued grazing as if they had not heard his love call. He repeated his clear, happy neigh of desire, hoping to attract the running mares—but soon they, too, turned away from him and continued grazing.

In ever-mounting fury and frustration he raced back and forth along the high fence, displaying all his speed and strength and fire. When he stopped it was only to paw the ground and send clods of earth flying. His neigh changed with his stomping; it became more metallic and threatening, more demanding than loving.

The mares raised their heads again and listened. They saw the stallion in all his maturity and masterfulness. They listened to his calls, which rang so defiantly across the field. Then, as one, they took flight, streaming away from him in a tangle of bodies and plunging hoofs.

He watched them go, his eyes sparkling with a savage fire. He continued snorting and the veins beneath his silken coat swelled. He rushed madly in a wild gallop that sent the earth flying from his hoofs.

Later, when his anger was spent, he sought the shade of a towering oak tree. There he carefully lowered his body to the ground. He rolled over, his legs hanging limply in the air, and rubbed his back and hindquarters against the cool turf.

Alec Ramsay had watched his horse from a perch on the top board of the fence. “Is that the way to behave?” he called to the Black. “You should know better.”

The stallion continued rolling, paying no attention to him. It didn’t matter; Alec had learned long ago to speak to the Black whether or not the stallion listened.

Alec smelled the pungent odor of steaming cane juice in the air and looked beyond the green carpet of fenced pastures to the tall chimneys of a distant sugar mill. Long columns of gray smoke floated and wavered above the stacks, scenting the land with an almost overpowering sweetness. Sugarfoot Ranch was an appropriate name for this place, he decided.

After having spent the previous two months in the teeming coastal city of Miami, Alec had not expected south-central Florida to be as enjoyable as it was. Most winter visitors, like himself, were lured to the coastal areas and never saw the vast, sparsely populated region on the edge of the Everglades.

He turned his face to the tropical sun, enjoying it and the peaceful quiet. His hard body beneath T-shirt and jeans was as brown as his face. He was thoroughly happy with his well-earned vacation after the grueling races at Hialeah Park in Miami.