“I was visiting your father one day when you came into the room to show him a drawing of a pony you’d made; then you showed it to me. You sat on my lap and I told you a story about horses. It was a story based on one of Tom’s first letters to me from Antago. He had written of going to an island not far from Antago to wrangle the wild horses that were there. He described everything in great detail, including, of course, the canyon and cliff. I passed this all on to you, making it as vivid and real as I possibly could. And you and I pretended that we were with Tom, going down the canyon, watching the horses run ahead of us. We had a lot of fun making believe—” Pitch stopped and his eyes met the boy’s. “I’m sorry, Steve, real sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Pitch,” Steve said, angry with himself. “I guess I knew all the time there had to be an explanation for it all. But,” he went on, smiling a little, “I guess I was trying to convince myself that something very unusual had taken place, that for some strange reason I was being told of an island where I should go.” His voice dropped. “I suppose I even expected to find Flame here. It’s my wild imagination, Pitch. At least Dad would call it that,” he concluded bitterly.

Pitch was quiet for a while, then he said, “But there’s nothing wrong with having an imagination, Steve. Let it loose now, here on this island.” His voice became eager, excited. “Azul Island has been uninhabited by people since the days when Spain ruled the world. Think of the relics, the historical treasures we may find hidden within this canyon. We’ll look around tomorrow, Steve. We’ll do some digging, you and I!”

“Yes,” Steve said softly. “Sure, Pitch.”

THE STALLION ON THE CLIFF

4

That night Steve lay awake for a long time, his head protruding from the tent so he could watch the moon as it flooded the canyon with its light.

Why think about it any longer? he asked himself. There’s no sense to it any more. You have your explanation for it all. What more do you want? Flame? Sorry, but he’s part of your little dream too. You’ll have to give him up along with the rest. It was nice having Flame again. You felt much the same as you did when you were seven, when you first rode him through the park, didn’t you? Pitch’s picture of Azul Island brought everything back again. But Pitch’s explanation tonight brought you back to reality as well. Now you know how silly you’ve been, coming to this island in search of an imaginary horse. Too bad you can’t have him. Too bad there is no Flame.