Show M datiana 0 s TITE THE STORY STOKT THUS FAR thunder bead or the ui goblin as lie be Is commonly known Is the only white horse ever born on an the goose bur bar ranch la in wyoming he trow grows from an aa ugly misshapen colt to a powerful yearling showing more and more characteristics ol of his treat great grandsire sire a wild stallion called the he albino one day the goblin wanders southward into the mountains and finds a high valley where wild horses uve live ue ile encounters enco unten the albino and barely escapes with his life meanwhile bis big mother milcka bears another colt named touch and go goblin returns 11 s badly injured when his wounds are healed ken mclaughlin his my 12 year earold old owner begins the abo dinic difficult uit task ot of training ill him CHAPTER XII late one afternoon after an hour of such struggling a f fury ury came into ken and he began to lash thunderhead with his crop lie he lashed him until he was exhausted with his other hand he held the reins and forced the horse this way and that with his heels he spurred him tears of f weakness and rage stood in his eyes suddenly thunderhead had the impulse to obey generations of breeding had put acknowledge into him of the horses part of horsemanship a realization that obedience to a skilled rider makes one out of the two makes teamwork out of the ride something almost like a dance a performance that a horse cannot achieve alone he leaned his mouth against the feather lightness of kens hands and obedient to them exercised skills that he had never exercised before there was grace to his movement now grace and can control and technique there was joy in it he stopped fighting the bit As if he had learned all that ken had been trying to teach him or had known it all along he swung right or left at the least touch of the rein on his neck or the lean of his riders body his steps were pliant prancing he delighted in the quick easy turns in responding to the hands that lifted him into a longer and longer stride when thunderhead achieved obedience he enlarged himself the skill and the will of another being were added to his own skill and will ile he was having a new experience and it ran through his body like quicksilver he loved nell but nobody had fought him and warred with him and I 1 lashed him and taught him obedi obedience enc e but ken at last ken let him out fully and urged him with voice and hands and heels thunderhead began to run his hoofs reached forward and seized the ground with a slashing cut that barely touched and rebounded A feeling of extraordinary ease went through ken no effort was needed there was no more struggling he colt were one at last the fight was over and now this Ma mastery steryl I 1 underneath him was something of such strength and power as he had never dreamed of it surged into him it was his own A clump of rocks was ahead of them ken did not swerve the least tightening of his knees lift of his hands and the stallion sailed over hardly altering his stride the fence over there by the road take it thunderhead and the long soaring leap the light landing everything seemed different to ken he looked around he saw felt apprehended as he never had before as if he had been let into a secret world that no one else knew anything about the wind whipped his cheeks and filled his mouth and beat upon his eyeballs and whistled in his ears the pace the incredible speed I 1 the strange floating gait those long reaching strides seemed almost slow like the overhand strokes of a swimmer then the lightning quick slash at the ground and again the rush through the air no obstacles could stop him there were none they floated over them the world rolled out from under the stallions hoofs they were covering ground ken had never seen before he made no effort to guide him they were on the mountains they were in the sky clouds trees earth streamed past A group of antelopes he saw their frightened leaps their startled faces they were gone kens consciousness was fused with all that there was in the world he had gathered it in he was the pulse beat he was the kernel this is it ile he sat at the supper table that night in a dream unable to speak or eat he wondered if thunderhead would ever do it again when he had dismounted and unsaddled the colt and had stood looking into his face looking into the future his hands trembling because he knew now beyond all doubt what the horse could do he saw that thunderhead still hated him the dark white ringed eye looked at him sideways viciously how did the colt go today ken he went better dad did you get him to go forward under the saddle yes sir did you get him running sort of rob mclaughlin looked searchingly at his son he ask asked ed no more it was a warm august evening rob was driving to a ranch southwest of his own to inspect a mare lie he had been told she was a regis thoroughbred had been a racer and was for sale cheap the number of his own brood mares mares was down to sixteen they were getting old he had lost tour four in the last two years and two more must be sold before fall because they would not live through another winter on the range colorado farmers who kept a few horses stabled through the winter might buy them for the sake of the foals they would drop in the spring they would would bring very little at auction bt but it anything would be better than feeding them to the coyotes on the saddle back nell was driving with him they were on one of the back roads not much more than wheel tracks on the prairie grass it was at just that moment of the evening when headlights are of no use and daylight is not enough the car swept ahead so swiftly and at times so go roughly that nell was about to protest but one look at robs face stopped her he had his angry driving look nell withdrew a little into her own corner and sighed it might have been a pleasant evening she always enjoyed a drive at the end of the day when her work was done but if he was going to be like this gypsy long to go either cither said rob abruptly at this rate my band of brood mares will soon be cut in half you put some of the younger mares in the brood mare bunch asked nell there are those three five year olds the sorrels wonderful mares to be bred back to their own sire line breeding it z 1 4 wa I 1 A new purebred stallion exclaimed nell youre always talking about it but you cant do it indiscriminately they have to be picked individuals divi duals there one of those mares good enough What ll you do for brood mares then rob buy some more I 1 suppose the way I 1 bought all the others travel around to the race tracks pick up mares of good blood that cant race any more nell made no answer rob wanted to fight he want to see a way out or to make any compromise she changed the subject rob ive been thinking about thunderhead ken is so awfully happy about him now the speed hes developed do you think it its S absolutely necessary to geld him hes a two year old said rob harshly all the other twos are to be gelded gefded why he be ken is simply having a fit about it said nell ken is a pain in the neck besides said nell hes not really two yet just twenty two months rob explained with weary patience as if to a child of subnormal intelligence we wait until they are two to geld them in order to give their necks time to develop but thunderheads Thunder heads neck is already developed like a three year olds ile he could have been gelded gefded six months ago robs tone of voice served notice on her that he want to hear any more of that she closed her lips tight but the seething thoughts went on behind them they themselves were heading into financial disaster just as fast as they could gallop it was this fall that howard was to go east to Bost wicks preparatory school and the tuition was twelve hundred dollars and half of it had to be paid in advance where was that money going to come from and the money for his outfit and traveling expenses she dared ask rob there would have to be eight hundred dollars by september the tenth perhaps there be at the thought of abandoning their plans for the boys education her hand began to tap nervously on her knee no anything but that it would only be two years at Bost wicks and then into west point and no more expense A way must be found but that all what about their own expenses for the coming year they would need two thousand dollars to live on and there was a thousand dollars of unpaid bills hardware veterinary elevator machine repair shop and that five thousand dollar note to be paid in october it had to be paid last year the man had extended it 1 for or a year and said that was the 1 last t ti time me she sat nervously upright rob is bellamy going to take the lease for the sheep again this fall 1 I dont know asked him yet but I 1 suppose he will why the last word was shot at her belligerently well I 1 was just wondering the lease money that fifteen hundred dollars it means a good deal to us rob playfully grabbed her by the head with his free hand and shook her now youre worrying about money dont bother your little head about that ill attend to it ouch I 1 said nell catching at her head you hurt she rearranged her hair and returned to her thoughts rob of course would never see or think what he want to but suppose he were different suppose he were open minded and reasonable what ought they to do what did people do when they had spent half their lives doing something that was apparently going to bring them to the poorhouse if continued they did not fling good years after bad they changed they took another road but rob it was as if he were hypnotized as if he could not turn or change he even discuss it suddenly she felt angry here they were partners in the greatest possible enterprise ter prise family lifland life and she must suffer the consequences of failure as well as he yet he would never allow 1 discussions on unpleasant themes he would shout at her browbeat her create such friction and unpleasantness that she could not bear it it fair suddenly rob burst out 1 I can see that ive been awfully dumb what do you mean ive always thought that you were with me with you in everything I 1 did the ranch my work the horses my plans everything ery thing 10 but rob of course I 1 you used to be he interrupted 1 I dont know when you changed ive just been going along like a fool taking it for granted taking what for granted that you had confidence in me you to put it that way married people ought to talk things over with each other and you never will it that I 1 confidence in you but you that is you have no confidence in my ever making a go of the horses I 1 know I 1 will if I 1 hang on ill force it to succeed you used to know it too you were with me but you dont know it any longer nell was silent just exactly what would you like me to do he asked grimly 1 I I 1 dont know just it you dont know you dont know anything about it but while im doing all I 1 can to make a go of it lying awake nights planning how I 1 can keep up or improve my horses and find the best markets youre just sitting backs back waiting 0 for the crash so that you can pick up the pieces well she suddenly whispered we are on the downgrade have been for years youve said it yourself youre the on one e who told me youre the one chos worrying yourself sick about it and were not making any sort of change in in our lives in our plans so why expect a change in the results rob stood facing her feet apart his dark head so significant and arresting dropped on his chest the moonlight changed his ruddiness of skin to a greenish pallor suddenly nell held out her arms nothing mattered she went to him he pushed her away 41 dont nell I 1 cant stand it she backed away feeling humiliated she might have known he want comfort or coddling he w wanted a cited his head up again beafore before her but what could she do about that while she stood clasping her hands frantically together and fighting the tears that in a moment could be a flood rob walked away from her and disappeared in such moments of unendurable hurt lovers run away from each other nell walked down toward the corrals and stood against the fence presently she saw the horses approaching pro aching 0 thunderhead and touch and go he came to the fence she spoke his name and held out her hand he came close she laid her hand on his face thunderhead thunderhead he felt her grief as horses always do and shoved shaved his nose against her touch and go must do as her big brother did and pushed her nose up for petting too when nell went in half an hour later she found rob sitting in his den reading the paper knees comfortably fort ably crossed and pipe in his bis mouth TO BE CONTINUED |