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Show THE STORY THUS FAR: Thunder-bead Thunder-bead is the only white horse ever foaled on the Goose Bar ranch In Wyoming. He Is a throwback to his great grandslre, the Albino, a wild stallion. His 14-year-old owner, Ken McLaughlin, hopes that be will become a famous racer. Thunderhead Thun-derhead Is entered at a faU race meet In Idaho. He Is very fast but is hard to handle. Rob McLaughlin,. Ken's father, sells off most of his horses and goes Into sheep raising. Financial worries had created a rift between Rob and his wife, Nell, but they are reconciled. Ken and his brother, Howard, ride Into the mountains. Thunderhead breaks loose (J and Joins the herd of wild horses led by the Albino. CHAPTER XXII "Holy smoke!" he exclaimed Thunderhead and the mares disappeared dis-appeared in the twistings of the passage. pas-sage. Ken began to trot after them and Howard followed. Ken was still calling desperately, "Come, boyl Get your oats! Here Thunderhead! Oats!" The passage narrowed. They were going through the keyhole, passing directly underneath the great boulder boul-der which hung over it, and the next moment there was the wide spread of the valley before them, ghostly with a faint luminescence through which the dark forms of the horses moved like shadows. OThen light flooded the heavens and the shafts of rosy gold poured up from the rising sun to bathe the mow covered peaks of the Never-lummer Never-lummer Range. Not even the disaster of Thunder-bead's Thunder-bead's rebellion could lessen the im-nact im-nact of this sight unon Howard. tation of himself into the shining magnificence of that vision. He rushed forward. One will seemed to animate them both, for Thunderhead charged too, each flinging bared teeth at the other's back in passing. . The Albino drew first blood. A red stain sprung out on Thunder-head's Thunder-head's withers and spread slowly down his shoulder. As they passed, they whirled and reared to strike at each other with their front hoofs, reaching over the neck to land body blows that resounded re-sounded like great bass drums. Short snarling grunts were jarred from them. The Albino reached under and seized Thunderhead's throat, trying to pull back and tear out the jugular vein. But Thunderhead locked his forelegs around the Albino's neck and pressed close into those grinding grind-ing jaws. The horses staggered like wrestlers, wres-tlers, Thunderhead forcing the Albino Al-bino backwards. Then he loosed the grip of his forelegs and began to use them for attack, flailing with his hoofs on the back of the Albino, raking the flesh from the bones and striving to land a crippling blow on the kidneys. For an instant the massive jaws crunching down on Thunderhead's jugular vein relaxed, he tore loose, both horses wheeled, plunged away, then whirled to eye each other again and to get their wind and their balance bal-ance for the next charge. There was a jagged bleeding gash In Thunderhead's throat. The Albino Al-bino was laced with pulsing crim- looked up at Thunderhead. There was the vision. The shining phantom phan-tom horse oversoul of the line! To this prince of the royal blood he now bequeathed all his wisdom. He gave him knowledge of the voices of the trees and waters and the great snows and winds, so that nothing in the valley would be strange to him, no, not a single mare, nor the smallest small-est colt nor a humming-bird nor eagle nor a blade of grass. Thunderhead's right hoof rose ana fell with lightning speed, cleaving the skull. The Albino quivered and was still. Then one deep sigh came from him, and on it there ebbed away his life, while his blood and brains pumped slowly out to mingle with the earth of his beloved valley. Thunderhead lifted his mighty crest and made the mountains ring with his unearthly screech of triumph. tri-umph. "Stand, Thunderhead!" Hardly had the echoes of Thunderhead's Thunder-head's cry of victory ceased than a small, familiar figure was beside him, commanding him. Obediently Thunderhead stood while two hands seized the halter rope and gripped his mane. Ken vaulted onto his back. The stallion's eyes were on the mares. All through the fight they had stood in two close bunches, watching, fascinated.' Now that it was ended they began to disperse. They were confused and nervous. Howard picked up the nose-bag and oats and started toward Thunderhead. Thun-derhead. But the stallion suddenly plunged toward the mares. Ken "Holy smokel" he exclaimed gain and stood motionless. But Ken's agonized eyes found what they were looking for. The i Albino, and his instant alert as Thunderhead entered the valley! The two stallions saw each other at the same moment. The Albino rushed forward as if for immediate attack, then turned and began to round up the far flung band of mares and colts behind him. At a swift twisting gallop he circled them, gathered them all in and bunched them in an invisible corral. All his actions were strained and nervous. But Thunderhead moved with exuberance ex-uberance and calm. His muscles flowed smoothly under his satin coat as he leisurely circled his little band of stolen mares, bunched and froze them, then trotted out in front. The two stallions faced each other about a hundred yards apart, motionless mo-tionless as statues. The Albino moved forward a little, then stopped. He did this again. Thunderhead stood without a quiver, his head high, his weight forward, his hind legs stretched back. Ken suddenly thrust the nose-bag Into Howard's hands. "Hold that! They're gonna fight! I've got to get him!" He ran to Thunderhead, calling his name. Thunderhead did not even twitch an ear in his direction. He was watching the Albino with a minute, mi-nute, comprehensive stare that pen- nung nis weigni DacK, nauung u the rope, but it was whipped out of his hand as the great white head jerked impatiently, then dropped, snaking along the ground. The stallion stal-lion was not only beginning the roundup of the mares, he was taking command and making himself known to them as their new master. Ken seized the thick, wild mane. The stallion came abreast of a disobedient dis-obedient mare and closed in. She did not surrender. The mare's body went over in a complete somersault and she crashed to the earth, rolling over and over. Ken, clinging to Thunderhead's neck, was", by a miracle, still on. Thunderhead reached and passed the mares, and took the lead. The black mare forged to the front of the band and the little white colt galloped mightily as if trying to reach the side of the stallion. Wave after wave of nausea went over Ken. His face was deathly white. His body ached as if it had been beaten. His fingers in Thunderhead's Thun-derhead's mane clung merely because be-cause they were stiffly locked. He had lost all hope of ever getting control of his horse the hills were sweeping past he could not stick on any longer the herd was thundering thun-dering behind him. Where was Howard? How-ard? Where was the keyhole, and safety, and Flicka? At this pace, he was leaving them far behind. There came at last a moment of eiratea me oouy aim uintu nerve fuses. Ken seized the dangling halter rope and flung his weight on it. "Come away! Come away, Thunderhead!" Thun-derhead!" He hauled with all his power, trying try-ing to break the stallion's fixation, but he might as well have tried to move a rock. The stallion stared over him, immobile. The boy burst out crying and struck at the stallion's head, jerking to and fro with all his weight. "Oh, stop it, Thunderhead! Please, Thunderhead! Thun-derhead! Come away!" Howard dropped the nose-bag, rushed to his brother's side and seized the halter. Ken's voice reached Thunderhead dimly but he made no response. This was his world, his inheritance. Ken had no part in it. But how to become master of it? Only by the destruction of that which barred his way. Rearing backward, he shook loose, knocking Howard down and snap, ping Ken aside with a whip-lash of his head. Then, screaming his challenge, chal-lenge, he hurtled forward as from Oa spring-board. At the same instant the Albino rushed to meet him and both ani- The Albino drew first blood. son streams. The unnatural expansion expan-sion of his nostrils showed the beginning be-ginning of exhaustion. Again, as if animated by a single will, the stallions charged each other oth-er with heads high and stiff, lifted tails. Meeting, rising, swerving, sinking with indescribable coiling grace not one motion lost they turned their heads sideways with bared reaching teeth and thrust them forward and under to seize the foreleg. Each blocked this maneuver cleverly; clev-erly; they braced themselves against each other with locked, straining necks, and swung back first one and then the other foreleg out of reach of the darting, snake-like heads. But Thunderhead was as quick as a rattler. rat-tler. His muzzle thrust in and caught the lower leg of the Albino before he could withdraw it and fractured the bone with a single twisting crunch of the jaws. The Albino gave no sign. The moment mo-ment Thunderhead loosed his hold, the older horse rose to his full height. One foreleg dangled useless, but he still had that mighty right hoof with which he had nearly killed UllgUlSliCU CAllouaLluil vyiiii lie vaicu about nothing only to be off He loosed his grip, flung himself flat back on Thunderhead's broad rump, at the same time swinging one leg over his withers. From this side-saddle position he slid to earth. His feet touched for a second, then he was hurled on his face. He felt the jarring thud of the ground and lay there. The thunder of the herd roared up and over him. The ground shook. Clods of dirt and stinging gravel pelted him and abrupt blocks of light and darkness alternated over him as the big bodies bod-ies of the mares lifted in the air to clear him one after the other. It receded into the distance that thunder of hoofs until at last it was not even so loud as the sound of the wind in the pines, and his own heartbroken heart-broken sobbing, and the harsh faraway far-away cry of eagles who dropped from the clouds to feast upon royal carrion. The command not to cause Nell any anxiety had been disobeyed. For the boys, riding double on Flicka, hardly got home in time to hurry Howard Into his clothes and pack his suitcases. After he had gone, Ken sat down by his father's desk in the study and mals stopped short about thirty feet apart and stood tensely eyeing each other. These were two antagonists who had met before and had not forgotten the event. Mingled with Thunderhead's desire de-sire to annihilate this obstacle before be-fore him was the satisfaction of an intense curiosity. Here at last was the great being who had overshadowed overshad-owed his whole life, the image of whom had hung in his blood as persistently per-sistently and as challengingly as the snnw scent hung in the mountain wind. But the Albino was confused. His feet shifted nervously as if taking firmer hold of the earth. His reach- Oing nostrils expanded and contracted contract-ed slowly. In his sunken eye-sockets his white-ringed eyes stared and meditated, seeing there before him. H1MSFLFI His own superb and in-vinciUe in-vinciUe youth! He was there! He was here! But the strength was as one It flowed like a current between be-tween them as If It were already creating a third horse that appeared ln a misty globe between them, and in which they were both fused Power and fire and glory rushed through the old stallion and he trumpeted trum-peted witr. ff'-' " "lis transmu- the colt two years ago. The same blow would do it now. Thunderhead too was on his hind legs, feinting as if to strike. But he saw the blow coming. In mid-air he whirled, dropped his head and lashed out with his heels. As the Albino came down with his killing stroke, his face received the full impact of those terrible hoofs, and both cheeks were ripped up so that the skeleton of his head was bared. The Albino's one good foreleg hit the earth with a crashing jar. Thrown off balance by failure to land his blow, and the murderous kick, he sank to his knees. Before he could recover Thunderhead had spun around. His ritrht hoof shot out in one pawing stroke which crushed the bony structure of the old stallion's stal-lion's head and sliced off the lower part of his face. Blood spnuted from the fatal wound, mingled with the choking and bubbling breath The Albino s eyes closed and his body sank into the earth, his head moving slowly from side to side in a cony Thunderhe.id sl 'o.-l over him The Albino's eyes oi i, -.i once and told the details of all that had happened. hap-pened. Rob was in a very quiet mood. He sat in his square wooden chair, turned slightly toward Ken and puffed at his pipe. "Why," said he at last, "did you take Thunderhead to a place where there were mares and another stallion?". stal-lion?". "But dad!" exclaimed Ken woefully, woe-fully, 'he'd been there often before! And he had his own regular place to watch them from perfectly safe up there on top of that rampart! He never went into the valley, not since that first time when he got the awful swat when he was a baby!" "And so you figured he'd continue to do as he always had done. Ana that's where you made your mistake mis-take After all. Thunderhead's three years old now. and in some ways, for a horse, that's grown up." Ken's tired and dirty face turned away and his eyes wandered, then can-e bnck to his father. "But ne's never done any hell-raising Ana he's been trained for running and racing You said yourself a horse will develop the way he's trained. " CTO bE CONTINUED! |