Show 4 in 7 MAI datiana CHAPTER I 1 within the firm walls of flesh that held him prisoner the foal kicked out angrily he did not want to be born the violent constrictions of the walls of his house which came unexpectedly disturbed his long peaceful growth and put him in a fury and he unfolded himself and kicked again and again he wanted no change here was quiet darkness nothing to prick and tantalize his eyes here was security no possible harm could reach him here was food without effort or even knowledge on his part here was the softest floating bed to buffer him against shock here was warmth that never fluctuated here was on in some dim way he felt it love and protection from his mothers heart he would not be born twice before he had foiled the labor pains and his dam had resigned herself and had continued to carry him she was the handsome sorrel mare called blicka belonging to young ken mclaughlin of the goose bar ranch she had stood patiently not moving much up in the stable pasture just beyond the corrals and it had become the habit of everyone at the ranch rob and nell mclaughlin and their two boys howard and ken and gus and tim the hired hands to walk out to see her every day to note how patiently she stood getting larger and larger her bright and lively nature changed to somber brooding it if anyone went near her hindquarters she kicked at them visitors to the ranch went out to inspect her too one said to nell mclaughlin the hugest mare I 1 ever saw ashes not so huge said nell its just that ashes carrying a colt that should have been born in the spring and here it is nearly time for the boys to go back to laramie to school and still she foaled coaled they all agreed that now and then such things happened to mares and everyone could tell of a case there was much curiosity as to what the colt would be like he surely ought to be a good one big and strong and well developed the laboring mare lay down on the ground the foal impose his will as he might was helpless the violent surges continued coming at regular intervals and he was being turned this way and that as if by intelligent hands until he took the position of a diver front hoots hoofs stretched out and his little muzzle resting on thern them then he felt pain for the first time and would have struggled and kicked if he could have but he was held in a vise and could not move pressure was strong against him on all sides there was the sensation of movement through a passage and suddenly a jar as he slid out to the earth for a moment he was sheltered from the air and the light by the envelope of membrane in which he was enclosed then the mare gained her feet and whirled around and her teeth and tongue stripped him of the membrane and he began to breathe from that moment on all that he knew was pain for the breathing hurt his lungs and opening his eyes they were stabbed by blinding flashes of light terror came when his ear drums were hammered upon by crashes of thunder and he reacted by giving little choking bleats and trying to sit up icy rain sluiced upon him the hard ground upon which he lay was running with water his mother licked and licked him this warmed him and brought the blood to the surface of his body he yearned to be closer to her and struggled to rise but had not yet the strength there was no mercy for him in the skies it was the collision of several storms that had ridden up from the lowlands to this high peak of the wyoming rocky mountain divide clusters of purple thunder heads struggled mightily hurling themselves against each other with detonations deto nations that shook the ground wide bands of intolerable light stabbed from zenith to earth but there was mercy for the colt closer by and he knew it his feeble struggles to rise became stronger his mothers licking tongue encouraged him the yearning to reach the warmth and shelter of her body grew to a passion he must must get to her and so long before the storm was over the foal had found his feet the teat hot and swollen was in his mouth he was safely anchored and because of the danger and pain so lately experienced his awareness was sharpened warmth and milk were more than food they y were an ecstasy ken mclaughlin was hunting his mare A thin twelve year old boy with a shock of soft brown hair falling over dark blue eyes that ha had a shadow as well as a dream in them he stood looking at the place near the corrals where blicka should have been and could hardly believe that it was empty for more than once a day all through this last month since he had stopped riding her he had been out to see whether she had foaled coaled and she had never been far from her feed box this afternoon she had been near the spill of fresh water that ran out of the corral trough but now there was no sign of her this meant ken knew that her time had come and his heart beat a little taster faster she had hidden herself away as all animals will if they are free to give birth to her foal with no one to witness her labor and pain and victory As the boy hesitated there his eyes scanning the pine woods that edged the pasture his wits were at work it if he had been blicka and had wanted to hide where would he have gone and immediately he turned to the woods those woods sparse and free of underbrush covered the rocky shoulder of the stable pasture where it sloped away north to the little stream called Deer creek which bounded it the hill was so precipitous in places that it formed low cliffs overhung with twisted pines at the base of them were caverns ken and howard knew every toot foot of these terraced cliffs they had been there on foot and on horseback blicka and highboy their saddle horses knew them too and had become accustomed to the steep paths down which they must slide on their haunches with the boys clinging to their backs like monkeys or the scramble up during which the boyt boy kept from sliding off backwards only Y by tangling their fists in the horses horse s manes blicka might be on any one of those narrow shelves or pockets or hidden in one of the little dells at the base of a cliff she knew them all ken darted toward the woods it had just begun to rain the boy cast a careless glance at the sky refused to accept the warning of what he saw there telling himself that it would be just a shower from which the trees would shelter him and began his search occasionally he stopped and called her Flick Fl icka al flecka Flick Fl icka al and then stood listening in that peculiar state ot of tension which everyone feels when they call and are not answered the daylight on those september evenings held until after eight but this evening there was a murky gloom and under some of the trees there were already pockets of darkness into which ken stared for minutes before being sure that no living thing was there the rain pattered like shot on the ground and presently ken heard the long familiar roll of drums in the 00 1 warmth and milk were more than food they were an ecstasy sky suddenly a wind was roaring the mass of dark clouds sank toward the earth then 0 opened P ened and poured out torrents of rain lightning blazed and thunder crashed the boy crossing an open dell caught the full brunt of it and dove under a projecting shelf like rock which had left a shallow cave beneath A small cottontail was sitting primly there for sheller As ken shot in the cottontail shot out and the boy panting drew up his knees and clasped them and sat looking at the spectacle of the storm with an expression of exultation on his thin eager face such torrents of water were coming down that presently the earth was covered running streams tore between the trees and shot off the cliff tops A good sized rivulet swept under kens sheltering rock and in a moment he was immersed and drenched he rolled out from under and stood choking and laughing shaking the water out of his eyes then since he could be no wetter he decided to ignore the storm and continue his search for blicka either the wind was getting colder or the rain was turning to hall hail or snow for his wet jersey was like ice against his skin as he trotted in and out of the paths and trees often in september there were snowstorms snow storms on the top of the divide and it seemed to him one was coming now up here in the high altitude one day it was snowing and the next like summer ken came upon blicka in a little dell at the toot foot of a cliff cut by the narrowest thread of a path she stood under an overhanging over hanging tree but even that could do little to protect her against the rain when he saw the foal beside her he stood staring there had never been a white foal born on the goose bar ranch before he could hardly believe it there came a dry fullness in his throat blicka Flick as foal her first and not only off color but white A throwback it was a shock to him he called her name quietly she turned her head and he went to her she looked anxiously at the foal ken stood staring down at it in the gathering darkness white and narrow and with head beaten down by the pouring rain tilted toward its mother it looked as though it might fall over any minute ali blicka c k a gave g ave a little grunting whinny ken could understand her talk and he knew she was cold and miserable and worried about the foal they should both of them be in the barn and blicka should have a good pail of hot mash he wondered if the foal could follow her up that thread of a path and coaxed the mare to try the ascent she would not move ken put his belt around her neck and led her up the little one coming after her with wavering steps struggled but could not follow blicka turning saw it halted here she balked ken slipped the belt off her neck and she backed down to the foal and licked it somehow the foal must be got up the path ken wondered if he could drag or carry it often he and howard wrestling with the little foals as they trained them part of the work of their summer vacations would clasp their arms around them lift them off the ground one little fellow howard had carried all around with its long legs trailing but this was an unusually big colt ken was doubtful with his hand on Flick as neck he sidled toward the foal speaking soothingly there there little fellow hurt you dont be frightened its all right blicka hurt your baby yo you kimom nov I 1 C the mare was excited aej axi ous and the foal as kens hanc touched its neck squealed solle aled and griec to struggle away ken put bott arms around the wet slippery bodi and held tight but lifting was a dit dif ferent matter still talking tc t blicka who was nervous CI ly ken exerted all his strength sud denly he had a little kicking fight ing demon in his arms and the foa bared its four baby teeth and bit his arm ken dropped it blicka whirled close and stood protectively over it ken scolding under his breath anc holding his forearm that the doali teeth had pinched realized that hi h must get help he leaped up the pathway gus and tim immediately imme diatel I antei TV tei the supper dishes had been ed ec up had taken the pickup pick up ana 2 er over to the saturday night dance ir Summer vales barn bam at tie siding kens mother and father had gone in to town to dine with colonel har ris there was no one but himself and howard on the ranch and the th responsibility was his own because blicka was his mare besides this little foal this particular foal at al the thought of all that depended or him kens feet flew faster and his eyes made keen and knowing by his life on the ranch gazed at the sky and the clouds gauging the storm the wind was chan changing ging veering around to the east and yes what whal he had ad suspected was happening every raindrop now had a body tc it a little core of slush it was changing to snow it beat on his face and nearly blinded him the wind changed its tune it rose to a howl whipping ping the branches of the pine trees but ken was not cold the excitement in him made him hot and swift he reached the corrals ran down through the gorge to the house and burst into the warm kitchen where howard who was interested in increasing the size ol of his mu muscles acles was reading in a droning voice from a here hercules I 1 S jam R ahlet el 1 TO BE CONTINUED |