She blinked. It was a confusion of dust and running horses, but she thought she saw a flash of dark in the middle of the brumbies. She ran even faster, rubbing the dust from her eyes and blinking to clear them. Surely it wasn’t the bay stallion. Not on the last day.
As she and Dan emerged into the grazing area, Rachel had a clear view of the brumbies. In the middle of the greys, the dark stallion and his chestnut mare were running, flank to flank. She groaned out loud. They must have found their way back to the grazing grounds the night before, and were now caught up in the mob being hunted.
Dan half turned and looked back at her, then swivelled his head to look at the herd again. He picked up speed, and as he ran faster towards the herd, the two horses started doing just what she hoped they wouldn’t. Frightened by Dan, they were galloping from the centre of the mob to the front. They were fast: even heavily pregnant, the mare kept up with the stallion, overtaking the slower horses and the mares with foals. Eddie ran out from the scrub and the mob swerved away from him and headed straight towards the tree where she knew Mike was hidden. The bay and the chestnut, desperate to get away, surged to the front and the herd thundered past the tree where Mike was waiting.
Rachel slowed and gripped the stitch in her side. Her breath was coming in painful gasps as the horses disappeared into the trees on the far side. The sound of their hooves faded and she looked around. Eddie and the others had all come to a halt, and she could hear them puffing. Her father was scrambling down from the tree with the dart gun. Had he hit anything?
A shout went up and Tony pointed. Through the dust Rachel saw the silhouette of a horse by itself, staggering. She began to run towards it.
The dust cleared a little to show a coloured coat. As the horse’s knees buckled and it went down, Rachel realised it was the chestnut mare. The bay stallion was still free, but he’d lost his mate.
Her father came running up beside her. Rachel said nothing as her father kneeled and checked the mare’s vital signs, then looked at her teeth. He sat back on his heels.
‘Perfect age,’ he said. ‘But she’s very pregnant. I hope she’ll be all right.’
The rangers came jogging up. ‘Good work,’ Mike said to them. ‘Not the one I was going for, but this one’s much better. Just a pity I couldn’t get the bay that was with her. He was superb.’ He looked at Dan and then Rachel. ‘I think some of you have seen him before, right?’
‘Yeah, me and Rachel seen him,’ Dan said. ‘Must be fast fella, since you never got him.’
Rachel could feel her father looking at her, but she wouldn’t meet his eye. She shot Dan a furious glance, but he took no notice. ‘I’ll get the trailer,’ he said, and turned away.
‘Come and wait in the shade,’ Mike said, getting to his feet.
Rachel shook her head. ‘I’ll stay here with the horse,’ she said, keeping her voice level.
‘Righteo.’ Mike followed the rangers over to a tree and sat down.
The morning sun was already hot. Rachel could feel it burning on the back of her neck as she sat by the mare’s head and gently stroked the white blaze that ran down her face and finished crookedly over her nostrils. Her belly looked huge as she lay on one side, and Rachel wondered how long it would be before she foaled. Her little one would never know what it was like to be wild. It would know humans from the first moment of its life.
A flock of galahs landed in a nearby gum tree and Rachel looked up at them. Most of the other animals, including the horses, blended into the landscape, but the colour and clownish behaviour of the galahs always made them stand out. Their bellies were brilliantly pink and, now that the dust raised by the horses had settled, the morning sky was a deep blue behind them. The colours were so bright that Rachel blinked.
And then she saw it. Among the trees, a dark horse shape, completely still. On his forehead, the crisp white diamond that marked him out. The stallion was hiding, alone among the trees and the red termite mounds, watching his mare.
Rachel felt a prickle along her spine. No other horse had done that while being hunted. If they did stop, it was a long distance away. Sometimes they’d call out for their fallen herd-mate, but they never came back.
She prayed that no one else would notice him. It was very quiet; she could hear the soft breathing of the unconscious mare next to her, and the buzz of flies. The stallion shifted his weight and Rachel thought she could hear the sound of grass crackling under his hooves.
‘Go away,’ she whispered.
She heard the distant sound of an engine. Dan must have reached the troopy. She didn’t dare risk glancing behind at her father. She stroked the mare’s neck, trying to act as though nothing was happening.
A twig cracked behind her, and the bay horse startled and snorted softly. She swivelled her head. Her father was crouched in the grass, lifting the dart gun to his shoulder. He’d seen the bay, and he was going to catch him.
Rachel leaped to her feet in a single movement before she had a chance to think. ‘Run!’ she screamed at the stallion.
Phhhhtt! The dart gun made its dangerous sound and Rachel saw the dart fly out, spinning. The stallion reared up and struck out with his front hooves. For a second she thought he’d escaped it, then his skin twitched and she saw the dart hanging from his neck as he whirled and broke into a gallop.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ her father yelled.
‘You’ve got all the horses you need!’ she cried.
‘That’s the best horse we’ve seen here!’
Rachel felt a lump in her throat. ‘You’d better go and get him then.’
Mike ran after the stallion. After a moment’s hesitation, Rachel took off behind him.
She could hear the stallion crashing through the trees, and she heard when his hoof beats slowed and became uneven. Putting on a burst of speed, she overtook her father, and then skidded to a halt.
The dark horse was staggering, trying to keep on his feet as the tranquilliser took effect. He threw up his head and looked in her direction, his eyes wild with fear. Rachel took a step closer.
‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered.
He nickered, calling for his mate, and Rachel felt her lip trembling. Her father came up beside her as the horse collapsed to the ground.
‘Lucky I hit him in the neck, no thanks to your performance,’ he said. ‘That was really dangerous. If I’d got him in the leg, he might have run too far away for us to find him.’
‘Dad, let him go.’
He glared at her. ‘You know how good he is. And I see you already tried to scare him off once. You’re meant to be helping me.’
‘Please!’ Rachel begged, her voice unsteady.
Her dad shook his head. ‘He’ll have a good life. Out here, he might be killed by another stallion tomorrow, or die of thirst next week.’
He reached for her, but Rachel wrenched herself away from him. ‘At least he’d be free.’ She started to cry. She couldn’t help it. Her shoulders shook and she covered her face with her hands to block out the sight of the stallion lying on the ground. If only he’d stayed away one more day!
‘Pull yourself together,’ her father said. ‘We’ve got to work out how to get them both back to the yards before they wake up.’
Rachel hated him in that moment. ‘You can get them to the yards yourself!’ she yelled. ‘I’m going back to camp.’ She turned and started to run.
‘Stop right now.’ Her father’s voice was low and furious, and Rachel stumbled to a halt. ‘There are two horses down. They come first. Spitting the dummy isn’t an option.’
She swivelled around to face him, frightened by the anger in his voice. He’d never spoken to her like that before and the tears swelled again.
‘Come here,’ he ordered.
Rachel wanted to run away from him so badly that her legs were trembling. She looked past him to where the bay horse was sprawled. Her father was right. Now they were responsible for the stallion and the mare, for making sure nothing happened
to them while they couldn’t look after themselves.
She forced herself to walk back to her father’s side. He reached out and took hold of her chin and raised it so she was looking into his eyes. His touch was gentle.
‘You can do this, Rachel. OK?’
She bit her lip and nodded.
He released her and flashed a quick smile. ‘Good girl. Now let’s look after these horses.’
She watched as her father listened to the stallion’s heartbeat and looked in his eye, and held her breath as he checked the teeth.
‘Three or four years,’ he said. ‘A little young. Perhaps the Sheik might want one for breeding.’
Rachel felt a moment of hope. At least if the bay horse remained a stallion, he’d keep some of his wildness. Then another, more daring thought came to her.
Why shouldn’t she keep him?
They already had a dozen horses for the Sheik. The stallion brought the number to thirteen, one more than he wanted. The Sheik wouldn’t even need to know if they took an extra horse back to Armidale.
If the stallion lived with her, she could look after him. He could live outdoors, in their biggest paddock, the one adjoining the wilderness area. Her mother would gentle him and over time he’d come to love Rachel the way Rapscallion did. He’d be cherished and special, not one of hundreds of horses in a training stable. And he wouldn’t need to be gelded.
Rachel wiped her arm across her eyes to brush away any remaining tears. She wouldn’t ask her father; not yet. She’d have to figure out a way that he’d agree to not send the best horse they’d caught to Dubai.
Chapter 10
The ground slants and tilts; he cannot stand straight. He shakes his head and everything wavers as if in a heat haze. His nostrils burn with strange scents; a roar of sound makes his ears ring.
All around him, straight lines, heavy and dark, closing him in. Beyond the lines, a flock of Two-Legs, more than he’s ever seen, chattering, staring, moving. Sharp-Tooths mill around, but different from the ones he knows. They rush at him, snarling. He stamps, shies, whirls around, looks for somewhere to run. There’s nowhere.
He hears a nicker. It’s her. Her scent familiar as she pushes against him, the smell of fear in her sweat, and a strange sharpness. She’s as frightened as he; she crowds close to him, nostrils flared, ears flickering, breath coming harshly. He breathes her in, one familiar thing, and lashes out at a Sharp-Tooth that comes too close. His hoof strikes it, sends it flying with a yelp, and it slinks away, but the effort makes everything around him rock, and he staggers.
Other horses mill around; a mob he doesn’t know. He can smell several stallions and too few mares, and lays his ears back. There’ll be fighting for the mares, and he can barely stand. He lowers his head and gives a shrill whinny, trying to ward off any attack until he works out where he is and how to get away.
Beyond the straight lines he can see open country and he nips the mare on the neck and pushes her close. He shoves against the straight lines as hard as he can, and feels a sharp pain in his chest. They’re immoveable. He pushes again, but they don’t give. They’re too high to jump. They’re all around. No way out.
He gives a loud, desperate whinny, calling to any horses nearby to help, to explain. There’s no answer from outside, but his cry stirs up the horses around him, and they begin to move faster. Another stallion in the mob answers his call with a squeal and the dark horse rears up. The effort almost sends him backwards and he lands and stands still, head low, trying to balance.
The horses around him smell of fear, smell of water, smell of full bellies, smell of Two-Legs. He can’t make sense of the smells; he sniffs and snorts and shakes his head.
A commotion. The rest of the horses crowd to the far side of where they’re trapped, and he smells food. They’re eating, heads down, pushing each other. He wonders what’s there. He only saw bare earth. But the other stallions are eating too, and ignoring him now. He looks around for an escape, but there are straight lines all around.
A flicker of movement on the straight lines. Hair-of Fire is there, so close that his coat prickles, so close he can smell her, so close he can see the look in her eyes. He snorts, angry. So small, but she turned out to be the greatest danger of all.
Nearly everyone in the community seemed to have come out to see the last horses brought in. The yards were surrounded by people and dogs, the kids scrambling up on the railings, the dogs pushing in underneath to try nipping at the heels of the horses, the chatter of unfamiliar language washing over Rachel. She wished the final two brumbies had some quiet time to wake up properly and sense their surroundings. She could see they were confused and afraid.
Her dad draped his arm over her shoulder as they stood by the yards, and in spite of it all, Rachel felt a moment of pride. She wasn’t a child now. She stood next to him, leaning against the heavy posts of the yards, watching the horses mill around.
The bay stallion and his mare were still groggy from the anaesthetic. Especially the stallion, who’d had several shots to keep him asleep until the trailer came back for him. He was having trouble staying on his feet, but he was determined to stand, and even to kick at the dogs when they came too close.
Once or twice their eyes met and she saw that he pinned back his ears each time. She wondered if he would ever trust her. Would he always remember that she’d been there when he was caught?
‘I’m proud of you, Rach,’ Mike said, tugging at her curls.
She moved closer and leaned against him. She’d miss him for the next few weeks, but she knew there was no chance he’d let her have the time off school to come with him in the truck. Not even worth asking. Especially not when she had something much bigger to ask him anyway.
‘Why was that one different?’ he asked.
His question reminded Rachel of the stallion rearing up and running away and she felt a pain in her chest. She looked across at him. His coat was dusty; he looked afraid and angry. She couldn’t imagine he’d ever be happy in captivity.
‘I don’t think he’ll be a good horse in a big stable,’ she said carefully, thinking of how best to talk about him. ‘I just don’t think he’s right.’
Mike leaned both arms on the fence and looked over at the dark horse. ‘Look at that conformation. He’s got the best of the thoroughbred and the Arab in him. Fast and strong and young. He’s exactly what the Sheik is looking for.’
‘He just wants to be wild.’
‘They all want to be wild. He’ll learn. He’ll calm down once he’s gelded.’
Rachel felt a rush of fear. ‘I thought you said the Sheik might want him for breeding.’
He rubbed his chin. ‘It’s possible, but it’s probably too dangerous to try and transport a stallion. I’ll be doing the others straight away so they’re ready to travel.’
‘Wait till you get him home,’ Rachel pleaded. ‘Do the rest, but don’t do him.’
‘I’ll think about it. Just have to see how he goes,’ Mike said.
Eddie came up behind them, accompanied by Dan, and leaned on the fence. Rachel felt angry at the sight of Dan. If it wasn’t for him, her horses might still be free. She turned her head away.
‘Done a good job,’ Eddie said. ‘Your Sheik fella should be happy.’
‘Couldn’t have done it without you guys. I hope you’re happy with those stockhorses.’
Eddie nodded. ‘Yep. And Dan got something to make his film about.’
‘Send us a link when it’s done, eh?’ Mike said. ‘I reckon the Sheik will be pretty interested.’
‘Sure. When you off?’ Dan asked.
‘I need to get Rachel to Broome,’ Mike answered. ‘I’ll take her tomorrow, and then drive back to get started on these guys.’
‘Mail plane’s here,’ Eddie said. ‘She can get a lift to Broome.’
‘Really?’ Mike swung around to look at Rachel. ‘Are you ready to go?’
‘What, now?’ Rachel asked in surprise.
‘Soon,’ Edd
ie said. ‘Take off in an hour or so.’
Rachel felt as confused as the bay horse, who was still looking around strangely and shaking his head. It felt too sudden.
‘You’re big enough to go on your own, if you feel OK,’ Mike said. ‘It would mean I could start working with the horses straight away. It’ll take me four days to drop you at Broome and come back here if we drive. What do you think? I’ll ask Libby to meet the mail plane and make sure you get on your flight back home.’
Home was hard to imagine. It felt as though she’d been away far longer than the two weeks of the school holidays. Rachel felt guilty that she’d hardly even wondered if Cassie was getting better, or how her mother was managing without them. She hadn’t even thought of Rapscallion very often!
Rachel looked at the horses again. She knew they were frightened and it was important someone started working with them as soon as possible. When her father had told her to grow up and put the horses first, he’d been right. She was responsible for the bay now, and the others. Their needs were the most important.
‘Sure, Dad,’ she answered, more confidently than she felt.
‘Good girl,’ he said.
‘How long you gonna keep them horses here?’ Eddie asked.
‘I’ve got to geld them, and work them with halters for a few days. I’ll help you get your stockhorses started too. Then I’ll get the truck in to collect them. I hope to be on the road in a week or two.’
Eddie moved his head in the direction of the yards. ‘Got names for ’em?’
‘I thought you guys might want to name them,’ Mike said.
Eddie shrugged. ‘The rangers can do it. Dan, ask them fellas to name the horses, OK?’
‘Sure thing,’ Dan said. ‘We’ll give ’em good names.’ He stared over the fence at Rachel’s two horses. She watched him out of the corner of her eye.
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