"Yeah, sure. The fewer horses, the less noise," Will agreed. "Laurie, since you're handiest, how about helping me stake 'em out over there. Looks like decent grazing and there might even be some water, green as it is." Will was pointing to a grassy patch of shady, sun-mottled clearing off to the right of the trail, visible only from where she and the older man were sitting on their horses. It was the first time that Laurie had faced the man who had fucked into her dog-fashion, for she had been avoiding him as much as possible all morning. Her uncle had ordered her to ride toward the back of the party, just ahead of Will, and she had felt the man's lewd hungering eyes fixed on her buttocks most of the morning.
"Sure, Will, I'll give you a hand," she said coolly as she dismounted and tied Sniffy's reins to a branch. She took the lead rope that Will handed her and led the lathered animal off the trail and into the tiny clearing, Will and the other horse close behind her. When the man had satisfied himself with an especially lush section of grass next to five or six shallow pools of spring water, he drove in two aluminum stakes and securely fastened the long lead ropes, then busied himself with the task of removing the gear they would need to construct a barricade and prevent the black stallion from escaping the gorge.
"How do you feel today?" he asked Laurie when he had finished rolling the needed gear into a canvas bundle. "I sure hope your sweet little pussy ain't sore today… But don't worry, it'll be a whole lot easier from now on."
Laurie flushed with anger and spun around on her heel, not bothering to rebuke Will for his crass remarks. Later, when the time was just right, she would draw Ken aside and spill out her heart to him about her feelings toward him as well as about the crude older man's intimation. They could discuss possible solutions to the Ross couple's blackmailing of them. And then – she could visualize it so clearly – Ken would take her in his arms, tenderly assuring her that they had nothing to fear… They would make love, alone and happily, until they both were sated and content just to be together, holding each other…
As the group drew closer to the mouth of the gorge, everyone's anxiety rose to a high pitch. Sniffy was nervous and pranced skittishly from side to side of the trail, snorting and sweating while Laurie cooed to him, gently patting his neck in an attempt to calm the big chestnut stallion.
"He probably smells that ornery stud," Ned whispered, pointing ahead toward the gorge as he turned in his saddle to look at the others. "Let's keep our eyes peeled for fallen logs and whatever else we can use to shut off the end of the gorge. Laurie, you and Barbara ride in about two or three hundred feet in front of us and shy him back while we build the barricade. That sound okay to everyone?"
"I don't see any other way," Will answered. "But I think the women ought to take the rifles for safety – in case that crazy black bastard decides to run right through us. Anyway, they can fire in the air every so often to discourage that bugger from heading our way."
"That's a good idea… And listen you two," Ned gravely admonished, "you gals don't hesitate to shoot him between the eyes if he won't stop runnin' toward you."
After everyone had agreed, they rode on at a slightly brisker pace in case the stallion had already scented them and might be heading out of the gorge to investigate. But when they reached the narrow mouth, about five minutes later, there was no sign or sight of the horse. They urged their mounts into a circle and held a brief conference.
As planned, the two women rode a short way into the deep gorge, each carrying a loaded rifle, while the three men scouted the immediate area for barricade material. They worked steadily for the better part of an hour, sweating and cursing as they roped logs, fallen trees, boulders and pieces of brush, using their sturdy mounts to drag the barrier material into position. Ken remained at the entrance, placing rocks and pieces of brush between the heavier logs and stumps and boulders to create the effect of a solid wall. He toiled almost soundlessly, leaving a small opening at the left side through which Ned and Will could ride when the blockade was complete. Then they would climb up to a spot on the cliff wall where there was a great boulder perched. Using thick sticks as levers, they would pry the boulder loose and let it drop into the open slot at the end of the barricade.
Laurie and Barbara sat their horses at a point where the gorge widened to about three hundred yards from wall to wall and extended up and away in a broad grassy meadow. They could see that it narrowed again, and ran off to the right, on the far side of the meadow they faced. Laurie was thoroughly excited, her limbs trembling as a peculiar mixture of intoxicating sensations made her heart pound and threaten to burst free of her chest. She was thinking of Ken when she heard the sound – a sound that grew and echoed ominously, bouncing off the steep walls like a series of muffled gun shots.
Then he appeared!
He trotted into view, a jet-black stallion at least seventeen hands high, his nostrils flaring as he snorted out defiance, rejoicing in his freedom of motion, his feet lifting and failing like pistons with minds of their own. He slowed to a walk about two hundred yards away from the women. At a hundred and fifty yards, he stopped and seemed to think, his dark eyes absorbing every detail of the situation confronting him. It was as if he were human, Laurie thought, allowing her gaze to rove over every inch of his magnificent body. She had never failed to marvel at this wonderful animal, such flawless conformation, such pride and dazzling spirit.
For once, even Ned Dow's voice was hushed with awe and respect for the big stallion. He was spellbound, unable to move or speak as he drank in the sight of the black horse. In all his years as a rancher, the graying man had seen many fine horses, but none like this one… and every time he saw him, he truly had to appreciate the stallion's perfect lines and strength.
"Watch it!" Ned shouted suddenly. "He's movin' in on us!"
Will responded immediately and aimed his rifle in the air, firing several shots skyward to frighten the advancing stallion. But the black stud merely tossed his head and continued to trot toward them. Laurie swiveled her head toward Will and saw with horror that he was aiming directly at the stud's chest.
"No, don't shoot him!" Laurie screamed.
"She's right. He'll stop. He's just testing us now, to see if we've got balls enough to stand in his way." Laurie had never loved her uncle as much as she did at that moment for saving the beautiful creature's life. Ned was right, too, for the stallion stopped less than a hundred yards in front of them, neighed angrily, and pivoted on his hind feet to turn and trot nonchalantly back up the meadow.
"Why don't we try to run him back to the box at the end of the gorge – before he comes up with a scheme we haven't provided for?" Ken asked, the tremor in his voice betraying the anxiety he felt. "I'm not much at roping, but I'll hang back and haze for you."
Ned bobbed his head up and down, smiling like a kid at the circus, and then shifted in his saddle to gaze gleefully into Will's eyes. The older rancher's face broke into a correspondingly wide grin as he leaned far back in his saddle and let loose a cry: "Yaaaaaaahheeeeeeeeee!"
Then the two ranchers galloped off, spurring their horses and sheathing the rifles in scabbards as they tore headlong toward the frightened stallion. Laurie was swollen with pride as she watched her uncle and Will, with Ken close behind, approaching the horse. She marveled at how the men handled their lariats, shaking out loops as they bore down on the nervous black stud. At the last second, when the men seemed dangerously near, the stallion screamed and wheeled around, charging toward the dead-end gorge that veered off to the right where he would have to halt, trapped.