Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-10-12
CHAPTER XII

Late one afternoon, after an hour
of such struggling, a fury came
into Ken and he began to lash Thun-
derhead with his crop. He dashed
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 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 horseman-
ship, realization that obedience to
skilled rider makes one out OF the
two, makes teamwork out of the
ride, something almost like dance,
performance that a horse cannot
achieve alone. He leaned his mouth
against the feather lightness of
Ken's hands, and, obedient to them,
exercised skills that he had never
exercised before. There was grace
to his movement now, grace and con-
troll and technique. There was joy
in it. He stopped fighting the bit. AS
II 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 plant, pranc-
ing. He delighted in the quick, easy
turns, in responding to the hands
that lifted him into a longer and
longer stride.
When Thunderhead achieved ODE
dience, he enlarged himself. The
skill and the will of another being
were added to his own skill and will.
He was having new experience
and it ran through his body like
quicksilver. He loved Nell, but no.
body had fought him and warred
with him and dashed him and taught
him obedience 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 slashing cut that
barely touched and rebounded.
A feeling of extraordinary ease
went through Ken. No effort was
needed, there was no more Strug-
Cling, he and the colt were one at
last. The fight was over and now
this!
Mastery! Underneath him was
something of such strength and pow
er as he had never dreamed of.
1t surged into him. 1t 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 incredi-
BILE speed! The strange floating gait!
Those long reaching strides seemed
almost slow, like the overland
strokes of 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 foated over them.
The world rolled out from under
the stations hoofs. They were COW
ering ground Ken had never seen be-
fore. 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 fright
ened leaps-their startled faces
they were gone! Ken's 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.
He sat at the supper table that
night in 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 Thun-
derhead still hated him. The dark,
white-ringed eye looked at him side
ways, viciously.
"How did the colt 60 today, Ken?"
"He went-better, dad"
"Did you get him to 60 forward
under the saddle?"
eyes, SIR"
"Did you get him running?"
"Sort Of"
Rob Mclaughlin looked search
ingly at his son. He asked no more.
It was a warm August evening.
Rob was driving to a ranch south
west of his own to inspect a mare.