The Black Stallion and Flame Read Free Page B

spoken to him. The man was excellent at handling horses, but he had told Alec that this job—caring for the mares and making certain they reached their destination—was only a temporary one. His charges were pure-bred Arabians beingsent as a gift to a young Caribbean breeder. That was all he would say.
    Alec had looked forward to meeting the new owner of these fine horses. The prospect had helped make up for the fact that he and Henry would have preferred flying a more northerly and shorter route across the Atlantic. But air traffic was heavy at this time of year and cargo space in demand, so they had thought themselves very lucky to get space on this plane.
    Leaving the groom, the navigator came forward, his face showing signs of nervous strain beneath the bright dome light. “Remove the life vests from under your seats and I’ll show you how they work,” he said.
    Henry glanced up and grunted. “Gettin’ wet feet doesn’t appeal to me. Water’s for washin’.”
    “Don’t wish us into the drink before you know we have to ditch, will you?” the navigator said sharply.
    “I won’t,” and Henry grinned feebly.
    The navigator glanced out the window. “This stuff seems to be clearing. The propellers are turning smooth as silk.” He lit a cigarette nervously, betraying his feigned air of confidence.
    Alec motioned toward the groom, whose head was lowered as if he’d suddenly gone to sleep. “You’d better wake him up,” he said.
    Henry glanced back. “Imagine him bein’ able to sleep with all this noise goin’ on!”
    “If it stops he’ll wake up soon enough,” the navigator said. “An engine’s silence is the biggest noise there is.” But he went to the groom and shook him until the man opened his eyes.
    Alec listened to the even rumbling of the engines and felt a sense of great loneliness for them all. Nothingsounded wrong. If anything, the ship had suffered only minor damage in being buffeted by the storm. Nothing was wrong that some gas wouldn’t help. The lack of it was the joker. The smooth, droning engines must be pulling the last of it out of the tanks.
    “You’d better put your vests on now,” the navigator ordered, his voice hushed, almost inaudible above the engines.
    There was no sense in fooling themselves. They were all afraid. They were ready and prepared for the worst but terribly afraid. The odor of their fear filled the cabin.
    “If necessary we might stretch out our run by getting rid of some of our cargo,” the navigator continued. “Anything to lighten our load. It’ll be up to the skipper.”
    Alec wiped the moisture from the palms of his hands onto the sides of his pants. He didn’t dare speak. He just looked at his horse and sweated some more. No longer was he sure of himself. His red hair was wet and matted, and he wondered if he’d be able to coordinate his movements when the time came so he could get the horses clear of the sinking plane, too.
    Henry slipped the life vest over his head, a sad smile on his face. “If we’re going into the drink I might as well be comfortable,” he said.
    Alec smiled grimly at Henry’s remark and put on his own vest. He straightened in his seat and told himself to remain calm. It was all right to be afraid but not to cringe.
    “Remove your shoes,” the navigator said, “and any sharp objects on you—pencils, pens, clips, clasps and the like. We don’t want to cut any holes in the raft and, for the life of us, let’s be sure to keep the horses clear of it.Their hoofs could send it down fast. It would be better to—” He paused and found Alec Ramsay’s eyes upon him. “We won’t leave ’em behind,” he said kindly. “If we have time, we’ll get them clear of the ship. Just keep them away from our raft, that’s all.”
    The aircraft sank lower and lower into the depths of the night. There was no further turbulence. No wind screamed. No rain beat furiously against the windows. Only the heavy overcast remained and the