It was a goodly sight to Alcatraz. Moreover, his heart leaped strangely,
as it always did when he saw horses in full gallop. Perhaps they were
striving to test his speed of foot before they admitted him to their
company. In that case the answer was soon given. He sent his call after
them, bidding them watch a real horse run, then overtook them in one
dizzy burst of sprinting. His rush carried him not only up to them but
among them. Two or three youngsters swerved aside with frightened
snorts, but as he came up behind a laboring mare she paused in her
flight to let drive with both heels. Alcatraz barely escaped the danger
with a sidestep light as a dancer's and shortened his gallop.

He could not punish the mare for her impudence; besides, he needed time
to rearrange his thoughts. Why should they flee from a companion who
intended no harm? It was a great puzzle. In the meantime, keeping easily
at the heels of the wild horses, he noted that they were holding their
pace better than any cowponies he had ever seen running. From the oldest
mare to the youngest foal they seemed to have one speed afoot.

A neigh from the black leader made the herd scatter on every side like
fire in stubble. Alcatraz halted to catch the meaning of this new
maneuver and saw the black approaching at a high-stepping trot as one
determined to explore a danger but ready to instantly flee if it seemed
a serious threat. His gaze was fixed not on Alcatraz but on the far
horizon where the hills became a blue mist rolling softly against the
sky. He seemed to make up his mind, presently, that nothing would follow
the chestnut out of the distance and he began to move about Alcatraz in
a rapid gallop, constantly narrowing his circle.

Alcatraz turned constantly to meet him, whinnying a friendly greeting,
but the black paid not the slightest heed to these overtures. At length