and going towards the town."

Spirit didn't reply, but was lost in his own thoughts. He led Durango away and they plodded back to the herd. Men were never good to have around, and once they knew where they were it would be impossible to avoid them. They were persistent, stubborn brutes who just wanted to have control over the world. The mares would never be comfortable with humans on the doorstep, and the resources like water and trees would dwindle.

By the time they reached the herd Spirit had thought of a temporary plan to stay one step ahead of the humans. The herd would move further away more often, by never sticking in one place their chances were improved. One of the mares asked how long it would go on for. Jade was particularly interested in that question - she couldn't go on much longer for obvious reasons.

"A few weeks, just until they leave us alone or we get far enough away," he replied, trying to look calm. It was never easy being a leader.

In the early morning the herd woke and started their first march across the valley. By the early afternoon they had made it a few miles across the open country and decided to stop in the heat of the day. Many of the mares and foals laid down under the shade of a few fir trees by the river, while Spirit kept watch from a knoll nearby. Jade had plodded a little out of the way to be by herself. It was too hot, and they had been walking for most of the day. She felt sick from the foal and her energy levels were far too low.

She turned her head to the sound of approaching hooves and saw Durango ambling towards her. "It's too warm to be all the way out here, Jade," he said, "come on back to the river side, it's nice and cool."

"No thanks," she replied sharply, "I just need a little time by myself."

"Why?"

"Why?" she rounded on him, pressing her nose into his face. His expression was a picture - utter surprise and fear. "I can take care of myself, just because I'm pregnant it doesn't mean I'm incapable of eating, drinking and finding shade!"

Durango gaped at her for a moment, then slid off back to the rest of the group. If he had learned anything from premature parenthood, it was this: Don't annoy the hormonal mother! Yet sometimes is couldn't be avoided, since at that moment Spirit spotted something moving on the other side of the river. Horses, with men on them. He raced back down to the mares and told them to move.

He counted heads hurriedly. "Where's Jade?" he shouted. Durango told him that she was in the grasslands, and was sent back out to retrieve her. He had been gone a few minutes when Spirit decided the cowboys were close enough, so he hesitantly moved the herd on, ignoring the demands from Rain about where their daughter was.

"Jade!" He was galloping full tilt to where he had last seen her. He finally got her scent and followed it to the shade of a giant tree. "There you are! Look, we've got to move, now, there's men nearby," he babbled, shoving her up with his head.

"How far?" she asked, staggering to her feet and cantering along side him.

"They were on the far river bank last time I saw them, but that was ten minutes away. I imagine that your father has moved everyone off by now, we need to catch up to them this way," he answered, trying to slow for her. These days it was difficult for her to move very fast, she tired quickly and her legs ached. Durango wasn't in the best shape either, his back right leg was still a problem since he had been shot, but he could manage.

"Durango, slow down!" she shouted ahead.

"I am!" he shouted back. He was getting impatient now, he could smell the men nearby. He halted, letting her trot to catch him up while he had a look around. On the near horizon, he could see some horses mounting the crest of a hill then disappearing onto the other side.

"Jade," he said as she approached, "do you see that hill? That's where the herd will be waiting. I'm going to draw the men away-"

"No Durango," she cut in, but he continued.

"-and lose them somewhere further away, then I'll make my way to meet up with the rest of you. Got it?"

She nodded, uncertain if she should let him put himself in danger for her sake. But she cantered away and into the cover of the trees, soon to meet up with her family and friends, while Durango retraced his steps to the riverside behind the cowboys.

He neighed for their attention. The men and their horses flinched then turned to chase the stallion that was already galloping away. Durango casually ran away from the herd's direction, knowing all too well where he was going to lose these men.

He continued loping while the cowboys followed, but began to feel that usual nagging pain in his hip. It wasn't far now, but he pushed on for the last little bit. He needed all of his speed and strength to do what he was planning.

The man in the middle of the trio brushed his black hair out of his eyes to see where he was going. This was thrilling, his first mustang round up! They were already hot on the trail of this stallion, who was a beauty for his first catch. He knew that moving out to the town had been the right choice.

Suddenly the ground seemed to disappear ahead, and with an almighty leap the stallion took off from the miniature cliff and crumpled to the ground on the other side of the river. The river. The three men either tried to pull their horses down to a stop or urged them for the jump. The leader made the leap on his borrowed chestnut stallion, but missed the shore and was relieved to find the river deep enough to land in safely. The one in the middle was thrown head first over the ears of his horse and they landed together with a gigantic splash and treaded water. The final cowboy had slowed his horse to much, so they literally cantered off the edge and were swept down river.

By now Durango had picked himself up and had hobbled up a hill to watch the fiasco break out. His amused gaze froze as he saw the unbelievable. The huge, chestnut stallion who had been at the front  had climbed ashore and was looking him straight in the eye, as if they knew each other.

The answer was simple. They did know each other. It was Major, his father. They hadn't seen each other in about 10 years. The horse was old, greying and his muscles must have been huge once upon a time, but now they had shrunken to give the chestnut a sense of frailty. His large, dark eyes showed only sadness. Durango couldn't think why.

Then a second wave of shock swamped him. The youngest of the three riders had thick, long black hair and deep green eyes like Jade. Harry, the boy who had taken such good care of his mate. But a sense of hate still gripped Durango's heart, since that was the same baby who had caused him to be sold to the army. And still, if he hadn't been a war horse he and Jade would never have met.

Speedy pulled himself and his son out of the river and lay in the mud to catch their breath. He knew the stallion was watching them, laughing at them, but he had more important matters to attend to. Boss would want Major back in top condition, so the ancient stallion had to be checked over. Once he finished he pulled his son up. "Come on Bullseye, we need to go down river to see if Bear got out alright," he said and led the horse away.

As soon as they had appeared, the men were gone. Durango was left feeling more alone than ever, and his old wound was weeping from being pushed too hard by the jump. Drained, he began to wander back to the other horses.

It was nearly dark when Jade spotted Durango making his way up the slope towards her. She had been panicking for the whole day, fearing that they had taken him away from her. Durango brought her the unexpected news.

"Harry? Are you sure?" she asked, trying to suppress her happiness.

Durango nodded. "And my father. It felt strange to see him after so long, especially since he looked so terrible at heart. I wonder what my mother looks like now."

Jade shrugged, a sense of guilt tugging at her. Tammy had been shot when she got colic, but the palomino mare had never had the heart to tell him. How could she?

“Anyway we can’t let them get close to us,” he sighed. “I’d better tell your father.”

He looked around a bit for the stallion but eventually spotted him on a rise of ground, checking over the herd. He seemed tense and alert, not a good sign. Durango approached with caution. “Spirit?” he said.

He turned and listened carefully to the news. “Do you think they just wanted you or did they think you were leading them to a herd?”

“They’re not stupid; they’d know that I’d be running away from the other horses. But I think they were just after me that time,” he answered, trying to add a bit of humour into the conversation.

Spirit eventually decided that it would be best for the herd to keep moving. Over the next week or so the horses were always on the move. They ran into trouble a few times, and every now and then a horse would be unaccounted for after a chase. It became apparent that they were losing the battle to the men, and as much as he hated to admit it, Spirit knew that they couldn't get the horses or land back.

"So I've decided that tomorrow evening we leave the valley," he announced after explaining this. There were many objections and mutterings, but the lead stallion's decision was final. They would no longer be the Cimarron herd. They would just be a small group of wild horses in a meadow, behind the range of mountains. That