mountains. That was the plan at least. Men wouldn't be able to follow without taking weeks at a time, and the snow would soon be setting in.

Jade was on her own by the river the next evening. She was wondering about the herd’s future, about her own future. Foals could run when they were half an hour old, but would she have half an hour? What if something went wrong? All the usual pre-parent questions buzzed inside her head and were magnified by the threat of man.

Then again, it was Harry. He wouldn’t harm her or her child. Maybe she would see her old stable friends again. She shuddered. Not Boss, though, anything but him. That brute only wanted to control animals, not care for them.

Durango had pulled up beside her silently. “I know that look. Worry.”

She smiled. “I was just thinking if this is really the best we can do for our foal, Durango. All this running, fear and torment. We’re wild; we shouldn’t feel like we’re in a pen.”

He fixed her a steely gaze. “Then what do you suppose we do?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said.

“I know, but this is the only option we have for now,” he reasoned. “I understand it’s not ideal, but it’s better than being caught.”

They said nothing for minutes, until the sound of Spirit neighing caught their attention. The men were back, and were on their trail. Sure enough, as Jade looked to the East she could see the three cowboys heading straight for them on the bank. The herd was frantic, all the horses were trying to move away at once. Eventually Rain managed to push to the front and get them to follow her over the river. Esperanza kept everyone together while Spirit was at the back, making sure all the members were running towards the mountains.

Speedy pushed the stallion forward so that he could see the selection better. The herd was mainly mares, about two dozen of them, with a couple of stallions. The newly established Cimarron Town needed young horses for work and riding. The older mares at the front wouldn't do.

Then he saw the jackpot. A palomino mare - a beauty - was heavily pregnant and it was obvious that she was struggling to keep up. But a stallion was watching closely nearby.

"Bullseye! Bear! We've got a mother over here!" he shouted back to the others. They quickened their horses and drew nearer, Bear taking the right, Speedy to the left and Bulleye behind, ready to push her away from the group.

By now Jade was panicking. The first time she was captured she had to be trained and tamed. it didn't bother her that she would have to do it all again if they caught her, it was the fact that her foal would grow up without the feintest taste of freedom. As her legs began to give in to the fight, she heard a familiar neigh from behind her. She didn't need to look to know that Durango was following her. But they were being driven away from the other horses in the process, and it didn't look like the herd was going to stop.

Two of the men had drawn level with her on the right, the third on the left. She was nearly exhausted, but still had teh cunning and trickery drilled into her from when she was a foal. She stopped suddenly and turned sharply to the left, causing the trio to keep galloping for a few seconds before yanking their steeds to a skidding halt and going after her. Durango cut infront of the men too, further stretching the gap.

"Speedy, if we don't get that mare the Boss isn't going to be pleased. That's a two for one mustang there, and she isn't far from foaling," Bear puffed as they galloped after the wild horses.

"You leave Boss to me, Bear," he replied, "but I don't wanna let this mare go either. She'll be real valuable for my son's ranch, for working and breeding."

Jade was slowing, but still forced her screaming legs on. She had a stitch, but at least Durango was there with her. He was struggling a bit with his leg, but he had slowed down to stay level with her anyway. They turned a corner. A dead end. A narrow ledge sloped down the rocks, but that was the only escape.

The sound of shoed hooves was getting louder. "Stay behind me," Durango said quietly. He was tensing and breathing heavily, and Jade knew that he would protect her with his dying breath. The men weren't interested in him, but they'd have an extra horse for the profit. At least, Jade thought, if they were both made captive the foal would have a father.

The horses appeared from behind the corner and also stopped. The men could clearly see that the stallion wasn't going to abandon the mare. "I guess we'll take them both, Pa," Harry smiled, reaching for his lasso. The stallion was pawing the ground, waiting for the moment. Speedy had been assured by Boss that his chestnut mount would obey him without question, so he rode him forwards.

Durango hesitated for a second. This was his own father, they were face to face. It was his father - his own blood - or his mate. But Durango had vowed to himself that he would love and protect her, no matter what the costs. His father would understand, surely Major would protect Tammy in just the same way?

Durango reared to his full height, striking out with his hooves. Major jumped back to where he had just been standing. The sorrel stallion snapped at the tame horses, making them shy further back. The men tried to throw the occaissonal lasso at him, but he dodged their grasp. Soon the trio was almost backed up against the cliff edge.

"Outsmarted by a mustang," Speedy muttered. He cursed and turned the horse away and led the cowboys back. Along the way they stopped to look for tracks to the herd, but the sun had set and the horses were by now far far away.

Jade and Durango were still catching their breaths from the chase. She was aching all over and just wanted to rest. But Durango was determined to find the other horses and fast. "Anyway," he said, "it's too open here for us to stay." He encouraged her to try and follow the herd's tracks up the slope, but they made little progress by the time it was pitch black.

"Durango I'm tired, I want to stop here, anywhere," she moaned.

"No, we can't stop," he replied. He was a little further ahead, scouting for tracks.

"We can keep going in the morning, my father won't be moving them in the dark."

"I said no," he replied. There was the sound of hoofbeats, and he turned to see Jade skid to a halt, her nose pressed into his face.

"I said I'm tired! We're stopping to rest now!" she shouted.

Durango flattened his ears back, hung his head low and went to find a piece of sheltered ground.

It began raining just before sunrise. Durango was woken by water dripping on his face from the roof of the overhang. He knew that the rain was just going to get heavier throughout the day, so they could make better progress if they left now. He gently woke Jade and they retraced their steps from the night before.

The ground had been oblitherated into mud now, and any remaining tracks were shallow and misshapen. Durango was confident that he could still tell which direction they went in, but Jade felt miserable. The rain had already soaked her coat, the ground was slippy beneath her feet and she just wanted to be home and dry. She trusted Durango, but she felt that he was too optimistic at times.

It was about midday when Durango stopped suddenly. The rain was even more persistent and the dust was slowly merging into rock, then into frost and snow. Jade knew something was wrong. "The tracks are gone," he exclaimed, "they just vanish here!"

"They must have stopped here last night for us," Jade said, "but they must have moved on when it started raining."

"The ground's flat here, so the water can't drain away. By now it'll be like they were never here," he sighed. "I'm sorry Jade."

She nuzzled him. "It's not your fault, Durango. But they must have continued one way or another, we just need to find out which path they took."

They decided to stop until the weather died down. Jade was dying for a lie down, but the ground was just a mud bath now. She wouldn't be able to get back up. Her legs were sore, her head felt heavy and she wanted to sleep soundly for a good few hours.

The rain lifted slightly. Durango smelled the air, hoping for signs of the other horses. "Jade, if your father had to pick left or right, which way would he go?"

"He'd send scouts in both directions, but if he was on his own he'd chose the way that got him highest the quickest," she replied. "Always stay above your enemy, he told me that as a foal."

"Well, we haven't got any enemies at the moment, and do you really want to be treking up steep mountainsides in these conditions?" he said. Jade shook her head and they opted for the flatter route. From the platform they were standing on they could see the trail winding around and up, back on itself and up further on the side of the mountain, before disappearing through a cave.

"I don't care if the herd is around the other corner," Jade said, beginning to walk along the eastern path, "there's shelter in this direction, so that's where I'm going."

The herd had moved quickly through the storm. Spirit had led them cautiously up the speed bank and rounded the horses to the west. There was a mountain pass that they could reach in as little as two days. It would be hard going, but at least it was closer to the ground than hiking over