The Wild Mustang of Colorado

Chapter Five

  Two weeks later after the snow had melted and I had gotten my strength back, I was ready to start on my journey home, but John Greene (for I had learned that was his name) wasn't so anxious. When he was convinced I was without an owner, he decided I would make an excellent farm horse. So, I decided to stay a while longer.

The Greenes' farm was a nice place. In the morning, we horses were well fed with oats and bran. An hour later, we were let out to pasture and entitled to a whole day of grazing. Even though it was late winter and the grass was brown and dry, it sure tasted good. Mr. Greene's three sons would give us a thorough grooming every day, too.

One day, Mr. Greene saddled me up. He led me outside of the barn.
"Have you ever been ridden?" He asked. "Well, I guess we'll find out in a moment, won't we?"
I, of course, had been; but only under unpleasant circumstances. When Greene mounted me, I spun around and quickly walked off with my head down.
"Whoa, boy," he said and pulled on the reins. "You're broke alright, but you definitely need some training." He nudged my flank and I walked off again, but in a well-behaved manner.
Mr. Greene rode me for a while near the farm, and then we returned.

The next day, I was being groomed in the barn by one of the Greene boys when I looked out and saw a couple of men riding up to the cottage. I heard them stop and dismount.
"It looks like we have visitors, Sarah," Mr. Greene said to his wife. I heard the front door slam shut as he walked out to meet them. One of the men spoke.
"Hello, I'm Larry Williams."

Larry Williams! That was the man in charge of the stage! He must be looking for me, I thought. I continued to listen in on their conversation.

"Howdy," Greene said, "I'm John Greene." There was a pause. I assumed they were shaking hands.
"I'll get right to the point," Williams continued. "Recently one of my best horses escaped. I've been checking with the locals to see if they might have seen him. He's a pure black stallion. No markings at all."
"Well...Why of course! About a month ago I saw a stray horse running loose in the snow and decided to shelter him until his rightful owner showed up. Follow me."

Oh no!

I started to back away, even though I knew it was useless. Mr. Williams followed Mr. Greene into the barn. Greene introduced him to his son. Williams looked at me.
"Yep, I do believe it's him." Williams reached for my lead line. I pinned my ears back and reared. Mr. Williams stumbled backwards away from me, tripping over a pail and getting his foot stuck in it in the process. I came down and snorted at him.
Mr. Greene helped him to his feet. "Sorry Mr. Williams," he said, apologetically brushing the dirt off his suit. "I never knowed that horse to act so unruly."
Of course, Williams was rather unpleased himself. He shoved Greene away from him and reached for my rope once more. I reared again and struck my hoof at him. It just missed his shoulder.

This infuriated Williams. He spotted a whip in the corner of the barn, grabbed it and raised it at me. Greene came to my defense. "Now hold it!" he snatched the whip out of his hand and threw it the other way.
"I don't cotton to people coming in my barn, grabbing my whip and intending on beating my horse with it, and it looks like he don't either." He looked at me. "Maybe that's why he ran away from you. And when I found him, the horse was skin and bones! Now whether that horse goes with you or not is entirely up to him, and it looks to me like he don't want to, so you best get off my property." Mr. Greene reached for a nearby shotgun. "You're trespassing!"
Williams stared at Mr. Greene for a minute, looked at me, and then marched out of the barn in a huff. And that was the last I ever saw of Larry Williams.