The thought seemed involuntary, but his mind rejected it.

Nevertheless, he knew that if he could not catch the stallion he would kill him.

That had been the end of many a desperate rider's pursuit of a coveted horse.
While Slone kept on his merciless pursuit, never letting Wildfire rest by day, time went on just as relentlessly.

Spring gave way to early summer.

The hot sun bleached the grass; water-holes failed out in the valley, and water could be found only in the canyons; and the dry winds began to blow the sand.