Free The Black Stallion's Sulky Colt by Walter Farley Page B

hurried to meet his friend.
    Henry got out of the car, his eyes tired and his unshaven face bristling with gray hairs. His hands were empty.
    â€œDidn’t you get it?” Alec asked quickly.
    â€œYou think I would have stayed up all night for nothin’?” Henry growled. “Sure I got it.” He reached into the back of his black coupe and tossed the hood to Alec. “I had him make it red,” he said, “figuring we’d better stick to Jimmy’s stable colors.”
    As they walked back to their shed, Alec fingered the light racing hood with its bulging leather eyecup that opened and closed when he worked a spring catch.
    Henry said, “All we got to do now is to attach a long cord to the catch an’ we’re ready to go.”
    â€œPlenty of cord around,” Alec answered.
    â€œLet’s get to it, then.”
    â€œYou mean you want to take him out now?… Today?”
    â€œWhy not?” Henry asked.
    â€œDon’t you think we should give him a day’s rest? He hasn’t had much since his fall.”
    â€œHe’s had plenty, Alec. An’ the sooner we find out if this thing’s goin’ to work, the better off we’ll be.” They came to a stop before Bonfire’s stall, and Alec let the colt sniff the red hood.
    Henry went on, “Besides, this colt could be jogged every day for the next few months without it hurtin’ him any. That’s what he needs. He’s long on speed, but short on stamina for a race like the Hambletonian.”
    Taking the hood from Alec, Henry went into the stall. “I want to get this over with so I can get some sleep,” he grumbled.
    â€œThen you think it’s going to work?”
    â€œIt’s not goin’ to take long to find out,” Henry answered, slipping the hood over Bonfire’s head.
    The colt didn’t object, for the eyecup was open, and the light hood was easy and comfortable to wear. “Now get the bridle and the harness,” Henry requested.
    A few minutes later they took Bonfire from his stall. “I don’t think we should hitch him to the cart right away,” Alec commented. “If it doesn’t work and he goes up he might hurt himself on the shafts.”
    â€œYou’re right,” Henry agreed. “Now get the cord, Alec.”
    The cord was attached to the spring catch and then taken back along the right line, passing through the harness terret to Alec. He was careful with the cord, knowing that the slightest pull would close the eyecup. He tied it around his little finger to keep it separate from the lines.
    â€œOkay, Henry,” Alec called. “I’m ready when you are.”
    Henry led Bonfire down the shed row. Finally he called, “Close it, Alec!” He watched the colt. Bonfire kept walking quietly beside him. “Open it!” No more than a couple of seconds had passed with the cup closed.
    â€œHow’d it go?” Alec asked from behind the colt.
    â€œFine,” Henry answered. “We’ll keep this up for a little while, gradually lengthening the time the cup’s closed. This is goin’ to work, Alec!”
    For more than thirty minutes they walked Bonfire up and down the shed row, opening and closing the eyecup. Toward the end they kept it closed for many seconds, but never long enough so that the colt was ready to fight the blind. They found that his uneasiness left him quickly once they opened the cup and that they could close it again after a short interval.
    Finally they hitched Bonfire and took him to the track. They said nothing on the way there, each knowing how optimistic the other felt but realizing that the final test would come on the track.
    Henry left Bonfire’s side when they reached the gate. “Okay, Alec,” he said, “you two are on your own now.”
    Alec took the colt up the homestretch, conscious of glances from the men sitting on the benches. But they