So for a long time Steve stood beside his horse, moving with him as he grazed and always talking to him.

The valley was steeped in darkness when he heard Pitch call to him. Turning slightly, he saw Pitch only a few yards away from the packs.

“I’m all right,” Steve said, his eyes turning back to the stallion. “He came to me, Pitch. I didn’t chase him this time. I kept my word.”

And the voice that came out of the darkness was low and resigned. “I saw him,” Pitch said. “I know, Steve. Now I know.”

Pitch said nothing more, and when Steve turned to him again, he saw that Pitch had opened the packs and that the stove was already on the ground.

Flame moved, but Steve walked beside him, always stroking, always talking.

“Tomorrow,” he said, “you’ll let me help you more. Tonight we’ll just get used to each other.”

And when the small stove cast its light into the blackness, Pitch could see the outline of a boy and a giant horse standing close together.

PITCH MAKES HIS MOVE

15

Lying on his back, Pitch stared at the stars. The moon had risen above the valley’s walls, so he knew that he had slept for a little while. He rolled over on his side to take another look at Steve’s blanket, knowing in advance that he wouldn’t find Steve asleep in it. Pitch wondered if the boy was going to use it at all.

There was a nickering, a sudden start from the stallion, and Pitch’s gaze swept in his direction. He stood silhouetted against the walls in the moonlight. Steve was beside him, and across the still night air Pitch could hear the boy’s soft murmurings as he talked to the red stallion.

Would Steve stay with his horse all through the night? Would he never sleep? Pitch’s own eyes were heavy and his body weary from the exhaustion of the day’s work and excitement, yet his mind was too active and Pitch tried his best to quiet it.