Black Stallion and Satan Read Online Free Page A

home.”
    “From Abu Ishak?” Henry asked quickly as Mr. Ramsay handed the letter to Alec.
    Shaking his head, Mr. Ramsay said, “It seems to be from Tabari Ishak … at least that’s the name on the return address.”
    “His daughter,” Henry said, turning to Alec.
    The boy was holding the envelope without opening it.
    “She could have addressed it for him,” Henry offered. His eyes remained on Alec’s face as the boy opened the envelope and withdrew the letter. Just as he’d told Alec, Henry didn’t think that Abu Ishak would send the Black here to race. But he could be wrong. And, if the Black came, it would change a lot of things … for him and for Alec; maybe even for Satan. So Henry watched with anxious eyes while Alec read.
    He saw the ashen white rise, beating every bit of color from the boy’s face. He saw the flood of tears come swiftly and flow unchecked. He saw Alec’s eyes close and his fingers crush the letter within his hand.
    It was Mr. Ramsay who took the letter from Alec and straightened it out for Henry to read with him.
    Arabia

June 2nd
    Dear Alec
,
    My father died three months ago, and we have been in mourning. It is only now that I can write to tell you that his death was the result of injuries suffered when he was thrown by the stallion you know as the Black
.
    Among my father’s possessions was a letter to be opened only in the event of his death. In this letter he has written that the Black is to be given to you
.
    It is ironical—is it not?—that my father should bequeath to you the devil responsible for his death. But for that, we would have destroyed him
.
    I have made arrangements with Trans-World Airlines for him to be flown to you. He will arrive in Newark, New Jersey, on the night of June the twentieth. All necessary papers, including transfer of ownership, are being sent under separate cover
.
    May the great Allah be with you and keep you from the same fate which befell my father
.
    Tabari

T HE B LACK
4
    It was more than a week since Alec had received Tabari’s letter, and he and Henry were sitting in the cab of their horse van, parked just off the field of the air cargo terminal in Newark, awaiting the Black.
    Henry ran his hands over the steering wheel, then turned from Alec to the airport’s beacon light as it cut a wide arc through the night sky. A plane went down the runway, its engines rising to a high and thunderous pitch as it took off.
    “I guess I was wrong about the Black bein’ a part of your past, Alec,” he said. “Wrong, all right.”
    Alec said nothing.
    “But what I said about his not bein’ meant to set foot on a track still goes,” Henry added, turning to the boy.
    “I don’t intend to race him,” Alec said.
    “You’ll still have to watch yourself with him. I’m rememberin’ y’never had much trouble. But you’vebeen away from him a long time. Things might have changed between you an’ him.”
    “He’ll know me, Henry.”
    “He knew Abu, too,” the man replied quietly.
    A plane circled and came in. Eagerly they watched it until they saw that it was a passenger plane; then Henry glanced at his watch. “It’s near midnight,” he said. “Should be in any minute now.” Removing his hands from the steering wheel, he noticed that they were wet with perspiration, and he wiped them a little self-consciously on the sides of his pants legs.
    Alec’s gaze turned to the sky; he was watching for the blinking lights of the plane, listening for the far-off drone of its engines and all the while thinking: The Black is mine again … this time for keeps!
    But at the cost of Abu Ishak’s life
.
    Alec closed his eyes, shutting out the darkened sky. He had told himself over and over again that Abu was an old man. A hard fall from
any
horse could have resulted in his death. It need not have been the Black. Tabari had given him none of the details. Abu could have struck his head when he fell; any number of things could have happened. Abu’s