When Love grows doubt
Page 24
On the hill he reined in his horse. The forest was behind him and now gave him a clear view of the breathtaking landscape below him.
He had been on the road for a long time with his mission, but he had not made a single step forward.
Somewhat undecided as to, where he should turn now, he stood on the hill and let the magic of nature fall upon him. Between the small ridge on which he stood and the deep ravine that opened up a few hundred yards away from him lay green prairie. His gaze wandered to the left, where he saw that the canyon widened and the prairie ended. There, he would only get further if he could find a way down and the gorge allowed him to ride in it.To the right, the terrain looked as if he could continue his way. Just as he wanted to steer his horse in this direction, down the hill, a cloud of dust on the horizon caught his attention. What could it be that was coming at him at a seemingly rapid pace? A herd of buffalo?
No, the dust cloud was not big enough for that. He had seen many buffalo herds before, and when they
came, the ground shook and the dust clouds were huge. His trained sharp eyes suddenly spotted a single rider, but what drove this rider into this area with such speed?
Slowly he gave his horse the command to descend the hill. He did not want to reveal himself too early to the oncoming rider. When he reached the bottom, he took cover behind a bush and could observe from here that the rider had not reduced his speed and, from his point of view, was dashing along the precipice in an extremely dangerous manner. The rider had to be insane.
He could plunge into the abyss at any moment with a misstep of the horse. When the horse was at his eye level, he realized that the rider was a woman, who had apparently lost control of her animal. Without hesitating, he slammed his heels into his horse's flanks and galloped wildly after the rider. The horse was fast, but it was no match for his mustang and so he made up ground yard by yard. The rider did not seem to have noticed him, nor was she aware of the danger she was in.
At any moment she could lose her balance, or her horse could fall with her, into the ravine. Glancing ahead, he saw that they were nearing the end where the ravine joined the ridge and the grass ended. The rider's animal continued to dash towards it without stopping.
He recognized the panicked look in the horse's eyes and knew that he had to get the woman from the horse. With the Indian words that he whispered into his horse's ear, the animal immediately stepped up its pace once again. He shifted to the left of the panicked animal and now rode almost level with it.
At that moment, the woman caught a glimpse of him and widened her eyes in fear. Just as she was about to draw her rifle with her right hand, he steered his horse right next to hers, bent over to her, wrapped his right arm around her delicate waist and lifted her with a skillful grip from her saddle. He threw her directly over his animal's neck. Quickly he yanked the reins and let his mustang run out for a few more yards before he brought the animal to a halt. Elegantly he let himself slide off the horse and
pulled the woman kicking in front of him off the horse. Because she flailed wildly and he let go of her at that moment, she lost her balance and landed on her rear end. With a cry, she tried to pull herself up, but her legs failed cooperate and she landed on the floor again. Desperate and driven by fear, she slowly crawled away from the frightening Indian, who was now standing calmly next to his black stallion and watching her closely.
Wind of Fate
Now Available
Barbara Eckhoff
Born near Hannover/ Germany in 1968, she was drawn to faraway places at an early age.
As a hotel manageress, she worked in hotels all over Germany and spent a year in Canada as an au pair, before settling down with her husband and the two daughters in a small village in Schleswig-Holstein. In 2013, she emigrated with her family to Florida/USA. It was there, when she began to get more serious about writing. In the meantime, more books have been published in German and English. Today, she lives with her husband and their Golden Retriever in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley in Virginia/USA and runs a Bed & Breakfast.
For more Infos:
www.barbaraeckhoff.com
www.brierleyhill.com