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uble on Racer with ht he could ride on the pole-drag, or he can ride behindThat leaves you riding double with Ayla or Jonayla With your long legs, it would give you more room if you ride with Jonayla, since she rides so close to Gray’s neck Do you think you could hang on to a horse with your legs while you are sitting on her? You could also hold on to the pole-drag ropes Whoever rides double withlike that—it would tire the horses—but we could cover a good bit of ground a lot faster if we let them run for a little while”
“I see you’ve been thinking about this,” Jondecam said
“Only since Ayla told me of her concerns,” Jondalar said “What do you think, Levela?”
“I don’t want to get wet if I can avoid it,” she said “If Ayla says it’s going to rain, I believe her I’ll ride a pole-drag with Jonvelan like Beladora if it et there faster, even if it is a little bumpy”
While the water was heating for tea, the loads on the pole-drags were rearranged, and Ayla and Jondalar got everyone settled Wolf atching froh he was curious about as going on, which was eht of him and smiled They started out slowly at first, then with a look between theave a shout
“Get ready, and hold on tight,” he said
Ayla leaned forward, instructing her horse to run Whinney started into a fast trot; then her gait changed to a gallop Though it wasn’t as fast as it would have been if she hadn’t been dragging the travois, she did gain considerable speed The horses behind followed her lead and the urging of their usual riders, and picked up their pace Wolf ran along beside the for Jondeca, for those holding on tight to the pole-drags as they buround Ayla paid close attention to her horse, and when Whinney started to labor under the strain, she slowed her down again
“Well, that was exciting,” Beladora said
“That was fun!” both the twins said together “Can we do it again?” Ginadela asked
“Yes, can we do it again?” Gioneran asked
“We’ll do it again, but we have to let Whinney rest a little now,” Ayla said She was pleased with the distance they had traveled in their short burst of speed, but they still had so, but at a walk After she felt that her horse was rested, Ayla called out, “Let’s do it again”
When the horses started running, the riders hung on, knowing nohat to expect The ones who had been frightened were not as frightened this tireater speed than any of thes
The native wild horses, which had been tah Their hooves needed no protection froly heavy load, and their endurance ell beyond what h they loved to run, the horses with the extra loads could sustain the pace for only a limited time, which Ayla watched very carefully By the tinaled them to take off in a run a third ti it Wolf did too It seeaain and get a head start, but he didn’t want to get too far ahead because he was keeping pace and needed to predict when they would slon
By late afternoon Ayla and Jondalar were beginning to recognize the region though they weren’t sure, and didn’t want to miss the trail they needed to take to reach the Cave of Ca at a slower pace es in the weather The air was damp and the wind had started to pick up Then they heard a resounding ru after saw a flash of lightning and it wasn’t very far away They all knew a big storan to shiver, but it wasn’t just the sudden blast of cold da re she hated more than earthquakes
They almost missed the trail, but Willa a watch for them for several days Jondalar was very relieved when he saw the fa at the from some distance away, and had sent one of the people up to tell the Cave that the horses were returning At a distance, when Willaside the horses, he was afraid they hadn’t found anyone, but as they drew closer, he saw more than one head above the backs of the horses, and realized they were riding together Then he saw the pole-drags and as they pulled up, people on them