“The more the merrier,” Miranda said with a laugh. “It’s great to see you both!”
For the next few hours, Keith was like a general planning his campaign. With map in hand, he circled the area of Bulldog Mountain where the horses were last seen. Since the horses were halfway between the two ranches, he decided to split the wranglers up into two teams—Donny and Krista would join Dirk and Janice in their approach from the south, while he, Tonya, Dave, and Miranda would come in from the north.
They set out early the next morning, prepared for a long, hard ride in near-freezing temps. Keith led the expedition on Little Bear, and Krista brought up the rear behind Miranda, who was thankful for reliable ol’ Sadie, who was as sure-footed as a mountain goat.
After almost three hours of riding on treacherous mountain cow paths, Keith picked up a trail of hoofprints and fresh dung. Not long after that he spotted Blue Eye and his stolen harem. Signaling the riders, Keith pulled up. “Let’s not go any closer.”
Miranda uncapped her camera, zooming in on the stallion and his mares. Blue Eye had taken notice of their presence with perked ears and flared nostrils, standing as a sentinel over his mares. “What do we do now?” Miranda asked in a low tone.
“First we’ll give the others our GPS location in the hope they can flank ’em for us. Next, we’ll need to try and get those mares moving. If I can separate the stallion, the mares just might cooperate, but I don’t think Blue Eye’s going to be too amenable to that.”
“What if you can’t separate them?” Miranda asked.
Keith and Dave exchanged a grim look.
“What are you not telling me?” she demanded.
“If we can’t do this any other way, I’ll have to shoot him,” Keith replied.
Miranda’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe you said that! You’d actually shoot him? How can you even think it?”
“How can I not think it?” Keith argued “He’s not going to give up those mares without a fight, and I can’t afford for anyone to get hurt in the process. You already knew there was a fifty-fifty chance I’d have to do it anyway. I told you from the beginning that would be his fate if I couldn’t make him safe to be around.”
“But there’s got to be another way!” she protested.
“Look, there’s no point in getting all worked up about it,” he said. “I have a plan. It’s not guaranteed to work, but let’s just see what happens, okay?”
“What kind of plan?” Miranda asked.
“I’m going to use Little Bear to draw him away from the mares,” Keith said. “While Blue Eye’s defending his claim, the rest of you are going to push those mares back toward the ranch.”
“But what about Little Bear? Didn’t you say stallions will fight to the death? How are you going to stop that?” Miranda asked.
“Dave and I will try and rope them, but if things go bad, we’ll have to use the rifle.”
“No, Keith. You can’t! This whole thing sounds way too dangerous.”
He shrugged. “I’ve roped plenty of mustangs before. You up for it, Dave?”
“Hell yeah.” Dave grinned.
“I’m staying with you,” Miranda said.
“Fine,” Keith replied tersely. “I don’t have time to argue about this anymore. Just stay out of the way. This is dangerous, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
A moment later, Keith radioed Dirk and Janice with their position and then pulled back just close enough to keep the horses in sight, but still distant enough that Blue Eye wouldn’t feel the urge to move his band. Once the other wranglers were in position to support their effort, Keith dismounted and unsaddled his horse.
Miranda’s breath caught at Little Bear’s instant transformation. With his gaze pinned on his adversary, he raised his head and snorted, his body trembling with nervous energy, much like a warrior preparing for battle. Little Bear pranced, pawed, and jigged as Keith led him in the direction of the herd, murmuring instructions in low tones that only the horse could hear.
With their heads raised and ears pricked, the mares looked on with avid interest as Keith released his horse. Arching his crested neck and raising his tail, Little Bear galloped toward the periphery of the band. Miranda’s breath caught in apprehension as Blue Eye spun and charged to meet him. The two horses came together, roaring and rearing.