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The rise and fall made Percy’s stomach plummet with each one, and his heart was racing.
The mob of brumbies were at a full gallop now, aware of their pursuit.
They had the advantage, being riderless and free, being familiar with this terrain. They could turn on a dime, swap and sway, and use the gullies and tall gum trees to their advantage.
Percy could have sworn the brumby stallion led them through the trees with low branches on purpose. He nearly copped a branch to the head but ducked just in time.
They followed them along the line of the gully, where they disappeared over the edge and out of view.
Des pulled his horse up just shy of the drop, and Robert pulled hard on his reins, stopping just before the edge. Albie and Percy got there not a second later, already slowing down.
Their horses were panting, snorting, breathing hard. The men were too. But they sat there and watched the mob meet the bottom and begin up the next rise.
“Too good for us,” Des said.
Robert was still studying them. “I count thirty,” he said.
Percy hadn’t even tried to count them. He was too busy trying not to fall off his horse.
Albie looked at Percy. He was breathing hard, his nostrils flared. “You good?”
Percy grinned at him. “Are you kidding? That was the most fun I’ve ever had!”
Albie sighed.
“Did you see that first gully?” Percy asked, excited. “Bandit dropped out from under me so fast I almost lost my breakfast.”
Robert laughed and Des snorted. “Fun, huh?” Robert asked.
Percy laughed, breathless. “Every second of it.”
Des pulled his horse around. “Let’s take them to the river. It’s got decent flow this year. We now have the fun job of getting home.”
Percy didn’t mind one bit.
It was all fun to him.
Chapter Eighteen
Albie should have known that Percy would love it. The speed of it, the thrill. The danger, the rush.
They didn’t even get close to rounding up the wild horses.
But part of Albie didn’t even mind.
He hadn’t been down this side of the cliff face since he was a young boy. As they rode down toward the river, he pulled Minnie up and pointed behind them. “Percy, look.”
Percy stopped and looked up at the sheer rock face that jutted several hundred yards straight up. “What’s up there?” Percy asked.
“Home,” Albie replied.
Percy’s eyes went wide. “All the way up there? Did we come down that far?”
He nodded to the far end of the cliff face. “Further that way. But now you can see how far you almost fell.”
Percy paled a little. “Wowzers. That’s quite a drop. I don’t remember it being so high up. It was misty, I guess. Hard to see.”
And because he’d knocked his brain about in his skull.
