The next morning, every man was up before the sun. They packed everything they could possibly need for this trip and loaded it onto their horses. They even gave their horses new horseshoes. Soon, Jackson's front yard was filled with men of every age.

Jackson walked onto his front porch, seeing all of the men. He was glad to have so many people joining him to find this thousand-pound colt. Standing quietly on the porch was Anna, Elsa, and Cassandra.

Ralph stood before the stairs and followed Jackson once he passed him. "Where's John?" Jackson asked.

"He's not here," Ralph answered.

"Damn it," Jackson muttered. He pulled out his watch, checking the time as he rushed over to the large group of men. "We can't wait."

Jackson hopped onto a wagon so everyone could see him. The group of men quieted down, waiting to hear what their instructions would be for this mission. "Gentlemen," Jackson began. "I appreciate the speed with which you responded to my call. My colt, the foal from Old Regret, is running with the most cunning mob that ever crossed the ranges. Now, we must be careful."

He hopped off of the wagon and onto his horse. He gripped the reins, continuing to talk. "I've positioned scouts to send up flares as soon as they're sighted. Now -woah." He was interrupted, looking over his shoulder.

There was John. Jackson quickly rode his horse over to him. "Thank you, John. I need your help."

"I'm ready." He said.

Something caught Jackson's eye. He sat up, slightly narrowing his eyes. "Look at him." He said. He quickly recognized that as Kristoff, the boy from the mountain. What was he doing here? "Here to survey his handiwork," Jackson muttered, thinking that's why Kristoff was there. "Ralph!" He shouted.

"If he'd done it he wouldn't be here." John defended.

"You believe that?" Jackson scoffed. Ralph rode up to Jackson's side. "Get him off my property." He demanded, pointing at Kristoff.

"Yes, sir," Ralph said.

"Hold it!" John exclaimed. Ralph stopped, waiting for his command. "Both he and his horse are mountain-bred. I think he should come along." He explained to Jackson. If Jackson really wanted to get back his colt, he would realize how much of an asset Kristoff would be.

"We don't need him." Jackson nearly growled. He wanted nothing to do with Kristoff. He was just some stupid boy from the mountain who was trying to take Anna away from him. Jackson wanted him as far away as possible.

"I asked him," John said.

"You did what?"

"I want him along."

Jackson nodded his head. He really needed John on his side. If he really wanted to bring the mountain boy, then maybe it was a good idea. But he couldn't tell anyone that. "As you wish." Jackson sat up, looking at Kristoff just a few yards away. "He'll dig his own grave."

Jackson rode off as John rode toward Kristoff and Sven. "You ride with me," John said.

Jackson rode to the front of the group. Everyone was on their horses, waiting for their signal to ride. "Gentleman," Jackson declared. "There will be reward to be divided among you as you like when the colt is recovered. 100 pounds."

Jackson raised his arm as the men cheered. 100 pounds? Imagine way they could do with all that money! They raced to the mountain, wanting to be the one to save the colt from the brumbies.

They whistled and hollered as they hopped over tree logs. They rode in a large pack. Unfortunately, Kristoff was left behind. He rode through the dirt clouds, hoping to catch up. A smile was faint on Anna's face as he rushed past her. She hoped he'd be the one to save the colt. Maybe then they could be together.

Once everyone had left, Eugene came tottering onto the property on his wagon. "Hey!" He shouted. "Cassandra!" He grinned, holding up a bottle. He pulled the horse to a stop, just in front of her.

"All the men have just left." She said.

"Well," Eugene began. He jumped from his wagon onto his horse's back. "Where'd they go?" He joked. He laughed, hopping down from his horse. He hobbled toward Cassandra. "Oh, I so wanted to go with 'em, but somebody's gotta stay here and look after the womenfolk. Right?" He smiled, leading Cassandra to the house.

Back on top of the mountain, the sun was high in the sky. The men were resting in a large group. They hadn't seen any flares yet, so they wanted to give their horses a break. They didn't want to overwork them.

Kristoff was tending to Sven when John came walking over. "How's he pulling up, Kristoff?"

"Raring to go. Thanks for your help." He smiled, standing up.

Suddenly, a gunshot caught everyone's attention. Their eyes lifted to the sky, waiting to see the flares. A bright red light soared in the air. All of the men hopped onto their horses and took off, following it.

Down in the valley, they could see the stallion and his brumbies. The men paused at the top of the hill, ready to do anything to get that thousand-pound colt back. "John, wheel 'em to the right." Jackson declared.

John started down the hill and Jackson turned around. "No fancy riding. Go at them from the jump."

All of the men let out a loud holler and stormed down the mountain. The stallion let out a loud whinny, signaling to the brumbies that danger was coming. They raced to the forest, hoping to escape the large group of men.

But the men were relentless. They chased after the brumbies into the tree. They soared over fallen logs and ducked under low branches. Nothing seemed to stop them.

John was Abel to get beside the mob. He cracked his whip, circling them to the right. They turned away from John, hoping to escape him, but were trapped. They began to spin in a circle, unable to escape. Kristoff and the rest of the men stopped and watched in awe. John truly was a master of horses. Kristoff let out a smile, seeing Bess safely in the circle.

But the stallion reared onto his hind legs. He let out a loud screech. Seeing the rebellion in the horse's eyes, he cracked his whip loud. But that didn't scare him. The group of horses split into two, zooming around John.

The men scowled and chased after them again. This was going to be harder than they thought. The men raced through the trees again, but this time wasn't as lucky as the first. Horses were bucking off their masters, afraid of the brumbies. Low branches smacked men off of their horses. Other men were dragged behind, still tied to their running horse.

Kristoff kept low to Sven, hoping to avoid their fates. Once they were in a clearing, he pulled to the side, letting the group of men and horses rush past him. Once there was an opening, he rushed across and took a different path up the mountain.

Seeing this, Hans pulled his horse to a stop. Following Kristoff's lead, he chased after him.

The brumbies raced through a river, the water splashing around their necks. Kristoff's path led them right behind the brumbies. He and Hans raced through the strong currents as the group of men stomped just behind them.

Once they were out of the water, Hans reached over, just barely able to knock the reins off of Sven. But Kristoff pushed forward. He could still have some control over Sven without the reins. After all, he was a mountain horse.

The brumbies ran through another river, water spraying from everywhere. As Hans and Kristoff went the water, Hans' horse slipped. He and his horse fell into the river as Kristoff pushed on.

As Hans emerged for air, the rest of the men were rushing past. "Hey, Hans!" One of them taunted as they spotted his bobbing in the water. A few other men sank into the water, but most of them made it out.

"Wait for me!" Hans shouted, anger clear in his voice. But none of them listened. Hans pulled out his watch, checking to see if it still worked. He held it against his ear, listening for the steady clicks. Unfortunately, that seemed broken. He growled, chucking it at the water.

Once he was away from the water, Kristoff pulled off to the side. He needed the reins back on Sven. As he pulled them back up, the group of men rushed past he. He groaned, hopping onto Sven. Now he was behind again.

The brumbies ran to the edge of the cliff. Without a second thought, they left over to escape the men. Jackson was in the lead but pulled his horse to a stop. There was no way he could complete that jump. The other men stopped their horses as well. It was too steep. No one could chase after the brumbies now.

But without a second thought, Kristoff raced toward the men.

~~~~~~~~~~