With a silent prayer of thanks and a press of the knee, Marcoulf turns the roan mare to follow. With the simple allowance of a little extra rein, she can be induced into a cheerful hack: flashing out after Edgard's mount and then overtaking her as they bear down in the direction of the wayward goat. Evidently what the roan lacks in manners, she makes up for in speed.

Which is good, as the goat balks at the sight of two (soon to be three) larger animals plowing down in its direction. With a bleat of dismay, it turns tail and makes a break for it across the scrubby foothills and down over the crest of the hill upon which it was immediately perched.