er dripped from the trees upon them, but these things did not
trouble them. They felt all the joy of escape. Ned knew that neither of
them, if taken, could expect much mercy from the brutal Cos.

They came after a while to a gorge, through which a torrent rushed,
cutting off their way. It was midnight now. They saw that the stream was
very muddy and that it bore on its current much debris.

"We'll just sit down here and rest," said Obed. "This is nothing more
than a brook raised to a river by the storm, and, in another hour or
two, it will be a brook again. Rise fast, fall fast holds true."

They sat on a log near the stream and watched it go down. As their
muscles relaxed they began to feel cold, and had it not been for the
serapes they would have been chilled. In two hours the muddy little
river was a muddy little brook and they walked across. All the while
now, a warm, drying wind was blowing, but they kept on for some time
longer in order that the vigorous circulation of the blood might warm
their bodies. Then, seeking the best place they could find, they lay
down among the bushes, despite the damp, and slept.

Ned was the first to awake the next day, and he saw, by a high sun, that
they were on a slope, leading to a pretty valley well grown in grass.
He took a few steps and also stretched both arms. He found that his
muscles were neither stiff nor sore and his delight was great. Obed
still slumbered peacefully, his head upon his arm.

Ned walked a little further down the slope. Then he jumped back and hid
behind a bush. He had caught a glimpse of a horse saddled and bridled in
the Mexican manner, and it was his first thought that a detachment from
the army of Cos was riding straight toward them. But as he stood behind
the bush, heart beating, eyes gazing through the leaves, he saw that it
was only a single horse. Nor was it coming toward him. It seemed to be
moving about slowly in a circle of very limited area. Then, leaving the
bush, he saw that the horse was riderless. He watched a long time to see
if the owner would appear, and as none came he went back and awakened
Obed White.

"What! What!" said Obed, opening his eyes slowly and yawning mightily.
"Has the day come? Verily, it is a long night that has no ending. And so
you have seen a horse, Ned, a horse saddled and bridled and with no
owner! It can't be the one that King Richard offered his kingdom for,
and since it isn't we'll just see why this caparison