ar troops," he said, "but he is alarmed.
He did not think that the Texans were in such earnest, and that they
would dare so much. Now, he is barricading the streets and building
breastworks."

The Texans were so resolute and confident that the next day they sent a
demand to Cos for his surrender. He would not receive it, and threatened
that if another white flag appeared he would fire upon it. A day or two
later, Houston and the Eastern Texans arrived, and Ned, Obed, the Ring
Tailed Panther and Urrea planned a daring adventure for the following
night. They had heard how Cos was fortifying San Antonio, and as they
expected the Texan army to make an assault they intended to see just
what he was doing.

They made their way very cautiously toward the town, left on foot when
the full dark had come. It was only four miles to San Antonio, and they
could reach the line of Mexican sentinels within an hour. The Ring
Tailed Panther was growling pleasantly between his teeth. He had tired
of inaction. His was a character such as only the rough world of the
border could produce. If he did not live by the sword he lived by the
rifle, and since childhood he had been in the midst of alarms. Long
habit had made anything else tiresome to him beyond endurance, but he
was by nature generous and kindly. Like Obed he had formed a strong
attachment for Ned who appealed to him as a high-souled and generous
youth.

They made their way very cautiously toward the town, passing by
abandoned houses and crossing fields, overgrown with weeds. Both the
Ring Tailed Panther and Urrea knew San Antonio well, and Obed had been
there once. They were of the opinion that the town with its narrow
streets, stone and adobe houses was adapted particularly to defense, but
it was of the greatest importance to know just where the new outworks
were placed.

The four came within sight of Mexican lights about nine o'clock. The
town was in the midst of gently rolling prairies and as nearly as they
could judge these lights--evidently those of camp fires--were about a
quarter of a mile from San Antonio. They were three in number and
appeared to be two or three hundred yards apart. They watched a little
while but they did not see any human outlines passing in front of the
fires.

"They are learnin' caution," said the Ring Tailed Panther. "They are
afraid of the Texan rifles, an' while those fires light up a lot of
ground they keep their own bodies back in the shadow.