rotruded. They lay for a few moments in silence, save for the sound of
their own hard breathing, and then Ned suddenly noticed something. They
were only three!

"Why, where is Urrea?" he exclaimed.

"Yes, where in thunder is Don Francisco?" said the Ring Tailed Panther
in startled tones.

Urrea was certainly missing, and no one could tell when they had lost
him. Their flight had been too hurried to take any count of numbers.
There could be only one conclusion. Urrea had been taken in the patio.
The Ring Tailed Panther roared between his teeth, low but savagely.

"I don't like many Mexicans," he said, "but I got to like Don Francisco.
The Mexicans have shorely got him, an' it will go 'specially hard with
him, he bein' of their own race."

Ned sighed. He did not like to think of Don Francisco at the mercy of
Cos. But they could do nothing, absolutely nothing. To leave the hay
meant certain capture within a few minutes. Already they heard the
sounds of the hunt, the shouts of soldiers and the mob, of men calling
to one another. Through the chinks in the wall they saw the light of
torches in the alley. They lay still for a few minutes and then the
noise of the search drifted down toward the plazas. The torches passed
out of the alley.

"Did you hear that whistle just before Cos and Ugartchea fired?" asked
Ned.

"I did," replied Obed. "I don't understand it, and what I don't
understand bothers me."

The Ring Tailed Panther growled, and his growl was the most savage that
Ned had ever heard from him. The growl did not turn into words for at
least a minute. Then he said:

"I'm like you, Obed; I hate riddles, an' this is the worst one that I
was ever mixed up with. Somethin' fell in the shrubbery; then came the
whistle, the Mexicans shot, away we went, lickety split, an' now we're
here. That's all I know, an' it ain't much."

"I wonder if we'll ever find out," said Ned.

"Doubtful," replied the Ring Tailed Panther. "I'm afeard, boys, they
won't waste much time on Urrea, he bein' a spy an' of their own blood,
too. It's war an' we've got to make the best of it."

But Ned could not make very well of it. A fugitive hidden there in the
hay and the dark, the fate of Urrea seemed very terrible to him. The
three sank into silence. Occasionally they heard cries from distant
parts of the town, but the hunt did not seem to come back toward them.
Ned was thankful that the Ring Tailed Panther had been so ready of wit.
The Mex