g before this, have been sent by swift runners
to every town and village on this slope of the mountains. The
garrisons of Perote, Tlatlanquitepec, Xalapa, and Naulinco will all
be in movement. Naulinco is but some eight or ten miles away down
the pass; and not only the soldiers, but every man in the town will
be ordered out. They will be posted as thick as blades of grass at
the mouth of every valley leading down from the mountains.

"You have resisted the emperor's officers, and have killed numbers
of his soldiers. They will know that the wrath of Montezuma will be
terrible, if they fail to arrest you."

"Then you think that it will almost be impossible to make our way
through them?"

Bathalda nodded his head.

"And in time, I suppose, they will search these woods?"

"Every foot of them, wide though they are, my lord."

"Then what is your advice, Bathalda?"

"It depends whether my lord's mind is altogether set upon joining
the white men of the sea, at once."

Roger, in turn, was silent for a time. The Spaniards would have
learned the wealth of the land. It was not likely they would
speedily depart; but if they did, it would only be to return again,
in far greater force than at present. Other opportunities would
occur for rejoining them, and it would be folly to throw away his
life, and that of his companion, in an attempt that the latter
evidently felt to be desperate. He had already had proof of the
vigilance of the Aztec scouts, and doubtless that vigilance would
now be redoubled.

"No, Bathalda," he replied at last; "I should be content to remain
in hiding for a time, and to risk the departure of the white men."

"Then, my lord, my advice is, that we retrace our steps across to
the other side of the mountains. Then we will head north, avoiding
the towns, and take refuge for a time in the forests, that stretch
for many leagues over the mountains. There we can build a hut and
hunt. There are turkeys and other game in abundance. From time to
time I can go down to a town and gather news, and bring back such
things as may be necessary for you. Then, when the search for you
abates, we can strike down thence to the seacoast, if the white men
are still there. At any rate, we can live by hunting as long as you
may find it necessary to remain in concealment."

"That will be by far the best plan, Bathalda. I have no objection
to a few weeks of life in the woods, and you can teach me your
craft of a hunter. What