is arm, he suffered himself to be led
away; and soon they were hurrying for the river. There was quite a
clearing to cross, and as they gained the timber Dan paused to look
back and to gaze around them. But neither man nor beast was in sight.

On hurried the two boys, through a tangle of brush and tall pines, the
latter of the long straw variety and smelling strongly of turpentine
whereever the last storm had broken off a top or a heavy branch. Closer
to the stream was a stately row of cottonwoods, with here and there a
fragrant magnolia, which reminded the lads of the former homestead left
so many miles behind. It was the spring of the year and the magnolias
were just putting forth their buds, and Dan paused for a second to gaze
at them.

"I'll tell you what, Ralph, it will be a long while before Texas is as
civilised as Georgia," he observed.

"Will it ever be as civilised, Dan? I heard father say last week, when
he was talking to Brossom, that he never thought it would be,--so long
as Texas was joined to Coahuila and belonged to the Mexican
Confederation. He said Texas ought to be free."

"He is right, too,--we ought either to be free, or else belong to the
United States. It's all well enough for the Mexicans living in Coahuila
to belong to the Confederation if they want to, but they don't care for
us Americans, and they are going to grind us under if they can."

"But they were glad enough to have us come in, weren't they?--I mean at
first."

"Yes, when Stephen Austin came in with his first batch of emigrants
they welcomed the newcomers with open arms, and gave each man a large
tract of land for himself, one for his wife, and more land for each
child or servant, and they were mighty glad to have other _empresarios_
bring in emigrants, too, so I've read in the papers. But now they are
getting afraid that the Americans will overrule them, and there is
bound to be a lot of trouble sooner or later."

Ralph was anxious to show his brother his prize, and as they neared the
spot where the big deer had been brought down he ran on ahead, and so
the talk on State affairs came to an end. But Dan was right, there was
much trouble ahead, as we shall see as our story progresses.

The cottonwoods passed, the boys faced another small clearing, where a
forest fire years before had lain many a towering pine low. Beyond this
burnt and barren spot were the pecan-trees overhanging the river, where
the deer had come to slake his