n' active. I'd hate to fall into his hands again."

They rode more slowly, and three pairs of eyes continually searched the
plain for an enemy. Ned's sight was uncommonly acute, and Obed and the
Panther frequently appealed to him as a last resort. It flattered his
pride and he strove to justify it.

Their pace became slower and slower, and presently the early twilight of
winter was coming. A cold wind moaned, but the desolate plain was broken
here and there by clumps of trees. At the suggestion of the Panther
they rode to one of these and halted under cover of the timber.

"The river can't be much more than a mile ahead," said the Panther, "an'
we might run into the Mexicans any minute. We're sheltered here, an'
we'd better wait a while. Then I think we can do more stalkin'."

Obed and Ned were not at all averse, and dismounting they stretched
themselves, easing their muscles. Old Jack hunted grass and, finding
none, rubbed Ned's elbow with his nose suggestively.

"Never mind, old boy," said Ned, patting the glossy muzzle of his
faithful comrade. "This is no time for feasting and banqueting. We are
hunting Mexicans, you and I, and after that business is over we may
consider our pleasures."

They remained several hours among the trees. They saw the last red glow
that the sun leaves in the west die away. They saw the full darkness
descend over the earth, and then the stars come trooping out. After that
they saw a scarlet flush under the horizon which was not a part of the
night and its progress. The Panther noted it, and his great face
darkened. He turned to Ned.

"You see it, don't you? Now tell me what it is."

"That light, I should say, comes from the fires of an army. And it can
be no other army than that of Cos."

"Right again, ain't he, Obed?"

"He surely is. Cos and his men are there. He who breaks his faith when
he steals away will have to fight another day. How far off would you say
that light is, Panther?"

"'Bout two miles, an' in an hour or so we'll ride fur it. The night will
darken up more then, an' it will give us a better chance for lookin' an
listenin'. I'll be mightily fooled if we don't find out a lot that's
worth knowin'."

True to Obed's prediction, the night deepened somewhat within the hour.
Many of the stars were hidden by floating wisps of cloud, and objects
could not be seen far on the dusky surface of the plain. But the
increased darkness only made the scarlet glow in the south dee