halting often, to the boats which were in
waiting to bear them away. Barbarians though they were, these soldiers
made a gallant showing. In front of each regiment was borne its feather
standard, and in the midst of each company was its rallying flag of
brightly painted cotton cloth. The higher officers wore wooden casques,
carved and painted in the semblance of the heads of ferocious beasts;
the cotton-cloth armor of all the officers was decked with a great
variety of strange devices, wrought in very lively hues, and similarly
strong hues were used in the decoration of the universally-carried light
round shields. And all this brilliant color, the more vivid because of
its background of bare brown skins, was flecked with a thousand
glittering points of light where the sunshine sparkled on swords and on
spear-heads of hardened gold.

"Its not much wonder that those fellows got away with us," Rayburn said,
as he watched the orderly manner in which the disciplined ranks moved
out upon the pier and stepped briskly into the boats at the word of
command. "They're as fine a lot of fighters as I ever saw anywhere. Just
look how steadily they stand at a halt, and how sharply they obey
orders, and how well set up they are! I must say I don't see what the
Colonel could have been thinking about when he said that we had a
fighting chance against an army like that. Well, he's paid for his
mistake about as much as a man can pay for anything. It breaks me all up
to think that the Colonel is dead. He was good all the way through. And
I wonder what will become of that little lame boy of his now? They'll
make a Tlahuico of him, I suppose. By Jove! what a mess we've made of
this whole business from first to last!"

My heart was too heavy for me to answer Rayburn save by a nod; for while
he spoke the thought came home to me very bitterly that upon me rested
the responsibility of the black misfortune in which he and Young were
involved; and with this came also a great burst of sorrow as I thought
how still more closely at my door lay Pablo's death--for Rayburn and
Young at least had come into my plans with a reasonable understanding of
the danger to which they exposed themselves; but Pablo, having no such
knowledge, had followed me unquestioningly because of his loving trust
that I would hold him safe from harm. My sorrow concerning Fray Antonio
was keen enough, Heaven knows; but in his case I had the solace of
knowing surely that he had co