"And the horses?" said another voice.

"Why, as to them, they have only seven," replied the first voice, "and
they are broken down and tired, although fine animals. They would sell
well after a three weeks' grazing."

"Take them away, then; are they tied?"

"Only two."

"Break the halters then, and start them full speed, as if they were
frightened; it will not awaken their suspicion."

"Why not settle the matter with them all at once? we would get their
saddles."

"Fool! suppose they are a vanguard of General Rusk's army, and one of
them should escape? No; to-morrow at sunrise they will run upon the
tracks of their horses, and leave their saddles and saddle-bags behind;
three men shall remain here, to secure the plunder, and when the ducks
(travellers) are fairly entangled in the forest, being on foot, we can
do what we please."

Others then joined the conversation, and Gabriel and I returned to our
friends as silently as we left them. Half an hour afterwards, we heard
the galloping of our horses, in a southerly direction, and Gabriel going
once more to reconnoitre, perceived the band taking another course,
towards the east, leaving as they had proposed, three of their men
behind them. For a few minutes he heard these men canvassing as to the
best means of carrying the saddles, and having drank pretty freely from
a large stone jug, they wrapped themselves in their blankets, and
crawled into a sort of burrow, which had probably been dug out by the
brigands, as a cachette for their provisions and the booty which they
could not conveniently carry.

By the conversation of the three fellows, Gabriel conjectured that the
band had gone to a place of rendezvous, on the bank of some river, and
that the party who had carried away our horses was to proceed only six
miles south, to a stream where the track of the horses would be effaced
and lost in case of our pursuit. As soon as they considered that we
were far enough from our encampment, they were to return by another
road, and rejoin the three men left behind. Gabriel conjectured that
only four men had gone away with the horses. After a little
consultation, we awoke our comrades, and explaining to them how matters
stood, we determined upon a counterplot.

It was at first proposed to shoot the three scoundrels left for our
saddle-bags, but reflecting that they were better acquainted than we
were with the locality, and that the report of one of their fire-arms