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