stepped into his boat, and it was shoved off from the bit of Cuban
beach on which Ridge Norris had just been landed. For a couple of
minutes the young trooper stood motionless, listening with strained
ears to the lessening sound of muffled oars. It was the last link
connecting him with home, country, and safety. For a moment he was
possessed of such a panic that he was on the point of shouting for
Comly to come back and take him away. It did not seem as though he
could be left there alone in the dark, and amid all the crowding
terrors of that unknown land.

Just then Señorita, who stood dripping and shivering beside him, rubbed
her wet nose softly against his cheek, as though begging for sympathy,
and in an instant his courage was restored. It was enough that another
creature more helpless than he was dependent upon him for guidance and
protection.

"It's all right, girl," he whispered, throwing an arm about the mare's
neck. "We'll stick to each other and pull through somehow." Then
plucking a handful of dried grass, he gave the animal a brisk rubbing
that warmed them both. By the time it was finished, birds were
twittering in the dense growth behind them, and the eastern sky was
suffused with the glow of coming day.

Knowing nothing of his surroundings, nor what eyes might in a few
minutes more discover these new features of the beach, Ridge now
removed his slender belongings to a hiding-place behind some bushes,
where he also fastened Señorita. Then he set forth to explore the
shore with the hope of finding a path into the interior; for to force a
way through the tangled chaparral that everywhere approached close to
the water's edge seemed hopeless.