whirlpools whose waters were whipped into foam by the wind that swept
through the forest.

At a point of the road where there was a break in the _chaparral_, a
voice suddenly cried out in Spanish:

"Who comes?"

"Follow us!" was the quick answer without drawing rein; and, instantly,
on recognition of the young master's voice, a mounted sentinel spurred
his horse out from behind an overhanging rock and closed in behind
them. And as they were challenged thus several times, it happened that
presently there was quite a little band of men pushing ahead in the
darkness that had fallen.

And so another hour passed. Then, suddenly, there sprung into view
the dark outlines of a low structure which proved to be a corral, and
finally they made their way through a gate and came upon a long adobe
house, situated in a large clearing and having a kind of courtyard in
front of it.

In the centre of this courtyard was what evidently had once been a
fountain, though it had long since dried up. Around it squatted a group
of _vaqueros_, all smoking cigarettes and some of them lazily twisting
lariats out of horsehair. Close at hand a dozen or more wiry little
mustangs stood saddled and bridled and ready for any emergency. In
colour, one or two were of a peculiar cream and had silver white manes,
but the rest were greys and chestnuts. It was evident that they had
great speed and bottom. All in all, what with the fierce and savage
faces of the men scattered about the courtyard, the remoteness of the