"American boys?" asked Adan, eagerly.

"Now," said Anastacio, "I sleep. Awake me when the sky turns grey."

He stretched himself out and slept at once. The boys drew close together
and speculated upon the fateful morrow. They agreed to remain close
together, out of sight of the enemy, but where they could watch the
Indian forces. If Anastacio fell they would flee at once.

X

The small Californian force--it numbered little over two hundred men--
was under the command of Juan Pardo Mesa, a captain notable for his
victorious encounters with Indians and for his knowledge of their
cunning. He was on the alert at dawn next morning, and long before the
sun had spurned the tops of the Coast range, his assumption of meditated
treachery was confirmed. A rising wind had set the young redwoods in
motion. Before long the practised eye of Captain Mesa saw an increased
agitation among the feathery branches, his ear caught a slight
crackling. His men were flat on the ground. He stood in the shadow of a
large oak. A moment later a dusky form crept out to where the brush grew
more sparsely, hesitated a moment, and apparently passed back word that
all was well; he was immediately followed by many of his kind; and the
lower slope of the mountain, burnt bare by fire, seemed suddenly
swarming with huge black rats.

Mesa waited until they were well away from cover, then gave the expected
order: two hundred muskets, carbines, and flintlock pistols were
discharged, and one piece of artillery.