A GALLOP ON MEXICAN SOIL.
"Hey, Rob, tell me what to do!" Tubby could be heard shouting at the top
of his voice, as he kept on hugging his horse about the neck, being
evidently determined not to allow the current to pluck him out of his
saddle, at any rate so long as he could maintain that rigid grip.
Even in that sudden emergency Tubby found himself depending on Rob as
usual; and to hear him asking for information, one would believe that
the young patrol leader knew more about river fords than a dozen native
guides who had been used to crossing by this means all their lives.
Rob had reached shallow water, and immediately urged his horse
down-stream, in order to come opposite the drifting scout.
"Just keep holding on, and the horse will bring you to land!" he called
out encouragingly. "He is making a plucky fight, and getting in closer
all the while. As soon as he strikes bottom it will be all over; so keep
your grip, Tubby."
This the fat scout did; and just as Rob had said, presently the swimming
animal reached a more shallow point, where he could get his footing and
manage to swing in closer than ever. And in another five minutes Tubby
emerged from the river, "looking like a half-drowned rat," as Andy
assured him, for streams were dripping from each foot, and he was soaked
from his waist down.
"Anyway, I had horse sense enough to keep my gun dry," Tubby observed.
"But what shall I do now, Rob? I'm weighing half a ton, I guess."
"You're not apt to catch cold in this warm air," Rob told him; "and so
you might as well let your duds dry on you. At noon, when we halt for a
bite, you can open up your bundle and spread your blanket out for the
sun to dry. After all, there wasn't any damage done."
"Only to my feelings," Tubby reminded him.
"And they don't count," said Andy, laughing at the recollection of the
tragic way in which Tubby had embraced that horse. He had held to it
about as a leech might have clung when applied to the arm of a patient
in the old days when they bled sick men.
They at once turned their backs on the Rio Grande, and according to
what Lopez told them, they were not likely to set eyes on the river
again until their mission had either been successfully carried out, or
proven a failure.
Rob took a fond look at the stream. Somehow it seemed to be the very
last link binding them to their home land; for across the running water
lay the good old United States. And they were now on foreign soil, where
the Starry Flag at present was powerless to protect them from a
multitude of perils.
Presently they could see the river no longer, because they were rising
over a level stretch of country through which the flood at some time in
the far past had cut a deep channel.
From now on, what was around and before them was to serve fully to
occupy their attention.
When half a dozen miles had been passed over, Rob began to notice that
Tubby was not looking as happy as he might; and he feared that the pace
was telling more or less on the stout chum.
"Are we going too fast for you, Tubby?" he called out; and instantly the
other tried to look utterly unconcerned, as though he were enjoying
himself to the utmost.
"What, for me?" he immediately answered, with a ring of indignation in
his voice; though every jump of his horse caused him to shake like a
mould of jelly. "Well, I should say not! You couldn't move too fast to
suit my mind, Rob. If I had an aeroplane right now you'd see me sailing
away at the rate of a hundred miles an hour, and headed for that same
old town of Chihuahua. Why didn't we think to bring something like that
along? Aeroplanes may be dangerous things, but then they're a heap more
comfortable than some nags I know!"
No matter how Tubby suffered, he seemed bound not to admit the fact; and
knowing his stubborn nature, Rob did not try to show any further
sympathy for him. If things really became too bad, perhaps Tubby would
consent to ask them to hold up and let him have a breathing spell. But
at any rate, they were surely putting the miles behind them, and before
night-time would have made "quite a dent in that journey to the capital
of the State," as Andy said.
Before the middle of the day came, Rob had the guide call a halt, for he
knew it was punishment to Tubby to keep this up as they were doing. The
sun was so scorchingly hot that the fat boy seemed very nearly as wet
with perspiration as he had been soaked with river water a little
earlier. But even then he complained at the stop, and told Rob he should
have been able to hold out another half-hour or until noon. This caused
the other scouts to exchange winks, and behind their hands tell each
other that for dogged perseverance Tubby surely had them all "beaten a
mile."
While they rested their mounts and had a cold bite, Tubby was induced to
open his pack and spread out such things as seemed damp, so that when
night came he would not have to lie down under a blanket that gave him a
chill. Lopez warned the boys that while the day had been very hot, they
would find good reason to wish they had two blankets apiece before
morning.
"We found that out the time we were down at Panama," said Rob; "though,
perhaps, being further north now may make a difference. But Tubby's just
got to have his blanket good and dry, and that goes."
Tubby managed to accomplish this; and as they packed up later on to
continue their gallop, he told the others that the sun had done the
business all right.
Several times during the morning's run the keen-sighted guide had
discovered moving figures far off. Rob had been thoughtful enough to
bring a small but powerful pair of field-glasses, along with many other
things; and these now came in handy to tell them whether the distant
parties were seemingly Federal soldiers or members of Villa's rebel army
foraging for supplies.
"But if Villa's men are holding all the ground between Chihuahua, from
which they chased Salazar's forces a little while ago, and Juarez on the
river, why do we need to fear running across any Federal soldiers?" Andy
wanted to know, when once Lopez, after taking a look through the
glasses, declared that he believed the half dozen riders they watched
going further away might be men in the uniform of Mexican regulars.
"Generally speaking, they do hold this territory, which mostly used to
belong to the wealthy Terrazas family," Rob explained; "but reports have
come in that several bodies of mounted regulars were dispatched from
Ojinaga, where half a dozen generals and their men are fortifying their
positions to make a stubborn stand against the rebels. These raiders
have orders to cut the telegraph lines, and destroy all the bridges
they can between Chihuahua and the border on both lines of railroad. And
so you see, we are apt to run across one of these flying columns at any
old time. That is what the good general warned me to look out for;
because, of course, we have more to fear from Salazar's men than from
the rebels."
"Ginger snaps and pop-guns! I should say we had," exclaimed Tubby, "when
we remember what precious document--er, I mean how much we want to see
General Villa!"
Rob had not thought it wise to tell everything to the guide until they
came to know him better; and hence his frown and vigorous shake of the
head toward the talkative Tubby, when the other came within an ace of
"letting the cat out of the bag."
They did not ride quite so fast during the afternoon, all on Tubby's
account, though no one dared let him know that, or he would have been
very angry. As the day began to wane, and they seemed to be in a part of
the wild country free from either rebels or Government troops, Rob
suggested that they come to a halt and go into camp.
"We must have made as much as forty miles and more since morning, and so
be that much nearer Chihuahua," he remarked; "and that's good enough for
one day. Perhaps to-morrow we may work closer to the railroad, and try
to get in touch with some of Villa's men, who will take us to him.
There's Lopez dismounting, boys, so let's do the same."
Merritt and Andy both grunted as they managed with some difficulty to
get out of their saddles, after Rob had set the example. As for Tubby,
he seemed to be glued in his seat, for while they saw him make a
desperate effort several times, he did not seem able to accomplish a
separation. Finally, with a foolish grin on his face, he beckoned to Rob
to come nearer.
"I'm afraid you'll have to give me a lift, Rob," he confessed; "fact is,
I don't seem able to raise either leg, I'm that stiff. That's a good
feller, just get me started and I'll be all right, sure I will. And
after I've jumped around a few dozen times I'll be ready to dance a
hoedown if you ask me."
But it was noticed that Tubby was unusually quiet all that evening,
hardly bothering to move more than to reach out for his share of
supper; nor did he volunteer to do his part in the cooking. "For what
is the use," he complained, "when we have an experienced guide along who
loves to cook?" And at one time, when Rob leisurely got to his feet and
reached for a tin cup, Tubby even had the assurance to call out softly
after him:
"If so be you're meaning to go to the creek for a drink, Rob, wish you'd
fetch a cup of water for me, and thank you!"
The truth of the matter was that ride had been a terrible experience to
the fat scout, and he had suffered much more than anybody suspected. But
by slow degrees he would grow accustomed to the exercise, and perhaps
even enjoy life in the saddle before they were done scouring the country
in search of Villa.
Lopez had taken every sort of precaution to avoid having their camp seen
by any hostile eyes. In the first place, he had selected for a site a
spot that was fairly well screened by dense thickets; it was also in a
sort of little depression or basin, where the glow of the small fire
they had lighted to prepare their meal might not be discovered.
This blaze had been allowed to die out after it had served the purpose
for which Lopez had started it; so that as they sat there, talking in
low voices, only the soft starlight looked down upon them.
Tubby was later on discovered to be sound asleep; and as Andy and
Merritt admitted feeling pretty drowsy themselves, Rob told them they
had better get their blankets ready to do duty. He himself fixed that of
Tubby, and managed to draw the sleeping scout under it without awakening
him.
All seemed deathly quiet when Rob lay down to secure some rest. The
guide had assured him that there was no need of their keeping watch,
because his horse had been trained by a cowboy to give the alarm if any
enemy came prowling around.
Confident that all would be well, the patrol leader settled himself as
comfortably as was possible, under the conditions, and after some little
time spent in running over in his mind various matters that had a
connection with their mission to Mexico, he fell asleep.
Rob did not know whether it was half an hour that he had been lost in
slumber, or five times that long, when he was rudely disturbed by some
one kicking his shins. And at the same time he became conscious of a
low whispering voice saying:
"Rob, oh! Rob, are you awake? What under the sun is making that queer
noise?"
It was Andy calling; and becoming conscious that there were some strange
noises rising on the night air close by at the same time, Rob raised his
head the better to listen.
Andy's question must have been overheard by Merritt, for he at once let
them know he was awake and on the alert; but as for Tubby, he only
wheezed, and breathed harder than ever; for he was a thousand miles away
in his dreams.