“I didn’t hear him.”
“Nor did I, but I saw him, just as you have seen the shadow of a cloud whisk over the earth. Of course, there is no saying when he will be back, since that depends on what he learns, but we can count on his being here before daylight.”
“And in the meantime we have nothing to do but to wait.”
“You hit it that time, and we can’t find more comfortable quarters than these.”
It would not do to go far from the spot, since it might cause Mendez trouble in finding them, beside which there was no object in doing so, since one part of the mountain differed little from another. Accordingly, they assumed lolling postures on the nearest rock, which was still warm from the rays of the sun, and continued their conversation in tones that could not have been heard more than a dozen feet away.
Freeman had eaten nothing since morning, and the thought of food had not been with him; but when the lieutenant produced a small, substantial lunch, which he was thoughtful enough to bring, the two shared it and were refreshed therefrom.
“Now, if I had a drink of water,” said the elder, “I would be satisfied; it seems to me I never felt more thirsty, but I can manage to stand it until morning.”
“There’s no need of that; a stream is within a hundred feet of us. It doesn’t amount to much, and is as warm as dishwater, but it is a thousand per cent. better than thirst.”
The lieutenant located the spot for his friend, proposing that they should go thither separately, in order that one of them might be sure of being on hand when Mendez returned. But the scout had been absent so short a time that this precaution seemed useless, and, when Freeman asked him to show him the way, he complied willingly.
The night had a gibbous moon, and, as the sky was without a cloud, considerable light reached the earth, where the rays were not obstructed. The vegetable growth in this portion of the Apache range is sparse, the small trees being scattered, so that it was easy to pick their way for the short distance necessary to reach the water.