"And the dawn breaks at about four-thirty. Good!" exclaimed Dudley. "Well, what about the meal?"
"The señor thinks of the comfort of his men always. There is a dip in the pampas beyond the next rise; there we can light fires and eat and rest."
The wide sweeping pampas ran on in a long succession of rolls, which were hardly distinguishable to those riding over them. But they were there for all that, and often enough a party of horsemen situated in one depression would be out of sight of a second in a depression running parallel. Dudley and his men took advantage of this fact, and very soon had hobbled their horses, had slipped the bits behind the chins, so that the animals might graze, and had gathered bundles of thistles. These were set fire to beneath an awning of blankets, for otherwise the glare might have been seen in the sky. Cuts of juicy meat were skewered on sticks or on ramrods, and very soon there was a fizzle about the flames, and an odor which made a hungry man sniff and grow fidgety. Pipes were taken from saddle bags, filled with rank weed which would try the stomach even of an army recruit, and carefully lit at the embers.
It was a peaceful and very contented body of men who sat about that shrouded fire and discussed their evening meal, a party of good fellows who were strangely elated, and who cast glances of the utmost confidence at their white leader. The hours flew by, and as midnight came, many of the gauchos had already fallen asleep.
"We will let them rest till all is ready," said Dudley in a whisper. "Now, Pietro, I am going over there to the cattle to see what the Indians are doing. If things are fairly quiet we will make a movement. Send Pepito with me, and bring along the main party in half an hour's time, taking care to halt them a good mile from the enemy."
The gaucho's mouth opened wide with astonishment. He stared at the set face before him, half-lit by the flare from the fire, and then altered his mind. He was about to argue, to remonstrate, and as quickly decided that words were not wanted.
"The señor is pleased to order," he said. "We shall obey. In an hour from now we shall be a mile from the enemy."
"Good. Then I shall meet you there and give further instructions. Recollect, silence must be kept. No pipes are to be smoked, and, above all, men must be careful of their weapons. Good-by!"
Pepito was beside them now, and at a word from Dudley he strode by his side out of the camp and away in the direction of the Indians.