But in less than an hour all had sprung forth briskly, danced about in the sun to dry, and started on a run for the pueblo. Roldan and Adan followed close, knowing that a feast alone would satisfy appetite after the temascal. And in a little time the smell of roast meat pervaded the morning, great cakes were roasting. The boys were invited to eat apart with Anastacio. At the conclusion of the meal the host, who had not spoken, solemnly poured out three glasses of fire-water. He swallowed his at a gulp. The boys sipped a few drops, winking rapidly. Then Roldan thought it time to speak: his chief was visibly thawed.
"What are you keeping us for?" he asked.
"Ransom." Anastacio lit a cigarrito—one of the padre's—and lay back on a bearskin.
"Do you know why we ran away? To escape the conscription. If you give us up, all our adventures, our dangers, our escapes, will be as nothing, and we shall be punished besides."
Anastacio moved his eyes to Roldan's with a flash of interest.
"Good! I hate the government. You shall stay here until the time of conscription is over. Then I will get a big sack of Mexican dollars, a herd of cattle, a caponara of horses, and much tobacco and whiskey. Who are your fathers?"
Roldan explained.
Anastacio flushed under his thick skin. "Good. I will double the ransom—and the guard."
"The conscription will be over in a few weeks—"
"You could not go before. We too must hide. Of course the soldiers are behind. I have many scouts watching. Now go to sleep."