"Hum! There is both good and bad in what you say."
"I do not understand your Excellency."
"Hang it! It is clear enough, I fancy: suppose the Puros have placed a line of sentries on the heights, our project will be thwarted, and our expedition rendered fruitless. You did not reflect on what you were doing when you led us here."
"Pardon me, Excellency; the Puros know that no corps keep the field; they believe themselves certain of having no attack to apprehend, hence they do not take precautions, which they consider useless; moreover, the heights to which you refer are too remote from the spot where they will camp, and much too high for them to dream of crowning them."
"Well," the general muttered; "I must place my trust in Heaven! Now that I am here, I will not recoil."
They continued their advance with redoubled precautions. They had been for about five and twenty minutes on the path, when López, after looking searchingly around, suddenly halted.
"What are you doing?" the general asked.
"As you see, Excellency, I am stopping. On the other side of that bend before us the path begins to ascend, and we are not more than a musket shot from Toluca. With your permission, I will go on ahead, to make sure that the heights are not watched, and that you have a free passage."
The general looked at him attentively. "Go," he at length said; "we will await your return before we push on. I trust to you."
López took off his weapons and hat, which were not only useless to him, but might betray him; and lying down on the ground, he began crawling in the Indian fashion, and soon disappeared among the bushes that bordered the path. At a signal from the President, the word to halt ran rapidly along the ranks, and the army stopped almost instantaneously. Several minutes elapsed. The generals had drawn nearer, and surrounded the general. The guide did not return, and the anxiety was great.