A two-mule litter carried Doña Rosario, whilst the other women were "piled in, somehow, anyhow" in the huge wagons covered with a waterproof cloth.
Behind the captain, the men sauntered along, their guns quite ready on their shoulders, keeping one eye on the wagons and the other on the country, so to say.
From seven to midday nothing occurred of any moment. The roads, if they could be called such where none were traced save by wild beasts going to water, were in such a condition that wheeled traffic was bound to be slow. Now and again a gang of men took to axes or spades, as the case might be, and hewed or levelled a path.
In "the nooning," the cattle were breathed and rested. In five hours, not twenty miles had been covered.
The halting place chosen was in a rather broad open land in the thick of a cedar and piney wood, through which brawled a torrent having accessible banks only in one spot.
A little on one side, a tent was hastily run up for Doña Rosario. The other women were strictly, even cruelly severely guarded, and kept from speaking together, still less to the adventurer, as much as possible.
Since the Englishman's introduction into the camp, Miss Maclan had cheered up wonderfully. No nods or rebukes constrained her from displaying her relief, and soon she set to singing. In a brief space she became the licensed songstress of the band, for the rudest Americans have a fondness for music. She was so liked after this, that the men would have rebelled if she had been silenced by the Captain, or Corky Joe, though, to tell the truth, these smiled patronizingly on her efforts.
Ulla had conceived a genuine affection for Rosario, if only because she was so sad and pale. On her part, the Southerner was touched by her delicate attentions, and it was a great consolation for her to meet with a loving soul and tender heart, to say nothing of a vigorous intelligence. Once the ice was broken, they became inseparable.
Kidd marked this connection with pleasure; he favoured it rather than fettered it. He had been vexed by his captive's pining away, and hoped that the different temperament of the Scotch young lady would exert a powerful influence on the Spaniard's mind, and act healthily on her reflections.
The halt had hardly been cried before the scout looked close to his gun.