"Yes, what you say is true," he replied. "We ought, perhaps, to abandon the inhabitants of the hacienda to their fate, and not interfere in matters which may cause us great misery."
"Do you intend to act thus?" the Frenchman asked sharply.
"I do not say so positively," the Canadian replied; "but the case is a difficult one. We shall have to deal with numerous enemies."
"Yes, but the men about to be surprised are your fellow countrymen."
"It is true; and it is that which renders the affair so awkward. I do not wish to see these unhappy beings scalped. On the other hand, we run the risk, by hurrying rashly into danger, of ourselves being the victims of our devotion."
"Why reflect thus?"
"By Jove! In order to weigh the for and against. There is nothing I detest so much as rushing headlong into an enterprise of which I have not calculated the consequences beforehand. When I have done so I care for nothing."
Don Louis could not refrain from smiling at this singular reasoning.
"I have my plan," the Canadian went on a moment later. "The night will not pass without our learning something new. Let us draw near the bank of the river. I am greatly mistaken, or we shall soon obtain there the there the information we require before we make up our minds. Our horses run no risk here: we can leave them; besides, they would only prove an embarrassment for us."
The three men lay down on the ground, and began crawling silently in the direction indicated by Belhumeur.