George left the office and hurried to his own room. He stayed there just long enough to empty the contents of his money-box into his pocket, and was back again by the time Ned had received the money his father counted out to him. There was no leave-taking whatever; the boys were in too great a hurry for that. They ran through the hall, and found Jake standing on the porch holding three horses. Ned and Gus lost no time in getting into the saddle, but George paused a moment to listen. He could distinctly hear the sound of hoofs, but they did not seem to be coming toward the rancho. They were moving off to the right, and when George became satisfied of that fact, he told himself that Mr. Gilbert’s herdsman had purposely lost his way and was leading the pursuers out of their course.
“That’s all right,” said he. “Now put out every light about the house, or close the shutters, to make them believe that you have gone to bed, and be as long in answering their hail as you can. We shall stop in Brownsville, Uncle John, and we shall expect you there in the course of a few days. Good-by! Easy, boys! We’ll go fast enough after a while!”
Ned and Gus would have dashed off at the top of their speed and tired their horses out before they had gone ten miles if George had not checked them. The latter knew that they were comparatively safe now, and he breathed a good deal easier than he did while he was in the rancho. If the owner of the stolen horse had arrived while they were in the office, something unpleasant might have happened; but now that he and his companions were in the saddle there was little danger to be apprehended. The ranchemen could not compete with them in a fair race, for the horses they rode were weary with their day’s journey, while those on which the boys were mounted were fresh and vigorous. George explained this as they rode away from the house, adding:
“They can’t follow us in the dark, for they have no means of knowing which trail we have taken. Their only chance is to wait until morning and make inquiries among the settlers.”
“That is just what they will do,” said Ned, “and everybody will tell them all about us. The neighbors are down on me because I am so far above them.”
“But we must keep out of sight of the neighbors,” said George, who did not think it best to notice his cousin’s last remark, “and then they can’t tell anything about us. The people who live along the river trail are strangers to us, so we’ll go that way. It is the safest.”
George kept his horse in a rapid walk until he was out of sight of the rancho, and then he put him to the top of his speed. Although he had no fear of being overtaken, he was very anxious to keep out of sight of the ranchemen, for they carried revolvers and would not hesitate to use them if they found that Ned could not be captured in any other way. George was resolved to stand by his cousin, no matter how much risk he might run by so doing; but perhaps he would not have been so determined on this point if he had known what was transpiring at the rancho he had just left.
In spite of the care he had taken to enter and leave the house without Philip’s knowledge, that crafty individual knew all about it. As it happened, he was standing on the porch when George first made his appearance. He recognised the boy at once, and was not a little surprised to see him. He knew, and so did Uncle John, that George had succeeded in eluding the raiders when they made the descent upon his camp, and that he was probably on his way home; but Philip did not expect him to get there, for, as we shall presently see, arrangements had been made to intercept him. When Philip saw him coming, he said something angry in Spanish, and retreated into a dark doorway, so that George could not see him.
“I never expected to put eyes on him again on this side of the river,” said the Mexican, to himself; “but here he has gone and run the blockade, and there is no telling when we can get another chance at him. Where are those fellows who ought to have been watching the trail? I wonder if he has heard any news! He acts as though he wanted to get into the house without being seen.”
The man crouched down in his place of concealment and watched George’s movements. He saw him when he mounted the steps and placed his hand on the door leading into the hall. He heard almost every word of the conversation between him and the herdsman who met him there, and the ejaculations he uttered under his breath indicated that he was both astonished and enraged by it. When the conversation ceased, and he heard Jake moving along the hall, Philip softly opened the door near which he was concealed, and slipped into the kitchen. When the herdsman entered, he was filling his pipe, preparatory to indulging in a smoke. Knowing that the herdsman had been sent in there to watch him, he remained in the kitchen until Jake went out to catch and saddle the horses; then he threw down his pipe, and running swiftly but noiselessly along the hall, stopped in front of the office door. Placing his ear close to the key-hole, he listened intently, hoping to overhear the conversation that was carried on by those inside; but George, as we know, spoke in a low tone of voice, and Philip had little more than his trouble for his pains. When he heard Jake coming with the horses he ran back to the kitchen, the door of which he left ajar. He saw the boys when they came out, and heard George tell his uncle that they were going straight to Brownsville, and should expect to see him there in a few days.