“Of course Zeke is there,” thought George as he arose from his place of concealment; but he had scarcely placed himself fairly upon his feet before he dropped back among the willows again. There were several figures moving about the fire, and there were riderless horses and mounted men near by. The men were all dressed in Mexican costume—the wide brims of their sombreros were plainly visible in the moonlight—and there were at least a dozen of them in sight. One of them seemed to be poking up the fire for the purpose of making as bright a light as possible, while the others were going into the willows with blazing fire-brands in their hands. Some of their companions had already gone in there armed in the same manner, for George could see the lights dancing about among the trees.
The boy saw all this during the instant of time he was on his feet, and when he dropped back into his concealment again, his fear had given place to a feeling of exultation. The raiders were searching the woods in the vicinity of the camp, and of course they could be looking for nobody but Zeke. Probably the old fellow had given them a very warm reception. No doubt he had tumbled three or four of them out of their saddles, and the survivors were hunting him up with the intention of taking vengeance on him if they caught him.
“But they’ll never catch him,” chuckled George, “because he’s too old a ‘coon. He has fought Indians too long to be beaten by a lot of lubberly Greasers.”
George drew the tops of the willows closer together, confining them in that position by twisting their branches, and having thus formed a screen that was large enough to cover his head, he raised himself upon his knees, so that he could look over the grass and watch the motions of the raiders. They were certainly looking for somebody, and they seemed resolved to find him, too, for they did not grow discouraged and go away, as George hoped they would. Their failure only seemed to make them the more determined. First one and then another seized fire-brands and joined their companions in the woods, and finally those who were mounted, swung themselves out of their saddles and went in too, leaving the camp to take care of itself.
“I wonder what Zeke has done to make them so persistent!” said George to himself. “Perhaps they’ve got an old grudge against him. They might as well go away, for they’ll not find him. He’s safe long before this time, and if I could only make my horse hear me, I’d soon be safe too.”
George could always find something to feel happy over, no matter how unpleasant the situation in which he might be placed, and he found something now. He had lost his fine herd of cattle, but Zeke was left to him, and so were his horse and pack-mule. The former had been stampeded with the cattle, but George knew he would not run far before he would leave them and strike a straight course for home. The two Mexicans who had followed the herd to head it off and turn it away from the settlements toward the river, would not bother their heads about him, for while they had three hundred fat cattle to look out for, they could not afford to waste time in pursuing a single horse. Bony was still staked out near the camp, and so was Zeke’s nag. They both made the most desperate efforts to escape with the herd, but the lariats with which they were confined were too strong to be broken, and the picket-pins were driven so firmly into the ground that they could not be easily pulled up. The Mexicans, when they were ready to leave the camp, would probably turn these animals loose, expecting them to follow their own horses, just as Silk Stocking had followed off the raiders who made the attack on the rancho; but that was something Bony would not do. He was very much afraid of strangers, and when left to himself he would make the best of his way home.
The search for Zeke was continued? until broad daylight, and all this while George lay in his concealment watching the motions of the raiders and wondering what his herdsman had done to make the thieves so anxious to find him. When day began to dawn he discovered something that seemed to explain it all: there were five wounded men sitting and lying beside the fire. George knew that they were wounded, for he could see that they wore bandages, and that one who limped considerably and used a stick to walk with, would now and then get up to bring a cup of water from the bayou to two of his companions who kept their blankets. Probably one of these men was the leader of the band, and that was the reason why the others were so determined to find Zeke. But they had to give up the search and go away without him, as George knew they would. Shortly after daylight they began to come into camp by twos and threes, and when they were all assembled George counted eighteen of them. They talked earnestly together for a few minutes and then set about preparing a hasty breakfast, helping themselves bountifully to the contents of the pack-saddle, and using the cooking utensils which George had provided for his own use and Zeke’s.
George waited with no little impatience to find out what they were going to do when they made an end of the bacon and coffee, and was very glad to see that they were preparing for an immediate departure. When all was ready the wounded members of the band were assisted into their saddles, Zeke’s horse and George’s pack-mule were set at liberty, and the raiders moved slowly along the willows in the direction the cattle had taken when they were stampeded. It was a wonder that their suspicions were not aroused by the actions of the mule which, foolish as mules generally are, ran at once to the buffalo wallow in which George was concealed, and not content with shying at the sight of it and giving it a wide berth, as Zeke’s horse did, Bony circled around it two or three times, and finally stopping, thrust out his neck, threw his long ears forward and looked suspiciously at the crouching form of his master.
George, who had been in a fever of suspense for long hours, and who began to breathe more freely when he saw the raiders moving away, was frightened again; but, as it happened, the thieves paid no attention to the mule’s actions. Better than that, Zeke’s horse kept on his way without stopping, and Bony, seeing that he was going to be left behind, started in pursuit. The danger was over now, but George was much too wary to run any risks. He saw the raiders disappear over the nearest swell, but he allowed another hour to pass before he left his hiding-place. Then he moved very cautiously, crawling along on his hands and knees, stopping every few feet to look over the grass and listen, and examining the ground about the camp very thoroughly before he ventured into the woods.
He found the camp in the greatest confusion. His rifle and revolvers were gone, so were his blankets and poncho, and also a good portion of the contents of the pack-saddle; but there was still a little of the bacon and hard-tack left, and the raiders had forgotten to take his haversack and frying-pan. He replenished the fire at once, and while waiting for it to get fairly started, employed himself in cutting up the bacon with an old rusty hunting-knife which one of the thieves had probably left in exchange for his own new one. While he was thus engaged he did not neglect to keep an eye open for any straggling raiders who might have fallen behind the main body; but there were none in sight. He placed the bacon in the frying-pan, and when it was done to his satisfaction he put it into his haversack, together with the small supply of hard-tack that was left, extinguished the fire and set out for home.