"Amigo! amigo!"
Quickly he saw that they understood, because they were making motions for him to come forth. And, feeling that there was no longer anything to fear, Rob proceeded to emerge from his place of concealment.
Of course he could not converse in the Mexican lingo, which is supposed to be a corruption of Spanish, but then, knowing a few words and being able to gesticulate fairly well, Rob managed to give them the information that the Regulars had taken themselves off, so that it was really useless to remain up there on the hill, when the presence of every man would soon be needed down by the train.
Accordingly the party started downgrade and soon came to the level. Their appearance in the open was greeted by vociferous "Bravos" by all the assembled Mexicans; and from the racket one might fancy that those gallant fighters had utterly annihilated a whole army of the enemy. Spanish-American dispositions are ever excitable, and whatever they do is generally accomplished with much noise and confusion.
It thrilled Rob to the heart, though, to hear the shouts of his three chums above all the rest of the noise; and he knew that they were feeling better satisfied than all the rest to see him come out of the lively little engagement unscathed.
He believed that he had some news for them later on that would bolster up their faltering spirits; but first of all preparations must be started toward meeting successfully this coup on the part of the Regulars.
Tubby could not wait for Rob to reach them, but in his customary warm-hearted manner he pushed away beyond the border of the throng and met the returning scout.
"Let me tell you we're mighty happy to see you back without a scratch, after all that cannonading along the side of the mountain!" Tubby exclaimed, as he pounced on Rob's hand and wrung it "like a pump handle."
"And I'm a bit glad myself to get back in good shape, believe me," Rob told him. "After I've had a chance to shake hands all around we ought to get busy doing something to better our conditions here; because in half an hour or so the Federals calculate to open on us from both sides, in what is called an enfilading fire. Hurrah, boys! Well, Merritt, I guess we're showing the natives what Boy Scouts can do, eh?"