Since he was this far, there was nothing else to be done, so the caballero followed, half expecting to come to combat at any moment, straining his ears for whispers ahead or sounds of the pursuit behind. They reached a large-sized chamber, and the Indian took him by the hand to guide him across it, and on the other side they entered a narrow tunnel, made a turning, and so came to where they could see a streak of light in the distance.
“It is safe to stop here, señor,” the Indian said. “The soldiers do not know of this cave beneath the hill, and, if they found the entrance, they would fear to enter without torches. At a late hour you can leave safely. Just ahead is a way out, and it is on the other side of the hill.”
“So your camp in the cañon is abandoned?” the caballero asked, sitting on a boulder.
“We slipped away early, señor, a few of us at a time, not taking the trouble to remove the teepees. The word has been sent to all, and men are leaving every rancheria and village. We obeyed as soon as we received your message.”
“As soon as you——? Yes, of course!”
“By the middle of to-night nearly all will be on the Fernandez rancho, señor. Every hut will be crowded, and there will be a big camp in the cañon there. It was wise to make the gathering-place there, señor, where hundreds of men may hide until all is ready. And from there it is an easy five miles across the hills to the mission.”
“I understand that.”
“We considered it clever of you, also, to send the word from San Luis Rey de Francia and in a roundabout manner. It was well that we were warned that all had been discovered, and that the big sergeant from Santa Barbara had come along El Camino Real to put missions and the presidio on guard.”
The caballero sat up straight and looked keenly at the face he scarcely could see in the gloom.
“I did not know that,” he said.