Riding from street to street the boys saw on all sides small armies of citizen volunteers and mounted rurales, every one of them armed.
These warlike scenes, the uncertainty, the lack of any knowledge either concerning their companions or as to how the battle was progressing, and the loud yells often directed toward them in Spanish, all combined to keep them in a perpetual state of excitement.
“Oh, if I only hadn’t lost my way!” groaned Cranny. “How much better I’d feel!”
And now they began to see many squads of Federal soldiers pattering along, again accompanied by pack-trains of mules. Machine guns were set up in the streets at many strategic points—it was very evident that the lull in the enemies’ fire had not caused the Federals to abandon any precautions.
At this time the cracking of rifles from behind the trenches and breastworks had dwindled until now only an occasional sharp volley of shots rang out.
When the history of this siege was written later, it then became known that the Constitutionalists’ generals withdrew their forces while awaiting the arrival of cars loaded with artillery. These were delayed for a considerable time owing to the fact that a Federal scouting party had torn up a portion of the railroad tracks.
Human judgment is fallible. Thus it was that the boys as well as many of the citizens, in not understanding the true state of affairs, exposed themselves to the greatest danger.
In searching for their friends the three finally found themselves approaching the outskirts of the town. About three hundred yards beyond the last houses, the zigzag trenches began.
As Cranny Beaumont caught sight of these deep pits, in which could be seen the heads and shoulders of hundreds of Federal troops, their shining rifles in a bristling array resting over the edge, he reflected with a curious thrill that they were actually on the firing line, close to field and machine guns, with the gunners standing ready to send a hail of shot and shell spurting forth at the word of command. To the left a long line of breastworks extended off, and behind these the soldiers lounged about with apparently as much indifference as though their work was the least hazardous occupation in the world.
The boys observed all these things, and were themselves observed by hundreds and hundreds of swarthy Mexicans.