“It does look good,” said Jim. “We had better leave our horses here and try it on foot.”
“There is a thick clump of trees over there,” remarked Juarez, “where it will be a safe place to tie them.”
Without more ado, the two boys made their way to the grove, which formed an excellent screen, for the trees were not pine, but a kind of alder with large round leaves, and around the grove was quite a thick growth of brush. With some difficulty they got into the center of the trees, and made their horses fast. Then they started to make their way out with their rifles ready.
“Hello! What is that?” cried Juarez. “Didn’t you hear it?” The boys stood perfectly still; then in a few seconds came two reports.
“Somebody has got ahead of us,” remarked Jim. “Those were rifle shots.”
“Lucky we got in here when we did,” said Juarez.
“There go five deer,” cried Jim, “up the mountain opposite.”
“Sure enough,” said Juarez. They were going like the wind and were soon lost to sight on the wooded slope of the mountain.
“I wish they had come our way,” declared Jim, in a disappointed tone. “Those rascals have spoiled our luck.”
“It wouldn’t have been safe,” replied Juarez cautiously. “It’s some of this gang, that the Mexican came from, and they might outnumber us.”