and lofty cloud of
dust revealing to him the position of the Moors. A half-league of hills
and declivities separated the van and the rear of the raiding column, a
long, dense forest rising between. De Vargas saw that they were in no
position to aid each other quickly, and that something might come of a
sudden and sharp attack. Selecting the best fifty of his small force, he
made a circuit towards a place which he knew to be suitable for ambush.
Here a narrow glen opened into a defile with high, steep sides. It was the
only route open to the Moors, and he proposed to let the vanguard and the
herds pass and fall upon the rear.

The Moors, however, were on the alert. While the Spaniards lay hidden, six
mounted scouts entered the defile and rode into the mouth of the glen,
keenly looking to right and left for a concealed enemy. They came so near
that a minute or two more must reveal to them the ambush.

"Let us kill these men and retreat to Gibraltar," said one of the
Spaniards; "the infidels are far too many for us."

"I have come for larger game than this," answered De Vargas, "and, by the
aid of God and Santiago, I will not go back without making my mark. I know
these Moors, and will show you how they stand a sudden charge."

The scouts were riding deeper into the glen. The ambush could no longer be
concealed. At a quick order from De Vargas ten horsemen rushed so suddenly
upon them that four of their number were in an instant hurled to the
ground. The other two wheeled and rode back at full speed, hotly pursued
by the ten men. Their dashing pace soon brought them in sight of the
vanguard of the Moors, from which about eighty horsemen rode out to the
aid of their friends. The Spaniards turned and clattered back, with this
force in sharp pursuit. In a minute or two both parties came at a furious
rush into the glen.

This was what De Vargas had foreseen. Bidding his trumpeter to sound, he
dashed from his concealment at the head of his men, drawn up in close
array. They were upon the Moors almost before they were seen, their
weapons making havoc in the disordered ranks. The skirmish was short and
sharp. The Moors, taken by surprise, and thrown into confusion, fell
rapidly, their ranks being soon so thinned that scarce half of them turned
in the retreat.

"After them!" cried De Vargas. "We will have a brush with the vanguard
before the rear can come up."

Onward after the flying Moors rode the gallant fifty, coming wi