"_La vera cruz!_" Even as the words passed my lips, the truth flashed
upon me. I had indeed been stupid--blind!--blind not to have seen those
faintly scratched letters on the gold; stupid not to have joined the
symbolism of the gift to her words, "_La Vera Cruz_"!

I kissed the senora's hand with a fervor which, I trust, did not disturb
the peace of mind of Captain Ugarte. Later she undertook to send to the
care of Dona Dolores a message which, for the sake of precaution, I
restricted to the one line:--

"_La vera cruz_ is my guide and comforter."

Despite so joyful a revelation to glorify our stay at San Antonio, I
felt no regrets when another week saw us started on to the north and
east for Nacogdoches, the most eastward of the Spanish _presidios_ in
Texas.

The second day beyond that place we crossed the Sabine, and were left by
our Spanish escort, being in the neutral zone.

On the afternoon of July the first we at last arrived at Natchitoches,
only fifteen days short of a full year since we had departed on our long
and eventful journey from Belle Fontaine.

Such greeting as we received from our officers at the fort may be better
imagined than expressed. And not the least of my joys upon this happy
occasion was that of hearing my brave and resolute friend hailed by his
fellows, not as Lieutenant, but as Captain! We were alike astonished and
gratified to learn that he had been entitled to that advanced rank since
the twelfth of the preceding August. What was more, his services had
been most handsomely noticed to Congress by President Jefferson.

As the Captain had arrived at the journey's end outworn and in miserable
health, I restrained myself to remain with him long enough to assist in
arranging the great mass of notes which, to the exultant delight of our
countrymen, we brought to view by filing off the barrels of the six
muskets.

There would have been no end to the questions of the officers of the
fort had not Pike intimated that discretion required silence with regard
to all the important details until after he had made his report to
General Wilkinson and the Secretary of War. The doughty General, we
were informed, had hurried east to Richmond some weeks past, to take
part in the trial of Colonel Burr and Harmon Blennerhasset for treason.

But as to the facts of the great case, I observed that our countrymen
were decidedly circumspect in their statements; for it seems that the
General himself was