n," said Ned gratefully.

Yet Almonte was able to do little more for him. The march was resumed
under equally trying conditions, after the short rest. When night came
and the detachment stopped, Ned ached in every bone, and his feet were
sore and bleeding. Almonte was sent away in the morning on another
service, and there was no one to interfere for him.

He struggled on all of the next day. Most of his strength was gone, but
pride still kept him going. Orizaba was growing larger and larger,
dominating the landscape, and Ned again drew courage from the lofty
white cone that looked down upon them.

Late in the afternoon he heard a trumpet blow, and there was a great
stir in the force of Cos. Men held themselves straighter, lines were
re-formed, and the whole detachment became more trim and smart. General
Cos on his white horse rode to its head, and he was in his finest
uniform. Somebody of importance was coming! Ned was keen with curiosity
but he was too proud to ask. The Tlascalans had proved a churlish lot,
and he would waste no words on them.

The road now led down into a beautiful savanna, thick in grass, and with
oaks and pines on all sides. Cos' companies turned into the grass, and
Ned saw that another force entering at the far side was doing the same.
All the men in the second force were mounted, the officer who was at
their head riding a horse even finer than that of Cos. His uniform, too,
was more splendid, and his head was surmounted by a great three-cornered
hat, heavy with gold lace. He was compact of figure, sat his saddle
well, and rode as if the earth belonged to him. Ned recognized him at
once. It was the general, the president, the dictator, the father of his
country, the illustrious Santa Anna himself.

The mellow trumpet pealed forth again, and Santa Anna advanced to meet
his brother, Cos, who likewise advanced to meet him. They met in full
view of both forces, and embraced and kissed each other. Then a shout
came forth from hundreds of throats at the noble spectacle of fraternal
amity. The two forces coalesced with much Latin joy and chatter, and
camp was pitched in the savanna.

Ned stayed with the Tlascalans, because he had no choice but to do so.
They flung him a tortilla or two, and he had plenty of water, but what
he wanted most was rest. He threw himself on the grass, and, as the
Tlascalans did not disturb him, he lay there until long after
nightfall. He would have remained there until mor