faces that greeted him on every hand.

"The place has become too hot to hold you, old man," said Dick. "You and
Chiquita had better go somewhere for a little _pasear_. You'll find the
air in the mountains more salubrious than here; in fact--_vamos_, as the
Spaniards say. Go to Padre Antonio's house at once," he continued. "It's
a sort of a sanctuary, you know; you'll be safe there to-day. If you
value your life, don't set foot outside the place, and I'd even be chary
about picking flowers in the garden," he added in his droll way.
"To-night, Jose and I will have your horses ready and waiting for you in
the canon at the foot of the trail which leads to the top of the _mesa_
overlooking the valley. You must get away under cover of the dusk
before the moon rises. Old Manuela will give you the signal when to
depart."

"Dick, you are the most ingenious mortal in the world," answered the
Captain. "You are as good as a mother to me. How did you ever think of
it?"

"Oh! don't thank me," returned Dick. "I didn't think of it; I never have
any ideas. It's Jose's plan entirely."

"The deuce! It does sound like you, _camarada_!" he ejaculated, turning
to Jose who had smoked his _cigarillo_ in silence while listening to
Dick's words. "The scheme sounds well," he continued after some moments'
reflection. "And yet it seems to me you have overlooked something--the
most important thing of all."

"What?" asked Dick.

"How are you going to get the horses there without attracting attention?
It's just possible that the entire populace might escort you there and
then hang all four of us when Chiquita and I arrive."

"Ah! I never thought of that," replied Dick, flicking the ash from his
cigar and exchanging glances with Jose. "I always said you had the
imagination of a poet, Jack. But it takes an Indian to think of such
things; the horses are concealed already in the canon, a quarter of a
mile from the trail."

"_Si, Capitan._ I took them there last night," said Jose.

"Last night?"

"Yes. You see, it was this way. I saw the fight last night--"

"You did?"

"_Si, Capitan._ It was a glorious fight, the greatest fight I ever saw.
I followed Don Felipe last night and surely would have killed him had I
not seen the Senorita draw her weapon. I knew that it was her right to
kill him."

"You observe Jose's exquisite sense of discrimination," interrupted
Dick. "It's the etiquette of the land," he added with a twinkle in his
eye, his