tion, through the cover north of town. Sanchez in his babbling had
mentioned the caravan, a gringo name, and the urgent need for a warning
to be carried. Salezar's name the Pueblo already knew far too well, and
hated as he hated nothing else on earth. The mud-walled _pueblos_ of the
Valley of Taos were regarded by Salezar as rabbit-warrens full of women,
provided by Providence that his hunting might be good.

CHAPTER XXII

"LOS TEJANOS!"

The encampment of the returning caravan was in a little pasture well
outside the town and it was the scene of bustling activity. Its
personnel was different from either of the two trains from the Missouri
frontier, for it was made up of traders and travelers from both of the
earlier, west-bound caravans. Some of the first and second wagon trains
had gone on to El Paso and Chihuahua, a handful of venturesome travelers
were to try for the Pacific coast, and others of the first two trains
had elected to remain in the New Mexican capital. While in the two
west-bound caravans there had been many Mexicans, their number now was
negligible. But this returning train was larger than either of the other
two, carried much less freight, a large amount of specie, and would
drive a large herd of mules across the prairies for sale in the Missouri
settlements, which would fan the fires of Indian avarice all along the
trail.

Uncle Joe and his brother had been busy all day doing their own work,
catching up odds and ends of their Santa Fe connections, and helping
friends get ready for the long trip, and they had not given much thought
to Patience, whom they believed to be saying her farewells to friends
she had made in the city. As the afternoon passed and she and her escort
had not appeared, Uncle Joe became a little uneasy; and as the shadows
began to reach farther and farther from the wagons he mounted his horse
and rode back to Santa Fe to find and join her. It was nearly dark when
he galloped back to the encampment and sought his brother, hoping that
Patience had made her way to the wagons while he had sought for her in
town. He knew that she had not called on any of her friends and that she
must have stolen a last ride through the environs of the town. The two
men were frankly frightened and hurriedly made the rounds of the wagons
and then started for the city. It was dark by then and as they rode by
the last camp-fire of the encampment, four villainous Indians loomed up
in the light of