himself, although
he pretended otherwise. At last, I could stand it no longer, and got up
in no very good humour to go.

"No, but stop, Don Ernesto! Where are you going? Sit down again. The
horses are not saddled yet: not even caught up. Sit down and have
patience and we'll all go with you in good time."

It was after twelve when at last we made a start. There were the Chief,
the sergeant, a corporal, four men, and myself. We rode slowly in a
northerly direction until we came to a small gate in the fence, of which
I had the key. All the way thither the Chief, while commending me for my
forethought in bringing arms, had been impressing upon me the importance
of not using them, no matter what happened, "Because, you see, you are
not an arm of the law, and if you were to shoot anyone, I should be
obliged to arrest you and send you to Santa Fe."

When we got through the fence, what was my surprise when the Chief said,
"Bueno, Don Ernesto, you and I have had a long day. What I propose is
that you and I off-saddle and doss down here, while the sergeant and men
patrol with muffled bits and spurs at a short distance from the fence.
Then the moment they hear anything they can come and let us know!"

In vain I protested that this was not my idea at all, and that I too
wanted to do the patrolling, but when he told a man to take the saddle
off my horse and shake down a bed for me, I thought it wiser to
acquiesce, or, at least, appear to do so. I shall never forget that
night. How we talked and talked and talked as we lay beneath the
brilliant stars, I, boiling with rage and anxiety under my assumed
tranquillity, while he, doubtless, was as much annoyed at having to keep
me in conversation. It must have been nearly four o'clock when I told
him that I really must sleep. "Bueno," said he, as he rolled over on his
side, "hasta manana."

In five minutes he was snoring. Even so, I did not dare to move, for
fear that he might be foxing. About an hour passed, during which he
moved, coughed, expectorated, and had other signs of conscious
animation, much to my disgust, until at last I thought the snoring
sounded too genuine to be shammed, so I crept towards him and whispered
in his ear that I thought I heard sounds of movement. But his snoring
was rhythmic and swinish, so I gathered up my saddle and gear and stole
over to my horse, which was picketed some yards off, and proceeded to
saddle him up. In doing so, my stirrups somehow clash