their trail_."

"Think you so?" inquired Don Juan.

"I do.--See--there! Is this not strange?"

The speaker pointed to the dog, who, meanwhile, had returned to the
spot, and stood whimpering, and showing an evident desire to proceed by
the trace newly discovered!

"Very strange," replied Don Juan. "He must have travelled it before!"

"Perhaps so," said Carlos. "But it will not spoil by an hour's keeping.
Let us first see where these valiant troopers have been to. I want to
know that before I leave this main path. Let us on, and briskly!"

All spurred their animals into a gentle gallop, the cibolero leading as
before. As before, also, his eyes swept the ground on both sides in
search of any trail that might diverge from that on which they
travelled.

Now and then cross paths appeared, but these were old. No horses had
passed recently upon them, and he did not slacken his pace to examine
them.

After a twenty minutes' gallop the party halted upon the bank of the
Pecos, at the ford. It was plain that the troopers had also halted
there, and turned back without crossing! But cattle had crossed two
days before--so said the cibolero--and mounted drivers. The tracks of
both were visible in the mud. Carlos rode through the shallow water to
examine the other side. At a glance he saw that no troops had crossed,
but some forty or fifty head of cattle.

After a long and careful examination, not only of the muddy bank, but of
the plain above, he beckoned to Don Juan and the rest to ford the stream
and join him.

When Don Juan came up, the cibolero said to him, in a tone full of
intelligence--

"_Amigo_! you stand a fair chance to recover your cattle."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because their drivers, four in number, have been near this spot not
much over twenty-four hours ago. The animals, therefore, cannot be far
off."

"But how know you this?"

"Oh, that is plain enough," coolly responded the cibolero. "The men who
drove your beasts were mounted on the same horses that made yonder
trail." The speaker indicated the trail which he had halted to examine,
and continued,--"Very probably we'll find the herd among the spurs of
the ceja yonder."

As Carlos said this, he pointed to a number of ragged ridges that from
the brow of the Llano Estacado jutted out into the plain. They appeared
to be at the distance of some ten miles from the crossing.

"Shall we push on there?" asked Don Juan.

The cibolero