doorway, and she greeted them loudly with:

"O Senor Carfora! I knew all the while that you were a gringo. I am so
glad that we have surrendered! Santa Maria Gloriosa! Praise all the
saints! We shall have no more cannonading! We shall have plenty to eat!"

"That is just what we want, Anita," replied Ned. "This is my father. He
has come to see me, and you must give him some dinner. Then I will tell
you all about General Scott and the American soldiers."

She had neighbors with her, as usual, and some of them had become
accustomed to regarding Ned as a kind of newsboy. They were now also
prepared to thank a large number of religious personages that he was a
genuine gringo, and on good terms with the conquering invaders, who were
henceforth to have the control of affairs in Vera Cruz.

It was late that night when Ned said good-by to his father, and it was
like pulling teeth to let him go, but there was no help for it, as the
sailing of the supply-ship could not be delayed. Ned was once more alone
in Mexico, and it took all his enthusiasm for his expected army life to
reconcile him to the situation. Perhaps there was not a great deal of
sound sleeping done, in the hammock that swung in the little room in the
Tassara mansion, but at an early hour next morning he was on his way to
hunt up the camp of the Seventh Infantry and the tent of Lieutenant
Grant. This was accomplished without much difficulty, and almost
immediately Ned made a discovery. His probable coming had, of course,
been reported to the colonel commanding the regiment, and that
officer's common-sense remark was:

"Unenlisted orderly, eh? Yankee boy that can speak Spanish, and that
knows every corner of this miserable city? Just what we want. I'm glad
old Fuss and Feathers sent him to us. He is the greatest general in the
world. Send your scout right here to me. I've errands for him."

Therefore, the next chapter in Ned's Mexican experiences was that he
found himself sent out, soldierlike, upon a long list of duties, for
which he was peculiarly well prepared by knowing where to find streets
and houses which were as yet unknown to the rank and file of the gallant
Seventh. The men, on their part, soon came to regard him as a soldier
boy, like themselves, and he had a fine opportunity for learning, from
day to day, the processes by which General Scott was organizing his
force for his intended march across the sierra, on the road he had
selected for reaching th