four major-generals, or corps commanders, of the
armies of the United States. It was not by such subordinates as these
that General Santa Anna was assisted in his engineering or other
military operations. That day, however, and for a few days more, he felt
perfectly sure of his really well-chosen position among the rocks and
chasms of the Cerro Gordo.

The engineering party was well aware that its movements might possibly
be observed from the heights beyond, as long as it remained in the open,
therefore it wheeled out into the fields as it went onward, and was soon
lost to view among woodlands.

"Now, Crawford," said Captain Lee, "recall and tell me, as well as you
can, all that Zuroaga told you about his proposed new road."

Ned proceeded to do so, but, at the end of his recollections, he added:

"Well, the general said it would cost a pot of money to do it, now, and
that Cortes had no gunpowder to throw away. He could not have done any
rock-blasting."

"Our difficulty about that is as bad as his was," replied the captain.
"We can have all the gunpowder we need, but we can't use any of it, for
fear of letting his Excellency, General Santa Anna, know what we are up
to. As for the cost of a new road, there is no government in Mexico that
will think of undertaking it. It would cost as much, almost, as a
brand-new revolution."

There was a great deal of hard work done after that, searching,
climbing, and bush-cutting, and Ned wondered at the ready decisions made
here and there, by the engineers. It seemed to him, too, that Captain
Lee and other officers paid a great deal of deference to a young
lieutenant by the name of McClellan. A small force of riflemen was with
them and a party of sappers and miners, but there had not been a sign of
military opposition to the work which they were trying to do.
Nevertheless, it began to dawn upon Ned's mind that sometimes picks and
spades and crowbars may be as important war weapons as even cannon. That
is, there may be circumstances in which guns of any kind are of little
use until after the other tools have been made to clear the way for
them.

Night came, and the entire reconnoitring party camped among the cliffs
of Cerro Gordo, but at about the middle of the next forenoon all the
officers gathered for a kind of council. They were not yet ready to send
in a full and final report, but they had formed important conclusions,
and at the end of the council Ned was called for.