Ned stroked the great muzzle affectionately, but he was compelled to put away his friend.

“No, faithful comrade,” he said.  “I can’t take you with me.  I’d like to do it, but there’s no room in a church for a horse as big as you are.  Go now!  Go at once, or the Mexicans will get you!”

He struck the horse smartly on the jaw.  Old Jack looked at him reproachfully, but turned and trotted away from the town.  Ned continued his scout.  This proof of affection from a dumb brute cheered him.

An hour’s cautious work brought him to the far side of the wood.  As well as he could judge, nearly all the Mexican troopers were asleep around two fires, but they had posted sentinels who walked back and forth, calling at intervals “Sentinela alerte” to one another.  Obviously there had been no increase in their force.  They were sufficient to maintain a blockade of the church, but too few to surround it completely.

He went two or three miles to the west and, seeing no evidence that the main force was approaching, he decided to return to the church.  His original curve had taken him by the south side of the wood, and he would return by the north side in order that his examination might be complete.

He walked rapidly, as the night was far advanced, and the sky was very clear, with bright stars twinkling in myriads.  He did not wish day to catch him outside the mission.  It was a prairie country, with patches of forest here and there, and as he crossed from one wood to another he was wholly without cover.

He was within a mile of the mission when he heard the faint tread of horses’ hoofs, and he concluded that Old Jack, contrary to orders, was coming forward to meet him again.  He paused, but the faint tread suddenly became rapid and heavy.  A half dozen horsemen who had ridden into the prairie had caught sight of him and now they were galloping toward him.  The brightness of the night showed Ned at once that they were Mexican cavalrymen, and as he was on foot he was at a great disadvantage.

He ran at full speed for the nearest grove.  The Mexicans fired several musket shots at him, but the bullets all went wild.  He did not undertake a reply, as he was straining every effort to reach the trees.  Several pistols also were emptied at him, but he yet remained unhurt.

Nevertheless, the horsemen were coming alarmingly near.

He heard the thunder of hoofs in his ears, and he heard also a quick hiss like that of a snake.

Ned knew that the hissing sound was made by a lasso, and as he dodged he felt the coil, thrown in vain, slipping from his shoulders.  He whirled about and fired at the man who had thrown the lasso.  The rider uttered a cry, fell backward on his horse, and then to the ground.

As Ned turned for the shot he saw that Urrea was the leader of the horsemen.  Whether Urrea had recognized him or not he did not know, but the fact that he was there increased his apprehension.  He made a mighty effort and leaped the next instant into the protection of the trees and thickets.  Fortune favored him now.  A wood alone would not have protected him, but here were vines and bushes also.