They made their way very cautiously toward the town, passing by abandoned houses and crossing fields, overgrown with weeds.  Both the Ring Tailed Panther and Urrea knew San Antonio well, and Obed had been there once.  They were of the opinion that the town with its narrow streets, stone and adobe houses was adapted particularly to defense, but it was of the greatest importance to know just where the new outworks were placed.

The four came within sight of Mexican lights about nine o’clock.  The town was in the midst of gently rolling prairies and as nearly as they could judge these lights—­evidently those of camp fires—­were about a quarter of a mile from San Antonio.  They were three in number and appeared to be two or three hundred yards apart.  They watched a little while but they did not see any human outlines passing in front of the fires.

“They are learnin’ caution,” said the Ring Tailed Panther.  “They are afraid of the Texan rifles, an’ while those fires light up a lot of ground they keep their own bodies back in the shadow.”

“Wise men,” said Obed.

The Ring Tailed Panther looked his companions in the eye, one by one.

“We come out here for business,” he said.  “What we want to acquire is learnin’, learnin’ about the new defenses of San Antonio, an’ we’d feel cheap if we went back without it.  Now, I don’t care to feel cheap myself.  Good, careful, quiet fellows could slip between them sentinels, an’ get into San Antonio.  I mean to do it.  Are you game to go with me?”

“I am,” said Urrea, speaking very quickly and eagerly.

“And I,” said Ned.

“To turn back is to confess one’s weakness,” said Obed.

The Ring Tailed Panther roared gently, and with satisfaction.

“That’s the talk I like to hear an’ expected to hear,” he said.  “You boys ain’t afraid of rippin’ an’ tearin’, when it’s in a good cause.  There’s pretty good grass here.  We’ll just kneel down in it, an’ crawl.”

The Panther marked a point about midway between the nearest two lights and they advanced straight for it on hands and knees, stopping at intervals of a hundred yards or so to rest, as that method of locomotion was neither convenient nor comfortable.  As they drew near to the fires they saw the sentinels some distance back of them, and entirely in the shadow, pacing up and down, musket on shoulder.  The four were now near enough to have been seen had they been standing erect, but they lay very close to the earth, while they conferred a moment or two.

“There’s a patch of bushes between those two sentinels,” whispered the Ring Tailed Panther, “an’ I think we’d better creep by in its shelter.  If either of the sentinels should look suspicious every one of us must lay flat an’ hold his breath.  We could handle the sentinels, but what we want to do is to get into San Antonio.”

They continued their slow and tiresome creeping.  Only once did they stop, and then it was because one of the sentinels paused in his walk and took his musket from his shoulder.  But it was only to light a cigarette and, relieved, they crept on until they were well beyond the fires, and within the ring of sentinels.  Then at the signal of the Ring Tailed Panther they rose to their feet, and stretched their cramped limbs.