“Come in!  Come quick!” he said to his comrades.

His tone was so sharp and commanding that they obeyed him by impulse, and he quickly closed the door behind the little party.  They stood in a small, dark alley that ran beside the house and they heard the sound of music.  Crouching against the wall they listened, and heard also the sounds of laughter and feminine voices.

The Ring Tailed Panther grinned in the darkness.

“Some kind of a fandango is goin’ on,” he said.  “It’s just like the Mexicans to dance and sing at such a time.  I wouldn’t be s’prised if Cos himself was here, an’ I mean to see.”

He led the way down the little alley, which was roughly paved with stone, and, as they advanced, the sounds of music and laughter increased.  Unquestionably Governor Veramendi was giving a ball, and Ned did not doubt that the Panther’s surmise about the presence of Cos would prove correct.

They found a little gate opening from the alley into a large patio or enclosed court.  This gate, like the first, was not locked and the Ring Tailed Panther pushed it open also.  The patio was filled with palms, flowering plants and a dense shrubbery.

The Ring Tailed Panther again led boldly on, and entered the patio, hiding instantly among the palms and flowers.  The others followed and did likewise.  Ned quivered with excitement.  He knew that the danger was great.  He knew also that if they lay close and waited they were likely to hear what was worth hearing.

The boy was in a dense mat of shrubbery.  To his right was Obed and to his left were the Ring Tailed Panther and Urrea.  He saw that the patio was faced on three sides by piazzas or porticos, from which wide doors opened into the house.  He heard the music now as clearly as if it were at his side.  It was the music of a full band, and it was played with a mellow, gliding rhythm.  He saw, also, officers in brilliant uniform and handsome women, as in the dance they passed and repassed the open doors.  It was Spanish, Mexican to the core, full of the South, full of warmth and color.  The lean, brown Texans crouching in the shrubbery furnished a striking contrast.

While they waited, several officers and ladies came out on the piazzas, ate ices and drank sweet drinks.  They were so near that the four easily heard all they said.  It was mostly idle chatter, high-pitched compliments, allusions to people in the distant City of Mexico, and now and then a jest at the expense of the Texans.  Ned realized that many of the younger Mexicans did not take the siege of San Antonio seriously.  They could not understand how a strong city, held by an army of Mexican regulars, could have anything to fear from a few hundred Texan horsemen, mostly hunters in buckskin.

The music began again and the officers and women went in, but presently several older men, also in uniform, came out.  Ned instantly recognized in the first the square figure and the dark, lowering face of Cos.