He had eaten the last of
his food seven or eight hours before.
Driven by desperate need, Ned ate wild fruits, and, for a while, was
refreshed, but that night he fell ill, suffering greatly from internal
pains. He was afraid at first that he had poisoned himself, and he knew
that he had eaten something not used for food, but by morning the pains
were gone, although he was much weaker than before.
Now he felt for the first time the pangs of despair. It was a full two
hundred miles yet to Vera Cruz, and he was in the heart of a hostile
country. He did not have the strength of a child left, and the chance
that he could deliver his message of warning to the Texans seemed to
have gone. He rambled about all that day, light-headed at times, and,
toward evening, he fell into a stupor. Unable to go any further, he sank
down beside a rock, and lapsed wholly into unconsciousness.
CHAPTER VI
THE MARCH WITH COS
When Ned came to himself he was surrounded by men, and at first he
thought he was back among his Texans. He was in a vague and dreamy state
that was not unpleasant, although he was conscious of a great weakness.
He knew that he was lying on the ground upon his own serape, and that
another serape was spread over him.
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