They cocked their rifles, ready for combat if need be, and rode forward
slowly. Soon they made out the figure of a man standing on a swell of
the prairie, and vigorously waving a torch made of a dead stick lighted
at one end. He had a rifle, but it leaned against a bush beside him.
His belt held a pistol and knife, but his free hand made no movement
toward them, as the three rode up. The man himself was young, slender,
and of olive complexion with black hair and eyes. He was a Mexican, but
he was dressed in the simple Texan style. Moreover, there were Mexicans
born in Texas some of whom, belonging to the Liberal party, inclined to
the Texan side. This man was distinctly handsome and the look with which
he returned the gaze of the three was frank, free and open.
"I saw you from afar," he said in excellent English. "I climbed the
cottonwood there in order to see what might be passing on the prairie,
and as my eyes happen to be very good I detected three black dots in the
moonlight, coming out of the east. As I saw the men of Santa Anna going
west as fast as hoofs would carry them I knew that only Texans could be
riding out of the east."
He laughed, threw his torch on the ground and stamped out the light.
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