"He knew exactly
what I wanted. There's a lot of things in the world that I'd like to do,
but the one that I want to do most just now is to follow Urrea and that
crowd of his and take away those Texans. You two couldn't keep me from
going."
The Panther smiled back.
"You are shorely the right stuff, Obed White," he said. "We're only
three in this bunch, but two of 'em besides me are ring-tailed panthers.
Now we'll just draw off, before it's day, an' hide in the chaparral up
there."
They rode a mile to the north and remained among dense bushes until
daylight. At dawn they saw a column of smoke rise from Urrea's camp.
"They are cookin' breakfast now," said the Panther. "It's my guess that
in an hour they'll be ridin' south with their prisoners."
The column of smoke sank after a while, and a couple of hours later the
three left the chaparral. From one of the summits they dimly saw a mass
of horsemen riding toward Mexico.
"There's our men," said the Panther, "an' now we'll follow all day at
this good, safe distance. At night we can draw up closer if we want to
do it."
The Mexicans maintained a steady pace, and the three pursuers followed
at a distance of perhaps two miles.
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