He knew that the cry of "Fulton!" was unintelligible to
them, and he exclaimed:
"Save me, comrades! He tried to beat me without cause, and now he would
kill me, as you see!"
Urrea had drawn a pistol and was shouting fiery Mexican oaths. The
soldiers, some of them just awakened from sleep, and all of them dazed,
had gathered in a huddle, but they opened to let Ned pass. Excessive and
cruel punishment was common among them. A man might be flogged half to
death at the whim of an officer, and instinctively they protected their
comrade.
As the Mexican group closed up behind him, and between him and Urrea,
Ned ran at top speed toward the west where the arroyo cut across the
plain. More Mexicans were gathering, and there was great confusion.
Everybody was asking what was the matter. The boy's quick wit did not
desert him. There was safety in ignorance and the multitude.
He quickly dropped to a walk and he, too, began to ask of others what
had caused the trouble. All the while he worked steadily toward the
arroyo, and soon he left behind him the lights and the shouting. He now
came into the dark, passed beyond the Mexican lines, and entered the cut
in the earth down which he had come.
Pages:
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133