"
"Adios, Senor," said the man politely, and Ned repeated his "Adios" in
the same tone. Then he hurried forward, continually turning in toward
the east, hoping to find a passage where the Mexican line was thinnest.
But the circle of the invaders was complete, and he saw that he must
rely upon his impersonation of a Mexican to take him through.
He was in a fever of haste, knowing now that the great assault was to
come so soon, and he made for a point between two smoldering camp fires
fifty or sixty yards apart. Boldness only would now avail, and with the
brim of his sombrero pulled well down over his face he walked
confidently forward, coming fully within the light of the fire on his
left.
A number of Mexican soldiers were asleep around the fire, but at least a
half dozen men were awake. They called to Ned as he passed and he
responded readily, but Fortune, which had been so kind to him for a long
time, all at once turned her back upon him. When he spoke, a man in
officer's uniform who had been sitting by the fire rose quickly.
"Your name?" he cried.
"Pedro Miguel Alvarado," replied Ned instantly. At the same moment he
recognized Urrea.
"It is not so!" cried Urrea.
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