Both boys had a vision of
deep beds and hot suppers on the ranchos of their respective parents,
but they shut their teeth and raided the larder. There they found well-
cured meats and dried fruits, which appeased their mighty appetites;
then they went into Anastacio's hut, and wrapping themselves in the
Mission blankets were soon asleep.
It was Adan who awoke Roldan violently in the morning.
"The soldiers!" he whispered hoarsely.
Roldan, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, peered through a rift between
the wall of the hut and the shrunken hide which formed the door. A half
dozen soldiers stood in the plaza, glancing speculatively about.
"I see no trace of them," said one. "I cannot believe they would come
back to this place. Surely it was, as I said, more natural for them to
hide at the edge of the forest until we had gone."
"That dog said there was food here, and that they were more afraid of us
than of a long walk at night. Wherever they are, we find them. They are
a prize second only to the head of Anastacio. Search the huts."
Roldan sprang to his feet, pulling Adan with him. "Come," he said;
"follow me, and run as if you were as lean as a coyote.
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