AHEAD OF THE ARMY

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[Illustration: IT WAS SEVERE WORK, BUT IT WAS DONE WITH EAGER ENTHUSIASM(See page 277)]

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AHEAD OF THE ARMY

by W. O. STODDARD

AUTHOR OF "THE ERRAND BOY OF ANDREW JACKSON, " "JACK MORGAN, ""THE NOANK'S LOG, " ETC. 

ILLUSTRATED BYC. CHASE EMERSON

BOSTONLOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY

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COPYRIGHT, 1903, by LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Published June, 1903

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PREFACE

Lest any one should suspect exaggeration in the pictures of Mexicanaffairs in the old time, which are presented by Señor Carfora, it may bewell to offer a few facts by way of explanation. During sixty-threeyears of the national life of the Republic of Mexico, from theestablishment of its independence in 1821 to the year 1884, nearly allof its successive changes of government were accompanied by more or lessviolence and bloodshed. There have been fifty-five Mexican Presidents;at one revolutionary period, four within three months, and to this listmust be added two emperors and one regency. Both of the emperors wereshot, so were several of the Presidents, and nearly all of the othersincurred the penalty of banishment. How this came to be so will possiblybe better understood by the young Americans who will kindly travel withSeñor Carfora and his generals and his two armies, commanded for him byGeneral Scott and General Santa Anna. It is the wish of the author thatall his young friends may cultivate a deeper and kinder interest in thewonderful land of Anahuac and its people. The now peaceful and rapidlyimproving republic of the South is, in fact, only a kind of youngerbrother of the United States. Mexico has no more sincere well-wisherthan

 William O. Stoddard. 

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CONTENTS Page

Far-away Guns 11The Race of the Goshawk 22The Fortune of War 47Completely Stranded 69The Work of the Norther 84Forward, March 99The Land of the Montezumas 119Out of the Tierra Caliente 136Leaving the Hacienda 157Pictures of the Past 167Ned's News 181A Storm Coming 193The Revolution 207The Despatch-bearer 221Under Fire 240General Scott and His Army 254The Mountain Passes 267Señor Carfora Trapped 281The Stars and Stripes in Tenochtitlan 294

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ILLUSTRATIONS Page

It was severe work, but it was done with eager enthusiasm Frontispiece"Do you see that? What does it mean?" 30"We have orders to take care of you" 114Ned saw a long, bright blade of a lance pointed at his bosom 286

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AHEAD OF THE ARMY

CHAPTER I. 

FAR-AWAY GUNS

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The long surges of the Gulf of Mexico were beating heavily upon thesandy beach of Point Isabel, but the dull and boding sounds were not theroar of the surf. There came a long silence, and then another boom. Eachin succession entered the white tents of the American army on theupland, carrying with it a message of especial importance to all whowere within. It was also of more importance to the whole world than anyman who heard it could then have imagined. It spoke to the sentries attheir posts, and compelled them to turn and listen. It halted allpatrolling and scouting parties, making them stand still to utter suddenexclamations. More than one mounted officer reined in his horse tohear, and then wheeled to spur away toward the tent of General ZacharyTaylor, commanding the forces of the United States upon the Rio Grande. 

In one small tent, in the camp of the Seventh Infantry, the first boomstirred up a young man who had been sleeping, and he may have beendreaming of home. He was in the uniform of a second lieutenant, and inone respect he was exactly like all the other younger officers and mostof the men of that army, for never before had they heard the sound of ahostile cannon. War was new to them, and they were not aware how many ofthem were now entering a preparatory school in which they were to betrained for service in a war of vastly greater proportions and for thecommand of its contending armies, on either side. 

Up sprang the young lieutenant and stepped to the door of his tent. Hewas short, strongly built, and his alert, vigorous movements indicatedunusual nerve, vitality, and muscular strength. 

"Grant, my boy, " he muttered to himself, "that comes from the fort! TheMexicans are attacking! It's more than twenty miles away. I didn't knowyou could hear guns as far as that, but the wind's in the rightdirection. Hurrah! The war has begun!"

He was only half right. The war had been begun long years before byaggressive American settlers in the Spanish-Mexican State of Texas. Now, at last, the United States had taken up the same old conflict, and onlyabout half of the American people at all approved of it. 

Grant did not linger in front of his tent. He walked rapidly away towhere stood a group of officers, hardly any of them older than himself. 

"Meade, " he demanded of one of them, "what do you think of that?"

"I think I don't know how long that half-finished fort can hold out, "responded Lieutenant Meade, and half a dozen other voices instantlyagreed with him as to the perils surrounding the small besiegedgarrison. 

It was hardly possible, they said, that it could hold out until thearrival of the main army. This, too, would have to fight all the wayagainst superior numbers, but that was a thing which it could do, andthey were all wild with eagerness to be on the march, in answer to thesummons of those far-away guns. 

There were no railroads to speak of, and only the first small beginningsof telegraphs in the year 1846. The news of the first fighting wouldtherefore be slow in reaching the President and Congress at Washington, so that they might lawfully make what is called a formal declaration ofwar. Much had already been taken for granted, but the Americangovernment was at that hour anxiously leaning southward and listeningfor the expected roar of Mexican cannon. It came, as rapidly as GeneralTaylor could send it. A swift despatch-boat, with all her canvas up, went speeding across the gulf to New Orleans. Thence, in the hands ofspecial couriers, it would gallop all the remaining distance. Meantime, the struggle at the Rio Grande frontier would continue, just as if allthe legal arrangements had been made, but it would be weeks beforeEurope could be advised of what was going on. All this, too, when thisfight over the annexation of Texas was about to lift the Republic into aforemost place among the nations. It was to give her all the Pacificcoast which she now has, except Oregon and Alaska, with the gold ofCalifornia and the silver of the mountains. Among its consequences wereto be the terrible Civil War, the abolition of slavery, the acquisitionof the Sandwich Islands, and many another vast change in the history ofour country and in that of these very European nations which were thenignorantly sitting still and thinking little about it, because they hadno ocean cable telegraphs to outrun the swift clipper ships. 

There were couriers racing inland in all directions to tell the peopleof Mexico, also, that war had come, but the despatches of the generalcommanding their forces on the Texas border were carried by a swiftschooner from Matamoras, on the coast, directly to Vera Cruz. Amessenger from that port had before him a gallop of only two hundred andsixty miles to the city of Mexico. President Paredes, therefore, hadfull information of the attack on the American fort sooner than didPresident Polk by a number of very important days. 

These were bright May days, and during all of them there were otherthings going on which had a direct relation to the cannon-firing and thesiege. For instance, all the commerce between Mexico and the rest of theworld was deeply interested, and so were all the warships of the UnitedStates, which were prepared to interfere with that commerce pretty soon, and shut it off. There were merchant vessels at sea to whose captainsand owners it was a serious question whether or not cruisers carryingthe Stars and Stripes would permit them to reach their intended portand deliver their cargoes. Whatever may have been the case with all therest of these vessels, one of them in particular appeared to be rushingalong in a great hurry at the very hour when Lieutenant Grant woke up sosuddenly and walked out of his tent. 

She carried an American flag, somewhat tattered, and she was spreadingquite as much canvas as a prudent skipper might have considered safeunder the strong gale that was blowing. She was bark-rigged, of aboutfour hundred tons burden, and was headed westward in the NicholasChannel, off the northerly coast of the Island of Cuba. There was a highsea running, but the ship stood up well, and the few men who were ondeck could get about easily. Even a boy of apparently not overseventeen, who came to a halt near the mainmast, managed to keep hisbalance with some help from a rope. That he did so was a credit to him, and it helped to give him a sailor-like and jaunty air. So did his bluetrousers, blue flannel shirt with a wide collar, and the sidewise pitchof his tarpaulin hat. He might as well have remarked aloud that he wasone of those boys who are up to almost anything, and who think smallpotatoes of a mere storm at sea. Near him, however, stood a pair of men, either of whom might have felt as much at home under another flag thanthe one which was now fluttering its damaged bunting above them. Theshorter of the two was a very dark-faced gentleman of perhaps forty, with piercing black eyes. In spite of his civilian dress, he wore anexpression that was decidedly warlike, or soldierly. 

"Captain Kemp, " he said to his companion, "will you be good enough totell me why we are in the Nicholas Channel?"

"No, Señor Zuroaga, " growled the large-framed, roughly rigged andgrim-looking sailor. "I'm cap'n o' this ship, and I don't giveexplanations. We've had gales on gales since we left port. One course isas good as another, if you're not losing distance. We'll reach Vera Cruznow three or four days sooner than we reckoned. All those war insurancerisks were paid for for nothing. "

"I'm not so sure of that, " was slowly and thoughtfully responded. "Notif one of Uncle Sam's officers should get a look into the hold of thisship. "

"You're a Mexican, anyhow, " said Captain Kemp, surlily. "You know enoughto keep your mouth shut. You don't really have to know anything aboutthe cargo. Besides, it was peace when we sailed. We shall make a safelanding, --if nothing happens on the way. "

"Captain, " said the Mexican, "it does not take long to make adeclaration of war when both sides are determined to have one. "

"You're wrong there, Señor Zuroaga, " replied the captain, emphatically. "Mexico doesn't want a brush with the States. She isn't strong enough. The Yankees can whip her out of Texas any day. "

"That is not the point at all, " replied Zuroaga, sadly. "The fact is, the Texan Yankees want a war for revenge, and the American party inpower would like to annex a great deal more than Texas. PresidentParedes needs a war to keep himself in power and help him put on acrown. Old Santa Anna wants a war to give him a chance to return fromexile and get control of the army. If we ever do reach Vera Cruz, weshall hear of fighting when we get there. "

"Perhaps, " said the captain, "but it will be only a short war, and atthe end of it the United States will have stolen Texas. "

"No, señor, " said Zuroaga, with a fierce flash in his eyes. "Alleducated Mexicans believe that Texas or any other of the old Spanishprovinces has a right to set up for itself. Almost every State hasactually tried it. We have had revolution after revolution. "

"Anarchy after anarchy!" growled the captain. "Such a nation as thatneeds a king of some kind, or else the strong hand of either England orFrance or the United States. "

"Mexico! A nation!" exclaimed Señor Zuroaga, after a moment of silence. "We are not a nation yet. Within our boundaries there are severalmillions of ignorant Indians, peons, rancheros and the like, that areowned rather than ruled by a few scores of rich landholders whorepresent the old Spanish military grants. Just now President Paredes isable to overawe as many of these chiefs as he and others have notmurdered. So he is President, or whatever else he may choose to callhimself. The mere title is nothing, for the people do not know thedifference between one and another. Now, Captain Kemp, one sure thing isthat the Yankees have taken Texas and mean to keep it. They will fightfor it. One other sure thing is that General Antonio Lopez de Santa Annawill come back if he can, to carry on that war and supersede Paredes. If he does so, there is danger ahead for some men. He will settle withall his old enemies, and he loves bloodshed for its own sake. When hecannot be killing men, he will sit in a cockpit all day, just for thepleasure of seeing the birds slaughtering one another. I believe he hadmy own father shot quite as much for love of murder as for theopportunity it gave him for confiscating our family estates in Oaxaca. "

"You seem to have enough to hate him for, anyhow, and I don't blameyou, " replied the captain, as he turned away to give some orders to thesailors, and all the while the boy who stood near them had beenlistening. 

"Well, Ned Crawford, " he muttered to himself, "that's it, is it? Fatherdidn't seem to believe there would be any war. He said there would beplenty of time, anyhow, for this old _Goshawk_ bark to make the roundtrip to New York by way of Vera Cruz. "

A great lurch of the ship nearly swung him off his feet just then, andhe was holding on very firmly to his rope when he added:

"He said I'd learn a great deal all the way, and I shouldn't wonder ifI'm learning something new just now. What do they mean by thatdangerous cargo in the hold, and our being captured by American ships ofwar? That's a thing father didn't know anything about. I guess I can seehow it is, though. Captain Kemp isn't an American, and he'd do almostanything to make money. Anything honest, I mean. How it does blow! Well, let her blow! Father said he was putting me into a first-rate commercialschool, and here I am right in the middle of it. "

Ned was indeed at school, and he seemed likely to have unexpectedteachers, but so is every other wide-awake young fellow, just likeUlysses Grant and his crowd of young associates in their hot weather warschool over there on the Texas border. 

Señor Zuroaga also had now walked away, and Ned was left to hold by hisrope, looking out upon the tossing sea and wondering more and more whatsort of adventures he and the _Goshawk_ might be so swiftly racing oninto. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE RACE OF THE GOSHAWK

A long day had passed and a dark night had come. The air of it was hotand sultry over all the regions around the Gulf of Mexico. Somethingappeared to be weighing it down, as if it might be loaded with the greatevents which were about to come. 

It was gloomy enough at and around the besieged American fort on theTexas side of the Rio Grande, but every now and then the darkness andthe silence were broken by the flashes and thunders of the Mexicanartillery, and the responses of the cannon of the bravely defendedfortress. This was already partly in ruins, and the besiegers had goodreasons for their expectation that in due season they were to see theStars and Stripes come down from the shattered rampart. It did not seemto them at all possible that the small force under General Taylor, twenty miles away at the seaside, could cut through overwhelmingnumbers to the relief of the garrison. 

It was just as dark in the American camp on the coast, but there weremany campfires burning, and by the light of these and numberlesslanterns there were busy preparations making for the forward march, which was to begin in the morning. There was an immense amount ofanxiety in the minds of all the Americans who were getting ready, but itwas only on account of the fort and garrison, for that little army had aremarkable degree of confidence in its own fighting capacity. 

It is never as dark on the land, apparently, as it is at sea, where eventhe lights hung out by a ship seem to make all things darker, except thewhite crests of the billows. One ship's lantern, however, was so hungthat it threw down a dim light upon a pair who were sitting on the decknear the stern. 

"Señor Zuroaga, " said one of them, "I wish it was daylight. "

"So do I, " responded his companion, with hardly a trace of foreignaccent. "The storm's nearly over, but I had so much on my mind that Icould not sleep. The fact is, I came up to try and make up my mind wherewe are. I must reach Vera Cruz before Santa Anna does, if I can. If Ido not, I may be shot after landing. I shall be safer, too, afterPresident Paredes has marched with his army for the Rio Grande. So Ihope for war. Anyhow, the commander at Vera Cruz is a friend of mine. "

"I guess I understand, " said Ned. "I heard what you said about the waythings are going. But what did you mean about our being in the NicholasChannel? What has that got to do with it?"

"Talk Spanish!" replied the señor, with whom the boy appeared to be upongood terms. "I do not want any of those sailors to understand me, thoughI'm very glad that you can. How did that happen?"

"Well, " said Ned, "father's been all his life in the Cuban and Mexicantrade, and I'm to grow up into it. I can't remember just when they beganto teach me Spanish. I was thinking about the war, though. If it'scoming, I want to see some of the fighting. "

"You may see more than you will like, " said his friend in his owntongue. "Now, as to where we are, remember your geography. "

"I can remember every map in it, " said Ned, confidently. 

"Good!" said the señor. "Now! You know that the Gulf Stream runs alongthe coast of Florida. Our road from Liverpool to the gulf was to havetaken us by that way. Instead of that, we came around below the BahamaIslands, and here we are off the north coast of Cuba. Captain Kemp'sreason is that there might be too many American cruisers along theFlorida coast, and he does not care to be stopped by one of them, if thewar has already begun. We would not be allowed to go any further. "

"I see, " said Ned. "Of course not. They would stop us, to keep us frombeing captured by the Mexicans when we got to Vera Cruz. "

"Not exactly, " said the señor, half laughing, "but it might cost yourfather and his partners their ship and cargo. That is the secret thesailors are not to know. Away up northward there, a hundred miles or so, are the Florida Keys, and among them is the United States naval stationat Key West. There are ships of war there, and Captain Kemp will notsail any nearer to them than he can help. Ned, did you have any ideathat you were sitting over a Mexican powder-magazine?"

"No!" exclaimed Ned. "What on earth do you mean?"

"I think I had better tell you, " said the señor. "I half suspected itbefore we sailed, and I learned the whole truth afterward. The New Yorkand Liverpool firm that your father belongs to sent on board an honestand peaceable cargo, but there was a good deal of room left in the hold, and the captain filled it up with cannon-balls, musket-bullets, andgunpowder from the English agents of no less a man than General SantaAnna himself. It is all for his army, whenever he gets one, but it goesfirst to the castle of San Juan de Ulua, at Vera Cruz. If war has beendeclared, or if it has in any way begun, the whole thing is what theycall contraband of war, and the _Goshawk_ is liable to be captured andconfiscated. "

"Phew!" whistled Ned. "Wonder how father'd like that! Anyhow, we don'tknow there's any war. "

"We'd be in trouble anyhow, " said the señor. "But we are all in the darkabout it. We have been over three weeks on the way, and all the war newswe had when we started was nearly a month old. We can only guess whathas been going on. Here we are, though, in a storm that is driving usalong first-rate into the Gulf of Mexico. We may be four days' sail fromVera Cruz in a bee-line, and the _Goshawk_ is a racer, but we may not beable to make a straight course. Well, well, the captain will keep on allthe canvas that's safe, and we may get there. Hullo! the day isbeginning to dawn. Now our real danger begins. "

He said no more, and Ned walked forward with something altogether new onhis mind. An American boy, crammed full of patriotism, and wishing thathe were in General Taylor's army, he was, nevertheless, by no fault ofhis own, one of the crew of a ship which was carrying ammunition to theenemy. He almost felt as if he were fighting his own country, and itmade him sick. He had an idea, moreover, that Señor Zuroaga was onlyhalf willing to help his old enemy Santa Anna. 

"I don't care if Captain Kemp is an Englishman, " he said to himself, "hehad no business to run father and his partners into such a scrape. "

That might be so, and perhaps neither Kemp, nor Zuroaga, nor even Nedhimself, knew all about the laws of war which govern such cases, butjust then there flashed across his mind a very dismal suggestion, as hestared down at the deck he stood on. 

"What, " he asked himself, "if any accident should touch off thosebarrels of powder down there? Why, we'd all be blown sky-high andnobody'd ever know what had become of us. There'd be nothing but chipsleft. "

He tried not to think about that, and went below to get his breakfast, while Captain Kemp ordered his sailors to send up another sail, remarking to Señor Zuroaga:

"We must make the most we can of this wind. Every hour counts now. I'lltake the _Goshawk_ to Vera Cruz, or I'll run her under water. "

"Have you any idea where we are just now?" asked the señor. 

"Well on into the gulf, " said the captain, cheerfully. "We made asplendid run in the night, thanks to the gale. I hope it will blow on, and I think there is no danger of our being overhauled until we are offthe Mexican coast. I wish, though, that I knew whether or not the warhas actually been declared. "

"The declaration isn't everything, " replied the señor. "If there hasbeen any fighting at all, American cruisers have a right, after that, to question ships bound for a hostile port, and to stop and seize allcontraband of war. After goods are once seized, it isn't easy to getthem back again. "

"Sail ho!" came down from aloft at that moment. 

"Where away?" called back the captain. 

"Northerly, sir. Looks like a shark, sir. "

"Can you make out her flag?" was inquired, almost anxiously. 

The man on the lookout plied his telescope a full half-minute before heresponded:

"Stars and Stripes, sir. Sloop-o'-war, sir. She's changin' her course, and she's makin' for us, I reckon. "

"Let her head!" growled the captain. "This bark'll bear more sail. Hoistaway there, men. Let her have it! Señor, there's one thing I'll do rightoff. It may be our best chance if she should overhaul us. "

He did not explain his meaning just then, but another sail went up andsomething else came down. In a few minutes more, when Ned came on deckagain, he suddenly felt worse than ever. Not long before, when the sunwas rising, he had been on an American ship, with the flag of hiscountry flying above him, but now his first glance aloft drew from him aloud exclamation, for he found that while below he had apparently beenturned into an Englishman, and away up yonder the gale was playing withthe Red Cross banner of the British Empire. He stared at it for amoment, and then he made an excited rush for Señor Zuroaga. He mighthave reached him sooner, but for a lurch of the _Goshawk_, which senthim sprawling full length upon the deck. It did not hurt him much, however, and as soon as he was on his feet, he blurted out, angrily:

"Señor! I say! Do you see that? What does it mean?"

The Mexican laughed aloud, but not only Ned Crawford but several of thesailors were eyeing that unexpected bunting with red and angry faces. They also were Americans, and they had national prejudices. 

"You don't like the British flag, eh?" he said. "I do, then, just now. An American cruiser would not fire a shot at that flag half so quick asit would at your own. "

"Why wouldn't she?" asked Ned. 

[Illustration: "DO YOU SEE THAT? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?"]

"Because, " said the señor, a little dryly, "the American skipper hasn'tany British navy behind him, ready to take the matter up. It's aprotection in case we can't outrun that sloop-of-war. The men won't carea cent, as soon as they know it's only a sea dodge to get into portwith. "

Sailor-like, they were indeed easily satisfied with whatever the captainchose to tell them, and on went the _Goshawk_ as a British craft, butshe was nevertheless carrying supplies to the Mexican army. 

Señor Zuroaga had brought up a double spy-glass of his own, and, afterstudying the stranger through it, he handed it to Ned, remarking:

"Take a look at her. She's a beauty. She is drawing nearer on this tack, but nobody knows yet whether she can outrun us or not. "

Ned took the glass with an unexpected feeling growing within him that hehoped she could not do so. He did not wish to be caught on board aBritish vessel taking powder and shot to kill Americans with. As he putthe glass to his eyes, however, the sloop-of-war appeared to havesuddenly come nearer. It was as if the _Goshawk_ were already withinreach of her guns, and she became a dangerous thing to look at. She wasnot, as yet, under any great press of canvas, for her commander may nothave imagined that any merchant vessel would try to get away from him. There were two things, however, about which nobody on board the_Goshawk_ was thinking. The first was that, while the Americanship-of-war captain had not heard the firing at the fort on the RioGrande, he was under a strong impression that war had been declared. Theother thing came out in a remark which he made to a junior officerstanding by him. 

"It won't do!" he declared, emphatically. "I don't at all like thatchange of flags. It means mischief. There is something suspicious aboutthat craft. We must bring her to, and find out what's the matter withher. "

The distance between the two vessels was still too great for anythingbut a few signals, to which Captain Kemp responded with others which mayhave been of his own invention, for the signal officer on board theYankee cruiser could make nothing of them. The _Goshhawk_, moreover, didnot shorten sail, and her steersman kept her away several points moresoutherly, instead of bringing her course nearer to that of the cruiser. 

"I see!" said her captain, as he watched the change. "She means to getaway from us. It won't do. As soon as we are within range, I'll giveher a gun. She may be a Mexican privateer, for all I know. "

At all events, under the circumstances, as he thought, the change offlags had made it his duty to inquire into her character, and he decidedto do so, even if, as he said, he should have to send one shot ahead ofher and then a dozen into her. 

There is something wonderfully exciting about a race of any kind. Menwill make use of anything, from a donkey to a steamboat, to engineer atrial of speed and endurance. Then they will stand around and watch therunning, as if the future welfare of the human race depended upon theresult. Even the _Goshhawk_ sailors, who had previously grumbled at theBritish flag above them, were entirely reconciled to the situation, nowthat it included the interesting question whether or not their swiftbark could show her heels to the cruiser. They were very much in doubtabout it, for the ships of the American navy had a high and well-earnedreputation as chasers. They might have been somewhat encouraged if theyhad known that the _Portsmouth_, sloop-of-war, had been at sea a longtime without going into any dock to have her bottom scraped clean of itsaccumulated barnacles. She was by no means in the best of training fora marine race-course. 

An hour went by and then another. The two vessels were now running onalmost parallel lines, so that any attempt of the sloop to draw nearercost her just so much of chasing distance. It might be that they were, in fact, nearly matched, now that the wind had lulled a little, and bothof them were able to send up more canvas without too much risk of havingtheir sticks blown out of them. It looked like it, but the Yankeecaptain had yet another idea in his sagacious head. 

"Let her keep on, " he said. "The old _Kennebec_ is out there, somewherewesterly, not far away. That vagabond may find himself under heavierguns than ours before sunset. Lieutenant, give him a gun. "

"Ay, ay, sir!" came back, and in a moment more there was a flash and areport at the bow of the _Portsmouth_. 

Both range and distance had been well calculated, for an iron messenger, ordering the _Goshhawk_ to heave to, fell into the water within a hundredyards of her stern. 

"That's near enough for the present, " said the American commander, butCaptain Kemp exclaimed, in astonishment:

"They are firing on the British flag, are they? Then there is somethingup that we don't know anything about. We must get away at all risks. "

They were not doing so just now, although another change of course and astrong puff of the gale carried the _Goshhawk_ further out of range. Thefact was that her pursuer did not feel quite ready to land shot on boardof her, believing that he was doing well enough and that his prize wouldsurely be taken sooner or later. Besides, if she were, indeed, to becomea prize, no sound-minded sea-captain could be willing to shoot away herselling value or that of her cargo. 

Noon came, and there did not appear to be any important change in therelative positions of the two ships. At times, indeed, the _Goshhawk_ hadgained a quarter-mile or so, but only to lose it again, as is apt to bethe case in ocean races. She was not at all tired, however, and both ofthe contestants had all the wind they needed. 

Two hours more went slowly by, and Captain Kemp began to exhibit signsof uneasiness at the unexpected persistence with which he was followed. 

"What on earth can be the matter?" he remarked, aloud. "I'd have thoughtshe'd get tired of it before this--"

"Captain!" sharply interrupted Zuroaga, standing at his elbow, glass inhand. "Another sail! Off there, southerly. Seems to be a full-riggedship. What are we to do now?"

"Keep on!" roared the captain, and then he turned to respond to asimilar piece of unpleasant information which came down from thelookout. 

"We'll soon know what she is, " he remarked, but not as if he very muchwished to do so. "What I'd like to do would be to sail on into thedarkest kind of a rainy night. That's our chance, if we can get it. "

It might be, but at that very moment the commander of the _Portsmouth_was asserting to his first lieutenant:

"There comes the _Kennebec_, my boy. We'll have this fellow now. We'llteach him not to play tricks with national flags and man-o'-warsignals. "

The race across the Gulf of Mexico was now putting on new andinteresting features, but Ned Crawford, posted well forward to watch thecourse of events and what might have been called the race-course, sagelyremarked:

"I don't know that two horses can run any faster than one can. We are asfar ahead as ever we were. "

That would have been of more importance if the newcomer had not been somuch to the southward and westward, rather than behind them. She was, ofcourse, several miles nearer to the _Goshhawk_ than she was to the_Portsmouth_, and neither of these had as yet been able to make out herflag with certainty. That she was a full-rigged ship was sure enough, and if Ned had been upon her deck instead of upon his own, he would havediscovered that she was heavily armed and in apple-pie order. At thisvery moment a burly officer upon her quarter-deck was roaring, angrily, in response to some information which had been given him:

"What's that? A British ship chased by a Yankee cruiser? Lieutenant, Ithink the _Falcon_'ll take a look at that. These Yankees are getting toobumptious altogether. It's as if they thought they owned the gulf! Puther head two points north'ard. Humph! It's about time they had alesson. "

There had been some temporary trouble with the flag of the _Falcon_, butit had now been cleared of its tangle, and was swinging out free. It wasof larger size than the British bunting displayed by the Goshawk. It wasonly a few minutes, therefore, before Captain Kemp had a fresh troubleon his mind, for his telescope had told him the meaning of that flag. 

"Worse than ever!" he exclaimed. "She'd make us heave to and show ourpapers. Then she'd hand us right over, and no help for it. No, sir! Ouronly way is to scud from both of them. Some of our English frigates areslow goers, and this may be one of that kind. "

He was in less immediate peril, perhaps, because of the determination ofthe angry British captain to speak to the Yankee first, and demand anexplanation of this extraordinary affair. This it was his plain duty todo, and the attempt to do it would shortly put him and all his gunsbetween the _Portsmouth_ and the _Goshhawk_. This operation was going onat the end of another hour, when Captain Kemp's lookout shouted down tohim:

"Sail ho, sir! 'Bout a mile ahead o' the British frigate. Can't quitemake her out yet, sir. "

"I declare!" groaned the captain. "This 'ere's getting kind o' thick!"

The weather also was getting thicker, and all three of the racers wereshortly under a prudent necessity for reducing their excessive spreadsof canvas. The first mate of the _Goshhawk_ had even been compelled toexpostulate with his overexcited skipper. 

"Some of it's got to come down, sir, " he asserted. "If we was to lose aspar, we're gone, sure as guns!"

"In with it, then, " said the captain. "I wish both of 'em 'd knock out astick or two. It'd be a good thing for us. "

At all events, a lame horse is not likely to win a race, and the_Goshhawk_ was doing as well as were either of the others. 

Under such circumstances, it was not long before the _Falcon_ and the_Portsmouth_ were within speaking-trumpet distance of each other, bothof them losing half a mile to the _Goshhawk_ while they were gettingtogether. Rapid and loud-voiced indeed were the explanations whichpassed between the two commanders. At the end of them, the wrath of theEnglishman was turned entirely against the culprit bark, which hadtrifled with his flag. 

"We must take her, sir!" he shouted. "She's a loose fish o' some kind. "

It was while this conversation was going on that Señor Zuroaga, afterlong and careful observations, reported to Captain Kemp concerning thefar-away stranger to the westward. 

"She is a Frenchman, beyond a doubt. Are all the nations making a navalrendezvous in the Gulf of Mexico?"

"Nothing extraordinary, " said the captain. "But they're all more'nusually on the watch, on account o' the war, if it's coming. "

It was precisely so. War surely brings disturbance and losses to othersbesides those who are directly engaged in it, and all the nations havingcommercial relations with Mexico were expecting their cruisers in thegulf to act as a kind of sea police. Moreover, a larger force than usualwould probably be on hand and wide awake. 

The day was going fast, and the weather promised to shorten it. Ned wasnow wearing an oilskin, for he would not have allowed any amount of rainto have driven him below. He and all the rest on board the _Goshhawk_were aware that their pursuers were again beginning to gain on themperceptibly. It was a slow process, but it was likely to be a sure one, for the men-of-war could do better sailing in a heavy sea and undershortened canvas than could a loaded vessel like the saucy merchantbark. 

"I'm afraid they'll catch us!" groaned Ned. "I s'pose they could make usall prisoners of war, --if there is any war. Oh, I wish all that powderand shot had been thrown overboard!"

It did not look, just now, as if the Mexican army would ever get anybenefit from it, for even the French stranger to leeward seemed to beputting on an air of having evil intentions. Captain Kemp had made herout to be a corvette of moderate size, perhaps a sixteen-gun ship, andshe would be quite likely to co-operate with the police boats of Englandand America in arresting any suspicious wanderer in those troubledwaters. 

Darker grew the gloom and a light mist came sweeping over the sea. Bothpursuers and pursued began to swing out lights, and before long the mateof the _Goshhawk_ came to Captain Kemp to inquire, in a puzzled way:

"I say, Cap'n, what on earth do you do that for? It'll help 'em tofoller us, and lose us all the benefit o' the dark. "

"No, it won't, " growled the captain. "You wait and see. I've sighted onemore light, off there ahead of us, and I'm going to make it do somethingfor the _Goshhawk_. Those other chaps can't see it yet. "

"What in all the world can he be up to?" thought Ned, as he listened, but the cunning skipper of the bark had all his wits about him. 

The lookouts of the men-of-war had indeed been taking note thus far ofonly their own lanterns and the glimmer on their intended prize. Theymay even have wondered, as did her own mate, why she should aid them inkeeping track of her. At all events, they had little doubt of having herunder their guns before morning. Señor Zuroaga himself sat curled upunder his waterproof well aft, and now and then he appeared to bechuckling, as if he knew something which amused him. Half an hour later, when all the lights of the _Goshhawk_ suddenly went out, he actuallybroke into a ringing laugh. Her course was changed to almost due northat that very moment. This would bring her across the track of the_Portsmouth_ and within a mile of that dangerous cruiser's bow guns. They might not be quite so dangerous, however, if her gunners should beunable to see a mark at that distance through the mist. The fifth light, dead ahead, now became itself only the fourth, and it was immediatelythe sole attraction for the watchers in the rigging of the several warpolice-boats. This stranger was going westwardly, at a fair rate ofspeed, and its light was exceptionally brilliant. In fact, it grew moreand more so during an anxious thirty minutes that followed, but it wasthe French corvette which first came within hailing distance, to receivean answer in angry Portuguese, which the French officers could not makehead or tail of. Even after receiving further communications in brokenPortuguese-Spanish, all they could do was to compel the Brazilianschooner, _Gonzaga_, laden with honest coffee from Rio for New Orleans, to heave to as best she might until the next arrival came within hail. This proved to be the British frigate, and her disappointed captain atonce pretty sharply explained to the Frenchmen the difference between atwo-master from Rio and a British-Yankee runaway bark from nobody knewwhere. Then came sweeping along the gallant _Portsmouth_, and there wasneed for additional conversation all around. Some of it was of anexceedingly discontented character, although the several captains weredoing their best to be polite to each other, whatever derogatory remarksthey might feel disposed to make concerning the craft which was carryingNed Crawford and his badly wounded patriotism. 

Far away to the northwest, hidden by the darkness, the _Goshhawk_ wasall this while flying along, getting into greater safety with every knotshe was making, and Captain Kemp remarked to Ned:

"My boy, your father won't lose a cent, after all--not unless we findVera Cruz blockaded. But our danger isn't all over yet, and it's wellfor us that we've slipped out of this part of it. "

"Captain Kemp!" exclaimed Ned, "I believe father'd be willing to losesomething, rather than have the Mexicans get that ammunition. "

"Very likely he would, " laughed the captain, "but I'm an Englishman, andI don't care. What's more, I'm like a great many Americans. Millions ofthem believe that the Mexicans are in the right in this matter. "

That was a thing which nobody could deny, and Ned was silenced so far asthe captain's sense of national duty was concerned. 

Hundreds of miles to the westward, at that early hour of the evening, far beyond the path of the storm which had been sweeping the eastern andsouthern waters of the gulf, the American army, under General Taylor, lay bivouacked. It was several miles nearer the besieged fort than ithad been in the morning, for this was the 8th of May. There had beensharp fighting at intervals since the middle of the forenoon, beginningat a place called Palo Alto, or "The Tall Trees, " and the Mexicans hadbeen driven back with loss. Any cannonading at the fort could be heardmore plainly now, and it was certain that it had not yet surrendered. 

Near the centre of the lines occupied by the Seventh Regiment, a youngofficer sat upon the grass. He held in one hand a piece of army bread, from which he now and then took a bite, but he was evidently absorbed inthought. He took off his hat at last and stared out into the gloom. 

"The Mexican army is out there somewhere, " he remarked, slowly. "We arelikely to have another brush with them to-morrow. Well! this is realwar. I've seen my first battle, and I know just how a fellow feels underfire. I wasn't at all sure how it would be, but I know now. He doesn'tfeel first-rate, by any means. Those fellows that say they like it areall humbugs. I've seen my first man killed by a cannon-ball. Poor Page!Poor Ringgold! More of us are to go down to-morrow. Who will it be?"

Very possibly, the list of American slain would contain theannouncement that a mere second lieutenant, named Ulysses S. Grant, hadbeen struck by a chance shot from one of the Mexican batteries. 

CHAPTER III. 

THE FORTUNE OF WAR

The morning of the 9th of May dawned brightly on the ocean and on theshore. There was a heavy sea running on the Gulf of Mexico, but the windthat was blowing was little more than a ten-knot breeze. Before this, atdistances of a few miles from each other, a trio of armed vessels, representing three of the great powers of the world, were dashing alongunder full sail, as if they were in a hurry. They were so, for they allwere searching hungrily after a double-flagged bark, which they hadcaught the day before, but which had managed to escape from them in thenight. She had done it mysteriously and impudently. Instead of her, there now toiled along, away behind them, a dingy-looking Braziliancoffee schooner, the skipper of which did not conceal his satisfactionover the idea that he had unintentionally aided some other sailor--hedid not care who--to get away from all those war-sharks. Well to thewestward, with every sail spread that she could carry, the _Goshhawk_sped along in apparent safety, but she was once more carrying theAmerican flag, and Ned Crawford, busy below at his breakfast, felt agreat deal easier in his patriotic mind. He could almost forget, for themoment, that he was taking a cargo of the worst kind of contraband ofwar goods to the armies of the enemies of his country. He was shortly ondeck again, to be heartily greeted by Captain Kemp with:

"Hullo, my boy, where are all your ships of war?"

Ned took a long, sweeping glance around the horizon, and replied:

"It looks as if we'd lost 'em. "

"We've done it!" chuckled the captain. "I think we'll not see any moreof that lot. We made a fine run in the night, and we may be within threedays' sail of Vera Cruz. But that depends a great deal on the wind andon our luck in keeping out of difficulties. "

The captain turned away to his duties, and Ned went forward among thesailors. He could always manage to have good chats with them, and theywere especially ready just now to discuss the war and their chances forrunning against more cruisers. Ned did not count as one of them exactly, but he was not to be looked down upon as a mere passenger. His fatherhad sent him out as a kind of honorary supercargo, or ship's clerk, inthe hope that he might learn something which would be of use to him whenhe should grow up into a full-sized merchant. Perhaps he had alreadyfound out a number of things upon which his father had not calculatedwhen he said good-by to him. He was about to learn some other thingswhich were not upon the ship's books, for he had reached the heel of thebowsprit, where Señor Zuroaga was standing, gazing dreamily westward. 

"Good morning, señor!" said Ned. "We did get away. "

"I don't know how good a morning it is for me, " replied the dark-facedMexican, wearily. "I may have only three or four days to wait before Ishall know whether or not I am to be shot at Vera Cruz by order of hisExcellency, President Paredes. My best chance is that he cannot knowthat I am coming. After I get ashore, my life may very soon depend uponhis being beaten out of power by the armies of the United States. "

"It couldn't be so in any other country, " said Ned. "What have you everdone against him?"

"I won't say just now, " replied the señor, "but he knows that I am hisenemy. So I am of Santa Anna, if he is to get back. He murdered myfather and confiscated our property in Oaxaca. Do you know where thatis?"

"No, " said Ned; "I don't know anything about the States of Mexico. It'shard enough to keep track of the United States. They make a new oneevery few weeks. They may have let in half a dozen while we've been atsea. "

"No, " said Zuroaga, "but they've tightened their grip on Texas, and Ihope they'll hold on hard, if only to keep Paredes and Santa Anna frommurdering all the best men in it. Well, Oaxaca lies due south of theState of Vera Cruz, and I can escape into it if I have half a chance. I'd be safe then, for I have plenty of friends there. We have owned hugetracts of land in Oaxaca ever since the Spaniards conquered Mexico. "

"How did your folks get so much of it?" inquired Ned. 

"I'll tell you, " said the señor, proudly, and with a fiery flash in hiscoal-black eyes. "A man by the name of Hernando Cortes really conqueredMexico, without much help from the King of Spain. The king made a greatdeal of him for it, at first. He made him a marquis, which was a greatthing in those days, whatever it is now. He also gave him a royal grantof some of the land he had won for Spain. This land was the valley ofthe Tehuantepec River, that empties into the Pacific Ocean near theeastern boundary of Oaxaca. So his title was Marquis del Valle, and hisdescendants hold a great deal of that land to this day. I am one ofthem, --one of the Marquisanas, as they call us. I am a direct descendantof Hernando Cortes, and that isn't all. One of my ancestors married anAztec princess, and so I am also descended from the Montezumas, who wereemperors of Mexico before the Spaniards came. I'm an Indian on one side, and I've more than one good reason for hating a Spaniard and a tyrant. "

Ned Crawford had read the story of the conquest of Mexico, like a greatmany other American boys. That is, he had read it as if it had been atip-top novel rather than a reality. He had admired Hernando Cortes, asa hero of fiction, but here he was, now, actually talking with one ofthe hero's great-great-grandchildren, who was also, after a fashion, one of the Montezumas. It was like a short chapter out of some othernovel, with the night race of the _Goshhawk_ thrown in by way ofvariation. He was thinking about it, however, rather than askingquestions, and the señor went on:

"It's a rich, beautiful country, all that eastern part of Oaxaca. Thereare splendid mountains and great forests of mahogany, rosewood, andpine. Through it runs the Coatzacoalcos River, northerly, to the gulf. Along the rivers and through the mountain passes, there is an old roadthat Cortes himself made to lead his little army across to the Pacific. "

"I'd like to go over on it!" exclaimed Ned. "I guess I will, some day. Iwant to know all about Mexico. "

He made up his mind, from what his companion went on to tell him, thatthere would be a great deal worth seeing, but at that time nobody wasdreaming how many Americans, older and younger, were soon to travel overthe old Cortes road. California was to be annexed, as well as Texas, andbefore Ned Crawford would be old enough to cast his first vote, therewas to be a great tide of eager gold hunters pouring along what wascalled the Tehuantepec route to the placers and diggings. 

The days of California gold mining had not yet come, and while Ned andthe señor talked on about the terrible history of Mexico, with itsfactions, its bloody revenges, its pronunciamentos, and its fruitlessrevolutions, the _Goshhawk_ sailed swiftly along toward Vera Cruz and thepowder-needing garrison of the castle of San Juan de Ulua. 

Whether or not the war had actually begun was still a puzzling questionin the mind of Captain Kemp, but he would have had no doubt whatever ifhe had been with General Taylor and his remarkable gathering of youngstudents of the art of war. They all obtained several important lessonsthat day. One of these was that it is both difficult and dangerous foran advancing army to push on through dense bushes and high grass in hotweather, with Mexican lancers ready to pounce upon them among the lanesof the chaparral. It was found, not only before but after the short, sharp collision with the Mexican forces at Resaca de la Palma that anumber of valuable lives had been lost in the bushy wilderness. 

The American army moved slowly forward, and before nightfall the longlines of its blue uniforms went over the prairie rolls in full sight ofthe fort. The Stars and Stripes were still flying above the badlydamaged ramparts, and cheer after cheer went up from thousands ofthroats, including those of the rescued garrison. They had not reallylost many men, killed or wounded, but among the killed was theircommander, Major Brown, after whom the fort was now named. In lateryears, a town grew up around the site of the frontier fortress, and itis called Brownsville. General Taylor's men had triumphantly cut theirway through the difficult twenty miles from the sea to the siege, butperhaps any individual hero among them might have safely quoted the wiseremark of Lieutenant Grant, as he looked at the fort and recalled hisexploits of the day. 

"Well, after all, " he said to himself, "I don't know but what the battleof Resaca de la Palma would have been won just as well if I had not beenthere. "

Long years afterward, it was to be said of a number of other battlesthat they would not have been won just as well if he had not been thereto win them, and the same would be equally true of several of his youngcompanions, as inexperienced as himself, and as ignorant of the greatthings before them in the far future. 

Their army went into camp near the fort; and the Mexican forces, for thegreater part, were believed to have retreated across the Rio Grande. 

It is said that after every storm there comes a calm, but it was not apleasant calm in the neighborhood of the American camp. There were allthe while strong parties of Mexican lancers hovering around in alldirections, on the lookout for imprudent stragglers, and a sharp watchhad to be kept to guard against sudden dashes at the outposts, for the"rancheros, " as the Mexican horsemen were called, were both well-mountedand enterprising. There was yet another kind of calm of a curiouscharacter. General Taylor absolutely did not know what to do next, andhe could not know until after he should hear from the President what thestatesmen in Congress had decided. Beyond a doubt, war was going onright here, but there was a dispute as to the nature of it and as towhat was to be done with it. The Mexican geographers claimed that thesouthern boundary of Texas, even if it had been legally annexed to theUnited States, was at the Nueces River, and that all their countrysouth of that line was still their own. According to them, therefore, General Taylor's army was not in Texas at all, but in Mexico. On theother hand, the American geographers placed the boundary at the RioGrande, many miles south of the Nueces, and claimed that the forcesdefeated by General Taylor had invaded the United States. If bothparties were right, then it might have been said that all that landbetween the rivers did not belong to anybody until the title to itshould be settled by a military court and gunpowder arguments. That wasreally the way in which it was finally settled, and there is now no moredispute about it. History tells us that so have all the great nationalland titles of the world been argued and determined. 

There was what some people call a waiting spell, and all things on seaor land might be spoken of as feverishly quiet for a day or two. In theafternoon of the third day, however, there was a sort of change in theweather at one spot away out on the gulf. There was not a cloud in thesky, indeed, and the _Goshhawk_ was skimming along under full sail sosteadily that part of her crew had nothing better to do than to liearound on the deck, and feel satisfied that the breeze was so very good. In the same manner, the American soldiers in the neighborhood of FortBrown were lying around in and out of their tents, and wishing that theyhad more shade to protect them from the hot sun of Texas or Mexico, whichever it might be. At that hour, however, there arrived upon the_Goshhawk_ a bit of unexpected news which awakened everybody, for the manat the lookout announced, excitedly:

"Schooner under Mexican flag, sir! Well away to loo'ard. Looks as if shemight come pretty nigh us. "

"Just the thing I wanted!" shouted Captain Kemp, springing to his feet. "We'll bear away for her. Up with the British flag, too. She'd shy theStars and Stripes. They wouldn't tell us what the news is, either. "

Once more, therefore, the _Goshhawk_ became an Englishman, and her chaseafter the latest news did not have to be a long one. Not many minuteslater, the two vessels were within hailing distance, and the strangerspoke first, in a tone of evident anxiety:

"What ship is that?"

"_Goshhawk_, from Liverpool to Vera Cruz, with supplies for the Castle ofSan Juan de Ulua. What ship is that?"

"Schooner _Tampico_, from Havana to Matamoras, with supplies for GeneralAmpudia, " came much more cheerfully back. "We had to run away fromMatamoras in ballast to escape the gringos. Their cruisers are aroundlike hawks. You won't get to Vera Cruz if they can help it. "

Captain Kemp already knew something about the reckless ways ofmen-of-war, but he did not say so. He merely responded:

"Is that so? How about the war? We've no news at all. "

"War?" shouted the Mexican skipper, triumphantly. "Why, there have beenthree great battles already. We have whipped the Americans! GeneralTaylor is surrounded, and will have to surrender. So will the fort onthe Rio Grande. We shall drive the gringos out of Texas. I did not knowuntil now that you British were going to help us. "

There could be no further conversation, for the _Goshhawk_ was sweepingon out of hearing, but Ned Crawford exclaimed, indignantly:

"Our army defeated? How can that be? I don't believe it!"

Everybody on deck could hear the captain when he laughingly responded:

"The victories were won in that fellow's head, most likely. He was onboard his schooner at Matamoras, and he didn't see it done. All he knowsis that the war is really begun. It takes a long time, men, to makeeither an American or a British army think of surrendering. We shallhear a good deal more about those battles one of these days. I'd like toread the newspaper reports, though, on both sides. "

"They would be good fun, " dryly remarked Señor Zuroaga. "There is nobodyon earth that can win victories like a newspaper editor. "

"Hullo!" suddenly exclaimed Ned. "Something's the matter with thecaptain! Did you hear that?"

There was quite enough to hear. A long, loud hail that came down fromthe rigging was followed by almost a yell from Captain Kemp. 

"We're chased again!" he said. "Thank God, she's astern! Men, we're infor it! Now for Vera Cruz or a prison! I'm ready!"

Rapid orders went out, but hardly anything more could be done toincrease the speed of the ship. In fact, the lookout must almost havetaken it for granted that the strange sail away off yonder belonged to aUnited States cruiser. Very likely it did, but it would have to draw agood deal nearer before there could be any absolute certainty. In themeantime, all on board the _Goshhawk_ might attend to whatever dutiesthey had, and discuss the remarkable tidings brought by the Mexicanschooner. While doing so, they could hardly have guessed correctly whatwas doing and saying on board the other vessel which had caused theiranxiety. She was, indeed, a man-of-war, and she had received from areturning army transport ship a whole lot of fresh news from GeneralTaylor's army, by way of Point Isabel on the coast, where he had beenencamped. Something like this had been shouted across the water by anenthusiastic officer of the transport:

"Awful fightin'! Half a dozen battles! Taylor's whipped the Greasersinto smithereens! He's goin' to march right on into Mexico. I don't keerif Uncle Sam annexes the hull half-Spanish outfit. I'm goin' in for oneo' them there big silver mines, if we do. Hurrah for Gineral Taylor!"

A chorus of ringing cheers had answered that, but here, also, there weremen of experience ready to question the entire accuracy of suchtremendous war news. The one thing, however, which was brought outclearly to the mind of a naval commander was his greatly increased dutyof watchfulness to prevent any kind of munitions of war from reachingthe Mexican ports. That was the reason why he was now following at hisbest speed what might after all prove to be an entirely innocent trader. He even went below to consider the matter, and it was a full hour laterwhen the officer in charge of the deck came hastily down to tell him:

"Same fellow we chased before, sir. I've made him out. He's underBritish colors again. Are we to chase?"

"Chase, sir?" roared the captain. "Of course we must chase! We know whatit means now. The old _Portsmouth_ must catch that rascal this time. I'll come on deck. "

Just as good glasses as those on board of her had been watching herduring that hour of swift sailing, and Captain Kemp was even nowlowering his telescope with what sounded like a sigh of relief. 

"Mate, " he said, "it's the same sloop that followed us before. It makesme feel better. We know what's about the best she can do. If this windholds, I think we can fetch Vera Cruz at nightfall. No one Yankee'ddare to follow us under the guns of San Juan de Ulua. "

"I reckon not, " slowly responded the mate of the _Goshhawk_, "but wedon't need to get under that chap's bow-chasers, either. "

"No, " said Captain Kemp, "but I'll risk a shot or two. "

Ned Crawford heard him, for he had been following him pretty closely, toknow what was coming. 

"I don't know, " he was thinking, "how far one o' those cannon of hers'llcarry. I don't believe, either, that they can hit a mark that isplunging along as we are. It'd be worse than shooting at a bird on thewing. Still, it's kind of awful to be shot at by our own people. "

The sailors of the _Goshhawk_ were also thinking, and they were beginningto look at one another very doubtfully. Not only were they Americans, most of them, but they had not shipped for any such business as this, and they did not fancy the idea of being killed for nothing. Moreover, Ned himself heard one of them muttering:

"There's an ugly look to this thing. If a shot from that cruiser were tostrike us amidships, we'd all be blown into the air. "

Decidedly that was not a pleasant thing to think of. Neither was thereany great amount of comfort in a suggestion made by another of the men:

"Well, we'd never know what hurt us. We must keep out o' range. "

Not long afterward there was a flash at one of the bow-ports of thecruiser. The report which followed was a peremptory order to heave to, under penalty of consequences. The gun was shotted, and a great manyeyes watched anxiously for the dipping of that well-aimed ball of iron. It skipped from crest to crest of several waves before it sank, and thenCaptain Kemp shouted:

"All right, men! Half a mile short! We shall get there. The coast's infull sight now, and we've less than five miles to run. "

"Ay, ay, sir!" came back from them, half cheerfully, but one voice washeard to grumble:

"It's all right, is it? Well, if it wasn't for that half-mile o'shortage, there'd be a mutinee-e on board o' this ship. I'd start it. Iain't a-goin' to get myself knocked on the head by Uncle Sam's own men. "

There would very likely have been a mutiny, even as it was, if there hadnow been time for it to take shape. Thus far, the excitement of thechase had been in the captain's favor, but the seamen would have beenlegally justified in resisting him and bringing the ship to. Hisauthority would have ceased, for he had no right to compel them to breakthe law or to run the risk of a broadside from a man-of-war. 

Nearer, nearer, nearer, came both the dim outline of the Mexican coastand the white sails of the pursuing _Portsmouth_. Louder and moreominous grew the but half-suppressed murmurs of the sailors, but CaptainKemp's face was now wearing a hard, set look, and he was known to be adangerous man to deal with. Something, which looked like the handle of apistol, stuck out of one of his side pockets, and his fingers wanderedto it now and then, as if he might be turning over in his mind thepossibility of soon having to shoot a mutineer. Ned was staringanxiously back at the Yankee cruiser at the moment when his shoulder wasgripped hard, and Señor Zuroaga almost whirled him around, exclaiming:

"Look! Look yonder! That's the Castle of San Juan de Ulua! Oh, but don'tI wish it were a half-mile nearer! Hear that firing?"

The guns of the _Portsmouth_ were indeed sounding at regular intervals, and she was evidently almost within range. She was also, however, wellwithin the prescribed distance line which a hostile cruiser may not passwithout being regarded as making the attack herself. Beyond a doubt, too, there must have been observers at the fort, who were alreadywatching the operations of the two approaching vessels. Minutes passed, which were counted by Ned with a heart that beat so he almost thought hecould hear it. 

"I think we are safe now, " began the señor, but he had been looking atthe fort, and there was one important fact of which he was not aware. 

Only a couple of minutes earlier, the captain of the _Portsmouth_ hadshouted angrily to his first lieutenant:

"No, sir! I will not let her get away. I will take her or sink her! Outwith that starboard battery, and let them have it!"

Around swung the sloop, like the perfect naval machine that she was, andthere quickly followed the reports of several guns at once. It was not afull broadside, but there was enough of it to have sunk the _Goshhawk_, if the iron thrown had struck her at or near the water-line. None of itdid so, but the next exclamation of Señor Zuroaga was one of utterdismay, for the foremast of the bark had been cut off at the cap andthere was a vast rent in her mainsail. Down tumbled a mass of spars andrigging, forward, and the ship could no longer obey her helm. 

"All hands cut away wreckage!" shouted Captain Kemp. "We're all right. She won't dare come any nearer. Hurrah!"

It was a deep, thunderous roar from the castle which had called out thatapparently untimely hurrah. It was the voice of a 64-pounder gun fromthe nearest rampart, and the shot it sent fell within ten feet of the_Portsmouth's_ bows. 

"Hullo!" exclaimed her captain, more angrily than ever. "We've run inalmost to pointblank range of those heavy guns. About! About!Lieutenant, we must get out of this. "

"All right, sir, " was anxiously responded. "It isn't worth while to riskany more shot of that size--not for all there's likely to be under thehatches of that wretched bark. I think we barked her, anyhow. "

He may have meant that for a kind of small joke, but she had been worsehurt than he could know, for one 32-pounder shot had shattered herstern, barely missing her sternpost and rudder gearing, and she was nolonger the trim and seaworthy vessel that she had been. One more heavygun had sounded from the seaward battery of the castle, but her garrisonhad been in a genuinely Mexican condition of unreadiness, and it wasseveral minutes before they could bring up more ammunition and makefurther use of their really excellent artillery. During those minutes, the _Portsmouth_ had ample opportunity given her to swing around andsweep swiftly out of danger. She had barely escaped paying dearly forher pursuit of the _Goshawk. _ Her satisfaction, however, consisted onlyin part of the damage she had done to the bark, for, in getting around, she had let drive her entire larboard broadside. It was a waste ofammunition, certainly, but no Yankee man-of-war commander would everhave forgiven himself if he had failed to make a good reply to a shotfrom the Castle of San Juan de Ulua. Moreover, the sloop's gunners wereready to swear solemnly that every ball they had sent had hit the fort. 

The excitement on board the _Goshhawk_ had been at fever heat, but it wasnow diminishing rapidly, for she did not contain a man who was not wellpleased to see the _Portsmouth_ give the matter up. All signs of mutinydisappeared, of course, for there was no more duty of a militarycharacter to be required of the men. The bark was soon set free of herwreckage, and prepared to make her way in still further, under theprotection of the fort batteries. Captain Kemp was too busy for any kindof conversation, and Señor Zuroaga came aft, to where Ned was curiouslystudying the work of the 32-pound shot at the stern. The señor leanedover the side and did the same for a long moment before he remarked:

"We have had a narrow escape. A few feet lower, and that shot would havelet the water in. Fifty feet forward, and it would have touched off thegunpowder. As it is, our voyage is ended, and I shall know, in an houror two, whether or not I am to be shot in the morning. "

CHAPTER IV. 

COMPLETELY STRANDED

"There don't seem to be any Mexican warships in the harbor, " said Ned tothe señor, as they looked landward from the deck of their badly mauledbark. "There isn't one in sight to come out after that sloop. "

"There are two good reasons for it, " growled the señor, gloomily. "Oneis that there isn't any harbor here. Nothing but an open roadstead, exposed to all the storms that come, so that to anchor off Vera Cruz isto run a fair chance of being wrecked. The other is that my unfortunatecountry has no navy. There isn't a Mexican vessel afloat that would careto go out after a Yankee man-of-war. We are not yet a nation, and I'mhalf-afraid we never will be. This war may do something for us. Therethey come! I shall know very soon now. "

As he spoke, he pointed at several boats which were pulling out towardthe _Goshawk. _ Some of them appeared to come from the wharves of thecity, but one, which was nearer, was evidently from the castle, and itwas in this that the señor took the deepest interest. Besides itshalf-dozen of oarsmen, it contained a tall man in a gorgeous uniform, and it was only a minute or so before Zuroaga exclaimed:

"Yes, that is Colonel Guerra himself. I am glad he is all alone!"

The bark was now drifting pretty rapidly landward, under such canvas asshe had left, and the _Portsmouth_ was safely out of range of theMexican guns, which were throwing away an occasional shot at her. Shehad not been touched by one of them, and she had the honor of being thefirst United States ship to try her batteries upon the renowned oldSpanish fortress. It was, indeed, a well-built fortification, and itcarried many guns, most of which had been brought over long ago from thefoundries of old Spain. It did not stand upon the main shore, but on anisland about half a mile out, and it therefore seemed unassailable, except from the sea or by heavy siege-guns on the shore. It had been oneof the last places surrendered when the Spanish government reluctantlygave up Mexico. From that day onward, in each of the successiverevolutions, it had been a first object with each new tyrant of thenominal republic or empire to get control of the fortress, whichdominated nearly all of the commerce of Mexico with the outer world. Atthe present time, it was commanded by an officer whom President Paredesbelieved that he could trust--or he would have shot him. This, ofcourse, was the main reason for the dark doubts of Señor Zuroaga. On theother hand, it might be taken into account that any prominent Mexicanofficer, like Colonel Guerra, would be willing to strengthen himself forsuch political changes as were entirely likely to come. For the sake ofold friendship and family ties, for instance, he might be even desirousof binding to his own interests a man who was known to have a largenumber of personal adherents in the important State of Oaxaca. 

That very man stood aft upon the deck of the _Goshhawk_ when the boat ofColonel Guerra touched her side, but he did not at once come forward toextend a greeting. That ceremony was performed sufficiently well byCaptain Kemp, and the responses of the castle commander were to the lastdegree enthusiastic. According to him, indeed, the fort could not haveheld out against a siege for a week without the powder in the hold ofthe bark. Therefore, it might be that not much of it was likely to bedistributed among the other forces of Mexico. The captain had manythings to say, but before long Colonel Guerra walked slowly aft withoutanybody following him. He may have merely desired to look over the sideand examine the injuries inflicted by the shot of the _Portsmouth_, forthat was the first thing he did, without so much as appearing torecognize any human being in the neighborhood. One of the two personswho were there, however, drew slowly near him, and, as he did so, heheard the colonel mutter, in a very low tone:

"My dear friend, you have done well to bring me the powder. Thank youfor your devotion to me and to Santa Anna, but you are in deadly peril. The orders of Paredes are out against you. General Morales, whom Paredestrusts, will soon be here to supersede me, but he will really come tohold this place for our general when he returns from exile. Considerthat I do not know that you are here, for my next in command is a spy onme. This ship will never put to sea again. The captain and crew will becared for, but that gringo boy is not safe, now that there has beenbloodshed on the Rio Grande. Take him with you to the house of yourcousin, Colonel Tassara, in the lower part of the city. Then get away toOaxaca as soon as you can. President Paredes is still in the city ofMexico, and he will not go to take command of the army in the north forsome time. You and I believe, of course, that he is really gathering itto have it led by our one-legged hero, Santa Anna. Paredes, however, suspects that a revolution is springing up under him, and he is watchingfor it. Of course, for that reason, he would shoot you at once as areturned conspirator against him. As for that matter, be careful how youland, for there are many spies. No doubt you can go where you please, after you get back among your own people. Farewell, but do not speak tome. "

He turned and strolled carelessly away, and the señor bowed his head fora moment, as if in deep thought, while Ned Crawford was aware of anentirely new idea, which had crept into his mind as he had listened tothe warning utterances of Colonel Guerra. 

"I declare!" he said to himself, "he believes that Señor Zuroaga broughtthe powder, and he didn't. He believes that the señor is going in forold Santa Anna, and he isn't. He believes that the señor and I areenemies of Paredes, and so we are. I am! I hope that he'll be beaten outof his boots by General Taylor, and then upset by the new revolution. Iguess he's right, though, about this ship, and I must find out how I cansend a letter home. I want father and mother to know all about thisbusiness. Go ashore and hide? I'm ready for that, but I'd like to get agood look at the old city somehow. "

Ned had been laboring under many perplexities and a great deal ofdepression of spirits during several days, but now he felt a kind ofexhilarating fever creeping all over him, and at first he did not knowexactly what it might be. When his father had taken him with him acrossthe Atlantic, --it seemed so long ago now, --he had gone eagerly enough, and he had had a grand time looking at Liverpool and London. It had beena rare treat for a youngster who had but recently passed up from agrammar school into the counting-room of a New York shipping-house. After that, when he had been sent on this trip, to make his voyage homeby way of Mexico, he had considered himself exceedingly lucky. But whatwas all that in comparison with this in the way of strange and wildadventure? Why, he had sailed through a naval engagement, cannonadingand all, and right on out of that into a full-grown war and a half-grownrevolution. The thrill which went over him was, therefore, the adventurefever. Something like this fever, in the veins of all sorts of men, young and old, has made the world what it is, discovering its newcountries, its new sciences, its new institutions, and leading itforward and upward out of its old-time dullness and barbarism. So Nedstood straighter and felt older and had a pair of very brave, brighteyes when he walked forward to try and have a few words with CaptainKemp. 

"Captain, " he asked, "when can I go ashore?"

"Not quite yet, " said the captain. "Don't bother me now. Of course, theammunition for the castle goes out first. Then all the rest of the cargomust go ashore as fast as it can, and you are bound to attend to that. I'm glad that all of it is apparently on English account, and not forthe American part of the concern. That makes all things easy. I hardlyknow what to do with the ship, though. We can't repair her here. "

That was evidently the disadvantage of having a vessel get out of orderin a place where there were no good dockyards. As for the unlading, there were already "lighter" barges on their way from the fort, andothers, no doubt, would soon be on hand from the city. Haste was themain object, under the circumstances, and the entire work would berapidly accomplished. 

Zuroaga went below, and Ned followed him, for there was nothing morethat he could do on deck just then. 

"Señor, " he asked, as soon as they were in the cabin, "how can I send aletter home? I don't know exactly what to say, either. "

"Say anything you please, " replied the señor. "Your letter will go bythe mail of the English consul, and the mails for England will not bemeddled with by the Mexican authorities. "

"I'll sit right down and begin one, " said Ned, but the señor interruptedhim very soberly with:

"One word before you begin, please. I know you overheard what ColonelGuerra said to me. You and I must get on shore as soon as we can, and itwill not do for either of us to remain in Vera Cruz. I have decidedthat I must take you with me to Oaxaca. "

"Well, " hesitated Ned, "I understand that you must go, but what am I indanger of if I should stay here?"

"Edward, my dear fellow, " said the señor, "I will tell you, and you hadbetter put it into your letter. First, you just wait and see whatbecomes of the _Goshhawk_. She will never sail out of the Gulf of Mexicoagain. The captain and crew will get away as best they can, and I can'ttell how long it will be before they can do it. Meantime, you would bearound on shore, and you would be known for a Yankee, a gringo. Thatmight mean danger for you from any evil-minded Mexican. Some of thiscoast population are worse than savages, and they all carry knives. You'd never know who hurt you. "

"That's awful!" exclaimed Ned. "I never thought of that. "

"There is another reason, " calmly continued the señor, "for your notlingering down here in the _tierra caliente_--the hot country--any laterin the season. It is the yellow fever, and that is pretty sure to showitself before long. It takes people from the north quicker, a good deal, than it does those who were born here. I have even heard that there isa rumor of some cases occurring already. Your father is an old friend ofmine, and he would never forgive me if I were to permit you to beexposed to it, when you can so easily get away into the uplands, whereit is never heard of. Be a good clerk now, and attend to your cargo, andbe glad that it hasn't been sent to the bottom of the gulf. "

Ned had been thinking of that pretty seriously, and he sat down to writehis home letter, well pleased that he had nothing to do with theunloading of the contraband of war part of the cargo. With reference tothat, moreover, he had learned from Zuroaga that a Mexicanpost-commander of the rank of Colonel Guerra was a kind of localmilitary dictator. Only so much of the ammunition as he might see fit tosend would ever find its way into any other hands than his own. Theseñor had added that it was almost the same with whatever customs dutieswere collected by the civil officers of the port, with the one drawbackthat a dishonest army collector, if discovered, might possibly gethimself shot as a kind of supposable revolutionist, stealing the profitsof the others. 

The lighter barges were now swarming around the bark, and a hundred busyworkmen were doing their best, quite patriotically, for the guns andgunners of the castle. It was easy to see that the American sailors didnot fancy that job, and were willing to keep out of it. So theysauntered around, attending to a few ship's duties here and there, whilenow and then one or another of them might have been heard to grumble hisunwillingness to ever again go to sea under an English captain. Thetruth was that they had excellent reasons for discontent concerning thescrape into which they had been led, and they were well aware that theyhad not yet by any means seen the end of it. Almost the best they couldhope for was that they were to be sent back to some country of Europe, on some ship or other which had not yet arrived at Vera Cruz, and whichmight not sail away with them on board for a number of weeks to come. Any man among them was now almost willing to have had the _Portsmouth_sink the _Goshhawk_. 

Heavy shot may be craned over into boats, and kegs or barrels ofgunpowder may be let down tenderly, gently, as well by moonlight andlantern-light as by any other. Therefore, the coming on of night did notinterfere with the landing processes. Moreover, any amount of sleep maybe performed by a healthy boy in a battered ship lying safely atanchor. So Ned made up, more or less, for the sleep he had lost duringthe long race of the _Goshhawk_, and it was not early when he came ondeck the next morning. When he did so, he found his duties as nominalsupercargo cut out for him, and Captain Kemp appeared to be especiallyanxious that a son of one of the owners should supervise whatever was tobe done with the peaceable part of his cargo. He even explained to Nedthat he might yet be called upon in some law court to testify to thehonest accuracy of all the papers he was now to sign. 

"It'll take about two days more, " he told him, "and you mustn't goashore till the ship's empty. The American consul hasn't taken hispassports yet, but he expects to get away soon, somehow or other. Mostlikely, he'll be taken off by a ship of war. So, perhaps, will otherAmericans. You might wait and get away then, if you think best, but youcan't hope to ever go on this ship. "

Ned had an increasingly strong feeling that he did not now care to go onthat or any other craft of war or peace. He would much rather go toOaxaca than to New York, and he felt more sure than ever that hisfather would not wish him to run any risk of the dreadful yellow fever. So he worked on industriously, learning a great deal concerning theprocesses required in getting a cargo out of a ship. During severalhours, he was so occupied that he almost forgot the existence of hisMexican friend, but he was dimly aware that a small rowboat had come tothe off-shore side of the ship, and had shortly pulled away without anyinterference on the part of the officials, military or civil. Perhapsshe was understood to have come there by order of Colonel Guerra. Towardnightfall, however, that boat came again, as she did before, not runningin among the barges, but seeming to avoid them. There were five men inher, and one of them stood up to say to a sailor at the rail:

"I wish to see young Señor Carfora. Is he on board?"

"Hullo!" thought Ned. "That's the Spanish name Señor Zuroaga told me Iwas to go by. " Then he sang out aloud, as he hurried across the deck, "Here I am. What do you want of me?"

"Lean over and talk low, " responded the man in the boat, but the onesailor near them did not understand a word of Spanish, and he mightsuppose, if he wished to do so, that it was something about the cargo. Ned himself listened eagerly, while the speaker went on: "I am ColonelTassara. Señor Zuroaga must not come to the ship again. I will be hereto-morrow evening. May I be assured that you will then be ready to cometo my house?"

"Tell him of course you will!" said a voice behind Ned, peremptorily, and it was Captain Kemp who had come over for a few words with Tassara. 

"I'll be ready, colonel, " said Ned, when his turn came to speak, and theboat pulled away, leaving him and the captain by themselves. 

"It's a good arrangement for you, my boy, " said the captain. "Unless Iam mistaken, though, there are signs of the worst kind of anortheasterly storm. This is a dangerous anchorage for that sort ofthing. I don't think I shall risk having too many men on board when thenorther gets here. The cargo will be all out, and the ship's wellinsured. The American consul doesn't know a thing about the ammunitionor the running away from the cruisers. He has enough else on his handsjust now. "

Ned did not care a great deal about that, but he was more than ever in ahurry to see the end of his supercargo business. The fact was that anair of something like mystery appeared to be gathering around him, andthere is a tremendous fascination in anything mysterious. What if hewere now getting right in behind the war, after a fashion, and at thesame time into the darkest kind of revolution or rebellion against thepower of President Paredes, in company with that wonderful adventurer, General Santa Anna, and all the desperate characters of Mexico?

CHAPTER V. 

THE WORK OF THE NORTHER

During the rest of that day and the earlier part of the next the weathercontinued fairly good, and the unloading went steadily on. In the manyintervals of his duties, Ned tried hard to drive his mental fever away, and amused himself as best he might. The city itself was worth lookingat, with its tiers of streets rising one above another from the shore. He saw several churches, and some of them were large, with massivetowers and steeples. 

"The Mexicans must have been richer than they are now, " he said tohimself, "when those things were built. They cost piles of money. "

He had no idea how rich a country it is, or how much richer it might be, if its wonderful natural resources were to be made the most of. As forthe city, he had heard that Vera Cruz contained about seven or eightthousand people, besides its military garrison, its foreigners, and acontinually varying mob of transient visitors from the interior. Zuroagahad told him, moreover, that it was from the latter that any gringo likehimself would be in danger of violence. They were a vindictive, bloodthirsty class of men, most of them, for they retained undiminishedthe peculiar characteristics of their Indian ancestors. 

"I don't care to run against any of them, " thought Ned. "I don't likethis _tierra caliente_ country, anyhow. It's too hot to live in. "

Then he thought a great deal of the wonderful land of forests andmountains which lay beyond the fever-haunted lowlands, and he longedmore and more for a good look at the empire which Hernando Cortes wonfrom the old Montezumas and their bloody war-god, Huitzilopochtli. 

In the afternoon of the second day the sky was manifestly putting on athreatening aspect. The wind began to rise and the sea began to roughen. The men discharging the cargo hastened their work, and it was evidentthat the last of the lighter barges would soon be setting out for theshore. Ned was staring at them and recalling all the yarns he had heardconcerning the destructive power of a gulf "norther, " when Captain Kempcame walking slowly toward him, with a face which appeared to express nosort of unusual concern for anything in the world. Nevertheless, hesaid:

"Get ready now, Ned, as sharp as you can. There comes your boat. I shallsend some papers by the colonel. Señor Zuroaga's luggage all went onshore yesterday. I think some other men will have to be looking out forthemselves before long. If the _Goshhawk_ should drag her anchors and goashore, I hope there won't be too much sea running for good boats tolive in. "

"I'm all ready now!" exclaimed Ned, as he sprang away, but he went witha curious question rising in his mind: "What if a cable were more'n halfcut through? Wouldn't it be likely to break and let go of an anchor, ifit were pulled at too hard by a gale of wind? I don't really knowanything about it, but Señor Zuroaga thinks that Captain Kemp is acurious man to deal with. Father thinks that he is a good sailor, too. "

All the wardrobe that Ned had on board was easily contained in awaterproof satchel of moderate size, and he was half-glad now thatthere was no more of it, it went so quickly over into the large yawlthat was waiting alongside when he returned on deck. It was a four-oaredboat, and Colonel Tassara, at the stern, beckoned to him withoutspeaking, as if he might have reasons for silence as well as haste. 

"In with you, Ned, " said Captain Kemp. "I'll try to see you within a dayor two. Take good care of yourself. Good day, colonel. "

The Mexican officer only bowed, and in a moment more the yawl wasfighting her difficult way over the rapidly increasing waves, for thefirst strength of the norther had really come, and there might soon be agreat deal more of it, --for the benefit of the _Goshhawk_. 

"There!" muttered Captain Kemp, as he saw them depart, "I haven't morethan a good boat's crew left on board. We'll take to the life-boat assoon as the cable parts. There isn't any use in trying to save this barkunder all the circumstances. I've done my duty. I couldn't havecalculated on heavy shot first, and then for a whole gang of cruiserswatching for me off the coast. This 'ere norther, too! Well, I didn'tmake the war, and I don't see that I ought to lose any money by it. Iwon't, either. "

Whatever was his exact meaning, the mate and four other men who remainedevidently agreed with him, from what they were shortly saying to oneanother. It might also have been taken note of by a careful observerthat the mate was a Scotchman, and that the four others were all fromLiverpool. Whoever had put so much contraband of war on board the_Goshhawk_ had not entrusted it entirely to the eccentricities of a lotof out-and-out American sailors, with peculiar notions concerning theirflag. 

On went Colonel Tassara's yawl, and it was not likely to meet any otherboat that evening. As the rollers increased in size momentarily, Nedbegan to have doubts as to whether such a boat had any reasonable hopeof reaching the shore. It was now pitch-dark also, and he could but feelthat his adventures in Mexico were beginning in a remarkably unpleasantmanner. The landing could not have been made at any place along thebeach, where the surf was breaking so dangerously, and it looked almostas perilous to approach the piers and wharves. 

"How on earth are we to do it?" exclaimed Ned, in English, but noanswer came from the hard-breathing rowers. 

Colonel Tassara seemed now to be steering a southerly course, instead ofdirectly landward, and Ned calculated that this would carry them pastall of the usual landing-places. It also gave them narrow escapes fromrolling over and over in the troughs between several high waves. On thewhole, therefore, it was a pretty rough boating excursion, but it wasnot a long one. It did take them almost past the city front, and at lastNed thought he saw a long, black shadow reaching out at the boat. It wasbetter than a shadow, for it was a long wooden pier, old enough to havebeen built by Cortes himself. The waves were breaking clean over it, but, at the same time, it was breaking them, so that around in the leeof it the water was less boisterous, and the yawl might reach the beachin safety. There was no wharf, but all Ned cared for was that he saw nosurf, and he felt better than he had at any moment since leaving the_Goshhawk_. It was the same, for they said so, emphatically, with theboatmen and Colonel Tassara. 

"One of the men will take your bag, " said the colonel to Ned, as soon asthey were out on shore. "We will go right along to my house, and weshall hardly meet anybody just now. I'm glad of that. Santa Maria, howdark it is getting! This will be the worst kind of norther. "

A couple of lanterns had been taken from the boat. They had previouslybeen lighted by the colonel with much difficulty, and without them itwould have been impossible to follow the stony, grassy pathway by whichNed Crawford made his first invasion of the Mexican territory. He didnot now feel like annexing any of it, although Mexican patriots assertedthat their title to Vera Cruz or the city of Mexico itself was no betterthan their right to Texas. His gloomy march was a short one, and only afew shadowy, unrecognized human beings passed him on the way. 

The party came to a halt before a one-story stone dwelling, with a longpiazza in front of it, close to the weedy sidewalk of a crooked andstraggling street. It was apparent that this was not in the aristocraticquarter of the city, if it had one. A door in the middle of the houseswung open as they arrived, and the boatman who carried Ned's bag put itdown on the threshold. The lanterns went away with him and his fellowrowers, but other lights made their appearance quickly, --after the doorhad closed behind Ned and Colonel Tassara. Not one of the boat's crewhad obtained a peep into the house, or had seen any of its occupants. Ned was now aware that he had entered a broad hall-like passageway, which appeared to run through the house, and to have several doors oneach side. One of these doors had opened to let the new light in, andthrough it also came Señor Zuroaga, two other men, and a young girl, whoat once threw her arms around the neck of Colonel Tassara. 

"O father!" she exclaimed, "I am so glad! Mother and I were sofrightened! We were afraid you would be drowned. "

"My dear little daughter, " he responded, sadly, "I fear there will bemore than one lot of poor fellows drowned to-night. This storm isfearful!"

It seemed, in fact, to be getting worse every minute, and Ned wasthinking of the _Goshhawk_ and the state of her cable, even while he wasbeing introduced to the pretty Señorita Felicia Tassara, and then to hermother, a stately woman, who came to meet her husband withoutcondescending to say how badly she had been alarmed on his account. 

"She's just about the proudest-looking woman I ever saw, " thought Ned, for, although she welcomed him politely, she at once made him awarethat she did not consider him of any importance whatever. He was only ayoung gringo, from nobody knew where, and she was a Mexican lady of highrank, who hated Americans of all sorts. 

Ned's only really hearty greeting came from Señor Zuroaga, who seemed tohim, under the circumstances, like an old friend. 

"Carfora, my dear fellow, " he said, "you and the colonel must come in toyour supper----"

"Why, señor, " expostulated Ned, "I'm wet through, and so is he. "

"I declare!" exclaimed Zuroaga. "What's in my head that I shouldoverlook that? You must change your rig. Come this way with me. "

Ned followed him, bag in hand, through a narrow passage which opened atthe right, and they went on almost to the end of it. The room which theythen entered was only seven feet wide, but it was three times as long, and it was oddly furnished. Instead of a bedstead, a handsome hammock, with blankets, sheets, and a pillow in it, hung at one side, and thehigh window was provided with mosquito nettings. There was no carpet onthe floor, but this was clean, and a good enough dressing-bureau stoodat the further end of the room. Before the mirror of this, the señor setdown the lamp he had been carrying, and said to Ned:

"My dear Carfora, I have explained to the haughty señora that you arethe son of an American merchant, and of a good family, so that she willnot really treat you like a common person. She is descended from theoldest families of Spain, and there is no republicanism in her. Thesooner you are ready, the better. I will be back in five minutes. "

Open came the bag, but the best Ned could do in the way of style was avery neat blue suit. What he would have called the swallow-tails, whichSeñora Tassara might have expected as the dinner dress of a moreimportant guest, could hardly be required of a young fellow just escapedfrom a norther. As soon as he felt that he had done his best, he turnedtoward the door, but it opened to let in Señor Zuroaga in fullregulation dinner costume. How he could have put it on so quicklypuzzled Ned, but he asked no questions. It was quite possible, however, that even the descendant of Cortes and the Montezumas was a little bitin awe of the matronly descendant of the ancient Spanish grandees. Shemight be a powerful personage in more ways than one. At all events, Nedwas led out to the central hall and across it, to where an uncommonlywide door stood open, letting out a flood of illumination. 

"Walk in, señors, " said Colonel Tassara, from just inside this portal, and the next moment Ned was altogether astonished. 

He had been impressed, on reaching this house, that it was an old andeven dingy affair, of no considerable size, but he did not yet know thatthe older Spanish mansions were often built with only one story andaround a central courtyard. Moreover, at least in Mexico, they were aptto show few windows in front, and to be well calculated for use as akind of small forts, if revolutionary or similar occasions should askfor thick walls, with embrasures for musketry. One glance around SeñoraTassara's dining-room was enough to work a revolution in Ned's ideasrelating to that establishment. It was large, high-ceilinged, and itscarpetless floor was of polished mahogany. The walls and ceiling were ofbrilliant white stucco. Upon the former were hung several trophies ofweapons and antlers of deer. In the centre, at the right, in a kind ofornamental shrine, was an ivory and ebony crucifix, which was itself apriceless work of art. The long dining-table had no cloth to conceal thefact that it was of the richest mahogany, dark with age and polishedlike a mirror. On the table was an abundance of fine china ware, none ofit of modern manufacture, but all the more valuable for that reason. Atthe end nearest Ned stood a massive silver coffee-urn, beautifullymolded, and it was not wonderful that he stood still a moment to stareat it, for it had taken him altogether by surprise. 

Almost instantly a change came over the dark, handsome features ofSeñora Tassara. She smiled brightly, for Ned's undisguised admiration ofthat mass of silver had touched her upon a tender spot, and she nowspoke to him with at least four times as much cordiality as she hadshown him in the hall. 

"Ah, my young friend, " she said, turning gracefully toward him, "so youare pleased with my coffee-urn? No table in your city of New York canshow anything like it. It is of the oldest Seville workmanship, andthere are not many such remaining in all the world. It is an heirloom. "

"Señor Carfora, " at that moment interrupted Colonel Tassara, "I willshow you something else that is worth more than any kind of silverware. Take a good look at this!"

He stepped to a trophy of arms which hung upon the wall near him, andtook from it a long, heavy sword, with a worn-looking but deeply chasedgold hilt. He drew it from the sheath, gazing with evident pride at itscurving blade of dull blue steel. 

"I think you have never before seen a sword like that, " he said. "It mayhave been made at Toledo, for all I know, but it is centuries old. Itwas won from a Moor by an ancestor of mine, at the taking of Granada, when the Moorish power was broken forever by the heroes of Spain. Whocan tell? It may have come down from the days of the Cid Campeadorhimself. "

Whoever that military gentleman may have been, Ned had no idea, but hedetermined to find out some day, and just now he was glad to grasp thegolden hilt, and remember all that he had ever heard about the Moors. Hehad not at all expected to hear of them again, just after escaping froma norther in the Gulf of Mexico, but, without being aware of it, he waslearning a great deal about the old Spanish-Mexican aristocracy, andwhy it could not easily become truly republican, even in the New World, which is beginning to grow old on its own account. 

Dinner was now ready, and Ned voted it a prime good one, for itconsisted mainly of chicken, with capital corn-cakes and coffee. It wasa tremendous improvement upon the dinners he had been eating at sea, cooked in the peculiar style of the caboose of the _Goshhawk_. 

One large idea was becoming firmly fixed in the acute mind of the youngadventurer, and it tended to make him both watchful and silent. Not onlywas he in a country which was at war with his own, but he was in a landwhere men were apt to be more or less suspicious of each other. It wasalso quite the correct thing in good manners for him to say but little, and he was the better able to hear what the others were saying. Therefore, he could hardly help taking note that none of the party atthe dinner-table said anything about the powder on the _Goshhawk_, orconcerning a possible trip to be made to Oaxaca by any one there. Theyall appeared ready, on the other hand, to praise the patriotism, statesmanship, and military genius of that truly great man, PresidentParedes. They made no mention whatever of General Santa Anna, but theyspoke confidently of the certainty with which Generals Ampudia andArista were about to crush the invading gringos at the north, underTaylor. They also were sure that these first victories were to befollowed by greater ones, which would be gained by the Presidenthimself, as soon as he should be able to take command of the Mexicanarmies in person. If any friend of his, a servant, for instance, of theTassara family, had been listening, he would have had nothing to reportwhich would have made any other man suppose that the rulers of Mexicohad bitter, revengeful foes under that hospitable roof. 

The dinner ended, and Ned was once more in his room, glad enough to getinto his hammock and go to sleep. If the norther did any howling aroundthat house, he did not hear it, but he may have missed the swing motionwhich a hammock obtains on board a ship at sea. His eyes closed just ashe was thinking:

"This is great, but I wonder what on earth is going to happen to meto-morrow. "

CHAPTER VI. 

FORWARD, MARCH

The sun of the next morning arose upon a great deal of doubt anduncertainty in many places. Some of the soldiers of General Taylor'sarmy were altogether uncertain into what bushes of the neighboringchaparral the norther had blown their tents, and they went out in searchof their missing cotton duck shelters. The entire force encamped at theRio Grande border was in the dark as to what it might next be ordered todo, and all sorts of rumors went around from regiment to regiment, as ifthe rumor manufacturer had gone crazy. General Taylor himself was sureof at least the one point, that he had no right to cross the muddy riverin front of him and make a raid into Mexico until he should hear againfrom the government at Washington, and be officially informed that thewar, which he was carrying on so well, had really begun. He and all hisarmy believed that it was already going on, and they grumbleddiscontentedly that they were compelled to remain in camp, and watch forranchero lancers on Texan soil, if it was legally Texan at all, untilpermission arrived to strike their tents and march forward. 

The news of the fighting and of what were described as the great battleson the Mexican border had reached New Orleans and Key West. It wastravelling northward at full speed, but it had not yet been heard by thegovernment or by the people of the North and West. None of these had asyet so much as imagined what a telegraphic news-bringer might be, and sothey could not even wish that they had one, or they would surely havedone so. The uncertainties of that morning, therefore, hampered all thecouncils of the nation. Almost everybody believed that there would soonbe a war, although a great many men were strongly opposed to the idea ofhaving one. Taking the war for granted, however, there were doubts anddifferences of opinion among both military and unmilitary men as to howit was to be carried on. Some were opposed to anything more than adefence of the Rio Grande boundary-line, but these moderate persons werehooted at by the out-and-out war party, whom nothing promised tosatisfy but an invasion which intended the capture of the city ofMexico. Nothing less than this, they said, would obtain the objects ofthe war, and secure a permanent peace at the end of it. Then, supposingsuch an invasion to be decided on, an important question arose as to howand where the Mexican territory might best be entered by a conqueringarmy. Many declared that General Taylor's forces were already at theright place for pushing ahead, but the commander-in-chief, GeneralWinfield Scott, by all odds the best general the country possessed, responded that the march proposed for Taylor was too long, toodifficult, and that it was likely to result in disaster. The shorter andonly practicable route, he asserted, was by way of the sea and VeraCruz. He was also known to be politically opposed to any war whatever. Thereupon, a number of prominent men, who disagreed with him, setthemselves at work to have him removed or put aside, that a commandermight take his place who was not so absurdly under the influence ofmilitary science, common sense, and of the troubles which might beencountered in marching seven hundred miles or more through an enemy'scountry. There were, it was said, eloquent politicians, who did notknow how to drill an "awkward squad, " but who felt sure of their abilityto beat Old Scott in such an agreeable affair as a military picnic partyto the city of Mexico. 

The young military scholars in the camp near Fort Brown were ignorant ofall this. They were satisfied with their present commander, as well theymight be, for he was a good one. They were satisfied with themselves, and were enthusiastically ready to fight anything which should be put infront of them. They were dreadfully dissatisfied with camp life, however, and especially with the fact that they and all the other rawtroops of that army were forced to undergo a great deal of drill anddiscipline in hot weather. Perhaps, if this had not been given them, they would hardly have rendered so good an account of themselves in thesevere tests of soldiership which they underwent a few months later. 

The first doubt that came to Ned Crawford that morning, as his eyesopened and he began to get about half-awake, related to his hammock andto how on earth he happened to be in it. Swift memories followed then ofthe norther, the perilous pull ashore, the arrival at the Tassara place, and the people he had met there. He recalled also something aboutsilver coffee-urns and Moorish warriors, but the next thing, he was outupon the floor, and his head seemed to buzz like a beehive withinquiries concerning his immediate future. 

"Here I am, " he said aloud. "I'm in Mexico; in Vera Cruz; at this housewith Señor Zuroaga; and I don't know yet what's become of the _Goshhawk_. I don't really ever expect to see her again, but I hope that CaptainKemp and the sailors didn't get themselves drowned. I must see aboutthat, first thing. Then I suppose I must see the American consul, writeanother letter home, see the merchants our goods were delivered to, --andwhat I'm to do after that I don't know. "

There was a loud rap at his door just then, and in a moment more he wasalmost repeating that speech to Señor Zuroaga. 

"Please say very little to Colonel Tassara or anybody else in thishouse, " replied the senor, emphatically. "Get used, as soon as you can, to being called Carfora. We must make you look like a young Mexicanright away. I've bought a rig which will fit you. It is well that youare so dark-complexioned. A red-haired fellow would never pass as youwill. All the American residents of Vera Cruz are already undermilitary protection, and I am glad there are so few of them, for thereare said to have been two or three assassinations. Part of the mountainmen who are loafing in town just now are wild Indians, as reckless andcruel as any of your Sioux warriors on a war-path. Come along tobreakfast. You won't meet the ladies this time, but I believe the señoraand señorita like you a little, because you had the good taste to admiretheir silver and china. "

"Oh, that old coffee-urn!" said Ned. "Well, it's as fine as anything Iever saw, even in a jewelry window. "

"Yes, " laughed the señor, "but the señora wants to have the Americanconsul killed because he told her she had better have that thing meltedand made over into one of the modern patterns. She will never forgivehim. Tell her again, when you have a chance, that the old-time Sevillesilversmiths could beat anything we have nowadays, and she will loveyou. I do not really believe myself that we are getting much ahead ofthose ancient artists. They were wonderful designers. "

Ned was willing to believe that they were, and he made up his mind topraise Señora Tassara's pet urn to the best of his ability. 

He was not to have an opportunity for doing so immediately. Theirbreakfast was ready for them in the dining-room, but they were allowedto eat it by themselves. It seemed to Ned a very good one, but severaltimes he found himself turning away from it to stare at the silvermarvel and at the weapons on the walls. There was no apparent reason forhaste, but neither of them cared to linger, and before long they wereout on the piazza in front, Zuroaga with his hat pulled down to his eyesand his coat collar up. Ned was at once confirmed in his previous ideathat the house was anything but new, and to that he added the convictionthat it was much larger than it had appeared to be in the night. Hebelieved, too, that it must have cost a deal of money to build it longago. He had only a moment for that calculation, however, for his nextglance went out toward the gulf, and he came near to being astonished. The path which he had followed in coming up from the shore had been asteep one, and he was now standing at a place from which he had a prettygood view of the tossing water between the mainland and the castle ofSan Juan de Ulua. The old fortress was there, unharmed by the norther, but not in any direction, as far as his eyes could reach, was there anysign of a ship, at anchor or otherwise. 

"Señor!" he exclaimed. "What has become of them? They are all gone! Doyou suppose they have been wrecked?"

"Not all of them, by any means, " replied the señor, but he also wassearching the sea with a serious face. "As many as could lift theiranchors in time to make a good offing before the norther came were sureto do so. If there were any that did not succeed, I can't say where theymay have gone to just now. "

"The _Goshhawk_--" began Ned, but the señor gripped his arm hard, whilehe raised his right hand and pointed up the road. 

"Silence!" he commanded, in a sharp whisper. "Look! there he comes. Don't even call him by his name. Wait and hear what he has to say. Hecan tell us what has become of the bark. They are a used-up lot of men. "

So they were, the five who now came walking slowly along from somewhereor other on the coast upon which the disastrous storm had blown. 

"Captain Kemp and the crew of his life-boat, " thought Ned, but he obeyedthe señor at first, and was silent until the haggard-looking partyarrived and came to a halt in front of him. Then, however, he lost hisprudence for a moment, and anxiously inquired:

"Were any of you drowned?"

"Not any of us that are here, " responded the captain, grimly. "No, norany other of the _Goshhawk_ men, but there are more wrecks in sightbelow, and I don't know how many from them got ashore. Our bark strandedthis side of them, and she's gone all to pieces. We took to thelife-boat in time, but we've had a hard pull of it. We went ashorethrough the breakers, about six miles below this, and here we are, but Idon't want to ever pass such another night. I'm going on down to theconsul's now, to report, and Ned had better be there as soon as he can. Then, the sooner he's out o' Vera Cruz, the better for him and all ofus. "

"I think so myself, " said Señor Zuroaga. "Don't even stay here forbreakfast. Nobody from here must come to the consul's with SeñorCarfora. "

"Of course not, " said the captain, wearily, and away he went, althoughNed felt as if he were full to bursting with the most interesting kindof questions concerning the captain's night in the life-boat and thesad fate of the swift and beautiful _Goshhawk_. 

"Come into the house, " said the señor, "and put on your Mexican rig. Ihave a message from Colonel Guerra that we must get away to-night. Imust not bring any peril upon the Tassara family. Up to this hour noenemy knows that I was a passenger on the powder-boat, as they call it. "

"All right, " said Ned. "I'll write one more letter home. I couldn't getout of the city in any other way just now, and I want to see Mexico. "

That idea was growing upon him rapidly, but his next errand was to theseñor's own room, to put on what he called his disguise. He followed hisfriend to a large, handsome chamber in the further end of the house, and, as he entered it, his first thought was:

"Hullo! are they getting ready for a fight?"

In the corners of the room and leaning against the walls here and therewere weapons enough to have armed half a company of militia, if thesoldiers did not care what kinds of weapons they were to carry, for theguns and swords and pistols were of all patterns except those of thepresent day. Ned saw at least one rusty firelock, which put him in mindof pictures he had seen of the curious affairs the New England fatherscarried when they went to meeting on Sunday. He had no time to examinethem, however, for here were his new clothes, and he must be in themwithout delay. He admired each piece, as he put it on, and then one lookinto the señor's mirror convinced him that he was completely disguised. He had been turned into a somewhat stylish young Mexican, from hisbroad-brimmed straw hat to his Vera Cruz made shoes. He still wore ablue jacket, but this one was short, round-cornered, and had brightsilver buttons. His new trousers were wide at the bottoms, withsilver-buttoned slashes on the outsides below the knees. He had not wornsuspenders on shipboard, but now his belt was of yellow leather andneedlessly wide, with a bright buckle and a sword-catch on the leftside. As to this matter, the señor showed him a short, straight, wide-bladed sort of cutlas, which he called a machete. 

"That is to be yours, " he said. "You need not carry it in town, but youwill as soon as we get away. You will have pistols, too, and a gun. Itwon't do to go up the road to Oaxaca unarmed. Now you may make the bestof your way to the consul's, and I'll stay here to finish gettingready. "

He appeared to be laboring under a good deal of excitement, and so, totell the truth, was the disguised young American. Out he went into thehall, trying hard to be entirely collected and self-possessed, but itwas only to be suddenly halted. Before him stood the stately SeñoraTassara, and clinging to her was the very pretty Señorita Felicia, bothof them staring, open-eyed, at the change in his uniform. The señoritawas of about fourteen, somewhat pale, with large, brilliant black eyes, and she was a very frank, truthful girl, for she exclaimed:

"Oh, mother, do look at him! But it does not make a Mexican of him. He'sa gringo, and he would fight us if he had a chance. I want them all tobe killed!"

"No, my dear, " said the señora, with a pleasant laugh. "Señor Carforawill not fight us. He and his ship brought powder for Colonel Guerra andthe army. I am sorry he must leave us. You must shake hands with him. "

"Oh, no!" said the wilful Felicia, spitefully. "I don't want to shakehands with him. He is one of our enemies. "

"No, I'm not!" stammered Ned. "But did you know that our ship waswrecked in the norther? If you had been on board of her when she wentashore, you would have been drowned. The men in the life-boat had a hardtime in getting ashore. I'm glad you were at home. "

"There, dear, " said her mother. "That is polite. You heard what SeñorZuroaga said about the wrecks. They were terrible! Can you not say thatyou are glad Señor Carfora was not drowned?"

"No, mother, " persisted Felicia. "I'll say I wish he had been drowned, if--if he could have swum ashore afterward. Good enough for him. "

Señora Tassara laughed merrily, as she responded:

"You are a dreadfully obstinate young patriot, my darling. But you mustbe a little more gracious. The gringo armies will never come to VeraCruz. They are away up north on the Rio Grande. "

"Well, mother, I will a little, " said the señorita, proudly. "SeñorCarfora, your generals will be beaten all to pieces. You wait till yousee our soldiers. You haven't anything like them. They are as brave aslions. My father is a soldier, and he is to command a regiment. I wish Iwere a man to go and fight. "

Her eyes were flashing and she looked very warlike, but the only thingthat poor Ned could think of to say just then was:

"Señora Tassara, if you are not careful, somebody will get in some dayand steal your beautiful coffee-urn. "

"Ah me!" sighed the señora. "This has been attempted, my young friend. Thieves have been killed, too, in trying to carry off the Tassara plate. There would be more like it, in some places, if so much had not beenmade plunder of and melted up in our dreadful revolutions. Some of themwere only great robberies. I understand that you must go to yourbusiness now, but we shall see you again this evening. "

"Good morning, Señora Tassara, " said Ned, as he bowed and tried to walkbackward toward the outer door. "Good morning, Señorita Tassara. Youwould feel very badly this morning if you had been drowned last night. "

The last thing he heard, as he reached the piazza, was a ringing peal oflaughter from the señora, but he believed that he had answered politely. 

He knew his way to the office of the American consul, and the distancewas not great in so small a town, but as he drew near it, he saw thatthere was a strong guard of soldiers in front of the building. Theywere handsomely uniformed regulars from the garrison of San Juan deUlua, and there was cause enough for their being on duty. All up anddown the street were scattered groups of sullen-looking men, talking andgesticulating. None of them carried guns, but every man of them had aknife at his belt, and not a few of them were also armed with machetesof one form or another. They would have made a decidedly dangerous mobagainst anything but the well-drilled and fine-looking guards who wereprotecting the consulate. Ned remembered what Felicia had said about hersoldiers, and he did not know how very different were these disciplinedregulars from the great mass of the levies which were to be encounteredby the troops of the United States. He was admiring them and he wasthinking of battles and generals, when one of the most ferocious-lookingmembers of the mob came jauntily sauntering along beside him. He was apowerfully built man, almost black with natural color and sunburn. Hewas not exactly ragged, but he was barefooted, and his broad-brimmedsombrero was by no means new. A heavy machete hung from his belt, and heappeared to be altogether an undesirable new acquaintance. Ned lookedup at him almost nervously, for he did not at all like the aspect ofaffairs in that street. He was thinking:

"I guess they were right about the excitement of the people. This isn'tany place for fellows like me. I must get out of Vera Cruz as soon as Ican. It's a good thing that I'm disguised. I must play Mexican. "

At that moment a good-natured smile spread across the gloomy face of hisunexpected companion, and he said, in a low tone of voice:

"Say nothing, Señor Carfora. Walk on into the consulate. I belong toGeneral Zuroaga. There are four more of his men here. We have orders totake care of you. You are the young Englishman that brought us thepowder. There was not a pound to be bought in Vera Cruz, but some ofthose fellows would knife you for a gringo. "

[Illustration: "WE HAVE ORDERS TO TAKE CARE OF YOU"]

Quite a useless number of queer Spanish oaths were sprinkled in amonghis remarks, but Ned did not mind them. He only nodded and strictlyobeyed the injunction against talking, even while he was asking himselfhow on earth his friend, the señor, ever became a general. He concluded, for the moment, that it might be a kind of militia title, such as he hadheard of in the United States. However that might be, he and hisguide soon reached the door of the consulate, and he himself waspromptly admitted, as if the keeper of the door had been expecting tosee him. There were guards inside the house as well as in the street, and they motioned Ned on through a narrow entry-way, at the end of whichwas an open room. He passed on into this, and the next moment he wasexclaiming:

"Hullo, Captain Kemp! I'm so glad you are here! What am I to do next?"

"Almost nothing at all, " said the captain, quietly. "Just sign yourpapers and get away. The consul himself has gone to the city of Mexico, with United States government despatches for President Paredes, and weshall finish our business as easy as rolling off a log. You have nothingto do with the wrecking of the _Goshhawk_, for you weren't on board whenshe parted her cable. But just look at those people!"

Ned did so, for the room, a large and well-furnished office, was almostcrowded with Americans of all sorts, mostly men, whose faces wore variedexpressions of deep anxiety. 

"What are they all here for?" asked Ned. 

"Safety!" growled the captain. "And to inquire how and when they canfind their way out of this city of robbers. I hear that a wholeregiment is to be on guard duty to-night, and that the mob is to be putdown. If I ever see your father again, I'll explain to him why I sentyou away. "

Before Ned could make any further remarks, he was introduced to thevice-consul, a dapper, smiling little man, who did not appear to be inthe least disturbed by his unpleasant surroundings. Almost a score ofpapers, larger and smaller, required the signature of the youngsupercargo of the unfortunate _Goshhawk_. They were speedily signed, although without any clear idea in Ned's mind as to what they all werefor, and then Captain Kemp took him by the arm and led him away into acorner of the room. 

"Ned, my boy, " he said, "you see how it is. You must keep away from theseacoast for awhile. After things are more settled, you can come backand get away on a British, or French, or Dutch vessel, if the port isn'ttoo closely blockaded. Whether I shall get out alive or not, I don'tknow. You haven't enough money. I'll let you have a couple of hundreddollars more in Mexican gold. You'd better not let anybody suspect thatyou carry so much with you. This country contains too many patriots whowould cut their own President's throat for a gold piece. Don't ever showmore than one shiner at a time, or you may lose it all. "

Ned took the two little bags that were so cautiously delivered to him, and while he was putting them away in the inner pockets of his jacket, his mind was giving him vivid pictures of the knives and machetes andtheir bearers, whom he had seen in the street. 

"Captain, " he said, "those fellows out there wouldn't wait for any gold. A silver dollar would buy one of them. "

"Half a dollar, " replied the captain. "Not one of them is worth ashilling. They ought all to be shot. But look here. I mustn't come toColonel Tassara's place again. I find that he is under some kind ofsuspicion already, and President Paredes makes short work of men whom hesuspects of plotting against him. Go! Get home!"

"That's just about what I'd like to do, " said Ned to himself, as hehurried out of the consulate, but the next moment his courage began tocome back to him, for here was Señor Zuroaga's ferocious-lookingfollower, and with him were four others, who might have been his cousinsor his brothers, from their looks, for they all were Oaxaca Indians, ofunmixed descent. Their tribe had faithfully served the children andgrandchildren of Hernando Cortes, the Conquistador, from the day when heand his brave adventurers cut their way into the Tehuantepec valley. 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE LAND OF THE MONTEZUMAS

"Father Crawford, do read that newspaper! The war has begun! They arefighting great battles on the Rio Grande! Oh, how I wish you hadn't sentNed to Mexico! He may get killed!"

She was a woman of middle age, tall, fine-looking, and she was evidentlymuch excited. She was standing at one end of a well-set breakfast table, and was holding out a printed sheet to a gentleman who had been lookingdown at his plate, as if he were asking serious questions of it. 

"My dear, " he said, as he took the paper, "I knew it was coming, but Ididn't think it would come so soon as this. I don't really see that Nedis in any danger. Captain Kemp will take care of him. "

"But, " she said, "the _Goshhawk_ may be captured. "

"No, " replied Mr. Crawford, confidently. "She hasn't sailed acrossprairie to the Rio Grande. There won't be any fighting at Vera Cruz forever so long. There can't be any on the sea, for Mexico has no navy. The_Goshhawk_ is entirely safe, and so is Ned. It'll be a grand experiencefor him. "

"I don't want him to have so much experience at his age, " she said, anxiously. "I'd rather he'd be at home, --if there's going to be a war. "

"I've often wished that I could see a war, " replied her husband, as heglanced over the black-typed headings of the newspaper columns. "I'vetravelled a good deal in Mexico, and I wanted Ned to learn all he couldof that country. He will hardly have any chance to do so now. "

"He might see too much of it if he were taken prisoner, " she exclaimed. "I can't bear to think of it! Oh, how I wish he were at home!"

Mr. Crawford was silent, and again he appeared to be thinking deeply. Hewas not a pale-faced man at any time, but now his color was visiblyincreasing. His face was also changing its expression, and it wore astrong reminder of the look which had come into his son Ned'scountenance when the fever of Mexican exploration took hold of him. People say "like father, like son, " and it may be that Ned's readinessfor a trip into the interior belonged to something which had descendedto him from a father who had been willing to educate his son for thesouthern trade by sending him to sea with Captain Kemp. The UnitedStates has had a great many commercial men of that stamp, and there wasa time when almost all the navy the nation possessed was provided by themerchant patriots, who armed and sent out, or themselves commanded, itsfleets of privateers. Very likely the Crawfords and a number of otherAmerican families could point back to as adventurous an ancestry ascould any Spaniard whose forefathers had fought Moors or won estates forthemselves in Mexico or Peru. As for Mrs. Crawford, she was hardly ableto drink her coffee that morning, after reading the newspaper, and shemight have been even more willing to have Ned come home if she had knownwhat had become of the _Goshhawk_, and in what company he was a couple ofhours after she arose from her table. 

Company? That was it. He was now walking along one of the streets ofVera Cruz with a squad of men of whom she would have decidedlydisapproved, but whose character her husband would have understood atsight. Ned's first acquaintance, Pablo, as he called himself, with hisfour comrades, made up so thoroughly Mexican a party at all points thatit was in no danger of being interfered with by the mob. Every member ofthis had seen, often enough, the son of some wealthy landholder from theupland country attended by a sufficient number of his own retainers tokeep him from being plundered, and it was well enough to let him alone. On they went, but it was by a circuitous route and a back street thatthey reached the Tassara place. Even then, they did not enter it by thefront door, but by a path which led down to the stables in the rear ofthe house. No outsider would afterward be able to say that he saw thatparty of men march into the courtyard to be welcomed by Colonel Tassaraand the mysterious personage whom Ned was trying to think of as GeneralZuroaga. 

"He may be of more importance than I had any idea of, " said Ned tohimself, "and I wish I knew what was coming next. "

He was not to find out immediately, for Zuroaga motioned him to go oninto the house, while he himself and Tassara remained to talk withPablo and the other machete-bearers. 

Hardly was Ned three steps inside of the dwelling, when he was met bySeñora Tassara, apparently in a state of much mental agitation. 

"My dear young friend!" she exclaimed, "I am so glad you have escapedfrom them! Come in. We shall have no regular dinner to-day. You will eatyour luncheon now, however. We are all busy packing up. We must set outfor the country as soon as it is dark. The colonel's enemies arefollowing him like so many wolves! Felicia, my dear, you will see thatSeñor Carfora is properly attended to. "

The saucy señorita was standing a little behind her mother, and she nowbeckoned to Ned, as if she had no hostility for him whatever. 

"Come right along in, " she said, peremptorily. "I must eat my luncheon, too. I want to hear where you have been, and what you have been doing. Is there any more news from the war? Have your gringo generals beenbeaten again? Tell me all you know!"

She was evidently in the habit of being obeyed by those around her, andNed felt decidedly obedient, but this was his first intimation that itwas fully noon. Time had passed more rapidly than he had been aware of, for his mind had been too busy to take note of it. He was hungrily readyto obey, however, especially concerning the luncheon, and his first bitof news appeared to please his little hostess exceedingly. 

"Not another ship is in, " he told her, "and I don't believe there isgoing to be any war, anyhow, but I saw some of your soldiers. They wereguarding the American consulate from the mob. They were splendid-lookingfellows. Is your father's regiment of that kind of men?"

"Father's regiment?" she said, angrily. "That's just the difficulty now. He hasn't any soldiers. Those that he had were taken away from him. Sohe must go and gather some more, or President Paredes will say that heis not patriotic. They took his old regiment away from him after he hadmade it a real good one. Tell me about your gringo soldiers. Are there agreat many of them? Do they know how to fight? I don't believe they do. "

She was all on fire about the war and her father's enemies, and Ned wasready to tell her all he knew of the American army, if not a littlemore. At least, he described to her the elegant uniforms which wereworn on parade occasions by the New York City militia regiments, feathers, flags, brass bands, and all, rather than the externalappearance of any martial array that General Taylor was likely to takewith him when he invaded Mexico. Felicia was especially interested inthose magnificent brass bands and wished that she could have some ofthem taken prisoners to come and play in front of her house, but all thewhile they were talking he was glancing furtively around the room. Thishad undergone a remarkable change during his brief absence. The trophiesof arms were all gone, and the wonderful Seville coffee-urn haddisappeared. Perhaps it had walked away, beyond the reach of possiblethieves, and with it may have gone the other silverware of the Tassarafamily. Señorita Felicia's quick eyes had followed his own, for she waswatching him. 

"Yes, Señor Carfora, " she said, "it's all gone. The china is all storedaway in the deep cellar. I don't believe they could find it, and if theydid they could not carry it away to melt it up and make dollars of it. That's what they did with all the silver one of my aunts had, exceptsome spoons that were hid in the stable, under the hay. One of therobbers went into the stable to hunt, too, and a good mule kicked himdead. If anybody comes to rob this house while we are gone, I wish hemight be kicked by one of our mules at the hacienda. He would not stealany more. "

Ned had other things to tell her, about the United States forts, troops, and ships of war, and she had stories to tell with excited vivacity thatset forth sadly enough the wretchedly unsettled condition of hercountry, which she appeared to love so well, after all. Troubled as itwas, it was her own land, and she hated its enemies. 

It was a hot, oppressive day, with a promise of greater heat soon tocome, and the weather itself might be a good enough reason why anyfamily should be in a hurry to get out of the _tierra caliente_. As forthe removal of valuable property, Ned had already learned that Vera Cruzwas haunted not only by bad characters from the interior, but bydesperadoes from up and down the coast and from the West India Islands. He was not near enough to hear, however, when Zuroaga remarked to hisfriend Tassara:

"You are right, my dear colonel. The Americans will hold the Texanborder with a strong hand, but if Paredes does not promptly come toterms with them, we shall see a fleet and army at Vera Cruz before long. This is the weak point of our unhappy republic. "

"I think not, " replied Tassara, gloomily. "I wish it were a solidnation, as strong as the castle out yonder. Our weak point is that weare cut up into factions, and cannot make use of the strength that wereally have undeveloped. As for anything else, one case of yellow feverwas reported yesterday, and I am informed that his Excellency, PresidentParedes, talks of coming here shortly to confer with Colonel Guerra. That may mean trouble for him, and neither you nor I would wish to bebrought before any such council of war as might be called together. "

"It might not consist altogether of our friends, " said Zuroaga. "In mycase, if not in yours, it might be followed quickly by an order for afile of soldiers and a volley of musketry. I should not look for mercyfrom a tiger. "

"On the other hand, " responded the colonel, "it would be well for him tobe careful just now. He will need all the strength he can obtain. "

"Humph!" exclaimed Zuroaga. "He will try to leave no living, or, atleast, no unimprisoned enemies behind him when he marches for theborder. "

It was plain that they were not to be numbered among their President'sfriends, whether or not they were altogether just to him. Bloodyseverity in putting down sedition was the long-established custom inMexico, and one man might not be more to blame for it than another. Ithad been handed down from the old days of Spanish rule, and the recordwhich had been made is not by any means pleasant reading. 

When the luncheon was over, the señorita left Ned to himself, appearingto feel somewhat more friendly than at first, but still considering himas a gringo and a foreigner. She said she had some things to pack up, and he went to look after his own. These did not require much packing, and before long he had again found his way out to the courtyard and thestables. These were indeed the most interesting spots about the place, for they contained all the men, the horses, and the mules. Ned shortlyconcluded that here were also gathered most of the firearms and at leasta dozen of the wildest kind of Mexican Indians, all ragged and allbarefooted. Preparations for a journey were going forward under SeñoraTassara's direction, and Ned pretty quickly understood that the menwere a great deal more afraid of her than they were of her husband. Hefelt so himself, and he instantly got out of her way, as she told him todo, when he unwisely undertook to help her with her packing. 

The horses were of several sorts and sizes, and more like them wereshortly brought in. One large spring wagon and a covered carryallcarriage were in good order. Both were of American manufacture, and sowas the harness of the teams which were to draw them. Ned was feeling acertain degree of curiosity as to what kind of carriage was to carryhim, when Señor Zuroaga beckoned him to one side and said:

"We shall be with Colonel Tassara's party only the first day. But I havebeen thinking. When we were on the _Goshhawk_, you told me that you hadnever ridden a horse in your life----"

"Why, I'm a city boy, " interrupted Ned. "There isn't any horsebackriding done there. I'd rather go on wheels. "

"Of course you would, " laughed Zuroaga. "But there won't be any use forwheels on some of the roads I am to follow. I've picked you out a ponythat you can manage, though, and you will soon learn. You will have tobe a horseman if you are to travel in Mexico. "

"So father used to tell me, " said Ned. "He can ride anything. Which ofthese is my horse? They all look skittish----"

"Neither of these would do for you, " replied the señor. "But listen tome sharply. Twice you have called me general. Don't do it again until weare beyond the mountains. I'm only a plain señor in all this region ofthe country. I only hope that some men in Vera Cruz do not already knowthat I am here. If they did, I am afraid I should not get out so easily. This is your horse. He is a good one. "

Hitched to a post near the wall was a fat, undersized animal, black asjet, and with more mane and tail than was at all reasonable. He carrieda Mexican saddle with wooden stirrups and a tremendous curb-bit bridle. In front of the saddle were pistol holsters, and behind it hung anammunition case, as if Ned were about to become a trooper. He went toexamine the holsters, and found that each of them contained a largehorse-pistol with a flintlock. He also found powder and bullets in thecase, and he wondered whether or not he would ever be able to shootanybody with one of those heavy, long-barrelled things without havingsomething to rest it on. 

"I practised for an hour once in a pistol-gallery, " he remarked, "but itwasn't with anything like that. "

"You didn't hit centre even then, eh?" laughed the señor. "Well, notmany men can do much with them, but they are better than nothing. Theyare too heavy for a hand like yours. Here is your machete. Put it on. "

Ned felt a queer tingle all over him, as he took the weapon and hitchedit at his belt. Then he drew it from the sheath and looked at it, swinging it up and down to feel its weight. It was a straight, one-edgedblade, with a sharp point, and a brass basket hilt, and he remarked:

"Señor Zuroaga, I could hit with that, I guess. "

His face had flushed fiery red, and it could be seen, from his handlingof the machete, that his muscles were unusually strong for his size andage. The señor nodded his approbation, as he remarked:

"I think you will do. There is fight in you, but I hope we shall have nofighting to do just now. I shall try to find a safe road home. "

"A fellow could cut down bushes with this thing, " said Ned. 

"That's exactly what our rancheros use them for, " replied the señor. "They will do almost anything with a machete. They will cut their waythrough thick chaparral, kill and cut up beef cattle, split wood, fightmen or animals, and on the whole it's about the most useful tool thereis in a Mexican camp or hacienda. "

"What's that?" asked Ned. 

"Any kind of farm with a house on it, " said the señor. "You may have tolearn all about haciendas before you get home. "

"Just what I'd like to do, " said Ned. "I'll learn how to ride, too. Howsoon are we to set out?"

"Not till after dark, " said the señor. "But you need not be in any hurryto get into the saddle. You will have quite enough of it before you getout of it again. There is a long ride before us to-night. "

"I'm ready, " replied Ned, but nevertheless he looked at that Mexicansaddle with doubtful eyes, as if he were thinking that it might possiblyprove to be a place of trial for a beginner. 

At that very hour there were several gentlemen in uniform closeted withColonel Guerra in one of the rooms of the Castle of San Juan de Ulua. The colonel appeared to have been giving them a detailed report of thecondition of the fortress and of its means for defence, whether or nothe had stated exactly the amount of the ammunition brought him by theill-fated _Goshhawk_. Other subjects of conversation must now have comeup, however, for one of them arose with great dignity of manner, remarking:

"My dear colonel, I am glad that I shall be able to make so encouraginga report to his Excellency. As for Colonel Tassara, we shall serve ourwarrant upon him some time to-morrow. We are informed that, beyond adoubt, the traitor Zuroaga intends to return from Europe shortly. Assure as he does, he will be engaged in dangerous intrigues against theexisting order of things, and the good of the country requires that heshall be brought to justice before he can put any of his nefarious plansin operation. At the same time, we are assured that the invaders uponthe Rio Grande will soon be defeated yet more thoroughly. "

All the rest had arisen while he was speaking, and one of them, a fat, short man in a brilliant uniform, added, enthusiastically:

"We feel that we can rely upon you, Colonel Guerra. We pity the gringosif they should attempt to beleaguer this impregnable fortress. For myown part, I believe that Colonel Tassara's court martial can have butone result. His disobedience must be paid for with his life. Allconspirators like Zuroaga should be shot as soon as they are captured. This is not a time, my friends, for undue leniency. "

"Gentlemen, " responded Colonel Guerra with graceful courtesy, "I bid youall a brief farewell with sincere regret. Your visit has given meunmixed satisfaction. Do not forget that all of you are to dine with meto-morrow. From my very heart I can echo your noble sentiments of valorand patriotism and of devotion to our beloved commander-in-chief, hisheroic Excellency, President Paredes. "

Then followed smiles and handshakings of mutual confidence all around, and the visiting officers took their departure. Hardly had the doorclosed behind them, however, before Colonel Guerra again sat down, hoarsely muttering between his set teeth:

"The snake-hearted villains! What they really hoped for was to find thefort and garrison in bad condition and unprovided, so that they mightruin me. They want my disgrace and removal, to make room for one ofthem. I don't believe they will catch either Tassara or Zuroaga thistime. The colonel will soon raise his new regiment, and my old friendwill be down in Oaxaca in safety, waiting for the hour that is to come. Paredes would give something to see my last letter from Santa Anna. "

So there were many plots and counterplots, and the politest men mightnot be always what they seemed. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

OUT OF THE TIERRA CALIENTE

Those were days of great commotion in the Congress of the United States. The whole nation, South as well as North, was divided in opinion as tothe righteousness and expediency of the war with Mexico. There were twogreat parties, both of which have long since passed away, for thequestion of the annexation of Texas is no longer before the people, andall this was more than half a century ago. One of the parties calleditself "Whig, " but its enemies described its members as "Coons, " in thehabit of roosting up a tree out of reach. The other party called itself"Democratic, " while its opponents lampooned its members as "Loco-focos, "comparing them to the blue-headed sulphur matches of that name, whichwere largely manufactured and did not burn very well. Party feeling ranhigh, and the debates in Congress were red-hot. The DemocraticPresident, James K. Polk, was a man of far greater ability andstatesmanship than his party enemies were willing to give him creditfor, and he was supported by a brilliant array of politicians. On theother hand, the Whig party contained a number of our most distinguishedstatesmen, and, curiously enough, most of the generals of the army, including Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor, were well-known Whigs. Itwas not altogether unnatural, therefore, that the Democratic party inpower should wish to put the command of any army preparing for theinvasion of Mexico into the hands of officers who were in favor of thewar which they were to carry on. Questions like this, and some othersrelating to the unprepared condition of the American army for sotremendous an undertaking, were responsible for the fact that there wasa long delay in all military operations, even after the hard andsuccessful fighting done by General Taylor's forces at the Rio Grande. 

American cruisers were tacking to and fro over the waters of the Gulf ofMexico and the Caribbean Sea, without any especial errand of which theircommanders were aware. Regiments of eager volunteers were forming inseveral of the States, and were trying hard to discover officers whoknew how to drill and handle them. The politicians were everywherecalling each other harder and harder names. Not one soul in all theUnited States, however, knew anything of a party of mounted men, acarriage, and a spring-wagon, which quietly made its way out of the cityof Vera Cruz, not long after sunset, one sultry and lazy evening. At thehead of this cavalcade rode two men, who sat upon their spirited horsesas if they were at home in the saddle. At their right, however, was ayoung fellow on a black pony who was entirely satisfied with the factthat the beast under him did not seem to have any spirit at all. He wasat that moment steadying his feet in the stirrups, and remarking tohimself:

"I'm glad none of them saw me mount him. I got upon a high box first, and even then my machete was tangled with my legs, and I all but fellover him. I'll get the señor to show me how, or I'll be laughed at bythe men. "

He was doing fairly well at present, for the road went up a hill, andthe night was not one for foolishly fast travelling. He could listen allthe better, and one of his companions was saying to the other:

"My dear Zuroaga, we have gained four miles. Every one of them is worthsomething handsome to you and me. In my opinion, we did not get away amoment too soon to save our necks. "

"Not one minute!" replied the other, with strong emphasis. "Not even ifGuerra can succeed in gaining for us the best part of another day, as hebelieved he could. Perhaps our best chance, after all, is that he hasonly one company of lancers, and that any officer sent with it mighthave instructions which would take him by another road than this. "

"The inspector-general had with him an escort of his own, " said Tassara. "If he should send those fellows, they would be likely to know how tofind us. They are not under the orders of Guerra. "

"If, " exclaimed Zuroaga, fiercely, "they do not overtake us until afterthe middle of our second day out, I believe they would be unlucky to tryto arrest us. I hope they will be wise, and not tire out their horseswith too much haste. I feel as if I could shoot pretty straight if Ishould see them coming within range. "

"So could I, " replied Tassara. 

The road which they were then following ran between cultivated lands oneither side. It was not tree-shadowed, and, as Ned looked back, themoonlight showed him something that made him think rapidly. Additionalhorsemen had joined them after they had left the city behind them, andit occurred to him that arrangements had been made beforehand forsomething like a small war. There were not less than twenty armed men, besides himself and the pair who were with him. For some reason orother, moreover, the wagon, which was drawn by four mules, and thecarriage, drawn by a pair of fine animals of the same sort, were drivenon well in advance. It appeared, therefore, as if no danger was expectedto meet them from the opposite direction, and that Señora Tassara andher daughter were fairly well protected from any peril which might comeafter them along the road from Vera Cruz. The next thing that struckNed, little as he knew about war, was that these horsemen were ridingtwo and two, not in a straggling procession, but in as perfect order asif they had been trained cavalry. If he had known a little more, hewould have declared:

"That is just what they are. "

He might not also have known that all but six of them were from theTassara estates, and that the odd half-dozen were lifelong servants ofthe proscribed descendant of Hernando Cortes. If he could haveunderstood those men, he might also have comprehended one importantfeature of the tangled politics of Mexico, and why ambitious militarymen were every now and then able to set up for themselves, and defy thecentral government until it could manage to capture them, and have themshot as rebels. Wiser men than he, looking at the matter from theoutside, might also have understood how greatly it was to the credit ofPresident Paredes that he was making so good a stand against the powerof the United States while hampered by so many difficulties. Ned was nopolitician at all, and it was a mere impulse, or a tired feeling, whichled him to pull in his pony and let the men catch up with him, so thathe might chat with them, one after another, and get acquainted. He foundthat they were under no orders not to talk. On the contrary, every manof them seemed to know that Ned had come home from the school which hehad been attending in England, and that he had been instrumental inprocuring powder and bullets for them and for the Mexican army. Theywere full of patriotism of a peculiar kind. It would have made themfight gringos or any other foreigners to-day, and to-morrow to fight asreadily in any causeless revolution which their local leaders might seefit to set going. They were eager for all the news Ned could give them, and he was soon on good terms with them, for he took pains not to letthem know how uncomfortable he felt in that saddle. They surely wouldhave despised any young Mexican who had forgotten how to ride while hewas travelling in Europe. 

Hour after hour went by, and on every level stretch of road the wheeledvehicles were driven at a moderate trot. The horses of what Ned calledthe cavalry also trotted occasionally, but it was well for him that hispony did not seem to know how. Whenever he was asked to go faster, hestruck into a rocking canter, which was as easy and about as lazy as acradle, so that his rider received hardly any shaking, and was able tokeep both his seat and his stirrups. Brief halts for rest were made nowand then. Bridges were crossed which Ned understood were over smallbranches of the Blanco River, but they were still in the lowlands when, at about midnight, the little column wheeled out of the road and went onfor a hundred yards or more into a magnificent forest, where themoonlight came down among the trees to show how old and large they were. 

"Halt! Dismount!" came sharply from Colonel Tassara. "It is twelveo'clock. We have made over twenty miles. We will camp here untildaylight. Pablo, put up the tents. "

Every rider but Ned was down on his feet in a twinkling, but he remainedupon his pony's back as still as a statue. He saw a white tent leave thetop of the baggage in the wagon and set itself up, as if by magic. Another and another followed, and he said to himself:

"They are little picnic tents. One is for the señora and Felicia; onefor the colonel; and one for Señor Zuroaga. Not any for me or for themen. Oh, dear! How shall I ever get down? I can't move my legs. If Ican't, I shall have to go to sleep in the saddle!"

That was just what he might have done if it had not been for his kindand thoughtful friend, the general, --if he was one, --for Zuroaga nowcame to the side of the pony to inquire, with a merry laugh:

"How are you now, my boy? I knew how it would be. Tired out? Stiff withso long a ride? Lean over this way and I'll help you down. Come!"

Ned leaned over and tried to pull his feet out of the stirrups. They didcome out somehow, and then he made an extra effort not to fall asleepwith his head on the general's shoulder. 

"Used up completely!" exclaimed Zuroaga. "Can you walk? Stretch yourlegs. Kick. It's your first long ride? You'll soon get used to it. There! Now I'll put you into my tent, but we must be on the march againby six o'clock in the morning. You can sleep till breakfast. "

"I can walk, thank you, " responded poor Ned, and he did so, after a lameand awkward fashion, but he was glad to reach the tent. "It's big enoughfor two, " he said, as he crawled in. 

"Is it?" said the general. "Bah! I do not use one half the time. I am asoldier and a hunter, and I prefer to bivouac in such weather as this. Imust be on the lookout, too, to-night. Crawl in and go to sleep. "

Ned was already in. Down he went upon a blanket, without even unbucklinghis machete, and that was the last that he knew that night of the campor of anybody in it. Probably, nothing less than the report of a cannonfired over that tent would have aroused him to go for his horse-pistolsor draw his Mexican sabre. 

Señora Tassara and her daughter had disappeared immediately, and they, also, must have been wearied with their long, hot journey, but all therest of the party were old campaigners, and they were ready to take careof the horses and eat cold rations, for no fires were kindled. 

A few minutes later, if Ned had been awake instead of sleeping sosoundly, he might have heard what two men were saying, in half-whispers, close to the door of his tent. 

"Colonel, " said Zuroaga, "we are well-hidden in here. The bushes arevery thick along the edge of the road. "

"Hark!" interrupted Tassara. "Do you hear that? There they are!"

"I hear them, " replied the general. "It may be so. If it is, they havefollowed us well. But there cannot be more than half a dozen of them. Itis not any mere squad like that that we need be afraid of. "

"This may be only an advance party, I think, " said his friend, thoughtfully. "A larger force may be on our trail before to-morrownight. But they must not take us. They might merely arrest me, to haveme shot at Vera Cruz, but they would cut down you and poor young Carforaat once. He is an American, and they would show him no mercy. "

There had been a sound of horse hoofs on the road, and it had gone by, but before Zuroaga could make any response to so gloomy a prophecy, hisown man, Pablo, stood before him. Pablo had been running fast, but hehad breath enough left to say, quite coolly and not loudly:

"Lancers, general. Officer and four men. They have been running theirhorses, and they won't travel far to-morrow. I was in the bushes. "

"All right, Pablo, " said Zuroaga. "It was kind of Colonel Guerra toorder them to use up their horses. We shall not hear of that squadagain. Put Andrea on watch, and go to sleep. Our first danger is over. "

Pablo bowed and turned away without another word, and Zuroaga resumedhis conference with Tassara, for those two were brave men, and werewell-accustomed to the peril-haunted lives they were leading. 

"Colonel, " he said, "it is evident that my young friend Carfora must gowith you. He is not fit for a swift ride of three hundred miles. Besides, he must have any chance which may happen to turn up forgetting home. Will you take care of him? He is a fine young fellow, buthe cannot ride. "

Therefore the pony and that saddle had done something good for Ned, andColonel Tassara cheerfully responded:

"With great pleasure, my dear general. I shall be glad to make Americanfriends. I may need them. He will be safe enough with me, but I fear itwill be a long time before he can get out of Mexico. As for me, I shallmeet more than a hundred of my own men at Orizaba, ready to escort meacross the sierra into my own State of Puebla. After that, my reputationfor loyalty will soon be reëstablished by raising my new regiment. Ithink, however, that it will not march into the city of Mexico until hisExcellency President Paredes has set out for the Rio Grande, or as farnorth as the luck of this war will permit him to travel. Very possibly, he may be hindered by the gringos before he reaches the border. Carforawill remain with me until then. You are right. He would not be safeanywhere else. As for yourself, you must push on. "

"I think, " said Zuroaga, "that I shall be almost safe after I am a fewmiles beyond Teotitlan. I may have a fight or two on the way. Carforamust not be killed in any skirmish of that kind. You will not see meagain, dead or alive, until a week or two after the Americans have takenthe city of Mexico, as in my opinion they surely will. I shall be therethen, with five hundred lancers, to uphold the new government which willtake the place of the bloody dictatorship of Paredes, unless the newaffair is to be Santa Anna. In any event, I shall be able to help you, and I will. "

"You are a gloomy prophet, " responded Tassara, "but you are an oldstudent of military operations. Do you really think the Americans willcapture our capital? It will be well defended. "

"Bravely enough, but not well, " replied Zuroaga. "We have not onescientific, thoroughly educated engineer officer fit to take charge ofthe defences against, for instance, General Scott. Not even Santa Annahimself, with all his ability, is a general capable of checking theinvaders after they have taken Vera Cruz, and that they will do. He is ascheming politician rather than a military genius. He and Paredes andsome others whom you and I could name must be whipped out of powerbefore we can put up an entirely new government, better than any we haveever had yet. What do you think about it?"

"Think?" exclaimed Tassara, angrily. "I think it will be after you and Iare dead and buried before this miserable half-republic, half-oligarchy, will be blessed with a solid government like that of the United States. "

"And that, too, might get into hot water, " muttered his friend, butneither of the two political prophets appeared to have much more to say. They separated, as if each might have something else to employ him, andshortly all the night camp in the grand old forest seemed to be asleep. 

The remaining hours of darkness passed silently, and the sun arose witha promise of another hot day. Small fires were kindled forcoffee-making, but the preparations for breakfast were hurried. Beforesix o'clock the mules were harnessed, the horses were saddled, and allthings were made ready for a diligent push southward. It had been adifficult business to get Ned Crawford out of his tent, but here he was, trying his best to move his legs as if they belonged to him. His coffeeand corn-cakes did a great deal for him, and he made out to pretend tohelp Pablo in getting the fat pony ready for the road. Then, however, hewas willing to see Pablo walk away, and he bravely led the pony to theside of what may have been an old and apparently abandoned ant-hill. 

"I can get on board, " he said, as if his patient quadruped had been the_Goshhawk_. "I saw how some of them mounted. You put your left foot intothe stirrup, and then you make a kind of spring into the saddle. If myknees will bend for me, I can do it without anybody's help. "

It was the ant-hill that helped him, for he did not make any spring. After his foot was in the stirrup, he made a tremendous effort, and hearose slowly, painfully to the level of the pony's back. Then his rightleg went over, and he was actually there, hunting a little nervously forthe other stirrup, with his machete away around behind him. 

"Glad you have done it!" exclaimed a decidedly humorous voice near thepony's head. "We are all ready to be off now. Before long, you will beable to mount as the rancheros do, without touching the stirrup. Butthen, I believe that most of them were born on horseback. "

They also appeared to be able to do pretty well without much sleep, forNed could not see that they showed any signs of fatigue. Thecamping-place was speedily left behind them, but it was no longer anight journey. Ned was almost astonished, now that the darkness wasgone, to discover that this was by no means a wild, unsettled country. Not only were there many farms, with more or less well-built houses, butthe cavalcade began to meet other wayfarers, --men and women, --on footand on horseback, and hardly any of them were willing to be passedwithout obtaining the latest news from Vera Cruz and from the war. 

"I guess they need it, " thought Ned. "The general says there are nonewspapers taken down here, and that, if there were, not one person infive could read them. They seem a real good-natured lot, though. "

So they were, as much so as any other people in the world, and they wereas capable of being developed and educated to better things. As to thisbeing a new country, it came slowly back into Ned's mind that there hadbeen a great and populous empire here at a time when the island uponwhich the city of New York was afterward built was a bushy wilderness, occupied by half-naked savages, who were ready to sell it for a fewdollars' worth of kettles and beads. 

"I guess I'm beginning to wake up, " thought Ned. "When the _Goshhawk_ waslying in the Bay of Vera Cruz, I was too busy to see anything. No, Iwasn't. I did stare at the Orizaba mountain peak, and they told me it isover seventeen thousand feet high. First mountain I ever saw that couldkeep on snow and ice in such weather as this. I don't want to live upthere in winter. Well! Now I've seen some of the biggest trees I everdid see. I wonder if any of them were here when the Spaniards came in. Iguess they were, some of them. "

He was really beginning to see something of Mexico, and it almost madehim forget the hardness of that unpleasant saddle. At the end of anothermile, he was saying to himself:

"That field yonder is tobacco, is it? The one we just passed wassugar-cane, and Pablo said the plantation across the road was almost allcoffee. He says that further on he will show me orange groves, bananas, and that sort of thing. But what on earth are grenaditas and mangoes?They'll be something new to me, and I want to find out how they taste. "

Nothing at all of a military or otherwise of an apparently dangerouscharacter had been encountered by the fugitive travellers when, at aboutthe middle of the forenoon, they came to a parting of the ways. Aseemingly well-travelled road went off to the left, or southward, whilethe one they were on turned more to the right and climbed a hill, as ifit were making a further effort to get out of the _tierra caliente_. Agreat many things had been explained to Ned, as they rode along, and hewas not surprised, therefore, when Señor Zuroaga said to him:

"My young friend, this is the place I told you of. We must part here. You and your pony will go on with Colonel Tassara, and I will take mychances for reaching my place of refuge in Oaxaca. It is not a very goodchance, but I must make the best of it that I can. Take good care ofyourself. I have already said good-by to the señora and the señorita. Ithink they will soon be out of danger. "

Ned was really grateful, and he tried to say so, but all he could thinkof just then was:

"General Zuroaga, I do hope you'll get through all right. I hope I shallsee you again safe and sound. "

"You never will, " said Zuroaga, as he wheeled his horse, "unless I getout of this Cordoba road. It is a kind of military highway, and I mightmeet my enemies at any minute--too many of them. "

"Good-by!" shouted Ned, and the general, who was still a great mysteryto him, dashed away at a gallop, followed by Pablo and the wild ridersfrom the Oaxaca ranches. 

The cavalcade had hardly paused, and it now went on up the long, steepslope to the right. Not many minutes later, it was on high enough groundto look down upon the road which had been taken by Zuroaga. Ned was notlooking in that direction, but at some snow-capped mountains in thedistance, northward, and he was saying to himself:

"So that is the Sierra Madre, is it? This country has more and highermountains in it-- Hullo! What's that? Is she hurt?"

His change of utterance into an anxious exclamation was produced by apiercing scream from the carriage, and that was followed by the excitedvoice of Señora Tassara calling out:

"Husband! The general is attacked! Look! Hear the firing!"

"O father! Can we not help him?" gasped Señorita Felicia. 

Her mother was holding to her eyes with trembling hands what Ned tookfor an opera-glass, and he wished that he had one, although he couldmake out that something like a skirmish was taking place on the otherroad. It was too far to more than barely catch the dull reports of whatseemed to be a number of rapidly fired pistol-shots. 

"They are fighting!" he exclaimed. "I wish I was there to help him! Hemay need more men. I could shoot!"

Whether he could or not, he was almost unconsciously unbuckling theholster of one of his horse-pistols, when the señora spoke again. 

"Santa Maria!" she exclaimed. "The dear general! They are too many forhim. Madre de Dios! Our good friend will be killed!"

"Give me the glass, my dear, " said her husband. "Your hands are notsteady enough. I will tell you how it is. "

"Oh, do!" she whispered, hoarsely, as she handed it to him. "They arelancers in uniform. Oh, me! This is dreadful! And they may follow us, too. "

Colonel Tassara took the glass with apparently perfect coolness, andNed took note that it did not tremble at all, as he aimed it at thedistant skirmish. It was a number of seconds, however, before hereported:

"Hurrah! The general rides on, and he rides well. I feel sure that he isnot badly wounded, if at all. He has now but three men with him. Thereare riderless horses. There are men on the ground. There are four onlythat are riding back toward the Cordoba road. Thank God! The general hasmade good his escape from that party of unlucky lancers. He is afighter!"

Then he lowered the glass to turn and shout fiercely to his own men:

"Forward! We must reach Orizaba before the news of this skirmish getsthere, if we kill all our horses doing it. Push on!"

CHAPTER IX. 

LEAVING THE HACIENDA

It was near the close of a bright summer day, and a deeply interestedcompany had gathered in the dining-room of the Crawford home in NewYork. Dinner was on the table, but nobody had yet sat down. The numberof young persons present suggested that Ned must have older brothers andsisters. 

"Father Crawford, " exclaimed one of the grown-up young men, "what isthis about another letter from Edward? I came over to hear the news. "

"Letter?" said Mr. Crawford. "I should say so! I guess I'd better readit aloud. It was a long time getting out and coming around by way ofEngland. There are all sorts of delays in war-time. It is the last ofthree that he wrote before escaping into the interior of Mexico with hisnew friends. I am glad that he did go with them, though, and there mustbe other letters on the way. We shall hear from him again pretty soon. "

They all were silent then, and he read the letter through, with now andthen a few words of explanation, but Mrs. Crawford had evidently read itbefore, and all she could say now was:

"Oh, dear! I don't like it! I wish he had come home!"

"It's all right, mother, " said Mr. Crawford, "for I have something moreto tell. Captain Kemp is here, and, from what he says, it is plain thatit would not have done for Ned to have remained anywhere on the coast. He will be safe where he is, and he will learn a great deal. I would nothave him miss it for anything. What's pretty good, too, we have beenpaid all our insurance money for the loss of the _Goshhawk_, and our firmhas been given a contract to furnish supplies for the army. I shall bedown on the gulf before long myself, in charge of a supply ship, and Ican make inquiries about Ned. He will turn up all right. "

Everybody appeared to be encouraged except Ned's mother, and it was apity she could not have seen how well he was looking at that very time. If, for instance, she had possessed a telescope which would havereached so far, she might have seen a fine, large bay horse reined in toa standstill in front of a modern-appearing country-house, well built ofa nearly white kind of limestone. Around this residence was awide-spreading lawn, with vines, shrubbery, flowers, and other evidencesof wealth and refinement. The rider of the horse appeared to sit himeasily, and he was a picture of health and high spirits, but for anexpression of discontent that was upon his sunburned face. 

"This is all very beautiful, " he said, as he glanced around him, "but Iwish I were out of it. I want to hear from home. They must have myletters by this time, but they couldn't guess where I am now. "

He was silent for a moment, and the horse curveted gracefully under him, as if in doubt whether to gallop away again, or to ask his rider to getoff. 

"Well!" said Ned, with a pull on the rein. "It seems like a long, wonderful dream since I saw General Zuroaga ride away from us at thecross-roads. What a skirmish that was! Then we made our way through themountains, and came here, and hasn't it been a curious kind of life eversince? I've learned how to ride like a Mexican. I've seen all there isto see for miles and miles around this place. I've seen lots of oldruins, all that's left of ancient houses and temples and altars. Ibelieve the señora likes nothing better than to tell me yarns about theMontezuma times and about her ancestors in Spain. That's a greatcountry. I think I'll go over there, some day, and see Granada and theAlhambra and the old castles and the Spanish people. I like the Mexicansfirst-rate, all that I have seen of them. They will be a splendid nationone of these days, but they're awfully ignorant now. Why, every one inthese parts believes that our army is all the while being whipped all topieces by theirs, and I can't exactly swallow that. I'd like to knowjust what is really going on. I'm all in the dark. "

"Señor Carfora!" called out a clear, ringing voice. 

He turned in the saddle, from seeming to gaze at the distant forest, andthere, in the piazza which ran all along the front of the house, stoodSeñorita Felicia, her usually pale face flushed with excitement. 

"We have a letter from father!" she shouted. "He has completed hisregiment, and he is to command it. President Paredes is going north, todrive the gringos out of Mexico, and father may have to go with him. Hesays it is time for us to move to the city of Mexico. We are to livewith my aunt, Mercedes Paez, and you are to come with us. Is it notgrand?"

"It is just what I was wishing for!" exclaimed Ned. "I'd give almostanything to see that city, after what your mother has told me. "

"Oh, " said Felicia, "she was born there, and she'll make you see allthere is of it. But we were all ready, you know, and we are to set outearly to-morrow morning. "

"Hurrah!" responded Ned. "But I'd like to hear from General Zuroaga. Iwish I knew whether or not he was much hurt in that fight in the road. "

"Father does not believe he was, " said Felicia. "Sometimes I almostthink he knows all about it. But there are some things he won't speakof, and General Zuroaga is one of them. "

Ned sprang to the ground, and a barefooted "peon" servant took charge ofhis horse. It was not at all the kind of dismounting he had performed atthe camp in the woods on the road from Vera Cruz. Neither did he nowhave any machete dangling from his belt, to entangle himself with, andthere were no pistol holsters in front of the saddle. He went on intothe house with the señorita, and in a moment more he was hearingadditional news from her mother. Señora Tassara was as stately as ever, but it was apparent that she had taken a liking to her young Americanguest, whether it was on account of his deep interest in her oldstories, or otherwise. It may have been, in part, that company was agood thing to have in a somewhat lonely country-house, for she could nothave thought of associating with Mexican neighbors of a social ranklower than her own. Was she not descended from Spanish grandees, andwere they not, for the greater part, representatives of the mere Aztecsand Toltecs, whom her forefathers had conquered? It was that veryfeeling, however, which in the minds of such men as Paredes and similarleaders was standing in the way of every effort to construct a genuinerepublic out of the people of the half-civilized States of Mexico. 

Ned's next questions related to the war, and he inquired how many moregreat battles Colonel Tassara had reported. 

"Battles?" exclaimed Señora Tassara. "Why, there has not been one foughtsince Resaca de la Palma. But he says that General Ampudia sends wordthat the American army is about to advance upon him. They will attackhim at the city of Monterey, and they never can take so strong a placeas that is. He is ready for them, but President Paredes believes that itis time for him to take command of the army in person. "

It certainly was so. The Mexican President was a cunning politician, andhe had been by no means an unsuccessful general. He was well aware thatit would not be wise for him to now allow too many victories to be wonby any other Mexican. It might interfere with his own popularity. On theother hand, if General Ampudia should be defeated, as he was quitelikely to be, then it was good policy for the commander-in-chief, thePresident, to be promptly on hand with a larger force, to overwhelm theinvaders who had ruined Ampudia. Therefore, it might be said that theAmericans had the tangled factions and corrupt politics of Mexicoworking for them very effectively. 

Ned Crawford already knew much about the condition of military andpolitical affairs, but he was not thinking of them that evening. It wasa great deal pleasanter to sit and talk with Señorita Felicia about thecity of Mexico and others of the historical places of the ancient landof Anahuac. She still could remind him, now and then, that she hated allkinds of gringos, but at all events she was willing to treat one of themfairly well. He, on his part, had formed a favorable opinion of someMexicans, but he was as firm as ever in his belief that their army couldnever drive the Americans out of Texas. 

There was one place which was even busier and more full of theexcitement of getting ready for a new movement than was the Tassarahacienda. It was among the scattered camps of General Taylor's army, near Matamoras, at the mouth of the Rio Grande. Reinforcements had madethe army more than double its former size, but it was understood that itwas still of only half the numbers of the force it was soon to meet, under General Ampudia. It was a curious fact, however, that all ofGeneral Taylor's military scholars were entirely satisfied with thatcomputation, and considered that any other arrangement would have beenunfair, as they really outnumbered their opponents when these were onlytwo to one. What was more, they were willing to give them the advantageof fighting behind strong fortifications, for they knew that they weresoon to attack the mountain city of Monterey. Part of what was nowgenuinely an invading army was to go up the river in boats for somedistance. The other part was to go overland, and it was an open questionwhich of them would suffer the more from the hot summer sun. It was tobe anything but a picnic, for here were nearly seven thousand Americansof all sorts, who were obtaining their first experiences of what warmight really be, if made in any manner whatever in the sultriest kind ofsouthern weather. Much more agreeable for them might have been a marchacross the central table-lands beyond, at an elevation of four thousandfeet above the sea level and the _tierra caliente_. 

That was precisely the kind of pleasant journey that was performed byNed Crawford and the imposing Tassara cavalcade on the morrow and duringa couple of wonderful days which followed. There being no railway, whatever the señora wished to take with her had to be conveyed in wagonsor on pack-mules, and the ladies themselves now preferred the saddle toany kind of carriage. In fact, Ned shortly discovered that SeñoritaFelicia was more at home on horseback than he was, and he more than oncecongratulated himself that she had never witnessed his firstperformances in mounting his fat pony. 

"How she would have laughed at me!" he thought. "But at that time therewasn't another spare saddle-horse, and she and her mother didn't care acent whether I could ride or not. They were thinking of Guerra'slancers. "

The scenery was exceedingly beautiful as well as peaceful. There wasnothing whatever to suggest that a dreadful war was going on. There werehouses of friends to stop at, instead of hotels. There were towns andvillages of some importance to be rapidly investigated by a tourist likeNed, from New York by way of England, and now a good young Mexican forthe time being. Then there was an exciting evening, when all who were onhorseback rode ahead of the wagons and on into the city, which occupiesthe site of the wonderful Tenochtitlan, which was captured by HernandoCortes and his daring adventurers ever so long ago. From that timeonward, during a number of busy days, Ned became better and bettersatisfied with the fact that his father had sent him across the sea tolearn all that he could of Mexico and the Mexicans. 

CHAPTER X. 

PICTURES OF THE PAST

"Oh, how I wish we had some news from the war!" exclaimed Ned. 

"Well, " said Señorita Felicia, doubtfully, "there isn't much, but Isuppose there is some almost ready to come. "

"I'm tired of waiting for it, " replied Ned, "and if there isn't to beany war news, I wish I had some books!"

The thought that was in Ned Crawford's mind had broken out suddenly, ashe sat at the dinner-table of Señora Mercedes Paez, at the end of thosefirst days after his arrival in the city of Mexico. There were a numberof persons at the table, and at the head of it was Señora Paez herself. She was shorter and stouter, but she was every ounce as stately andimposing as was even Señora Tassara. In front of her sat one affairwhich had, from the beginning of his visit in that house, made him feelmore at home than he might otherwise have done. He had become used toit, and it seemed like an old friend. That Seville coffee-urn hadornamented the table in the house at Vera Cruz, his first refuge afterhe came ashore out of the destructive norther. It had winked at him froma similar post of honor in the country-house out in Puebla, and SeñoraTassara had affectionately brought it with her to the residence of hercity cousin. She had said that she thought it would be safer here, evenif the city should be captured by those terrible robbers, the Americans. They could not be intending to steal and melt up all the old silver inMexico. 

"Why, Señor Carfora!" exclaimed Señorita Felicia, indignantly. "Did younot know? Aunt Paez has piles and piles of books. They are up in thelibrary. If you wish to read them, she will let you go there. I hadforgotten that you know how to read. He may do it, may he not, AuntMercedes?"

"Of course he may, " replied the señora, "but it is a curious idea for aboy of his age. "

"Oh, thank you!" exclaimed Ned. "But what I'd like to have are somebooks that tell about old Mexico and about the city of Tenochtitlan, that stood here before the Spaniards came. I've been all aroundeverywhere. I've seen the swamps and the lakes and the walls and fortsand everything. The great cathedral--"

"That, " interposed Señora Tassara, "stands on the very spot where an oldtemple of the Aztec war-god stood. There were altars in it, where theyused to kill and burn hundreds and thousands of human sacrifices toHuitzilopochtli, and there were altars to other gods. "

"I can't exactly speak that name, " said Ned, "but I want to know allabout him and the sacrifices. I want to learn, too, just how Cortes andhis men took the old city. I suppose that when the Americans come, itwill be a different kind of fight--more cannon. "

"They won't get here at all, " quietly remarked a military-looking oldgentleman sitting near the other end of the table. "It is a long roadfrom the Rio Grande, and President Paredes is to march, in a few days, to crush our enemies with an army of twenty thousand men. They have notso much as taken Monterey yet. You are right, though. If they shouldever get here, they will find the city harder to take than Cortes did. They will all die before the walls. "

He spoke with a great deal of patriotic enthusiasm, and Ned knew that itwas his turn to keep still, for the old gentleman had no idea that hewas talking to a wicked young gringo. Señora Paez, however, calmlyreplied:

"Ah, Colonel Rodriguez, my dear friend, the President himself has saidthat, after he has beaten them at the northern border, as he surelywill, the Americans are sure to make another attempt by way of VeraCruz. That, too, was the opinion of our brave friend, Colonel Guerra, and he is making every preparation for a siege. It is part of ourgrateful hospitality to our guest, Señor Carfora, that his friends havesupplied the Castle of San Juan de Ulua with the ammunition which willbe needed. He came over on the ship which brought it, and he hasremained with us ever since. "

Just then Ned Crawford knew what it was to feel very mean indeed. Hefelt as if he himself were telling a large lie, and his cheeks flushedred-hot. He was aware, nevertheless, that even Señora Tassara had notbeen told everything, and that Señora Paez was reasonably honest in whatshe had been saying. There was no necessity for enlightening ColonelRodriguez. Hardly, therefore, had the old gentleman vehementlyexclaimed, "They never can take San Juan de Ulua!" than Ned went hastilyback to his first subject of the ancient history. 

"That's it, " he said. "I want to find out how Cortes got ashore, and howhe fought his way from the coast to this place. He must have had tocross the mountains, through the passes, just as our party did when wecame. "

"Yes, " said the colonel. "He had to climb seven thousand and fivehundred feet up out of the _tierra caliente_, and, if any gringos evertry that path, they will find all the passes full of fighting Mexicansand good artillery well posted. Hernando Cortes had all the gunpowderthere was in America when he tried that road. "

"My dear young friend, " said Señora Paez, "you will find plenty of thebooks you wish for. My husband was fond of collecting them. Afterdinner, the señorita will show you the library, and you may readanything there. "

Ned was silent once more, for he was still feeling mean, and was askinghimself whether he were not, after all, a kind of spy in the Mexicancamp, going around in disguise, and all the while wishing that he couldhelp the American army to capture the city. 

"Anyhow, " he thought, "I can't help myself just now, and when the cityis taken, everything in the Paez house will be entirely safe. Ishouldn't wonder if that old coffee-urn will be safer from thieves thanit is now. There have been half a dozen burglaries since we came, andI've seen hundreds of the wildest-looking kinds of fellows from themountains. Every man of them looked as if he'd like to steal somesilver. "

While he was thinking, he was also listening, with a great deal ofinterest, to a description which the old officer was giving of thedefences of Monterey, and of the reasons why the American troops wouldsurely be defeated. It appeared that he had at one time been thecommander of the garrison of the fortress known as the Black Fort, justoutside of the walls of Monterey, on the north, and he evidentlybelieved it to be impregnable. Ned was no soldier, and it did not occurto him to ask, as General Taylor might have done, whether or not it waspossible to take the town without wasting time in taking the fort first. 

"Come, Señor Carfora, " said Felicia, as they all arose from the table, "I will show you the library. You can't do much reading there to-night, though, for the lamps have all been taken away. I do not wish to gothere, anyhow, except in the daytime. It is a pokerish kind of place. Doyou believe in ghosts? I do not, but, if I were a ghost, I would pickout that library for a good place to hide in. Come along. You are aforeigner, and any kind of good Mexican ghost won't like you. "

Whether she herself did so or not, she led the way, and no lamp was asyet needed, although the day was nearly over and the shadows werecoming. Up-stairs they went and through a short passageway in the secondstory of the Paez mansion, and they were almost in the dark when shesaid to him:

"Here we are. Hardly any one ever comes here, and it will be dreadfullydusty. Books are dusty old things anyhow. "

She turned the big brass knob in the dusky door before them, and shovedagainst it with all her might, but Ned had to help her with hisshoulder, or the massive mahogany portal would not have yielded an inch. It did go slowly in, upon its ancient-looking bronze hinges, and thenthey were in a room which was worth looking at. It was not so verylarge, only about fifteen feet by twenty, but it was unusually high, andit had but one tall, narrow slit of a window. Close by this, however, were a finely carved reading chair and table, ready to receive all thelight which the window might choose to let in. Ned was staring eagerlyaround the room, when his pretty guide remarked:

"You had better see all you can before it gets any darker. Take down asmany books as you want. I don't care much for those fusty-musty oldhistories. I must go away now--"

"Hullo, señorita!" exclaimed Ned. "There is a lamp on the table. I havesome matches--"

"I don't believe you can make it burn, " she said, "but you can try. Ithas not been lighted for this ever so long, and the oil may have driedup. "

Around she whirled and away she went, leaving Ned to his own devices. His next thought was almost impolite, after all, for he was more thanhalf glad that she did go, so that he might have the library all tohimself to rummage in. He did not instantly examine the lamp, for he hadnever before been in just this kind of room, and it fascinated him. Allits sides were occupied by high bookcases, every one of them crammedfull of volumes of all sorts and sizes. He thought that he had neverseen larger books than were some of the fat folios on the lower shelves. There were great, flat, atlas-looking concerns leaning against them, andout on the floor stood several upright racks of maps. Old Señor Paez mayhave been what is called a book-worm. At all events, Ned had understoodthat he was a very learned man, with a strong enthusiasm for Americanhistory. 

"Heavens and earth!" suddenly exclaimed Ned. "What is that?"

He darted forward to a further corner of the room, as if he were in agreat hurry to meet somebody who had unexpectedly come in. It certainlywas something almost in human shape, but it had been standing there along while, and the hand which it appeared to hold out to him was ofsteel, for it was nothing in the wide world but a complete suit ofancient armor. It was so set up in that corner, however, that it almostseemed alive, with its right hand extended, and its left holding a long, pennoned lance. Its helmet had a barred vizor, so that if there had beenany face behind that, it would have been hidden. Ned went and stoodsilently before it for a moment, staring at that vizor. 

"I say, " he muttered, as if he did not care to speak any louder. "Idon't believe General Taylor's men would care to march far with as muchiron as that on them--not in hot weather. But the old Aztecs didn't haveanything that would go through that kind of uniform. If Cortes and hismen wore it, there is no wonder that they went on killing the Indianswithout being much hurt themselves. "

In fact, not all of them had been dressed up in precisely such a manner, although they did wear armor. 

Ned examined the whole affair, piece by piece, from head to foot, andthen he turned away from his inspection, for the room behind him wasgetting dim and it was time for him to look at his lamp. He took out amatch as he went toward the table at the window, and in a moment more hewas busy with a wick which seemed to be determined not to burn for him. 

"It's an old whale-oil lamp, " he remarked. "Mother had one, once. Iremember seeing her try to light it and it would sputter for ever solong. There! It's beginning to kindle, but it's too big for me to carryaround and hunt for books with. I wish I had a smaller one. Hullo!Here's one of the biggest of those old concerns, right here on thetable. "

It was a folio bound in vellum, and when he opened it a great deal ofdust arose from the cover which banged down. Then Ned uttered a loudexclamation, and was glad he had succeeded in lighting the lamp, forthere before his eyes was a vividly colored picture of a mostextraordinary description. Moreover, it unfolded, so that it was almosttwice the size, length, and width of the book pages. 

"They are all in Spanish, " he said, "but I guess I can read them. They're more than a hundred years old. People don't print such books, nowadays. Nobody would have time enough to read them, I suppose, andthey couldn't sell 'em cheap enough. This is wonderful! It's a pictureof the old Mexican god, Huitzilopochtli. "

There was an explanatory inscription, and the artist had pictured theterrible deity sitting upon a throne of state, gorgeously arrayed ingold and jewels, and watching with a smile of serene satisfaction thesacrifice of some unfortunate human victims on the altar in theforeground at the right. One of the priests attending at the altar hadjust cut open the bosom of a tall man lying before him, and was tossinga bleeding heart upon the smoking fire, where other similar offeringswere already burning. 

"That must have been a horrible kind of religion, " thought Ned. "I'mglad that Cortes and his men in armor came to put an end to it. SeñoraPaez told me that in only a few years before he came, and hergreat-grandfather and his father with him, those priests cut up morethan twenty thousand men, women, and children. He's a curious kind ofgod, I should say, to sit there and grin while it was going on. "

He could not linger too long over one picture, however, for he haddiscovered that there were others in that volume which were asbrilliantly colored and as interesting. On the whole, it was notnecessary to hunt for anything better than this the first evening, andit appeared as if he were asking a useless question of the steel-cladwarrior in the corner, when at last he turned to him to say:

"Did you ever see anything like this before? I never did. Were youthere, in any of these battles? This is the way that Cortes and hiscavalry scared the Indians, is it? They were awfully afraid of horses. You can buy horses for almost nothing, nowadays, anywhere in Mexico. I've learned how to ride 'em, too, but didn't I get pitched off by someof those ponies! It would have scared mother half to death. I wish Icould see her to-night, and show her some of these pictures. I'd like tosee Bob and the girls, too. They never saw a book like this. "

He had examined a number of the pictures, and the lamp was burningfairly well, but a long time had elapsed since he came into that room, and he was not at all aware of it. 

"Señor Carfora?" called out a voice in the doorway. "Oh, you are here. You did light the lamp. I was almost afraid you were in the dark. "

"No, I'm not, " said Ned. "I made it burn, and I've been looking at allsorts of things. These pictures are just wonderful. "

"Oh!" she said, "I would not be in this room in the dark for anything! Iknow all those things in that book, though. They are hideous! But theysay that that suit of armor has the worst kind of ghost in it. "

"Maybe it has, " said Ned. "I don't believe he can get out, anyhow. He'sjust stuck in it. I'd rather wear the clothes I have on. "

"Well, " she replied, "mother sent me to find if you were here, and itis dreadfully late--"

"Oh, yes!" interrupted Ned. "I suppose it is time for me to go to bed. I'll go, but I mean to see all there is in this library, señorita. Iwon't try to read it all. I don't care for ghosts, but I'd like to seeone. "

"I do not care for them in the daytime, either, " she told him. "But oldMargarita, the Tlascalan, says that they come at night and sit here andtell stories of all the Mexican idol gods. All of them hate us, too, because we turned them out of their temples, and I hate them. "

"I'm glad they are gone, anyhow, " said Ned, but it was really time togo, and he carried some of the most brilliant of those illustrationsinto some of his dreams that night. 

CHAPTER XI. 

NED'S NEWS

"Hullo, young man! I've been looking for you. How are you?"

"Captain Kemp!" shouted Ned, in astonishment. "Where did you come from?Who dreamed of seeing you here?"

"Nobody, I hope, " said the captain; "but here I am, and I've brought youhalf a dozen letters. They are among my baggage. First thing, though, tell me all about yourself. Where have you been?"

They were standing in the grand plaza, not many paces from the front ofthe cathedral, and Ned had come there for another look at the buildingwhich had taken the place of the old-time temple of the murderousMexican god of war. He was wildly excited for a moment, and he began toask questions, rather than to tell anything about himself. 

"Keep cool, now, my boy, " said the captain. "We don't know who'swatching us. I didn't have much trouble in running the Yankee blockadeat Vera Cruz. I brought a cargo from New York, just as if it had beensent from Liverpool, but I've had to prove that I'm not an American eversince I came ashore. Spin us your yarn as we walk along. "

Ned was now ready to do so, and the captain listened to him with themost intense interest, putting in remarks every now and then. 

"All this, " he said, "is precisely what your father wishes you to do, ifyou can do it. The way of it is this. He knows, and we all know, thatthis war can't be a long one. As soon as it's over, his concern means togo into the Mexican trade heavier than they ever did before. They thinkit will be worth more, and I mean to be in it myself. So it just suitshim to have you here, making friends and learning all about the countryyou are to deal with. He says you are in the best kind of businessschool. There will be a fortune in it for you some day. "

"I don't exactly see how, " remarked Ned, doubtfully. 

"Well, " replied the captain, "not many young American business men knowten cents' worth about Mexico. You'd better go right on and learn allthere is to know. Keep shy of all politics, though. This war is going tobreak Paredes and a lot of others. After they are out of power, your ownfriends, like Tassara, Zuroaga, and the rest of them, may be in office, and you will be in clover. It's a wonderfully rich country, if it wereonly in the right hands and had a good government. I'll give you theletters when we get to my lodgings. Then I must make my way back to VeraCruz, but I had to come all this distance to get my pay from theauthorities. I obtained it, even now, only by promising to bring overanother cargo of British gunpowder, to fight the Yankees with. "

That was a thing which Ned did not like, but he could not do anything toprevent it. He could not expect an Englishman to be an American, and itwas all a matter of trade to Captain Kemp, aside from his personalfriendship for Ned and his father. There was more talk of all sorts, andNed obtained a great deal of information concerning the war and what theUnited States were likely to do. After he had received his preciousletters, however, and had said good-by to Captain Kemp, he almost ranagainst people in his haste to reach the Paez mansion. He did not pauseto speak to anybody on arriving, but darted up-stairs and made his wayto the library. It was lighter now in the wonderful book-room, and theman in armor did not say anything as Ned came in. In a moment he was inthe chair by the window, and he appeared to himself to be almost talkingwith the dear ones at home, from whom he had so long been separated. 

"Stay where you are, " he read from his father's long letter, and at thathour he felt as if he did not wish to stay. He dropped the letter on thetable, and leaned back in his chair and looked around him. Pretty soon, however, a little slowly to begin with, but then faster and faster, thestrong and fascinating spirit of adventure came once more upon him. Hisvery blood tingled, and he sprang to his feet to all but shout to hismailed acquaintance in the corner:

"Yes, sir, I'll stay! I'll do anything but become a Mexican. Tell youwhat, before the war's over, I mean to be in the American army, somehow. I don't exactly see how I'm to do it, though. "

It was time to go down-stairs and report to his faithful friends, for heknew it would be very mean not to do so, and the first person he met wasSeñora Tassara herself. 

"I have letters from home!" he exclaimed, bluntly--"newspapers, too!"and she held up both hands in astonishment, as she responded:

"Letters from the United States? How on earth did they come through theblockade, and how did they know where you are?"

"I guess they didn't, " said Ned. "The English captain that used tocommand the _Goshhawk_ brought them. I met him at the plaza, hunting forme. He was a friend of General Zuroaga, and besides, the British consulat Vera Cruz knew I was with Colonel Tassara's family. So, if I hadn'tmet him, he would have tried to find you. My father writes that I am tostay in Mexico, and learn all about it. "

"I am glad of that, " she said. "Why, you could not get out at all justnow without danger to yourself and getting all of us into trouble. "

"I wouldn't do that for anything!" exclaimed Ned, and then he went onwith his tremendous budget of miscellaneous news. 

It was an exceedingly interesting heap of information, for the captainhad given him both English and American journals, which were a raretreat at that time in the interior of the beleaguered Mexican republic. Señora Tassara was busy with these, when Ned and all the othernews-bringers were pounced upon by a yet more eager inquirer. 

"Señor Carfora!" exclaimed Felicia, her black eyes flashing curiously athim. "Where did you get them? I never before saw such big newspapers. They won't tell us about our army, though. "

"Yes, they will, " he said, and, while she was searching the broad-facedprints for army information, he repeated for her benefit all that he hadpreviously told her mother. Poor Señorita Felicia! She did not obtain atall what she wanted, for there were no accounts of brilliant Mexicanvictories. All of these must have been meanly omitted by the editors, and at last she angrily threw down a newspaper to say to him:

"Señor Carfora, I am glad you are to stay here, but you will never beanything better than a gringo, no matter how much you learn. I was up inthe library this morning, and I pulled out six more books for you. Youmay read them all, if they will do you any good. One of them is aboutSpain, too. What I want to do is to travel all over Spain. It must bethe most beautiful country in the world. "

Ned had noticed long ago that her eyes always grew dreamy whenever herthoughts were turned toward the peninsula which has had so wonderful ahistory, but he did not know that his own longings for foreign travelwere very like her own in their origin when he replied:

"Well, I'd like to see Spain. I mean to some day, but I want to seeEngland first, and Scotland and Ireland. One of my ancestors was anIrishman, and the Crawfords were from Scotland. It isn't as hot acountry as Spain is. You are a Mexican, not a Spaniard. "

"So I am, " she said, "and most of the Mexicans are Indians. We ought tohave more Spaniards, but we can't get them. Anyhow, we don't want toomany gringos to come in. They are all heretics, too. "

Ned knew what she meant, and he hastened to tell her that his countrycontained more church people of her religion than Mexico did, and headded, to her great disgust:

"And our priests are a hundred times better than yours are. GeneralZuroaga says so, and so does your father. I don't like your Mexicanpriests. The general says he wishes they were all dead, and theirplaces filled by good, live men from Europe and the United States. "

"Felicia, " interrupted her mother, "you must not talk with Señor Carforaabout such things. What I wish is that we had the American commonschools all over our poor, ignorant country. Oh, dear! What if thishorrible war should prove to be really a blessing to us? As things looknow, we are to have another revolution within a year. More men will beshot, just as they have been before, and nobody can see what the end isto be. "

It was now time for the noonday luncheon, and they went to thedining-room, where Señora Paez herself was glad to see the foreignjournals and to know that Ned had letters from home. 

Many things appeared to be settled, as far as he was concerned. At allevents, his mind was no longer to busy itself with wild plans forsquirming out from among the Aztecs and finding his way to the UnitedStates. After luncheon he went up to the library again. At first it wasonly to read his letters over and over, and then it was a kind of reliefto go to his books and try to forget everything else in going on withhis queer schooling. It was unlike any that his old schoolmates at theNorth were having, and he caught himself wondering what kind of man itmight make of him. He could not tell, but he was to have yet anotherlesson that day, and with it came a promise of a strange kind ofvacation. 

It came to him in the evening, when he was so tired of books that hepreferred the company of Señorita Felicia, no matter what saucy oroverpatriotic things she might see fit to say to him. They were sittingnear one of the drawing-room windows, when Señora Paez came quietlybehind him and touched him on the shoulder. 

"Come with me, " she said. "There is a man up in Señora Tassara's roomwho wishes to see you. "

"O Señor Carfora!" whispered Felicia. "Don't say a word! I know who itis. Go right along. He is an old friend of yours. "

Up jumped Ned, and he and the señorita followed Señora Paez eagerly. Half a minute later, he felt as if he had never been so astonishedbefore in all his life, for his hand was heartily grasped, and the voiceof General Zuroaga said to him:

"Here I am, Señor Carfora. How are you?"

"Oh, but I'm glad to see you!" exclaimed Ned. "I'm all right, but isn'tit awfully dangerous for you to be here?"

"It would be, if some men knew it, " replied Zuroaga, "or if I wereunwise enough to remain too long. The fact is that I can give you only afew minutes, anyhow, this evening. I must be out of the city beforedaylight, if I can, but I will return at the end of a week or so. Then Ishall take you with me to the valley of the Tehuantepec. You must seeall that region. After that I shall have a tour to make on politicalaffairs, through several States, and you will have a chance to see twothirds of the republic before winter. "

"That is just what my father would wish me to do, " said Ned, and heproceeded to tell the general the contents of his letters and all thenews he had heard from Captain Kemp. 

"Very good!" said Zuroaga, at last. "I would have been glad to have seenthe captain. He is a rough sort of fellow, but he can be depended on. Itis evident that your father's firm trusts him, but I believe they do notknow exactly all that he has been doing. He is quite willing to make afew dollars for himself while he is working for others. "

The general was in good spirits, but more than once he spoke of thenecessity he was under of keeping out of the reach of his old enemies, and among these he appeared to consider the absent Santa Anna even moredangerous, in the long run, than President Paredes himself. SeñoraTassara had now joined them, but she seemed disposed to be silent, andmost of the conversation was in the hands of Señora Paez. It wasnoticeable that she appeared to have a remarkably good knowledge of thepolitics of her country. Perhaps, if Ned had been a few years older andthe least bit of a politician, he might have suspected the truth, thatshe was one of the most subtle plotters in the whole country. If she wasalso a deadly enemy of President Paredes, it was because she was asister of a revolutionary leader whom he had caused to be shot, yearsago, without the formality of a court-martial. Ned saw her eyes flashand her bosom heave when she spoke of him, and after that he somehowfelt safer than ever under her roof. He also saw that she and GeneralZuroaga were the best of friends, and that they had a long privateconference of their own. 

"I guess he feels at home here, " thought Ned, as he went down-stairswith Felicia and Señora Tassara, and his confidence in that state ofaffairs grew stronger as he walked along the central hall of the house. 

"Pablo!" he exclaimed, to a man who lay sprawled out upon the floor, butthe general's Oaxaca follower made him no reply. He and three more likehim, who lay near him, were sound asleep, and there was no good causefor stirring them up just then. 

"They are all well armed, " said Ned to himself. "The general will beprotected when he rides away in the morning. But this is the biggestkind of thing to come to me. The best _I_ can do will be to take to mybooks till he gets back. Oh, but won't it be grand fun to make acomplete tour of the mountains and of all the Pacific coast of Mexico?He says I shall see the tallest peaks of the Cordilleras and that I mayvisit some of the great silver mines. "

With all that exciting expectation running through his head, it was noteasy for him to get to sleep that night. When he arose in the morning, his friend, the mysterious general, had already departed. 

CHAPTER XII. 

A STORM COMING

"A monarchy! a monarchy! nothing but the one-man power will ever doanything for this miserable multitude of Indians, negroes, andrebellion-making Spanish aristocrats. Royalty is our only resource, andI am nearly ready to strike the required blow. I think that Don MariaParedes would make as good an emperor as Augustin de Yturbide, and hewill wear the crown of Mexico somewhat longer. But I must look out forSanta Anna. If he were to return from Cuba too soon, there would benothing left for me but to have him shot as soon as he came ashore. Orelse he might have me shot not many days afterward. His emissaries andspies are all the while working against me, but I shall catch some ofthem. Oh, how I would like to get hold of that venomous conspirator, Zuroaga!"

The President and practically the dictator of the nominal republic ofMexico was standing in his own luxurious chamber of the governmentpalace in the city of Mexico. He was in the full uniform of a generalofficer, for he was preparing to ride out and attend a review of adivision of the really large army which he had gathered to move againstthe American invaders at the north. He deemed himself favored byfortune, for all things had thus far appeared to operate in thedirection of his high ambition. He was in possession of undisputedpower, and his time for making his supremacy permanent had arrived. Itwas the morning of the 4th of August, 1846, and it promised to be asplendid day for a parade. He had eloquently appealed to all thepatriotism in the land, and he had used his last dollar in raising thetroops who were to win his victories and place him firmly upon thethrone of Anahuac, the lost throne of the Montezumas. A large part ofhis forces had already marched, and he was now to follow with theremainder. It was high time that he should do so, for General Taylor'sarmy was daily drawing nearer the Mexican lines at the city of Monterey. Not many minutes later, he rode away from the palace, attended by abrilliant staff, through crowded streets, where every hat went off andall the voices shouted "Viva Paredes" with every appearance ofenthusiasm. 

That morning Ned Crawford had not felt like going out of the city to seeany review. Days had passed since the departure of General Zuroaga, butNed's head was full of what his friend had said to him, and he did notcare much in what direction his feet might take him. So, having all thatresponsibility to themselves, they carried him on across the city until, when he looked around him, he saw that he had almost reached the frontgate of the out-of-date fort, which was known as "the citadel. " Italways contained a large garrison, not by any means for the defence ofthe capital from external foes, but for the protection of whatever mightbe the "government" for the time being from any sudden tumult orattempted revolution. There were officers and a squad of soldiersstanding a few paces out in front of the wide-open military portal, andthey all were gazing intently in the same direction. Ned also turned tolook, but all that he could see was a solitary rider, upon what seemedto be an all but exhausted horse, urging the panting animal toward thecitadel. 

"Colonel Guerra!" exclaimed Ned. "What has brought him all the way fromVera Cruz? Has our army come? Is the city taken?"

Nothing of that kind had yet occurred, but there was a reason for thearrival of the trusted commander of the important fortress on the sea. Ned was very near him when the horse fell, and his rider sprang to theearth, covered with dust and evidently in great excitement. The officersat the gate rushed forward toward him, and one of them loudly demanded:

"Colonel Guerra! What is it? Has he come? All is ready here!"

Guerra himself had not fallen with his horse. Off came his hat and hissword flashed from the sheath, while his voice rang out clearly, fiercely:

"Viva Santa Anna! The entire force at Vera Cruz and the garrison of SanJuan de Ulua have pronounced for him. He is now on his way home fromHavana. We shall soon have with us the one hero who can save us from theAmerican invaders and from the tyranny of King Paredes!"

Possibly, this had been the day calculated upon for the arrival ofprecisely such tidings. It might even have been that all these officersand soldiers were gathered there, prepared both to hear and to act, while President Paredes should be temporarily absent from the city. Atall events, they were swinging their hats, drawing their swords, andtheir enthusiastic acclamations for the returning general were at oncefollowed by a rush back into the citadel and a hasty closing of itsgates. When that was done, and when the rest of the garrison had joinedin "pronouncing" for Santa Anna, the military control of the Mexicancapital had passed out of the hands of President Paredes. 

It was startling news, therefore, which was brought out to him by afriendly messenger, as he rode so proudly on in front of his shoutingsoldiery, believing that they were all his own and ready to do hisbidding. The grand review ended instantaneously, and he came gallopingback in all haste to look out for his tumbling crown. He came with hisbrilliant staff and a mixed crowd of friends and unfriends, only todiscover that crown and throne and scepter had disappeared like thechanging figures in a kaleidoscope. He could not even order anybody tobe arrested and shot, for the Vice-President, General Bravo, and all themembers of the national Congress, then in session, were thoughtfullysaying to themselves, if not to each other:

"Santa Anna is coming! The seacoast forces are already his. He will beright here in a few days. We must be careful what we say or do just now. We do not even know what these new troops will say to this thing. "

They were not to remain long in ignorance upon that point. As the newswent out from regiment to regiment that afternoon, the undisciplined, ragged mobs of raw recruits began to shout for Santa Anna. Perhaps manyof them had previously served under the one-legged veteran of the oldFrench and Texan wars and at least half a dozen revolutions. 

Ned Crawford turned and hurried homeward, as soon as he felt sure thathis head was still upon his shoulders and that he had heard hisremarkable news correctly. His eyes were busy, too, and he heard whatmen were saying to each other. Excited shouts were carrying the errandof Colonel Guerra swiftly over the city, and everywhere it wasdiscovering hearers as ready for it as had been the officers at thegate. He may have been looking a little pale when he entered the parlorof the Paez mansion, for Señora Paez at once arose and came to meet him, inquiring, anxiously:

"Señor Carfora, what is the matter? Has anything happened?"

"Santa Anna--" began Ned, but she stepped quickly forward and put herhand upon his mouth, whispering sharply:

"Speak lower! we do not know who may hear you. What is it?"

She took away her hand, and Ned also whispered, as he hurriedly told herwhat he had seen and heard at the citadel. As he did so, her face andthat of Señora Tassara, standing by her, grew much paler than his own. 

"My dear Mercedes, " said Señora Tassara to her cousin, "this is all asmy husband and General Zuroaga predicted. But the tiger is not here yet, and by the time he arrives they will be beyond his reach. It takes somedays to travel from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico. Señor Carfora, youare in no danger. Neither are we. "

"No!" angrily exclaimed Señora Paez. "Not for to-day nor to-morrow, perhaps, but down goes the Paredes monarchy! Ah, me! There is a terribletime coming for poor Mexico. Who shall tell what the end of it all willbe!"

"Nobody!" said Señora Tassara, sadly, but Felicia whispered to Ned:

"Señor Carfora, the gringos could not do us much harm if their army hada revolution springing up behind it at home. I wish they had one. "

"I don't, " replied Ned. "If we did have one, though, it would be biggerthan this is. I don't believe we have any Santa Annas to make one, anyhow. There isn't a man in all America that would think of being king. I guess that if we found one we'd hang him. "

"Well, " said Felicia, "President Paredes would like to hang a great manypeople, or shoot them, but I hope he can't. What are you going to do?"

"He does not know, dear, " interposed her mother. "We must stop talkingabout this thing now. Some of our friends are coming in. It is better tolet them tell us what has happened, just as if we had not heard it atall. Be very careful what you say. "

Perhaps everybody in the Paez mansion was accustomed to that kind ofcaution, and when a number of excited women neighbors poured into theparlor to bring the great tidings and discuss the situation, they foundno one in it who was to be surprised into saying a word which might nothave been heard without offence by the friends of either Paredes orSanta Anna. 

Great changes in public affairs may produce changes in the plans ofindividuals, and it was not remarkable if General Zuroaga's intendedweek of absence should be somewhat shortened. It may have ended at themoment when the garrison of the citadel "pronounced" in favor of thetyrant in exile and against the tyrant in nominal power. Ned, however, had a small surprise waiting for him. It actually arrived not a greatwhile after luncheon, when he was feeling as if he would like to sitdown by himself and think over this very curious piece of politicalbusiness. He went up into the library, as the safest kind ofthinking-place, and, hardly had he opened the door, before he discoveredthat it had another tenant besides the man in armor in the corner. 

"General Zuroaga!" he exclaimed, in astonishment. 

"Not quite so loud, please, " quietly responded the general. "Yes, Carfora, here I am. Here I must hide, too, for a few hours. The camp isno longer a safe place for me, even in the disguise I was wearing. Thereis really nothing more to keep me there now. I do not need to run anyfurther risks on account of Paredes and his tin monarchy. He is alreadyutterly ruined. I must get out of the reach of Santa Anna'slieutenants, however, if I do not wish to be locked up. You and I canslip away all the more easily while this tumult is going on, and by noonto-morrow we may be well out on the road to Oaxaca. Will you be ready?"

"It's just what I was wishing for!" exclaimed Ned. "I know enough to seethat it isn't a good thing for Señora Paez to have me in the house. Shehas troubles enough of her own. So has Señora Tassara. If an enemy oftheirs found that they had a gringo here, it would make things worse forthem. They've been real good to me, but I want to go with you. "

"Right!" said the general. "And there will be sharp eyes on the watchwhile Santa Anna's friends are getting ready for his arrival. He mayappear to come peaceably, but do I not know him? He never yet forgot orforgave an enemy. He will come back to settle up all old accounts. "

"Well, " said Ned, "we need not be here to be shot at. I packed up, allready, days ago. But, general, I guess I can ride better than I did theother time. I don't need to have so fat a pony. "

"My dear fellow, " replied the general, soberly, "you will be mounted ona horse that can make a swift run, if necessary. I am glad that youwill know what to do with him. "

In other things than horsemanship, Ned had made wonderful advances sincehe came ashore out of the norther, in the Bay of Vera Cruz. It was as ifhe had grown a number of years older in becoming so much moreexperienced. Moreover, he knew so much already about the plots andcounterplots which were going on that it was of little use to keep somethings from him. He was, in fact, almost full-grown as a Mexicanconspirator, and he was sure to do whatever he could against either amonarchy under Paredes or a dictatorship under Santa Anna. It was a fullhour later when they were joined by Señora Paez. She came on a specialerrand, for almost her first remark was:

"General, there will be danger from robbers of all sorts. I shall notdare to keep a great deal of money in the house. I have not much, either, that I can spare for yourself, but you must take this and spendit to beat them. What's more, I want you to take my jewels with you andhide them somewhere in the mountains. Señora Tassara's are already in asafe place. I hope Señor Carfora has enough. "

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Ned. "I have hardly spent anything, and CaptainKemp gave me another hundred, from father. I almost wish it were all inbank-bills, though, for gold and silver are heavy things to carry. "

"Well, as to that, " laughed the general, "I do not know what kind ofpaper money we could make in Mexico, just now. That sort of thing willdo only under a pretty solid government. But then, a dollar will gofurther in this country than it will in the United States. It looks asif horses were worth only five dollars a head, and men about half asmuch. There are too many that seem ready to sell themselves fornothing. "

He said that wearily and sadly, for he was at heart a true patriot andhe believed himself to be doing his best to bring a better state ofthings out of all this anarchy and confusion. 

Señora Paez left the room. Ned and the general lay down on the floor tosleep for awhile, and it was just when the first dim light of dawn wasbeginning to creep in at the narrow window that Pablo came to awakenthem. He put his finger on his lip as he did so, and they understoodthat there might be danger close at hand. It was not until they wereout of the house, however, leaving it silently by way of the back door, that he ventured to whisper:

"General, there is a guard already stationed in front. President Paredesis making his last effort to stop his downfall, and he has heard thatyou are in the city. All your friends will be closely watched, to-day. "

"I wanted to say good-by to them, " began Ned, but here they were. 

"General, this is the jewel case, " said Señora Paez, as she handed him asmall rosewood box. "Here is the money. Now, Señor Carfora, be a bravefellow. Learn all you can of our poor country. I hope to see you again. "

Señora Tassara was saying something in a very low voice to Zuroaga, whenFelicia turned to Ned and said to him:

"You are a wicked gringo, but I like you pretty well and I do hope youwill get away safely. Take good care of yourself. "

"Well, señorita, " replied Ned, "I will do that, and so must you. I'drather be out among the mountains than here in the city. You'd be saferthere, too. Anyhow, you are not a Mexican. You are a Spaniard and youwould rather be in Spain. "

"Maybe I would, just now, " she told him with a very melancholy look inher brilliant black eyes. "But I do love Mexico, and I do know enough towish we were not to have any more revolutions. That is, not any moreafter Paredes and Santa Anna and some other men have been killed. "

"That is the way they all feel about each other, " broke in the general. "Come, Carfora. We have horses waiting for us on one of the backstreets. "

There were a few hasty good-bys then. The three fugitives passed out ofsight among the shadows of the buildings, and the women returned to thehouse to wait for the downfall of King or Emperor Paredes. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE REVOLUTION

There had been a curious impression upon the minds of some Americanstatesmen that General Santa Anna would return to his native countrywith a purpose of making peace. It was for that reason that he waspermitted to pass unhindered through the blockading fleet in the Gulf, but he had no such idea in his cunning and ambitious head. His realobjects in returning were to take vengeance upon his enemies, to restorehimself to the supreme power which he had lost by the revolution of1840, and, for that purpose, to prosecute the war with the United Stateswith all possible vigor. His personal feeling in that matter might havebeen understood by recalling the fact that his downfall had resultedfrom his severe defeat in attempting to conquer the earlier Americansettlers in Texas. On his arrival in Vera Cruz, on the 16th of August, a proclamation which he at once issued, denouncing alike themonarchical ambition of President Paredes and the wicked invasion ofMexico by the armies of the northern republic, opened the eyes of allconcerned. When, however, with all the troops at his disposal, he slowlyapproached the city of Mexico, he put on a cloak of patrioticmoderation. The existing government, consisting of Vice-President Bravoand the Congress, had succeeded in imprisoning and then in banishingtheir would-be emperor, Paredes. They now, as the returning exile drewnear the capital, offered him a temporary dictatorship of the disorderednational affairs, but he modestly replied that he did not desire somuch. He had returned, he said, as a pure and unselfish patriot, only toserve his country. All that he would be willing to accept would be theabsolute control of the army, as if any power worth speaking of might besupposed to remain outside of his bayonets and lances. This smallrequest was readily granted, and from that hour onward he was, for thetime being, more completely the dictator of Mexico than he or any otherman had ever been before. He entered the city and assumed command on the15th of September. Only a week later, on the 22d and 23d, the fall andsurrender of Monterey strengthened his hold upon the people, for it madethem feel more keenly than ever their need of a good general. Hecertainly did act with great energy, for, as early as the 8th ofOctober, he had advanced with his army as far north as San Luis Potosi, and was straining every possible resource to prepare for his comingconflict with General Taylor. It is said that he even mortgaged hisprivate property to obtain the money required for his military supplies. 

During all these weeks and months there had been stormy times in theCongress of the United States, and the war of the politicians was by nomeans ended. General Winfield Scott, however, had been left at the headof the army, with authority to invade Mexico in any manner he mightchoose, but with about half as many troops as he declared to benecessary for such an undertaking. It was late in December, 1846, whenGeneral Scott in person arrived at the mouth of the Rio Grande andassumed the direction of military operations. As he did not propose anyconsiderable further advance into Mexico, except by way of Vera Cruz, hedecided to take his best troops with him to that field of the comingcampaign. This meant that General Taylor was to lose nearly all hisregular army men and officers, their places being filled, as to numbers, by new regiments of exceedingly brave but untried volunteers. He wastherefore left to face, with raw troops, any intended onslaught of SantaAnna, who would bring with him several times as large a force, of allsorts, most of it composed of recent levies, imperfectly organized anddisciplined. It remained to be seen which of the two kinds of men, theMexican Indian or the American rifleman, could be the more rapidlychanged into a trained soldier, fitted for a hard day's fight. 

Throughout all the interior of Mexico there was a fair degree of peaceand order, although robber bands were reported here and there. No signsof a coming revolution appear to have been discovered, for nearly allthe great leaders who might have set one on foot were either banished orshot, or were serving in Santa Anna's army, half hoping for his defeatand destruction that he might be taken out of the way of theirambitions. 

There came one cloudless day near the end of February, when a kind ofcool and beautiful summer seemed to rule over all the fair land ofAnahuac, except among the snow-clad Cordilleras. There were roses inbloom in many gardens of the city of Mexico, and all things in and aboutthe national capital wore an exceedingly peaceful air. The very guardsat the citadel were pacing listlessly up and down, as if they werelazily aware that all evil-minded gringos and other foes of theircomfort were several hundreds of miles away. At the city gates therewere no sentries of any kind, and a young fellow who rode in on aspirited pony, at an hour or so after noon, was not questioned byanybody as to where he came from or what he was doing there. He castsharp glances in all directions as he rode onward, but he seemed to haveno need for inquiring his way. He went steadily, moreover, as if hemight have business rather than pleasure on his hands, and he did notpull in his pony until he had reached the front of the Paez mansion. There was no one on the piazza but a short, fat old woman, in a blazingred cotton gown, who sprang to her feet almost as if he had frightenedher, exclaiming:

"Señor Carfora!"

"Dola!" he responded, sharply. "Don't say another loud word! Are eitherof the señoras at home? I must see them right away. "

"Oh, yes!" she said, turning to run into the house. "I will tell them. They are in the parlor, and the señorita. "

Down sprang Ned and hitched his pony to a post, but then he hurriedthrough the front door as quickly as Dola herself had done. Perhaps itwas well that he should get in without being recognized by too manyeyes. He did not have to actually get into the parlor before he waswelcomed, for a light form sprang out into the hall, and Felicia herselfshouted, eagerly:

"Oh, Señor Carfora! Are you here? This is wonderful!"

"Señorita, " he interrupted her, "I have letters for your mother andSeñora Paez. Where are they?"

"They are right here, " she said, "but we have letters, too. All theflags in the city are out and they are firing salutes of rejoicing. "

"I saw the flags, " he said, "and I heard some firing, but what on earthare they rejoicing over? Is there any news?"

The two grown-up women were standing behind her, with faces in whichthere was no joy whatever when Felicia exultingly told him:

"Why, have not you heard? General Santa Anna has beaten your gringo armyall to pieces. The United States fleet is coming to Vera Cruz withanother army, and the American soldiers will not dare to come on shore. All they can do will be to sit there in their ships and look at thecity. "

"Come in, Señor Carfora, " said Señora Paez. "I cannot tell you how gladwe are to see you. Yes, we have very important letters. I may supposethat yours are from the general. Please let me have them. "

"Do, Señor Carfora!" said Señora Tassara. "I cannot wait a moment. Wewill retire to read them, and, while we are gone, Felicia may tell youall the news from the great battle at the north. "

"Yes, so I will, " she exclaimed. "And I want him to tell me all aboutthe places he has been in, and what he has been doing. "

In a moment more they two were alone in the parlor, and she wasrepeating to him the substance of Santa Anna's report of the manner inwhich, at the hard-fought battle of Angostura, or Buena Vista, on the22d of February, he had shattered the American army under GeneralTaylor. He had, he said, effectively prevented its further advance intoMexico, and there was really a strong appearance of truth in his way ofpresenting the consequences of the battle, for the American army seemedto have retreated. Horse after horse had been ridden to death in takingsuch great tidings to the city of Mexico, and, for the hour, at least, the great Mexican commander was more firmly fixed in supreme power thanever. 

Of course, the triumphant bulletin did not make any mention of the factthat General Taylor had had no intention of advancing any further, beingunder express orders from General Scott not to do so, and that SantaAnna's well-planned and at first nearly successful attempt to crush thenorthern invaders had really proved a failure. Ned Crawford listened toFelicia's enthusiastic account of the battle with a curious question inhis mind which he was too polite to utter. 

"Why, " he thought, "if Santa Anna was so completely victorious, did henot make General Taylor surrender?"

There was no one to inform Ned that the Mexican commander had invitedGeneral Taylor to do so before the fight was half over, and that thestubborn old American had unkindly refused the invitation. At thismoment, however, the señorita's tongue began to busy itself with quiteanother matter. The United States fleet, under Commodore Connor, had, indeed, begun to arrive in front of Vera Cruz on the 18th of February, with a vast convoy of transport ships under its protection, having onboard the army of General Scott. Neither Ned nor the señorita was aware, however, how many important questions have to be answered before so manymilitary passengers might undertake to land, with all their baggage, within possible reach of the artillery of an enemy. Felicia, for herpart, was positive that they all were too badly scared by the Castle ofSan Juan de Ulua and by the bad news from Buena Vista to so much as tryto make a landing. 

"General Santa Anna himself is now marching down to meet them, " she toldhim, "with his whole victorious army, and he will crush them as fast asthey can get out of their ships. "

Owing to the grand reports from their army, this was precisely the ideawhich was forming in the minds of all the people of Mexico. 

"Oh, Señorita Felicia!" said Ned, as if he were quite willing to changethe subject. "I've had a wonderful time. I've been travelling, travelling, travelling, everywhere with the general. "

"Tell me all about it!" she commanded him. "I want to know. It seems tome as if I had been shut up here and had not seen anybody. "

"Well, I can't tell it all just now, " he said, "but when we left here wehurried all the way to Oaxaca. Then we stayed there awhile, among hisown people, and nobody gave us any trouble. No, I mustn't forget onething, though. A band of those mountain robbers came one night, and wehad an awful fight with them--"

"Did you kill any of them?" she asked, hastily. "They all ought to bekilled. They are ready to murder anybody else. "

"Well, " said Ned, "we beat them, and ten of them were shot. I was firingaway all the while, but I don't know if I hit any of them. It was toodark to tell. The rest of them got away. But I've hunted deer, and Ikilled a good many of them. I shot a lynx, too, and a lot of other game. There's the best kind of fishing on the general's estates. I likefishing. Then we went south, to the Yucatan line, and I saw some queerold ruins. After that, the general's business took him away up north ofOaxaca, and I went with him, and I saw half the States of Mexico beforewe finished the trip. I've seen the silver mines and Popocatepetl andIstaccihuatl, and I don't care to ever see any higher mountains thanthey are. "

"I have seen Popocatepetl, " she said, "and it almost made me have theheadache. They say it is full of sulphur, to make gunpowder with. "

Before she could tell anything more about the possible uses of the tall, old volcano, her mother reëntered the parlor. 

"Señor Carfora, " she said, "Felicia will have to give you up. Here aresome letters for you that came while you were absent. You had betterread them now, for I cannot say how long it will be best for you toremain here. Step this way a moment, if you will. "

Ned followed her, all in a sudden whirl of excitement at the unexpectedprospect of hearing from his far-away home, but she still held hispromised envelopes in her own hand, while she said to him:

"My dear young friend, you know that Colonel Tassara is with hisregiment. He was in the thickest of the fight at Angostura. He waswounded, but he hopes to recover soon, and we have not told Felicia. Hewrites me that it was really a lost battle, and that the fall of SantaAnna is surely coming, but that nobody can foretell what course he willtake, cruel or otherwise, when he and his army return to fight withGeneral Scott, on the road from the sea to this city. Go and read yourletters, and then I will see you again. "

Felicia had to give him up, and away he went. The best place to readhome letters seemed to him to be the library, and when he entered thedim old room, he half imagined that the man in armor nodded at him, andtried to say how d'ye do. After that, Ned almost forgot that he was inMexico, while he devoured the news from home. It was a grand thing tolearn, too, that the letters which he had feared would never get to NewYork had all been carefully delivered under the kindly care of theBritish consular system. He had never before felt quite so high anadmiration for the British Empire as he acquired just then. 

"I'll do something good for the next Englishman I get hold of!" hedeclared, with energy, and then he sat still and stared around the room. 

"It was just as well, " he said, "that I did not stay here and try toread all those books. I read enough about the ancient times, too. Whatfather wanted me to know about is Mexico as it is now, and I've seen agreat deal of it. What I want to see next is our army, and I'm going tofind my way to Vera Cruz. Then I'll get on board an American ship, somehow or other. I wonder if the Mexican officers will manage to arrestme between this and the seacoast. "

That was a point worth thinking of, for General Zuroaga had told himvery plainly that some ignorant or overhasty patriot might easily findan excuse for calling him a spy, and having him shot at a moment'snotice. He did not have a long time to consider that matter, however, for the door opened, and the two señoras walked in, with clouded faces. 

"Señor Carfora, " said Señora Tassara, "you will have no time to lose. General Zuroaga is right, and his letter must go at once to his friend, General Morales, who is now in command at Vera Cruz. So must one from myown husband. It is important, for the best interest of Mexico, thatMorales should know the whole truth. That is, he must be informed thathe cannot expect any help from Santa Anna's beaten army. Are you tootired to set out immediately? I can give you a fresh horse. "

"I'll go!" exclaimed Ned. "My pony isn't tired. He is a first-ratetraveller. I want something to eat, though, and I wish I knew whether ornot the army patrols will stop me on the way. "

"I can take care of that, " said Señora Paez. "I have had to send specialmessengers before this. You will be able to show a government pass. "

As she spoke, she held out to him a sealed envelope. Where or how shehad obtained such a thing, she did not explain, but it was an officialenvelope, and on it was a printed lettering which might have beentranslated: "Government Business. From the Headquarters of the Army. Despatches from His Excellency, General Bravo. " In her own handwritingwas added, moreover: "To His Excellency, General Morales, Vera Cruz. "

"There!" she said. "If it becomes necessary, show that, and any manhindering you will be promptly punished. Do not show it if you can helpit, however, for there are many kinds of army officers nowadays. "

"I have seen some of them, " said Ned, but what he was really thinkingabout most seriously, at that moment, was the supper he had asked for, and he was well pleased to be led down into the dining-room. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

THE DESPATCH-BEARER

There are hills to climb, on the crooked highway from the city of Mexicoto the sea, but the greater part of the distance is down, down, down, for its highest point is over seven thousand feet above tidewater. Itwas in a pass leading over this ridge that Ned Crawford looked aroundhim, up and down and ahead, and exclaimed, as well as his chatteringteeth would let him:

"Well, I'm glad there are no snow-drifts in my way. I suppose the armymen look out for that. But don't I wish I had an overcoat and some furs!Old Mount Orizaba can get up a first-class winter on his own account. "

It looked like it, and this part of his experiences had not been at allprovided for. The Cordillera was very white, and its garment of snow andice went down nearer to its feet than when Ned had first seen it. Moreover, the pony which had travelled so well when he cantered awayfrom the Paez mansion, some days before, was showing signs ofexhaustion, and it was manifestly well for him that he was now goingdown instead of climbing. So it was for Ned, and his uppermost wish wasto hurry down into a more summery climate. He was still doing so, to thebest of his shivering ability, two hours later, when a loud summons tohalt sounded in the road before him. 

"Whoop!" shouted Ned, and the soldier, who had presented his bayonet sosternly, was greeted as if he had been an old friend. Rapid explanationsfollowed, in Spanish, but before they were completed an officer had madehis appearance from a small but comfortable guard-house at the side ofthe road. He was only a lieutenant, and he appeared to gaze with morethan a little awe upon the superscription of Ned's precious governmentenvelope. He turned it over and over, and almost smelled of it. 

"Señor Carfora!" he exclaimed. "This must not be delayed for a moment!You must ride on, if it kills you. Come in and get a dinner. We willgive you a fresh mount. Tell us the news while you are eating. "

"I will do so, " replied Ned, with a tremendous effort to stop shiveringand look important. "But I will say that I was told that any maninterfering with that despatch would be shot in one hour. "

"Beyond a doubt!" declared the lieutenant, with emphasis. "It wouldserve him right, too. This is no time for trifling with orders. "

A hearty dinner by a blazing log fire made the despatch-bearer feel agreat deal better, but at the end of it no mercy was shown him. Hisfresh pony was ready, and he was ordered to mount and ride. He did sowithout offering any objections, and he carried with him thelieutenant's written pass, for possible use further down the mountain. It was a good thing to have, but he was called upon to present it onlytwice, receiving in each instance positive instructions to push onwardif it killed him and his new pony. 

"I can't stand this much longer!" he exclaimed, as the sun was setting. "I'm almost beyond the snow-line. I think I'll disobey the guards alittle, but I'll keep on obeying Señora Paez. She told me on no accountto try to sleep in a large town or village. They are all military posts, and too many questions might be asked. I'll try a hacienda, just as Idid on the other side of the mountains. Everybody wants to hear thenews. "

Everybody in that region was also genuinely hospitable, and it wasbarely dusk when Ned rode in at the gate of a substantial farmhouse, tobe welcomed with the utmost cordiality. Men, women, and children crowdedeagerly around him, to hear all he could tell them of the great battleand victory of Angostura, and of the current doings in the capital city. A warm bed was given him, and after a long sleep he awoke somewhatbetter fitted for whatever else might be before him. Once more he pushedon, but before noon of that day all signs of winter were far behind him. He had passed through more than one considerable village, but so hadother travellers, coming or going, who bore about them no appearance ofbeing worth the attention of the military authorities. Another andanother night in wayside farmhouses compelled him to admire more thanever the simple ways and the sincere patriotism of the Mexican farmers. All the while, however, his anxieties concerning the result of hisperilous errand were growing upon him, and he was obediently using uphis army pony. It was the forenoon of the third day before he wasaroused from his other thoughts into anything like enthusiasm for theexceeding beauty of the luxuriant vegetation on either side of the road. 

"Leaves! flowers! grass!" he exclaimed. "Oh, how beautiful they all are!Summer here, and winter only a few miles away. Hurrah for the _tierracaliente_! It's a bully place at this time o' year. "

At all events, it was a pleasanter place to be in than any icy passamong the Mexican sierras, and his thoughts were at liberty to come backto his present situation. He was not now upon the Cordoba road, by whichhe had left the gulf coast ever so long ago. This was the highway fromthe city of Jalapa. He was cantering along only a short distance fromthe seashore, and he was within a few miles of the gates of Vera Cruz. 

"I remember them, " he was thinking. "I never had a good chance for alook at the walls, but I suppose I shall have one pretty soon. I wonderif they are thick enough to stop a cannon-ball. Captain Kemp told methey were built all around the city, but he didn't say how high theyare. "

Walls there were, indeed, but their masonry was not the next thing thatwas to be of especial interest to Ned. There is no kind of stoneworkwhich can compare, under certain circumstances, with the point of alance or the edge of a machete, and the bearers of a number of suchweapons were to be seen coming toward him at a gallop. 

"It looks like a whole company of lancers!" exclaimed the anxiousdespatch-carrier. "Now I'm in for it! Everybody I met on the way wascivil enough, but these may be a different kind of fellows. "

Whether they were or not, the whole force under General Morales was in astate of unusual excitement that day, for the report was going aroundthat the American army brought by Commodore Connor's fleet was rapidlycoming ashore near Sacrificios Island, only three miles south of VeraCruz. If Ned himself had been aware of it, he might have changed hisplans and ridden right in among his own friends. As it was, however, inless than three minutes he had cantered in among a swarm of angryMexicans and glittering spear-points. Their state of discipline waswitnessed to by the fact that the captain in nominal command of them hadsome difficulty in obtaining from them permission to ask his ownquestions of this newcomer. When at last he succeeded in doing so, without first having his captive run through by a lance, it shortlylooked as if Ned had been learning diplomacy, if not strategy also, during his varied and wonderful Mexican experiences. 

"Señor Captain, " he said, quite coolly, pulling out his officialenvelope, "I am ordered to deliver this to General Morales in person. Iam commanded to answer no questions. Any man daring to hinder thedelivery of my despatches will be shot. They are important. "

"Where are you from?" came savagely back. 

Ned only pointed at the envelope and shut his mouth hard. 

"What is your errand to General Morales?"

Ned's brain was working with tremendous rapidity just then, and one ofhis swift thoughts got away from him. 

"Captain, " he said, "you had better ask that question of his Excellency, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. "

The officer's swarthy face turned pale for a moment, and all the men whohad heard Ned's reply broke out into loud vivas for their greatcommander-in-chief, the illustrious victor of the bloody field ofAngostura. The entire company became at once the zealous guardians ofthat sacred envelope, which so few of them could have read, and thecaptain was forced to restrain his curiosity, and allow Ned to continue, keeping his mouth closed. For all that, however, the despatch-bearer wasstill a prisoner, and was to be conducted as such to the presence ofGeneral Morales. The lancers turned their horses toward the city, andthe gates were reached as quickly as Ned's tired pony could carry him. At this barrier, of course, there were other guards and officers ofhigher rank, and there might have been further delay, or even danger, ifNed had not promptly exhibited the magical envelope, while the captainhimself repeated his own words for him, and curtly added:

"His Excellency, General Bravo! Viva Morales! Viva Santa Anna!"

That last word sealed the matter. The envelope was returned to itsbearer, and he was conducted onward under the care of two colonels, several other officials, and a half-dozen of watchful lancers. 

Ned shortly understood that General Morales had returned from the Castleof San Juan de Ulua to go out for a telescopic inspection of theAmerican landing, and was now at his headquarters in the city. 

"I guess I shall feel better after I get to him, " thought Ned, as he andhis excited party halted before the headquarters building. "I may getstuck with a machete yet, if I have to wait long out here. "

He was neither to be delayed nor slaughtered, and in a few minutes morehe was ushered into a handsomely furnished chamber, where the generalwas sitting, apparently entirely calm and self-possessed, surrounded byhis staff and a throng of other important men, soldiers and civilians. He did not say a word while a colonel of the escort was delivering hisreport concerning this messenger, but he was all the while sharplyscrutinizing Ned from head to foot. 

"Gentlemen, " he then said to those around him, "this may be something ofextraordinary importance. Come with me, Carfora!"

He arose from his chair, and Ned silently followed him into anotherroom. As soon as they were shut in here by themselves, he turnedfiercely upon the young despatch-bearer and demanded:

"Have you said anything to those men? Have you told a living soul whatyou know about these tidings?"

"No, general, not one word to anybody, " replied Ned, bravely, but therewas a strange thrill at his heart, for he saw that he was in deadlyperil. 

Morales tore open the envelope, and found in it several official-lookingpapers which it did not take him long to read; but now Ned took out froman inner pocket three others which were much smaller. The general's faceflushed fiery red, and his eyes were flashing with excitement while heswiftly examined them. 

"Carfora, " he exclaimed, "you are too young to have been sent on such anerrand as this. General Bravo! Colonel Tassara! Señora Paez! GeneralZuroaga! Ah, Santa Maria! And our brave army was shattered at Angostura, after all. This is dreadful news! You shall die before I will allow youto spread it among my men!"

"I shall not do so, " said Ned, with his heart in his throat "But may Inot tell them that General Santa Anna has checked the invasion at thenorth? Ought I not to say that he is now marching down to defend thecapital, and that he is going to strengthen your army at Vera Cruz? Why, general, that is just what he is going to do. "

The general was silent for a moment, and appeared to be lost in thought. 

"No, not now!" he then whispered between his set teeth, but Ned heardhim. "If I shot him, it would make enemies of Zuroaga and the Tassarasand Señora Paez. Bravo would not care. Carfora, " he added, aloud, "youmay go. You may talk as you have said, but you must not leave the city, and, if you say one word about our being defeated at Buena Vista, I willhave you shot. There are too many desertions already, and I can't affordto have my whole army stampeded by bad news. "

There was, therefore, an imperative military reason for keeping secretthe truth concerning Santa Anna's great victory, and Ned responded:

"General Morales, everybody will be asking me questions. I guess I knowexactly what you wish me to tell. I was ordered to keep my mouth shut. "

"See that you do!" growled the general. "Or a musket-ball will shut itfor you. Go out now. If I want you, I shall be able to find you. "

They walked out of the inner room together, and they found the mainoffice crowded, as if many more had hurried in to hear the expectednews. 

"Gentlemen! Fellow citizens!" shouted the general, enthusiastically, ashe waved his packet of despatches over his head. "This is glorious! Ourillustrious commander-in-chief, after having given such a severe lessonto our barbarous invaders at the north, is marching with his entireforce to our own assistance. He will soon crush our assailants on theseacoast as he has the gringo mob under Taylor!"

A storm of cheers responded, and the entire crowd seemed disposed toexchange hugs and handshakes, while he turned to an officer at a table. 

"By the Way, major, " he said, "write an order for quarters and rationsfor General Bravo's messenger, Carfora. I may need him again in a fewdays. Keep track of him. He is a civilian, but he is a trusted agent ofcertain parties whom you may know. "

The major began to write something, and, as he did so, Ned believed thathe heard him muttering words which sounded like: "Humph! Messenger ofhis Excellency, Santa Anna! We will take good care of him!"

Then the general carelessly signed the paper, which the major preparedfor him, and Ned walked quietly out into the open air. Once there, however, he took a hasty look at his "order for rations, " and discoveredthat with it he had now in his possession a full headquarters army pass, which permitted him to come and go anywhere, through the gates and allthe lines, without hindrance from anybody. He was established as anaccepted and even honored confidential despatch-bearer of thecommander-in-chief of all the armies of Mexico. He was not now to getentirely away without difficulty, however, for the whole building hadbeen full of men who were eager for all the news he could give them, andthey had followed him. They seized upon him as if he had been the lastedition of an evening newspaper, containing the reports of all the pastand with, probably, the news for to-morrow morning also somewhere insideof him. He did not get away from them for some time, and when he did so, at last, he was sure of being recognized by a considerable number ofpatriotic Mexicans, if they ever should meet him again. That might makehim safer, although he was no longer in any immediate danger. Moreover, although he was not in uniform, the cut and quality of his clothinginformed every person he met that he belonged to the higher orders, while the machete at his side and the pistols in his belt appeared toindicate that he was in some way connected with the army. 

"I know what I want to do next, " he was thinking. "My pony and mysatchel are at the headquarters stables. I can get them whenever I wantthem. I must go to the Tassara place. I can find it. Then I must manageto put them there, so that I won't have to show myself at theheadquarters unless I'm sent for. "

He had no difficulty in finding the Tassara homestead, and there was noobserver anywhere near him when he stood in front of the dwelling whichhad been his first hospitable refuge in Mexico. It had now, of course, alonely and shut-up look, and there was no getting in at the front door, for much knocking failed to bring a door-keeper. Giving that up, therefore, he made his way around to the rear, through the unoccupiedstables. 

"There is hay enough here for my pony, " he remarked, "but I had halfexpected that the house would be turned into quarters for troops. "

He may have overlooked the fact that the Tassaras were friends ofGeneral Morales, and that their house was under his protection. If itwere supposed to be so, nevertheless, he had cause to forget it againwhen he came to the back door, for it stood wide open, with anappearance of having been unlocked with a hammer. 

"Hullo!" he exclaimed. "I wonder if there is anybody in there now?"

The thought somehow made him draw his machete, and he went on into thehouse as if he were looking for a fight. The dining-room was enteredfirst, and it was utterly empty. Not so much as a chair was left, although its owners had certainly not taken any furniture away with themin their hasty escape by night, with Ned and Zuroaga. It looked a littlequeer, to say the least, and, as he went on from room to room, he foundprecisely such a state of things everywhere else. 

"I declare!" said Ned. "Either their friends or some robbers havecleaned this place of all there was in it that was worth stealing. Notso much as a bed left. I'll go and take a look at my old room. It was acubby-hole of a place, but it would do first-rate for me now. "

Perhaps it was so small and so out of the way that Ned had an agreeablesurprise ready for him when he reached it, for there still hung hishammock, and nothing else in the room had been molested. 

"Hurrah!" he shouted. "I've looked into every other room in the house, and this is the only one they didn't finish. I guess I'll camp hereto-night, after I've been out to get something to eat. "

It was true that he had orders for army rations, if he had known whereto find them, but he was also able to purchase whatever he might need, and he preferred to do so. At the same time, he had a clearunderstanding that, if he expected to ever see the United States again, he had better not show a great deal of cash in the city of Vera Cruzjust now. 

"There are plenty of fellows here, " he remarked, "who would cut mythroat for a silver dollar, let alone a gold piece. "

He sheathed his machete peaceably, and went out by the back door, determining to let as few people as possible suspect that the Tassaramansion contained a boarder, --or it was more nearly correct to saylodger. This was a wise decision to make, but he was not to hunt far forhis supplies that evening. Hardly had he gone a hundred paces from theTassara place before he was unceremoniously halted, and it was not by alancer this time. Before him, blocking his way, stood a very fat andapparently much astonished woman. 

"Madre de Dios!" she loudly exclaimed. "Señor Carfora! Santa Maria!Santa Catarina! San Jago! Diablos! Where did you come from?"

Ned had never before heard himself called by all those pet names, but heknew at a glance that this was no other than Anita, formerly the cookof Señora Tassara, and believed to be a devoted friend of the family. 

"Anita!" he exclaimed. "I'll tell you!" and he proceeded to do so, toher great gratification, for she was as hungry for news as he was forhis rations. 

"You come to my house, " she said, "and I will give you something fit toeat, and that is a good deal to say in Vera Cruz in these days. SantaMaria! How these ragged banditti do devour everything. We are to bedevoured by the accursed gringos, too, and we must eat while we can. "

Her idea, as a good cook, appeared to be that, if several thousands ofpeople were about to be shut up and starved to death, they ought all tofeed themselves as liberally as possible before the actual process ofstarvation should begin. Ned felt a strong sympathy with that notion, ashe walked along with her, and he was ready to tell her anything but theperilous truth concerning the lost battle at the north. As to that, itwas quite enough to assure her and half a dozen other patriotic Mexicanwomen, who were at her humble home when he went in, that the great andsuccessful General Santa Anna was hastening to rescue them from theAmerican barbarians who were at this hour getting ashore with a greatdeal of difficulty through the surf, which was wetting every uniformamong them. If anything at all resembling a "norther" had been blowing, the landing would necessarily have been postponed until it had blownover. Among other things, however, Ned told Anita of his visit to thehouse, and when the very good supper was ended, she led him to a roomwhich must have contained at least a third of all the space under herroof. It was anything but hollow space now, for it was heaped to theceiling with furniture, beds, bedding, and a miscellaneous collection ofother household goods. 

"There, Señor Carfora!" she said, exultingly. "The Puebla robbers didget some things, but we saved all these. They were not ready to carryoff heavy stuff, and when they came again, with a cart, at night, it hadall been cared for. The señora has not lost so much, after all. "

"You are a faithful woman!" said Ned, admiringly. "I'm glad, too, thatthey could not steal the house, for I want to sleep there. "

"It's the best place you can find, " she told him. "But you had betteralways bar the door at night, and sleep with your machete and pistolswhere you can reach them. "

CHAPTER XV. 

UNDER FIRE

"Where am I?" exclaimed Ned, as his eyes came lazily open the nextmorning, and in a moment more they were open very widely. 

He knew the room he was in, and his thoughts came swiftly back to him. There hung his sheathed machete at the head of the hammock, and hispistols lay at his side. There was as yet only just enough light to seethem by, but he sprang out and began to get ready for his first day in abesieged city. His satchel and pony, he remarked, would be safe enoughat headquarters, and he could go after them whenever he might need them. 

"I'll go to Anita's for breakfast, " he added. "I can pay her for it, too. Then I want to see the American fleet, if I can. Oh, but am I notglad that General Zuroaga gave me that old telescope? I've seen lots ofmountains with it, and now I'll make it show me the ships and the army. Oh, my soul and body! I'm part of the garrison of Vera Cruz. "

That was stretching the facts of the case a little, but he certainly wasserving under the wrong flag that morning. He felt queer and lonely inthat empty, robber-haunted house, and he was glad to get out of itwithout being seen. Anita welcomed him enthusiastically, for he hadbrought to her and her neighbors the good news of the coming of SantaAnna's victorious army, and he was a young Mexican patriot for whom shewas glad to cook a good breakfast for a fair price. After that waseaten, however, Ned's perplexities began, for the first Mexican officerwhom he met, on leaving Anita's house, curtly demanded a look at hispapers. He was altogether too well dressed a fellow to be allowed topass by unnoticed. With almost a fainting heart, Ned produced the passgiven him by the major at headquarters, but the next moment the bravesoldier's arms were around him, and he was hugged as a true comrade whohad ridden hard and far to bring good tidings. 

"I will show you the gates myself!" exclaimed the lieutenant, for suchhe was. "I shall be in command of a patrol that is going out towardSacrificios for a look at the gringos. Come on with me. "

This was precisely what Ned was wishing for, and, as they hurried along, he was pumped for all the news he had and a good deal more. In fact, hefound it a task of some difficulty to obey the stern commands of GeneralMorales and still keep within the truth. 

A gate was reached and passed, the officer at the gate receiving a kindof pay in news, and then Ned drew a long breath, for he suddenlyremembered that he had left the city, contrary to orders. 

"Never mind, " he said to himself, "I'm inside the Mexican army lines. "

In a moment more, he had forgotten everything but his spy-glass, apretty good one, for he and the squad of patrollers were at the summitof a low sand-hill, and there before them, only two miles away, theboats of the ships of war and the transport ships were coming and goingthrough the surf with loads of American soldiers. With them, and on allthe vessels in the offing, Ned saw something which had never beforeseemed to shine so splendidly, and it brought the hot blood fiercelyfrom his heart to his cheeks, because he could not just then break outinto a hurrah for the Stars and Stripes. The hurrah did get up into histhroat, but there it had to stop, and it almost choked him. His prudencegot the better of it, somehow, and his next thought was:

"Oh, but won't they have a tough time getting their cannon ashore!"

He was not so far wrong, for that was a problem which was troublingGeneral Scott and his engineers, but there was one thing more which Neddid not so much as dream of. In one of those boats a tall man, who wasnot in uniform, was leaning forward and gazing earnestly at the shore. 

"Mexico!" he muttered. "Ned is in there somewhere. I must have a huntfor him as soon as I can. I wonder if I did right to ever let him go. Even after we take Vera Cruz, there will be a long campaign and anyamount of hard fighting. O Ned, my son, where are you?"

Ned was there, indeed, very near and yet very far, and he was wondering, as were many American officers and soldiers, why the Mexicans did notcannonade the invading army while it was coming ashore. They might havedone so effectively, and in a day or two they did put a few guns inposition to send an occasional shot, but all the harm they did was tokill one man. 

The patrol party had now performed its duty, and it marched back again, but in that morning adventure Ned had discovered that he was really freeto come and go. Perhaps the Mexican commander had forgotten him in thepressure of his other affairs. Even when Ned went to the headquartersfor his pony and baggage, he was treated by everybody as a young fellowof no importance whatever, and at dinnertime he was able to tell Anitaall about the terrible ships and the swarms of invading gringos on theshore. 

That night the lonely room in the Tassara house was almost too lonely. Ned lay awake in his hammock through long hours, and was glad that hehad two armies to think of, so that he might keep from listening forpossible footsteps outside of his little chamber, or for an attempt bysome marauder to force open his door. He had barred that, and he hadfastened his window firmly, but he could not feel entirely secure, andhe got up twice to go to the door and listen. 

Day after day went by from that time in very much the same manner, andNed believed that he was learning a great deal about war, whether or notit would ever do him any good in business affairs after the war hadcome to an end. The entire American army, guns and all, reached theshore in safety, and all the while Santa Anna and his army were reportedas coming, coming, but they did not come, and the hearts of the besiegedgarrison and the terror-stricken people began to die within them. 

"They will be too late now, " thought Ned, but he did not dare to say asmuch to any of his Mexican friends. 

From time to time he had been out to ply his telescope upon the fleetand upon the army. He knew that all the American camps had beenestablished beyond the reach of any guns in the city fortifications, andhe had watched with intense interest the slow, sure processes of aregular siege, conducted by a rarely capable general. He had seen theerection of battery after battery, of which General Scott's artillerymenwere as yet making hardly any apparent use. He did not quite understandthat, in merely being there, more and more of them, those batteries werealready capturing the city. They were sending so few shots at the walls, or even at the grim Castle of San Juan de Ulua, because the Americangeneral wished to take Vera Cruz without bloodshed, if he could, and hecame very near to the accomplishment of his humane purpose. Undoubtedly, he would have succeeded in starving out the city, if he, too, had not received daily notice of the nearer approach of Santa Annaand all the forces which he could gather. Nobody but that generalhimself and his confidential officers knew how really few they were, orhow unfit to assail the Americans in their fortified camps on the shoreof the sea. So, a final day came when the surrender of Vera Cruz wasformally demanded, under the awful penalty of a general bombardment bythe American fleet and army in case of a refusal. Resistance, it wasdeclared, was now hopeless, and there was no military necessity forkilling anybody. General Morales sent back a positive rejection, for hestill entertained a faint hope of the timely arrival of assistance, andhe did not inform General Scott how sadly he had failed in all hisattempts to obtain supplies for the inhabitants and his army. Famine wasalready beginning to threaten all of the poorer classes who hadneglected their opportunities to leave the city, or who had been unableto do so. As for Ned Crawford's provisions, he had continued to boardwith Anita, or with any mess of military men among whom he might happento be. He had made many acquaintances, and he had found the ragged, unpaid, illiterate Mexican soldiers a genuinely hospitable lot ofpatriotic fellows. He came to his supper somewhat late on the evening ofMarch 21st, and that night, after going to care for his pony, he cameback and slept on a blanket on the floor of Anita's kitchen. On themorning of the 22d, he had but just walked out into the street whensuddenly all the air around him seemed to be full of thunder. Roarfollowed roar, and peal followed peal, and then he heard affrightedshrieks in all directions. The bombardment had begun!

"O Madre de Dios!" moaned the voice of poor Anita behind him. "O SeñorCarfora! We shall all be killed! What shall we do? Oh, the wickedgringos! What did they come here for? I never did them any harm. "

That was a terrible war question which was troubling Ned himself. Whatever might have been the evil doings of either of the twogovernments, or of all the scheming, ambitious politicians, the helplesspeople of Mexico were in no manner to blame. Why, then, he askedhimself, should any of them, like Anita, for instance, be killed bycannon-shot or torn in pieces by bursting shells? He could not settlethe matter in his mind just then, but he said to her, encouragingly:

"Don't be so badly scared. Up here in this northern part of the town, weare as far away from the shooting as we could be. I'll go over to thesouthern side of the city and see what is going on. As soon as I findout, I'll come back and tell you. "

"Oh, do!" she said, "but do not get killed. Come back and get somedinner. I will cook you a real good one, if you will. "

That was something of a promise, for he knew that she was one of theprudent folk who had looked out for their supplies in time, but hewalked away toward the southerly wall and the forts with a strongfeeling that he must be in the middle of a kind of dreadful dream. Hereached the line of antiquated and defective defences, which had beengood enough long ago, but which were not constructed to resist modernartillery. Old as it might be, the wall was in the way of his intendedsightseeing, but he saw a ladder leaning against the masonry, and up hewent without asking permission of anybody. He was now standing upon thebroad parapet, with his glass at his eye, and he was obtaining afirst-rate view of the bombardment. On the land, stretching away to thewest and south, were the long lines of the American batteries, within anot very long range of him, and from each of them at intervals the redsheets of fire burst forth, while over them the black clouds of powdersmoke arose to be carried away by the brisk March wind that was blowing. Far away to his right, or seaward, all at anchor in the positionsassigned them, lay the United States ships of war, of all kinds andsizes, and these, too, were getting at work, although they were as yetby no means putting forth their whole destructive power. It was as ifthey were but studying this siege business, getting the rangescorrectly, and were preparing to do worse things than this in the dayswhich were to come. Ned was gazing intently at a great 44-gun ship, which appeared to be sending her missiles at the castle, when a heavyshot from one of the batteries struck the wall within a few yards ofhim. It seemed to go deeply in, and the entire top of the parapet wastorn away for a width of several feet. Ned hurried at once to get a goodlook down into the chasm, for it was the first time that he had seenanything of the kind. 

"I wonder if our shot are doing this kind of thing for their batteriesyonder, " he said aloud, in the Spanish which was now habitual with him, but at that moment a not unfriendly hand was laid upon his shoulder, anda quiet, firm voice said to him:

"What are you doing here, Señor Carfora? You seem to have no fear. "

"General Morales!" exclaimed Ned, in astonishment. "No, your Excellency. I was not thinking of that, but of this big hole. I was wondering if thewalls of the castle are not stronger than these. If they are not--"

"They are much stronger, my brave fellow, " interrupted the general. "Iam going over now to see how they are standing it. The Americans arevery accurate gunners. Now, sir, you must not expose yourself in thismanner. You are not a soldier. Go back into the city!"

"General, " said Ned, pointing in the direction of the cathedral, "do, please, look! Some of their shot go over the wall and strike awayinside. I am safer here than I would be in yonder. What I am afraid ofis that a great many of the women and children may be killed. I think, sir, that you ought not to be here, either. You are the general. "

"My boy, " said Morales, sadly, "I was thinking of the non-combatantsmyself. This firing of the Yankees at the city is hideous. But it iswar, and it cannot be helped. Ah, me! Feeling as I do this morning, Iwould ask nothing better than that one of these accursed shot or shellshould come for me. I would a hundred times rather die than be compelledto surrender Vera Cruz. "

He again motioned Ned toward the ladder, and no disobedience waspossible. He himself followed, for his solitary reconnoissance wasended, and he had been practically assured that his walls were of smallvalue against heavy siege-guns. When he reached the ground, severalsubordinate officers came to join him, and Ned heard him say to them:

"That reckless young scamp, Carfora, has the nerves of an old soldier. He will make a good one by and by. We need more like him, for some ofour artillerymen left their guns under the American fire. "

There was never any lack of courage among men of his kind, a Spaniarddescended from the old conquistadors, while some of the officers aroundhim were Indians fit to have led their tribes for Montezuma against themen of Hernando Cortes. 

As Ned walked homeward, he halted several times to tell some of hisarmy acquaintances what he had seen from the wall, and how he had talkedabout it with General Morales. No doubt they esteemed him more highlythan ever for his patriotism and high social standing, but he spoke alsoof the danger to the people, and they were sure that his heart was withthem. Truth to tell, so it was, for the bombardment shortly became tohim more horrible than ever. Something he could not see passed over hishead, with a hiss that was almost like a human screech. Then followed aloud explosion, and there before him, on the bloody pavement, he saw themangled corpses of a Mexican mother and two small children, who had beenkilled while they were hurrying away to a place of safety. 

"Oh, the poor things!" sobbed Ned, as he burst out into tears. "What hadthey to do with the war!"

He could not bear to take a second look at them, and he hurried on, butwhen he reached the house he did not say anything about them to Anita. He told her about the batteries and the ships, and about the bravegeneral on the parapet, and then she and her friends who were with herwent away back into the kitchen, to be as safe as possible from flyingshot and shell. It was not, they appeared to think, at all likely thatany wicked gringo gunner would take aim at that kitchen. 

As for Ned, he had only come in to go out again, for keeping indoors, with all that cannonading going on, was altogether out of the question. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

GENERAL SCOTT AND HIS ARMY

"There they come! They are going to march right in! But what I want, most of all, is to see the general himself. There he is!"

Telescope in hand, Ned Crawford was standing on the parapet, near one ofthe southerly gates of Vera Cruz, watching the triumphant entrance ofthe American army. He could hardly have told whether he was more glad tosee them come, or because the siege and the bombardment were over. Hewas already familiar with the various troops of Mexico, and he knew thatsome of them, but not many, could perform their military evolutions inpretty good style. The one thing which struck him most forcibly now, however, as his glass was aimed here and there over the approachingcolumns and lines, was that at no point was there a flaw or a defect inthe orderly movements of the American soldiers. With admirable drilland under perfect management, they swung forward across the broad levelbetween their earthwork batteries and the badly shattered wall of thecaptured city. Compared with them, the garrison which had surrenderedwas, for the greater part, only a little better than an ill-provided, half-armed, undisciplined mob. Wealth, arms, civilization, scientificgeneralship, had all been on the side of the great republic of theNorth, and there had been no doubt, from the beginning, as to what theresult must be. The one important seaport of Mexico, with all itsforeign commerce, was now under the control of the United States, andcould not be taken from them. 

Ned saw one of the advancing lines melt beautifully into the shape of along column, and file through the gate near him. Then followed a sectionof field artillery and a small detachment of cavalry. All these were tobe admired, of course, but his eyes watched them only for a moment, forjust behind the horsemen came an exceedingly brilliant cavalcade, infront of which rode the remarkable man whom Ned was most anxious to see. 

Beyond a doubt, General Winfield Scott had many severe critics and not afew personal enemies. By these, he was said to be arrogant, blunt inmanners, opinionated, and also a military martinet with terriblyunvolunteer ideas relating to the rigid discipline required for successin war. He had seen, however, a deal of hard service in the war of 1812and otherwise, and his military record was without a flaw. There weregood judges, both in America and Europe, who believed and declared thatfor the management of a difficult campaign he had no superior among thegenerals then living. He was now actually called upon to prove that hecould perform apparent impossibilities under very trying circumstancesand with somewhat limited resources. Physically, he was a large, fine-looking man, and he was even excessively particular concerning thefit and elegance of his parade uniform. He was therefore looking hisbest when he rode in to take possession of Vera Cruz. 

Ned went down a ladder as soon as he could, after breathlessly staringat the great commander, but he did not succeed in witnessing theformalities of the surrender, whatever they were. The crowds in his waywere too much for him, but not long after General Scott and his staffdisappeared through the portal of the building which had been theheadquarters of poor General Morales, Ned worked his way through athrong of downcast Mexicans toward a young officer who appeared to be incommand of about a half company of infantry. From the excitement of themoment and from a good many months of daily custom, he spoke to thelieutenant in Mexican Spanish, in a recklessly eager manner and withouttouching his hat. 

"What on earth do you want?" was the curt and gruff reply. "I'm onlyLieutenant Grant. You'll have to see somebody else, whatever it is. Youhad better go and speak to one of the staff. "

If Ned had really been a young Mexican, speaking no tongue but his own, he might not have understood that perfectly. As it was, however, he atonce broke out with energy into a language to which he had for some timebeen unaccustomed. Even now, nevertheless, he forgot to touch his hat. 

"Well, Mr. Grant, " he said, "I've been all over the country. I've beenin the city of Mexico and among their troops, and I believe I know a lotof things that I ought to report to General Scott, or somebody. "

It was a patriotic idea which had been growing in his mind all thatmorning, and it had driven out of him every ounce of bashfulness. 

"You have, have you?" said Grant. "I declare. Seems to me you speakEnglish pretty well for a greaser--almost like a born American. I guessthe general's willing to hear almost anything. But you will have to seesome member of the staff. Hullo! I say! Captain Lee! Here's a kind ofspy. I think you'd better hear him. I can't leave my post. "

"Spy?" exclaimed Ned. "No, I'm not any such thing, but my name is EdwardCrawford, and I'm from New York. I got stuck in Mexico and I couldn'tget out. I've been all around everywhere. Things are mixed--"

"Grant, " said Captain Lee, "he may have something worth while. I'll takehim in to see Schuyler Hamilton. Let the captain pump him. "

Captain Robert E. Lee was not exactly off duty at that hour, for he andother engineer officers had been ordered to make a survey of thefortifications, but he was there to receive instructions and he couldtake Ned in with him. He was a taller, handsomer fellow than Grant, andhe was all of three times as polite in his treatment of Ned. Perhaps, however, Grant's first manners had been damaged by being addressed insuch a style, in Spanish, by an excited young Mexican. 

In went Ned and Lee, and there was no difficulty in obtaining aninterview with Captain Hamilton. Ned had never heard of him before, buthe was now aware, from Captain Lee, that he was a descendant of GeneralPhilip Schuyler and General Alexander Hamilton of the Revolutionary War. Ned thought of Señora Tassara's great ancestors for a moment, and thenhe did not really care a cent for pedigree. He even startled Hamiltonhimself by the energy and rapidity with which he told what he knew ofthe condition of things throughout the country, the movements of SantaAnna, and the political plots and conspiracies. Hamilton was a slender, graceful young man, handsomer than even Lee, and with piercing blackeyes. 

"Lee, " he said, "the cub is a genuine curiosity. I can't imagine how onearth he learned so much. He isn't a fool, by any means. General Scottwill be at liberty in a few minutes, and Crawford must see him. "

"All right, " said Lee. "I have my instructions now, and I'll leave himwith you. They say the old castle's badly knocked in pieces. "

If, as Lee intimated, the fortress of San Juan de Ulua was just then inbad condition, so was Ned when he heard what they were going to do withhim. He had supposed that his errand had been completely done to thesharp-eyed staff officer, but now they threatened to bring him beforethe general, whom he considered the most tremendous man on the earth. Itwas a little too much, but he drew a long breath and stood as straightas a ramrod, looking very red indeed. In three minutes more he wasbrought face to face with the commander-in-chief of the armies of theUnited States, and he felt as if he had been surrounded and compelled tosurrender. Captain Hamilton reported the matter in the fewest wordspossible, but all the while the general had been watching Ned, lookingright through him, and in a moment Ned found himself feeling perfectlyeasy. If General Scott had been his uncle, he could not have spoken tohim in a kinder or more carelessly familiar way. He questioned him aboutall his experiences, and an acute listener might have gathered that hepaid more attention to Ned's political information than to anything ofa strictly military nature. 

"Hamilton, " he slowly remarked, at last, "General Taylor did anexceedingly good thing for us down here, after all. The battle of BuenaVista was our own battle. Santa Anna will not be able to raise anotherarmy like the one that was so roughly handled up there. If it had beenhere, in good shape, we would have had ten times as much trouble intaking Vera Cruz. Santa Anna's power is already half broken. "

"Perhaps a little more, " suggested Hamilton. 

"Perhaps, " said the general, "but our patriotic young friend here hasmade a valuable report. Ah, McClellan! You and Beauregard are to makethe inspection of the castle with Captain Lee. Take Crawford back toGrant, as you go. He may serve with the Seventh as an unenlisted man. Let him have his orders, Hamilton. He is a brave fellow. "

Out went Ned with a pair of as yet undistinguished officers, both ofwhom were to be heard of again in after time, and it did not occur tothe very much elated "scout, " as he now considered himself, to correctGeneral Scott's apparent idea that Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant was aparticular friend and guardian of his. 

"Now, if this isn't bully!" he thought. "I've been on the Mexican sideall the while till now. I've been kind of part of the garrison of VeraCruz, but I've been praised by General Scott, for all that. I wonderwhat our folks at home would say to it!"

It was a grand thing to think of, and Ned felt as proud as if he hadbeen promoted for storming an enemy's entrenchments. 

There was another experience of an entirely unexpected character justbefore him, however. Hardly had McClellan and Beauregard turned him overto Grant, and while the latter was inspecting the order written byCaptain Hamilton, Ned was suddenly shaken from head to foot. Not thatanybody, Mexican or American, was actually handling him roughly, butthat a hoarse, eager voice at his right ear exclaimed:

"Edward! My son! Is this you? Are you a prisoner?"

"No, Mister, " responded Grant, before Ned could gather his wits to uttera word. "He isn't a prisoner, but I'm ordered to stick him into theoutside of the Seventh somewhere. Is he your son?"

"He is, lieutenant, " said Mr. Crawford. "And, oh, how glad I am!"

"Father!" Ned had shouted, as a pair of strong arms went around him. "How did you happen to be here?"

"I came on one of our own supply-ships, " said Mr. Crawford. "I'll tellyou all about it by and by. I had all but given up hearing anything ofyou, and we sail for New York to-morrow. Lieutenant, I haven't seen himfor more'n a year. I want a good long talk. "

"Of course you do!" said Grant, heartily. "Take him along, and let himreport at the camp of the Seventh to-morrow morning. You may go now, myyoung greaser, but you'd better get on another rig than that before youcome. "

"He will do that, " said Mr. Crawford. "Come along, Ned. Let's go wherewe can be by ourselves. I want to hear your whole yarn, from beginningto end, and I've all sorts of things to tell you. "

"Father, " said Ned, "I know just the place. We'll go and get supper atold Anita's, and we can talk all the way. Hurrah! How's mother?"

All the most important home news followed quickly after that, and Nedfelt that the capture of Vera Cruz was more important than ever. 

"I am going to let you stay here, though, " said his father. "You canlearn more than in any other way that I know of. "

"That's what I want, " said Ned. "And now I shall be in our army. "

The father and son were not walking very fast, but they could talkrapidly, and they had a great many things to say. They had some thingsto see, as well, for everywhere, as they went, they encountereddetachments of United States soldiers patrolling the city, restoringorder and setting things to rights. That they were doing so appeared tobe a tremendous surprise to large numbers of the inhabitants, who hadalmost been expecting to be ruthlessly plundered, if not murderedoutright, by these cruel barbarians from the awful republic of theNorth. Not all of them were panic-stricken in this way, however, forwhen the house of old Anita was reached, she was standing in thedoorway, and she greeted them loudly with:

"O Señor Carfora! I knew all the while that you were a gringo. I am soglad that we have surrendered! Santa Maria Gloriosa! Praise all thesaints! We shall have no more cannonading! We shall have plenty to eat!"

"That is just what we want, Anita, " replied Ned. "This is my father. Hehas come to see me, and you must give him some dinner. Then I will tellyou all about General Scott and the American soldiers. "

She had neighbors with her, as usual, and some of them had becomeaccustomed to regarding Ned as a kind of newsboy. They were now alsoprepared to thank a large number of religious personages that he was agenuine gringo, and on good terms with the conquering invaders, who werehenceforth to have the control of affairs in Vera Cruz. 

It was late that night when Ned said good-by to his father, and it waslike pulling teeth to let him go, but there was no help for it, as thesailing of the supply-ship could not be delayed. Ned was once more alonein Mexico, and it took all his enthusiasm for his expected army life toreconcile him to the situation. Perhaps there was not a great deal ofsound sleeping done, in the hammock that swung in the little room in theTassara mansion, but at an early hour next morning he was on his way tohunt up the camp of the Seventh Infantry and the tent of LieutenantGrant. This was accomplished without much difficulty, and almostimmediately Ned made a discovery. His probable coming had, of course, been reported to the colonel commanding the regiment, and thatofficer's common-sense remark was:

"Unenlisted orderly, eh? Yankee boy that can speak Spanish, and thatknows every corner of this miserable city? Just what we want. I'm gladold Fuss and Feathers sent him to us. He is the greatest general in theworld. Send your scout right here to me. I've errands for him. "

Therefore, the next chapter in Ned's Mexican experiences was that hefound himself sent out, soldierlike, upon a long list of duties, forwhich he was peculiarly well prepared by knowing where to find streetsand houses which were as yet unknown to the rank and file of the gallantSeventh. The men, on their part, soon came to regard him as a soldierboy, like themselves, and he had a fine opportunity for learning, fromday to day, the processes by which General Scott was organizing hisforce for his intended march across the sierra, on the road he hadselected for reaching the city of Mexico. It was soon to be plainlyunderstood that, whenever that army should march, it would do so as asort of human machine, ready to perform any military work which itscommander might require of it. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

THE MOUNTAIN PASSES

"Grant, " said Captain Lee, "what did Crawford say to you about thatCerro Gordo road? I want to know all I can. "

"Well, Captain Lee, " replied Grant, "here he is, to speak for himself. He says he came down that trail in midwinter. He studied it, too, because his friend, General Zuroaga, told him it was built by a Spanishfellow by the name of Cortes. "

"Good!" said Lee. "Seems to me I've heard of him somewhere, but who isZuroaga? Tell me about him, Crawford. Does he know anything?"

By this time, Ned had become pretty well acquainted with Lee and anumber of other officers, and with their free, open-hearted way ofdealing with each other. He could tell, therefore, without any restraintor bashfulness, all that was necessary concerning his distinguishedMexican friend and benefactor. 

"I see, " said the captain. "He is one of their many revolutions. Allright. But I wish old man Cortes hadn't left his road so narrow andsteep as they say it is. Tell me all you saw, Crawford. I have otheraccounts, but I want yours. Look at this map and answer my questions. "

He held in his hand what purported to be a very rough sketch of thehighway from the city of Jalapa to the city of Mexico. It also pretendedto give a fair idea of the section of that road which crossed themountain spur known as Cerro Gordo. 

"From there to there, " said Lee, "how is it?"

"Crooked as a rail fence, " replied Ned. "It isn't like that at all. It'sa zigzag, with rocks on one side and ravines on the other. "

"Just as I supposed, " said Lee. "Now, mark the zigzags on this otherpaper, as well as you can remember them. "

They were sitting in Grant's tent, in the camp of the Seventh Regiment, and the entire advance-guard of the army was encamped in like manner, waiting for orders from General Scott to climb the mountains beforethem. Ned took the crayon handed him, and he really appeared to dopretty well with it, but he explained that the rough weather and thecondition of his pony had compelled him to dismount and come part ofthe way down the mountain on foot, so that he had more time for makingobservations. 

"If they put cannon on a breastwork on that road, " he said, "they canblow anything in front of them all to pieces. "

"Grant, " said Lee, "that's just what they can do. Santa Anna has postedhis artillery at Crawford's zigzags, and that Cerro Gordo positioncannot be carried in front. It is perfectly unassailable. "

"What on earth are we to do, then?" said Grant. "Our only road to Mexicoseems to be shut and bolted. "

"I don't know about that, " said Lee. "There are others, if we chose totry them. But the general has ordered me, with an engineer party, to goout and find if there is not some way for getting around Santa Anna'sobstructions. I want you to let Crawford go with me. "

"O Lieutenant Grant!" eagerly exclaimed Ned, "General Zuroaga told methere was another place as good for a road as that is. "

"Go along, of course, " said Grant. "I'd give a month's pay to go withyou. Anything but this sleepy camp. "

Ned was ready in a minute, but he found that he was not expected tocarry with him any other weapon than his machete. 

"Take that, " said Captain Lee. "It will do to cut bushes with. I believeI'll carry one myself. We shall have a few riflemen, but we must becareful not to do any firing. We must scout like so many red Indians. "

Ned had formerly been on the wrong side of the army lines. During allthe long months of what he sometimes thought of as his captivity amongthe Mexicans, he had been occasionally worried by a feeling of disgrace. He had felt it worst when he was a member of the garrison of Vera Cruz, and on such remarkably good terms with the rest of the garrison and itscommander. So he had been exceedingly rejoiced when General Scottbattered down his walls and compelled him to surrender. It had been agrand restoration of his self-respect when he found himself runningerrands for the officers of the Seventh, but now he suddenly felt thathe had shot up into full-grown manhood, for, with a bush-cutting swordat his side, he was to accompany one of the best officers in theAmerican army upon an expedition of great importance and much danger. 

It was still early in the day when Captain Lee's party, all on foot, passed through the outer lines of the American advance, at the base ofthe mountain. All of them were young men, as yet without any militaryfame, and there was no one there who could tell them that their littleband of roadhunters contained one commander-in-chief and onelieutenant-general of the armies of the Southern Confederacy, and onecommander-in-chief and four major-generals, or corps commanders, of thearmies of the United States. It was not by such subordinates as thesethat General Santa Anna was assisted in his engineering or othermilitary operations. That day, however, and for a few days more, he feltperfectly sure of his really well-chosen position among the rocks andchasms of the Cerro Gordo. 

The engineering party was well aware that its movements might possiblybe observed from the heights beyond, as long as it remained in the open, therefore it wheeled out into the fields as it went onward, and was soonlost to view among woodlands. 

"Now, Crawford, " said Captain Lee, "recall and tell me, as well as youcan, all that Zuroaga told you about his proposed new road. "

Ned proceeded to do so, but, at the end of his recollections, he added:

"Well, the general said it would cost a pot of money to do it, now, andthat Cortes had no gunpowder to throw away. He could not have done anyrock-blasting. "

"Our difficulty about that is as bad as his was, " replied the captain. "We can have all the gunpowder we need, but we can't use any of it, forfear of letting his Excellency, General Santa Anna, know what we are upto. As for the cost of a new road, there is no government in Mexico thatwill think of undertaking it. It would cost as much, almost, as abrand-new revolution. "

There was a great deal of hard work done after that, searching, climbing, and bush-cutting, and Ned wondered at the ready decisions madehere and there, by the engineers. It seemed to him, too, that CaptainLee and other officers paid a great deal of deference to a younglieutenant by the name of McClellan. A small force of riflemen was withthem and a party of sappers and miners, but there had not been a sign ofmilitary opposition to the work which they were trying to do. Nevertheless, it began to dawn upon Ned's mind that sometimes picks andspades and crowbars may be as important war weapons as even cannon. Thatis, there may be circumstances in which guns of any kind are of littleuse until after the other tools have been made to clear the way forthem. 

Night came, and the entire reconnoitring party camped among the cliffsof Cerro Gordo, but at about the middle of the next forenoon all theofficers gathered for a kind of council. They were not yet ready to sendin a full and final report, but they had formed important conclusions, and at the end of the council Ned was called for. 

"Crawford, " said Captain Lee, "take that despatch to Captain SchuylerHamilton, or whoever else is on duty at General Scott's headquarters. Inmy opinion, this Zuroaga road will do, after we shall have made it, andwe can climb around into the rear of the Mexican army. If so, all theirbatteries in the old road are but so many cannon thrown away. "

Ned's heart gave a great thump of pride as he took that carefully foldedand sealed up paper. To carry it was a tremendous honor, and he was nothalf sure that it did not make him, for the time being, a regular memberof General Scott's corps of military engineers. He hastened back to theJalapa highway, and the first advanced post that he came to furnishedhim with a pony. Then he galloped on to the camps and to the general'sheadquarters, as if he had been undergoing no fatigue whatever. Heseemed to himself, however, to have seen hardly anything or anybodyuntil he stood before Captain Hamilton, and held out that vitallyimportant despatch. Even then he did not quite understand that it wasalmost as important as had been the surrender of Vera Cruz. But for thatsurrender, the American expedition would have been stopped at theseashore. But for this feat of the engineers, it would have beendisastrously halted at the foot of the Cerro Gordo pass. One minutelater, Ned's heart jumped again, for he heard the deep voice of thegeneral himself commanding:

"Hamilton, bring Crawford in. He seems to know something. "

Whether he did or not, he could answer questions quite bravely, and hecould tell a great many things which had not been set forth in the briefreport of the engineers. Probably they had not felt ready to say orassert too much until they had done and learned more, but Ned was underno such restriction, and he thoroughly believed in what he stillregarded as General Zuroaga's road. That is, if somebody like Cortes, for instance, could and would afford the necessary amount of gunpowderto blast away the rocks which he had seen were in the way. 

"That will do, " said the general, at last. "You may go, Crawford. Captain Hamilton, we have beaten Santa Anna!"

There may have been a slightly arrogant sound in that confidentassertion, but it was altogether in accord with the positive andself-reliant character of General Winfield Scott. He had unbounded faithin his own mental resources, and, at the same time, he had perfectconfidence in the men and officers of his army. It was, therefore, lessto be wondered at that they on their part entertained an almost absurdrespect for their martinet commander. 

Orders went out immediately for putting all the force which could beemployed upon the construction of the mountain road. Much of the workwould have to be performed at night, to keep it secret, and theMexicans, behind their impassable entrenchments on the old Cerro Gordopass, had no idea of the hidden plans of their enemies. Santa Annahimself may have believed that his antagonist had given up the hope ofever reaching the city of Mexico by that route. The new one, by which hedid intend to reach it, grew rapidly to completion, and Ned Crawfordobtained from his friend Grant repeated permissions to go and see ifCaptain Lee wanted him, and then to come back and report progress to hisown camp. 

"Lieutenant Grant's a man that hardly ever says anything, " said Ned tohimself, "but he's a prime good fellow, and I like him. He says he isn'tmuch of an engineer, though, and he couldn't build that road. "

Such a road it was, too, with bridges over chasms, where the buildershad to climb up and down like so many cats. Even after it was said to becomplete, it was fit for men only, for not even the most sure-footedmule could have passed over it. It was finished on the 17th of April, and on the following day General Scott issued his orders for all thevarious parts of the coming battle of Cerro Gordo. Strong bodies ofinfantry were to engage the Mexican front, and keep Santa Anna's armyoccupied, while the engineers piloted another and stronger column to thereal war business of the day. Ned had managed to get himself tangled upwith this climbing force, if only to see what use was to be made of hisand Zuroaga's new road. The morning came, and even before the sun was upsome of the troops were moving. 

"I guess it'll be an all-day's job, " thought Ned, as he and one of theengineer officers reached the first steep declivity. "Hullo! they areunhitching those artillery horses. What's that for?"

He was soon to know, for strong men took the places of the animals, andthe guns were hauled up and over the mountain by human hands. It wassevere work, but it was done with eager enthusiasm, and a few hourslater Ned was able to shout:

"Hurrah! Here we are, right in behind them. Hurrah for General Scott!"

Anything else that he might have felt like saying was drowned in thewild cheering which arose from thousands of soldiers, for there was nolonger any need for silence or secrecy. That part of the Mexican armywhich had been posted beyond the head of the pass was taken utterly bysurprise. Its commanders were for the moment unable to imagine whencehad come this numerous body of United States infantry, which appeared sosuddenly upon their unprotected flank. They therefore retreated, and theMexican army was cut in two, so that all of it which had been stationedin the pass itself was caught as in a trap, and compelled to surrender. These trapped prisoners were about three thousand in number, and Nedkindly remarked concerning them:

"Oh, but ain't I glad we didn't have to kill 'em! We didn't catch oldSanta Anna himself, though. They say the Mexicans made him President forthe battle of Angostura. I guess they wouldn't have done it if they hadwaited till now. "

Whether or not he was correct in that calculation, the road to the cityof Mexico seemed now to be open, unless the unfortunate republic couldprovide its President with another army. As for the American commander, his troops had more faith in him than ever, and with better reasons forit. It was afterward said that General Scott's written orders for thebattle of Cerro Gordo, and for others which followed, would answer verywell for full reports of them after they were won. 

The whole American army, except the garrison of Vera Cruz and smallparties posted here and there along the road, had now escaped from the_tierra caliente_ and the yellow fever. Immediately after the battle ofCerro Gordo, it marched on to the old city of Jalapa, among themountains, where its quarters were cool and comfortable. Not many milesbeyond Jalapa begins the great central tableland of Anahuac, and it wasneedful that the road leading into it should be taken possession ofbefore the remnant of Santa Anna's army should rally and constructbarriers at positions from which it might prove difficult to drive them. 

"If they do, " thought Ned, when he heard that matter under discussion bythe soldiers, "I hope General Scott'll send for me and the otherengineers. I'd like to trap some more prisoners. "

He was not to have any such chance as that, but he was not to be idlealtogether, --he and his engineers and his army. The division to which heand the Seventh Regiment belonged, under the command of General Worth, was shortly ordered on in the advance, to take and hold a strongposition, known as the town and castle of Perote, and here there wasindeed a long delay which was not engineered by the military forces ofMexico. The politicians and particularly the Congress of the UnitedStates had interfered very effectively on behalf of President SantaAnna. They had spent so much time in debates upon the legislationrequired for the gathering of fresh troops that the terms of enlistmentof about half of the soldiers under Scott were expiring. It was of nouse for him to move forward with a steadily vanishing army, and he wascompelled to wait for months at and about Perote, until the new mencould arrive and take the places of those who were going home. 

"I guess I won't enlist, " thought Ned, as that idea came again and againinto his mind. "Neither mother nor father would wish me to do so. ButI'm getting to be an old soldier, after all, and I won't leave theSeventh till it gets into the city of Mexico. "

Whether it ever was to accomplish that feat was only to be determined byhard fighting, and there came a day, the 7th of August, 1847, when thedivision of General Worth, then encamped at Puebla, received orders togo forward. The entire army was to move, and General Scott had about asmany soldiers with him as when he had landed at Vera Cruz in the spring. 

"Hurrah for the city!" shouted Ned, when the news reached him. "I wantto make a morning call at the Paez house. "

CHAPTER XVIII. 

SEÑOR CARFORA TRAPPED

"I never saw anything finer than this, " said Ned, aloud, as he slowlyturned his telescope from one point to another. "It is the oldbattle-ground of Cortes, when he and his Spaniards and Tlascalans tookthe city of Mexico. It was called Tenochtitlan, then. "

He was standing upon a granite ledge, on the slope of the mountainssouth of the city, and below him the nearest objects of interest werethe white tents of the American army, encamped there while negotiationsfor peace were going forward between the United States government andSanta Anna. These were not progressing well, for the invaders weredemanding more than any Mexican government could be ready to grant. Notonly was Texas itself demanded, but with it also all the vastTerritories of California, New Mexico, and Arizona. 

"Here we are, " said Ned again, "but it has taken us two weeks of awfulfighting to get here. There isn't any use in disputing the pluck of theMexicans. Away yonder is Churubusco, and over there is Contreras. Didn'tthey fight us there! General Scott and his engineers laid out thebattles, but I was with the Seventh everywhere it went. I'll have loadsof yarns to spin when I get home, if I ever do. "

Battle after battle had been fought, and the Americans had paid dearlyfor the long delay in the arrival of their reinforcements. All that timehad been employed by the Mexican President, with really splendid energy, in raising a new army and in fortifying the approaches to the city. Itwas almost pitiful to see with what patriotism and self-sacrifice theMexican people rallied for their last hopeless struggle with superiorpower. It was not, however, that they were to contend with superiornumbers, for the forces under Santa Anna were at least three times thoseunder General Scott. The difference was that the latter was a perfectarmy led by a great general, while the former were not an army at alland had very few capable officers. 

Ned had apparently gazed long enough, and he now made his way down therugged slope. He did not halt until he reached the door of his owntent, and there he was met by his friend and supervisor somewhat tartly. 

"Well! You are back, at last, are you? I didn't know but what you'd runaway. You may come along with me to-night. You may try and see yourfriends. The provision train I am to take in will get out again aboutdaylight. You may stay there one day, and come away with a train thatwill run in to-morrow night, but you'd better wear your Mexican rig, ifyou don't mean to have your throat cut. "

"All right, sir, " said Ned. "I'll run the risk. "

"I might not let you, " said Grant, "if you were an enlisted man, but youmay learn something of value to them and to us, too. Get ready!"

The fact was that Ned and his army, commanded for him by General Scott, were in a somewhat peculiar position. An armistice had been declaredwhile the negotiations were going on, and while, at the same time, thepower of Santa Anna was crumbling to pieces under him. It had beenagreed, on both sides, that all military operations should temporarilycease, and that American army-trains of wagons might come into thecity, with armed escorts, to obtain supplies. After some unpleasantexperiences with the angry mob of the city, it had been deemed best thatthe trains should come and go in the night, when the unruly Mexicansoldiers were in their quarters, and the too patriotic citizens were intheir beds. Ned had several times asked permission to accompany a train, and it had been refused, but it was now explained that this train wouldlike to have one more man with it who could talk Spanish. When, however, an hour or so later, he reported for duty, Lieutenant Grant remarked tohim:

"Well, yes, you can talk it and you can look it, but you can't walk it. Don't step off so lively, if you mean to pass for a Mexican. "

"Hold on, Grant, " said another officer, standing near them. "Don't youthink the Mexicans have been lively enough since we left Perote? I'vehad to step around a good deal myself on their account. "

"Just so, " said Grant. "But that's while they're fighting. When they'reat anything like work, though, it's a different kind of movement. Don'twalk fast, Ned, or they'll shoot you for a gringo. "

It was nearly midnight when the supply-train, commanded by LieutenantGrant, entered the city, and an hour was consumed in obtaining thesupplies and getting them into the wagons, for not a pound of anythinghad been made ready for delivery. No true-hearted Mexican really wishedto sell provisions to the enemies of his country. 

"Lieutenant, may I go now?" asked Ned, as the last wagon prepared tomove away. "There isn't a patrol in sight, and the Paez place is withina few squares from this. "

Grant replied only by a wave of the hand, for at that moment he hadbecome engaged in a sharp controversy with the one Mexican officer whowas present on duty for his own side. He had been fairly polite, but hehad not pretended to be pleased to see gringos in Mexico. Therefore, itwas almost without express permission that Ned slipped away from histrain and his escort upon his exceedingly perilous errand. 

The streets were dark and deserted, for the heavy-hearted people hadnothing to call them out of their houses at that hour. Nevertheless, Nedwas feverishly on the alert, and, almost without his knowing it, hismachete had jumped out of its sheath, ready for whatever might turn up. 

"Halt!" suddenly came from a deep voice at his right, as he stealthilyturned a street corner, and a tall form stepped out of the near shadowsto stand in front of him. 

Ned saw the long, bright blade of a lance pointed at his bosom, andthere seemed but one thing left for him to do. The holder of the lancewas beyond his reach, even if he had wished to strike him, but the lanceitself was not. All the strength he had in him seemed to go into thesudden blow with which he severed the wooden shaft, an inch or so behindits fitting of sharp steel. 

"Diablos!" exclaimed the astonished Mexican, as he struck back a heavyblow with the cudgel which remained in his hand. 

Ned parried as well as he could with his machete, but there was someforce left in the stick when it reached his head, and down he went. Hehad made a discovery at that very moment, however. 

"Pablo!" he exclaimed, just as a second Mexican sprang toward him with along knife in his hand. 

"Señor Carfora!" loudly responded Pablo. "Hold back your knife, Manuelo!It is one of our own men. O Santos! My lance! I have no other weapon. Itold them it was of the soft wood. How are you here, señor?"

[Illustration: NED SAW A LONG, BRIGHT BLADE OF A LANCE POINTED AT HISBOSOM]

"To see Señora Paez and General Zuroaga, " said Ned. "Is he in the city?"

"Hush! Be careful, Señor Carfora!" said Pablo, as Manuelo almostreluctantly sheathed his too ready long knife. "We were waiting here forhim. He has been to the palace, to meet General Bravo. Our regiment hasalready joined the army, but he is not yet sure about Santa Anna andsome other men. It is a dark time, señor!"

"Now, Pablo, " said Ned, "there isn't much to tell about me. I wascaptured when Vera Cruz surrendered. I was with General Morales. I gotin to-night, and I have a great deal to say to the general and SeñoraPaez and the Tassaras. "

"Zuroaga is here now, " said a low, cautiously speaking voice behind him. "Put up your sword, Carfora, and come along with me. I want to see youmore than you do me. I must know the latest news from General Scott'sarmy. Pablo, it was of no use. Santa Anna would make no terms with me, but his day is nearly over. Bravo's government has rejected the treatyoffered by the United States, and we are to fight it out to the bitterend. The gates have been shut, and there will be no more sending out ofsupplies. I think the war will begin again to-morrow. "

"Oh, dear me!" thought Ned. "There goes all my chance for getting outagain until after our army has captured the city. How my head doesache!"

The rap from Pablo's lance-staff had not really injured him, however, and all three of them walked on till they reached the Paez place withoutsaying another word. Here it was at once evident that they, or, atleast, the general and Pablo, were waited for. The front door opened toadmit them, and shut quickly behind them as they passed in. 

"Señora Paez, " said Zuroaga to a shadow in the unlighted hall, "thearmistice is ended, but I shall command my Oaxaca regiment in thefighting which is now sure to come. Let us all meet in the parlor andhear from Señor Carfora the American account of these lost battles. "

"Carfora?" she exclaimed. "Is he here? Oh, how I do wish to hear him! Ibelieve we have been told altogether too many lies. Our troops do nothalf know how badly they have been beaten, nor what is the real strengthof the American army. "

They walked on into the parlor, and here there were lights burning, butNed was not thinking of them. He was gazing at the pale face of a manin uniform and on crutches, who came slowly forward between a woman anda young girl, with a mournful smile upon his face. 

"Colonel Tassara!" exclaimed Ned. "I knew you were wounded, but are younot getting well?"

"Señor Carfora!" quickly interrupted Señorita Felicia. "He was hit inthe leg by a bullet at Angostura. He had a bayonet wound, too, and theythought he would die, but they made him a general--"

"I am getting better, Carfora, " said General Tassara, courageously, "butI can do no more fighting just now. I sincerely wish that there mightnot be any. The plans of Santa Anna--"

"Tassara!" exclaimed Zuroaga. "What we heard is true. He is utterlyruined. But the peace terms are rejected by all the government we haveleft, and our city defences must soon go down as did those at CerroGordo, Contreras, and Churubusco. We are to hear more about thoseaffairs from Señor Carfora. He was an eye witness of them. "

"Oh, my dear young friend, " said Señora Tassara, "were you with theAmerican army in all those battles?"

"No, not exactly, " said Ned. "I was with General Morales at Vera Cruz. Then I came on with General Scott all the way from the seacoast to thisplace. He has troops enough now, and he will fight his way in. I'm realsorry about it, too, for no more men need to be killed. "

"I think the gringos are just terrible, " said Felicia, as she came overand sat down by Ned. "I want to hear about them. I do hope they won't bedefeated now, though, for if they are nobody can guess who will beEmperor of Mexico when they are driven away. "

"She is not so far wrong, " said Tassara, sadly. "The future of ourcountry is all in the dark. Please let us hear your report. "

Pablo, of course, had not followed his superiors into the parlor, andall who were there were free to discuss the situation. The morning sunwas looking in at the windows when all of the talk was finished. Ned hadlearned that only the family and a few trusted servants remained in thehouse, but he would have eaten his breakfast with even a more completesense of security from any emissaries of the military authorities if hehad known how much they had upon their hands that day, the 4th ofSeptember, 1847. There had already been a sharp correspondence betweenthe commanders of the two armies, and now General Scott himself declaredthe armistice at an end. All the angry patriotism of the Mexican peoplearose to meet the emergency, and every possible preparation was rapidlymade for the last desperate struggle in defence of their capital. It wasas if the idea prevailed that, if this American force now here could bedefeated, the United States would give the matter up, instead of sendingmore troops to the assistance of their first insufficient battalions. 

"Señor Carfora, " said Senorita Felicia, "you must not go out of thehouse. I do not want you to be killed. "

"That is so, " added her father. "As the affair stands now, they wouldsurely regard you as a spy. You would be shot without a trial. All isconfusion. I fear that even General Zuroaga is safe from arrest onlyamong his own men. The army is the government. This nation needs achange. "

"General Tassara, " said Ned, "isn't our army bringing one?"

"The war is promising a great deal, " replied Tassara, gloomily. "It hasalready delivered us from King Paredes and Santa Anna and from half adozen other military usurpers. Moreover, all the lands which the UnitedStates propose to take away will be rescued from any future anarchy andwill be made some use of. They will be lost to Mexico forever within oneweek from to-day, for we cannot hold the city. "

General Zuroaga had quietly disappeared. Very soon, the Tassara familywent to their own room. Then not even the servants could tell what hadbecome of Señora Paez. Ned Crawford did not at all know what to do withhimself. He walked around the rooms below; then he went out to thestables and back again, but he was all alone, for Pablo and the Oaxacamen had gone to their regiment. He went up to the library and had aone-sided talk with the man in armor, but it did not do him any good, and he did not care a cent for all the books on the shelves. They couldtell only of old wars, fought long ago, and here was a real war right onhand, that seemed to be wandering all around the house. 

During all the long, hot days of the armistice, a kind of dull quiet hadappeared to brood over the city and its forts and over the camps andentrenchments of the besiegers. It had been something like athundercloud, which was all the while growing blacker and hanginglower, and before the end of the first day of renewed hostilities theanxious watchers in the city houses could hear something which soundedlike distant thunder. It was the occasional roar of a gun from one oranother of the batteries on either side, as a warning of the moreterrible things which were about to come, and more than once Ned groanedto himself:

"Oh, how I wish I were out there, with Lieutenant Grant and the Seventh. This is worse than being shut up in Vera Cruz. I didn't have anyregiment of my own, then, but now I belong in General Scott's army. "

Evening came at last, and all of the family was gathered behind thelattices of the parlor windows, to watch the detachments of soldiersmarch past, and to wonder where they were going. General Zuroaga was notthere, but there had been a message from him that there would be a greatbattle in the morning, for the Americans were moving forward. 

"We are in greater numbers than they are, " muttered General Tassara. "But we have no General Scott, and we have no officers like his. Almostall that we really have is courage and gunpowder, and these are notenough to defeat such an attack as he will make. The city is lostalready!"

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE STARS AND STRIPES IN TENOCHTITLAN

"What a roar it is! And so very near! I hope General Scott will notbombard this city, as he did Vera Cruz. It would be awful to seebombshells falling among these crowds of people!"

The American commander had not the slightest idea of doing anything ofthe kind, but there had been almost continuous fighting in the daysfollowing the termination of the armistice. Perhaps the hardest of ithad been at Molino del Rey, and the defences there had been carried bythe assailants. There appeared now to be but the one barrier of theChapultepec hill between them and a final victory. 

A hand was on Ned's shoulder, and a trembling voice said to him:

"Oh, Señor Carfora! Where have you been? I'm so frightened! Are thosecannon coming right on into the city?"

"No, " said Ned, "but I have been out all day. I went almost everywhere, and it seems as if the city were full of wounded men. The soldiers arecrowding in. Oh, how I wish I knew how things are going!"

There was a sound of sobbing behind them, and in a moment more the armsof Señora Paez were around Felicia. 

"My darling! My dear little girl!" she exclaimed. "Señor Carfora, too!The end has come. The Americans have stormed Chapultepec, and the cityis at their mercy. Alas, for me! General Bravo was taken prisoner, andmy beloved old friend, Zuroaga, was killed at the head of his regiment. We shall never see him again!"

Ned felt as if somebody had struck him a heavy blow. He could not say aword for a moment, and then he whispered:

"Poor General Zuroaga! Why, I had no idea that he would be killed!"

That is always so after a battle. Those who read the lists of the killedand wounded expect to find the names of other people's friends there, and not the names of those from whom they were hoping to hear an accountof the victory. 

"Felicia, " said the señora, "your father and mother are in their room. Do not go there just now. You must not go out again, Señor Carfora. Youhave been running too many risks. Talk with me for awhile. "

Whether or not he had been in any danger, it had been impossible for Nedto remain in the house during an entire week of military thunder storm, and he had ventured out almost recklessly. There had, indeed, been somuch confusion that little attention had generally been paid to him, andhe had even gone out through the gates to use his telescope upon thedistant clouds of smoke and the movements of marching men. He had seen, therefore, the steady, irresistible advances of the American troops, andhe had almost understood that to General Scott the capture of the citywas merely a matter of mathematical calculation, like an example inarithmetic. 

He went into the parlor with Señora Paez and Felicia, and there theysat, almost in silence, until long after their usual bedtime, but thesound of guns had ceased, for the siege of Mexico was ended. 

It was during that night that General Santa Anna, with nearly all thatwas left of his army, marched silently out of the city, and the lastremnants of his political power passed from him as the American troopsbegan to march in, the next morning. Of all the negotiations between theremaining Mexican authorities and General Scott, Ned Crawford knewnothing, but there was disorder everywhere, and it would have been moreperilous than ever for a fellow like him to have been caught in thestreets by any of the reckless, angry men who swarmed among them. On theevening of the 14th of September, nevertheless, he was standing in thePaez piazza with Señorita Felicia, and he saw a column of soldierscoming up the street. 

"Señorita!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Look! Our flag! Our men! Hurrah!Those are the colors of the Seventh! It is my own regiment, and if thereisn't Lieutenant Grant himself!"

"Do not go!" she said. "Do not leave me!" but she was too late, for hehad darted away, and in a moment more he was greeted with:

"Hullo, Ned! I'm glad you didn't make out to get killed. I knew youcouldn't get out, and I'd about given you up. Is that where you live?"

"It's the house I told you of, " said Ned. "They are the best kind ofpeople--"

"Go back there, then, " commanded the lieutenant. "Your father is outamong the hospitals just now, taking care of the wounded, but I want toknow where to send him. I'll see you again. I must go on to my post. "

Back he ran to the piazza, and even Felicia was compelled to admit thather friend Señor Carfora's own regiment was splendid, as its close ranksswung away in such perfect order. 

"But, " she said, "you might have been killed, if you had been with them, and I am glad you did not have to kill any of our people. "

"So am I, " said Ned, "now that it is all over. I guess this is the endof the war. But how I shall miss poor General Zuroaga!"

Rapidly and prudently, General Scott was occupying the city andrestoring order. With such wisdom and moderation did he perform hisduties as military governor that almost immediately the previouslydistressed inhabitants began to regard the arrival of the United Statesarmy as a positive blessing. At the same time, it was obvious toeverybody that months might be required for the necessary peacenegotiations. A new and firm Mexican government would have to beestablished, and much difficult legislation would be called for on thepart of the Congress of the United States, since that body was toappropriate large sums of money in payment for the territory to beacquired from Mexico. 

During three whole days, Ned went from camp to camp and from hospital tohospital, in search of his father, but Mr. Crawford had heard tidings ofhis son which satisfied him, and he stuck to his wounded soldiers. Itwas not, therefore, until the afternoon of the third day that Ned founda grand reception prepared for him in the parlor of the Paez mansion. 

"Father!" he shouted, as he hurried in, after Felicia, at the door, hadwarned him of what was before him. "Hurrah! Here I am!"

What happened or was said next, he did not know until he felt himselfsomewhat roughly shaken by somebody, and was forced to exclaim:

"Hullo, Captain Kemp! Are you here, too? I declare!"

"Here I am, " said the captain, "and I'm going to take you and yourfather back to New York on the ship that brought us. You have been inMexico long enough. "

Ned did not so much as have time to hurrah again before Señora Tassaracame forward to say to him:

"That is not all, Señor Carfora. For the sake of my husband's health, and for other reasons, he and I and Felicia and Señora Paez areintending to spend our next winter in the United States. We haveaccepted your father's invitation to be passengers with you. What do youthink of that?"

Ned could hardly say what he thought, but he tried to, and perhaps hisbest effort was made when he said to Felicia:

"Isn't it tip-top! I'll show you all over the city, --but I'm afraid youwill get awfully seasick on the way. I did at first. "

"She will have to run the risk of that, " laughed her mother, but afterNed's long conference with his father was ended, she and Ned spent therest of the evening in a discussion of the sights which were to be seenin the great city of the Americans. 

"There would be no use in your remaining here now, " Mr. Crawford hadsaid to Ned. "My business with the army will run right along for a time, but nothing else can be done until all things are quiet and settled. Then we may try and find out what good your Mexican experience has doneyou. "

Mr. Crawford went away at a late hour, but Ned was out of the houseearly enough the next morning. He had a strong notion in his head, andit led him to the grand plaza, to stand in front of the governmentbuilding which had been the headquarters of so many different kinds ofgovernments of Mexico. It was really a fine and costly affair, but theMexican national banner was no longer floating from its tall flagstaff. Instead of it was a broad and beautiful Stars and Stripes, and it hadnever before appeared to Ned so very beautiful. 

He was gazing up at that evidence that the city was in the hands ofGeneral Scott and his army, when a voice that he knew hailed him with:

"Hullo, youngster! That's our flag. Where's your friend Grant? Have youseen him?"

"Captain Lee!" exclaimed Ned. "Yes, I've seen him. He's all right. "

"So I hear, " said Lee. "And they say he distinguished himself at Molinodel Rey. His regiment lost a number of men, too. "

"Well, " said Ned, "I wasn't with my regiment in these battles here, butI'm glad that my army has taken Mexico. Grant's a splendid fellow. "

"My regiment! My army!" laughed Captain Lee. "All right; that's the wayevery American boy ought to feel. I guess you are right about Grant, too. He may be heard of again some day. "

"Tell you what, " said Ned. "When I get to New York, I mean to join oneof our city regiments as soon as I can. Then, if there ever is anotherwar, I'm going to join him. I'd like to serve under him. "

"Good!" said Lee. "And then I may hear of Colonel Crawford, of Grant'sDivision, United States Volunteers. Good-by. Take care of yourself. "

THE END. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

W. O. STODDARD'S BOOKS

AHEAD OF THE ARMY. Four illustrations by C. Chase Emerson. 12mo. Pictorial cover in color. Price, $1. 00, net; postpaid, $1. 15. 

 This is a lively narrative of the experiences of an American boy who arrives in Mexico as the war with the United States is beginning, is thrown into contact with such young officers as Lieutenant Grant and Captains Lee and McClellan, all of them destined to become famous later in American military history. 

THE ERRAND BOY OF ANDREW JACKSON: A War Story of 1812. Illustrated byWill Crawford. Cloth, 12mo, $1. 00, net; postpaid, $1. 12. 

 This tale is of the War of 1812, and describes the events of the only land campaign of 1812-1814 in which the Americans were entirely successful. 

JACK MORGAN: A Boy of 1812. Illustrated by Will Crawford. 12mo, cloth, postpaid, $1. 25. 

 It is the adventures of a boy of the frontier during the great fight that Harrison made on land, and Perry on the lakes, for the security of the border. 

THE NOANK'S LOG: A Privateer of the Revolution. Illustrated by WillCrawford. 12mo, postpaid, $1. 25. 

 The further adventures of the plucky Guert Ten Eyck, as he fought King George on land and sea. 

THE DESPATCH BOAT OF THE WHISTLE: A Story of Santiago. Illustrated byFrank T. Merrill. 12mo, postpaid, $1. 25. 

 A breezy story of a newspaper despatch boat, in the war with Spain. 

GUERT TEN EYCK. Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. 12mo; postpaid, $1. 25. 

 A hero story of real American girls and boys, in the American Revolution. 

THE PARTNERS. Illustrated by Albert Scott Cox. 12mo, postpaid, $1. 25. 

 A capital story of a bright, go-ahead country girl and two boys who helped her keep store. 

CHUCK PURDY: A New York Boy. Illustrated. 12mo, postpaid, $1. 25. 

 A delightful story of boy life in New York City. 

GID GRANGER: A Country Boy. Illustrated. 12mo, postpaid, $1. 25. 

 A capital story of American life. 

Lothrop Publishing Company--Boston

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GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON'S JUVENILES

THE BALE MARKED CIRCLE XA Blockade Running Adventure

Illustrated by C. Chase Emerson. 12mo, red cloth, illustrated cover. Net, $1. 20. Postpaid, $1. 35. 

 Another of Mr. Eggleston's stirring books for youth. In it are told the adventures of three boy soldiers in the Confederate Service who are sent in a sloop on a secret voyage from Charleston to the Bahamas, conveying a strange bale of cotton which holds important documents. The boys pass through startling adventures: they run the blockade, suffer shipwreck, and finally reach their destination after the pluckiest kind of effort. 

CAMP VENTUREA Story of the Virginia Mountains

Illustrated by W. A. McCullough. 12mo, dark red cloth, illustratedcover, $1. 50. 

 The _Louisville Courier Journal_ says: "George Cary Eggleston has written a decidedly good tale of pluck and adventure in 'Camp Venture. ' It will be of interest to young and old who enjoy an exciting story, but there is also a great deal of instruction and information in the book. "

THE LAST OF THE FLATBOATSA Story of the Mississippi

Illustrated by Charlotte Harding. 12mo, green cloth, illustrated cover, $1. 50. 

 The _Brooklyn Eagle_ says: "Mr. George Cary Eggleston, the veteran editor and author, has scored a double success in his new book, 'The Last of the Flatboats, ' which has just been published. Written primarily as a story for young readers, it contains many things that are of interest to older people. Altogether, it is a mighty good story, and well worth reading. "

Lothrop Publishing Company--Boston------------------------------------------------------------------------