No sooner did the latter find himself in water deep enough to wet his half-drawn-up feet than he realized that to a novice this crossing a ford was not such a simple thing after all. He tried his best to follow Andy, and in so doing exposed the side of his horse to the swing of the current more than policy would seem to dictate.
In consequence of this indiscretion, presently Tubby began to find that he could no longer keep exactly in the wake of the scout just ahead of him. Then he discovered that he was constantly losing ground, so to speak, and being carried further and further down the river, a foot at a time.
He could hear Lopez shouting something, but as the Mexican had unconsciously lapsed into Spanish, of course poor Tubby failed to understand a single word of the instructions he was calling.
"Hey, I"ll have to swim for it, fellers!" the fat boy shouted; though just what good it would do to inform his comrades of his predicament he could not have told had he been asked.
Rob turned in the saddle and saw that unless a miracle came to pa.s.s, Tubby was bound to get a wetting. He started to call out something, and then stopped short, for it was useless to try and tell the luckless scout what to do. Already his horse had reached the end of the ford and was in deep water, swimming l.u.s.tily for the sh.o.r.e; while the alarmed Tubby threw both arms around the animal"s neck, and held on for dear life.
Whether there was any real danger in the situation or not the other boys could not, of course, say; but Tubby"s way of clasping his short arms about his horse"s neck so as to prevent himself from being washed overboard was so comical that they had to laugh, even while urging their own mounts to the farther sh.o.r.e, so as to be on hand to render a.s.sistance if such should be needed.
To Tubby it was all serious enough; and no doubt just then he imagined that he stood a fair chance of being separated from his possessions and carried down the Rio Grande, perhaps to an untimely death.
CHAPTER XIV.
A GALLOP ON MEXICAN SOIL.
"Hey, Rob, tell me what to do!" Tubby could be heard shouting at the top of his voice, as he kept on hugging his horse about the neck, being evidently determined not to allow the current to pluck him out of his saddle, at any rate so long as he could maintain that rigid grip.
Even in that sudden emergency Tubby found himself depending on Rob as usual; and to hear him asking for information, one would believe that the young patrol leader knew more about river fords than a dozen native guides who had been used to crossing by this means all their lives.
Rob had reached shallow water, and immediately urged his horse down-stream, in order to come opposite the drifting scout.
"Just keep holding on, and the horse will bring you to land!" he called out encouragingly. "He is making a plucky fight, and getting in closer all the while. As soon as he strikes bottom it will be all over; so keep your grip, Tubby."
This the fat scout did; and just as Rob had said, presently the swimming animal reached a more shallow point, where he could get his footing and manage to swing in closer than ever. And in another five minutes Tubby emerged from the river, "looking like a half-drowned rat," as Andy a.s.sured him, for streams were dripping from each foot, and he was soaked from his waist down.
"Anyway, I had horse sense enough to keep my gun dry," Tubby observed.
"But what shall I do now, Rob? I"m weighing half a ton, I guess."
"You"re not apt to catch cold in this warm air," Rob told him; "and so you might as well let your duds dry on you. At noon, when we halt for a bite, you can open up your bundle and spread your blanket out for the sun to dry. After all, there wasn"t any damage done."
"Only to my feelings," Tubby reminded him.
"And they don"t count," said Andy, laughing at the recollection of the tragic way in which Tubby had embraced that horse. He had held to it about as a leech might have clung when applied to the arm of a patient in the old days when they bled sick men.
They at once turned their backs on the Rio Grande, and according to what Lopez told them, they were not likely to set eyes on the river again until their mission had either been successfully carried out, or proven a failure.
Rob took a fond look at the stream. Somehow it seemed to be the very last link binding them to their home land; for across the running water lay the good old United States. And they were now on foreign soil, where the Starry Flag at present was powerless to protect them from a mult.i.tude of perils.
Presently they could see the river no longer, because they were rising over a level stretch of country through which the flood at some time in the far past had cut a deep channel.
From now on, what was around and before them was to serve fully to occupy their attention.
When half a dozen miles had been pa.s.sed over, Rob began to notice that Tubby was not looking as happy as he might; and he feared that the pace was telling more or less on the stout chum.
"Are we going too fast for you, Tubby?" he called out; and instantly the other tried to look utterly unconcerned, as though he were enjoying himself to the utmost.
"What, for me?" he immediately answered, with a ring of indignation in his voice; though every jump of his horse caused him to shake like a mould of jelly. "Well, I should say not! You couldn"t move too fast to suit my mind, Rob. If I had an aeroplane right now you"d see me sailing away at the rate of a hundred miles an hour, and headed for that same old town of Chihuahua. Why didn"t we think to bring something like that along? Aeroplanes may be dangerous things, but then they"re a heap more comfortable than some nags I know!"
No matter how Tubby suffered, he seemed bound not to admit the fact; and knowing his stubborn nature, Rob did not try to show any further sympathy for him. If things really became too bad, perhaps Tubby would consent to ask them to hold up and let him have a breathing spell. But at any rate, they were surely putting the miles behind them, and before night-time would have made "quite a dent in that journey to the capital of the State," as Andy said.
Before the middle of the day came, Rob had the guide call a halt, for he knew it was punishment to Tubby to keep this up as they were doing. The sun was so scorchingly hot that the fat boy seemed very nearly as wet with perspiration as he had been soaked with river water a little earlier. But even then he complained at the stop, and told Rob he should have been able to hold out another half-hour or until noon. This caused the other scouts to exchange winks, and behind their hands tell each other that for dogged perseverance Tubby surely had them all "beaten a mile."
While they rested their mounts and had a cold bite, Tubby was induced to open his pack and spread out such things as seemed damp, so that when night came he would not have to lie down under a blanket that gave him a chill. Lopez warned the boys that while the day had been very hot, they would find good reason to wish they had two blankets apiece before morning.
"We found that out the time we were down at Panama," said Rob; "though, perhaps, being further north now may make a difference. But Tubby"s just got to have his blanket good and dry, and that goes."
Tubby managed to accomplish this; and as they packed up later on to continue their gallop, he told the others that the sun had done the business all right.
Several times during the morning"s run the keen-sighted guide had discovered moving figures far off. Rob had been thoughtful enough to bring a small but powerful pair of field-gla.s.ses, along with many other things; and these now came in handy to tell them whether the distant parties were seemingly Federal soldiers or members of Villa"s rebel army foraging for supplies.
"But if Villa"s men are holding all the ground between Chihuahua, from which they chased Salazar"s forces a little while ago, and Juarez on the river, why do we need to fear running across any Federal soldiers?" Andy wanted to know, when once Lopez, after taking a look through the gla.s.ses, declared that he believed the half dozen riders they watched going further away might be men in the uniform of Mexican regulars.
"Generally speaking, they do hold this territory, which mostly used to belong to the wealthy Terrazas family," Rob explained; "but reports have come in that several bodies of mounted regulars were dispatched from Ojinaga, where half a dozen generals and their men are fortifying their positions to make a stubborn stand against the rebels. These raiders have orders to cut the telegraph lines, and destroy all the bridges they can between Chihuahua and the border on both lines of railroad. And so you see, we are apt to run across one of these flying columns at any old time. That is what the good general warned me to look out for; because, of course, we have more to fear from Salazar"s men than from the rebels."
"Ginger snaps and pop-guns! I should say we had," exclaimed Tubby, "when we remember what precious doc.u.ment--er, I mean how much we want to see General Villa!"
Rob had not thought it wise to tell everything to the guide until they came to know him better; and hence his frown and vigorous shake of the head toward the talkative Tubby, when the other came within an ace of "letting the cat out of the bag."
They did not ride quite so fast during the afternoon, all on Tubby"s account, though no one dared let him know that, or he would have been very angry. As the day began to wane, and they seemed to be in a part of the wild country free from either rebels or Government troops, Rob suggested that they come to a halt and go into camp.
"We must have made as much as forty miles and more since morning, and so be that much nearer Chihuahua," he remarked; "and that"s good enough for one day. Perhaps to-morrow we may work closer to the railroad, and try to get in touch with some of Villa"s men, who will take us to him.
There"s Lopez dismounting, boys, so let"s do the same."
Merritt and Andy both grunted as they managed with some difficulty to get out of their saddles, after Rob had set the example. As for Tubby, he seemed to be glued in his seat, for while they saw him make a desperate effort several times, he did not seem able to accomplish a separation. Finally, with a foolish grin on his face, he beckoned to Rob to come nearer.
"I"m afraid you"ll have to give me a lift, Rob," he confessed; "fact is, I don"t seem able to raise either leg, I"m that stiff. That"s a good feller, just get me started and I"ll be all right, sure I will. And after I"ve jumped around a few dozen times I"ll be ready to dance a hoedown if you ask me."
But it was noticed that Tubby was unusually quiet all that evening, hardly bothering to move more than to reach out for his share of supper; nor did he volunteer to do his part in the cooking. "For what is the use," he complained, "when we have an experienced guide along who loves to cook?" And at one time, when Rob leisurely got to his feet and reached for a tin cup, Tubby even had the a.s.surance to call out softly after him:
"If so be you"re meaning to go to the creek for a drink, Rob, wish you"d fetch a cup of water for me, and thank you!"
The truth of the matter was that ride had been a terrible experience to the fat scout, and he had suffered much more than anybody suspected. But by slow degrees he would grow accustomed to the exercise, and perhaps even enjoy life in the saddle before they were done scouring the country in search of Villa.
Lopez had taken every sort of precaution to avoid having their camp seen by any hostile eyes. In the first place, he had selected for a site a spot that was fairly well screened by dense thickets; it was also in a sort of little depression or basin, where the glow of the small fire they had lighted to prepare their meal might not be discovered.
This blaze had been allowed to die out after it had served the purpose for which Lopez had started it; so that as they sat there, talking in low voices, only the soft starlight looked down upon them.
Tubby was later on discovered to be sound asleep; and as Andy and Merritt admitted feeling pretty drowsy themselves, Rob told them they had better get their blankets ready to do duty. He himself fixed that of Tubby, and managed to draw the sleeping scout under it without awakening him.
All seemed deathly quiet when Rob lay down to secure some rest. The guide had a.s.sured him that there was no need of their keeping watch, because his horse had been trained by a cowboy to give the alarm if any enemy came prowling around.
Confident that all would be well, the patrol leader settled himself as comfortably as was possible, under the conditions, and after some little time spent in running over in his mind various matters that had a connection with their mission to Mexico, he fell asleep.