Finally the trail made a direct turn for Agua Caliente and I again
"telegraphed" the Lieutenant to hurry up with all possible speed
and try to reach the place before daylight, my object being to
catch them in camp, as our horses would be too tired to run them
down after they were mounted on fresh horses.
My second messenger did not see the Lieutenant at all on the road,
for unbeknown to me he had started from headquarters soon after we
did, and after having met my first courier, had pushed on with all
possible haste.
When George and I were within a mile and a half of Agua Caliente
we met some of the stock feeding leisurely along the direction of
their old range. We examined them closely and found that they were
the Davis stock.
We had not gone much farther until Black Bess raised her head,
stuck her ears forward and commenced sniffing the air. I told
George to watch her, and he said: "We must be near them." So we
dismounted, took off our spurs, picketed our horses, and started
cautiously towards their camp.
When we were within three hundred yards we could see the glimmer
of their fires that had not entirely gone out, evidence that they
had not gone to bed till late. We crawled so near that we could
see the outlines of the fiends lying around the few coals that
were yet smoldering. Now and then a chunk would blaze up as if to
show the exact positions of the murderers.
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