They saw me as quick as I saw them,
and I thought I was in for it. I was too near them to attempt to
get away, so all that I could do was to make the best I could of
it, take my chances and trust to luck. When I rode up I spoke to
them in my own language and one big burley looking Mexican said:
"No indetenda English," meaning I don't understand English. They
then asked me in their tongue if I spoke Spanish, which I
understood as well as they did, but I shook my head as if I could
not understand a word they said.
I dismounted, untied the blankets from behind my saddle, threw
them down near the fire on which they were cooking supper, but did
not unsaddle my mare. I was riding Black Bess, and one of them got
up and walked around her and examined her closely, and when he
returned to the fire he said: "Esta ismo muya wano cavia," meaning
that is a good horse. Another one in the crowd said he had in his
pocket just ten pairs of ears that he had taken from the heads of
Yankees, and this would make the eleventh pair. Now I thought my
time had come, but I had been in tight places before and had
always managed in some way to get out.
While it looked very blue, still I made up my mind that when it
came to the worst I would get at least one or two of them while
they were doing me up. I did not pretend to pay any attention to
their conversation, yet at the same time I could understand all
that was uttered by them.
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