Page:For the Liberty of Texas.djvu/111

Rh "To be sure. Stay here and watch, and I'll go down the stream a bit. He ought to come up soon."

Dan had hardly spoken when he espied a head coming up but thirty or forty feet away. It was the head of a Mexican soldier, evidently a spy.

"Halt there!" cried Dan. "Come back here, or I'll fire!"

It is doubtful if he would have fired on the swimmer, having no desire to open the war in person, but his threat had considerable effect.

"No shoota me!" cried the Mexican. "No shoota!" And then he continued to talk in Spanish, which Dan and his friend understood, but imperfectly.

"I want you to come back here," went on the youth, and he pointed his gun.

At this the Mexican dove out of sight, not to come up for a distance of a rod or more.

"Shoot him—you have the right," urged Henry. "Or else I'll do it."

"Don't, Henry, it might be murder. Besides, we were ordered not to discharge any firearms until we received orders. A shot down here would alarm the whole Mexican camp."

"But we don't want that rascal to escape, Dan."

"I have it." Dan looked around and soon found several fair-sized stones. "Come back at