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 farther back, behind my friend's corral. I know the plaza, I know the streets. Where you would be blind, I can see."

"I couldn't have asked you to take this hazard with me, Felipe. But I'd rather have you than the cannon."

Henderson felt the sincerity of Felipe's fiber, this strange little man whose hidalgo traditions outweighed by far his new republicanism. He recalled the many small acts of kindness Felipe had done him when their situations were quite different, when the mayordomo had nothing to gain by making the lot of Don Abrahan's alien peon any lighter by word or deed.

They led the horses farther back among the trees, tying them directly behind the mud wall of the corral. They would have the benefit of the wall, said Felipe, without compromising his friend, for even a thief might tie his horse behind an honest man's house. The only thing that he deplored was the distance from the plaza.

"If we are obliged to make a run, Gabriel, it will be a long one," he said. "As we go along, make note of the turnings and the landmarks, so you may find your way back if misfortune conspires to keep me behind."

"We must find where she is," said Henderson, desperately eager. "After that—whatever comes. But we must stick together if we can."

They kept to the shadows as they went toward the plaza, passing so quietly that the dogs did not