By this time, Ned had become pretty well acquainted with Lee and a number of other officers, and with their free, open-hearted way of dealing with each other. He could tell, therefore, without any restraint or bashfulness, all that was necessary concerning his distinguished Mexican friend and benefactor. "I see," said the captain. "He is one of their many revolutions. All right. But I wish old man Cortes hadn't left his road so narrow and steep as they say it is. Tell me all you saw, Crawford. I have other accounts, but I want yours. Look at this map and answer my questions." He held in his hand what purported to be a very rough sketch of the highway from the city of Jalapa to the city of Mexico. It also pretended to give a fair idea of the section of that road which crossed the mountain spur known as Cerro Gordo. "From there to there," said Lee, "how is it?" "Crooked as a rail fence," replied Ned. "It isn't like that at all. It's a zigzag, with rocks on one side and ravines on the other." "Just as I supposed," said Lee. "Now, mark the zigzags on this other paper, as well as you can remember them." They were sitting in Grant's tent, in the camp of the Seventh Regiment, and the entire advance-guard of the army was encamped in like manner, waiting for orders from General Scott to climb the mountains before them. Ned took the crayon handed him, and he really appeared to do pretty well with it, but he explained that the rough weather and the condition of his pony had compelled him to dismount and come part of the way down the mountain on foot, so that he had more time for making observations. "If they put cannon on a breastwork on that road," he said, "they can blow anything in front of them all to pieces." "Grant," said Lee, "that's just what they can do. Santa Anna has posted his artillery at Crawford's zigzags, and that Cerro Gordo position cannot be carried in front. It is perfectly unassailable." "What on earth are we to do, then?" said Grant. "Our only road to Mexico seems to be shut and bolted." "I don't know about that," said Lee. "There are others, if we chose to try them. But the general has ordered me, with an engineer party, to go out and find if there is not some way for getting around Santa Anna's obstructions. I want you to let Crawford go with me." "O Lieutenant Grant!" eagerly exclaimed Ned, "General Zuroaga told me there was another place as good for a road as that is." "Go along, of course," said Grant. "I'd give a month's pay to go with you. Anything but this sleepy camp." Ned was ready in a minute, but he found that he was not expected to carry with him any other weapon than his machete. "Take that," said Captain Lee. "It will do to cut bushes with. I believe I'll carry one myself. We shall have a few riflemen, but we must be careful not to do any firing. We must scout like so many red Indians."