Ned felt a little more at his ease as he sank back into his place of concealment. The danger of discovery was considerably lessened by this piece of strategy, but still his situation was anything but an agreeable one. There he was, cornered in a manger by a lot of men whose actions indicated that they were there for no good purpose, who were approaching the house in a stealthy manner, so as not to alarm the inmates, and who, probably, would think no more of making an end of him, if they knew he was there in plain sight of them, than they would of knocking over an antelope for breakfast. The situation would have tried the courage of a much braver boy than Ned Ackerman. The horsemen stopped when they saw the chestnut galloping to meet them, but moved forward again as soon as they saw that he was riderless. They rode up to the fence which surrounded the corral, and hitched their horses to it. The chestnut followed and mingled with their nags, but the men paid no attention to him. They gathered in a little group in the shade of one of the oaks that grew beside the corral, and held a consultation. Ned watched their movements with a good deal of surprise. “Why don’t those men catch that horse?” said he to himself. “If they are raiders, they ought to steal him; and if the man who owns him is there, he ought to catch him, to keep him from straying away. I don’t understand it at all.” While Ned was talking to himself in this way, he heard a latch softly raised. He turned his eyes in the direction of the rancho, and saw that one of the doors, opening on to the back porch, was ajar, and that somebody was looking out of it. He stood for a moment, turning his head first on one side and then on the other, as if he were listening for something, and then came out into full view. It was the Mexican cook. The moon’s rays fell full upon him, and the boy could see him plainly. “Now is my chance!” thought Ned, getting upon his feet, but standing in a crouching attitude, so that nothing but his head could be seen over the top of the manger. “If I can run fast enough, I can put myself in a place of safety and warn Philip at the same time.”