“Of course Zeke is there,” thought George as he arose from his place of concealment; but he had scarcely placed himself fairly upon his feet before he dropped back among the willows again. There were several figures moving about the fire, and there were riderless horses and mounted men near by. The men were all dressed in Mexican costume—the wide brims of their sombreros were plainly visible in the moonlight—and there were at least a dozen of them in sight. One of them seemed to be poking up the fire for the purpose of making as bright a light as possible, while the others were going into the willows with blazing fire-brands in their hands. Some of their companions had already gone in there armed in the same manner, for George could see the lights dancing about among the trees. The boy saw all this during the instant of time he was on his feet, and when he dropped back into his concealment again, his fear had given place to a feeling of exultation. The raiders were searching the woods in the vicinity of the camp, and of course they could be looking for nobody but Zeke. Probably the old fellow had given them a very warm reception. No doubt he had tumbled three or four of them out of their saddles, and the survivors were hunting him up with the intention of taking vengeance on him if they caught him. “But they’ll never catch him,” chuckled George, “because he’s too old a ‘coon. He has fought Indians too long to be beaten by a lot of lubberly Greasers.” George drew the tops of the willows closer together, confining them in that position by twisting their branches, and having thus formed a screen that was large enough to cover his head, he raised himself upon his knees, so that he could look over the grass and watch the motions of the raiders. They were certainly looking for somebody, and they seemed resolved to find him, too, for they did not grow discouraged and go away, as George hoped they would. Their failure only seemed to make them the more determined. First one and then another seized fire-brands and joined their companions in the woods, and finally those who were mounted, swung themselves out of their saddles and went in too, leaving the camp to take care of itself. “I wonder what Zeke has done to make them so persistent!” said George to himself. “Perhaps they’ve got an old grudge against him. They might as well go away, for they’ll not find him. He’s safe long before this time, and if I could only make my horse hear me, I’d soon be safe too.”