George could always find something to feel happy over, no matter how unpleasant the situation in which he might be placed, and he found something now. He had lost his fine herd of cattle, but Zeke was left to him, and so were his horse and pack-mule. The former had been stampeded with the cattle, but George knew he would not run far before he would leave them and strike a straight course for home. The two Mexicans who had followed the herd to head it off and turn it away from the settlements toward the river, would not bother their heads about him, for while they had three hundred fat cattle to look out for, they could not afford to waste time in pursuing a single horse. Bony was still staked out near the camp, and so was Zeke’s nag. They both made the most desperate efforts to escape with the herd, but the lariats with which they were confined were too strong to be broken, and the picket-pins were driven so firmly into the ground that they could not be easily pulled up. The Mexicans, when they were ready to leave the camp, would probably turn these animals loose, expecting them to follow their own horses, just as Silk Stocking had followed off the raiders who made the attack on the rancho; but that was something Bony would not do. He was very much afraid of strangers, and when left to himself he would make the best of his way home. The search for Zeke was continued? until broad daylight, and all this while George lay in his concealment watching the motions of the raiders and wondering what his herdsman had done to make the thieves so anxious to find him. When day began to dawn he discovered something that seemed to explain it all: there were five wounded men sitting and lying beside the fire. George knew that they were wounded, for he could see that they wore bandages, and that one who limped considerably and used a stick to walk with, would now and then get up to bring a cup of water from the bayou to two of his companions who kept their blankets. Probably one of these men was the leader of the band, and that was the reason why the others were so determined to find Zeke. But they had to give up the search and go away without him, as George knew they would. Shortly after daylight they began to come into camp by twos and threes, and when they were all assembled George counted eighteen of them. They talked earnestly together for a few minutes and then set about preparing a hasty breakfast, helping themselves bountifully to the contents of the pack-saddle, and using the cooking utensils which George had provided for his own use and Zeke’s.