The sun went gloriously down behind the notched purple mountains in front of us, and for a minute a clear fan of quivering light poured up the high arc of stainless sky. The birds awoke in the trees; leaves rustled. The fertile land exhaled a pearly mist. A dozen ragged soldiers, lying close together, began to improvise the air and words of a song about the battle of Torreon—a new ballad was being born.... Other singing came to us through the still, cool dusk. I felt my whole feeling going out to these gentle, simple people—so lovable they were.... It was just after I had been to the ditch for a drink that Treston said casually: "By the way, one of our men found this floating in the ditch a little while ago. I can’t read Spanish, so I didn’t know what the word meant. You see the water from these ditches all comes from the river inside the town, so I thought it might be a Federal paper." I took it from his hand. It was a little folded white piece of wet paper, like the corner and front of a package. In large black letters was printed on the front, "_ARSENICO_," and in smaller type, "_Cuidado_! _Veneno_!" "Arsenic. Beware! Poison!" "Look here," I demanded, sitting up suddenly. "Have there been any sick people around here this evening?" "That’s funny you’re asking," he said. "A good many of the men have had bad cramps in the stomach, and I don’t feel altogether well. Just before you came a mule suddenly keeled over and died in that next field, and a horse across the ditch. Fatigue or sunstroke, probably...." Fortunately the ditch carried a large body of swiftly running water, so the danger was not great. I explained to him that the Federals had poisoned the ditch. "My God," said Treston. "Perhaps that is what they were trying to tell me. About twenty people have come up to me and said something about _envenenado_. What does that mean?" "That’s what it means," I answered. "Where can we get about a quart of strong coffee?" We found a great can of it at the nearest fire and felt better. "O yes, we knew," said the men. "That is why we watered the animals at the other ditch. We heard long ago. They say that ten horses are dead down in front, and that many men are rolling very sick on the ground."