"What would be the use? Estero and I know the place. However, if you and Carmen like to go and have a look you may." Carmen was nothing loath, and two hours before sunset we saddled our horses and set out. I could speak more freely to him than to any of the others, and as we rode on I remarked how carelessly the camp was guarded. There were no proper outposts, and instead of being kept out of sight in the _quebrado_, the men were allowed to come and go as they liked. Nothing would be easier than for a treacherous soldier to desert and give information to the enemy which might not only ruin the expedition but bring destruction on the army. "No, no, Fortescue, I cannot agree to that. There are no traitors among us," said my companion, warmly. "I hope not. Yet how can you guarantee that among two or three thousand men there is not a single rascal! In war, you should leave nothing to chance. And even though none of the fellows desert it is possible that some of them may wander too far away and get taken prisoners, which would be quite as bad." "You mean it would give Griscelli warning?" "Exactly, and if he is an enterprising general he would not wait to be attacked. Instead of letting us surprise him he would surprise us." "_Caramba!_ So he would. And Griscelli is an enterprising general. We must mention this to Mejia when we get back, _amigo mio_." "You may, if you like. I am tired of giving advice which is never heeded," I said, rather bitterly. "I will, certainly, and then whatever befalls I shall have a clear conscience. Mejia is one of the bravest men I know. It is a pity he is so self-opinionated." "Yes, and to make a general a man must have something more than bravery. He must have brains." Carmen knew the country we were in thoroughly, and at his suggestion we went a roundabout way through the woods in order to avoid coming in contact with any of Griscelli's people. On reaching a hill overlooking San Felipe we tethered our horses in a grove of trees where they were well hidden, and completed the ascent on foot. Then, lying down, and using a field-glass lent us by Mejia, we made a careful survey of the place and its surroundings. San Felipe, a picturesque village of white houses with thatched roofs, lay in a wide well-cultivated valley, looking south, and watered by a shallow stream which in the rainy season was probably a wide river. At each corner of the village, well away from the houses, was a large block-house, no doubt pierced for musketry. From one block-house to another ran an earthen parapet with a ditch, and on each parapet were mounted three guns. "Well, what think you of San Felipe, and our chances of taking it?" asked Carmen, after a while.