'I guess we are,' I said; 'but the sooner we strike water the better I shall be pleased.' It was nigh another half-hour, and we were both pretty nigh done, when we came upon the stream, and the dog couldn't have been more than a mile off. It was a bit of a thing five or six yards wide, and a foot or two deep in the middle. 'Which way?' says Rube. 'Up's our nearest way, so we had better go down.' 'No, no,' says I; 'they're sure to suspect that we shall try the wrong course to throw them off, so let's take the right.' Without another word up stream we went, as hard as we could run. In a few minutes we heard the dog stop barking, when we might have been half a mile up stream. 'We must get out of this, Rube,' I said. 'Whichever way they try with the dog, they are safe to send horsemen both ways.' 'Which side shall we get out, Seth?' 'It don't matter,' I said; 'it's all a chance which side they take the dog. Let's take our own side.' Out we got; and we hadn't ran a quarter of a mile before we heard a tramping of horses coming along by the stream. We stopped to listen, for we knew if they had the dog with them, and if he was on our side of the river, we were as good as dead. 'If they take the trail, Seth,' Rube said, 'it's all up with us. Don't let's run any more. We are men enough to shoot the four first who come up, and I only hope one of them may be El Zeres; that'll leave us a pistol each, and we will keep them for ourselves. Better do that, by a long way, than be pulled to pieces with hot pincers.' 'A long way, Rube,' I said. 'That's agreed, then. When I give the word, put the barrel against your eye and fire; that's a pretty safe shot.' As the Mexicans got to the place where we had got out, we stopped and held our breath. There was no pause--on they went; another minute, and we felt certain they had passed the spot. 'Saved, by thunder!' Rube said; and we turned and went off at a steady trot that we could keep up for hours. 'How long shall we get, do you think, Seth?' 'That all depends how long they follow down stream. They can't tell how far we are ahead. I should think they will go two miles down; then they will cross the stream and come back; and if they don't happen to be on the right side of the stream as they pass where we got out, they will go up another two or three miles, and near as much down, before they strike the trail. We're pretty safe of half an hour's start, and we might get, if we're lucky, near an hour. We ain't safe yet, Rube, by a long way. It's near thirty miles from Pepita's to the camp. We've come sixteen of it good--eighteen I should say; we have got another twelve to the road, and we ain't safe then. No; our only chance is to come across a hacienda and get horses. There are a good many scattered about; but it's so dark we might pass within fifty yards and not see it. There won't be a streak of daylight till four, and it ain't two yet.'