After they had eaten and the disappointment had worn off a bit, Raquel’s spirits rose again. She would not return without cattle. It might take a little longer than she had expected, but she couldn’t be hindered as easily as that. And so she took careful directions--from Don Martin, from the old servant, from the boy. Again they were in the saddle--steady lope and trot and walk and lope, across burning deserts, cactus covered, with mirages unfolding on the flats before them. Sundown brought them to a rambling hacienda, where curious, tousled heads and frightened faces peered from a dirty doorway. An old man slept on his haunches against the wall. There was a well in the courtyard, and a pretty girl of eighteen or so brought a brimming _olla_ of cool water. She offered it to the handsome young Señor, first, blushing and casting down her eyes. Such young _caballeros_ did not step often into their desert courtyard. “_El rancho de Faustino Mirabal?_” But Señores, this was it. Faustino--he was not there. The cattle? They were scattered on the desert and yonder in those eastern foothills. It would take many, many days, many _vaqueros_ for a rodeo. What a pity! But the young sir could easily find all the cattle in the world near Nacozari. _El Rancho Escondido_, the Hidden Ranch, was wealthy, protected, and lay in the hills where there was much pasture. Raquel had tightened her belt for action. She had no thought of turning back now. El Rancho Escondido or some other _rancho_, it would be. “We’ll ride all night, Georgie, after the horses have rested,” she decided. “It’s easier riding in the cool of the night than sleeping on the hot sand, after a day in the sun, and when we stop for breakfast we can rest till afternoon, then push on to Nacozari.” She turned to uncinch the pinto. The Mexican Señorita came close to her. “_Oiga_, Señorito Raquel,” she breathed in a low voice, “listen, young sir, Raquel; do not ride by night; do not ride by the road. Stay here--in the court yard you may rest, and at dawn I will direct you by a short cut through the hills to Nacozari. You will be more rested and it will save time,” she added persuasively, “and----” she hesitated, but at an encouraging smile from Raquel added rapidly, “_soldados_, young Señores, soldiers; a new army of Mexico forms and, if you do not avoid their path, you will of a certainty be compelled to go with the soldiers who gather secretly between here and Nacozari. “By tomorrow they will be further south and east,” she added as Raquel and Georgie remained silent, momentarily stunned and uncertain what to do or say, “and the way will be clear again.” She stopped and looked dramatically about, although Raquel and Georgie would have been willing to testify there was no one within twenty miles. Then she closed her lips with an effort and seemed alarmed that she had said so much.