“Great heavens, boy, you’ve been through an awfully tough ordeal, I can see that. But who is this personage here?” Mr. Reeves indicated Alvarez, who shrank under his gaze. Jack forced his voice out of his parched throat. “That is my assistant driver, Mr. Reeves,” he said. “We have had a good deal of talk as we came along and he tells me that he has a great longing to go back to his own country and _stay there_. He knows what it means if he comes back across the Border again, don’t you, Alvarez?” “Si, Señor Merrill,” stammered the Mexican while Bud glowered at him. “There’s something behind all this, Jack, that I can partly guess at,” declared Mr. Reeves, “but if you really want him to go, let him go.” “You hear?” croaked Jack in Spanish. “Si, señor.” “Then go.” The Mexican wheeled his horse, doffed his peaked hat in a graceful wave and in a loud, clear voice shouted: “Adios, señors!” He struck his spurs home and brought down his quirt. His horse sprang forward. Straight for the Rio Grande he rode and vanished over its northern bank. Five minutes later he was off American soil. On the opposite bank he paused once more, wheeled his horse and waved his sombrero in token of farewell. Then he vanished, so far as the boys were concerned, forever. “Now, forward,” cried Mr. Reeves. “Bud, you hold the cattle here till I send out some boys to help you bring them in. Jack, you come with us at once. You need doctoring up.” “Can’t I stay and bring the cattle in?” pleaded Jack. “Son,” said the rancher in a deep voice, “you’ve _done_ your duty; mine begins now. I haven’t heard your story yet, but I’ll bet my last dollar that you’ve done a big thing out there, and that the Rangers will be mighty proud of their boy recruits.” And then they rode forward to the ranch house and food and drink, and later to the unfolding of Jack’s story. As Mr. Reeves had prophesied, the Rangers were proud of their young comrades. And not only the circle of Rangers, but the whole state of Texas rang with their praises until the boys were afraid to look at a newspaper. As for Jack’s generous action in letting Alvarez go free, none but Captain Atkinson, Mr. Reeves and the Border Boys themselves knew of it, though Bud suspected, or “suspicioned” as he called it. A few days later the revolution was crushed, and they heard afterward that Alvarez had died fighting bravely for what he deemed the right cause. A few days later, too, the boys had to leave their kind Texan friends and wend their way homeward.