"They have heard much," he said, "but it comes largely through Mexican channels. It is said that an American force from one of the Western States is moving on Santa Fé, and that it is likely to fall into our hands. It is said, also, that Taylor’s advance into Mexico has been stopped, and that another army under Scott is to go by sea to Vera Cruz, and thence attempt to capture the City of Mexico. I don’t know! I don’t know what it all means! Can it be possible that Taylor has been beaten and driven back? But we shall see!" "I know Taylor can’t have been beaten," said Phil; "but I’ll be mighty glad when we reach the Rio Grande and find out for sure everything that is going on." "That’s so," said Bill Breakstone. "News is contrary, But we’ll go; Our views vary, But we’ll know. Although we’ll have to wait a long time about it, as Texas runs on forever." The tenor of the messages soon spread through the train, and increased the desire to push on; yet neither Middleton nor Woodfall deemed it wise to give the animals too great a task for fear of breaking them down. Instead, they resolutely maintained their even pace, and bearing now to the eastward, still sought that Great River of the North which is greater in history and political importance than it is in water. The time, despite the anxieties that they all shared, was not unpleasant to Phil. He enjoyed the free life of the wilderness and the vast plains. He saw how men were knitted together by common hardship and common danger. He knew every man and liked them all; hence, all liked him. He could never meet one of them in after life without a throb of emotion, a sense of great fellowship, and a sudden vivid picture of those days rising before him. He also learned many things that were of value. He knew how to mend any part of a wagon, he understood the troubles of horses, and he could handle a mule with a tact and skill that were almost uncanny. "I suppose that mules, being by nature contrary animals, _like_ Phil," said Bill Breakstone. "I’ve always behaved decently toward them, but I never knew one yet to like me." "You want to treat a mule not like an animal but like a human being," said Arenberg. "They know more than most men, anyhow. It iss all in the way you approach them. I know how it ought to be done, although I can’t always do it."