"They're not going to be so partickler when they're on the war-trail, I warrant ye. I don't see why it shouldn't do well enough." Most of the hunters agreed with the former speaker. The Indians would not fail to notice so many muffled tracks, and suspect there was something in the wind. The idea of "muffling" was therefore abandoned. What next? The trapper Rube, who up to this time had said nothing, now drew the attention of all by abruptly exclaiming, "Pish!" "Well! what have you to say, old hoss?" inquired one of the hunters. "Thet yur a set o' fools, one and all o' ee. I kud take the full o' that paraira o' hosses acrosst the 'Pash trail, 'ithout making a sign that any Injun's a-gwine to foller, particularly an Injun on the war-beat as them is now." "How?" asked Seguin. "I'll tell yur how, cap, ev yur'll tell me what 'ee wants to cross the trail for." "Why, to conceal ourselves in the Pinon range; what else?" "An' how are 'ee gwine to `cacher' in the Peenyun 'ithout water?" "There is a spring on the side of it, at the foot of the mountain." "That's true as Scripter. I knows that; but at that very spring the Injuns 'll cool their lappers as they go down south'ard. How are 'ee gwine to get at it with this cavayard 'ithout makin' sign? This child don't see that very clur." "You are right, Rube. We cannot touch the Pinon spring without leaving our marks too plainly; and it is the very place where the war-party may make a halt." "I sees no confoundered use in the hul on us crossin' the paraira now. We kan't hunt buffler till they've passed, anyways. So it's this child's idee that a dozen o' us 'll be enough to `cacher' in the Peenyun, and watch for the niggurs a-goin' south. A dozen mout do it safe enough, but not the hul cavayard." "And would you have the rest to remain here?" "Not hyur. Let 'em go north'ard from hyur, and then strike west through the Musquite Hills. Thur's a crick runs thur, about twenty mile or so this side the trail. They can git water and grass, and `cacher' thur till we sends for 'em." "But why not remain by this spring, where we have both in plenty?" "Cap'n, jest because some o' the Injun party may take a notion in thur heads to kum this way themselves. I reckin we had better make blind tracks before leavin' hyur." The force of Rube's reasoning was apparent to all, and to none more than Seguin himself. It was resolved to follow his advice at once. The vidette party was told off; and the rest of the band, with the atajo, after blinding the tracks around the spring, struck off in a north-westerly direction. They were to travel on to the Mezquite Hills, that lay some ten or twelve miles to the north-west of the spring. There they were to "cacher" by a stream well known to several of them, and wait until warned to join us. The vidette party, of whom I was one, moved westward across the prairie.