In short, this night was one of those which in the history of humanity seemed destined to witness the accomplishment of dismal tragedies. The warriors marched in silence; they looked in the darkness like a crowd of phantoms escaped from a sepulchre, hastening to accomplish a work without a name, accursed of God, which night alone could veil with its shadow. At midnight the word "halt" was pronounced in a low voice. They encamped to await news of the scouts. That is to say, everyone, whether well or ill placed, laid himself down exactly where he happened to be, in order to be ready at the first signal. No fire was lighted. The Indians, who depend upon their scouts, never post sentinels when they are upon the warpath. Two hours passed away. The camp of the Mexicans was not more than three miles distant at most; but, before venturing nearer, the chief wished to ascertain whether the route were free or not; in case it should not be so, what were the numbers of the enemy who barred the passage, and what plan of attack they had adopted. At the moment when Loyal Heart, a prey to impatience, was preparing to go himself to ascertain what was going on, a rustling, almost imperceptible at first, but which by degrees increased in enormous proportions, was heard in the bushes, and two men appeared. The first was one of the Comanche scouts, the other was the doctor. The state of the poor savant was truly pitiable. He had lost his wig; his clothes were in rags; his face was convulsed with terror; in short, his whole person bore evident traces of struggle and combat. When he was brought before Loyal Heart and Eagle Head, he fell head-foremost to the ground and fainted. Earnest endeavours were immediately made to restore him to life. CHAPTER VI. THE LAST ASSAULT. The lanceros posted behind the entrenchments had received the pirates warmly. The general, exasperated by the death of Captain Aguilar, and perceiving that with such enemies there was no quarter to be expected, had resolved to resist to the last, and to kill himself rather than fall into their hands. The Mexicans, reckoning the peons and guides, in whom they scarcely dared to trust, amounted to only seventeen, men and women included. The pirates were at least thirty. The numerical disproportion was then great between the besiegers and the besieged; but thanks to the strong position of the camp, situated on the summit of a chaos of rocks, this disproportion partly disappeared, and the forces were nearly equal. Captain Waktehno had not for an instant deceived himself with regard to the difficulties of the attack he meditated--difficulties almost insurmountable in an open assault; therefore he had depended upon a surprise, and more particularly upon the treachery of the Babbler. It was only from having been carried away by circumstances, and being furious at the loss Captain Aguilar had caused him, that he had ventured upon an assault.