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Updated: June 25, 2025
It would have seemed so from the relative directions in which they had gone. It was not so in reality. Whatever desire the zambo might have felt to get away from that spot, his antagonist had no such design. The latter had galloped out of the glade, but not in flight. He knew the zambo well enough to tell that his courage was now gone.
The mulatto and zambo Manuel and Pepe were their respective names in half-an-hour after were ready for the road. Their preparations did not cost them half that time; but a quarter of an hour was spent on the guisado, and each smoked a husk cigarrito, while their horses were grinding up the half-dozen heads of green maize that had been thrown them.
By the moon gleaming upon it, they could make out the figure of a horse and rider. They had no longer any doubt it was their intended victim. "Brother Man'l," whispered the zambo, "suppose he passes near! why not bring down the horse? you can't miss in this fine light both of us can aim at the horse; if we stop him we'll easily overtake the guero."
The major gradually slackened his pace, until he was square with the head of the column, and then fell back into the rear. This manoeuvre was executed in the most natural manner, but I could plainly see that the mounted Mexican had caused the major no small degree of alarm. The horseman proved to be a zambo, in pursuit of cattle that had escaped from a neighbouring corral.
Should he return for the powder-horn, and then waste time in reloading, the zambo might escape. He would soon reach the horses, and mount. Had it been day Carlos could easily have overtaken him, but not so under the night darkness. Five hundred yards' start would have carried him safe out of sight. The cibolero was full of anxiety. He had ample reasons to wish that this man should die.
Each one of them, so far as appearance went, might with safety assail an antagonist like the cibolero for either of them was bigger and bulkier than he. The mulatto was the taller of the two. He was also superior in strength, courage, and sagacity. A more unamiable countenance it would have been difficult to meet in all that land, without appealing to that of the zambo.
Now I am rounding off my narrative from the old camp, where Zambo has waited so long, with all our difficulties and dangers left like a dream behind us upon the summit of those vast ruddy crags which tower above our heads. We have descended in safety, though in a most unexpected fashion, and all is well with us.
At length becoming tired of this, they once more set their heads to business. The zambo was of opinion it would be useless to go farther that night they had no chance of coming up with the cibolero before morning in daylight they would more easily make out his trail. "Boy Pepe, fool!" was the mulatto's reply to these observations. "Track by daylight be seen spoil all, fool Pepe!"
Even as we looked, he sprang upon the back of the fugitive and flung his arms round his neck. They rolled on the ground together. An instant afterwards Zambo rose, looked at the prostrate man, and then, waving his hand joyously to us, came running in our direction. The white figure lay motionless in the middle of the great plain.
"They say," said Holroyd, "that these don't go. That chap you said was a Sambo " "Zambo; it is a sort of mixture of blood." "Sambo. He said the people are going!" The captain smoked fretfully for a time. "Dese tings 'ave to happen," he said at last. "What is it? Plagues of ants and suchlike as God wills. Dere was a plague in Trinidad the little ants that carry leaves.
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