"Eh?"

"And now, with my ear to the ground, I hear another lot of wagons in the distance, headed this way."

The guard looked non-plussed. He stood erect, listening. Then he spoke in Spanish to his fellow-Mexican, who, answering only with a nod, stepped further away to listen.

"I could tell you something, my friend, that it would be worth your while to know," continued Hal, craftily.

"What?"

"Only your ear shall hear it. Bend low, if you are curious."

The guard, without fear of the supposedly bound captive, stepped closer, bending over the young Army officer.

With a quick turn and a leap Hal Overton was up and at the throat of his captor. Taken so utterly by surprise the Mexican strove to leap back.

But Hal had grappled with him and wrenched the revolver away. The Mexican reached for his handy knife. It was no time for niceties. Hal dealt the fellow a swift blow on top of his head with the b.u.t.t of the revolver.

Mr. Mexican crumpled and lay where he had stood. But the other Mexican was closing in now.

"Get your hands up as high as you can, fellow!" ordered Hal. Just in the nick of time he remembered Captain Foster's instructions, and spoke in English instead of Spanish. But his gesture was eloquent enough for no words to be needed.

The second Mexican showed no cowardice, yet in this threatened battle at close quarters he dropped his revolver for the more trusted knife.

"Put your hands up and stop this nonsense!" commanded the young officer, stepping forward, holding the revolver at his belt, the muzzle covering the body of the swarthy foe.

The Mexican proved to possess no mean courage. With his knife-hand uplifted he sprang at Hal.

At that very instant a form hurled itself through the air. Private Simms fell at the feet of the Mexican. Without pause the soldier wrapped his arms about the Mexican's knees, throwing the fellow backward with jarring force. In another second Simms had possessed himself of the knife.

"Good!" came a devout chorus from the five bound but watching soldiers.

"Great!"

"That was a fine specimen of soldierly wit and promptness, Simms,"

commended Lieutenant Hal heartily.

"Not half equal to what I've heard that you've done in the Philippines and elsewhere, sir," replied Simms modestly, as he seated himself on the fallen foe. "Will you take this knife, sir, and free the other men, or shall I leave this fellow in your care while I set the men free?"

"I'll free them," agreed Hal, taking the knife. Inside of a minute the young officer had five more serviceable soldiers at his orders.

"Now, lash these two rascals," commanded Lieutenant Overton. "This fellow, first, whom I was obliged to beat with his own revolver."

The tying was done by two of the soldiers. Then the wretch whom Simms bestrode was treated to some of the same sort of consideration. The pair of Mexicans were laid side by side, after which the soldiers sprang to get their cartridge belts and rifles.

"Check and Varnum, you two stay here with your prisoners, and give them no license to shout or pa.s.s signals. Check, fix your bayonet, and stand over these fellows. If either opens his mouth, shove your bayonet into it. Varnum, make it your business to watch over Check and see to it that he doesn't get the noose from behind, as all of us did once."

While speaking Lieutenant Overton was fastening on his own recovered revolver and cartridge box.

"Now, you other four men," he concluded, "come with me. Silence and soft steps must be our watchword. Unless we have the worst sort of evil luck we'll find out what's going on at the water front."

The distance was not great. Hal did not make the mistake of moving his abridged command of four men down the road. Instead they kept to the woods or behind bushes as much as they could.

As he came within sight of the water Lieutenant Hal held up his hand--a signal to halt. Then he peered through the darkness.

"Just about as I had supposed," he whispered. "Guarez has a tug in at the pier--a steam craft that will move out, as it came in, without lights."

"Queer, sir, that some of the other men haven't acted--they must have seen the tug come in."

"But I am supposed to be on duty in this neighborhood, and so are you men as sentries," whispered Lieutenant Overton. "Our other men, up the river and down, must imagine that we have taken care of the tug, if the craft needed such attention, and so the other men are holding their own posts according to their orders. Now, come on, men. Crouch low and make no noise. If you see me run for the pier follow without waiting for orders."

The military party succeeded in getting within a hundred and fifty yards of the land end of the pier. From here Hal could make out the figures of men lifting the last two cases to the deck of the tug.

At the same instant a man on the pier caught sight of the advancing soldiers. With a shrill whistle the fellow leaped to the deck of the tug, calling out to some one.

Without loss of a second Lieutenant Hal sprinted forward, dashing on to the pier.

In the engine room of the tug a single bell sounded--the moving signal.

The last two cases had just been dumped on the deck, and two men leaped ash.o.r.e, rushing for the sh.o.r.e-ends of the hawsers.

"Lift that hawser and I'll shoot you!" warned Lieutenant Hal.

"Who in blazes are _you_?" roared a deep, powerful voice from the deck of the tug.

"I'll ask the same question of you, sir," shot back Hal, running up.

"I'm the master of this tug, and _I_ give the orders here!"

"I'm an officer of the United States Army, and your boat is undoubtedly to be seized by the government," Hal retorted.

The gang-plank had been drawn in, but Lieutenant Hal, measuring the distance with the eye of an athlete, leaped on to the deck.

Two of Hal's soldiers followed him aboard, the other two remaining on the pier.

"What's your name, sir?"

"Boggs," growled the master, a thick-set, powerful-looking, red-faced man of perhaps fifty. "What's yours?"

"I am Lieutenant Overton, of the United States Army," answered Hal.

Guarez and three other Mexicans ran out from the cabin and tried to leap ash.o.r.e.

"Don't let these Mexicans get away if you have to shoot them down," Hal ordered quickly. "They're United States prisoners."

"This is a high-handed proceeding, Lieutenant," stormed Captain Boggs.

"Isn't it?" jeered Hal. Then, to the soldiers on the pier:

"Drive those two deckhands aboard, and stand ready to cast off, my men, when I give the order."

"What on earth are you up to here?" bl.u.s.tered Boggs.