"But why cannot we attend the race with the escort, as spectators, and seize them?" asked Frank.
"That is a move they will be sure to be looking for. If any of you go to the race, I believe neither of those men nor the ponies will be there."
I told Hudson to return to La Paz before daylight and circulate the report that I was coming for the purpose he had mentioned. I also requested him to watch Jack and Dick, and if he saw them making preparations for flight to come and meet me. We were met on the outskirts of the town by Mr. Gray, who told us we were to be his guests during our stay, and that his corral and store-rooms were at the service of my men and stock.
Going directly to the house of the hospitable trader, we found it to consist of well-furnished bachelor quarters, with several spare rooms for guests. The boys were assigned a room by themselves, and I one adjoining them, in which we found ample evidence that our host had looked forward with pleasure to our visit and had fully understood boyish needs and desires.
Henry, after exchanging his travelling-dress for a neat uniform, appeared upon the veranda with glowing face and shining hair.
"Mr. Gray, how pleasant you have made our room for us! Have you any boys of your own?" he asked.
"Only two nephews, Sandy and Malcolm, in the 'Land of Cakes,'" was the reply.
"Thank you, laddie. I hope the bairns are as fine boys as you and your brother."
"You are very kind to say so, sir. May I ask you a question?"
"When you overtook us on the desert you said it was not far to Tyson's Wells, and that we should soon be there."
"Ah! then you thought it a long way, sergeant?"
"Perhaps my terrible thirst had something to do with it, but it seemed more than twenty-five miles. I thought you had a queer notion of distances."
"Only a little deception to keep up your heart, laddie. I saw you were in sad need of water, and I made a hard ride to send it to you, but I wanted you to do your best to meet it. What do you think of the shrinking properties of water when applied to a desert road?"
"Wasn't it great, though! Those last twenty miles your four barrels shrank into nothing but a pleasant three hours' ride."
After dinner Mr. Hudson reported that he had dropped information at the hotels and business places that we were here to meet a director of the Colorado Navigation Company. We also learned from him that the steamer _Cocopah_ had arrived that morning from up-river, and was now lying at her landing, one mile below town, awaiting the return of the director from Wickenburg. Both Mr. Gray and Hudson were of the opinion that the horse-thieves were suspicious of our presence, for their agents had been unable to locate the ponies at any stable in town. The horse-race was advertised to come off on the afternoon of the following day, half a mile below the steamboat-landing, and Texas Dick and Juan Brincos had entered horses for the stakes.