Free Carlota by Scott O’Dell Page A

better. But no one had remembered to bring salt, so the meat tasted flat. It was good that my grandmother was not there.
    One of the vaqueros thought he heard something and got up and left the fire. He was gone for a while and came back and said, "
Nada,
" and sat down.
    "I would like to send someone up the trail to see what goes on with our gringo friends," Don Andrés said. "But he could lose himself in the fog and fall into trouble."
    "They are where the Indians said they were," Don Roberto said. "They do not like the fog much either."
    "They see no better in the fog than we," my father said.
    "It would be good, however, to know," said Don Andrés. "And perhaps from that what they intend."
    That night we kept the fire burning because it was cold. About midnight we all heard sounds in the brush. Two of the vaqueros and an Indian went out to look around. They were gone a long time, but when they came back they said they had found no signs of the enemy. We later learned that General Kearny had sent out a party to scout our camp. The sounds we heard in the brush were made by gringo scouts.
    When the vaqueros who went to see about the sounds came back, Don Andrés got to his feet. He was tall and thin and had a pigtail, which he bound in a handkerchief. He looked serious in the firelight. He waited until everyone had quit talking.
    He said, "We have been two parties. Now we are one and I am the leader of the one. My commands are to be obeyed promptly, without fail. Our lives and our fortunes depend upon it. The gringos will march in the morning, whether at sunup or afterward there is no telling. We are to be prepared for both, all gear in readiness, the horses fed and saddled. Juan Aguilar carries a musket, which he can use if the opportunity arises. The rest of us will rely upon our lances."
    He stopped to listen and we waited. One of our horses had gotten loose and was wandering around in the fog.
    Don Andrés said, "We are outnumbered four to one. We must, therefore, strike fast and then retreat. Then turn at my signal and attack again, then again retreat. I have no need to tell you how to use the lance; being Spaniards, you know already. But it is well to remember that you ride low, in the fashion of the Indians, and strike for the body, for the body alone. Two quick thrusts, more if possible."
    I was sitting across the fire from Don Andrés. Suddenly I felt cold though the logs were glowing hot.
    "Señorita," he said, looking down at me, "there are seven horses to spare. These we will tie and put in your hands. You are to remain with them at a place I will show you in the morning."
    My father sat next to me, muffled in his poncho. He groaned as Don Andrés spoke to me. He was thinking of Carlos. He was sad beyond the use of words that his son was not there beside him, waiting for the dawn and the battle.
    Overhead the fog had lifted a little. I could see racing clouds and a few stars. I was scared. I wondered if everyone else was scared, too.

17
    Dawn broke slowly. A cold breeze moved through the brush, but the valley below us was shrouded in mist. We had kept logs burning through the night and, having saddled the horses and put everything in readiness, we waited around the fire.
    Don Andrés said to me, pointing down the valley, "Over against the hill is a clump of oaks." He waited until I made them out through the mist. "Take seven horses and ride now and quickly. Tether the horses there, in the trees, as much as possible out of sight of the enemy."
    He paused and glanced over at my stallion. "It might be better if you ride something easier to handle. One of the spare geldings, say."
    "I can handle the stallion," I said.
    "In battle?"
    "Anywhere," I said, though I was not sure. "In battle or out of battle."
    "Very well," Don Andrés said, giving me a curious look. "
Buena suerte.
"
    "Thank you, sir, for your wish of good luck," I said.
    "
Por nada,
" Don Andrés said.
    The seven horses we tied one to