Meanwhile, the boys had been intensely interested in watching the figure of the mounted man who seemed to be a born leader. He directed all that was done, and appeared capable even of starting the rebuilding of the bridge after some fashion, so as to allow the pa.s.sage of troop trains.

"Yes," Rob was telling himself, as he kept his eyes focused on the figure of this man, using his gla.s.ses meanwhile to aid his vision, "I really and truly believe that must be General Villa himself! I've heard him described, and this man seems to fill the bill."

Each of the other scouts must needs have a look through the wonderful lenses; after which, Rob called to Lopez, who chanced to be pa.s.sing.

"Is that General Villa?" the scout asked.

"None other, young senor," the guide replied.

Whereupon Tubby threw his hat several times high into the air, and said "Bully, bully, and again bully!" until he quite lost his breath, and had to rest.

"There, he's made up his mind to cross the river and see how the land lies on this side," remarked Merritt a little later on.

So the four tried and true comrades stood there waiting, feeling more than a little curiosity as they watched the remarkable man, whose name had been before the public so much of late, ride down to the ford, push his horse into the water, let him take a drink, and finally urge him across.

As he came up the near bank Rob, accompanied by his three chums, advanced to meet him, each boy giving the scout salute gravely and then standing at attention. Lopez hovered near, ready to render a.s.sistance in case there was any need of an interpreter, which could hardly be, as Villa was known to talk English fluently.

Tubby was fairly holding his breath with anxiety, for the fateful moment was now at hand when he would learn whether the former bandit, Villa, now chief in command of the rebel forces operating in Chihuahua, would remember the debt of grat.i.tude he owed Doctor Mark Matthews.

CHAPTER XXIV.

A MAN OF HIS WORD.

"Is this General Villa?" Rob asked.

The man on the horse gave the scouts a scrutinizing look, and then frowned. Possibly he recognized the khaki uniforms that he had become accustomed to seeing United States regulars wear; and thus discovering them far down on the sacred soil of Mexico, he was angered more or less.

When Rob saw that frown he began to fear that he and his chums might not have as smooth sailing as they had antic.i.p.ated, unless something were done immediately to interest the general in their favor.

Accordingly Rob's next move was to hold up his hand, on a finger of which he had made sure to slip that queer-looking ring which Uncle Mark had seemed to believe possessed all the magic powers attributed to like rings in fairy stories.

Sure enough, no sooner had the quick glance of the general fallen on the ring than he started and looked at it more closely. Then, as an expression of intense interest flashed across his dark face, he beckoned to the scouts to draw nearer.

"Where did you get that ring, boy?" he demanded. "And who are you?"

"We belong to the Boy Scout organization, General," replied Rob soberly; "and have come several thousand miles just to meet you and show you this ring. You once put it on the finger of the man who saved your life, telling him that you would stand ready to do what you could for the one who presented it to you. That man was Dr. Mark Matthews, and this boy, here, is his nephew. Dr. Mark has recently got back from more than a year in Africa, where he was taken down with the terrible jungle fever, and is in a very bad way at the home of my friend, here. He has nothing left of his once large fortune except the property in Chihuahua--his cattle ranch, and the prize stock on it. And, General, he begs you to do what you can to dispose of the cattle, and send him the money by us. I have a letter in my coat that will explain all to you when you have more time to read it. But we only wanted to let you know that we hadn't come into Mexico to mix up in the war that is going on here. And your captain will tell you that all we did was to take care of his wounded as fast as they were hurt."

"Yes, I have already heard that Americans who were on the ground had done that; but little did I expect to learn that they were boys," the general went on to say, as he looked still more keenly at them. But Rob noticed that the scowl had now disappeared entirely from his strong features. That ring had doubtless aroused memories of the days when he was a hunted man with a price on his head, and of Dr. Mark Matthews, who had sheltered him while attending to his severe wounds.

"Do you think there is any chance of Dr. Matthews getting paid for his cattle, General?" asked Tubby, emboldened to chime in by the fact that it was a family affair.

Something like a look of pride and deep satisfaction appeared on the rebel leader's face, as he answered this question.

"Why not, when for months I have had armed guards watching the ranch, so that none of the stock could be stolen? But it could not last, and even to-day I was considering making use of the herds for my army, and settling with the owner when he came to put in a claim. Make yourselves at home with my men, for depend on it, you have not come all this way to have Pancho Villa redeem his sacred promise without reward. I am too busy now to speak further; but later on be sure to hand me the letter from my old and true friend, Dr. Matthews."

He urged his horse on and left the four scouts staring hard at each other with happy grins stealing over their faces.

"Looks mighty good to me!" commented Andy.

"Greatest thing that ever came down the pike!" exclaimed the delighted Tubby. And if a face that looked as beaming as a full moon might be taken as any indication of how the fat scout felt, he was certainly happy.

"It seems now as if we might go back with something to show for all our work, that's a fact," Merritt added.

"He did as much as say that he meant to take the cattle himself so as to feed his army and that he'd see you got good pay for them, all right, Tubby," Rob observed. "So it looks as though luck might be camping on our trail."

"And then, just think of all we've seen on this trip," added Andy. "A real battle on Mexican soil, with eight or ten rebels needing the a.s.sistance of the Boy Scout field hospital to keep them from bleeding to death! Am I sorry I came? Well, don't you believe it! Though I did want to take just a single crack at some of those crawlers up on the mountain, only Rob wouldn't hear of it!"

"Yes," Tubby said, with a sigh that seemed to well up from the very bottom of his heart, "I'll be pleased when this ride is over; because--well, I've got good reasons for thinking I'll be happier at home again. Fact is, I'm all hooped up astraddling that big plug you got for me, Rob. Makes me think of the bow-legged floor walker who waddled up to a lady entering the store, and said: 'Silks? Certainly, madam; walk this way, please,' and then ambled off. They say she nearly fainted, and complained to the management that she had been insulted. I expect to 'walk that way' for some time yet, till I get my proper shape back again."

"Oh! you'll be able to take it easy after this, Tubby," Merritt a.s.sured him.

"Yes," Rob added, "chances are that we'll be able to ride with General Villa all the way back to Juarez, where he seems to be bound right now.

If they manage to get the engine of this train working again you might ride aboard if you don't feel like keeping to the saddle with the rest of us, Tubby."

"Didn't you notice that when he said so pompously that he'd pay for the cattle of his good friend Dr. Matthews, he slapped the side of his coat, as though he might have a pocket chuck full of greenbacks?" Tubby asked them.

"That's right, he did," a.s.sented Andy; "but let me warn you, brother, if it turns out to be rebel currency, don't you take it. And I'd likewise fight shy of real Mexican paper money; because if the other side wins, it won't be worth the paper it's printed on. Make him sh.e.l.l out in American cash or English coin stuff, but no pesos, Tubby."

"I'll be smart enough for that, and don't you forget it, Andy; thanking you for the tip all the same," the fat scout replied, nodding his head with the air of a shrewd business man who is about to make a big bargain, and does not mean to be over-reached by sharp practice.

The boys readily saw that Villa was what Andy called a "hustler," for he soon had men busy examining the engine of the stalled train; and from the way in which they went to work it became evident that they must be mechanics accustomed to machinery.

"What's the good word, Lopez?" Andy called out, as the Mexican guide was hurrying past, possibly on an errand for the general, whom he appeared proud to serve. "Is there any chance that the old heap of junk that stands for an engine on this road these days will ever puff again and pull a train?"

"Si, senor, and before many hours have pa.s.sed at that," came the rea.s.suring reply, accompanied with a smirk and a shrug of the shoulders.

"General Villa he has brought order out of chaos, and these wretched people who are heading for Juarez may soon be on their way. Most of them have already paid a heavy tribute to the rebel commanders for the privilege of leaving Chihuahua, and they have just been shouting bravos because the General a.s.sured them all would soon be well."

"He's a smart, wide-awake man, all right," a.s.serted Tubby, who of course felt drawn toward the rebel chieftain. Had not General Villa called them "_amigos_," and was he not already pledged to purchase the herds of Uncle Mark's abandoned cattle ranch in Chihuahua State at the fairest possible price?

"Now I understand why some of these people hated to leave the cars, even when told that it was dangerous to stay," said Rob. "They are fleeing across to Texas, and carrying a lot of valuables with them, meaning to keep out of Mexico as long as the rival factions are fighting and destroying property everywhere. When the Federals find any one whose sympathies are with the other side they run off his stock, seize him, and make him pay all the tribute possible in order to spare his life. On the other hand, the rebels do just the same thing with all the wealthy people of Chihuahua who are believed to be for Huerta and his government. Why, they say that the Terrazas family own half the State, mines, ranches and all! But Villa has seized the whole thing, and will sell to any buyer. I heard it said an American syndicate had already offered him six million dollars for the lot; which was taking big chances of the success of this uprising."

"Perhaps that is where he is getting the money he expects to pay Uncle Mark," suggested Tubby. "If it is in American bills, I'll believe so, too."

"Oh, they're taking in stacks and stacks of money, I heard one man say up in El Paso," Merritt remarked. "Ever since the rebels have come into possession of Chihuahua City they have squeezed the rich, taken possession of all kinds of paying businesses, like banks, laundries and groceries, started working the mines and getting the crude gold and silver to make into bullion; and altogether milked the cow like good fellows. They use this money to pay their soldiers, buy arms and get them across on the sly, and ditto ammunition. If our Government ever lets the rebels buy openly, there'll be big business along the Rio Grande, because they're taking in plenty of hard cash."

"But what d'ye reckon they'll do with that miserable lot of prisoners coming this way now, in charge of guards?" Andy asked. All of them glanced with a feeling akin to pity at the four men who, with drooping heads, were marching past, half a dozen armed rebels accompanying them.

"Well, there's so much bitterness shown between the Federals and the rebels nowadays," Rob said, "that I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they stood each one of those poor fellows up against a rock and gave him a volley! It costs money to feed prisoners, and what's the use bothering?

That seems to be the motto of these men, who are not brought up to civilized methods of fighting. Anyhow, I'd hate to stand in the shoes of any one of that bunch, let me tell you."

"They seem to know just what's going to happen to them pretty soon,"

continued Andy. "You can see how they hang their heads and walk along as if they didn't care a snap whether school kept or not. I guess you hit the nail right on the head when you said what you did, Rob! Perhaps they're on the way to execution now!"

"Whew!" gasped Tubby, a look of pity crossing his good-natured face, "if that's so I mean to stick my fingers in my ears so I won't hear the volley. Why, it would be sure to haunt me all the years of my happy natural life. Poor fellers! I'd like to put in a word for the lot with Villa; but I'm afraid he wouldn't stand for our meddling with his business; and it might queer my other game, too, which I'd hate to have broken up."