We struck directly for the church spires, which I
knew rose from the central plaza.
Often we plunged down the banks of _acequias_, carrying avalanches of
soil with us into two or three feet of water, to make a difficult
scramble up the crumbling wall of the opposite side; and as we neared
the pueblo, the louder grew the discordant yells of the Dominicans.
As I reached the border of the plantation I found between me and the
road, which here entered the town, a cactus hedge about five feet
high, with no passage through it except at a considerable distance to
the right. The agent veered away to the opening, but Corporal Frank
kept Sancho close behind me, and I gave my good thoroughbred his head
and rode sharply at the hedge, cleared it at a bound, receiving but a
few scratches from the cactus spines. Turning my head as I came into
the road, I saw Frank come through like a trooper and join me.
Clear of the hedge, I found myself at the foot of a narrow street
which passed between two tall adobe buildings and entered the plaza
near the centre of its western side.
Pages:
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57