About midnight
My companions hoped to reach before morning an _ estancia _ , still many leagues distant , where they were known and would be allowed to lie in concealment for a few days till the storm blew over ; for usually shortly after an outbreak has been put down an _ indulto _ , or proclamation of pardon , is issued , after which it is safe for all those who have taken arms against the constituted government to return to their homes . For the time we were , of course , outlaws , and liable to have our throats cut at any moment . Our poor horses at last became incapable even of a trot , and , dismounting , we walked on , leading them by the bridles . About midnight we approached a watercourse , the upper part of the Rio Barriga Negra -- Black Belly River -- and on coming near it the tinkling of a bell attracted our attention . It is the usual thing for every man in the Banda Orientál to have one mare , called _ madrina _ , in his _ tropilla _ , or herd of geldings ; the _ madrina _ always carries a bell attached to her neck , and at night her forefeet are usually hobbled to prevent her wandering far from home ; for the horses are always very much attached to her and will not leave her . After listening for a few moments , we concluded that the sound came from the bell of a _ madrina _ , and that her forefeet were bound , for the tinkle came in violent jerks , as from an animal laboriously hopping along . Proceeding to the spot , we found a _ tropilla _ of eleven or twelve dun-coloured horses feeding near the river .