I told the sergeant that heads due southwest? Yes, sir," said the corporal. "There's no doubt about it," he added. "We followed their trail a little way." At that, he grinned, and the ghost of a smile tilted over the face of each of his hearers. There are times on the frontier when neither officer nor troops is too communicative. As viewed from the standpoints of Washington and Mexico City, the Uio Grande offers an impassable barrier, but men charged with safeguarding the lives and property of American citizens who may be exposed any day to outrage and murder at the hands of robber half-casts hold more elastic opinions as to scouting reasons.
"You are quite sure... Jones?" inquired Markham, gravely, after a slight pause. "Quite sure, sir."
"Then that's all right... Sergeant major, see that this patrol is relieved from duty for the next twenty-four hours if practicable."
The second mess call rang out, and the camp assumed an even busier aspect. Markham's practiced eye took in every detail. Things were going smoothly, he turned and looked up the main street of San Jose.
In front of the hotel, a pretentious building, horribly at variance with the Mexican aspect of the majority of the town's buildings, had gathered some of the leading citizens. In half an hour, he was due to dine with the bank manager and a couple of ranchers. His friends awaited him already, he knew quite well that they had noted the return of the patrol.  and would read the signs of an undisturbed evening in prospect. With a sigh for the hated the dull routine of office work, he dived under the flap of the tent and plunged into figures once more. 