There were perhaps a dozen men in the approaching squad, and Dave
saw that they were heavily accoutred. They rode fast, too, and at
their head galloped a large man under a wide-brimmed felt hat. It
soon became evident that the soldiers were not uniformed.
Therefore, Dave reasoned, they were not Federals, but more
probably some Rebel scouting band from the south, and yet--He
rubbed his eyes and stared again.
Dave pressed forward eagerly, incredulously; the next instant he
had broken cover with a shout. Alaire was at his side, clapping
her hands and laughing with excitement
The cavalcade halted; the big man tumbled from his saddle and came
straddling through the high grass, waving his hat and yelling.
"Blaze! You old scoundrel!" Dave cried, and seized one of the
ranchman's palms while Alaire shook the other.
"Say! We're right glad to see you-all," Jones exclaimed. "We
reckoned you might be havin' a sort of unpleasantness with
Longorio, so we organized up and came to get you."
The other horsemen were crowding close now, and their greetings
were noisy. There were the two Guzman boys, Benito Gonzales, Phil
Strange, and a number of Jonesville's younger and more adventurous
citizens.
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