Chapa, the druggist, and I was accompanied by my usual guard and the driver. As day was breaking we were at the foot of the table mountain known as Mesa de Vidaurri, about twenty miles northeast of Lampazos, that is also called Mesa de los Cartuhanes.
The country in that vicinity was a sterile region, and I was surprised when Alex Gross, my driver from Lampazos to Santa Monica, called my attention to the form of a solitary man on foot a short distance ahead of us. The presence of a lonely human being in that locality was unusual, and it was very remarkable to find one there at any time, in his condition. Thinking that the man was in distress I stopped the stage and got out to speak to him. He was a well-dressed Mexican, his form was manly, and I was favorably impressed by his appearance. I inquired if any misfortune had happened to him and offered my services.
He seemed to be pleased at the interest I manifested, and very politely informed me that he was there because his horse had broken loose and run away, also that his men were in pursuit of him on the road leading to the Rio Grande. I inquired if the men would return to that
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78 A TEXAS PIONEER
place the way they had gone. He answered, " Yes, because there is no other road they could travel." As our route lay in that direction and we would be sure to meet the men, I invited him to take a seat in the coach and ride with us. He accepted my invitation with seeming pleasure, and after he, with his belongings, together with those of his six men, were stored on the stage, we resumed our journey.
We entered into sociable conversation with our passenger and he was equally friendly and polite, but he never gave me a chance to question him about himself. We all talked freely to him, but he had very little to say, and evidently he did not know much about the country or what was going on in Lampazos and other small towns near the frontier. His reticence with reference to himself was noticed, but our conversation was agreeable and we traveled very pleasantly about eighteen miles before we saw the horse-hunters approaching in the distance.
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