Red River 



boast long, when Harry discovered that he had lost one of 

 his long pistols out of his faja. 



This was on the bank of the brickdust-coloured Guadal- 

 ahmar [Arabice red river), near a wooden cross set up to 

 the memory of a murdered man. We turned back as far 

 as the bridge over the river, which we had crossed about a 

 mile before, and met some muleteers. We suspected by 

 their manner that they had found it, though they stoutly 

 denied it. 



I was for searching them by main force ; but Harry 

 thought it better to bribe them ; so he offered half an ounce 

 of gold to any well-disposed person who would bring it to 

 us at San Esteban, if it was found by anybody they met 

 during the day. It has not yet appeared, and I fear there 

 is little chance. I wish we had searched the men, which 

 would have been easily done. 



On to Las Navas — small venta ; a little further two roads 

 diverge at a well : here our ponies drank, and we went to 

 the right, the narrower track of the two. It led along a 

 broad valley. A sharp shower overtook us, and we begged 

 for shelter at a cortijo or farm-house. 



When the chaparron had blown over, a Valencian lad, 

 from the Venta San Esteban^ who had come on a message 

 from the ventero to his uncle (the farmer with whom we 

 had taken refuge), undertook to accompany us to our des- 

 tination. This was lucky, as the night came on very dark, 

 and the way lay across a stony, sloppy wilderness, through 

 which it would have been extremely difficult to see any 

 way at all, without guidance, by that light, or rather 

 darkness. 



We reached the venta^ not before we were very tired ; 

 and as we had dined at Las Navas, and were not hungry 

 for supper, we made some aguardiente egg-flip in a great 



256 



