Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. MAKING A CAPTIVE. I Was musing upon the singular character of this triangular war, when my reverie was disturbed by the hoof-strokes of a horse. The sounds came from a distance, outside the village ; the strokes were those of a horse at fall gallop. I stepped hastily across the azotea, and looked over the parapet, in hopes of obtaining a view of this rapid rider. I was not disappointed—the road and the rider came fall under my eyes. In the latter, I beheld a picturesque object. He appeared to be a very young man—a mere youth, without beard or moustache, but of singularly handsome features. The complexion was dark, almost brown; but even at the distance of two hundred yards, I could perceive the flash of a noble eye, and note a damask redness upon his cheeks. His shoulders were covered with a scarlet manga, that draped backward over the hips of his horse; and upon his head he wore a light sombrero, laced, banded, and tasselled with bullion of gold. The horse was a small, but finely proportioned mustang, spotted like a jaguar upon a ground color of cream—a true Andalusian. The horseman was advancing at a gallop, without fear of the ground before him : by chance, his eyes were raised to the level of the azotea, on which I stood ; my uniform, and the sparkle of my accoutrements, caught his glance; and quick as thought, as if by an involuntary movement, he reined up his mustang, until its ample tail lay clustered upon the dust of the road. It was then that I noted the singular appearance of both horse md rider. Jnst at that moment, the ranger, who held picket on that side of the village, sprang forth from his hiding-place, and challenged the horseman to halt. The challenge was unheeded. Another jerk of the rein spun the mustang round, as upon a pivot, and... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.