It was a clear, starry night and, as he had been awake only since noon, he continued until about ten o'clock, when he again took the turf under a tree for a couch.

He slipped the rude halter from Old Jack, patted him on the head and said: "Old Jack, after the lofty way in which you have behaved I wouldn't disgrace you by tying you up for the night.

Moreover, I know that you're the best guard I could possibly have, and so, trusting you implicitly, I shall go to sleep." His confidence was justified, and the next morning they were away again over the prairie.

Ned was sure that he would meet roving Texans or Mexicans before noon, but he saw neither.

He surmised that the news of Santa Anna's great force had sent all the Texans eastward, but the loneliness and desolation nevertheless weighed upon him.
He crossed several streams, all of them swollen and deep from spring rains, and every time he came to one he returned thanks again because he had found Old Jack.