With his mind just prepared, one may imagine his feelings when he caught sight of some twenty wild-looking fellows in all sorts of strange garments, with the bright sunshine gleaming on the barrels of their muskets.

A man was riding a little in front of us, and as he approached the others they descended, and ranged themselves by the side of the road.

They were only the guard, after all, and such a guard! Their thick matted black hair hung about over their low foreheads and wild brown faces.

Some had shoes, some had none, and some had sandals.

They had straw hats, glazed hats, no hats, leather jackets and trousers, cotton shirts and drawers, or drawers without any shirt at all; and--what looked worst of all--some had ragged old uniforms on, like deserters from the army, and there are no worse robbers than they.