It gave Ned a curious thrill.

He had passed through so much in Mexico that he had not believed he would ever again enter that country.
The land on the Mexican side was about the same as that on the Texan, but it seemed different to him.

He beheld again that aspect of infinite age, of the long weariness of time, and of physical decay.
They rode more briskly through the afternoon and at darkness saw the camp fires of Urrea glimmering ahead of them.

But the night was not favorable to their plans.

The sky was the usual cloudless blue of the Mexican plateau, the moon was at the full and all the stars were out.
What they wanted was bad weather, hoping meanwhile the execution of the prisoners would not be begun until the Mexicans reached higher authority than Urrea, perhaps Santa Anna himself.
They made their own camp a full two miles from Urrea's, and Obed and the Panther divided the watch.
Urrea started early the next morning, and so did the pursuing three.