Vapors were rising from the prairie, and objects, seen through them, assumed thin and distorted shapes.

He saw west of him and immediately facing him flickering lights which he knew were those of the Mexican camp.

The heavy air seemed to act as a conductor of sound, and he heard faintly voices and the tread of horses' hoofs.

They were on watch there, also.
He walked back and forth a long time, and the air continued to thicken.
A heavy fog was rising from the prairie, and it became so dense that he could no longer see the fires in the Mexican camp.

Everything there was shut out from the eye, but he yet heard the faint noises.
It seemed to him toward four o'clock in the morning that the noises were increasing, and curiosity took hold of him.