Ned looked at it long, and gradually it became a beacon of light to him, his "pillar of flame" by night.

It was the last thing he saw as he fell asleep, and there was no thought then in his mind of the swart and menacing Cos.
They resumed the march early in the morning.

Ned no longer had his patient burro, but walked on foot among the Tlascalans.

Often he saw General Cos riding ahead on a magnificent white horse.

Sometimes the peons stood on the slopes and looked at them but generally they kept far from the marching army.