 CHAPTER XIII Ned awoke after a feverish night, when there was yet but a strip of grey in the east. It was Sunday morning, but he had lost count of time and did not know it. He had not undressed at all when he lay down, and now he stood by the window, seeking to see and hear. But the light was dim, and the sounds were few. Nevertheless, the great pulse in his throat began to leap. The attack was at hand. The door of the room was unlocked, and two pions who had guarded him upon the roof came for him. Ned saw in the half-gloom that they were very grave of countenance. We are to take you to the noble captain Urea, who is waiting for you, said Fernando. Very well, said Ned. I am ready. You have been kind to me, and I hope that we shall meet again after today. Both men shook their heads. We fear that it is not to be, said Fernando. They found Urea and another young officer waiting at the door of the house. Urea was in his best uniform, and his eyes were very bright. He was no coward, and Ned knew that the gleam was in anticipation of the coming attack. The time is at hand, he said, and it will be your wonderful fortune to see how Mexico strikes down upon her foe. His voice, pitched high, showed excitement and a sense of the dramatic. Ned said nothing, and his own pulses began to leap again. The strip of gray in the east was broadening, and he now saw that the whole town was awake, although it was not yet full daylight. Santa Ana had been at work in the night, while he lay in that feverish sleep. He heard everywhere now the sound of voices, the clank of arms, and the beat of horses' hoofs. The flat roofs were crowded with the Mexican people. Ned saw Mexican women there in their dresses of bright colors, like Roman women in the Colosseum, awaiting the battle of the Gladiators. The atmosphere was surcharged with excitement and the sense of coming triumph. Ned's breath seemed to choke in his throat and his heart to be painfully. Once more, he wished with all his soul that he was with his friends, that he was in the Alamo. He belonged there with them, and he would rather face death with those familiar faces around him than be here, safe perhaps, but only a looker on. It was with him now a matter of the emotions and not of reasoned intellect. Once more, he looked toward the old mission and saw the dim outline of the buildings, with the dominating walls of the church. He could not see whether anyone watched on the walls, but he knew that the sentinels were there. Perhaps Crockett himself stood among them now, looking at the great Mexican coil of steel that was wrapping itself tighter and tighter around the Alamo. Despite himself, Ned uttered a sigh. What is the matter with you? asked Eurea sharply. Are you already weeping for the Concord? You know that I am not, replied Ned. You need not believe me, but I regret that I am not in the Alamo with my friends. It is an idle wish, said Eurea, but I am taking you now to General Santa Ana. Then I leave and I go there. Look, the horseman. He extended his hand and Ned saw his eyes kindling. The Mexican cavalry were filing out of the dim dawn, troop after troop, the early light falling across the blades of the lances, spurs, and bridles jingling. All rode well and they made a thrilling picture as they rode steadily on, curving about the old fortress. I shall soon be with them, said Eurea in a tone of pride. We shall see that not a single one of your Texans escapes from the Alamo. Ned felt that choking in his throat again, but he deemed it wiser to keep silent. They were going toward the main plaza now and he saw masses of troops gathered in the streets. These men were generally silent and he noticed that their faces expressed no elation. He divined at once that they were intended for the assault and they had no cause for joy. They knew that they must face the deadly Texan rifles. Eurea led the way to a fortified battery standing in front of the main plaza. A brilliant group stood behind an earthen wall and Ned saw Santa Ana among them. I have brought the prisoner, said Eurea, saluting. Very good, replied the dictator. And no, Captain Eurea, you can join your command. You have served me well and I shall have your share of the glory in this day. Eurea flushed with pride at the compliment and bowed low. Then he hurried away to join the horse. Santa Ana turned his attention. I have brought you here at this moment, he said, to give you a last chance. It is not due to any mercy for you, or rebel. But it is because you have been so long in the Alamo that you must know it well. Point out its weakest places and you shall be free. You shall go north in safety. I promise it here in the presence of my generals. I have nothing to tell, replied Ned. Are you sure? Absolutely sure. Then it merely means a more fusion of blood. You may stay with us and see the result. All the ancient, inherited cruelty now shown in Santa Ana's eyes. It was a strange satanic streak in him that made him keep his captive there, in order that he might see the fall of his own comrades. A half-dozen guard stood near the person of the dictator, and he said to them, If the prisoner seeks, believe us, shoot him at once. The manner of Santa Ana was arrogant to the last degree, but Ned was glad to stay. He was eager to see the great Panorama which was about to be unrolled before him. He was completely absorbed in the Alamo, and he utterly forgot himself. Black specks were dancing before his eyes, and the blood was pounding in his ears, but he took no notice of such things. The gray bar in the east broadened. A thin streak of shining silver cut through it, and touched for a moment the town, the river, the army, and the Alamo. Ned leaned against the edge of the earthwork, and breathed heavily and painfully. He had not known that his heart could beat so hard. The same portentous silence prevailed everywhere. The men and women on the roofs of the houses were absolutely still. The cavalry, their line now drawn completely about the mission, were motionless. Ned, straining his eyes toward the Alamo, could see nothing there. Suddenly he put up his hand and wiped his forehead. His fingers came away wet. His blood prickled in his veins like salt. He became impatient, angry. If the mine were ready, why did they not set the match? Such waiting was the pitch of cruelty. "'Course, my brother,' said Santa Ana to the Swart General. "'Take your command. It was here that the Texan rebels humiliated you, and it is here that you should have full vengeance.' Coast saluted and strayed away, and he was to lead one of the attacking columns. "'Gurnal Duke,' said Santa Ana to another officer. "'You are one of the bravest of the brave. You are to direct the attack on the northern wall, and make quick success go with you.' Duke glowed at the compliment, and he too, strayed away at the head of his column. "'Gurnal Romero,' said Santa Ana. "'The third column is yours, and the fourth is yours, Colonel Morales.' They go places, and that the signal agreed. The four columns would charge with all their strength. Let us see which will be the first in the Alamo.' The two colonels saluted as the others had done and joined their columns. The bar of gray in the east was still broadening, but the sun itself did not yet show. The walls of the Alamo were still dim, and Ned could not see whether any figures were there. Santa Ana had put a pair of powerful glasses to his eyes, but when he took them down, he said nothing of what he had seen. "'Are all the columns provided?' he said to General Sezma, who stood beside him. "'They have everything,' replied Sezma. "'Grow bars, axes, scaling ladders. Sir, they cannot fail.' "'No, they cannot,' said Santa Ana exultantly. "'These Texan rebels fight like demons, but we have no a net through which they cannot break.' General Gaeona, see that the bounds already interact them to play the diguello when the signal for the charge is given.' Ned shivered again. The diguello meant the cutting of throats, and it too was to be the signal of no quarter. He remembered the rag flag, and he looked up. It hung, as ever, on the tower of the Church of San Fernando, and its scarlet folds moved slowly in the light morning breeze. General Gaeona returned. "'The bounds already general,' he said, and when the signal is given, they will play the air as you have chosen.' The Mexican, trumpet at hand, was standing near. Santa Ana turned and said to him a single word, The man lifted the trumpet to his lips, and blew a long note that swelled to its fullest pitch, and then died away in a soft echo. It was the signal. A tremendous cry burst from the vast ring of the thousands, and it was taken up by the shrill voices of the women on the flat roofs of the houses. The great circle of cavalrymen shook their lances and sabers until they glittered. When the last echo of the trumpet's dying note was gone, the bands began to play with their utmost vigor, the murderous tune that Santa Ana had chosen. Then four columns of picked Mexican troops, three thousand strong, rushed toward the Alamo. Santa Ana and the generals around him were tremendously excited. Their manner made no impression upon Ned then, but he recalled the fact afterward. The boy became quickly unconscious of everything, except the charge of the Mexicans and the Alamo. He no longer remembered that he was a prisoner. He no longer remembered about anything about himself. The cruel throb of that murderous tune, the deguello, beat upon the drums of his ears, and mingled with it came the sound of the charging Mexicans, the beat of their feet, the clank of their arms, and the shouts of their officers. Whatever may be said of the herded masses of the Mexican troops, the Mexican officers were full of courage. They were always in advance waving their swords and shouting to their men to come on. Another silver gleam flashed through the gray light of the early morning, ran along the edges of swords and lances, and lingered for a moment over the dark walls of the Alamo. No sound came from the mission, not a shout, not a cry. Were they asleep? Was it possible that every man, overpowered by fatigue, had fallen into slumber at such a moment? Could such as Crockett and Bowie and Travis be blind to their danger? Such painful questions raced through Ned's mind. He felt a chill run down his spine, yet his breath was like fire on his lips. Nothing will stop them, cried Santa Ana. Detectants gather before such a splendid force, they would lay down their arms. Ned felt his body growing colder and colder, and there was a strange tingling at the roots of the hair. Now the people upon the roofs were shouting their utmost, and the voices of many women united in one shrill, piercing cry. But he never turned to look at them. His eyes were always on the charging host, which converged so fast upon the Alamo. The trumpet blew another signal, and there was a crash so loud that it made Ned jump. All the Mexican batteries had fired at once over the heads of their own troops at the Alamo. While the gunners reloaded, the smoke of the discharge drifted away, and the Alamo still stood, silent. But over it yet hung a banner on which was written in the great letters the word Texas. The Mexican troops were coming close now. The bands playing the deguello swelled to greater volume, and the ground shook again as the Mexican artillery fired its second volley. When the smoke drifted away again, the Alamo itself suddenly burst into flame. The Texan cannon at close range poured their shots and shell into the dense rank of the Mexicans, but piercing through the heavy thud of the cannon gave the shriller and more deadly crackle of the rifles. The Texans were there, every one of them on the walls. He might have known it. Nothing on earth could catch them asleep, nor could anything on earth throw under it, frightened them into laying down their arms. Ned began to shout, but only hoarse cries came from a dry throat through dry lips. The great pulses in his throat were leaping again, and he was saying, The Texans! The Texans! Oh, the brave Texans! But nobody heard him. Santa Ana, Felicola, Castrallion, Tulsa, Geona, and the other generals were leaning against the earthwork, absorbed in the tremendous spectacle that was passing before them. The soldiers who were to guard the prisoner forgot him, and they too were engrossed in that terrible and thrilling panorama of war. Ned might have walked away, no one noticing, but he too had but one thought, and that was the Alamo. He saw the Mexican colon shiver when the first volley was poured into them from the walls. In a single glance aside, he beheld the exultant look on the faces of Santa Ana and his generals die away, and he suddenly became conscious that the shrill shouting on the flat roofs in the houses had ceased. But the Mexican cannons still poured a cloud of shot and shell over the heads of their men at the Alamo, and the troops went on. Ned, keen of ear and so intent that he missed nothing, could now separate the two fires. The crackle of the rifles, which came from the Alamo dominated, rapid, steady, incessant, it beat heavily upon the hearing and nerves. Pyramids' inspires of smoke arose, drifted, and arose again. In the intervals he saw that the walls of the church were a sheet of flame, and he saw the Mexicans falling by dozens and scores upon the plane. He knew that at the short range the Texan rifles never missed, and that the hail of their bullets was cutting through the Mexican ranks like a fire through the dry grass. God, how they fight! He heard one of the generals, he never knew which, exclaim. Then he saw the officers rushing about, shouting at the men, striking them with the flats of their swords and urging them on. The Mexican armies responded to the appeal and lifted itself up and continued its rush. The fire from the Alamo seemed to Ned to increase. The fortress was a living flame. He had not thought that men could fire so fast, but they had three or four rifles apiece. The silence which had replaced the shrill shouting in the town continued. All the crash was now away in front of them, where they stood in the sound of human voice could carry. In a dim, far away manner, Ned heard the generals talking to one another. Their words showed uneasiness. It was not the swift, triumphal rush into the Alamo that they had expected. Great swaths had been cut through the Mexican army. Santa Ana paled more than once when he saw his men falling so fast. They cannot recoil. They cannot, he cried, but they did. The call led by Colonel Duke, a brave man, was now at the northern wall, and the men were rushing forward with the crowbars, axes, and scaling ladders. The Texan rifles, never more deadly, sent down a storm of bullets upon them. A score of men fell all at once. Among them was Duke, wounded terribly. The whole column broke and reeled away, carrying Duke with them. Ned saw the face of Santa Ana turn purple with rage. He struck the earthwork furiously with a flat of his sword. Go! Go! He cried to Geyona and Tulsa. Rally them. See that they do not run. The two generals sprang from the battery and rushed to their task. The Mexican cannon had ceased firing for fear of shooting down their own men, and the smoke was drifting away from the field. The morning was also growing much lighter. The gray dawn had turned to silver, and the sun's red rim was just showing above the eastern horizon. The Texan cannon were silent, too. The rifles were now doing all the work. The volume of their fire never diminished. Ned saw the field covered with slain, and many wounded were drifting back to the shelter of the earthworks and the town. Duke's column was rallied, but the column on the east and the column on the west were also driven back, and Santa Ana rushed messenger after messenger, hurrying up fresh men, still driving the whole Mexican army against the Alamo. He shouted orders incessantly, although he remained safe within the shelter of the battery. Ned felt an immense joy. He had seen the attack beaten off at three points. A force of twenty to one had been compelled to recoil. His heart swelled with pride in those friends of his, but they were so few in number, even now the Mexican masses were reforming. The officers were among them, driving them forward with threats and blows. The great ring of Mexican cavalry, intended to keep any of the Texans from escaping, also closed in, driving their own infantry forward to the assault. Ned's heart sank as the whole Mexican army, gathering now at the northern or lower wall, rushed straight at the barrier. But the deadly fire of the rifles flashed from it, and their front line went down. Again they recoiled, and again the cavalry closed in, holding them to the task. There's a pause of a few moments. The town had been silent for a long time, and the Mexican soldiers themselves ceased to shout. Clouds of smoke eddied and drifted about the buildings. The light of the morning, first gray, then silver, turned to gold. The sun, now high above the earth's rim, poured down a flood of rays. Everything stood out sharp and clear. Ned saw the buildings of the Alamo dark against the sun, and he saw men on the walls. He saw the Mexican columns pressed together in one great force, and he even saw the still faces of many who lay silent on the plane. He knew that the Mexicans were about to charge again, and his feeling of exaltation passed. He no longer had hope that the defenders of the Alamo could beat back so many. He thought again how few, how very few were the Texans. The silence endured but a moment or two. Then the Mexicans rushed forward in a mighty mass at the low northern wall, the front lines firing as they went. Flame burst from the wall and Ned heard once more the deadly crackle of the Texan rifles. The ground was littered by the trail of the Mexican fallen, but driven by their officers they went on. Ned saw them reach the wall and plant the scaling ladders. Many of them, scores of men, swarmed up the ladders and over the wall. A heavy division forced its way into the redoubt through the Salliport, and as Ned saw he uttered a deep gasp. He knew that the Alamo was doomed, and the Mexicans knew it too. The shrill screaming of the women began again on the flat roofs of the houses, and shouts burst from the army also. We have them, we have them! cried Santa Ana, exultant and excited. Sheets of flame still burst from the Alamo, and the rifles still poured bullets on the swarming Mexican forces, but the breach had been made. The Mexicans went over the low wall in an unbroken stream, and they crowded through the Salliport by hundreds. They were inside now, rushing with the overwhelming weight of 20 to 1 upon the Little Garrison. They seized the Texan guns, cutting down the gunners with lances and sabers, and they turned the captured cannon upon the defenders. Some of the buildings inside the walls were of Adobe, and they were soon shattered by the cannonballs. The Texans, covered with smoke and dust and a sweat of battle, were forced back by the press of numbers into the convent yard, and then into the church and hospital. Here the cannon and rifles and hundreds were turned upon them, but they still fought. Often, with no time to reload their rifles, they clubbed them and drove back the Mexican rush. The Alma was a huge volcano of fire and smoke of shouting and death. Those who looked on became silent again, appalled at the sights and sounds. The smoke rose far above the mission, and caught by a light wind drifted away to the east. The Mexican generals brought up fresh forces and drove them at the fortress. A heavy column, attacking on the south side where no defenders were now left, poured over a stuck gate and crowded into the mission. The circle of cavalry about the Alamo again drew closer, lest any Texans should escape. But it was a useless precaution, none sought flight. In very truth, the last hope of the Alamo was gone, and perhaps there was none among the defenders who did not know it. There were a few wild and desperate characters of the border whom nothing in life became so much as their manner of leaving it. In the culminating moments of the great tragedy, they bore themselves as well as the best. Travis, the commander, and Bonham stood in the long room of the hospital with a little group around them, most of them wounded. The faces of all black with powder smoke, but they fought on. Whenever a Mexican appeared at the door, an unayaring rifle bullet struck him down. Fifty fell at that single spot before the rifles, yet they succeeded in dragging up a cannon, thrust its muzzle in at the door, and fired it twice, loaded with grapeshot into the room. The Texans were cut down by the shower of missiles, and the whole place was filled with smoke. Then the Mexicans rushed in, and the few Texans who had survived the grapeshot fell fighting to the last with their clubbed rifle. Here lay Travis of the white soul, and beside him fell the brave Bonham, who had gone out for help, and who had returned to die with his comrades. The Texans who had defended the room against so many were only fifteen in number, and they were all silent now. Now the whole attack converged on the church, the strongest part of the Alamo, where the Texans were making their last stand. The place was seething with fire and smoke, but above it still floated the banner upon which was written, the great letters the word, Texas. Mexicans, still pressing forward in dense masses, poured in cannonballs and musketballs at every opening. Half of the Texans were gone, but the others never ceased to fire with their rifles. Within that raging inferno, they could hardly see one another for the smoke, but they were all animated by the same purpose, to fight to the death, and to carry as many of their foes with them as they could. Evans, who had commanded the cannon, rushed for the magazine to blow up the building. They had agreed that if all hope were lost, he should do so, but he was killed on his way by a bullet, and the others went on with the combat. Near the entrance to the church, stood a great figure swinging a clubbed rifle. His raccoon-skin cap was lost, and his eyes burned like coals of fire in his swarthy face. It was Crockett, gone mad with battle, and the Mexicans who passed in recalled before the deadly sweep of the clubbed rifles. Some were awed by the terrific figure, dripping blood and wholly unconscious of danger. Baudryd cried a Mexican officer, and one of his men went down with a shattered skull. The others shrank back again, but a new figure pressed into the ring. It was that of the younger Urea. At the last moment, he had left the cavalry and joined in the assault. Don't come within reach of his blows, he cried. Show team, show team! He snatched a double-barreled pistol from his own belt, and fired tricid straight at Crockett's breast. The great Tennessean staggered, dropped his rifle and the flame died from his eyes. With a howl of triumph, his foes rushed upon him, pledged their swords and bayonets into his body, and he fell dead with a heap of Mexicans slain about him. A bullet whistled past Urea's face and killed a man beyond him. He sprang back. Bowie, still suffering severe injuries from a fall on a platform, was lying on a cot in the arched room to the left of the entrance. Unable to walk, he had received as his request two pistols, and now he is firing them as fast as he could, pulled the triggers and reload. Show team, show team at once! cried Urea. His own pistol was empty now, but a dozen musket balls were fired into the room. Bowie, hit twice, nevertheless, raised himself upon his elbow, aimed a pistol with a clear eye and a steady hand, and pulled the trigger. A Mexican fell, shot through the heart, but another volley of musket balls was discharged to the Georgian. Struck in both head and heart, he suddenly straightened out and lay still upon the cot. Thus died the famous Bowie. Mrs. Dickinson and her baby had been hidden in the arched room on the other side for protection. The Mexicans killed a man named Walters at the entrance, and, wild with ferocity, raised his body upon a half-dozen bayonets, while the blood ran down in a dreadful stream upon those who held it aloft. Urea rushed into the room and found the cowering woman and her baby. The Mexicans followed, and were about to slay them too when a gallant figure rushed between. It was the brave and humane Almonte. Sword in hand, he faced the savage horde. He uttered words that made Urea turn dark with shame and leave the room. The Assolders were glad to follow. At the far end of the church, a few Texans were left, still fighting with clubbed rifles. The Mexicans drew back a little, raised their muskets, and fired an immense, shattering volley. When the smoke cleared away, not a single Texan was standing, and then the troops rushed in with sword and bayonet. It was nine o'clock in the morning, and the Alamo had fallen. The defenders were less than nine score, and they had died to the last man. A messenger rushed away at once to Santa Ana with the news of the triumph, and he came from the shelter, glorying, exulting, and crying that he had destroyed the Texans. Ned followed the dictator. He never knew exactly why, because many of those moments were dim, like the scenes of a dream. But there was so much noise, excitement, and confusion that no one paid any attention to him. But an overwhelming power drew him onto the Alamo, and he rushed in with the Mexican spectators. Ned passed through the Salliport, and he reeled back aghast for a moment. The Mexican dead, not yet picked up, were strewn everywhere. They had fallen in scores. The lighter buildings were smashed by cannonballs and shells. The earth was gullied and torn. The smoke from so much firing drifted about in banks and clouds, and it gave forth the pungent odor of burned gunpowder. The boy knew not only that the Alamo had fallen, but that all of its defenders had fallen with it. The knowledge was instinctive. He had been with those men almost to the last day of the siege, and he had understood their spirit. He was not noticed in the crush. Santa Ana and the generals were running into the church, and he followed them. Here he saw the Texan dead, and he also saw a curious crowd standing around a fallen form. He pressed into the ring, and his heart gave a great throb of grief. It was Crockett, lying upon his back. His body pierced by many wounds. Ned had known that he would find him thus, but the shock, nevertheless, was terrible. He had Crockett's countenance was calm. He bore no wounds in the face, and he lay almost as if he had died in his bed. It seemed to Ned, even in his grief, that no more fitting death could have come to the old hero. Then, following another crowd, he saw Bowie, also lying peacefully in death upon his cot. He felt the same grief for him that he felt for Crockett, but it soon passed with both cases. A strange mood of exultation took its place. They had died as one might wish to die, since death must come to all. It was glorious that these defenders of the Alamo, comrades of his, should have fallen to the last man. His full splendor of the achievement suddenly burst in a dazzling vision before him. Texans who furnished such valor could not be conquered. Santa Anna might have twenty to one, or fifty to one, or a hundred to one. In the end, it would not matter. The mood endured. He looked upon the dead faces of Travis and Bono Molso, and he was not shaken. He saw others, dozens and dozens whom he knew, and the faces of all of them seemed peaceful to him. The shouting and cheering and vast chatter of the Mexicans did not disturb him. His mood was so high that all these things passed as nothing. Ned made no attempt to escape. He knew that while he might go, about almost as he chose in this crowd of soldiers, now disorganized, the ring of Calvary beyond would hold him. The thought of escape, however, was but little in his mind just then. He was absorbed in the great tomb of the Alamo. Here, despite the recent work of the canon, all things looked familiar. He could mark the very spots where he had stood and talked with Crockett or Bowie. He knew how the story of the immortal defense would spread like fire throughout Texas and beyond. When he should tell how he had seen the faces of the heroes, every heart must leap. He wandered back to the church where the curious still crowded. Many people from the town, influential Mexicans, wished to see the terrible Texans who yet lay as they had fallen. Some spoke scornful words, but most regarded them with awe. Ned looked at Crockett for the second time, and a hand touched him on the shoulder. It was Urea. What are your Texans now? He asked. They're gone, replied Ned, and but they will never be forgotten. And then he added in a flash of anger, five or six times as many Mexicans have gone with them. It is true, said the young Mexican thoughtfully. They fought like cornered mountain wolves. We admit it, and this one Crockett, you call him, was perhaps the most terrible of them all. He swung his clubbed rifle so fiercely that no one dared to come within its reach. I slew him. You, exclaimed Ned. Yes, I. Why should I not? I fired two pistol bullets into him, and he fell. He spoke with a certain pride. Ned said nothing, but he pressed his teeth together savagely, and his heart swelled with hate of the sleek and triumphant Urea. General sent Anna, engrossed in much more important matters his doubtless forgotten you, continued the Mexican, but they will see that you do not escape. Why he spares you, I do not know, but this is his wish. He called to two soldiers, whom he detailed to follow Ned, and see that he made no attempt to escape. The boy was yet so deeply absorbed in the Alamo, that no room was left in his mind for anything else. Nor did he care to talk further with Urea, who he knew was not above aiming a shaft or two and an enemy in his power, he remained in the crowd until Santa Anna, ordered that all but the troops be cleared from the Alamo. Then, at the order of the dictator, the bodies that the Texans were taken without, a number of them were spread upon the ground, and were covered with a thick layer of dry wood and brush, then more bodies of men and heaps of dry wood were spread in alternate layers until the funeral pile was complete. Young Urea set the torch, while the Mexican army and population looked on. The dry wood flamed up rapidly, and the hole was soon a pyramid of fire and smoke. Ned was not shocked at this end, even with the bodies of brave men. He recalled the stories of ancient heroes, the bodies of whom had been consumed on just such fires as this, and he was willing that his comrades should go to join Hercules, Hector, Achilles, and the rest. The flames roared and devoured the great pyramid, which sank lower and at last Ned turned away. His mood of exultation was passing, no one could remain keyed to that pitch for many hours. Overwhelming grief and despair came in its place. His mind raged against everything, against the cruelty of Santa Ana, who had hoisted the reg flag of no quarter against fate, that had allowed so many brave men to perish, and against the overwhelming numbers that the Mexicans could always bring against the Texans. He walked gloomily towards the town. The two soldiers who had been detailed as guards followed close behind him. He looked back, saw the sinking blaze of the funeral fire, shuddered, and walked on. San Antonio de Bexar was rejoicing. Most of its people, Mexican to the core, shared in the triumph of Santa Ana. The terrible Texans were gone, annihilated, and Santa Ana was irresistible. The conquest of Texas was easy now. No, it was achieved already. They had the dictator's own word for it, that the rest was a mere matter of gathering up the fragments. Some of the graver and more kindly Mexican officers thought of their own losses. The brave and humane Almonte walked through the courts and buildings of the Alamo, and his face blanched when he reckoned their losses. A thousand men killed or wounded was a great price to pay for nine score Texans who were sped. But no such thoughts troubled Santa Ana. All the vain glory of his nature was aflame. They were decorating the town with all the flags and banners and streamers they could find, and he knew that it was for him. That night they would illuminate in his honor. He stretched out his arm toward the north and the west, and murmured that it was all his. He would be the ruler of an empire half the size of Europe. The scattered and miserable Texans could set no bounds to his ambition. He had proved it. He would waste no more time in that empty land of prairies and planes. He sent glowing dispatches about his victory to the city of Mexico and announced that he would soon come. His subordinates would destroy the wandering bands of Texans. Then he did another thing that appealed to his vanity. He wrote a proclamation to the Texans announcing the fall of the Alamo and directing them to submit it once on pain of death to his authority. He called for Mrs. Dickinson, the young wife, now widow, whom the gallantry of Almonte had saved for Mexico and the Alamo. He directed her to take his threat to the Texans at Gonzalez, and she willingly accepted. Mounting a horse and a lone save for the baby in her arms, she rode away from San Antonio, shuddering at the sight of the Mexicans and passed out upon the desolate and dangerous prairies. The dictator was so absorbed in his triumph and for his plans of his greater glory that for the time he forgot all about Ned Fulton, his youthful prisoner, who had crossed the stream and who is now in the town. Attended by the two pions whom Urea had detailed as his guards, but Ned had come out of his days and his mind was as keen and alert as ever. The effects of the great shock of horror remained. His was not a bitter nature, but he could not help feeling an intense hatred of the Mexicans. He was on the battle line and he saw what they were doing. He resolved that now was his time to escape. And in the great turmoil caused by the excitement and rejoicing in San Antonio, he did not believe that it would be difficult. He carefully cultivated the good graces of the two soldiers who were guarding him. He bought for them miscal and other fiery drinks which they were now being sold in view of the coming festival. Their good nature increased and also their desire to get rid of the task that had been imposed upon them. Why should they guard a boy when everybody else was getting ready to be merry? They went toward the main plaza and came to Zambrano Row where the Texans had fought their way when they took the San Antonio months before. Ned looked up at the buildings. They were still dismantled. Great holes were in the walls and the empty windows were like blind eyes. He saw at once that their former inhabitants had not yet returned to them, and here he believed was his chance. When they stood beside the first house, he called the attention of his guards to some Mexican women who were decorating a doorway across the street. When they looked, he darted into the first of the houses on Zambrano Row. He entered a large room and at the corner saw a stairway. He knew this place. He had been here in the siege of San Antonio by the Texans and now he had an advantage over his guards who were probably strangers. He rushed for the staircase and, just as he reached the top, one of the guards who had followed as soon as they noticed the flight of the prisoner fired his musket. The discharge roared in the room but the bullet struck the wall fully afoot away from the target. Ned was on the second floor and out of range the next moment. He knew that the soldiers would follow him and he passed through the great hole broken by the Texans into the next house. Here he paused to listen and he heard two soldiers muttering and breathing heavily. The distaste which they already felt for their task had become a deep disgust. Why should they be deprived of their part in the festival to follow up a prisoner? Where did a single captive amount to, anyhow? Even if he escaped now, the great, the illustrious Santa Anna whose eyes saw all things would capture him later on when he swept the scattered Texans into his basket. Ned went from house to house through the holes broken in the party walls and occasionally he heard his pursuers slouching along and grumbling. At the fourth house he slipped out upon the roof and they flat near the stone coping. He knew that if the soldiers came upon the roof they would find him but he relied upon the missed call and their lack of zeal. He heard them once tramping about in the room below him and then he heard them no more. Ned remained all the rest of the afternoon upon the roof not daring to leave his cramped position against the coping. He felt absolutely safe there from observation. Mexicans would not be prowling through dismantled and abandoned houses at such a time. Now and then gay shouts came from the streets below. The Mexicans of Vexo were disturbed little by the great numbers of their people who had fallen at the Alamo. The dead were from the far valleys of Mexico and were strangers. Ned afterward thought that he must have slipped a little toward twilight but he was never sure of it. He saw the sunset and the gray and silent Alamo sink away into the darkness. Then he slipped from the roof anxious to be away before the town was illuminated. He had no difficulty at all in passing unnoticed through the streets and he now made his way straight for the Alamo. He was reckoning very shrewdly now. He knew that the superstitious Mexicans would avoid the mission at night as a place enthroned with ghosts and that Santa Ana would not need to post any guard within those walls. He had passed through the enclosures and then over the lower barriers by which the Mexicans had entered and then into the darkness beyond. It seemed to him the best road to escape and he had another object also when entering the Alamo. The defenders had had three or four good rifles apiece and he was convinced that somewhere in the rooms he would find a good one with sufficient ammunition. It was with the shutters that he entered the Alamo and the shutters came again when he looked about the bloodstained courts and rooms. Lately the scene of such terrible strife but now so silent. In the resets of the church which had been used as a little storage placed by himself in Crockett he found an excellent rifle of the long barreled western pattern a large horn of powder and a pouch full of bullets. There was also a supply of dried beef which he took too. Now he felt himself a man again. He would find the Texans and they would seek vengeance for the Alamo. He crossed the main plaza dropped over the low wall and quickly disappeared in the dusk. End of chapter 13 recording by Edmunds. Chapter 14 of the Texas Scouts This is a LibriVox recording. While LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Texan Scouts by Joseph A. Altsheller Chapter 14 The News of the Fall Chapter 14 The News of the Fall Five days before the fall of the Alamo a little group of men began to gather at the village of Washington on the Brasso's river in Texas. The name of the little town indicated well whence its people had come. All the houses were new mostly of unpainted wood and they contained some of the furniture of necessity none of luxury. The first and foremost important article was the rifle which the Texans never needed more than they did now. But this new and little Washington was seething with excitement and suspense and its population was now more than triple the normal. News had come that the Alamo was beleaguered by a force many times as numerous as its defenders and that Crockett, Bowie, Travis and other famous men were inside. They had heard also that Santa Anna had hoist at the red flag of no quarter and that Texans everywhere if taken would be slaughtered as traitors. The people of Washington had full cause for their excitement and suspense. The little town also had the unique distinction of being a capital for a day or two. The Texans felt with the news that Santa Anna had enveloped the Alamo that they must take decisive action. They believed that the Mexicans had broken every promise to the Texans. They knew that not only their liberty and property but their lives also were in peril. Despite the great disparity of numbers it must be a fight to the death between Texas and Mexico. The Texans were now gathering at Washington. One man who inspired courage wherever he went had come already. Sam Houston had ridden into town calm, confident and talking only of victory. He was dressed with a neatness and care unusual on the border while his face was shaded by the wide brim of the white sombrero. The famous scouts Deft Smith and Henry Carnes and Young Zabala whom Ned had known in Mexico were there also. Fifty-eight delegates representing Texas gathered in the largest room of a frame building Deft Smith and Henry Carnes came in and sat with the rifles across their knees. While some of the delegates were talking, Houston signaled to the two and they went outside. What do you hear from the Alamos Smith asked Houston. Travis says fought off all the attacks of the Mexicans replied the great border. But when Santa Ana brings up his whole force and makes a resolute assault it's bound to go under. The mission is too big and scattered to be held by Travis and his men against forty or fifty times their number. I fear so. I fear so said Houston sadly and we can't get together enough men for its relief. All this quarreling and temporizing are our ruin. Heavens, what a time for disagreements. There couldn't be a worse time general said Henry Carnes. Me and Deft would like mighty well to march to the Alamo. A lot of our friends are in there and I reckon we've seen them for the last time. The fine face of Houston grew dark with melancholy. Have you been anywhere near San Antonio? He asked Smith. Not nearer than thirty miles replied Smith. But over at Goliath I saw a force under Colonel Fanon that was getting ready to start to the relief for Travis. With it were some friends of mine. There was Palmer and they called the Panther the biggest and strongest man in Texas. Obed White a new Englander and a boy Will Allen. I've known him well for some time and there was another that belonged to their little band but he's in the Alamo now and they was wild to rescue him. Do you think Fanon will get through? Ask Houston. I don't replied Smith decidedly and if he did it would just mean the loss of more good men for us. What do you think about it Hank? Same that you do replied Carnes. Houston pondered over their words a long time. He knew that they were thoroughly acquainted with Texas and the temper of its people and he relied greatly on their judgment. When he went back in the room which was used as a convention hall Smith and Carnes remained outside. Smith sat down on the grass, lighted a pipe and began to smoke deliberately. Carnes also sat down on the grass lighted his own pipe and smote with equal deliberation. Each man rested his rifle across his knees. Looks bad said Smith. Powerful bad. Almighty bad. Talking's no good when the enemy's shooting. Wrecking there's nothing left for us but this tap in the barrel of his gun significantly. Only tool that's left for us to use. Wrecking will soon have as many chances as we want to use it and more. Wrecking your almighty right. And we'll be there every time. The two men reached over and shook hands deliberately. Used him by and by came out again and saw them sitting there smoking. Two images of patience and quiet. Boys he said you're not taking much part in the proceedings. Not much just yet Colonel Sam replied Smith but we're waiting. I reckon that tomorrow you'll declare Texas free and independent. A great and good republic. And as there ain't 60 of you to declare it maybe you'll need to help us some fellows like Hank and me to make them resolutions come true. We will say to Houston and we know that we can rely upon you. He was about to pass on but he changed his mind and sat down with the men. Used to as a singular character. He had been governor of an important state and he had lived as a savage among savages. He could adapt himself to any company. Boys he said you know a merchant John Roylston who was headquarters in New Orleans and also offices and St. Louis and Cincinnati. We do sit Smith and we've seen him too more than once. He's been in these parts not so long ago. He's in New Orleans now said Houston. He's the biggest trader along the coast as dealings with Santa Ana himself. But he's a friend to Texas. Powerful one. Boys I've got in my pocket now an order from him good for a hundred thousand dollars to be spent by arms and ammunition for us. When the time comes there's more coming from the same place. We've got friends but keep this to yourself. He walked on and the two took a long and meditative pull at their pipes. I reckon Roylston may not shoot as straight as would Cam said Smith but maybe at as long range as New Orleans he can do more harm to the Mexicans than we can. Looks like it. I ain't much of a hand at money but I like the looks of that man Roylston and I reckon the more rifles and the more ammunition we have the fewer Mexicans will be left. The two scouts having smoked as long as they wished went to their quarters and slipped soundly through the night. But Houston and the leading Texans with him hardly slip at all. There was but one course to choose and they were fully aware of its gravity. Houston perhaps more so than the rest as he had seen more of the world. They worked nearly all night in the bare room and when Houston saw his room he was exhausted. Houston's room was a bare little place blighted by a tallow candle and although it was not long until day he sat there a while before lying down. A man of wide experience he alone with the exception of Royston knew how desperate was the situation of the Texans. In truth it was the money of Royston sent from New Orleans that had caused him to hazard the chance. He knew too that in time more help would arrive from the same source and he believed there would be a chance against the Mexicans. The fighting chance is true but men who were willing to die for a cause seldom fell to win. He blew out the candle got in bed and slipped soundly. Deaf Smith and Henry Carnes were up early. They seldom slept late and saw the sun rise out of the prairie. They were in a house which had a small porch looking towards the brassos. After breakfast they lighted their cob pipes again smoked and meditated. Rec and something was done by our lead and statesman last night said Smith. Rec and there was said Carnes. Rec and I can guess what it was Rec and I can too. Rec and I'll wait to hear it officially before I speak. Rec and I will too lots of times waste it talking. Rec and you're right. They sat in silence for a full two hours. They smoked the first hour and then passed the second in their chairs without moving. They had mastered the borderers art of doing nothing thoroughly when nothing was to be done. Then a man came upon the porch and spoke to them. His name was Burnett. David G. Burnett. Good morning. How is the new Republic? Said deaf Smith. So you know said Burnett. We don't know but we've guessed Hank and me. We saw things as they was coming. I reckon too says Carnes that we ain't a part of Mexico anymore. No, we're a free and independent Republic. It was so decided last night and we've got nothing more to do now but to whip a nation of eight millions, the 50,000 of us. Well said Smith philosophically it's a tough job but it might be did. I've heard tell that them old Greeks whip the Persians when the odds were powerful high against them. That is true said Burnett. And we can at least try. We give the reason for declaring our independence. We assert to the world that the Mexican Republic has become a military despotism that our agents carrying petitions have been thrown in dungeons in the city of Mexico. That we have been ordered to give up the arms necessary for our defense against the savages and that we have been deprived of every right guaranteed to us when we settled here. We're glad it's done although we knew it would be done said Smith. We ain't much on talking, Mr. President Hank and me but we can shoot pretty straight and we're at your call. I know that God bless you both, said Burnett. Talking is over. Trifles that we need and plenty of them. Now I've got to see Houston. We're to talk over ways and means. You're hurried away and the two settling back in their chairs on the porch relighted their pipes and smoked calmly. Reckon there'll be nothing doing for a day or two Hank said Smith. Reckon not but we'll have to be doing a powerful lot later be hoofing it for the tall timber a thousand miles north. You always was full of sense, Hank. Now there goes Sam Houston. Queer stories about his leave in Tennessee and his life in the Indian territory. That's so but he's an honest man looks far ahead and between you and me deaf it's a thousand to one that he's to lead us in the war. Reckon you're guessing good. Houston who had just wakened and dressed was walking across the grass and wheezed to meet Burnett. Not even he when he looked at the tiny village and the wilderness spreading about foresaw how mighty a state was to rise from beginning so humble and so small. He and Burnett went back into the convention hall and he wrote a fiery appeal to the people. He said that the Alamo was beleaguered and the citizens of Texas must rally to the aid of our army or it will perish. Smith and Carnes remain while the convention continued its work. They did little ostensibly but smoked their cob pipes but they observed everything and thought deeply. On Sunday morning five days after the men had gathered at Washington as they stood at the edge of the little town they saw a man galloping over the prairie. Neither spoke but watched him for a while as the unknown came on lashing a tired horse. Pairs to be in a hurry said Smith and to be in a hurry generally means something in these parts said Carnes. I'm making a guess. So am I and yours is the same as mine. He comes from the Alamo. Others now saw the man and there was a rush toward him. This horse fell at the edge of town but the rider sprang to his feet and came toward the group which included both Houston and Burnett. He was a wild figure face and clothing covered with dust but he recognized Houston and turned to him at once. Your general Houston and I'm from the Alamo. He said I bring a message from Colonel Travis. There was a sudden heavy intake of breath in the whole group and then the Alamo was not fallen said Houston. Not when I left but that was three days ago. Here's the letter. It was the last letter of Travis concluding with the words God in Texas victory or death. But when the messenger put the letter into the hands of Houston the Alamo had fallen two hours before. The letter was laid before the convention and the excitement was great and irrepressible. The feelings of these stern men were moved deeply. Many wished to adjourn at once and march to the relief of the Alamo but the eloquence of Houston who had been re-elected commander in chief prevailed against the suggestion then with two or three many departed for Gonzales to raise a force while the others elected Burnett president of the new Texas and departed for Harrisburg on Buffalo Bayou. Def Smith and Henry Carnes did not go just then with Houston. They were scouts, hunters and rough riders and they could do as they pleased. They notified General Sam Houston commander in chief of the Texas armies that they would come on later and he was content. When the Texas government and the Texan army numbering combined about a hundred men followed by most of the population numbering 50 or 60 more filed off for Gonzales the two sat once more on the same porch smoking their cob pipes. They were not ordinary men. They were not ordinary scouts and boarders one from the north and one from the south. They were much alike in their mental processes their faculties of keen observation and deep reasoning. Both were now stirred to the core but neither showed a trace of it on his face. They watched the little file pass away over the prairie until it was lost to sight behind the swells and then Smith spoke. I reckon you and me Hank will ride toward the Alamo. I reckon we will deaf and that ride away. Inside of five minutes they were on the road armed and provisioned the best two boarders with the single exception of the panther and all the northwest. They were mounted on powerful mustangs which with proper handling and judicious rests could go on forever but they pushed them a little that afternoon stopped for two hours after sundown and then went on again. They crossed the Colorado river in the night swimming the horses and about a mile further on stopped in dense chaparral. They tethered the mustangs near them and spread out their blankets. If anything comes the horses will wake us said Smith. I reckon they will said Carnes. Both were fast asleep in a few minutes but they awoke shortly after sunrise they made a frugal breakfast while the mustangs had cropped short grass in the night. Both horses and men as tough and wiry as they ever become were again as fresh as the dawn. And with not more than a dozen words spoken the two mounted and rode anew on their quest. Always charrious speech they became almost silence itself as they drew nearer to San Antonio de Bexar. In the heart of each was a knowledge of the great tragedy not surmise but the certainty that acute intelligence deduces from facts. They rode on until by a simultaneous impulse the two reigned their horses back in a cypress thicket and weighted. They had seen three horsemen on the skyline coming in the main in their direction. Their trained eyes notice it once that the strangers were a varying figure. The foremost even in the distance seemed to be gigantic. The second was very long and thin and the third was normal. Smith and Carnes watched them a little while and then Carnes spoke in words of true conviction. It would be hard death for even a bad eye to mistake the foremost. Right you are Hank you might comb Texas with a fine-toothed comb and you'd never break out such another. If that ain't Mark Palmer the ring-tailed panther I'll go straight to Santa Anna and ask him to shoot me as a fool. You won't have to go to Santa Anna. Smith rode from the covert put his curved hand to his mouth and uttered a long piercing cry. The three horsemen stopped at once and the giant and the lead gave back the signal in the same fashion. Then the two little parties rode rapidly toward each other. While they were yet 50 yards away they uttered words of hail and good fellowship. When they met they shook hands with the fellowship that has been sealed by common hardships and dangers. You're going toward the Alamos at Smith? Yes replied the panther we started that way several days ago but we've been delayed. We had a brush with one little party in Mexicans and we had to dodge another that was too big for us. I take it you ride for the same place? We do. Were you with Fanon? The dark face of the panther grew darker. We were. He replied he started to the relief of the Alamo but the ammunition wagon broke down and they couldn't get the cannon across the San Antonio River. So me and Obid White and Will Allen here have come on alone. News for news said Smith Dryley. Texas has just been made a free and independent Republic and Sam Houston has been made commander and chief of all its mighty armies horse foot and cannon. We saw all them things done back there at Washington settlement and we being a part of the army are riding to the relief of the Alamo. We gin you then said the panther and Texas raises two armies of the strength of three and two to one of five. Oh if all the Texans had come what a roaring and ripping and tiring and chong there would have been when we struck Santa and his army no matter how big it might be. But they didn't come said Smith Grimley and as far as I know we five are all the Texans that are riding toward San Antonio de Bexar and the Alamo. But being only five won't keep us from riding on said the panther. The things are not always as bad as they looks at old bed white after he had learned of the messenger who had come to Houston and unmet. It's never too late to hope. The five rode fast the remainder of the day they passed through a silent and desolate land. They saw a few cabins but everyone was abandoned. The deep sense of tragedy was over them all. Even over young Will Allen. They rarely spoke and they rode along in silence save for the beat of their horses hoofs. Shortly before night they met a lone buffalo hunter whom the panther knew. Have you been close to San Antonio Simpson? Asked the panther after the greeting. I've been three or four days hanging around the neighborhood replied the hunter. I came down from the northwest when I heard that San Ana was advancing and once I thought I'd make a break and try to get into the Alamo but the Mexican lines was draw too thick and close. Have you heard anything about the men inside? Asked the panther eagerly. Not a thing but I've noticed this. A morning and evening gun was fired from the fortress every day until yesterday Sunday and since then nothing. The silence in the little band was as ominous as the silence of the morning and evening gun. Simpson shook his head sadly. Boys he said I'm going to arrive for Gonzales and join Houston I don't think it's any use for me to be hanging around San Antonio to Bexdar any longer. I wish you luck and whatever you're trying to do. He rode away but the five friends continued their course toward the Alamo without hope now but resolved to see for themselves deep in the night which fortunately for their purpose was dark heavy clouds shutting out the moon and stars they approached San Antonio from the east they saw lights which they knew were those of the town but there was darkness only where they knew the Alamo stood they tethered the horses and some bushes and crept closer until they could see the dim bulk of the Alamo no light shown there they listened along and intently but not a single sound came from the great hektatum again they crept near there were no Mexican guards anywhere a little further and they stood by the low northern wall boys said the panther I can't stand it any longer queer feelings are running all over me no I'm going to take the risk if there is any all alone you wait for me here and if I don't come back in an hour then you can hunt for me the panther climbed over the wall and disappeared the others remained in the deepest shadow waiting and silent they were repressed by the heavy gloom that hung over the Alamo it was terrifying to young Will Allen not the terror that is caused by the fear of men but the terror that comes from some tragic mystery that is more than half guessed nearly an hour passed when a great figure leaped lightly from the wall and joined them the swarthy face of the panther was as white as chalk and he was shivering boys he whispered I've seen what I never want to see again I've seen red red everywhere I've been through the rooms of the Alamo and they're red splashed with the red blood of men the water in the ditch was stained with red and the earth all about was soaked with it something awful must have happened in the Alamo there must have been a terrible fight and I'm thinking that most of our fellows must have died before it was took but just give me the creeps boys and I think we better get away we can't leave any too quick to please me said Will Allen I'm seeing ghosts all the time now that we know for sure the Alamo has fallen sit Smith nothing is to be gained by staying here for Sam Houston to lead us to revenge and the more many has the better I vote we ride for Gonzalez seeing what we can see as we go said Carnes the more information we can pick up on the way about the march of the Mexicans the better it will be for Houston no doubt of that said the panther when we go to roaring and ripping and tearing we must know what we're about but come on boys all that red in the Alamo gives me conniption fits they rode toward the east for a long time until they thought they were beyond the reach of Mexican skirmishing parties and then they slept in a cypress thicket Smith and Carnes standing guard by turns as everybody needed rest they did not resume their journey the next day until nearly noon and they spent most of the afternoon watching for Mexican scouts although they saw none they had a full rest that night and the next day they rode slowly toward Gonzalez about the middle of the afternoon as they reached the crest of a swell will Allen uttered an exclamation and pointed toward the eastern horizon then they saw a single figure on horseback and another walking beside it the afternoon sun was very bright casting a glow over the distant figures and shading their eyes with their hands they gazed at them a long time it's a woman that's riding said Smith at last and she's carrying some sort of a bundle before her you're surely right deaf said Carnes and I think the one walking is a black fellow looks like it from here I'm your way I think and said the Panther and the woman on the horse is American where I'm mildly fooled in my guess suppose we ride ahead faster and see for sure they increased the speed of their mustangs to a gallop and rapidly overhauled the little party they saw the woman trying to urge her horse to greater speed but the poor beast evidently exhausted made no response the woman turning in the saddle looked back at her pursuers by all that's wonderful exclaimed Obed White the bundle that she's carrying is a baby it so says Smith and you can see well enough now that she's one of our own people we must show her that she's got nothing to fear from us he shouted through his arched hands in tremendous tones that they were Texans and friends the woman stopped and as they galloped up she would have fallen from her horse and not Obed White promptly seized her and dismounting lifted her and the baby tenderly to the ground the colored boy who had been walking stood by and did not say anything allowed but muttered rapidly thank the lord thank the lord three of the five were veteran hunters but they had never before found such a singular party on the prairie the woman sat down on the ground still holding the baby tightly in her arms and shivered all over the Texans regarded her in pitting silence for a few minutes then Obed White said in gentle tones will your friends ready to take you to safety tell us who you are I am Mrs. Dickinson she replied deaf looks startled there was a lieutenant Dickinson in the Alamo he said I'm his wife she replied and this is our child and whereas Smith stopped suddenly knowing what the answer must be he is dead she replied he fell in the defense of the Alamo mighty not be among the prisoners suggested Obed White gently prisoners she replied there were no prisoners they fought to the last every man who was in the Alamo died in its defense the five stared at her in amazement for a little while none spoke do you mean to say said Obed White that none of the Texans survived the fall of the Alamo none she replied how do you know her pale face filled with color it seemed that she too at the moment felt some of the glow that the fall of the Alamo was to suffuse through Texas because I saw she replied I was in one of the arch rooms of the church where they made the last stand I saw a Crockett fall and I saw the death of Bowie too I saw Santa Anna Exult but many many Mexicans fell also was a terrible struggle I shall see it again every day of my life even if I live to be a hundred she covered her face with her hands as if she would cut out the side of that last inferno on the church the others were silent stunned for the time all gone said Obed White at last when the news is spread that every man stood firm to the last I think it will light such a fire in Texas that Santa Anna and all his armies cannot put it out did you see a boy called Ned Fulton in the Alamo a tall handsome fellow with brown hair and gray eyes as Obed White often replied Mrs. Dickinson he was with Crockett and Bowie a great deal and none escaped said Will Allen not one she repeated I did not see him in the church in the final assault he doubtless fell in the hospital or in the convent yard oh he was a friend of yours I'm sorry yes he was a friend of ours said the Panther he was more than that to me I love that boy like a son and me and my comrades here mean to see that the Mexicans pay a high price for his death and may I ask ma'am how you've come to be here she told him how Santa Anna had provided her with a horse and had sent her alone with the proclamation to the Texans at the Salgado Creek she had come upon the Negro servant of Travis who would escape from San Antonio and he was helping her on the way and now ma'am said deaf Smith we'll guard you the rest of the way to Gonzalez the two little groups now fused into one resume their journey over the prairie end of chapter 14 the news of the fall chapter 15 of the Texan Scouts this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Kevin Laverne the Texan Scouts by Joseph A. Altscheller when Ned Fulton scaled the lowest wall of the Alamo and dropped into the darkness he ran for a long time he scarcely knew in what direction he was going but he was anxious to get away from that terrible town of San Antonio de Bejar he was filled with grief for his friends and anger against Santa Anna and his people he had passed through an event so tremendous in its nature so intense and fiery in its results that his whole character underwent a sudden change but a boy in years the man nevertheless replaced the boy in his mind he had looked upon the face of awful things so awful that few men could bear to behold them there was a certain hardening of his nature now as he ran and while the feeling of horror was still upon him the thought of vengeance swelled into a passion the Texans must strike back for what had been done in the Alamo surely all would come when they heard the news that he was bringing he believed that the Texans and they must be assembled and forced somewhere would be toward the east or the southeast at Harrisburg or Goliad or some other place he would join them as soon as he could and he slackened his pace to a walk he was too good a boarder now to exhaust himself in the beginning he was overpowered after a while by an immense lethargy a great collapse both physical and mental came after so much exhaustion he felt that he must rest or die the night was mild as the spring was now well advanced in Texas and he sought a dense thicket in which he might lie for a while but there was no scrub or chaparral with an easy reach and his feeling of lassitude became so great that he stopped when he came to a huge oak and laid down under the branches which spread far and low he judged that he was about six miles from San Antonio a reasonably safe distance for the night and relaxing completely he fell asleep then nature began her great work the pulses which were beating so fast and hard in the boy's body grew slower and more regular and at last became normal the blood flowed in a fresh and strong current through his veins the great physician minute by minute was building up his system again Ned's collapse had been so complete that he did not stir for hours the day came and the sun rose brilliant in red and gold the boy did not stir but not far away a large animal moved Ned's tree was at the edge of a little grassy plane and upon this the animal stood with a head held high and upturned nose sniffing the breeze that came from the direction of the sleeper it was in truth a great animal one with tremendous teeth and after hesitating a while it walked toward the tree under which the boy lay here it paused and again sniffed the air which was now strong with the human odor it remained there a while staring with great eyes at the sleeping form and then went back to the grassy little meadow it revisited the boy at intervals but never disturbed him and Ned slept peacefully on it was nearly noon when Ned awoke and he might not have awakened then had not the sun from its new position sent a shaft of light directly into his eyes he saw that his precious rifle was still lying by his side and then he sprang to his feet startled to find by the sun that it was so late he heard a loud joyous ney and a great bay horse trotted toward him it was old Jack the faithful dumb brute of which he had thought so rarely during all those tense days in the Alamo the Mexicans had not taken him he was here and happy chance had brought him and his master together again it was so keen a joy to see a friend again even an animal that Ned put his arm around old Jack's neck and for the first time tears came to his eyes good old Jack he said patting his horse's nose you must have been waiting here all the time for me and you must have fare well too I never before saw you looking so fat and saucy the finding of the horse simplified Ned's problem somewhat he had neither saddle nor bridle but old Jack always obeyed him beautifully he believed that if it came to the pinch and it became necessary for him to ride for his life he could guide him in the Indian fashion with the pressure of the knees he made a sort of halter of with ease which he fastened on old Jack's head and then he sprang upon his bare back feeling equal to almost anything he rode west by south now his course taking him toward Goliad and he went on at a good gate until twilight a little later he made out the shapes of wild turkeys then very numerous in Texas among the boughs of the trees and he brought a fine fat one down at the first shot after some difficulty he lighted a fire with the flint and steel which the Mexicans fortunately had not taken from him toasted great strips over the coals and ate hungrily of juicy and tender wild turkey he was all the time aware that his fire might bring danger down upon him but he was willing to chance it after he had eaten enough he took the remainder of his turkey and rode on 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 hit bound old Jack the great horse always took the flood without hesitation and would come promptly to the other bank he saw many deer and started up several flights of wild turkeys but he did not disturb them he was a soldier now not a hunter and he sought men not animals another night came and found him still alone on the prairie as before he slept undisturbed under the boughs of a tree and he awoke the next morning thoroughly sound and body and much refreshed in mind but the feeling of hardness the desire for revenge remained he was continually seeing the merciless face of Santa Anna and the sanguinary interior of the Alamo the imaginative quality of his mind and his sensitiveness to cruelty had heightened the effect produced upon him he continued to ride through desolate country for several days living on the game that his bryphel brought he slept one night in an abandoned cabin with old Jack resting in the grass that was now growing wrinkly at the door he came the next day to a great trail so great in truth that he believed it to have been made by Mexicans he did not believe that there was anywhere a Texan force sufficient to tread out so broad a road he noticed too that the hooves of the horses were turned in the general direction of Goliad or Victoria nearer the sea and he concluded that this was another strong Mexican army intended to complete the ruin of infant Texas he decided to follow and near nightfall he saw the campfires of a numerous force he rode as near as he dared and reckon that there were 12 or 1500 men in the camp he was sure that it was no part of the army with which Santa Anna had taken the Alamo Ned rode a wide circuit around the camp and continued his ride in the night he was forced to rest and sleep a while toward morning but shortly after daylight he went forward again to warn he knew not whom two or three hours later he saw two horsemen on the horizon and he rode toward them he knew that if they should prove to be Mexicans old Jack was swift enough to carry him out of reach but he soon saw that they were Texans and he hailed them the two men stopped and watched him as he approached the fact that he rode a horse without saddle or bridle was sufficient to attract their attention and they saw too that he was wild in appearance with long uncombed hair and torn clothing they were hunters who had come out from the little town of Refirio Ned hailed them again when he came closer you are Texans and friends he said yes we are Texans and friends replied the older of the two men who are you my name is Fulton Edward Fulton and I come from the Alamo the Alamo how could that be how could you get out I was sent out on an errand by Colonel Crockett a fictitious errand for the purpose of saving me I now believe but I fell at once into the hands of Santa Ana the next morning the Alamo was taken by storm but every Texan in it died in his defense I saw it done then he told to them the same tale that mrs. Dickinson had told to the panther and his little party adding also that a large Mexican force was undoubtedly very near then you've come just in time said the older man we've heard that a big force under general urea was heading for the settlements near the coast and captain king and 25 or 30 men are now at Refirio to take the people away we'll hurry there with your news and we'll try to get you a saddle and bridle too for which I'll be thankful said Ned but he was really more thankful for human companionship than anything else he tingled with joy to be with the Texans again and during the hours that they were writing to Refirio he willingly answered the ceaseless questions of the two men Oldham and Jackson who wanted to know everything that had happened at the Alamo when they reached Refirio they found their captain king with less than 30 men who had been sent by Fanon as Jackson had said to bring away the people Ned was taken at once to king who had gathered his men in the little plaza he saw that the soldiers were not Texans that is men who had long lived in Texas but fresh recruits from the United States wholly unfamiliar with border ways and border methods of fighting the town itself was an old Mexican settlement with an ancient stone church or mission after the fashion of the Alamo only smaller you say that you were in the Alamo and that all the defenders have fallen except you said the captain looking curiously at Ned yes replied the boy and that the Mexican force dispatched against the eastern settlements is much nearer than was supposed yes replied Ned and as proof of my words there it is now he had suddenly caught the gleam of lances in a wood a little distance to the west of the town and he knew that the Mexican cavalry riding ahead of the main army was at hand it was a large force too one with which the little band of recruits could not possibly cope in the open captain king seemed dazed but Ned glancing at the church remembered the Alamo every Spanish church or mission was more or less of a fortress and he exclaimed the church captain the church we can hold it against the cavalry good cried the captain an excellent idea they rushed for the church and Ned followed old Jack did not get the saddle and bridle that had been promised to him when the boy leaped from his back he snatched off the halter of with ease and shouted loudly to him go it pained him to abandon his horse a second time under compulsion but there was no choice old Jack galloped away as if he knew what he ought to do and then Ned running into the church with the others helped them to bar the doors the church was a solid building of stone with a flat roof and with many loopholes made long ago as a defense against the Indians Ned heard the cavalry thundering into the village as they barred the doors and then he and half a dozen men ran to the roof lying down there they took aim at the charging horsemen these were raw recruits but they knew how to shoot their rifles flashed and four or five saddles were emptied the men below were also firing from the loopholes and the front rank of the Mexican cavalry was cut down by the bullets the whole force turned at a shout from an officer and galloped to the shelter of some buildings Ned estimated that they were 200 in number and he surmised that young Urea led them he descended from the roof and talked with King the men understood their situation but they were exultant they had beaten off the enemy's cavalry and they felt that the final victory must be theirs but Ned had been in the Alamo and he knew that the horsemen had merely hoped to surprise and overtake them with a dash stone fortresses are not taken by cavalry he was sure that the present force would remain under cover until the main army came up with cannon he suggested to Captain King that he send a messenger to Fanon for help King thought wisely of the suggestion and chose Jackson who slipped out of the church escaped through an oak forest and disappeared Ned then made a careful examination of the church which was quite a strong building with a supply of water inside and some dried corn the men had brought rations also with them and they were amply supplied for a siege of several days but Ned already become an expert in this kind of war judged that it would not last so long he believed that the Mexicans flushed by the taking of the Alamo would push matters King lacking experience leaned greatly on young Fulton the men who believed implicitly every word that he had said regarded him almost with superstition he alone of the defenders had come alive out of that terrible charnel house the Alamo I suspect said King that the division you saw is under general Urea very probably said Ned of course Santa Anna no longer having any use for his army in San Antonio can send large numbers of troops eastward which means that we'll have a hard time defending this place said King gloomily unless Fanon sends a big force to our help I'm not so sure that he'll send enough said King his men are nearly all fresh from the States and they know nothing of the country it's hard for him to tell what to do we started once to the relief of the Alamo but our ammunition wagon broke down and we could not get our cannon across the San Antonio River things don't seem to be going right with us Ned was silent his thoughts turned back to the Alamo and so Fanon and his men had started but had never come truly things were going wrong but perhaps it was just as well the victims would have only been more numerous and Fanon's men were saved to fight elsewhere for Texas he heard a rattle of musketry and through one of the loopholes he saw that the Mexican cavalry in the wood had opened a distant fire only a few of the bullets reached the church and they fell spent against the stones Ned saw that very little harm was likely to come from such a fire but he believed it would be wise to show the Mexicans that the defenders were fully awake have you any specially good rifleman he asked King several suppose you put them at the loopholes and see if they can't pick off some of those Mexican horsemen it would have a most healthy effect six young men came forward took aim with their long barrel rifles and at King's command fired three of the saddles were emptied and there was a rapid movement of the Mexicans who withdrew further into the wood the defenders reloaded and waited Ned knew better than Captain King or any of his men the extremely dangerous nature of their position since the vanguard was already here the Mexican army must be coming on rapidly and this was no Alamo nor were these raw recruits defenders of an Alamo he saw presently a man holding a white handkerchief on the end of a lance ride out from the wood Ned recognized him at once it was young Urea as Ned had suspected he was the leader of the cavalry for his uncle the general what do you think he wants asked King he will demand our surrender but even if we were to yield it is likely that we should be put to death afterward I have no idea of surrendering under any circumstances do you speak Spanish oh yes said Ned seizing the opportunity then as I can't you do the talking for us and tell it to him straight and hard that we're going to fight Ned climbed upon the roof and sat with only his head showing above the parapet while Urea rode slowly forward carrying the lance and the white flag jauntily Ned could not keep from admiring his courage as the white flag even in such a war as this might prove no protection he stopped at a distance of about 30 yards and called loudly in Spanish within the church there I wish to speak to you Ned stood up his entire figure now being revealed and replied I have been appointed spokesman for our company what do you want Urea started slightly in his saddle then regarded Ned with a look of mingled irony and hatred and so he said our paths cross again you escaped us at the Alamo why general Santa Ana spared you then I do not know but he is not here to give new orders concerning you what do you want repeated Ned we want the church yourself and all the other bandits who are within it Ned's face flushed at Urea's contemptuous words and manner and his heart hardened into a yet deeper hatred of the Mexicans but he controlled his voice and replied evenly and if we should surrender what then the mercy of the illustrious general Santa Ana whatever it may be I saw his mercy at the Alamo replied Ned and we want none of it nor would we surrender even if we could trust your most illustrious general Santa Ana then take your fate said Urea since you are at the Alamo you know what befell the defenders there and this place mostly in ruins is not nearly so strong adios adios said Ned speaking in a firm tone but he felt that there was truth in Urea's words little was left of the mission but at strong walls nevertheless they might hold them what did he say asking he demanded our surrender on what terms whatever Santa Ana might decree and if you had seen the red flag of no quarter waving in sight of the Alamo you would know his decree and your reply I told him that we meant to hold the place good enough said King now we will go back to business I wish that we had more ammunition fan and men may bring plenty said Ned and now if you don't mind Captain King I'm going to sleep down there at the foot of the wall and tonight I'll join the guard do as you wish said King you know more about Texas and these Mexicans than any of us I'd suggest a very thorough watch when night comes wake me up about midnight won't you Ned lay down in the place that he had chosen it was only the middle of the afternoon but he had become so enured to hardship that he slept quickly several shots were fired before twilight came but they did not awaken him at midnight King according to his request took him by the shoulder and he stood up nothing of importance has happened said King you can see the campfires of the Mexicans in the wood but as far as we can tell they are not making any movement probably they are content to wait for the main force said Ned looks like it said King if you have no objection Captain said Ned I think I'll go outside and scout about a little good idea I think said King they opened the door a moment and Ned slipped forth the night was quite dark and with the experience of border work that he was rapidly acquiring he had little fear of being caught by the Mexicans he kept his eye on the light burning in the wood and curved in a half circle to the right the few houses that made up the village were all dark but his business was with none of them he intended to see if he could whether the main Mexican force was approaching if it should prove to be at hand with the heavy cannon there would be no possible chance of holding the mission and they must get away he continued in his wide curve knowing that in this case the longest way around was the best and safest and he gradually passed into a stretch of Chaparral beyond the town crossing it he came into a meadow and then he suddenly heard the soft pad of feet he sought to spring back into the Chaparral but a huge dim figure bore down upon him and then his heart recovered its normal beat when he saw that it was only old Jack Ned stroked the great muzzle affectionately but he was compelled to put away his friend no faithful comrade he said I can't take you with me I'd like to do it but there's no room in a church for a horse as big as you are go now go at once or the Mexicans will get you he struck the horse smartly on the jaw old Jack looked at him reproachfully but turned and trotted away from the town Ned continued his scout this proof of affection from a dumb brute cheered him an hour's cautious work brought him to the far side of the wood as well as he could judge nearly all the Mexican troopers were asleep around two fires but they had posted sentinels who walked back and forth calling at intervals sentinela alert a to one another obviously there had been no increase in their force they were sufficient to maintain a blockade of the church but too few to surround it completely he went two or three miles to the west and seeing no evidence that the main force was approaching he decided to return to the church his original curve had taken him by the south side of the wood and he would return by the north side in order that his examination might be complete he walked rapidly as the night was far advanced and the sky was very clear with bright stars twinkling in myriads he did not wish day to catch him outside the mission it was a prairie country with patches of forest here and there and as he crossed from one wood to another he was wholly without cover he was within a mile of the mission when he heard the faint tread of horses hooves and he concluded that old jack contrary to orders was coming forward to meet him again he paused but the faint tread suddenly became rapid and heavy a half dozen horsemen who had ridden into the prairie had caught sight of him and now they were galloping toward him the brightness of the night showed Ned at once that they were Mexican cavalrymen and as he was on foot he was at a great disadvantage he ran at full speed for the nearest grove the Mexicans fired several musket shots at him but the bullets all went wild he did not undertake a reply as he was straining every effort to reach the trees several pistols also were emptied at him but he yet remained unhurt nevertheless the horsemen were coming alarmingly near he heard the thunder of hooves in his ears and he heard also a quick hiss like that of a snake Ned knew that the hissing sound was made by a lasso and as he dodged he felt the coil thrown in vain slipping from his shoulders he whirled about and fired at the man who had thrown the lasso the rider uttered a cry fell backward on his horse and then to the ground as Ned turned for the shot he saw that Ulrea was the leader of the horsemen whether Ulrea had recognized him or not he did not know but the fact that he was there increased his apprehension he made a mighty effort and leaped the next instant into the protection of the trees and thickets fortune favored him now a wood alone would not have protected him but here were vines and bushes also he turned off at a sharp angle and ran as swiftly and with as little noise as he could he heard the horses floundering in the forest and the curses of the riders he ran a hundred yards further and coming to a little gully lay down in it and reloaded his rifle then he stayed there until he could regain his breath and strength while he lay he heard the Mexicans beating up the thickets and Ulrea giving sharp orders Ned knew that his hiding place must soon be discovered and he began to consider what would be the best movement to make next his heart had now returned to its normal beat and he felt that he was good for another fine burst of speed he heard the trampling of the horses approaching and then the voice of Ulrea telling the others that he was going straight ahead and to follow him evidently they had beaten up the rest of the forest and now they were bound to come upon him Ned's spring from the gully ran from the wood and darted across the prairie toward the next little grove he was halfway toward the coveted shelter when Ulrea caught sight of him gave a shout and fired his pistol Ned filled with hatred of Ulrea fired in return but the bullet instead of striking the horseman struck the horse squarely in the head the horse fell instantly and Ulrea hurled violently over his head lay still Ned caught it all in a fleeting glance and in a few more steps he gained the second wood he did not know how much Ulrea was hurt nor did he care he had paid back a little too he was sure also that the pursuit would be less vigorous now that its leader was disabled the second grove did not contain so many vines and bushes but hiding behind a tree there Ned saw the horseman hold off without Ulrea to urge them on they were afraid of the rifle that the fugitive used so well two also had stopped to tend Ulrea and Ned decided that the others would not now enter the grove he was right in his surmise the horseman rode about at a safe distance from the trees Ned taking his time reloaded his rifle again and departed for the mission there was now fairly good cover all the way but he heard other troops of Mexicans riding about and blowing trumpets at signaled no doubt the shots had been heard at the main camp and many men were seeking their cause but Ned fortunately for himself was now like the needle in the haystack while the trumpets signaled and the groups of Mexican horsemen rode into one another he stole back to the old mission and knocked upon the door with the butt of his rifle answering kings questions through the loophole he was admitted quickly the main army hasn't come up yet he said in reply to the eager inquiries of the defenders Fanon's men may get here in time and if they are in sufficient force to beat off the cavalry detachment I suggest that we abandon the mission before we are caught in a trap and retreat toward Fanon if we linger the whole Mexican army will be around us sounds right said king but we've got to hear from Fanon first now you look pretty tired Fulton suppose you roll up in some blankets there by the wall and take a nap I don't want to sleep now said Ned you remember that I slept until nearly midnight but I would like to stretch out a while it's not very restful to be hunted through woods by Mexicans even if you do get away Ned lay by the wall upon the blankets and watched the sun go slowly up the arch of the heavens it seemed a hard fate to him that he should again be trapped thus in an old mission nor did he have here the strength and support of the great borderers like buoy and Crockett he missed them most of all now the day passed slowly and with an occasional exchange of shots that did little harm toward the twilight one of the sentinels on the wall uttered a great and joyous shout the reinforcements he cried see our friends are coming Ned climbed upon the wall and saw a force of more than a hundred men obviously Texans approaching they answered the hail of the sentinel and came on more swiftly his eyes turned to the wood in which the Mexican camp yet lay their cavalry would still outnumber the Texan force two or three to one but the Mexicans invariably demanded greater odds than that before they would attack the Texans Ned saw no stir in the wood not a shot was fired as the new men came forward and were joyously admitted to the church the men were 120 in number led by Colonel Ward who by virtue of his rank now commanded all the defenders as soon as they had eaten and rested a council at which Ned was present was held King had already told the story of young Fulton to Ward and that officer looked very curiously at Ned as he came forward he asked him briefly about the Alamo and Ned gave him the usual replies then he told of what he had seen before he joined King how large do you think this force was asked Ward about 1500 men and weave 150 here you were not much more than 150 in the Alamo and you held it two weeks against thousands why should we retreat but the Alamo fell at last said Ned and this refurio mission is not so defensible as the Alamo was you think then we should retreat I do I'm sure the place cannot be held against a large army there was much discussion Ned saw that all the men of the new force were raw recruits from the states like kings many of them were mere boys drawn to Texas by the love of adventure they showed more curiosity than alarm and it was evident to Ned that they felt able to defeat any number of Mexicans Ned called upon again for his opinion urged that they withdraw from the church and the town at once but neither Ward nor King was willing to make a retreat in the night they did not seem especially anxious to withdraw at all but finally agreed to do so in the morning Ned left the council depressed and uneasy he felt that his countrymen held the Mexicans too lightly were other tragedies to be added to that of the Alamo he was no egotist but he was conscious of his superiority to all those present in the grave affairs with which they were now dealing he took his rifle and went upon the wall where he resolved to watch all through the night he saw the lights in the wood where the Mexicans were camped but darkness and silence prevailed everywhere else he had no doubt that young Urea had sent messengers back to hurry up the main force he smiled to himself at the thought of Urea he was sure that the young Mexican had sustained no fatal injury but he must have painful wounds and Ned with the Alamo as vivid as ever in his mind was glad that he had inflicted them midnight came and Ward told Ned that he need not watch any longer when the second relay of sentinels appeared but the boy desired to remain and Ward had no objection but you'll be sleepy he said in a good humor tone when we start at the break of day and you won't have much chance to rest on a long march I'll have to take the risk said Ned I feel that I ought to be watching toward morning the men in the mission were awakened and began to prepare for the march they made considerable noise as they talked and adjusted their packs but Ned paid no attention to them he was listening instead to a faint sound approaching the town from the south no one in the church or on the walls heard it but himself but he knew that it was steadily growing louder Ned moreover could tell the nature of that sound and as it swelled his heart sank within him the first spear of light herald of dawn appeared in the east and ward caught out cheerfully well we are all ready to go now it is too late said Ned the whole mexican army is here end of chapter 15 recording by kevin laverne