WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
Col. 
 
THE TWO NEAREST MEXICANS WERE OVERTHROWN AND 
 HURLED BREATHLESS TO THE GROUND. 
 
WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 OB 
 
 FIGHTING FOB THE LONE-STAR FLAG 
 
 A TALE OF TEXAS 
 
 BY 
 KIRK MUNROE 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE WHITE CONQUERORS," "AT WAR WITH 
 PONTIAC," "THROUGH SWAMP AND GLADE," ETC. 
 
 BY V. PERARD 
 
 NEW YORK 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER S SONS 
 
 1898 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER S SONS 
 
 Nortoooti Jptfss 
 
 J. S. Gushing & Co. - Berwick & Smith 
 Norwood, Mass. U.S.A. 
 
TO MY READERS 
 
 THE following story of the struggle by which 
 Texas gained her independence from Mexico is his 
 torically true so far as I may rely upon Yoakum s 
 History of Texas, and the memory of one who took 
 an active part in the conflict, the late John C. Duval 
 of Austin. For the benefit of many who have lost 
 sight of the fact, I would state that after Rex, 
 Tawny, and their associates had achieved the free 
 dom of Texas, she remained an independent republic 
 for nine years, or until 1845. Then, of her own 
 free will, she became the twenty-eighth and greatest 
 state of the great American Union. 
 
 The 21st of April, or San Jacinto day, is annu 
 ally celebrated throughout the state with great re 
 joicings, and the church of the Alamo, still standing 
 in San Antonio, is the monument most reverenced 
 by the sons and daughters of Texas. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 BISCAYNE BAY, FLORIDA. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. A HOME IN THE WILDERNESS .... 1 
 
 II. REX AND TAWNY 10 
 
 III. A HORSE WITH LIKES AND DISLIKES ... 19 
 
 IV. FOUR TEXAS REBELS, AND WHY THEY REBELLED . 27 
 V. JAMES BOWIE, FIGHTER 36 
 
 VI. IN THE STREETS OF SAN ANTONIO .... 45 
 
 VII. BENEATH THE VERAMENDI GARDENS . . . 53 
 
 VIII. TAWNY BEGINS THE WAR . . . . .61 
 
 IX. MIDNIGHT FLIGHT OF THE SETTLERS ... 70 
 
 X. ORGANIZING THE FIRST TEXAS ARMY ... 78 
 
 XL THE ABSURD BATTLE OF GONZALES ... 87 
 
 XII. WHY THE MEXICAN TROOPS FOUGHT BADLY . . 95 
 
 XIII. A WOMAN IN PERIL 104 
 
 XIV. REX IS CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT . . . .113 
 
 XV. SAVED BY COCHITO THE COMANCHE . . . 122 
 
 XVI. POSITIONS ARE REVERSED 131 
 
 XVII. IN THE ANCIENT MISSION OF LA ESPADA . . 139 
 
 XVIII. SEBASTIEN TEJADA S WIFE . . . . . 147 
 
 v 
 
vi CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 PAGE 
 
 XIX. REX BECOMES A MEXICAN SOLDIER . . .155 
 
 XX. QUARTERED AMONG CONVICTS .... 164 
 XXI. TAWNY APPEARS IN SAN ANTONIO . . .173 
 
 XXII. WHO WILL GO WITH OLD BEN MlLAM ? . .182 
 
 XXIII. FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE 191 
 
 XXIV. A GLORIOUS TEXAN VICTORY . . . . 200 
 XXV. LIEUTENANT HARDEN GAINS HIS COMMISSION . 209 
 
 XXVI. SANTA ANNA INVADES TEXAS . . . .218 
 
 XXVII. THE OATH OF No SURRENDER .... 226 
 
 XXVIII. AN EXPRESS FROM THE ALAMO . . .235 
 
 XXIX. A HANDFUL WITHSTANDS THOUSANDS . . 244 
 
 XXX. WHO WILL CROSS THIS LINE ? . . . 252 
 
 XXXI. THE LAST SHOT FROM THE ALAMO . . .261 
 
 XXXII. TAWNY SAVES HIS YOUNG MASTER . . . 269 
 
 XXXIII. THREE BAFFLED MEXICANS . . .278 
 
 XXXIV. AGAIN ARE THE TEXANS DEFEATED . . . 287 
 XXXV. "LISTEN!" . . . . . . .296 
 
 XXXVI. A MASSACRE FROM WHICH Two ESCAPE . . 305 
 
 XXXVII. THE DARKEST HOUR 314 
 
 XXXVIII. DESPAIR AND HAPPINESS 322 
 
 XXXIX. CAPTURED BY A FRIEND 330 
 
 XL. TEXAS FREE AT LAST , 339 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 THE TWO NEAREST MEXICANS WERE OVERTHROWN AND 
 
 HURLED BREATHLESS TO THE GROUND . . Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 
 HE REARED, PITCHED, BUCKED, LEAPED, AND EVEN ROLLED 
 ON THE GROUND 14 
 
 THE SQUIRE DETECTED THE BEAT OF GALLOPING HOOFS 
 
 ON THE ROAD BEHIND HIM 72 
 
 A SINGLE GLANCE SHOWED THIS TO BE A WHITE LAD OF 
 ABOUT HIS OWN AGE ........ 128 
 
 " DON T SHOOT, MEN ; WE ARE FRIENDS "... 194 
 
 WITH STOUT HEARTS THESE HEROES OF THE ALAMO 
 SPRANG TO THEIR DEFENCES . . . . 248 
 
 THE MEXICANS ATTEMPTED TWO MORE CHARGES . . 292 
 
 REX HARDEN CLASPED HIS MOTHER IN HIS STRONG 
 
 YOUNG ARMS . . 344 
 
WITH CEOCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 A HOME IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
 A BOY and a horse, both breathing hard and 
 trembling from recent exertions, stood gazing at 
 each other dubiously, and each was wondering 
 whether the struggle in which they had been en 
 gaged for the past two hours was to be resumed 
 or not. The boy, who was a slender lad with a 
 very determined expression on his sun-tanned face, 
 was so covered with dirt and perspiration that it 
 would have been hard to decide whether he was 
 good looking or not. His close-cropped head was 
 bare, for he had long since parted company with 
 his broad-brimmed sombrero, his flannel shirt was 
 soiled and torn, and even the stout trousers of 
 homespun, tucked into the legs of heavy cowhide 
 boots, bore sad traces of the recent fray. One side 
 of his face was bruised and so swollen that the 
 eye was nearly closed. Thus taken altogether, Rex 
 
2 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Harden, only son of "Squire" Ellis Harden of 
 the great Herrera Ranch, was at that moment a 
 very disreputable looking young man. 
 
 The horse at which he was gazing with a comical 
 expression of mingled doubt and admiration was in 
 no better plight than himself. In fact, he seemed 
 a little worse off than the boy. He was a splendid 
 chestnut stallion, four or five years old, clean limbed, 
 full chested, with flowing mane and tail of hair so 
 dark as to be nearly black, and without blemish or 
 spot on his body, save only a clearly outlined white 
 star on his forehead. His beauty was, however, 
 sadly dimmed just then; for he was covered with 
 lather and dirt, a bloody froth dropped from his 
 mouth, his breath came in choking sobs, his drip 
 ping flanks heaved like a bellows, and his slender 
 limbs trembled so that he could hardly stand. 
 
 Not far away was a small band of mares and 
 foals pawing the earth impatiently, tossing their 
 heads, ready to take flight at a sign of danger, 
 and yet rooted to the spot by an eager curiosity 
 to learn what their splendid and hitherto untamed 
 leader could be doing. 
 
 On all sides of these two groups was spread a 
 vast extent of brown, rolling prairie, broken in the 
 northeast by a range of blue hills, and on the west 
 by a dark line of timber marking the course of a 
 river. The soft wind that rustled the dry grasses 
 and fanned tho heated brow of the only human 
 
A HOME IN THE WILDERNESS 3 
 
 being to be seen in all the landscape swept up 
 from the warm waters of the Mexican Gulf, for 
 this was a Texas prairie, and Rex Harden was a 
 native of the Lone Star State. 
 
 As we catch our first glimpse of him, it is evident 
 that both he and the fine animal beside him have 
 just regained their feet after an ugly fall and are 
 still doubtful as to whether their bones are whole 
 or not. The boy s head was in a whirl as he 
 picked himself up, and many stars shot athwart 
 the glance cast at his companion in adversity. He 
 drew a hand swiftly across his still serviceable eye 
 to clear its vision, and then, stepping to the horse, 
 threw an arm impulsively across the beautiful creat 
 ure s neck, saying as he did so: 
 
 " Tawny, old fellow, let s make up and be friends. 
 I don t believe you want any more of this racket, 
 and I m sure I do not, for another cropper like 
 that one would lay us both out. So I ll give in if 
 you will." 
 
 As if in answer the horse rested his head on the 
 boy s shoulder, and with their cheeks touching, the 
 latter had not the slightest doubt but that Tawny 
 had understood every word said to him. He at any 
 rate readily comprehended the animal s movement, 
 and knew that their battle was ended. He also 
 knew, or at least fully believed, that in that moment 
 he had gained a friend that would be faithful even 
 unto death, for Rex Harden dearly loved horses, and 
 
4 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 knew that the affection of a thoroughbred once 
 gained would never be withdrawn. 
 
 At the conclusion of this treaty of peace and 
 friendship the boy tore out a sleeve of his tattered 
 shirt, and with it wiped the dirt and foam from 
 Tawny s nostrils. He loosened the cruel cord that, 
 fastened tightly about the animal s lower jaw, had 
 served instead of a bridle, and threw off the folded 
 blanket that, cinched with a leather surcingle, had 
 taken the place of a saddle. Then he rubbed the 
 horse vigorously until every trace of lather and dirt 
 was removed, giving him a dry polish with the re 
 maining sleeve of his useful flannel shirt, which he 
 also tore out without hesitation. 
 
 Although this was the very first grooming that 
 Tawny had ever received in all his wild free life, 
 he did not move during the operation. He even 
 allowed the blanket saddle to be replaced without 
 opposition, and the hated cord to be again slipped 
 over his lower jaw. Only when the lad climbed 
 stiffly to his back and intimated that it was time to 
 be moving did he give a convulsive start and then 
 stand quivering. 
 
 The boy spoke a few soothing words, patted the 
 arching neck, and at the same moment pressed his 
 heels against the animal s flanks. This time he was 
 obeyed, and Tawny, king of the prairie, hitherto 
 wildest of the wild and freest of the free, a horse 
 that many men had declared would never be caught 
 
A HOME IN THE WILDERNESS 5 
 
 nor tamed unless first " creased " with a rifle bullet, 
 stepped forth the willing bearer of a burden. 
 
 At this moment the ragged, bruised, and astonish 
 ingly dirty but triumphant lad on his back was so 
 thrilled with the glorious victory just achieved that 
 it was all he could do to repress a yell of delight. 
 He did repress it, however, and devoted his entire 
 attention to a further soothing of the splendid horse 
 that had just become his by right of conquest. At 
 the same time he turned him gently in the direc 
 tion of the distant river, towards which they started 
 on an easy lope, with the little band of mares and 
 foals following them curiously a short distance be 
 hind. 
 
 The disreputable looking but happy lad riding 
 thus proudly across the brown prairie was a son of 
 one of the earliest American pioneers to settle in 
 what was then the Mexican state of Texas. His 
 father, a Kentuckian, had in the first flush of man 
 hood gone to the wars with General Andrew Jackson, 
 and had lost a leg in his first and only battle. Re 
 covering health and strength after a weary illness, he 
 had promptly offered to release the Kentucky sweet 
 heart who had nursed him, from her engagement to 
 a "fractional man." She had as promptly refused 
 to be released, and so they were married. 
 
 Directly afterwards Ellis Harden took the modest 
 portion of this world s goods allotted to him, and 
 with dauntless energy sought to make a home for 
 
WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 his wife and himself in the little known Mexican state 
 of Texas. They settled at Nacogdoches, a busy 
 frontier town close to the boundary line between 
 Mexico and the United States, and here the young 
 Kentuckian prospered beyond his hopes. Here were 
 born his two children, Rector or " Rex," as he was 
 always called, and Mabel. Here, too, during the 
 revolution by which Mexico threw off the galling 
 yoke of Spain, Ellis Harden was enabled to render 
 important aid to Don Manuel Herrera, Mexican 
 Commissioner to the United States. A few years 
 later on account of this service he was granted a 
 noble property on the Cibolo River in Southwestern 
 Texas, some twenty-five miles from the town of San 
 Antonio de Bexar (Behar). 
 
 In 1821, the Mexicans under Augustin Iturbide 
 established their independence, and three years later 
 they adopted a liberal constitution modelled after 
 that of the United States. At the same time they 
 offered tempting inducements to emigrants to 
 settle in Texas. Under these circumstances Ellis 
 Harden decided to take possession of his property on 
 the beautiful Cibolo, and there established himself as 
 a ranchman. In honor of the friend through whom 
 he had received his grant he named the new home 
 Rancho Herrera. Here with the opening of this 
 story he and his had dwelt for ten years in compara 
 tive peace and ever-increasing prosperity. 
 
 The stalwart but crippled American was a man of 
 
A HOME IN THE WILDERNESS 7 
 
 such fearless integrity that the scattered settlers of 
 that section formed a habit of referring all their dis 
 putes to him for adjustment rather than entrust 
 them to the Mexican Alcaldes of either San Antonio 
 or Gonzales, and for this reason he became known 
 far and wide as " Squire " Harden. 
 
 Having a certain amount of capital to start with 
 and being possessed of unbounded energy, Squire 
 Harden, in spite of being a " fractional " man, had 
 developed his property until the Rancho Herrera 
 was one of the finest in the state. It boasted thou 
 sands of cattle, great fields of corn, cane, and cotton, 
 and hundreds of horses bred from imported Ken 
 tucky stock, the fame of which had spread even to 
 the Mexican capital, where they were always in 
 demand for service in the army. As the vast estate 
 bordered on the highway between San Antonio and 
 Gonzales, and lay midway between the two towns, it 
 was a favorite halting-place for travellers, to whom 
 its generous hospitality was never denied. If they 
 were Americans, they were entertained at the great 
 house, while natives were equally well cared for in 
 the quarters of the peons, a large number of whom 
 were employed on the ranch as herdsmen or cultiva 
 tors of the soil. 
 
 Among other things, not then common in that 
 country, the Rancho Herrera supported its own grist 
 mill, cotton gin, and smithy, while deft-handed Mex 
 ican women wove both wool and cotton, raised on 
 
8 WITH CKOCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 the place, into blankets and such stuffs as were 
 needed by its people. 
 
 Here, then, Rector Harden had grown from child 
 hood to sturdy youth, and this was the home he 
 loved. Here was the noble father whom he re 
 garded as the best and wisest of men, the devoted 
 mother who had so bravely ventured into this far 
 land for the sake of her loved ones, and the brown- 
 haired sister only a year younger than himself, known 
 to her mother as Mabel, but called " Daughter " by 
 her father, " Dulce " (Sweet) by Rex, and " Honey " 
 by Aunty Day, her old negro mammy. 
 
 Rex was proud of being a Texan, and his only pres 
 ent ambition was to aid his father in making the 
 Rancho Herrera the finest property of its kind in 
 the country. He already knew a great deal about 
 cattle and crops, was a fearless horseman, a good 
 shot, and could throw a riata or lasso with the best 
 vaquero on the ranch. Nor had his education in 
 other subjects been neglected ; for, besides being 
 carefully taught at home, he had been sent for three 
 years to a military school in New Orleans, from 
 which he returned to the ranch for the long vaca 
 tions. 
 
 As there were no railroads nor even stages in 
 Texas in those days, he had always made the jour 
 ney to and from New Orleans in one of the trading 
 schooners plying between there and Matagorda, the 
 seaport nearest to his home. Of course he talked 
 
A HOME IN THE WILDERNESS 9 
 
 Spanish as well as did the Mexicans among whom 
 he lived, and in New Orleans he had gained a 
 fair knowledge of French. Thus our lad had been 
 given advantages far beyond those enjoyed by most 
 boys of his age in that new country. Best of all, 
 he had been taught from his earliest childhood to 
 be a gentleman. 
 
 Having thus introduced him, we will precede him 
 to his home, and stand ready to receive him as he 
 rides proudly past the great house, on the porch of 
 which his father holds conversation with a newly 
 arrived stranger, and leads his little drove of horses 
 to one of the corrals in its rear. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 BEX AND TAWNY 
 
 TAWNY had long been a source of pride and 
 perplexity to the whole ranch. On all its broad 
 prairies there was no horse to compare with him in 
 beauty or speed. In some way he had escaped the 
 branding-iron when a colt, nor had he ever since been 
 captured, though many attempts against his liberty 
 had been made by the Herrera vaqueros. No one 
 had enjoyed these efforts, with their exciting races 
 over the broad plains, more than Tawny himself, and 
 he had always entered into them with a joyful 
 readiness. 
 
 On such occasions he would stand with proudly 
 uplifted head and distended nostrils until his would- 
 be captors were just ready to throw their entangling 
 ropes ; when, with a snort of defiance and a toss of 
 his silken mane, he would dash away at a speed that 
 none of his pursuers could hope to equal. Still they 
 always followed him, and each time with fresh hope. 
 He invariably ran in a great circle that caused the 
 race to finish near its place of starting, and during 
 its continuance he would slacken his pace at inter 
 vals until his pursuers were close at hand, only to 
 
 10 
 
REX AND TAWNY 11 
 
 dart away again with increased speed just when they 
 thought they had him. 
 
 So aggravating were these tactics, and he showed 
 such a knowledge of the steps it was proposed to 
 take for his capture, that the superstitious Mexicans 
 came to regard him as possessed of uncanny powers, 
 and named him U E1 Diablo." But for strict orders 
 issued by the master of the ranch that not a hair of 
 his glossy coat was to be harmed, more than one 
 of his baffled pursuers would have tried to overcome 
 him by the dangerous and doubtful method of 
 " creasing," which is stunning by means of a rifle 
 ball so carefully aimed as to cut a crease on the 
 upper side of the animal s neck, without otherwise 
 injuring him. 
 
 Rex, who had loved the horse from the first and 
 longed to possess him, called him "Tawny," by 
 which name he came to be generally known. Al 
 though the lad had joined in many a chase of the 
 superb animal, he had never really wished them suc 
 cess in their efforts for his overthrow. He rejoiced 
 that this descendant from Kentucky thoroughbreds 
 should outwit the craftiest of Mexican vaqueros, and 
 took as much pleasure in witnessing their defeats as 
 in the mad racing. Another cause for rejoicing at 
 their failures was a promise from his father, that if 
 he should ever, alone and unaided, succeed in capt 
 uring Tawny, the horse should be his from that 
 moment. Many a fruitless race unseen by the 
 
12 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 others had our lad given the wild horse after receiving 
 this promise, and each failure to capture the beautiful 
 creature only made him seem the more desirable. 
 
 Tawny fully realized that the ranch was his 
 home, and never strayed very far from it. Next to 
 racing with would-be captors he enjoyed lording it 
 over the other semi-wild horses of the estate, and 
 was always accompanied by a band of admiring 
 followers, most of whom were young mares with 
 sleek skins and velvety noses, belonging to the best 
 equine families. 
 
 During his study of Tawny and his companions, 
 Rex discovered that one of their favorite midday 
 resorts was the shade of a great live-oak that stood 
 by itself on the edge of the prairie a hundred yards 
 removed from any other timber. Here they would 
 remain for hours, lazily switching their long tails, 
 lying down, standing, with slim heads caressingly 
 extended over each other s necks, playfully biting, 
 squealing, or kicking at one another, or staring in 
 tently motionless at the antics of a squirrel or at 
 something else that attracted their curiosity. After 
 breaking up these pleasant parties several times by 
 sudden outrushes from the neighboring timber, Rex 
 conceived the plan of concealing himself amid the 
 lower branches of their favorite tree during a time 
 of their absence from it, awaiting their coming, and 
 then attempting to throw a noose over Tawny a 
 neck from that point of vantage. 
 
REX AND TAWNY 13 
 
 For the carrying out of this purpose he stored a 
 blanket, a surcingle, and several stout ropes in the 
 tree, and established himself on one of its lower limbs 
 for several days in succession, spending three or four 
 hours there each time, before he had the pleasure of 
 seeing the unsuspecting horses led by Tawny the 
 superb trot jauntily into its wide shadow. 
 
 The lad was thrilled at finding the animal he so 
 coveted almost within reach of his hand, and his 
 heart beat high with hope. At the same time he 
 almost stopped breathing and hardly dared move, 
 for he knew that the slightest sound would send the 
 keen-witted creatures off like the wind. He had 
 previously fastened one end of a noosed rope to the 
 limb on which he sat, and now he held the noose 
 ready for dropping, the moment an opportunity 
 offered. 
 
 Several minutes passed before Tawny came to that 
 side of the tree, and Rex had about decided that he 
 could not bear the pain of his constrained position 
 a moment longer, when all at once the stallion ap 
 peared immediately beneath him. In an instant the 
 darting rope had settled over the proud neck, and, 
 as the startled animal sprang away, it tautened with 
 a cruel, choking jerk, that flung him heavily to the 
 ground. At the same moment, and before the terri 
 fied horse could regain his feet, Rex dropped from his 
 hiding-place. Within two minutes he had Tawny s 
 legs so secured that he could not rise. Then he 
 
14 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 loosened the choking neck-rope and spent a quarter 
 of an hour in soothing and stroking his captive. 
 
 The next move was to allow the horse to regain 
 his feet, hobble him so that he could not move with 
 out falling, and strap a folded blanket to his back. 
 Five times did Tawny throw himself in striving to 
 avoid this indignity before the blanket was securely 
 fastened in place. The securing of a noosed cord 
 about his lower jaw was attended with still greater 
 difficulty, but even that was finally accomplished. 
 Then the entangling leg-ropes were cast loose, and 
 Rex vaulted into his blanket saddle. The horse 
 made several convulsive movements, each of which 
 was checked by the rope still encircling his neck 
 and choking him with every pull upon it. Then he 
 stood still while the boy, retaining his seat, soothed 
 and talked to him. 
 
 At length Rex severed the taut rope with a single 
 stroke of his hunting-knife, dropped the weapon, 
 twined his fingers in the thick mane, gripped the 
 animal s body with his knees, and found himself 
 speeding through space as though he were astride 
 a runaway locomotive. 
 
 As the stallion reached the place to which his 
 terrified comrades had retreated at the first alarm, 
 he began to make furious efforts to rid himself of 
 his burden. He reared until it seemed as though he 
 must topple over backwards, pitched, bucked, leaped 
 sideways, and even rolled on the ground. When- 
 
< V - i 
 
 HE REARED, PITCHED, BUCKED, LEAPED, AND EVEN ROLLED 
 
BEX AND TAWNY 15 
 
 ever he attempted this last manoeuvre the boy flung 
 himself to one side, but sprang again to the animal s 
 back the instant the latter began to regain his feet. 
 At the same time he never once relaxed a steady 
 pull on the slender cord about Tawny s lower jaw. 
 Once he was flung to the ground, and was dragged 
 by it for a short distance, but the strain on the 
 horse was so painful that he was forced to come to 
 a stop, and in a moment Rex was again seated on his 
 back. 
 
 Then the animal bolted and ran, or rather flew, at 
 a speed that filled the boy with a delirium of excite 
 ment, up hill and down, across broad levels, mile 
 after mile and league after league. At first the 
 young rider gave him his head and allowed him to 
 take his own direction. Then he gradually resumed 
 his pull on the cruel cord and, little by little, 
 changed the course of his flying steed until at 
 length they were headed almost in the direction 
 from which they had come. 
 
 After a while the fearful pace began to tell, and 
 the sobbing animal began to falter in his stride, but 
 now Rex urged him on with shout and blow until 
 finally Tawny plunged heavily forward and fell, 
 flinging his rider far over his head. That neither 
 of them gained broken bones was a miracle, but both 
 of them were young, and so neither of them did. 
 When they picked themselves up they gazed at 
 each other with that feeling of mutual respect that, 
 
16 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 between worthy opponents, often leads to sincerest 
 friendship. 
 
 When our proudly happy lad had ridden his prize 
 home and into a stout corral, he did not leave him 
 until he had removed the blanket saddle and cord 
 bridle that formed Tawny s badges of servitude, and 
 had given him another thorough rubbing down, dur 
 ing which he talked incessantly to the horse, often 
 calling him by name. Then he brought the thirsty 
 creature a bucket of water, and fed him with a small 
 measure of salted oats, a luxury of civilization that 
 Tawny had never before tasted. 
 
 Through all this the horse was so quiet and docile 
 that Rex began to wonder if he had not given him 
 too severe a lesson, and broken his spirit so com 
 pletely that he would never regain it. 
 
 After having thus extended the hospitalities of 
 the ranch to his newly acquired friend, and leaving 
 orders with a peon to have all the animals cared for, 
 the young horse-tamer, recalled to his own aches, 
 bruises, and general dilapidation, made his way to 
 the house. 
 
 This ranch house was a large, comfortable affair 
 of squared logs, having a great central hall running 
 through it from front to rear and open at both ends. 
 On either side of this were two large rooms. In the 
 hall a rude stairway, hewn from the trunk of an oak 
 tree, led to an upper story which was at once store 
 room and bed-chamber for an indefinite number of 
 
REX AND TAWNY 17 
 
 guests. From this upper room a ladder gave access 
 to the roof, on which was a platform enclosed within 
 a breastwork of logs ; for this house was intended 
 as a fortress as well as a dwelling, and was admi 
 rably planned for defence against those Indians who 
 then roamed over the whole of Texas. 
 
 A detached kitchen stood behind the house, while 
 in front, commanding a fine view of both the road 
 and river, was a broad porch overrun with roses. 
 
 Rex entered the lower hall from its rear end, hop 
 ing for a chance to render himself more presentable 
 before meeting any of the family or the stranger 
 whom he had seen talking with his father. But 
 Squire Harden caught sight of him and called him. 
 
 " What horse was that you were riding, son ? " he 
 asked, as Rex appeared on the porch. 
 
 " It was Tawny, sir. " 
 
 " Tawny, the wild stallion ! You don t mean 
 it." 
 
 "Yes, I do," laughed the boy. "We had a big 
 fight and then made friends with each other after 
 wards." 
 
 " Prettiest fight tween man and hoss that ever I 
 seen," remarked the stranger to whom Squire Harden 
 had been talking, and who was a spare, smooth-faced 
 man, clad in buckskin. 
 
 " Did you see us, sir ? " asked the lad, in a tone of 
 surprise. "I didn t know there was a soul within 
 miles of us." 
 c 
 
18 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 " I expect thar s many a man seen by Deaf Smith, 
 who never sees him," laughed the Squire. " Son, I 
 want to present you to my old and valued friend, 
 Mr. Erastus Smith, better known as Deaf Smith, 
 the scout, whom I think you must have known long 
 ago by reputation." 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 A HORSE WITH LIKES AND DISLIKES 
 
 DEAF SMITH, most famous of Texan scouts, was 
 a New Yorker by birth, brought up amid the wild 
 scenes of Mississippi Territory and an early pioneer 
 to Texas, where he helped found the American 
 town of Gonzales on the Guadalupe River some fifty 
 miles east of the Mexican city of San Antonio. He 
 had not been content to settle down there or else 
 where ; but had spent years in wandering alone over 
 the vast southwestern wilderness, hunting buffalo, 
 capturing wild horses, and leading the life of the 
 Indians, who either as friends or foes were for 
 months at a time the only human beings with whom 
 he held intercourse. On one occasion while Rex was 
 away at school he had appeared at the Rancho 
 Herrera, bleeding from an arrow wound, with the 
 warning of a contemplated attack from a war-party 
 of Comanches. With this timely notice, and aided 
 by the brave scout, Squire Harden was enabled to 
 prepare a complete surprise for the savages and 
 drive them off with such heavy loss that they had 
 not cared to molest him since. 
 
 At that time a strong liking for each other had 
 19 
 
20 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 sprung up between the two men, and Deaf Smith 
 had ever afterwards been a welcome guest at the 
 ranch, though he rarely visited it more than once 
 a year. Thus it happened that until now he and 
 Rex had never met, though of course the boy had 
 learned many thrilling tales concerning the famous 
 scout, that he afterwards related with fine effect to 
 his school-fellows at New Orleans. 
 
 Smith had also heard much about his friend s son ; 
 but, fearing that he would be unfitted for Texas life 
 by his schooling and residence in a great city, had 
 purposely avoided meeting him. Now that such a 
 meeting was forced upon him, he gazed at the lad 
 curiously as he took his extended hand and held it 
 in a firm grasp. 
 
 While our hero s present appearance might not 
 have produced a favorable impression in New Orleans 
 society, it seemed exactly to suit the scout s idea of 
 what was fitting and proper ; for, after a moment of 
 such searching gaze as seemed to read the lad s soul, 
 he said: 
 
 " Young man, I am proud to make your acquaint 
 ance, for your own sake as well as your dad s, but 
 I m free to confess that if I hadn t seen you awhile 
 ago wrastling with that hoss, and met you bearing 
 signs of a tussle, I wouldn t have believed you had 
 the grit you ve just showed. It does look, though, 
 like your schooling hadn t done you no great harm 
 after all." 
 
A HORSE WITH LIKES AND DISLIKES 21 
 
 " You are very kind to say so," replied Rex, flush 
 ing at what he felt was a great compliment, coming 
 as it did from Deaf Smith, " and I am awfully glad 
 to meet you, for I ve heard more about you than 
 about any other man in Texas. I would like to 
 know, though, where you were when you saw Tawny 
 and me getting acquainted." 
 
 " On my way here from Gonzales," was the reply. 
 
 " But I was not anywhere near the Gonzales road." 
 
 " No more was I. To my mind a road is a mighty 
 dangersome place, and I never set foot on one when 
 I can travel by a grass trail. When I fust seed you 
 cavortin over the perarer, I mistook you for a Co- 
 manch, and laid low. Even when I found you was 
 white, I still laid low to watch the fight between you 
 and the critter. Same time I never mistrusted who 
 you war, though I knowed the hoss. When you 
 went streaking off, like you never meant to stop this 
 side the Sabine, I came on here and told the Squire 
 thar was two devils fighting over yonder, one human 
 and one hoss. He lowed that the human devil 
 would get the wust of it, seeing as how El Diablo 
 hadn t never yet met his master. Same time, seein 
 what I seen, I was willin to bet on the human 
 comin out ahead. Of cose I hadn t no idee who he 
 war till you rid past awhile back, and the Squire 
 lowed that you bore some faint likeness to his son. 
 Even then, he was dubersome about the hoss, and 
 reckoned it couldn t be El Diablo." 
 
22 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 44 And it wasn t," laughed Rex, joyously, "for his 
 name is Tawny, and he is the dearest and gentlest 
 and most splendid horse ever raised in Texas. He 
 is my very own too, isn t he, father ? " 
 
 " I expect he is, son," replied Squire Harden ; "for 
 you seem to have won him in fair fight, though I 
 must confess that I would rather you had set your 
 affections on any other horse in the whole cavallado. 
 This one has such a devilish temper, that 
 
 " Oh, father ! " interrupted Rex, reproachfully, 
 " you wouldn t say that if you only knew how gentle 
 and loving he really is. Why " 
 
 Just here the lad was, in turn, startlingly inter 
 rupted by such a confusion of shouts, screams, and 
 general uproar, coming from the direction of the 
 corrals, that the three occupants of the porch sprang 
 to their feet and hastened to the scene of disturb 
 ance. 
 
 The corral in which Rex had left his little band of 
 horses was a stout post-and-rail enclosure divided 
 into two parts. Between these was a gateway of 
 two posts some seven feet in height connected at the 
 top by a bar of timber. According to young Har- 
 den s instructions this gate had been opened, that 
 the horses might have access to a water trough in 
 the further division of the corral. 
 
 The capture of the famous stallion had created 
 great excitement in all quarters of the ranch, but 
 especially among the vaqueros who had so often 
 
A HORSE WITH LIKES AND DISLIKES 23 
 
 failed to accomplish it themselves. These were con 
 sumed with jealousy that the hero of the hour should 
 be a mere boy, for so they regarded Rex. And one 
 of their number, a surly fellow named Domingo, who 
 was only retained on the estate because of his horse 
 manship, was particularly bitter in his comments 
 upon the muchacho who, he declared, could never 
 have captured El Diablo unaided. While a number 
 of his fellows were gathered about the corral, gazing 
 at the horses, this man, armed with a raw-hide quirt, 
 entered it and began with vicious blows to vent his 
 spite upon the captive animals, under pretence of 
 driving them into the further enclosure. 
 
 At first he expended his efforts on the mares and 
 foals, which, blind with terror, rushed frantically 
 from one enclosure to the other and back again. 
 Tawny, evidently bewildered and uncertain how 
 to act, followed them. As he returned through the 
 gateway, the scowling Mexican, who stood close be 
 side the barrier, struck him a stinging blow. With 
 a shrill scream of rage and pain the animal wheeled 
 and charged furiously at his cowardly assailant. 
 
 With a single leap the terrified man gained the 
 topmost rail of the dividing fence and started to 
 swing himself up on the bar connecting the two 
 posts. As he did so, the horse seized one leg of his 
 flapping cotton trousers and strove to pull him 
 down. The man yelled with fright, but clung so 
 stoutly to the post that the cloth tore away and in 
 
24 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 another moment he was perched on the narrow bar, 
 in comparative safety. 
 
 He was still so nearly within reach of his enraged 
 enemy that he dared not let either hand or foot hang 
 a single inch below the timber beneath which the 
 horse was dashing furiously, back and forth, seeking 
 for some way to get at him. He even reared and 
 struck at the posts with his fore feet, shaking them 
 so violently as to very nearly dislodge the man from 
 his uncertain refuge. The latter screamed for help, 
 the spectators shouted wildly, and some of them 
 made fruitless efforts to lasso the horse, while, as 
 Rex reached the scene, one man was in the act of 
 levelling a rifle at the superb creature. 
 
 The lad was just in time to disconcert this fellow 
 with a shout and to snatch the gun from his hands 
 before a shot could be fired. Then without a mo 
 ment s hesitation he vaulted over the fence into the 
 corral and ran toward the gateway in which the mad 
 dened stallion was still striving to reach his enemy. 
 
 " Tawny ! Tawny ! You, sir ! Behave yourself ! " 
 shouted the lad as he drew near, and the effect was 
 so magical that the spectators stared in amazed 
 silence. At the sound of the voice that he had al 
 ready learned was that of his master the horse in 
 stantly desisted from his furious efforts and stood 
 motionless, gazing inquiringly at the approaching 
 figure. Walking directly up to him, Rex threw an 
 arm over the proud neck and petted him for a few 
 
A HORSE WITH LIKES AND DISLIKES 25 
 
 moments, all the while talking in soothing tones. 
 Then he led him into the further enclosure, where 
 the other horses were grouped in one corner, and 
 closed the gate. 
 
 " Now, coward, you can come down," he shouted, 
 at the same time stooping to pick up a raw hide 
 quirt that he discovered lying on the ground. As 
 he raised his eyes, he saw that the Mexican had al 
 ready taken advantage of this diversion in his favor 
 to make good his retreat toward the outer fence, 
 from which his comrades were greeting his forlorn 
 appearance with shouts of laughter. At the same 
 moment Rex caught sight of the long welt across 
 Tawny s back raised by Domingo s spiteful blow, 
 and instantly realized what had happened. 
 
 Filled with a sudden rage, he tightened his grasp 
 on the quirt and sprang after the cowardly Mexi 
 can. If he had overtaken him, it is not likely that 
 even Domingo s bulk would have saved him from 
 a thrashing, but the man had already cleared the 
 barrier, and by the time Rex reached it had disap 
 peared to be seen no more at the Rancho Herrera. 
 So Tawny s young master was forced to content 
 himself with giving the swarthy peons a fierce 
 warning of what would happen to any one of them 
 who should ever dare lift a hand against his horse. 
 While he was delivering this harangue, that was lis 
 tened to in sullen silence, a gentle touch on his 
 shoulder caused him to look around. 
 
26 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 A young girl, simply clad, but glowing with 
 health, and the beauty that health alone can give, 
 stood by his side, while close at hand were the 
 squire on his crutches and the scout. 
 
 " Why, Dulce ! " exclaimed the lad, " what brings 
 you out here ? " 
 
 " I came to see your beautiful horse. But, Rex, 
 whatever have you been doing ? You look as though 
 you had gone through the wars." 
 
 " Well, I haven t," laughed her brother. " I would 
 go through a kind of war, though, if I could lay hands 
 on that scoundrel Domingo. To think of his daring 
 to thrash Tawny ! It makes my blood boil, and if 
 ever I catch him Well, no matter. Isn t he a 
 beauty though ? " 
 
 "Who? Domingo?" 
 
 " Of course not. I mean Tawny that chestnut 
 stallion. And, Dulce, he is my very own. Come, 
 and I will introduce you." 
 
 A few minutes later the superb creature had been 
 enticed to the bars and, assured by Rex that it was 
 perfectly safe to do so, was daintily nibbling sugar 
 from Mabel s hand. 
 
 From that hour Tawny readily admitted to his 
 friendship those who were properly introduced and 
 vouched for by his young master, always provided 
 they wore white skins ; but for any whose skins were 
 dark he held a bitter hatred to the day of his death. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 FOUR TEXAS REBELS, AND WHY THEY REBELLED 
 
 THAT same evening after supper Deaf Smith took 
 his departure, and to the surprise of Rex, Squire 
 Harden had not urged him to remain with them over 
 night. This was so contrary to the usual hospitable 
 custom in the Rancho Herrera that, after our lad had 
 courteously walked with the guest to where his horse 
 awaited him, and returned to the porch on which 
 the family were assembled, he could not forbear 
 commenting on the occurrence. 
 
 " I wish Mr. Smith could have passed the night 
 with us," he remarked, " for I wanted so much to 
 hear of some of his adventures from his own lips. 
 Why was he in such a hurry, father? " 
 
 " He is charged with a duty that may not be de 
 layed," replied the squire, who appeared to be in a 
 mood at once thoughtful and troubled. " The fact 
 is," he continued, " there is a rumor that President 
 Santa Anna has sent an army in this direction to 
 proclaim martial law in Texas, deprive us of our 
 civil liberty, and force us to acknowledge his dictator 
 ship, as he has already done with every other Mexi- 
 
 27 
 
28 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 can state. It is reported that this army, commanded 
 by the President s brother-in-law, General Martin 
 Perfecto Cos, is to come by sea, land on our coast, and 
 overrun the country. So Deaf Smith has been sent 
 out by the Committee of Safety to watch for his 
 arrival and notify them of his approach. 
 
 " It is further stated that General Cos has 
 orders to disarm all American settlers, drive from 
 the state those who have entered it since 1830, and 
 to arrest on the charge of treason a number of per 
 sons, among whom is your friend Travis." 
 
 " Will Travis, father ! " exclaimed Rex. " Why 
 should they arrest him ? What has he done ? " 
 
 " He headed the first armed opposition to Santa 
 Anna in Texas, by leading the party that drove his 
 military tax-collectors from Anahuac on Galveston 
 Bay a few months ago. Since then he has publicly de 
 clared that Texas must either become an independent 
 republic or else be annexed to the United States." 
 
 " How I wish I had been with him ! " cried Rex, 
 his imagination already on fire. " And wouldn t it 
 be fine if Texas could only become a republic all by 
 herself? That would be worth fighting for." 
 
 " It certainly would," replied Squire Harden, with 
 a smile at his son s enthusiasm. " But I think it 
 would be better if, after winning our indepen 
 dence, we could join the glorious American union of 
 States. Texas rightfully belongs to the United States 
 anyhow." 
 
FOUR TEXAS REBELS 29 
 
 " How so, father ? I thought Texas had always 
 belonged to Mexico." 
 
 " So do a good many other persons think so, and 
 that is what the Mexicans claim ; but, nevertheless, 
 it is a false notion. Texas was discovered and set 
 tled by the French under La Salle, who, in 1G85, 
 planted a colony on Matagorda Bay. As he had 
 already discovered the mouth of the Mississippi, and 
 taken possession of Louisiana on behalf of the King 
 of France, so he now took possession of Texas and 
 declared it to be a part of the same territory. At 
 that time the nearest Spanish settlement in Mexico 
 was so far away that the Rio Grande flowed midway 
 between it and La Salle s colony on Matagorda Bay. 
 Thus, according to the law of nations regulating 
 the discovery and acquisition of new countries, the 
 French territory of Louisiana extended to the Rio 
 Grande." 
 
 " Then," demanded Rex, " when France sold Lou 
 isiana to the United States, why didn t we claim the 
 Rio Grande as its western boundary ? " 
 
 " We did," replied his father ; " but in the mean 
 time La Salle s colony having been destroyed, and 
 no more Frenchmen having come to reestablish it, 
 the Spaniards overran the country and occupied it 
 after a fashion for more than one hundred years. 
 During that time they pushed as far east as the Red 
 River, which they declared was the western boundary 
 of French territory. When, in 1803, France sold 
 
30 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Louisiana to the United States for fifteen millions of 
 dollars, the question of a boundary between it and 
 Mexico was instantly raised. Spain now claimed 
 the Mississippi as the dividing line, and we claimed 
 the Rio Grande. Finally the Sabine River, about 
 midway between the two, was agreed upon, and since 
 then it has been generally admitted that Texas is 
 legally a Mexican state. 
 
 "When, in 1821, Mexico threw off the hated yoke 
 of Spain, she found no firmer friends, nor braver fight 
 ers in the cause of her freedom than the Americans of 
 Texas. Upon the adoption of a liberal constitution 
 in 1824 all Texans rejoiced and swore to support it. 
 Relying upon its promises, thousands of settlers 
 flocked to Texas and made new homes within her 
 borders. Finally, their members so aroused the 
 jealousy of the Mexicans that in 1830 President 
 Bustamente issued a decree forbidding any further 
 immigration from the United States and revoking 
 many of the privileges granted to those of us already 
 settled here. At the same time troops were sent to 
 enforce these measures, and it was ordered that the 
 money for their maintenance should be raised in 
 Texas. Thus we were not only required to sub 
 mit to our oppressors, but to support them. 
 
 " In 1832, when Santa Anna raised the standard of 
 revolt against Bustamente and declared for the Con 
 stitution of 1824, the Texans hailed him as a lib 
 erator and took up arms in his cause. They were 
 
FOUR TEXAS REBELS 31 
 
 everywhere successful and showed such a capacity 
 for self-defence that when Santa Anna assumed the 
 title of Dictator, he became more intensely jealous of 
 the growing American power in Texas than any of 
 his predecessors. So in January of this year (1835) 
 the Mexican Congress, composed almost wholly of 
 members selected by Santa Anna, overthrew the 
 Constitution of 1824, meeting with opposition only 
 from the representatives of our own state and those 
 from Zacatecas. Then Congress passed two acts, the 
 first of which declared Zacatecas to be in a state of 
 rebellion. The second reduced the militia to one 
 soldier for every five hundred inhabitants, and 
 ordered all other citizens to be disarmed." 
 
 " Does that mean," asked Rex, indignantly, " that 
 they are going to take away all our rifles, and leave 
 us without the means of defence against Indians, or 
 for hunting ? " 
 
 " It means that they are going to attempt some 
 thing of that sort," replied Squire Harden, signifi 
 cantly. 
 
 " Well, they can t do it ! that s all, and I would 
 just like to see them try," cried the lad, hotly. 
 "It is the most outrageous proposition I ever heard 
 of." 
 
 " I am afraid your desire will be granted," rejoined 
 the squire ; " for it looks very much as though Santa 
 Anna was going to try and enforce his unjust decrees 
 without further delay. He began by leading an army 
 
82 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 against Zacatecas and gave the alleged rebels a most 
 terrible punishment. In one battle he killed two 
 thousand of them and made prisoners of twenty- 
 seven hundred more. Then he marched into the 
 capital of the state, which was one of the wealth 
 iest cities in Mexico, and for two days allowed his 
 soldiers unrestrained license to kill and plunder the 
 unfortunate inhabitants. In consequence of this 
 crushing blow the state has submitted to his will, 
 and now he proposes to turn his attention to us. 
 
 " At Monclovia our legislature has already been 
 dispersed, and our governor has been made a prisoner 
 by Santa Anna s troops. There is, as you know, a 
 strong garrison at San Antonio. General Cos is re 
 ported to be on his way to reenforce it, and the 
 Dictator has declared that if we make any show of 
 resistance to his authority, he himself will take the 
 field with an army powerful enough to sweep every 
 American from Texas." 
 
 " Oh, if he only does come ! " cried Rex, " what a 
 lesson we will teach him ! " 
 
 " Don t brag, son, and don t be too confident," 
 admonished his father. " Remember that over- 
 confidence is as fatal to success as indecision. Con 
 sider, too, the fearful odds that will be arrayed 
 against us. The Texans are poor, few in number, 
 without any form of military organization, dwelling 
 in a country filled with enemies, and, worst of all, 
 they are divided into factions that are working 
 
FOUR TEXAS REBELS 33 
 
 against each other with might and main. We are, 
 moreover, without a leader ; and, in case of an 
 uprising, must be regarded by the world as rebels 
 against legally constituted authority." 
 
 " 1 don t care a snap ! " exclaimed Rex. " If we 
 are few in numbers, one Texan is worth ten Mexicans 
 any day, when it conies to fighting. If we are poor, 
 then we have so much the less to lose and more to 
 gain. If we have no military organization, then we 
 will fight without one, as the Comanches do, and the 
 Mexicans have never yet been able to whip them. 
 An invasion will consolidate factions, and a leader 
 will be found when we really need him. As for 
 being rebels, I for one should be more proud of 
 being called a rebel in such a cause than anything 
 else I can think of." 
 
 " And here is another rebel ! " cried impulsive 
 Mabel, moving to her brother s side and throwing 
 an arm about him. 
 
 " I am afraid, Ellis, that I too shall have to join 
 the rebels," laughed Mrs. Harden. " I didn t know 
 that I was one until this evening ; but you have 
 explained the situation so clearly that I can t be 
 a Texan without being a rebel, and so I mean to 
 be both." 
 
 " A pretty state of affairs, upon my word ! " cried 
 the squire. " But if you think I am going to be 
 left out of this rebellion that already claims those 
 whom I love best and whatever I hold most dear, 
 
34 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 you are mightily mistaken. No indeed ! and I 
 hereby declare myself to be the arch-rebel of all 
 this rebellious company, since the case I have just 
 presented was exactly calculated to bring about 
 this happy result. It will be a sad day for Santa 
 Anna and a glorious one for Texas when every 
 family in the state becomes as united in rebellion 
 against the despotism of Mexico as mine is at this 
 moment. Then will we win independence for our 
 beloved country." 
 
 " We will win it anyhow, father ; I know we 
 will," declared Rex. 
 
 "Yes, son, I believe we will, though it is going 
 to be a hard fight, and one in which victory will 
 only be gained after many bitter reverses. Mexico 
 is populous and wealthy. Her people are united 
 under a leader skilled in war, who is as cruel and 
 unscrupulous as he is ambitious. He has already 
 denounced all Americans who may take up arms 
 in the cause of Texas as pirates, and declares that 
 he shall deal with them as such. He is supported 
 by a regular army of veteran soldiers, and can 
 bring the resources of a nation to the crushing of 
 a single state. He has everything, while we have 
 nothing." 
 
 " But, father, have I not heard you say that an 
 Englishman never knows when he is whipped, and 
 the greater the odds are against him, the better 
 he fights ? If that is true of the English, is it 
 
FOUR TEXAS REBELS 35 
 
 not equally so of their American descendants ? and 
 consequently ought not the odds against us to be 
 counted as just so many points in our favor ? " 
 
 " That is good logic, son, and does credit to your 
 schooling," admitted the squire. " I only pray God 
 that it may be sustained by results." 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 JAMES BOWIE, FIGHTER 
 
 FOR a week after the exciting day that wit 
 nessed Rex Harden s capture of the horse he 
 had so long coveted, the lad devoted every spare 
 moment to winning Tawny s affections and to 
 training him for future usefulness. He alone fed, 
 groomed, and cared for the animal, the only ex 
 ception to this rule being that Mabel was allowed 
 to win a share of his regard through occasional 
 treats of sugar. Every day Rex and he took long 
 splendid runs across the brown prairies, and from 
 each one they returned better acquainted with each 
 other than before. 
 
 The most important lesson learned by Tawny 
 during this schooling was that of repressing any 
 sign of nervousness at the sound of firearms. At 
 first he was made familiar with the report of a 
 pistol fired from the saddle, but ere the week was 
 ended a rifle might be discharged between his ears 
 without causing him to flinch. Rex also practised 
 a certain shrill whistle that he always sounded at 
 feeding time until Tawny learned to recognize it 
 and come at its call. 
 
 36 
 
JAMES BOWIE, FIGHTER 37 
 
 Absorbed as he thus was in educating the superb 
 creature that acknowledged him as master, Rex by 
 no means forgot the conversation with his father 
 that had in a few minutes transformed him from 
 a loyal Mexican subject into a bitter young Texan 
 rebel. His long rides afforded him ample time 
 for thought, and the more he reflected upon the 
 wretched condition of his native state under Mexi 
 can rule, and dreamed of her glorious future, if 
 only she could achieve independence, the more ar 
 dently did he long for the time to come when even 
 he might strike a blow in the cause of freedom. 
 He had not yet dared express his hopes and long 
 ings to his parents, but with Mabel he had talked 
 freely concerning them. Into Tawny s sensitive 
 ears he also whispered of the daring things he 
 meant to do if war should be declared, and of 
 how brave they both must be if ever they found 
 themselves in a battle. 
 
 Towards the end of the week it was noticed at 
 the ranch that while travellers were still occasion 
 ally seen on their way westward or in the direction 
 of San Antonio, none had come from that place in 
 several days. The last to do so had been a messen 
 ger from the Mexican Commandant of the district 
 to the people of Gonzales. He bore a demand for 
 the return of a brass field-piece borrowed by them 
 some years before for defence against Indians. 
 They promptly refused to give up the gun, declar- 
 
38 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 ing that they still needed it for defence, and with 
 this answer the messenger returned to San Antonio. 
 Since then the inmates of the Rancho Herrera had 
 heard nothing concerning the affair, and were grow 
 ing decidedly anxious as to how it might result. 
 
 One afternoon while they were in this frame of 
 mind a horseman coming from the east reined up 
 before the great house, and was cordially greeted 
 by Squire Harden. He was tall and handsome, fair- 
 haired and blue-eyed, carried himself with a military 
 air, and had the look of one who would be either a 
 loyal friend or a bitter enemy. He was both; for he 
 was James Bowie, the most noted duellist in the 
 southwest at that moment, and the best-known man 
 in Texas. As a son-in-law of ex Governor Vera 
 mendi of San Antonio, whose eldest daughter he had 
 married some years before, he possessed influence 
 among Mexicans as well as with Americans, though 
 by the former he was more feared than liked. 
 
 " Well, James, what news do you bring ? " asked 
 Squire Harden, after he had seen his guest provided 
 with refreshments and comfortably established on 
 the porch. 
 
 " The best and the worst, squire," replied the new 
 comer. " I bring the news that Texans everywhere 
 are declaring for independence, and also that war 
 can no longer be averted, since Cos has landed 
 at Matagorda with dire threats against all Ameri 
 cans." 
 
JAMES BOWIE, FIGHTER 39 
 
 " That Cos has landed is indeed news," said the 
 squire, thoughtfully. " How did you learn it ? " 
 
 " Deaf Smith brought the report to Gonzales 
 yesterday, and has gone on to notify Austin at San 
 Felipe as well as Houston at Nacogdoches. I am on 
 my way to San Antonio to discover the state of 
 public feeling there, to remove my wife and her 
 sister to a place of greater safety, and last but not 
 least, to notify you as chief of the Committee of 
 Safety for this district, that you are urged to repair 
 without delay to San Felipe and assist in establish 
 ing a permanent State Council." 
 
 " I suppose that is all that a cripple is fit for," 
 replied the squire, bitterly, " but I would willingly 
 give ten years of my life to shoulder a rifle, and march 
 on two sound legs against those who propose to en 
 slave us. To remain idle at a safe distance and allow 
 others to fight for him is indeed a hard fate for one 
 whose chief desire in life is for his country s freedom." 
 
 " I know how you feel, squire," answered Bowie, 
 gently, " and I honor your sentiments. At the same 
 time there is another side to the question. While it 
 is certain that Texas can never gain her freedom 
 without fighting for it, it is equally certain that she 
 cannot fight without an army, and that an army can 
 not be raised without authority. It must also be 
 equipped, maintained, and directed by the authority 
 that calls it into existence. And this is only a 
 small portion of the labor that will devolve upon 
 
40 WITH CROCKETT AND J30WIE 
 
 that same authority. So, squire, you won t have a 
 chance to be idle in San Felipe, nor will you be even 
 safe. Santa Anna will set a price on the head of 
 every member of that Council, and unless we can 
 successfully resist him you will be the especial 
 objects of his vengeance. Texas has plenty of men 
 to fight for her, but very few fitted by nature or 
 education to do her thinking. You are one of those 
 few, and even if you had the legs of a centipede 
 combined with the strength of a Goliath, we could 
 not spare you from our Council." 
 
 " There is much truth in what you say, James, and 
 of course, since I am useless as a fighter, I will go to 
 San Felipe as a talker." 
 
 " And as a worker, a writer, and a planner, squire, 
 one who will cheer on the brave, encourage the 
 faltering, and shame the cowardly. I tell you, my 
 dear friend, it will be a fine thing for the fighters to 
 feel that they are backed up in their government by 
 such thinkers as you." 
 
 " That may all be, James, and I will do what I can 
 in any way that offers. At the same time it is very 
 certain that you will find many more men in Texas 
 ready to talk than to fight for her. However, of one 
 thing I am assured : those who do fight will fight 
 to the bitter end." 
 
 " You are right, squire. They surely will," an 
 swered Bowie, with a flash in his blue eyes that told 
 how he would fight. 
 
JAMES BOWIE, FIGHTER 41 
 
 " I wish," continued the other, meditatively, " that 
 I knew the exact state of affairs in San Antonio, for 
 I cannot join the Council without first providing for 
 the safety of my family." 
 
 " Let me ride to town with Colonel Bowie, and 
 find out what is going on," suggested Rex, who had 
 been an eager though silent listener to the foregoing 
 conversation. 
 
 " You, son ! " exclaimed Squire Harden, gazing at 
 the speaker doubtfully, as though surprised that one 
 so young should even think of undertaking such a 
 mission. "No, of course I can t let you go. San 
 Antonio is altogether too dangerous a place for 
 young Texas rebels just now. And yet I don t 
 know," he added, with a sudden realizing sense that 
 the sturdy, well-knit figure standing before him was 
 no longer a child, but as gallant a youth as could be 
 found in a day s ride. "You are as tall as I am. 
 You have two sound legs, you whipped Tawny in 
 fair fight, and it may be that on this errand you will 
 find a chance to render Texas a service. Yes, boy, 
 you may go. At the same time, do not delay your 
 return ; for we shall not only be anxious concerning 
 you during every minute of your absence, but your 
 report will determine our plans." 
 
 " Don t you fret, squire. I ll see that the lad comes 
 to no harm," said Bowie, as Rex hurried away to 
 prepare Tawny for the ride that was to be under 
 taken at once. 
 
42 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 " Thank you, James ; I know that he could not 
 begin his career in safer hands than yours." 
 
 A few minutes later Bowie and his young com 
 panion, whose superb mount excited the other s 
 enthusiastic admiration, had taken their departure, 
 and in less than three hours they were within sight 
 of the ancient Spanish town of San Antonio de 
 Bexar. 
 
 Old as this principal city of Western Texas was 
 even at that time, and populous as it has become 
 since the Americans made it their own, in the year 
 1835 it contained less than two thousand souls and 
 was of but small commercial importance. Located 
 on the west bank of the San Antonio River, some five 
 miles south of where that limpid stream springs in 
 full volume from the Guadalupe foot-hills, the 
 town as Bowie and Rex saw it consisted of a few 
 hundred low stone or adobe houses lining narrow 
 streets and thickly clustered about a cathedral that 
 faced an open plaza. Not more than a dozen of the 
 better houses rose above a single story, but most of 
 them were flat roofed, and all had stout walls covered 
 on the outside with a white plaster. Beyond these 
 clustered houses was a ragged fringe of jacals or 
 hovels built of sticks, cornstalks, mud, or anything 
 else that came to hand, and occupied by the peons or 
 servants of the town. 
 
 Through several of the unpaved streets, which were 
 quagmires in wet weather and beds of dust in dry, 
 
JAMES BOWIE, FIGHTER 43 
 
 ran acequias or ditches of clear water, from which 
 the domestic supply was drawn. 
 
 The eastern portion of the town was enclosed 
 within a great ID shaped bend of the river, which 
 might be crossed at a shallow ford or by means of a 
 single bridge. On a slight elevation northeast of this 
 bridge, and a quarter of a mile from it, or a half a 
 mile from the Plaza, stood the mission of the Alamo, 
 long since diverted from its original use and become 
 a barracks for the garrison of San Antonio. 
 
 Besides the Alamo and the mission of San Fernando, 
 to which the cathedral belonged, there were four 
 other missions located on alternate sides of the river 
 south of the city at distances of from two to nine 
 miles from it. Thus San Antonio was essentially a 
 Spanish mission city in which, up to the outbreak of 
 the revolution, very few Americans had made their 
 homes, and now most of these had left, to escape the 
 threatened storm of war. 
 
 As our travellers drew near to this ancient city, it 
 was bathed in a glow from the setting sun and pre 
 sented a picture of perfect peace. Peons were home 
 returning from the irrigated fields, flocks and herds 
 were being driven to their safe corrals, the evening 
 bells of San Fernando were answering the distant 
 chime of the mission San Jose, and from the grim 
 Alamo the mellow notes of a cavalry trumpet rang 
 out clear and sweet on the still air. 
 
 The two horsemen passed the garita or lookout, a 
 
44 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 stout block-house crowning a gentle slope a mile east 
 of the town, without observing any signs of human 
 presence. If, however, they had glanced back after 
 passing it, they would have seen a quick waving of 
 signal flags from its roof. But they did not turn 
 their heads, and so had no suspicion that their 
 coming was already noted and reported to the troops 
 in the distant Alamo. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 IN THE STREETS OF SAN ANTONIO 
 
 ALTHOUGH neither Rex nor Bowie looked back 
 after passing the garita, they realized that a certain 
 amount of danger might await them in a city filled 
 with troops intended for the subjugation of their 
 country. Therefore as they descended into the 
 river bottom and entered the shadow of its border 
 ing belt of timber, Bowie asked his companion if 
 he knew of any place on that side where he could 
 leave his horse in safety. 
 
 " If you do," he continued, " I think it would be 
 well to conceal him and enter the city on foot, for it 
 is possible that so fine an animal might be seized for 
 use in the army if the soldiers caught sight of him. 
 At the same time an emergency might arise in which 
 you would have urgent need of his services." 
 
 44 Yes," replied Rex, after a moment s thought, 
 44 1 think I know of such a place ; though as Tawny 
 will allow no one but me to care for him, I cannot 
 leave him there very long." 
 
 44 1 don t think you will need to leave him for 
 more than an hour or two," rejoined the other ; 
 44 but I am convinced that it will be best for us to 
 
 45 
 
46 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 separate before appearing in town, and for you to 
 enter it on foot. They won t dare interfere with my 
 movements, at least not for a while, and so I shall ride 
 directly to the Veramendi house. There I can quickly 
 obtain all necessary information, and shall look for 
 you to rejoin me as soon as it becomes fairly dark. 
 You are sure that your proposed hiding-place is a 
 safe one ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes," replied Rex, " for it is the house of 
 Manuel Peralta, who is under obligations to my 
 father that he is anxious to repay." 
 
 " Humph! " ejaculated Bowie, sceptically. " I know 
 the place, and if you don t turn up within an hour, I 
 shall visit it in search of you. But here is the road 
 to it now. So adios, for a little." 
 
 Thus they parted, Bowie taking the road to the 
 bridge, and Rex that leading to the ford near which 
 stood Manuel Peralta s little adobe house. At the 
 bridge the former was halted by a guard, the officer 
 of which demanded to know what had become of his 
 companion. 
 
 " I have no companion," replied Bowie. 
 
 "But you had one when you passed the garita. \ 
 
 "That may be." 
 
 " What has become of him ? " 
 
 " Quien sabe ! " (who knows). 
 
 " That you do not answer, Seiior Americano, makes 
 it plain that you are a character of suspicion. As 
 such I am compelled to lead you to the Commandante, 
 
IN THE STREETS OF SAN ANTONIO 47 
 
 who will no doubt derive great pleasure from your 
 conversation." 
 
 " Thanks. But I have no desire to meet the gen 
 eral to-night, and in fact am too busy. Therefore I 
 regret that I cannot accompany you, Senor Teniente." 
 
 " But you must ! " cried the officer, angrily. " Sol- 
 dados, seize him ! " 
 
 " Stand back, soldades ! Don t you dare lay a hand 
 on James Bowie," thundered the American, at the 
 same time clapping spurs to his horse. 
 
 The animal sprang forward with such violence that 
 one of the guard was hurled to the ground, while the 
 others instinctively drew back, awed as much by the 
 name they had just heard, as by the man s bold 
 move. 
 
 " Buenas noches, seiiores ! " shouted back Bowie, 
 mockingly, as he flew down the street leading to 
 the heart of the town and disappeared in the gath 
 ering dusk. 
 
 " Carrajo ! " hissed the baffled officer between his 
 teeth. " Senor James Bowie shall answer with blood 
 for this insult. He has entered the city, but like a 
 rat, easily entering a trap, he will find the difficulty 
 in getting out again. Now will I look for the other 
 rat, who has doubtless gone by the ford. It is then 
 fortunate that I stationed a guard also at that place." 
 
 Manuel Peralta had been a herder on the Ranch o 
 Herrera until an accident so crippled him as to com 
 pel the use of crutches. Feeling a deep sympathy 
 
48 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 for the man on account of the similarity in their 
 misfortunes, Squire Harden had loaned him sufficient 
 money to purchase a small house near San Antonio 
 and establish himself as a zapatero, or shoemaker. 
 Not one peso of this money had yet been repaid, 
 although the man seemed to have a fairly good busi 
 ness, and was always ready to promise that he would 
 pay something on account within a few days. 
 
 He had one son, a bright little chap of perhaps ten 
 years old, named Murillo. This child was a great 
 favorite with Rex, who rarely failed to bring him 
 some present when he visited the city, and who was 
 regarded by the little one with an ardent admira 
 tion. 
 
 It was at this place, then, on the outskirts of the 
 town, and close to the ford, that Rex proposed to 
 leave Tawny while he crossed the river and visited 
 his friends of the Veramendi household. He might 
 have hesitated before doing so had he known that, 
 since the coming of troops to San Antonio, Peralta 
 had found the selling of liquor to the soldiers so 
 much more profitable than the making of shoes that 
 he had turned his establishment into a pulqueria, or 
 place for drinking. 
 
 Ignorant of this fact, Rex, after parting from 
 Bowie, turned his horse towards the ford and a few 
 minutes later reached the little adobe house, which 
 stood in the shadow of a wide-spreading umbrella 
 tree. Behind it was a tiny stable for the accom- 
 
IN THE STREETS OF SAN ANTONIO 49 
 
 modation of the donkey on which Manuel Peralta 
 rode into town whenever business called him that 
 far from home. 
 
 As Rex drew near, he heard the sound of so many 
 voices coming from the front of the house that he 
 cautiously turned to one side, determined to secure 
 Tawny in the stable before making his presence 
 known. Riding up to this and dismounting, he dis 
 covered his little friend Murillo seated on the ground 
 just outside, and feeding with bits of meat a superb 
 fighting cock which he recognized as one he had pre 
 sented to the child when it was still a chicken nearly 
 a year before. 
 
 The boy was so intent upon his occupation that 
 he did not observe his friend s approach until the 
 latter stood beside him, saying: 
 
 " Hello, Rillo ! What are you doing ? " 
 
 At this the child scrambled to his feet in affright. 
 In another instant his face beamed with joy, and 
 without wasting any time in the formalities of greet 
 ing he at once began to talk of his wonderful chicken, 
 which, as Rex now saw, was tethered by one leg to a 
 small stake. 
 
 " Oh, Senor Rex, you are come just in time for the 
 battle royal, the greatest cock fight ever seen in San 
 Antonio. It will be on Sunday, which is to-morrow, 
 and no chicken in the city will stand up for more 
 than one minute before El Bravo. All the soldados 
 say the same, and Domingo, who knows the most of 
 
50 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 any, is to handle him, and will divide with me the 
 pesos that he will win. He is to wear spurs of steel 
 that will tear like the thorns of the mesquite and cut 
 like knives. Also, Seiior " 
 
 " I have no doubt it will all be very fine," inter 
 rupted Rex, "and I hope El Bravo will win the battle, 
 of course; but before I hear any more about it I want 
 you to help me put my horse in the stable of the 
 donkey, and fetch him some water, as well as some 
 corn, if you know where to find any." 
 
 Eager to do anything to oblige his dear friend, the 
 child promptly routed the indignant donkey from his 
 comfortable quarters, of which Tawny was quickly 
 placed in possession, showed Rex where to find corn, 
 and ran to the river for a bucket of water. 
 
 When the new-comer had seen his horse thus cared 
 for, though he did not deem it best to remove either 
 saddle or bridle, he asked Rillo why so many per 
 sons were gathered before the house, and who they 
 were. 
 
 " They are the soldados who guard the ford, that 
 none may cross after the Angelus, and they are come 
 for a glass of pulque," was the unexpected answer. 
 " Of course," continued the child, " they will permit 
 you to cross if you wish, for they are my friends, and 
 I will tell them that you, also, are my best friend 
 of all. Come quick that you may know them, for 
 already they are leaving and will go back to the 
 other side." 
 
IN THE STREETS OF SAN ANTONIO 51 
 
 " Hold on ! " cried Rex, in a low tone, at the same 
 time drawing the boy inside the stable, that they 
 might not be seen by the departing soldiers. When 
 they were thus hidden from view, he said : 
 
 " Rillo, if I am your best friend, you will do some 
 thing for me, will you not ? " 
 
 44 I will do anything that the senor shall demand," 
 answered the child, loyally ; " even if he desired El 
 Bravo, he should have him." 
 
 44 Oh no ! I shall not ask anything so great as that. 
 I only want you to promise not to let your friends, 
 the soldiers, know of my coming to this place." 
 
 44 Of course I promise. That is easy." 
 
 44 And tell me, is there not a boat of some kind on 
 the river below the ford, in which I can cross to the 
 other side ? I would not keep it long, for I shall 
 soon come back." 
 
 44 There is the canoa of Pedro, but he gets money 
 from those who use it, and without money he will 
 not let them cross." 
 
 44 1 will give you money for him, and as much 
 more for yourself, as well, if you will lead me to that 
 canoe," said Rex. 44 See, here is a silver peso, that 
 shall be for you and him to divide." 
 
 Rillo being thus satisfied that he was about to 
 make a fine bargain for both Pedro and himself, 
 willingly consented to disclose the hiding-place of 
 the canoe. Thus within a few minutes Rex had 
 gained it unobserved, thanks to the darkness that 
 
52 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 had now fallen, and found himself poling Pedro s 
 sluggish craft across the swift current. Although 
 he was carried some distance down stream, he suc 
 ceeded in gaining the opposite bank, and in making 
 a landing not far from the Plaza. 
 
 Moving swiftly but cautiously along the dirty 
 streets, and keeping in the deepest shadows, he had 
 very nearly gained the house in which he hoped to 
 find James Bowie, when a door close at hand was 
 flung open, allowing a flood of light to shine full 
 upon him. 
 
 At the moment he was thus discovered a stern 
 voice from across the street ordered him to halt. 
 The command was accompanied by the ominous 
 rattle of weapons, and for an instant Rex faltered. 
 Then he sprang forward, determined to risk every 
 thing rather than surrender, and ran plump into a 
 patrol of soldiers who were just turning in from a 
 side street. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 BENEATH THE VERAMENDI GARDENS 
 
 So unexpected and impetuous was our lad s dash 
 among the members of that astonished patrol, that, 
 although several of them clutched at him as he shot 
 past, he had cleared them and was flying up the 
 street before they fairly realized what had happened. 
 Then with angry cries they started in hot pursuit, 
 and even sent a couple of musket balls whistling in 
 the direction he had taken. 
 
 In an instant the quiet street was filled with 
 an uproar. Doors and windows were flung open. 
 Shouting men and screaming women poured from 
 the houses, and harmless shots were fired into the 
 air from ancient bell-mouthed blunderbusses, whose 
 owners had been aching for a safe opportunity to 
 test their noise-producing power. Every one be 
 lieved that the city either had been or was about 
 to be attacked, and cries of Los Americanos ! Los 
 Tejanos ! (the Texans) were heard on all sides. 
 
 Suddenly these cries were silenced by a blare of 
 trumpets, and the populace shrank back to make 
 room for a dark mass of cavalry, that, coming from 
 their encampment in the Plaza, were making their 
 
 53 
 
54 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 way to the ford of the river, and completely filled 
 the narrow street from house to house in their pas 
 sage. Forty files, of four troopers each, swept past, 
 and after them rumbled half a dozen heavy wagons 
 drawn by four mules, showing that some expedition 
 more serious than a mere reconnoissance was on foot. 
 
 Some of the spectators said this was the advance 
 guard of General Cos s army, and others that the 
 brave cavalrymen were hastening to repel an attack 
 about to be made on the city at the ford. But all 
 was speculation, for the secret of the movement was 
 so well kept that it was not known to a dozen per 
 sons in the city. 
 
 James Bowie knew it, though ; for Nelita, his dark- 
 eyed little sister-in-law, had told him even amid her 
 joyous greetings, and for many minutes he stood in 
 the open doorway of the Veramendi house, awaiting 
 anxiously the appearance of his young friend. 
 
 He started at the sudden uproar of shouts and fir 
 ing, and in the intentness of his listening was barely 
 conscious of two pair of soft hands that grasped 
 his arms as though seeking his protection. So in 
 deed they were ; for, with parents dead, and their 
 only brother Florio a soldier on duty at the Mexican 
 capital, Ysobel Bowie and Nelita Veramendi, her 
 younger sister, knew not where to turn for protec 
 tion during these stormy times, save to the stalwart 
 American who had given one of them his name. 
 
 As they clung to him, trembling with appre- 
 
BENEATH THE VERAMENDI GARDENS 66 
 
 hension, arid he peered anxiously forth into the 
 darkness, there came a sound of flying feet, and in 
 another moment Rex Harden stood breathlessly be 
 side them. 
 
 "Hide me quick !" he panted. "The soldiers are 
 after me !" 
 
 For answer James Bowie deliberately closed the 
 stout doors, dropped a heavy wooden bar into iron 
 sockets behind them, and said : 
 
 "Now, lad, you are safely hidden, for the time 
 being, and can have a full five minutes in which to 
 regain your breath. Tell us what has happened, 
 and hear our news. That will do, Queridita. 
 Don t choke the boy." 
 
 This last was addressed to his wife, who had im 
 pulsively thrown her arms about the lad s neck and 
 kissed him ; while Nelita shyly allowed him to clasp 
 her extended hand. It will thus be seen that our 
 Rex was on intimate terms with the Veramendi 
 family, the younger members of which had been his 
 playmates in childhood, while their father and his 
 had been the best of friends. 
 
 Within two minutes the young fugitive had re 
 covered his breath and related his recent thrilling 
 experiences. As he concluded Bowie said : 
 
 " Fetch something to eat and drink, Ysobel, quick 
 as you can, for Rex must be off again at once. You 
 see there are so many others who want him that we 
 must not keep him long." 
 
66 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Even as he spoke there came a furious pounding 
 against the outer doors, and loud demands that 
 they be opened ; but without heeding these, Bowie 
 continued : 
 
 " The ball is to be opened this very night, Rex, 
 and probably this very hour, by Castonado, who is 
 ordered to march on Gonzales with two companies 
 of cavalry to capture the disputed field-piece. He 
 is also commissioned to disarm such Americans as 
 he may find, and last but not least, to arrest your 
 father and bring him to San Antonio for trial as a 
 conspirator against the Government. So, lad, your 
 work is pretty plainly cut out for you, and there is 
 a ride before you that if successful will become as 
 famous as that of Paul Revere. Not only must you 
 warn the settlers, including your own father, of Cas- 
 tonado s advance, which, with only cavalry in his 
 command, will be a rapid one, but you must manage 
 to give the people of Gonzales several hours notice 
 of his coming before he appears." 
 
 " But how am I to get away from here ? " 
 demanded Rex, whose nerves were tingling with 
 the exciting news he had just heard, as well as 
 with the responsibility so suddenly thrust upon 
 him. 
 
 It is no wonder that he was dismayed by the 
 apparent hopelessness of his position, for such a 
 storm of blows was now falling on the outer door 
 as announced a determination to break it in if it 
 
BENEATH THE VERAMENDI GARDENS 57 
 
 were not speedily opened, and already a sound of 
 angry voices from behind the house proclaimed it 
 to be surrounded. 
 
 "Nelita will show you a way out," answered 
 Bowie, calmly. " So drink this chocolate, stuff 
 these cakes into your pockets, and be off while I 
 commune with the idiots who are raising such an 
 infernal racket outside. Now* Lita, he is ready. 
 Adios, lad, until we meet again." 
 
 Intimate as Rex had been with the Veramendi 
 family, and well as he thought he knew, the low, 
 rambling house in which they dwelt, he had never 
 even heard of the underground passage to which he 
 was now conducted by the girl, whose strong friend 
 ship for Americans combined with her sense of jus 
 tice to make her an ardent champion of their cause. 
 It led from a dark cellar where its opening was so 
 ingeniously concealed that days might have been 
 spent in fruitless search for it, even after its exist 
 ence was known, and it extended under the gardens 
 to the river, a hundred yards away. 
 
 Nelita only accompanied him to its entrance, for 
 she had been bidden to return with all haste, in 
 order that she might not be missed from the house 
 hold when Bowie should admit the soldiers. Rex 
 would gladly have talked longer with her, but he 
 too had urgent cause for haste. So after a few 
 words of instruction concerning the passage, and a 
 warm handclasp between the two, he entered the 
 
68 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 absolute blackness of the narrow tunnel, and Nelita 
 closed its door behind him. 
 
 The place in which our lad now found himself was 
 so low that he could not stand upright, but was, at 
 the same time, so free from obstructions that even 
 in a stooping posture he advanced rapidly until 
 brought to a sudden stand by an angry snarl from 
 close at hand. Instantly the boy was bathed in 
 perspiration, and found himself trembling violently, 
 but in a moment his courage returned. He knew 
 that he could not retreat, and so must advance in 
 spite of whatever danger opposed him. Thus think 
 ing, he drew his hunting-knife and, holding it well 
 to the front, sprang forward, at the same time utter 
 ing a shout. A scamper of soft footfalls proclaimed 
 a retreat of the beast that had protested against his 
 presence, and in another minute he had emerged 
 from the stifling passage into a dense thicket be 
 neath a slightly overhanging bank of the river. 
 
 The darkness of the outer world seemed almost 
 daylight compared with that from which he had 
 just come, and he experienced little difficulty in mak 
 ing his way along the stream to where it turned 
 sharply eastward. Here he knew that in order to 
 save precious time he must cut across the great bend, 
 and pass through that part of the town lying in its 
 mouth. He dreaded to attempt this, but only hesi 
 tated long enough to raise himself cautiously above 
 the bank and make a careful survey of his surround- 
 
BENEATH THE VERAMENDI GARDENS 59 
 
 ings. As he could neither see nor hear anything to 
 alarm him, he started down a narrow lane and nearly 
 reached the opposite arm of the bend without meet 
 ing a soul. 
 
 Then he ran plump into a soldier, and for a 
 moment believed that he must either submit to 
 arrest or fight for his liberty ; but fortunately for 
 him the soldier was so full of pulque as to be maud 
 lin. He apologized profusely for having collided 
 with his dear friend, and insisted that Rex should 
 take a drink with him in token of forgiveness. The 
 lad attempted to shake him off ; but the fellow clung 
 to him so persistently and claimed his friendship so 
 loudly that in desperation Rex knocked him down 
 with a well-placed blow, and dashed away, leaving 
 the soldier to alarm the neighborhood with his cries. 
 
 By the time the young fugitive reached his canoe 
 many persons were running hither and thither with 
 excited inquiries as to what had happened, but none 
 of them discovered him, and he was allowed to shove 
 off without molestation. By the time he gained the 
 opposite bank he was half a mile below the house of 
 Peralta, and careless of what became of the canoe, he 
 hastened towards it with all speed. 
 
 As he drew near to the pulqueria, he became aware 
 of a great splashing in the water of the ford, and the 
 sound of many voices mingled with the rattle of arms 
 and a tramp of horses. With a sinking heart he real 
 ized that Castonado s troops were already crossing 
 
60 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 the river, and that many of them were now gathered 
 at the very place where he had left his horse. 
 
 Creeping as close to them as he dared, he crouched 
 behind a tree and anxiously awaited developments. 
 It was evident that Peralta was doing a rushing 
 business with the troopers, who waited to see their 
 wagons safely across the river before resuming their 
 march. Many horses were fastened to trees and 
 fences while their owners made merry in the pul- 
 queria. Bitterly as Rex would regret the leaving 
 of Tawny behind, he wondered if he could not 
 secure one of these animals, and dash away with 
 out running any risk save that of a few scattering 
 shots ! Upon him depended the safety of the dear 
 ones at home, and every minute was of the ut 
 most value. Yes, he must secure a horse at any 
 cost, though to recover Tawny seemed out of the 
 question. 
 
 Thus thinking, Rex slipped from his hiding-place 
 and had started towards the nearest group of 
 tethered animals, when his steps were abruptly 
 arrested by a great outcry from a score of voices 
 and the sounds of a fierce struggle in the vicinity 
 of Peralta s little stable. Amid the general uproar 
 he heard shouts of "El Diablo! El Diablo!" 
 Then came shrill screams followed by the rushing 
 gallop of a horse, and Rex instinctively knew that 
 his Tawny had fought with the enemies of Texas 
 and won the first battle for liberty. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 TAWNY BEGINS THE WAR 
 
 As the sound of galloping hoofs died away in the 
 distance, sharp words of command were issued by the 
 Mexican officers, the men sprang to their tethered 
 horses, and with a heavy heart, Rex knew that his 
 chance for securing one of these had vanished. For 
 a moment he stood irresolute, and then, moved by a 
 sudden impulse he slipped softly away. Reaching 
 a safe distance he began to run at the top of his 
 speed in the direction taken by Tawny, which fortu 
 nately was also the direction of the Gonzales road. 
 
 He did not of course expect to run the whole 
 twenty miles to his home, nor even, while on foot, to 
 outstrip the horsemen who would follow closely 
 after him, but he did hope to find a horse some 
 where. He felt keenly the loss of Tawny, and won 
 dered if he should ever see him again. To be sure, 
 it was possible that the horse might make his way 
 back to the ranch ; but Rex feared he would not 
 do so until after it had been abandoned. Then he 
 would fall into possession of the enemy, and the 
 mere thought of such a fate for his beautiful horse 
 made the lad hot with anger. He hoped the sol- 
 
 61 
 
62 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 diers had not known whose horse they had found 
 in Manuel Peralta s stable, and that by leaving him 
 there he had not brought trouble upon the crippled 
 zapatero. If he had been aware of the real facts 
 in the case, he would not have been thus worried. 
 
 Little Rillo had not betrayed his friend s secret, 
 but it was discovered by Domingo, late vaquero on 
 the Rancho Herrera, now a soldier in the troop of 
 Castonado. This man, who was a noted cock-fighter, 
 had been delighted to discover at Peralta s pulqueria 
 a chicken of the famous Herrera breed, and had con 
 sented to handle it during the forthcoming battle. 
 Of course, when he was ordered out with his troop, 
 the cock fight must be postponed. When Castonado 
 halted his men at the ford, Domingo paid a visit to 
 El Bravo in company with Peralta, to examine into 
 his condition and decide upon a change of diet. 
 
 As these two entered the little stable, they were 
 amazed to find it occupied and nearly filled by a 
 horse in place of the donkey for which it had been 
 built. Hastily procuring a light with which to 
 view this unexpected tenant, Domingo recognized 
 him at once as the redoubtable Herrera stallion that 
 had so often defied him, and had finally driven him 
 from the ranch. 
 
 " Peste! " he exclaimed. " The young gringo who 
 claims to have captured this beast, and to be a better 
 rider than any vaquero in Texas, must have come to 
 this place. Doubtless he is sent to spy out and give 
 
TAWNY BEGINS THE WAR 63 
 
 warning of the very expedition on which we are en 
 gaged. Perchance thou hast him hid, friend Peralta,* 
 and so are in a fair way to be shot for sheltering 
 this spawn of rebels." 
 
 " I have not ! Indeed I have not ! " protested the 
 other, trembling with fright at this suggestion. 
 " I know nothing of him ! And how this brute of 
 a horse came into my stable I have no knowledge." 
 
 " The youth has then had the assurance to place 
 his vile horse here without thy permission, and so to 
 endanger thy life, relying for thy forbearance upon 
 thy great love for his father ? " 
 
 44 But of that I have none. His father, the tyrant 
 Harden, pesters me continually for a few wretched 
 pesos that he owed me for long service, but which 
 he claims to have advanced as a loan. Bah ! I hate 
 him and spit upon him! " 
 
 44 If he owes thee money, let us take this horse and 
 sell him. In any case, as the property of a rebel, he 
 is our lawful spoil, and may we not do as we please 
 with our own ? El Capitan Castonado will gladly 
 buy him, for he is very wealthy, and every month he 
 kills a horse. So I have heard him boast, and also 
 do I know that he is not pleased with his present 
 mount. If it is hinted that one must needs be a 
 perfect horseman to ride this diablo, then will El 
 Capitan be eager to purchase him, for he boasts that 
 he can unaided break the heart of any horse that 
 lives. Within one month then will this brute be 
 
64 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 dead, for the noble Castonado finds the same pleasure 
 in killing horses that a more soft-hearted person 
 does in the death of bulls." 
 
 As Peralta readily agreed to this scheme, Domingo 
 informed the sergeant of his troop that the pulquero 
 had in his stable the finest horse in all Texas, one of 
 the famous Herrera breed. It had been given him in 
 payment for services ; but as the animal was much 
 too spirited for him to ride, he would sell it for a 
 very small sum. Did not his excellency, the ser 
 geant, think that El Capitan Castonado would be 
 pleased to hear of such a bargain in horseflesh ? " 
 
 His excellency the sergeant did think so, and ac 
 cordingly reported what he had heard to a lieuten 
 ant. He, in turn, ventured to tell the captain of the 
 wonderful horse just discovered that no one could 
 ride, and which might in consequence be bought for 
 a song. 
 
 Upon this, the noble Castonado, declaring that he 
 had yet to meet the horse he could not ride, started 
 towards the little stable in which Tawny was chaf 
 ing at his unusual confinement. He was followed 
 by the lieutenant, the sergeant, Domingo, Peralta, 
 and a score of eager soldiers, several of whom bore 
 torches. 
 
 " Bring him forth," commanded El Capitan, and 
 Domingo with half a dozen others sprang to obey the 
 order. 
 
 The horse showed such docility in allowing them 
 
TAWNY BEGINS THE WAR 66 
 
 to back him from the stable, that the spectators de 
 clared him to be of coward blood and an animal of 
 no spirit. As if understanding and resenting this 
 imputation, Tawny was no sooner clear of the door 
 way than he turned upon them with all the concen 
 trated fury of his wild nature. Within two seconds 
 his gleaming teeth and flying heels had cleared a 
 wide circle about him, and Domingo, clinging dog 
 gedly to his bridle, had been seized in the powerful 
 jaws, shaken, and flung aside as a terrier flings a rat. 
 
 Then, with a rush that knocked down the great 
 Castonado himself, besides the lieutenant and sergeant 
 and several others of minor importance, the mighty 
 horse sprang into the darkness and disappeared. 
 As the discomfited captain stiffly regained his feet, he 
 swore with fierce oaths that he believed this to be a 
 plot of the devilish Texans to kill him, and that all 
 who had been implicated in it should be sweetly pun 
 ished upon his return from chastising the rebels. 
 Then ordering that his command instantly take the 
 road, he sulkily mounted a horse that would allow 
 himself to be abused or even killed at the will of his 
 cruel master. 
 
 In the meantime, Rex Harden, running along the 
 eastern road, reached a point two-thirds of the way 
 to the garita without incident. Then he was startled 
 by seeing what he believed to be a horseman loom 
 ing above a slight rise of ground before him. Halt 
 ing, and ready for a dash to one side in case his 
 
66 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 liberty should be threatened, he watched closely to 
 see whether the suspicious figure were coining or 
 going. After a moment he decided that it was not 
 doing either, but was standing with its head to the 
 ground. A great hope sprang into the boy s breast. 
 Could it be Tawny cropping the wayside grass ? 
 
 Softly he breathed the whistle signal, the meaning 
 of which was understood by his beloved horse alone. 
 At its sound the animal lifted his head and listened. 
 A repetition of the signal was answered by a whinny 
 of recognition. One minute later Rex, his heart 
 overflowing with gratitude, was seated on Tawny s 
 back, and the reunited friends were speeding joyously 
 eastward. 
 
 As our young rider knew nothing of the guard 
 stationed at the garita, he was unprepared for the 
 stern challenge of " Quien va ! " that greeted him as 
 he approached it. Instantly appreciating the situa 
 tion, however, he lay flat on Tawny s neck, urged him 
 to increased speed, and dashed like a thunderbolt 
 past the block-house. The angry roar of a musket 
 greeted this defiance of authority, and a bullet whizzed 
 spitefully after him. It did no harm, and Rex was 
 rapidly becoming so used to being under fire, that he 
 only laughed at this fruitless attempt to stop a pair 
 of Texas rebels who had made up their minds to go 
 ahead. 
 
 At the same moment a greater anxiety than that 
 attending a mere musket shot was caused by the 
 
TAWNY BEGINS THE WAR 67 
 
 clear notes of a trumpet borne faintly to him on the 
 heavy night air from the direction of the ford. At 
 sound of this ominous warning the lad bent low and 
 whispered to his flying steed that for many miles 
 their headlong speed must not be slackened. 
 
 Twice during the next hour did the young rider 
 make slight detours from his road to warn American 
 settlers of Castonado s coming with orders for their 
 forcible disarming. At these places, while his foam- 
 flecked horse was rubbed down by willing hands and 
 given a mouthful of water, Rex was surrounded by 
 groups of resolute men, pale-faced women, and ex 
 cited children, who heard his news with breathless 
 interest. By these it was certain to be spread, and 
 in each case he left the little communities making 
 hasty preparations for a flight to the eastward. 
 
 It was midnight when Tawny s flying hoof-beats, 
 his rider s shouts, and a joyous barking of dogs 
 roused the inmates of the Rancho Herrera, and 
 brought them to door and window. As Rex flung 
 himself to the porch, a figure appeared in the hall 
 way, and Squire Harden s voice demanded : 
 
 " Who s there ? " 
 
 " It is I, father, and a Mexican army is on its way 
 to arrest you." 
 
 " Thank Heaven, son, that you are safe ! " cried 
 the squire. " I feared worse news. But why need 
 they send an army to arrest a single man ? " 
 
 " It is also sent to capture the field-piece at Gon- 
 
68 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 zales and to disarm all Americans whom they can 
 find." 
 
 " It will take an army to do those things," replied 
 the squire, grimly, and, Mrs. Harden now appearing 
 with a light, Rex saw that his father, supported by 
 his crutches, held a pistol in each hand. 
 
 " How far behind you are they ? " 
 
 " An hour, at least, probably more ; for Tawny 
 has brought me like the wind." 
 
 " You have done well, son, and gained for us 
 plenty of time." 
 
 "I am also charged to warn Gonzales, and all 
 between here and there." 
 
 " It is a noble errand, and we will go with you ; 
 but to accomplish it, both you and Tawny must have 
 rest and refreshment." 
 
 Turning to the two American overseers of the 
 ranch, who slept in the great house and had appeared 
 in the lower hall, fully armed, at the first alarm, the 
 squire added : 
 
 " Tom, take the fleetest horse in the corral and 
 scout along the San Antonio road until you sight 
 this Mexican advance. Then fly back with all 
 speed. If we have left, follow us to Gonzales. 
 Richards, harness four mules to the light wagon, 
 saddle the two best horses you can find, and have all 
 in readiness at this door within half an hour. You, 
 Rex, must first care for Tawny, and then come to 
 the house for refreshment. Wife, do you and Mabel 
 
TAWNY BEGINS THE WAR 69 
 
 collect such things as are necessary to your comfort 
 on a long journey, but not to exceed a single trunk- 
 ful. In less than an hour from now we must be 
 off ; and remember, all of you, not one word of this 
 news to a single Mexican on the place." 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 MIDNIGHT FLIGHT OF THE SETTLERS 
 
 WITH each person performing an allotted task 
 the preparations for flight proceeded so rapidly that 
 within the appointed time all was in readiness for an 
 abandonment of the ranch. The covered wagon, 
 with four fleet-footed mules attached, was drawn 
 up before the porch. In it were stored two mat 
 tresses, together with blankets and pillows, a trunk, 
 provisions, everything in the way of arms and am 
 munition that the house afforded, and Aunty Day. 
 
 On the front seat were Mabel and her mother, 
 both of whom were expert handlers of reins, and who 
 were to take turns at driving. Squire Harden and 
 his man Richards, armed with rifles and pistols, were 
 to ride beside it. Rex, also armed and mounted on 
 Tawny, was to ride ahead with all speed, carrying 
 the alarm to settlers on the west bank of the Guada- 
 lupe and into Gonzales. Already had two parties of 
 fugitives passed the ranch, but they had not halted, 
 for the squire had shouted that he would shortly 
 overtake them. 
 
 As the Hardens were bidding a sad farewell to 
 the home they loved so dearly, and which they feared 
 
 70 
 
MIDNIGHT FLIGHT OF THE SETTLERS 71 
 
 they might never see again, there came a clatter of 
 hoofs, and the scout who had been sent back along 
 the road dashed up to the wagon. He brought the 
 startling intelligence that the Mexican advance was 
 pressing forward so rapidly as to be already within 
 a mile of that place, and liable to appear at any 
 moment. 
 
 44 Let them come I " cried the squire, with assumed 
 cheerfulness ; " they will find the nest deserted and 
 the birds flown." 
 
 In another minute the light wagon was spinning 
 along the Gonzales road with its nimble-footed 
 mules on a run, while Rex and Tawny were speed 
 ing eastward like the wind nearly a mile in advance. 
 
 Despite the precautions taken to keep the news 
 of the night from the Mexican peons, it had spread 
 to all quarters of the ranch, and, as the Hardens 
 began their flight, a dark group of blanketed fig 
 ures, gathered close to the walls of the house, sul 
 lenly watched their departure. Then they rushed 
 into it, with the hope of plunder, and began to 
 batter down the heavy doors of the several rooms. 
 
 While they were thus engaged, but before they 
 had effected an entrance, a squad of a dozen cav 
 alrymen, swarthy as themselves, appeared on the 
 scene and drove them from their work. It was 
 the Mexican advance led by Castonado himself, and 
 he was furious at the discovery that his expected 
 prisoner had made good his escape. How a warn- 
 
72 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 ing had been conveyed to him, the Mexican captain 
 could not imagine ; for, so far as he knew, only a 
 riderless horse had left San Antonio in advance of 
 him and passed the garita that night. 
 
 When he learned from the peons that Rex Harden, 
 mounted on that same horse, had reached the ranch 
 an hour before, he was more puzzled than ever, but 
 he did not waste time in seeking to solve the 
 mystery. As the fugitives had only a few minutes 
 start of him, and were encumbered by a wagon, 
 they might still be within his reach. So, leaving a 
 couple of soldiers to guard the house, which, with 
 its broad estate, he had long coveted, and which 
 he now believed might soon become his own, El 
 Capitan Castonado again set forth on his pursuit 
 of the hated Americans. 
 
 An hour later the Harden party had just over 
 taken another wagon-load of fugitives guarded by 
 two horsemen, when the squire, who with senses 
 keenly alert brought up the rear, detected the beat 
 of galloping hoofs on the road behind him. The 
 pursuit had been hotter than he anticipated, and he 
 realized that the time for desperate measures had 
 arrived. Spurring to the front, he urged on the 
 mules to greater speed, and, as the wagons bounded 
 forward, he hastily explained his plan to the four 
 men who guarded them. His own team could 
 easily have outstripped the other, but the thought 
 of allowing such a thing never entered the mind 
 
MIDNIGHT FLIGHT OF THE SETTLERS 73 
 
 of the brave Kentuckian. To him the fate of one 
 must be the fate of all, and the speed of both 
 wagons must be regulated by that of the slowest 
 mule in the two teams. When the squire saw that 
 every animal was doing its utmost, he dropped be 
 hind the rear wagon, and the other men followed 
 him. 
 
 Ranging themselves in a line across the road, they 
 cocked their rifles and waited. They were barely 
 in position before they heard the sound of gallop 
 ing horses, and a minute later they could distinguish 
 through the darkness a still darker mass rushing 
 towards them. 
 
 " Aim low, men," ordered Squire Harden. " Ready ! 
 Fire ! " 
 
 The five rifles spoke as one. Five jets of flame 
 leaped forth, and two of the oncoming horses plunged 
 heavily forward, flinging their riders to the ground 
 far beyond them. Others were wounded, and the 
 whole Mexican squad was thrown into such dire 
 confusion by the unexpectedness of the attack, that 
 half of them turned and fled without waiting to dis 
 cover their enemies strength. Being thus deserted, 
 Castonado, with the three or four who remained 
 firm, deemed it wiser to retire from the field rather 
 than risk a further encounter with an unknown 
 force. 
 
 Thus was danger averted from the fugitives for a 
 time; and when the defenders of the wagons again 
 
74 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 overtook them, they were confident that present 
 pursuit was given over. In this belief a halt was 
 called, and the jaded mules, which had been driven 
 for fifteen miles at their utmost speed, were given 
 an hour s rest by the roadside. 
 
 Although it is doubtful if the exhausted animals 
 could have continued their flight much longer with 
 out this breathing-spell, it came very near to result 
 ing in disaster. About daybreak, shortly after they 
 were once more on the road, a picket who had been 
 left behind came in with tidings that the Mexicans 
 were again on their trail. 
 
 This was only too true ; for Castonado, reenforced 
 by a number of his troopers whose inferior mounts 
 had caused them to drop behind, and having ob 
 tained fresh horses from a deserted ranch, had 
 determined to make one more effort to capture the 
 fugitives. 
 
 So the mules were once more lashed into a run, 
 and the fierce race for liberty was resumed. With 
 increasing daylight the occupants of the wagons 
 could look back and see their pursuers topping 
 some distant rise of the road or disappearing in 
 a hollow. Each time as they came into view, they 
 were plainly nearer than before, and after a time 
 their exulting shouts could be clearly heard. Now, 
 too, the speed of the mules began visibly to slacken ; 
 they no longer sprang forward at the sting of the 
 lash, and it was evident that they had come to 
 
MIDNIGHT FLIGHT OF THE SETTLERS 75 
 
 the end of their strength. In a few minutes more 
 the race must end. 
 
 But it must not end with the tame surrender of 
 cowards ; and although the Mexicans outnumbered 
 the defenders of the wagons by three to one, the lat 
 ter determined to make one more attempt at driving 
 them off. So with a brave show of confidence that 
 he did not feel Squire Harden urged his horse to the 
 side of the flying wagon, and shouted, " Hold out a 
 a little longer, wife, while we drop back again and 
 teach those fellows another lesson. Good-by ! " 
 
 " Wait, father ! Wait a moment ! " screamed Ma 
 bel. " Look there ! " 
 
 The excited girl was standing up clinging with 
 one hand to the swaying wagon top and pointing 
 with the other in the direction they were going. 
 
 In the glory of the rising sun a cloud of dust rose 
 on the keen morning air. In it were moving figures 
 that momentarily grew more distinct. 
 
 4 Hurrah!" shouted Squire Harden. "Anda, 
 mula ! Anda ! One more effort, boys, and we are 
 saved. Only friends can come from that direc 
 tion." 
 
 And so it proved ; for out of the golden dust 
 cloud came a dozen hard-riding Texans, waving their 
 rifles, yelling like wild Indians, and led by a slender 
 lad on a magnificent chestnut horse, who set the 
 headlong pace as easily as though he were fresh from 
 a night of rest. 
 
76 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Rex had ridden to the Guadalupe, carried his warn 
 ing to the settlers on the bank, sent a message across 
 to Gonzales, and then turned back to meet the fu^i- 
 
 CD 
 
 tives from the Cibolo, accompanied by a squad of 
 eager volunteers, whose numbers were increased as 
 they advanced. 
 
 The new-comers opened their ranks with a ringing 
 cheer to allow the wagons passage, and then ree n- 
 forced by five more men, closed again for a charge 
 upon those who had maintained their relentless pur 
 suit through the night. But the Mexicans did not 
 await their onset. Warned by the Texan shouts, 
 they had already drawn rein, and as the wild riders 
 swept into view from beyond the wagons, Castonado 
 with his troopers turned and fled like leaves before 
 an autumn gale. 
 
 For a mile the Texans followed them, firing an 
 occasional rifle shot to accelerate their speed. Then 
 they clattered happily back to where the women 
 had halted their wagons by the roadside, and were 
 already preparing a breakfast for the heroes of this 
 glorious though bloodless victory. 
 
 How light-hearted every one was, now that the terri 
 ble strain of the night was relaxed, and what a joyous 
 meal they made of that rude camp breakfast ! How 
 they all talked and laughed at the same time ! How 
 the women were complimented on their pluck, and the 
 men for their bravery ! Squire Harden tried in vain 
 to express his gratitude to the new-comers for the 
 
MIDNIGHT FLIGHT OF THE SETTLERS 77 
 
 promptness of their aid ; but they interrupted him 
 with shouts of : 
 
 " That s all right, squire. We d been worse than 
 greasers if we hadn t come, seeing that you had 
 weakened your own fighting force by sending your 
 son to warn us of danger." 
 
 " All the same, men," insisted the squire, " I do 
 thank you from the bottom of my heart. And, Rex, 
 I am more than proud of you for this night s work." 
 
 " It was Tawny s work, father, more than mine ; 
 for I don t believe there is another horse in Texas 
 that could have done what he has since leaving San 
 Antonio last evening." 
 
 " No, son," admitted the squire ; " I don t believe 
 there is." And to this opinion every man present 
 agreed. 
 
 Before noon of that day every American settler on 
 the west bank of the Guadalupe had been ferried safely 
 across to Gonzales, and every boat had been removed 
 to that side of the river. Already were messengers, 
 mounted on fleet horses, speeding eastward with the 
 news of Castonado s advance, and bearing appeals 
 for aid in repelling it. 
 
 With the departure of these, less than a score of 
 fighting men were left in the village. But this 
 handful calmly awaited the Mexican approach, confi 
 dent that their rifles could hold the crossing against 
 Castonado s swarthy troopers until the aid for which 
 they had sent could arrive. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 ORGANIZING THE FIRST TEXAS ARMY 
 
 ACCORDING to Castonado s orders, the main body 
 of his little army had halted at the Rancho Herrera. 
 To that place, therefore, after failing to disarm a 
 single American, or to capture the man who was re 
 garded as the most pernicious rebel of that district, 
 the Mexican leader retired to await further instruc 
 tions from the Commandant at San Antonio. Thus 
 were our fugitives given a day and a half of rest in 
 Gonzales before any further move was made against 
 them. 
 
 Squire Harden had intended to push on to San 
 Felipe on the Brazos, a hundred miles farther to the 
 eastward ; but now he could not leave a point at 
 which every Texas rifle was of such infinite value, 
 and so he determined to remain at Gonzales until the 
 present crisis should be past. Having thus decided, 
 he pitched a tent on the river bank, and it at once 
 became a headquarters to which persons of all condi 
 tions flocked for advice or assistance. 
 
 Rex with half a dozen of the younger men con 
 stituted themselves a picket guard to watch the ford 
 
 78 
 
ORGANIZING THE FIRST TEXAS ARMY 79 
 
 half a mile down the river ; and, as his comrades 
 jokingly called our lad " Corporal of the Guard," he 
 was soon known 011 all sides as "Corporal Rex." 
 Feeling that in this exalted position he ought to 
 wear some distinguishing badge of office, he asked 
 Mabel if she could not suggest and make him one. 
 Gladly accepting this task, the quick-witted girl 
 promised to comply with his request ; and, while he 
 slept in the wagon after a night of watching, she 
 smuggled his hat into the tent and busied herself 
 with it for several hours. 
 
 When Rex awoke, the hat lay beside him and was 
 the first object to catch his eye. He gazed at it for 
 a moment in perplexity, and then, seizing it, he 
 sprang from the wagon with a shout. On its front 
 was embroidered a tiny blue flag in which was cen 
 tred a white five-pointed star. 
 
 " The star on Tawny s forehead suggested it," 
 said Mabel , who was watching to note how he liked 
 it. 
 
 " It s the very thing," cried Rex, " and you are a 
 perfect trump to have thought of it. Hurrah, for 
 the lone-star flag of Texas ! " 
 
 Then, giving his sister a kiss and a hug, the young 
 corporal set forth to display through the village his 
 newly acquired insignia of rank. But he was not 
 long allowed to be the sole bearer of the lone-star 
 flag ; for the device caught like wild-fire, and every 
 one vho saw it instantly desired to wear this first 
 
80 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 distinctive emblem of Texas. Already was Mabel 
 busily at work on one for her father, and within half 
 an hour every needlewoman in Gonzales was either 
 embroidering little lone-star flags or making them 
 from bits of blue silk. 
 
 Texas had riot yet achieved her independence nor 
 even declared it. In fact, her people still regarded 
 themselves as loyal citizens of Mexico, and were only 
 intent upon defending the rights guaranteed them 
 by the constitution of 1824, against the despotism of 
 an usurper. At the same time the destinies of nations 
 hang by such slight threads, that every Texan who 
 accepted and wore one of the badges made that 
 day impressed upon his heart a symbol that he would 
 never relinquish and one that he would maintain 
 through suffering and disaster even unto death. 
 Texas has long since cast her fortunes with the great 
 sisterhood of the stars and stripes, but she still cher 
 ishes the lone-star banner as her state flag, and no 
 other line ever penned can so inspire her sons as 
 does 
 
 " Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears the single star ! " 
 
 While the refugees gathered at Gonzales guarded 
 its approaches, devised emblems distinctive of their 
 beloved state, and waited for the volunteers who 
 they were certain must be hastening to their aid, 
 Castonado had resumed his line of march towards 
 them. About noon on Tuesday, the 29th of Septem- 
 
ORGANIZING THE FIRST TEXAS ARMY 81 
 
 ber, a scout dashed into the village with tidings that 
 the enemy was close at hand. Shortly afterwards 
 anxious watchers on the river bank caught sight of 
 the pennons, plumes, and glittering trappings of the 
 Mexican cavalry as it advanced through the open 
 timber on the opposite side of the stream and halted 
 at the water s edge. 
 
 " Send over a boat that I may cross and deliver 
 my message to the inhabitants of Gonzales," shouted 
 Castonado, angrily. 
 
 " We will not put you to the inconvenience of 
 crossing," replied Squire Harden, politely. " If you 
 will speak your message from where you stand, we 
 shall hear it the more quickly." 
 
 " I do not choose to hold converse with rebels, but 
 demand speech with the alcalde," retorted Casto- 
 nado. 
 
 44 Unfortunately he is absent, and may not return 
 until night." 
 
 "Then in the name of His Excellency, General 
 Santa Anna, President of the Republic of Mexico, 
 whom the people of the state of Texas are sworn to 
 obey, I demand that the men of Gonzales relinquish 
 to me the brass field-piece loaned them by the mili 
 tary governor of San Antonio de Bexar, but now 
 needed on the fortifications of that place. If it 
 be not delivered at once, I have authority to take 
 it by force, and shall do so regardless of conse- 
 guences. " 
 
82 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 The men of Gonzales would have replied to this 
 arrogant speech with a shout of defiance, but Squire 
 Harden reminded them that while they were but 
 eighteen against one hundred and sixty, discretion 
 was, for the moment, the better part of valor. Then 
 he politely informed the Mexican commander that 
 his demand should be considered upon the return to 
 town of its alcalde ; but that, without his sanction, 
 the citizens of Gonzales were powerless to take action 
 in so important a matter. 
 
 With this, Castonado, who had not yet discovered 
 the weakness of the Americans, was forced to be con 
 tent, and, after allowing his hearers until the morrow 
 for a consideration of his demands, he retired his 
 troops to the open prairie and went into camp. 
 
 That night volunteers began to reach the scene of 
 action, from Bastrop on the Colorado, and even from 
 the distant Brazos, until by morning the Texan force 
 was nearly one hundred strong. 
 
 On the following day, Castonado, attired in gor 
 geous uniform, and escorted by twenty troopers, 
 again made his demand for the cannon, from across 
 the river. This time those on the opposite bank 
 replied with shouts of scornful laughter, and bade 
 him come and get the gun, if he really wanted it. 
 
 At this the face of the Mexican became black with 
 rage, and he at once despatched a company of his 
 cavalry to the ford. They were ordered to take 
 such a circuit as should conceal their movements, 
 
ORGANIZING THE FIRST TEXAS ARMY 83 
 
 until they were close to the river bank, and then 
 make a dash for the opposite shore. In the mean 
 time he kept up a pretence of parleying, and caused 
 his escort to spread out among the trees, so as to 
 convey the impression that nearly, if not quite his 
 whole force was at his back. 
 
 In doing this he labored under the belief that no 
 American would have dared cross to his side of the 
 river, and that no knowledge of his plan could reach 
 Gonzales. It was a sad mistake on his part, for Rex 
 Harden, and Deaf Smith who had arrived during the 
 night, had crossed the ford before daylight, leaving 
 their horses on its opposite bank, and had scouted 
 about the Mexican camp until they had mastered its 
 every detail, including the number of its troops. 
 
 They were still on hand when the movement 
 towards the ford was ordered; and the moment they 
 were convinced that those troops were about to 
 attempt the surprise of that point, Rex ran to it with 
 the speed of a deer, waded breast deep through its 
 cold waters, notified the guard what to expect, 
 sprang on Tawny s back, and was off like the wind 
 towards the village, while Deaf Smith remained to 
 watch Castonado. 
 
 Fortunately, the young scout found most of the 
 volunteers in their camp, where they were gathered, 
 for an election of officers. On receipt of his news, 
 this business was indefinitely postponed, and fifty 
 men, snatching their rifles, sprang to their horses, 
 
84 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 and, without waiting to saddle, set off, at a break 
 neck pace, for the ford. Here they concealed them 
 selves in the underbrush bordering the trail that led 
 to the water s edge. 
 
 Two minutes later the Mexican cavalry appeared 
 on the opposite bank, and seeing nothing to hinder 
 them, dashed into the shallow water. As they did 
 so, they were startled, and frightened almost out of 
 their senses, by the sudden appearance, only thirty 
 yards away, of a double line of resolute Texans, each 
 pointing a deadly rifle at them. 
 
 " Don t fire unless they advance," Rex had pleaded 
 a moment before. " War has not yet been declared, 
 you know, and we shall have a better cause if we let 
 them begin it." 
 
 As this advice, which Rex had learned from his 
 father, was acknowledged to be good, it was adopted, 
 and the stalwart Texans only levelled their guns at 
 the badly rattled troops. It was enough ; for within 
 one minute they had wheeled sharply and were rid 
 ing for dear life up the bank they had just left. As 
 they disappeared they were followed by shout after 
 shout of derisive laughter from the riflemen, who, 
 without firing a shot, had thus gained so signal a 
 victory. 
 
 When the last of Castonado s cavalrymen had thus 
 scampered out of sight, the Texans returned leisurely 
 to their camp and resumed their interrupted election. 
 Rex took an active interest in this business until, 
 
ORGANIZING THE FIRST TEXAS ARMY 85 
 
 after a colonel and a captain had been chosen, he 
 was covered with confusion at hearing himself nomi 
 nated for the position of lieutenant. 
 
 " Rector Harden," declared the speaker, " is not 
 only a descendant of soldiers, but has himself re 
 ceived a military training ; moreover, he has already, 
 as we all know, proved himself to be a brave 
 and devoted son of Texas. Therefore I nominate 
 him for the vacant lieutenancy of this company." 
 
 "Second the nomination!" shouted a dozen 
 voices. 
 
 "You have heard the nomination, gentlemen. 
 All in favor will signify it in the usual manner." 
 
 " Aye ! " shouted every man present. 
 
 "Contrary minded?" 
 
 A dead silence. 
 
 " Lieutenant Harden," said the smiling chairman 
 of the meeting, " I congratulate you on the unanim 
 ity of your election, and at the same time congratu 
 late the assembled company upon their choice of a 
 junior officer." 
 
 "They couldn t have made a better," called out 
 a deep voice from the outer edge of the assembly, 
 "nor one who will fight more loyally for the flag 
 that I see he has already raised. Let me in, boys, 
 that I may shake hands with him." 
 
 With this a big man forced his way through the 
 crowd, and in another moment Rex, proudly happy, 
 though covered with confusion at the honor just 
 
86 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 thrust upon him, was shaking hands with his friend 
 James Bowie. 
 
 The latter had just arrived from San Antonio by 
 way of Bastrop, and when he had congratulated the 
 young lieutenant he again raised his voice to say : 
 
 " Now, boys, let s carry our gun across the river 
 and give those chaps a chance to take it from us if 
 they can." 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE ABSURD BATTLE OF GONZALES 
 
 WHILE the bold proposition of James Bowie was 
 hailed with acclamation, and a majority of the vol 
 unteers were in favor of crossing the river at once, 
 the cooler counsels of Squire Harden and others, 
 who realized how much depended upon the success 
 of the movement, restrained them until the following 
 day. By that time late arrivals had so strengthened 
 their force that their numbers were equal to those 
 of the Mexicans, and there was no longer a doubt 
 that the latter could be beaten in fair fight. 
 
 The Texans waited until darkness should conceal 
 their movements, and then, all being in readiness, 
 the crossing of the river was ordered to begin. The 
 mounted men, fifty in all, were the first to leave 
 camp, their destination being the ford, which they 
 were to hold. They were also bidden to make a 
 demonstration from that direction to attract atten 
 tion from the main body of volunteers, who, taking 
 the famous brass field-piece with them, were to cross 
 in boats half a mile higher up stream. 
 
 Rex Harden went with the former body, and to 
 
 87 
 
88 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 him was accorded the proud distinction of leading 
 the advance, a picked squad of twelve splendidly 
 mounted horsemen, every one of whom was eager 
 to strike the first blow for Texas. As these dashed 
 through the ford and mounted its farther bank, the 
 young leader was in a fever of excitement and found 
 himself trembling violently, but he only leaned over 
 his horse s neck to whisper : 
 
 " We are going into battle, Tawny, you and I ; but 
 we must keep cool " 
 
 At that moment came a sharp challenge from the 
 timber, the roar of an escopetta, and a ball whizzed 
 spitefully close above the lad s head. 
 
 The first shot had been fired, and it had come 
 from the other side. Half a dozen others instantly 
 followed it. 
 
 " Steady, men ! " cried the young lieutenant, sit 
 ting erect in his saddle, with every trace of nervous 
 ness gone. " It s only a picket that needs to be 
 driven in. Forward ! Charge ! " 
 
 The squad responded with a yell whose volume 
 would have done credit to a full company, clapped 
 spurs to their horses, and rushed like a cyclone 
 through the narrow belt of timber, beyond which 
 the Mexican picket was already in full flight. 
 
 Close up to the enemy s camp did the Texans hold 
 their headlong course without drawing rein. Into 
 it they poured a volley of rifle shots, receiving a 
 scattering and harmless fire in return, and having 
 
THE ABSURD BATTLE OF GONZALES 89 
 
 thus very thoroughly attracted attention to them 
 selves they wheeled and dashed away in the direc 
 tion from which they had corne. 
 
 " It was like prodding a hornets nest," remarked 
 Tom Gallup to Rex as they listened to the blaring 
 trumpets, the angry drums, and the fierce shouts of 
 the aroused camp behind them. 
 
 " Yes, and wasn t it fine ? " 
 
 " You bet it was. Beats buffalo-hunting and rop 
 ing wild horses all hollow. I only hope they won t 
 run away before we ve had another chance at them." 
 
 In spite of this hope it seemed, a few hours later, 
 as though the Mexicans had run away. The volun 
 teers were so delayed in their crossing of the river 
 by a dense fog that settled down while Rex and his 
 little command were driving in the picket, that it 
 was after midnight before they were ready for an 
 advance. Then the scouts sent to locate the enemy s 
 camp brought back word that it was abandoned. 
 
 With this Rex was ordered out with three men to 
 discover, if possible, what had become of Castonado 
 and his force. Moving as quietly as possible, these 
 scouted for several miles along the San Antonio road 
 until satisfied that the retreat had not taken that 
 direction. Then dividing into two parties, they 
 made long detours on either side as they returned. 
 
 " It s awfully puzzling," remarked the young lieu 
 tenant to Tom Gallup, who was his only companion. 
 
 " It is so, and I m afraid in some way they ve 
 
90 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 given us the slip, after all. We could run em 
 down, though, if only this confounded fog would 
 lift so as to give us a chance at the trail. Hist ! 
 What s that?" 
 
 Both lads reined their horses to a standstill and 
 listened. A sound as of digging came to their ears, 
 and with it a low murmur of voices. 
 
 At this moment Tawny lifted his head and sounded 
 a shrill neigh of challenge. It was promptly answered 
 from close at hand. At the same moment jet after 
 jet of flame pierced the fog on the scouts left, and 
 a volley of shots rattled in their direction. One of 
 the bullets grazed Rex on an arm, though he did 
 not realize at the time that he had been hit. 
 
 Wheeling sharply, without firing a shot in return, 
 the two lads spurred back toward the road, with a 
 troop of Mexican cavalry in hot pursuit. 
 
 A few minutes later the young scouts, shouting 
 that they were friends, dashed into the Texan biv 
 ouac, while a discharge of the brass field-piece that, 
 as was afterwards discovered, killed a man and a 
 horse, caused the Mexicans to wheel in turn and 
 hurry away through the fog. 
 
 "We found them, sir," reported Rex to Colonel 
 Moore. 
 
 " I see you did," replied the officer, grimly, " and 
 apparently they came near finding you. Where are 
 they ? " 
 
 "About half a mile to the right of their old 
 
THE ABSURD BATTLE OF GONZALES 91 
 
 camp, and I should say entrenching themselves on 
 that little mound just beyond Carter s cornfield." 
 
 " Can you lead us to the spot ? " 
 
 "I think so, sir, now that daylight has come." 
 
 " But, lad, you are wounded ! " exclaimed the 
 colonel, as he noted that blood was dripping from the 
 young lieutenant s left hand. As he talked, Rex had 
 been unconsciously wiping this away with his other 
 hand. 
 
 " Oh, I guess not, sir," he replied, hastily wiping 
 away another trickle of blood as he spoke. 
 
 "You are, though. Here, let me look." 
 
 With this the speaker caught Rex by the arm, 
 ripped open his sleeve at a place where a tiny hole 
 betrayed the course of a bullet, and laid bare the 
 wound. It was only a slight furrow on the inside 
 of the arm, but the ball had gone within an inch of 
 the boy s heart, and for a moment a sense of his 
 narrow escape from death turned him faint. 
 
 " Bring water and rags, quick," ordered the officer. 
 
 Both were speedily forthcoming, and a few min 
 utes later the wound had been bound up with rude 
 skill. 
 
 " There, that will do until you can get across the 
 river," said the colonel, " and I am very grateful not 
 to have lost one of my most valued officers on his 
 first day of service." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," murmured Rex. " But surely, 
 colonel, you are not going to send me to the rear 
 
92 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 for a scratch like that. Just as you are about to 
 engage the enemy too. Really, I don t feel it at 
 all, and am as strong as ever I was. Besides, I 
 know just where to find them, and " 
 
 44 That will do," laughed the other. " I give in, 
 and you may come along if you like. Now, men, 
 fall in." 
 
 Two minutes later the little Texan army was 
 pressing eagerly forward with Rex Harden, as 
 proud of his wound as he was of the blue emblem 
 on his hat, riding beside the colonel to point out 
 the way. 
 
 After a mile of rapid marching he said : " There 
 is the cornfield, sir, and they are just beyond it." 
 
 At this Colonel Moore halted his men and formed 
 them in line of battle, with their single piece of 
 artillery in the centre. This was hardly done when 
 the fog, which had been thinning away since day 
 break, lifted entirely and disclosed the opposing 
 forces to each other not more than two hundred 
 yards apart. The Mexicans had indeed thrown up 
 a line of low earthworks on rising ground, behind 
 which they awaited the Texan advance. 
 
 Before this could be ordered a man bearing a 
 white flag was seen to leave the enemy s line. As 
 he came near, he was recognized to be an American 
 whom Castonado had taken prisoner. He brought 
 word that the Mexican commander desired an inter 
 view with Colonel Moore. 
 
THE ABSURD BATTLE OF GONZALES 93 
 
 Upon this the Texan leader rode forward and, 
 halting midway between the two forces, was there 
 met by Castonado. 
 
 "I trust, sefior," began the latter, suavely, "that 
 there is to be no trouble between us, and that you 
 have come to surrender the cannon, which I see 
 you have brought with you." 
 
 " Then your trust is wholly misplaced, sir," re 
 plied Colonel Moore, " for I have brought that gun 
 for use against the enemies of Texas, as you will 
 find to your sorrow, unless you prove yourself her 
 friend by joining in our struggle for liberty or 
 surrender your command as prisoners of war." 
 
 The Mexican s face blazed with anger. " You 
 insult me, sir ! " he cried, " and I will die at the 
 head of my brave troops before even considering 
 either of your propositions." 
 
 Upon this, and without exchanging another word, 
 the leaders parted and returned to their respective 
 commands. 
 
 " Don t be worried, boys," said the ranchman, who 
 had remained with his friends, and had already 
 found a place in the ranks. " Them fellows over 
 there are pretty nigh scared to death now, and one 
 roar from this little barker will about use em 
 up. They sent off their wagons more than an 
 hour ago." 
 
 The impatient Texans did not need this encour 
 agement. Their only worry just then was lest the 
 
94 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 enemy should run away without waiting to fight, and 
 the result proved their fears to be well grounded. 
 
 As Colonel Moore rejoined his men, he gave orders 
 to fire one volley and then charge without waiting 
 to reload. A moment later the roar of the six- 
 pounder was drowned in a crash of rifles. Then, 
 with a wild yell, the Texans dashed across the 
 intervening space and up the gentle slope. The 
 Mexicans fired but a single answering volley, every 
 shot of which flew above the heads of the oncom 
 ing volunteers. Then they leaped on their horses 
 and fled, pell-mell, down the opposite side of the 
 rise, a panic-stricken mob of fugitives, in spite of 
 Castonado s furious efforts to check them. 
 
 Thus, when the Texans gained the breastworks, 
 all that they found were a few dead and wounded 
 men and horses, while the remainder of Castonado s 
 valiant force was rapidly vanishing in a flight that 
 was only ended at San Antonio. 
 
 "Looks like the King of France and his forty 
 thousand men," remarked Tom Gallup to his friend, 
 Rex Harden, as he gazed comically at the dust cloud 
 hiding their recent foes. 
 
 It was all so absurd that, while some of the Texans 
 swore and others stared in open-mouthed amazement, 
 the majority laughed until they ached, over the farce 
 that had just been enacted. For all that, they had 
 won a victory, the effects of which were to be felt 
 far beyond the borders of their beloved state. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 WHY THE MEXICAN TROOPS FOUGHT BADLY 
 
 BY the affair of Gonzales the spirit of revolution 
 in Texas was fanned into so fierce a flame that it 
 could never again be quenched save by the gaining 
 of an absolute independence. When the victorious 
 volunteers, after chasing Castonado out of sight, 
 recrossed the river, proudly carrying with them the 
 field-piece they had sworn never to give up, they 
 were received with the wildest demonstrations of 
 joy. Congratulations, speeches, and feasting filled 
 the day, and at night the jubilant Texans gathered 
 about huge bonfires to discuss over and over every 
 detail of their first stand against the tyranny of 
 Santa Anna. 
 
 Couriers had been despatched east, north, and 
 south, with the glorious news, and it was everywhere 
 received with wildest enthusiasm. From all quar 
 ters came the cry : 
 
 "Drive the Mexicans beyond the Rio Grande !" 
 
 In Eastern Texas company after company of 
 volunteers was raised and hurried to the front. 
 General Sam Houston, Ex-United States Senator, 
 Ex-Governor of Tennessee, and recently arrived in 
 
 96 
 
96 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Texas to discover its present condition and pros 
 pects, was unanimously chosen commander-in-chief. 
 Two companies were raised in New Orleans, and a 
 battalion in Georgia. The citizens of Cincinnati 
 subscribed for two cannon to be immediately cast 
 and sent as a present to the Texans. 
 
 James Bowie hurried with all speed to his planta 
 tion on the Mississippi. He had already issued 
 invitations for the grandest barbecue ever seen in 
 the Southwest, to be held there in the interest of an 
 American Texas. At it he was to report to the 
 thousands who would be gathered the result of his 
 observations on the scene of action. David Crock 
 ett of Tennessee, renowned as a rifle shot, a back 
 woods politician, a fighter, and for his homely wit, 
 was one of the principal speakers at this great meet 
 ing. He aroused such enthusiasm, that when he 
 left it for Nacogdoches he was accompanied by hun 
 dreds of sturdy frontiersmen armed with rifles and 
 bowie knives, pledged to fight in the cause of Texas. 
 
 Gonzales was the appointed place of rendezvous, 
 and Stephen Austin, just escaped from a Mexican 
 prison, and one of the most popular men in the state, 
 was elected to command the forces there collected. 
 At the same time one member from each of the 
 committees of safety, which were well scattered all 
 over Texas, proceeded to San Felipe, where they 
 organized a provisional government for carrying on 
 the war. 
 
WHY THE MEXICAN TROOPS FOUGHT BADLY 07 
 
 As a result of all this energy a force of five hun 
 dred well-armed volunteers was gathered on the east 
 bank of the Guadalupe, ready for a march to San 
 Antonio within ten days after the absurd but impor 
 tant battle of Gonzales. 
 
 On the other hand, the news of the Texas uprising 
 was received in Mexico with angry amazement and 
 a determination to suppress it before it could assume 
 formidable proportions. 
 
 Castonado s flying troops reached San Antonio on 
 the fourth of October, and their appearance so 
 aroused the fury of the Commandant at that place, 
 that on the very next day he set out for Gonzales 
 with five hundred troops and three pieces of artil 
 lery. He threatened the direst vengeance against 
 the heretic Americanos who had insulted him and 
 dared resist his authority. No one of them should 
 be left alive, and their town should be burned to the 
 ground. In spite of his brave words and the confi 
 dence with which he set forth, the reports brought 
 in by his scouts of the rapidly increasing strength of 
 the Texans so cooled his ardor that his marches 
 became slower and his halts longer, until finally he 
 dared advance no further. 
 
 The Texan army was at length equal in force to 
 his own, and when he heard that it crossed the river 
 to meet him, he in turn fled back to San Antonio 
 almost as precipitately as had Castonado only a 
 week before. 
 
98 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 In regard to the cowardice thus manifested by the 
 Mexican troops it should be said that while most of 
 their officers were men of undoubted bravery, the sol 
 diers with whom they were expected to subdue Texas 
 had all been pressed into service, and fifty per cent, 
 of them were convicts or jail-birds, compelled to serve 
 out their terms in the army. These troops could 
 only be induced to fight when their overwhelming 
 numbers gave them an assurance of success, or when 
 fear of their own officers was greater than their 
 dread of the enemy. 
 
 Such men were absolutely without shame in run 
 ning away from inferior forces, were sustained by no 
 sentiment of patriotism, and were mercilessly cruel 
 wherever they found themselves in a position to be 
 so. Of such as these were the permanent Mexican 
 garrisons in Texas composed; and when General Cos 
 was sent to reenforce them, several hundred of his 
 one thousand men wore manacles on their arms and 
 legs until they reached San Antonio. 
 
 Even when Santa Anna advanced into Texas, some 
 months later, two thousand of his six thousand troops 
 were poor Yucatan Indians, ruthlessly dragged from 
 their homes to fight a people with whom they had no 
 quarrel, and of whom most of them had never heard. 
 
 With such soldiers at his back it is not then sur 
 prising that the Commandant who had set out to pun 
 ish the rebels at Gonzales should have deemed it the 
 part of wisdom to retreat before an equal force of 
 
WHY THE MEXICAN TROOPS FOUGHT BADLY 99 
 
 Texans, who were not only aching for a fight, and 
 had everything to fight for, but were among the 
 most expert riflemen of the world. 
 
 Before leaving Gonzales, General Stephen Austin 
 despatched a force of one hundred mounted men to 
 the southward against the Mexican garrisons of Vic 
 toria on the Guadalupe, and Goliad on the west bank 
 of the San Antonio. If these could be captured or 
 forced to retreat, and at the same time Bexar could 
 be taken, Texas would be free from the presence of 
 Mexican troops. 
 
 After the absurd battle of Gonzales, Rex Harden, 
 as the only one wounded on the Texan side, had 
 been the hero of the hour. He was made so much 
 of that he finally grew ashamed of the scratch that 
 his admirers insisted upon dignifying as a wound, 
 and to tire of being questioned concerning it. There 
 fore, when it was decided to send a mounted force to 
 the southward, he applied for, and received, permis 
 sion to accompany it. 
 
 Not only was Rex impatient for further action, but 
 he was decidedly lonely since his father had felt 
 obliged to push on toward San Felipe on the very 
 day that Castonado was put to flight. Of course 
 Mrs. Harden and Mabel had gone with him, as had 
 the latter s dearest friend, Nelita Veramendi, whom 
 the Bowies had left in Squire Harden s care when 
 they hastened eastward to the great barbecue. 
 
 So the young lieutenant gladly rode away with 
 
100 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 one hundred of the best mounted among the Texas 
 volunteers ; and among all their fine horses there was 
 none to compare with his Tawny. 
 
 At the very first bivouac he was approached by 
 the leader of the expedition, who said : 
 
 " I am told, Harden, that you can talk Mexican 
 like a native. Is that so ? " 
 
 " I believe it is, sir. " 
 
 " And that you have the best mount of the entire 
 troop ? " 
 
 " My horse is certainly a good one." 
 
 " You have also done some very creditable scout 
 ing during the past two weeks." 
 
 "Thank you, sir." 
 
 " Are you willing to undertake another job of the 
 same kind ? " 
 
 "Certainly, if you wish me to." 
 
 " Well, I do. We are, as you know, bound first 
 for Victoria, which place I expect to reach to-morrow 
 evening. As the Mexican garrison is small, it is not 
 likely that we shall be detained there very long. At 
 any rate we shall hasten on to Goliad as quickly as 
 possible. Now I know nothing of the latter place, 
 nor of its strength, but am very desirous of gaining 
 all possible information before reaching there, in 
 order to plan an immediate attack. Therefore, I 
 want a scout to cut across country from here to 
 Goliad, gain what knowledge he can concerning the 
 strength of the place to-morrow night, and meet me 
 
WHY THE MEXICAN TROOPS FOUGHT BADLY 101 
 
 somewhere on the Victoria road the day following. 
 Can I count on you for this duty ? " 
 
 " I think you may, sir. At any rate, I am willing 
 to undertake it, and will do the best I can." 
 
 " How many men will you want ? " 
 
 " I would rather go alone. " 
 
 " But the country between here and there may be 
 infested by Cos s troops." 
 
 " So much the more reason for going alone, sir. 
 A single man can escape notice more easily than a 
 party. Besides, I shall have to make haste to reach 
 Goliad by to-morrow evening, and I do not believe 
 there is another horse in the command that could 
 keep up with my Tawny." 
 
 " Very well, lieutenant, act as you think best, and 
 remember that the success of our expedition will 
 probably depend upon the information that you can 
 gain. You may start when you please, and if I do 
 not see you in the morning, I shall know that you 
 are already on the road. Good-night, and good luck 
 to you." 
 
 The stars were still shining the next morning, 
 though there was a gray light in the eastern sky, 
 when Rex slipped from his blankets, gave Tawny a 
 feed of corn, and made for himself a cup of coffee 
 over the still glowing embers of a camp-fire. Long 
 before sunrise he had left the still sleeping camp 
 and was off on his dangerous mission. At starting, 
 he shivered with the chill of the morning air ; but 
 
102 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 before noon the sun was pouring down a heat that 
 caused him to welcome a slender line of timber that 
 he knew must border a stream. 
 
 Reaching the little river and taking a refreshing 
 drink of its clear waters, he rode a short distance 
 down its bank to a place that afforded grass for his 
 horse and was at the same time well hidden from the 
 road. Here he relieved Tawny of saddle and bridle 
 and turned him loose with only a picket rope trailing 
 from his neck. He knew the horse would not stray 
 far and could be recovered at any moment. In fact, 
 they had become such firm friends that Tawny would 
 now obey his call if he were anywhere within 
 hearing. 
 
 Having thus provided for the comfort of his horse, 
 Rex threw himself down in the shadow of a great 
 pecan tree, the ripe nuts from which covered a wide 
 space of ground, and began to eat the frugal lunch he 
 had brought with him. He had ridden so hard that 
 morning that he believed he could well afford an 
 hour of rest, and was prepared to enjoy it as one 
 only can enjoy a pleasure that has been honestly 
 earned. 
 
 As he lay there munching a cold corn pone, and 
 lazily admiring Tawny, he noticed that every now 
 and then the animal lifted his head to sniff the air 
 uneasily and always from the same direction. He 
 also imagined that he heard a murmur of voices, but 
 the sound was so very faint and indistinct that he 
 
WHY THE MEXICAN TROOPS FOUGHT BADLY 103 
 
 could neither decide its nature nor the direction 
 from which it came. 
 
 Suddenly a cry of mortal terror, shrill and piercing, 
 evidently in a woman s voice, caused our lad to gain 
 his feet at a bound and dash recklessly through the 
 timber towards the startling sound. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 A WOMAN IN PERIL 
 
 SCREAM after scream for help rang out on the still 
 noontide as Rex ran through the timber in the direc 
 tion of the startling sounds. He had snatched up 
 his rifle, and now he cocked it as he ran. Emerging 
 from the trees, he came in sight of a small log house 
 standing on the prairie two hundred yards away. It 
 was surrounded by a wide fence, to which were tied 
 two horses. Near them was a man uttering unin 
 telligible cries, and acting in the most erratic manner. 
 He would throw himself to the ground, leap up 
 again, fling his arms in the air, cover his face with 
 his hands, run this way and that, and behaved like 
 one bereft of his senses. 
 
 Much nearer at hand were two other human 
 figures upon whom our lad s attention was instantly 
 and wholly centred. One was that of a young woman, 
 evidently an American from her white skin. She 
 was flying with outstretched bare arms, streaming 
 hair, and shrill screams, toward the timber from 
 which Rex was just emerging. In close pursuit of 
 her was a man clad in the tawdry red and blue uni 
 form of a Mexican soldier. His swarthy face was 
 
 104 
 
A WOMAN IN PERIL 105 
 
 devilish in its expression of cruelty, and in his right 
 hand he bore a naked bayonet. So nearly had he 
 overtaken the woman when Rex came in sight of 
 them that his weapon was lifted for a lunge into 
 her body. 
 
 Our lad had no time for thought, and only a second 
 in which to act. Without taking aim, he threw for 
 ward his rifle and fired, when to his amazement both 
 the woman and her would-be murderer plunged for 
 ward and fell to the ground. 
 
 For a moment Rex stood horrified at the apparent 
 result of his shot. Then hearing a groan that proved 
 at least one of his supposed victims to be alive, he ran 
 to where they lay. The groans came from the 
 Mexican, who was apparently wounded, though how 
 severely or where, our lad could not determine in the 
 single glance that he gave him. His sympathy, and 
 for the time being his whole attention, were directed 
 to the woman, upon whose person he could discover 
 no signs of a wound, though she lay motionless and 
 apparently dead. Running to the stream for a hat 
 ful of water, he dashed it by double handfuls in her 
 face, and was at length rewarded by seeing her open 
 her eyes. Then, with his assistance, she sat up and 
 stared about her, frightened and bewildered. 
 
 As she did so, Rex talked soothingly to her, say 
 ing that her enemy was powerless to do her further 
 injury, and begging her to believe that danger no 
 longer threatened. After a few moments of convul- 
 
106 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 give sobbing, caused by exhaustion, and a reaction 
 from her recent terror, the young woman controlled 
 herself sufficiently to murmur something about father 
 and mother, at the same time striving to regain her 
 feet. 
 
 In this, Rex lent his assistance, and then he sup 
 ported her as they walked slowly towards the house. 
 She gave a shudder as they passed the prostrate 
 Mexican, whom she evidently believed to be dead ; 
 but her eyes blazed with a feeble fury, as they fell 
 on the other man, who still continued his strange 
 actions, in front of the house, and who, as Rex now 
 saw, was also a Mexican soldier. As this man real 
 ized their approach, he hesitated for an instant, and 
 then scrambling clumsily to the back of one of the 
 horses, he rode rapidly away, greatly to the young 
 lieutenant s relief. 
 
 The woman paid no attention to him, after that 
 first glance, but appeared doubly eager to reach the 
 house, and seemed to gain new strength as they 
 drew near to it. At the door, she pulled away from 
 Rex, and entered in advance of him, uttering a fer 
 vent " Thank God ! " as she did so. 
 
 Pressing curiously forward, the lad was filled with 
 horror and rage at the sight that met his eyes. An 
 old man and an old woman, whose white hairs should 
 have protected them from outrage, even by such 
 brutes as Mexican soldiers, were standing at the foot 
 of a tall bedstead, securely bound to two of its posts. 
 
A WOMAN IN PERIL 107 
 
 Their clothing was torn, and they were covered with 
 blood from many wounds, seemingly made with knife 
 points, that appeared on all parts of their bodies. 
 Beyond them was a table, set for dinner, and beside 
 it lay an iron skillet with a broken handle. It had 
 evidently been filled with frying bacon, bits of which, 
 together with a quantity of grease, were scattered 
 over the floor. 
 
 Without waiting for an explanation of this strange 
 scene, Rex sprang to cut the lashings of the old 
 people. The old woman at once sank helplessly to 
 the floor, but the old man managed to reach a chair 
 unaided. 
 
 With others dependent upon her, the young woman 
 recovered her own strength wonderfully, and, aided 
 by Rex, succeeded, after a while, in restoring the old 
 people to a certain degree of comfort. Then, little 
 by little, and with frequent interruptions, she told 
 the lad the story of their sufferings. 
 
 From it he learned that the old people were her 
 own father and mother, and that they three, together 
 with her husband, Alvin Yardley, constituted the 
 entire family of this isolated ranch. They had only 
 learned the day before, of the Texas uprising, and of 
 the advance of General Cos, with an army, to over 
 run the country. That morning her husband had 
 ridden to the nearest neighbor s, ten miles away, to 
 borrow a wagon, in which to remove the old folk to 
 a place of safety. 
 
108 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Soon after his departure the two Mexicans, who, 
 as she learned from their conversation, had been 
 impressed into the army from the Monterey chain- 
 gang, appeared before the house. They forced an 
 entrance, and with dire threats of what they would 
 do in case of resistance, bound its helpless inmates 
 to as many bedposts. Then they ransacked every 
 room in search of valuables, and tortured the old 
 people with knife pricks to make them disclose 
 where such things were hidden. 
 
 Having collected whatever seemed to them desira 
 ble and fastened their bundles of plunder to the sad 
 dles of two horses that they stole from the Yardley 
 corral, they loosened the bonds of the younger 
 woman and ordered her to cook a dinner for them, 
 declaring that if she refused they would kill her 
 parents. As she moved slowly to obey them, hoping 
 with each moment for the arrival of her husband, 
 one of the wretches hastened her movements by 
 threatening the old folk with his knife while the 
 other kept watch from the door. 
 
 When the meal, prepared under these circum 
 stances, was finally served, the brute with the knife 
 gave each of the old people a parting cut with his 
 knife as he moved towards the table. This so en 
 raged their daughter that she lifted a skillet of 
 sizzling bacon that she was taking from the stove, 
 and brought it down with all her strength on his 
 head. The man was horribly burned, and very 
 
A WOMAN IN PERIL 109 
 
 nearly blinded, by the scalding grease ; but with 
 out waiting to note his condition the woman sprang 
 through the doorway, hoping for time to secure one 
 of the guns that hung from the Mexican saddles. 
 
 The unwounded man pursued her so closely, how 
 ever, that she was unable to accomplish her purpose, 
 and could only fly, screaming for help, towards the 
 timber. The Mexican rapidly overtook her, and 
 but for the opportune appearance of our young 
 scout, she and her parents would certainly have 
 been killed. 
 
 The young woman had hardly finished her story 
 and was trying, in broken tones, to express her 
 gratitude to Rex for his gallant rescue, when there 
 came a clatter of hoofs ; a horse was reined sharply 
 up before the door, and a man, whom the woman 
 greeted with a cry of joy, flung himself into the 
 house. 
 
 It was Alvin Yardley, returned without the wagon 
 he had gone to borrow, but with news that rendered 
 the present abandonment of his home unnecessary. 
 Cos had marched to San Antonio with an army 
 of nine hundred men, leaving a small garrison at 
 Goliad, under Colonel Sandoval. This had been 
 surprised, and the place captured, only the night 
 before, by a band of Texans from the Guadalupe, 
 led by a Captain Collingsworth. 
 
 While Sandoval and his officers had been taken 
 prisoners, most of the garrison had effected their 
 
110 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 escape. Alvin Yardley had undertaken to ride to 
 Gonzales and notify the Texans at that place of 
 what had happened, in order that they might cut 
 off these stragglers before they could reach San 
 Antonio. Now, learning of the peril from which 
 his own family had just been delivered, and realiz 
 ing that there was still danger from other prowling 
 Mexicans, he had no mind to leave them unprotected 
 again. 
 
 " I could go in your place as well as not," said 
 Rex, reflectively, "if I could only get word to 
 Colonel Moore, for he will not now need me at 
 Goliad." 
 
 " I will guarantee to let him know what you have 
 done ! " cried Yardley, eagerly. " If he has gone to 
 Victoria, he probably knows by this time that your 
 present errand is useless, for Collingsworth captured 
 that place before coming to Goliad. If you only 
 will let me out of this Gonzales trip, I shall be 
 mighty grateful," 
 
 Rex required but little persuasion to be the bearer 
 of such glorious news to his comrades of Austin s 
 army, the more especially as he was eager to join 
 them in their attack on San Antonio, before which 
 place he believed he should find them rather than 
 at Gonzales. So, after partaking of a hearty meal, 
 prepared by the young woman whose life he had 
 saved, the boy was ready for his eighty-mile ride 
 up the river. 
 
A WOMAN IN PERIL 111 
 
 Alvin Yardley went with him to learn what had 
 become of the wounded Mexican who had so nearly 
 taken his wife s life, but when they reached the spot 
 where Rex had left him, he was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 " Lucky for him," muttered Yardley, " for I would 
 surely have killed him if I had found him alive. 
 However, he s sure to meet with his deserts before 
 long, for such scoundrels can t go far in this country 
 unpunished." 
 
 The ranchman s prophecy was startlingly con 
 firmed a few minutes later, for when they went to 
 secure Tawny they found him quietly feeding not 
 far from the dead body of that very Mexican, whose 
 skull had evidently been crushed by a powerful kick 
 from a horse s hoof. 
 
 Rex was shocked, but the ranchman only smiled 
 grimly as he remarked : 
 
 " That horse of yours is surely a true Texan, for 
 he not only wears the lone star, the same as his 
 master, but kills any greaser that tries to ride him. 
 Take care of him, lad, for he s a good one." 
 
 With this they parted, and Rex, turning his face 
 again northward, galloped away on fleet-footed 
 Tawny, the avenger. 
 
 The sun was within three hours of its setting 
 when he started, and he had not ridden many miles 
 before a gathering dusk warned him that it was time 
 to make camp. Thus far he had travelled over an 
 open prairie, with an unobscured view in eveiy 
 
112 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 direction. Now he must seek the thick timber of 
 the river bottom. He had no sooner entered this 
 than his eye caught a distant gleam of firelight, and 
 he heard the sound of voices. His first impulse was 
 to retreat to the prairie. Then he reflected that 
 while those whose camp-fire he saw were probably 
 enemies, they might prove to be friends, and that at 
 any rate, as a scout, he was bound to gather all possi 
 ble information concerning them. Thus thinking, 
 he tethered Tawny to a tree, and crept cautiously 
 towards the firelight. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 BEX IS CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT 
 
 THE bivouac on which Rex had thus stumbled 
 was that of a score of Mexican soldiers who, hav 
 ing escaped from Goliad, were leisurely travelling 
 towards San Antonio. That they had made success 
 ful forays on the several ranches of that sparsely 
 settled country was shown by the plunder, provis 
 ions, and forage scattered about their camp, while, 
 by occasional flashes of firelight, the young scout 
 could make out a number of horses and mules 
 fastened to surrounding trees. As our lad noted 
 these, he became possessed of an idea that he deter 
 mined to carry out if possible. 
 
 " If I could only run off that stock," he said to him 
 self, " and so leave those fellows to make their way up 
 the river on foot, I could reach Austin s camp in time 
 to bring back a party that would capture the whole 
 gang. I ll have to wait, though, until they settle 
 down for the night. Then we ll see what can be 
 done." 
 
 Thus thinking, the lad crept back to where he had 
 loft Tawny, fed him from a small sack of Alvin 
 Yardley s corn, ate his own scanty supper, and sat 
 i 113 
 
114 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 down to wait until the quiet of the Mexican camp 
 should indicate that it was buried in slumber. 
 
 He did not mean to go to sleep, of course ; but he 
 was dead tired, and after a while was so overcome 
 by drowsiness, that it seemed as though to close his 
 eyes for just one minute would be the most blessed 
 thing in the world. He reasoned, too, that his 
 hearing would become more acute if his eyes were 
 shut, and as he could not see anything even with 
 them open, there could be no possible harm in clos 
 ing them for a single minute. He would open them 
 and move about to shake off his drowsiness, if there 
 was any real danger of going to sleep, for he was in 
 too perilous a position to even think of such a thing. 
 
 What a relief it was to close them, though ; and 
 how decidedly his sense of hearing was quickened. 
 At the same time it was queer that certain of the 
 voices coming to him in a confused murmur should 
 resemble those of his sister Mabel and Nelita Vera- 
 mendi. What dear girls they were, and how fond 
 he was of them ! So much so that it was difficult to 
 tell which he liked best ; though, of course, it must 
 be Mabel, for she was his sister. Still it was very 
 pleasant to dream of Nelita. So the tired lad 
 slipped happily away into dreamland, and Tawny, 
 standing motionless beside him, also drooped his 
 head drowsily. 
 
 For hours they slept. The camp of Mexicans, not 
 more than a quarter of a mile away, was also buried 
 
REX IS CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT 115 
 
 in slumber, with even its guards nodding at their 
 posts, and the only sounds to be heard were the 
 ordinary night voices of the wilderness. A wolf 
 howled from across the river, and was answered 
 from the nearer side. Others took up the weird cry 
 and repeated it until it seemed as though the beasts 
 must be exchanging a regular code of signals. Cer 
 tainly their voices approached each other, until with 
 a final yelping bark they too became silent. 
 
 At the very first wolf cry Tawny lifted his head, 
 pricked forward his ears, and sniffed the heavy 
 night air suspiciously. He was decidedly uneasy, 
 for though his wild life on the Texas prairies had 
 made him well acquainted with many kinds of wolves, 
 from the great lobo down to the sneaking coyote, 
 the language of those now calling to each other on 
 all sides of him was so different from any with 
 which he was familiar, that he could not understand 
 what they were saying. Even after they became 
 silent he continued nervously alert and watchful. 
 
 All at once the peaceful quiet of the night w&3 
 shattered by such a whirlwind of sound, yells, shots, 
 terrified screams, and a thunderous rushing that 
 bedlam seemed to have broken loose in that narrow 
 strip of timbered river bottom. 
 
 Thus rudely awakened, Rex sprang up, still dazed 
 with sleep, and instinctively started to fly from the 
 impending terror. Then bethinking himself of 
 Tawny and his rifle, he turned to where he had left 
 
116 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 them. The next moment he was hurled breathless 
 to the ground, while a veritable cyclone of madly 
 galloping horses and fiercely yelling men swept over 
 the spot where he lay. That he was not killed out 
 right, was owing to a fallen tree that partially pro 
 tected him ; but when the wild riders had passed, 
 and he painfully gained a sitting posture, he felt as 
 though he had been pounded with clubs on every 
 portion of his body. 
 
 He could not imagine what had happened, but 
 from the shots that still flashed through the timber 
 in every direction, he believed himself to be in the 
 thick of a battle. It also seemed as though every 
 gun were pointed directly at him, and that if he 
 remained where he was another moment he would 
 certainly be killed. 
 
 So he attempted with slow and painful movements 
 to crawl out of range ; but he had not gone a rod 
 when a Mexican soldier in fruitless pursuit of the 
 yelling horsemen who had just passed, stumbled 
 over his crouching body and fell headlong. As this 
 leader was closely followed by a dozen of his com 
 rades, Rex was instantly seized and jerked rudely to 
 his feet. 
 
 The red flash of an escopetta, fired close to his face, 
 revealed the fact that he was white, and consequently 
 an enemy. 
 
 " The heretic ! " 
 
 " The gringo ! " 
 
REX IS CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT 117 
 
 " Kill him ! " 
 
 " Cut him in pieces ! " 
 
 " The dog of a Texan ! " 
 
 " His vile comrades have stolen our horses and 
 escaped, but he shall suffer for all ! " 
 
 " Kill him, then ! " 
 
 " No. That would be too easy. Let us take him 
 to camp and have some sport with him." 
 
 These cries, and many others of similar import, 
 uttered to an accompaniment of fierce Mexican oaths, 
 revealed to Rex the imminent danger of his position, 
 and showed him how little mercy he had to expect 
 from his cruel captors. He was, however, wise 
 enough to conceal his knowledge of their language, 
 and paid no attention to the questions showered 
 upon him as to the character of those who had just 
 run off with the Mexican horses. Of course he did 
 not know any more than did they who questioned 
 him, though from the yells that still came faintly 
 back from the open prairie, he shrewdly suspected 
 the raiders to be a party of Comanche Indians. 
 
 At the same time, from having found this white 
 lad directly in the track of their recent assailants, 
 where he was supposed to have fallen from his horse, 
 his captors believed the attack to have been made by 
 a force of Texans whom it would not be wise to 
 pursue too far or too closely. 
 
 So they made their way sullenly, and with many 
 fierce threats of what they would do to the thieves if 
 
118 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 they caught them, back to their ravaged camp, driv 
 ing their prisoner before them with blows and curses. 
 The poor lad was so battered and bruised that every 
 movement gave him sharp twinges of pain, and he 
 could scarcely lift one foot after the other. His 
 wrists were tightly bound behind him, and a picket 
 rope knotted loosely about his neck was constantly 
 jerked by the brute who held it, until the unhappy 
 captive was wellnigh strangled. 
 
 When the camp was finally reached Rex was so 
 nearly used up that he sank with a groan at the foot 
 of a tree to which he was immediately secured. 
 There he was left to await the coming of daylight 
 and whatever fate his captors might hold in reserve 
 for him. 
 
 Oh! how he ached, and how he was tormented by 
 thirst, for it was hours since he had tasted a drop 
 of water. Now he could smell the river close at 
 hand, and the knowledge of its presence added to 
 his distress. He had begged for water, and even 
 admitted a certain knowledge of his captors lan 
 guage by repeating over and over again the single 
 word agua ; but they had only mocked at his dis 
 tress and left him to suffer. 
 
 Besides his aches and his thirst, Rex was filled 
 with gloomy forebodings as to his fate, and with 
 self-accusations at having been so weak as to fall 
 asleep while on duty. He also began to wonder if 
 he had not done wrong in undertaking an indepen- 
 
REX IS CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT 119 
 
 dent mission without orders from his superior officer. 
 Until now it had not seemed to him, any more than 
 it did to others of the Texas volunteers, that they 
 formed part of a real army and were as much bound 
 as are all soldiers, to abide by orders. At that very 
 moment the troops comprising Austin s little army 
 were coming and going as they pleased, refusing to 
 mount guard, perform necessary camp duties, or obey 
 unpopular officers unless they chose. In many other 
 ways they were behaving with the folly of indepen 
 dent citizens who had yet to learn by bitter expe 
 rience that their real strength and only hope of 
 success lay in united action and implicit obedience 
 to those chosen to lead them. 
 
 In the light of his present experience Rex could 
 see all this clearly enough, and one of the bitterest 
 regrets of his situation was that he would probably 
 never be able to point out the folly of their course 
 to his recent comrades. He feared that he would 
 never even see them again, for he had overheard one 
 of his captors say to another who proposed giving 
 him a drink of water : 
 
 " Why make a trouble for yourself ? The gringo 
 will not thirst for long, since he is to be shot at day 
 break." 
 
 So sentence had been pronounced; and Rex, believ 
 ing that his life was nearly ended, strove to reconcile 
 himself to the awful thought. And yet how cruel 
 it was ! He was so young, and life seemed so sweet. 
 
120 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 He had committed no crime, nor had he been capt 
 ured in battle against the Mexicans. He only 
 wished he had. If he could have struck even a 
 single telling blow for Texas, he would be willing to 
 die. Or if he could die in such a way as to afford 
 an example to others. But to have his life thrown 
 away and his fate unknown. To be shot down in 
 cold blood like a worthless cur. Oh ! it was too 
 hard ! 
 
 What would his mother imagine had become of 
 him ? What an agony of suspense she would suffer ! 
 But he must not think of her, nor of the other dear 
 ones, who would wait in vain for his coming, for 
 such thoughts would unman him and he would dis 
 grace the name of a Texan by breaking down in the 
 hour of his supreme trial. No, he must think only 
 of Texas and be proud that he was chosen to die for 
 her. 
 
 With this the poor lad tried to fix his thoughts on 
 noble themes, but in spite of his efforts they always 
 came back to his own bodily sufferings and to the 
 consideration of mad plans for escape. He could 
 not believe it possible that he was really to die. 
 Some miracle would surely intervene to save him. 
 He was too young to be reconciled to death, too san 
 guine to relinquish hope. 
 
 In the meantime his captors discussed his fate 
 with brutal laugh and coarse jest about the camp- 
 fire until daylight. Just at sunrise two of them 
 
REX IS CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT 121 
 
 approached their prisoner, roughly assisted him to 
 his feet, led him a short distance from the camp, and 
 bound him securely to a sapling. Then they delib 
 erately pinned a bit of white cloth over his left breast, 
 and pointing significantly to a file of their comrades 
 who, with loaded muskets, were drawn up in line 
 facing him, gave him to understand that the hour 
 for his execution had arrived. 
 
 At the spasm of anguish that swept across the 
 lad s face, they laughed, and one of them said, " He 
 is but a coward, after all, like all these Texas rebels." 
 
 As he heard these words, Rex nerved himself with 
 a mighty effort ; and, though his face grew white 
 and rigid, he gazed with unflinching eyes straight at 
 the black muzzles of the levelled muskets. 
 
 " Ready ! Fire ! ! " 
 
 The cruel order was instantly followed by a leap 
 ing flame and a crashing report. At the same mo 
 ment the young Texan s proudly lifted head fell 
 forward on his breast, and, but for its supporting 
 bands, his body would have sunk to the ground. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 SAVED BY COCHITO THE COMANCHE 
 
 THE Mexicans had not intended to kill their pris 
 oner, at least, not just then ; for they had decided 
 that he could be made useful as a guide, and also as 
 a protection for their own worthless bodies against 
 the rifles of any Texans whom they might encounter 
 on their road. They could kill him at any time ; 
 and so it might be just as well to save him while 
 there was a chance of his proving useful. Still, with 
 the innate cruelty of all brutal natures, which is the 
 same whether shown by civilized boys in the torture 
 of helpless animals, and the needless infliction of 
 pain upon their weaker comrades, or by savages in 
 their treatment of captives, these cruel servants of a 
 still more cruel master could not forego the exquisite 
 pleasure of witnessing human suffering. So they 
 had conceived the plan of a sham execution, and 
 watched, with amusement, the mental agony of the 
 poor lad, who, firmly believing that the hour of his 
 death had arrived, nerved himself to meet it as be 
 came one of his race and breeding. 
 
 His strength was already weakened, and the strain 
 122 
 
SAVED BY COCHITO THE COMANCHE 123 
 
 of the last few minutes was so terrible, that, when 
 a volley of blank cartridges was fired directly at 
 him, he all at once lost consciousness of his situa 
 tion as surely as though every gun had contained a 
 bullet. 
 
 As the Mexicans noted this unexpected effect of 
 their experiment, their mirth was silenced, and they 
 ran forward to discover what had brought their an 
 ticipated pleasure to so abrupt an end. Cutting the 
 thongs that bound the boy, and so letting his body 
 slip limply to the ground, they began to examine it 
 in search of wounds. But there was none, and at 
 length one after another declared, with strange 
 oaths, that the coward gringo had simply died of 
 fright. 
 
 With this they lost all interest in the prisoner who 
 had so disappointed them, and leaving the motionless 
 form to be disposed of by wolves or buzzards, they 
 set forth on foot for San Antonio. Being deprived 
 of their cattle, they were obliged to leave behind 
 them a great stock of provisions, clothing, and other 
 spoil of looted ranches, and were able to carry away 
 but a small portion of their plunder. 
 
 This was exactly what Cochito, a young Comanche, 
 who had planned the raid of the night before, had 
 hoped they would do. Although the Comanches 
 were at that time nominally at peace with both 
 Americans and Mexicans, this young Indian, eager 
 to win the laurels of a warrior, had persuaded three 
 
124 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 lads of his own age to leave their village by stealth 
 and accompany him in search of adventures. 
 
 From the very outset their enterprise had been 
 successful ; for, reaching the vicinity of Goliad just 
 after its capture, each of them had acquired the scalp 
 of a Mexican straggler without difficulty or danger. 
 Then they ran across the trail of those who, laden 
 with the plunder of outlying ranches, were hasten 
 ing northward. Like a pack of those wolves, whose 
 cries they imitated in signalling to each other, the 
 four young Comanches followed closely after this 
 party until they encamped, and then withdrew to a 
 safe distance for consultation. The Mexicans were 
 too strong to be attacked and too well mounted to 
 straggle, or to abandon any of their plunder. 
 
 " But," said Cochito, " if we could dismount them, 
 then would they leave behind many things that they 
 could not carry. Also, if we had their horses, we 
 could, without trouble, remove to the lodges of our 
 people, that which would make us the envy of every 
 Comanche warrior." 
 
 The others agreed that the words of their brother 
 were very pleasant ; but how were they to obtain the 
 coveted horses, without risking their own precious 
 scalps ? 
 
 "Wait, thou here," answered Cochito, "while I 
 cross the river. When I call to thee, it will be made 
 plain how the thing we wish for may come to pass." 
 So the three waited, while their young leader crept 
 
SAVED BY COCHITO THE COMANCHE 125 
 
 noiselessly about the Mexican camp, estimated its 
 strength, located its cattle, and decided the direction 
 in which they should be driven. All this so occu 
 pied his attention, that he failed to discover the 
 presence of Rex Harden, who had also planned a raid 
 on the Mexican cavallado, but had fallen asleep 
 while awaiting a favorable opportunity to carry out 
 his design. 
 
 When quiet at length reigned in the camp, and its 
 drowsy guards were almost as oblivious to threatened 
 danger as their sleeping comrades, Cochito uttered 
 the wailing bark of a wolf, that summoned his com 
 rades and aroused Tawny s suspicions. 
 
 Soon after the utterance of that signal, the young 
 Comanches were gliding like shadows among the 
 Mexican cattle, loosing tethers and cutting picket 
 ropes. Within two minutes, every animal was free, 
 and the young warriors, mounted on four of the 
 fleetest, were driving the stampeded herd, with 
 fiendish yells, towards the open prairie. Rex and 
 Tawny were directly in their path, and, while the 
 latter, snapping his picket rope as though it had 
 been a pack thread, was swept away in the mad rush, 
 his master was overwhelmed by it, and trampled 
 beneath a score of flying feet. 
 
 The young Comanches, exulting over their glorious 
 coup, kept their stolen herd in motion until daylight, 
 when they corralled it on a narrow point of timber 
 that projected into the river. Here they rested, 
 
126 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 prepared food, and waited patiently until the Mexi 
 cans should depart. 
 
 They were startled by the sound of the volley that 
 was fired at poor Rex ; and Cochito, taking one com 
 panion with him, rode in that direction, to learn its 
 cause. This time, the Comanche leader was mounted 
 on Tawny, whom he had selected at first sight, as 
 being the finest animal of the captured herd. Al 
 though the spirited animal had fought savagely for 
 his liberty, he could no more dismount the young 
 Indian who now bestrode him than he could have 
 shaken off his own head ; for Cochito was one of the 
 best riders in a tribe noted the world over for horse 
 manship. 
 
 Cautiously making their way towards the Mexican 
 camp, the Indian lads soon discovered that it had 
 been vacated, and caught sight of its recent occu 
 pants just disappearing on the northern trail. When 
 they were wholly lost to view, Cochito sent his com 
 panion back to summon the others and bring up the 
 animals. Then he rode boldly into the deserted 
 camp, and dismounting, began eagerly to examine 
 the spoils that his skill had won. 
 
 His eyes glittered and his heart swelled with 
 pride as he gloated over the quantity and quality of 
 the treasure that was now his, and which would 
 make him rich, famous, and envied, could he but 
 convey it safely to his distant home on the Nueces. 
 Engrossed as he was with this pleasing occupation, 
 
SAVED BY COCHITO THE COMANCHE 127 
 
 he did not wholly forget the splendid horse which 
 would, after all, be his proudest trophy, nor loosen 
 his hold on Tawny s bridle. All at once the fretting 
 animal tossed his head, sniffed the air keenly, uttered 
 a shrill neigh, gave a sudden leap that freed him from 
 the young Indian s detaining grasp, and bounded 
 away. 
 
 For a moment Cochito was overcome with chagrin 
 at having his chief prize thus slip through his hands; 
 but, to his surprise, the horse, instead of galloping 
 out of sight, only went a few rods and then stopped. 
 He was partially concealed behind a clump of bushes, 
 and, with lowered head, seemed to be feeding. 
 
 Seeing a chance of recovering him, Cochito crept 
 cautiously in that direction, and, to his unbounded 
 amazement, discovered that the horse was standing 
 over a prostrate human form. A single glance 
 showed this to be a white lad of about his own age, 
 and apparently dead. Excited as he was by this 
 discovery, he did not neglect to secure the horse 
 that had led him to it, and which now refused to 
 move away from his beloved young master. 
 
 As Cochito gazed curiously at this his newest find, 
 something caused him to suspect that the white lad 
 might not be dead, after all, and, hastily fastening 
 Tawny to a tree, he ran to the river for water. 
 When he returned, his comrades had also reached 
 the camp. They were equally excited as himself 
 over the finding of Rex, and promptly suggested 
 
128 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 that his scalp would be more highly appreciated in 
 their village than any other trophy they could carry 
 in. 
 
 " But he is not dead," objected Cochito. 
 
 "Let us then kill him," said one of the others, 
 drawing a keen-edged knife as he spoke. 
 
 " Not so ! " cried Cochito, putting out a detaining 
 hand as the other leaned over Rex to execute his 
 purpose. "It would be foolish to kill him while 
 there is a chance of reviving him and taking him in 
 as a prisoner. Think of the glory that will then be 
 ours. We have already scalps, horses, and much 
 booty. If we can also carry home a prisoner, and 
 an American at that, are there any four warriors of 
 the Comanche nation who could do more ? Let us 
 then revive this young man if it be possible, and 
 lead him captive into our village. Then shall the 
 warriors greet us as brothers, the old men will ad 
 mit us to their councils, and the maidens will sing 
 of our brave deeds in every Comanche lodge." 
 
 With this plea was Rex Harden s life saved ; for 
 so alluring was the picture thus presented by Cochito, 
 that his comrades immediately agreed to his proposal, 
 and lent willing aid to restoring the consciousness 
 of their prisoner. 
 
 The bringing back to life one who has approached 
 the very confines of death is always a tedious task, 
 and the present case proved no exception to the 
 rule. For more than an hour did Cochito work 
 
SAVED BY COCHITO THE COMANCHE 129 
 
 over the motionless form of the white lad who, 
 he had determined, should grace as a captive his 
 triumphant home-going. As to what might hap 
 pen to the prisoner after that, he did not care to 
 consider. He would probably be put to death in 
 such manner as the council of warriors might decide, 
 for that was the fate of all prisoners. To get 
 him to the village alive and strong was the great 
 thing. 
 
 So Cochito worked over Rex long after his com 
 rades had given up the task of restoration as hope 
 less, and turned their attention to the plunder that 
 lay scattered on all sides. He brought water and 
 dashed it in the lad s face. He stripped him, and 
 was amazed to discover no sign of a wound other 
 than innumerable bruises on all parts of the body in 
 which he strove to restore circulation by means of 
 friction. 
 
 At length his efforts seemed about to be crowned 
 with success. A faint color came into the white 
 lad s face, a movement of his heart was distinctly 
 perceptible, and he began to draw gasping breaths. 
 Cochito was confident that in another minute the 
 captive would open his eyes, and he watched for this 
 to happen with a curious interest. During his short 
 career he had seen many a man killed ; but this 
 was the first apparently dead person whom he had 
 watched return to life. He bent low over Rex to 
 catch a sound of the heart-beats that were becoming 
 
130 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 stronger with each minute, and as he did so, a rifle- 
 ball whistled close above his head. 
 
 In an instant the young Indian had sprung to his 
 feet, leaped on Tawny s back, and was off like the 
 wind ; while behind him, with ringing shouts and 
 fierce yells, half a dozen mounted Texans charged 
 the camp. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 POSITIONS AKE REVEESED 
 
 Two of Cochito s comrades were almost as quick 
 as he to gain their ponies and take instant flight at 
 the crash of rifle-shots that was their first intima 
 tion of danger. The third lay motionless where 
 the fatal Texas bullet had overtaken him. Satis 
 fied with their easily gained victory, the Texans 
 did not pursue the surviving Comanches, but turned 
 their attention to the contents of the camp they 
 had just captured. Their leader, a grizzle-bearded 
 man of middle age, sprang from his horse beside 
 the white lad, whom he believed Cochito, bending 
 over him, had been about to kill. He was amazed 
 to find a youth, naked and bruised, but apparently 
 unwounded, who lay motionless, staring at him with 
 dazed eyes. 
 
 " Well, young man, you surely had a close call," 
 began the Texan, " for that Injun had you foul and 
 would have knifed you inside of another second. 
 What in " 
 
 Water ! " whispered Rex. 
 
 41 Eh! What s that!" 
 
 131 
 
132 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 " Water ! " repeated the boy, making a great effort 
 to speak louder. 
 
 " Oh, water ! To be sure, you do look dry. Hi, 
 Zile ! Bring some water, will you ? while I get 
 this chap to rights." 
 
 With this the big man lifted Rex into a sitting 
 posture, and had partially reclothed him by the 
 time the longed-for water arrived. How delicious 
 it was, and how it sent new life pulsing through 
 every vein ! Is there anything on earth so blessed 
 as water ? With a single draught of its magic 
 Rex could speak aloud ; and, by the time he had 
 drunk all they would allow, his strength was so 
 restored that he could question his rescuers. 
 
 " Who are you ? " he asked, " and how did you 
 manage to save me from the Mexicans ? " 
 
 " Injuns, you mean, lad, though it s much the 
 same. My name is Milam, Colonel Ben Milam, 
 just escaped from Monterey prison and got back 
 in time to help the boys take Goliad. Now we 
 are on our way to San Antonio to take a hand in 
 driving the last greaser out of Texas. But how 
 did you chance to fall into the hands of these 
 cursed Injuns ? " 
 
 " You mean Mexicans, of course," replied Rex, 
 with a faint smile. " I haven t seen any Indians, 
 but was tied up to be shot by a party of Mexican 
 soldiers. I don t see why I wasn t shot and why 
 I m not dead at this minute," he continued, with 
 
POSITIONS ARE REVERSED 133 
 
 a perplexed air, "for I can remember seeing the 
 guns pointed right at me, and hearing the order 
 to fire. Then there was a stunning roar, and all 
 was over. So I am certain I must be full of bullet 
 holes. Can t you see them, sir ? " 
 
 " Nary hole," answered Colonel Milam ; " you look 
 as though you d been pounded a right smart, but 
 otherwise you are as sound as a bottle. What did 
 you say your name was ? " 
 
 " I don t believe I said. But it is Harden, 
 Rector Harden, and I belong to the Texas army." 
 
 " Not a son of Squire Harden of the Herrera ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir ; he is my father." 
 
 " Good enough ! Old Ben Milam hasn t come back 
 to Texas for nothing, after all. Why, boy, Squire 
 Harden is one of my dearest friends, and I d gladly 
 risk my life any time to save a son of his from the 
 Injuns. But how did the bloody " 
 
 " Mexicans," interrupted Rex. " They were Mex 
 icans, colonel, and not Indians at all." 
 
 " Look here, son," rejoined the other, sternly, 
 "it s lucky for you that you are weak and light 
 headed, for I don t like being told than I can t 
 make out an Injun from a greaser, far as I can 
 see them. Say, boys, what were the chaps that we 
 jumped out of this camp ? " 
 
 "Injuns, of course," promptly responded one of 
 the men who had listened to this conversation, " and 
 one of em s lying dead over yonder now." 
 
134 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Before Rex could frame an answer to this direct 
 statement a rush of galloping hoofs caused the 
 Texans to spring to. their rifles. Ere they could 
 use them, a single horseman, reeling in his seat 
 and struggling weakly to retain it, appeared among 
 them. Beside Rex Harden the horse stopped so 
 suddenly that its rider was flung heavily to the 
 ground. 
 
 " Why, it s Tawny ! " exclaimed Rex, in amaze 
 ment. 
 
 " An Injun ! " cried Colonel Milam, springing up 
 with levelled rifle, "and, as I live, the very one 
 that was bending over you when we came. Take 
 that, you red devil ! " 
 
 As he spoke, he fired, aiming point blank at 
 Cochito s head, and holding the muzzle of his rifle 
 not more than a yard away. 
 
 With an effort of strength, that one moment 
 before would have been impossible, Rex threw him 
 self forward and struck the rifle. It was a feeble 
 blow, but it deflected the murderous barrel a couple 
 of inches, and the bullet intended for the young 
 Indian buried itself harmlessly in the ground. 
 
 " He is my prisoner, for my horse has brought him 
 to me," cried the boy, almost choked with excitement. 
 " As such I am responsible for him, and I forbid you 
 to harm him, sir." 
 
 " Upon my word ! " exclaimed Colonel Ben Milam, 
 " when he was about to kill you not more than five 
 
POSITIONS ARE REVERSED ^ 136 
 
 minutes ago, and would have done it too, if we had 
 not come along just at that time." 
 
 " If he was bending over me, as you say, colonel, 
 it is my belief that he was trying to save my life and 
 not to take it, for they were Mexicans who tried to 
 kill me, and even now I can t understand why they 
 didn t succeed. At any rate, this horse is mine, lost 
 to me since last evening, and whether the Indian 
 has brought him back to me, or Tawny has brought 
 the Indian, I don t know ; but in either case I claim 
 them both." 
 
 "Well," laughed Colonel Milam, "the horse cer 
 tainly seems to recognize you as a friend, and he, at 
 least, is worth having. As for the Injun, I suppose 
 we must allow your claim to him too, if you want 
 him, though I can t imagine what use any white man 
 can have for a live Injun. If you ll take my ad 
 vice, you ll let me put him out of his misery, for he s 
 badly wounded and pears more n half dead anyway." 
 
 " So he is wounded," agreed Rex, glancing pity 
 ingly at the young Indian, who lay where he had 
 been flung from Tawny s back. He was bleeding 
 freely from the bullet hole in his thigh, and it seemed 
 as though his very life were ebbing away with the 
 crimson flow. 
 
 " He mustn t die, though, if we can prevent it, and 
 for the sake of your friendship with my father, you 
 will help me fix him up, won t you, colonel? " 
 
 44 Well, lad, if you put it that way, I suppose I must 
 
136 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 do what I can for the young whelp," answered Milam ; 
 " though trying to bring back to life an Injun, that 
 ought by rights to be dead, will surely be a new 
 experience for yours truly." 
 
 Cochito s wound, though bleeding profusely and 
 ugly to look at, was not otherwise serious nor did it 
 carry any broken bones. After the flow of blood 
 was staunched, and it had been dressed with rude 
 skill, the young Indian was placed on an outspread 
 blanket near Rex, and both lads were left in quiet 
 to renew their strength as best they could. 
 
 The Texans were well content to spend a day and 
 a night where they were ; for, besides having plenty 
 to do in collecting the thrice-scattered herd that 
 both Mexicans and Indians had destined to carry 
 their plunder, and which the new-comers now pro 
 posed to use for the same purpose, they were not 
 anxious to overtake the strong force of the enemy 
 that Rex assured them was but a short distance 
 ahead. He compiled this information partly from 
 what he knew, and partly from what Cochito, who 
 could speak Mexican fairly well, told him as they 
 lay near each other on their blankets. 
 
 From the young Indian, too, Rex gained a clear 
 idea of much that had happened to himself since the 
 preceding evening, though how he had been shot by 
 his Mexican captors without being killed or even 
 wounded was still a mystery. So the white lad and 
 the Indian learned much concerning each other that 
 
POSITIONS ARE REVERSED 137 
 
 day ; for the latter, knowing that he owed his life to 
 Rex, talked to him with the freedom of a brother. 
 
 With the coming of night the Texans did not 
 deem it necessary to secure the young Indian, for 
 they believed him to be too severely wounded to 
 make even an attempt at escape. So he was allowed 
 to lie near Rex, unwatched and apparently buried in 
 profound slumber. Wolves howled about the camp 
 from greater or less distances, but this sound was 
 then so common in all parts of Texas that the guards 
 who relieved each other every two hours paid no 
 attention to it. Only Tawny, securely tethered close 
 by his young master, occasionally tossed his head and 
 moved uneasily. 
 
 With earliest daylight the man then on guard 
 replenished the camp-fire and taking a kettle went to 
 the river for water. As he passed the spot where 
 Rex and his prisoner lay, he noticed that the latter 
 had drawn the blanket over his head so as to entirely 
 conceal it. 
 
 "Curious," reflected the guard, "how Injuns and 
 greasers hate to breathe fresh air." 
 
 He lingered at the river long enough to plunge 
 his face in its cool waters and perform a rough 
 toilet. Then, noting the advance of dawn, he said 
 to himself that it was high time to turn the stock 
 out to grass. At the same moment there came to 
 him a sound of movement among the horses, a 
 snorting and a trampling of hoofs. 
 
138 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 " Some of the other boys must have woke up and 
 are turning out the critters," said the man, and thus 
 thinking, he strolled leisurely back to camp. He 
 wondered at not meeting the herd on its way to the 
 river as he went, and was still more surprised to see 
 that his comrades still slept. Only Colonel Milam 
 was sitting up and yawning. 
 
 " What have you done with the horses, Bill ? " he 
 demanded at sight of the guard. 
 
 "I haint done nothing with em, colonel. Didn t 
 you turn em loose ? If you didn t, who in thunder 
 did?" 
 
 " No, I did not," rejoined the leader, springing 
 to his feet. "But I thought of course that you 
 had. Hello, men! Tumble out I Something s gone 
 wrong! " 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 IN THE ANCIENT MISSION OF LA ESPADA 
 
 IT was quickly evident to the occupants of the 
 camp that something had very decidedly gone 
 wrong, as they ran excitedly to where their stock 
 had been secured for the night, and found no trace 
 of them, save a broad trail leading towards the 
 prairie. Every horse but one, including those of 
 the Texans, had disappeared. The one remaining 
 was Tawny. 
 
 Several of the men had started on foot to follow 
 the trail, and Rex, awakened by the confusion, was 
 wondering what it was all about when Colonel 
 Milam hurried over to him. 
 
 " Our stock s been run off, Harden," he said, " and 
 I want to borrow your horse to follow the thieves 
 at least far enough to find out who they are." 
 
 "All right, colonel, you are welcome, if you can 
 ride him." 
 
 Without replying to this insinuation, save by a 
 contemptuous snort, the man attempted to spring 
 on Tawny s back. He was not an expert horseman, 
 judged from the Texan standpoint, and as Tawny 
 always objected to any authority save that of his 
 
 139 
 
140 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 young master, the colonel at once found himself 
 engaged in a struggle that bade fair to last all day. 
 So fierce was Tawny s attitude that, after several 
 futile attempts to mount him, the Texan was glad 
 of an excuse to withdraw from the contest. 
 
 He found it in glancing at Cochito s sleeping- 
 place, which was apparently still occupied by the 
 young Comanche, lying motionless, partially con 
 cealed by an overhanging bush, and with a blanket 
 drawn over his head. 
 
 " Hello ! What has happened to your prisoner ? " 
 cried Colonel Milam. " He must be dead, not to 
 wake up with all this racket." 
 
 Thus saying, he desisted from his struggle with 
 Tawny, stepped over to the place and pulled down 
 the blanket. Beneath it lay a log of wood. 
 
 " Euchered, by thunder ! " exclaimed the Texan. 
 " Euchered by a half -dead Injun, and a boy at that. 
 Seems to me, Ben Milam, you d better take to pick 
 ing huckleberries for a living, or doing something 
 else more in your line than setting up to be a leader 
 of Texas rangers. Euchered by an Injun kid ! 
 Nough to make a dog sick ! Ugh ! " Here the 
 humiliated soldier spat fiercely in token of his dis 
 gust. 
 
 " Would you like to have me follow them, sir ? " 
 inquired Rex, sympathetically. " The horse is used 
 to me, you know, and " 
 
 " Follow nothing ! " interrupted the other, angrily. 
 
IN THE ANCIENT MISSION OF LA ESPADA 141 
 
 " You ain t fit, to begin with, and twouldn t do any 
 good, if you were. No, son, we ll just swallow our 
 medicine like little men, allow we re beat, and mosey 
 along toward San Antonio on foot the same as others 
 have had to do before us. Don t you wish now you d 
 let me kill the young devil, though ? " 
 
 " No, colonel, I don t," replied Rex, stoutly. " I 
 am glad he s alive, and I m glad he has got away too, 
 for I know he saved my life, and so I should have 
 been responsible for his as long as he was a prisoner. 
 Of course I m awfully sorry that your stock has been 
 run off, and if you will ride my horse, he is at your 
 service until we reach San Antonio." 
 
 "Thanks," returned the other, with a quizzical 
 glance at Tawny, who was gazing steadfastly at him, 
 evidently in expectation of renewed hostilities. " I 
 don t believe I care to ride your critter under the 
 circumstances. The other boys might think I was 
 proud, and as long as they have got to hoof it, I 
 guess I ll do the same. It isn t the losing of the 
 stock I mind so much, you understand, for there s a 
 plenty more horses to be had in Texas, but it s the 
 idea of an old Injun fighter like me being euchered by 
 a single Comanche, and him a boy, wounded at that." 
 
 " Of course he couldn t have done it alone," sug 
 gested Rex, anxious to offer consolation. " The two 
 who escaped must have met friends and led them 
 back here. For my part, I think we are mighty 
 lucky to be wearing our scalps at this minute." 
 
142 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 "I guess you are right, son," rejoined Colonel 
 Milam, brightening visibly. " Of course that young 
 whelp couldn t have done it alone, as you say. 
 In fact, I don t see how he got away with himself. 
 Sure you didn t hear anything during the night? " 
 
 " Not a sound," replied Rex. 
 
 " Well, it is certain they must have been a strong 
 party. Same time, it was shameful for us to let 
 em run off our stock, and I should like to kick my 
 self all the way from here to San Antonio." 
 
 The other Texans were in much the same mood as 
 their leader, and when, after destroying everything 
 in the camp that could not be carried away, they 
 started northward on foot, a method of travel that 
 all Texans abhor, they formed a very crestfallen 
 company. 
 
 For three days they marched, and on the evening 
 of the third reached the lonely mission of La Espada, 
 about nine miles south of San Antonio. Not a soul 
 was to be seen in its vicinity. Priests and converts, 
 soldiers and laborers, Spaniards and Indians, all had 
 vanished. The beautiful church, with its chime of 
 bells, its frescoes, and its grilles of wrought iron, was 
 open and empty. The long ranges of arched colon 
 nades were dark and silent, and the strong bastion 
 towers were without defenders. 
 
 But everywhere were evidences that the old mis 
 sion had recently been occupied by an army. Had 
 it been a force of Mexicans, or had Austin s men 
 
IN THE ANCIENT MISSION OF LA ESPADA 143 
 
 rested here ? Had one driven the other out ? and if 
 so, which side had been victorious ? These were the 
 questions asked of each other by Milam s little party 
 as they prepared to pass the night in the deserted 
 plaza of the old mission. 
 
 While the others prepared a supper of venison 
 killed that day, Rex strolled through the long rows 
 of deserted buildings, wondering at the thickness of 
 their walls, admiring the beauty of their arches, and 
 trying to picture to himself the many strange scenes 
 they had witnessed. As he walked he was attracted 
 by a soft rustling above his head, and, looking up, 
 saw that it was caused by the wings of innumerable 
 bats that were swarming from an aperture high up 
 in the wall of one of the ruined buildings. Curious 
 to see where they came from, he sought an entrance, 
 and stepped inside. 
 
 The interior was filled with gloom, but he was 
 able to see his way into a lofty hall along two sides 
 of which opened ranges of small cell-like rooms. 
 Overhead the bats were flitting in incredible num 
 bers and with sharp mouse-like squeakings. Having 
 satisfied his curiosity, and shivering with the chill of 
 his gloomy surroundings, Rex was about to retrace 
 his steps, when he was startled by the unmistakable 
 cry of a babe coming from close at hand. It was 
 checked so promptly as to suggest that a hand had 
 been clapped over the child s mouth ; but the alarm 
 had been given. 
 
144 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 " Who is there ? " challenged the boy, speaking 
 in Mexican and at the same time feeling decidedly 
 nervous. 
 
 There was no answer. 
 
 " Who lives ? " he demanded. " Answer quickly, 
 or I will bring men with torches and guns." 
 
 44 Oh, seiior," cried a trembling voice, "have pity 
 on an unfortunate woman, and do not betray her 
 to the cruel Tejanos." 
 
 " Who are you ? and how many are with you ? " 
 
 " I am alone, sefior, except for my little one, and 
 it was through him that I could not fly with the 
 others, for he is ill. I am the wife of Sebastien 
 Tejada, who was left in charge of the mission by 
 Padre Tomasso, but the General Cos compelled him 
 to go into Bexar to serve as a soldier. He would 
 not fight the Tejanos, indeed he would not, but that 
 he is compelled." 
 
 " But why do you hide ? " queried Rex of the 
 still unseen woman. " The Texans do not make war 
 on women or children, nor harm them." 
 
 " Ah, seiior, if you had but heard what has been 
 told us of them. It is even said that they eat infants 
 as do los Indies. Thus when an army of them came 
 to this place, we of the mission fled and remained in 
 hiding until yesterday, when they marched away. 
 Then some of us returned, but when we saw more 
 of the Tejanos coming this very evening, the others 
 again ran away ; but I could not, fearing that my 
 
IN THE ANCIENT MISSION OF LA ESPADA 115 
 
 little one would die. So I hid myself in this place, 
 hoping that the devourers of infants would speedily 
 depart. Now, therefore, if the kind seiior will but 
 show pity and go away, leaving me and the little 
 Sebastien in peace, I will never cease to pray for 
 him to Our Lady of Guadalupe." 
 
 For a moment Rex was puzzled as to what he 
 ought to do. Those cells might swarm with Mexi 
 cans only awaiting a favorable opportunity for 
 attacking Milam s little company. Then, again, the 
 woman might truly be alone and in trouble, in 
 which case she must not be left to pass the night in 
 that gloomy place. Finally he said : 
 
 " If you will prove the truth of your words, by 
 going with me to the captain of the Texans, I will 
 pledge in the name of my father that you shall not 
 be harmed. I am the son of Squire Harden of the 
 Rancho Herrera." 
 
 " The Seiior Harden I know by report to be a good 
 man," replied the voice, " and so I will trust you and 
 do as you request, for I am indeed hungry and fright 
 ened, while my little Sebastien is so ill that I am 
 distracted." 
 
 With this a shadowy form stepped forth from one 
 of the black arches, and as Rex gladly left the build 
 ing, it followed him. He led the way directly to 
 Colonel Milam s camp-fire, where his arrival aroused 
 the greatest curiosity. 
 
 The chivalrous Texan not only believed the 
 
146 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 woman s story, but was more than willing to aid 
 her because of kindnesses recently shown him by the 
 women of Monterey. So the wife of Sebastien 
 Tejada was fed and treated with all possible courtesy, 
 while the sufferings of her child were greatly re 
 lieved by the kindly care of several rude nurses, who 
 were also parents and treated it with the skill gained 
 from experience. 
 
 In return for this kindness, the grateful woman 
 told them that Austin s army, having camped for 
 several days at La Espada, had just advanced to the 
 Mission Concepcion, seven miles nearer to the city, 
 and that a battle between them and the troops under 
 General Cos was expected to take place very shortly. 
 
 " Hurrah for Texas ! " shouted Milam s followers 
 when this was translated to them. " That s what we 
 want. Let s push on to-night, boys, so as to be on 
 hand when the fun begins ! " 
 
 But their leader advised them to spend the night 
 in resting, saying that in a fight, one fresh man was 
 worth four fagged with weariness and loss of sleep. 
 
 So the little company remained where they were 
 until the following morning. Then, shortly after 
 daylight, a dull booming sound from the north, un 
 like anything most of them had ever heard, caused 
 them to spring to their feet with eager questions as 
 to its cause. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A THICK fog veiled the landscape of that morning, 
 and through it the ominous sounds that had aroused 
 Rex Harden s companions were borne to them with 
 startling distinctness. 
 
 " It is musketry in volleys," declared Colonel 
 Milam, listening intently with practised ear. " And 
 that is the note of a field-piece, a six-pounder, if I m 
 a judge. Boys, the war is on, the first real battle 
 for Texas is being fought over yonder, and it is my 
 fault that we are not in it." 
 
 " We can get there in a hurry, though, colonel," 
 cried one of the men; "and if the greasers make any 
 sort of a stand, we ll be in time to polish em off yet. 
 Come on, men." 
 
 "With this every Texan, including Colonel Milam, 
 seized his rifle and, forgetful even of breakfast, 
 started on a run up the road. Only Rex was left 
 behind, but the lad knew that, with Tawny s aid, he 
 could allow them nearly an hour s start, and still 
 overtake them ere they reached the Mission Con- 
 cepcion. 
 
 147 
 
148 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 So, in spite of his excitement, he gave Tawny a 
 feed of corn and mended the fire, over which he pro 
 posed making himself a pot of coffee, besides cook 
 ing, for the benefit of his comrades, such venison as 
 had been left from the meal of the evening before. 
 Bat he was not allowed to do this ; for while he was 
 still engaged with the fire, the woman whom he had 
 befriended appeared beside him. 
 
 Sebastien Tejada s wife was very slight and girl 
 ish in appearance ; but with the confidence gained 
 from matrimony she did not hesitate to assume 
 immediate charge of the present culinary operations, 
 only bidding Rex fetch her a vessel of water from 
 the river, as she feared the well was polluted. This 
 our lad willingly undertook, and as the river flowed 
 at some distance from the mission, he was gone for 
 several minutes. On his return he was startled to 
 find, sitting and lounging about the fire, a dozen or 
 so of Mexicans, four of whom were men armed with 
 bell-mouthed escopettas and rusty sabres, while the 
 others were women and children. 
 
 Rex came upon them so suddenly that he was 
 within a few paces of the group before seeing it. It 
 was then too late to retreat, so he stood where he 
 was, returning with interest the scowling glances 
 cast at him. 
 
 " Come and eat without fear," said the mother of 
 the little Sebastien, as she noted his presence. 
 " These are my neighbors, who, having watched the 
 
SEBASTIEN TEJ ADA S WIFE 149 
 
 departure of los Tejanos, have returned again to 
 their homes. After what I have told them of thy 
 kindness, they will not harm thee." 
 
 Although the looks of hatred cast at him by the 
 four scowling men were anything but reassuring, 
 Rex put on a bold face, and, still standing, hastily 
 disposed of the simple breakfast prepared for him. 
 
 Then, desiring the woman to put the remainder of 
 the meat into a wallet, he walked steadily and with 
 out looking back, to where Tawny had just finished 
 his corn. To move with deliberation on that occa 
 sion required all his nerve, for he knew that he was 
 followed by murderous eyes, and expected with each 
 moment to be shot at from behind. So intense was 
 this feeling, that when he reached Tawny s side, he 
 was bathed in a cold perspiration, and trembling in 
 every limb. He could barely command strength 
 to saddle the horse, and started as though he had 
 indeed been shot, at the sound of a voice close be 
 side him, for he had not noted an approach. 
 
 He smiled at his own weakness as he recognized 
 the woman of whose friendship he was assured. 
 She had brought the package of food for his com 
 rades, and with it she gave him a small silver amu 
 let that had hung by a thong from her own neck. 
 
 " If thee shall meet my Sebastien," she said hur 
 riedly, and in a low tone, " give him this in token 
 that his wife and child are safe. Until then it will 
 protect thee from harm. Now fly with speed, for I 
 
150 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 fear that evil is intended. May the saints protect 
 thy journey ! " 
 
 She had barely ceased from speaking, when Rex, 
 with hurried thanks for her kindness, leaped on 
 Tawny s back, and was off. A single backward 
 glance showed him that the four men had disap 
 peared, and he believed they would try to waylay 
 him. In this he was not mistaken, for he had not 
 gone a hundred yards beyond the mission gate, when 
 he saw the scowling quartette drawn up in line 
 across the road that he must traverse. Four rusty 
 escopettas were levelled directly at him, and though 
 he was rapidly learning that firearms were compara 
 tively harmless in the hands of Mexicans, he realized 
 that accidents may always happen. So he reined 
 Tawny to a walk, and then threw up his hands. 
 
 Believing that the young Texan was wholly in 
 their power, and knowing that he would be of more 
 value to them alive than dead, the swarthy bandits 
 withheld their fire until he had approached to within 
 a few paces of where they stood. Then two of them, 
 lowering their weapons stepped forward to seize 
 Tawny s bridle. 
 
 At that moment Rex dropped his hands, dug his 
 heels into his horse s flanks, and gave a yell that 
 caused Tawny to launch himself forward like a 
 thunderbolt. The two nearest Mexicans were over 
 thrown in a twinkling and hurled breathless to the 
 ground. The others fired their old blunderbusses 
 
SEBASTIEN TEJADA S WIFE 151 
 
 with a prodigious roar into empty space, and Rex, 
 with an exultant shout, disappeared in a cloud of 
 dust raised by Tawny s flying feet. 
 
 Filled with joy at this escape, and telling Tawny 
 what a clever horse he was becoming, the young 
 Texan pressed rapidly forward until at the end of 
 three miles he dashed through the crystal waters of 
 a ford and passed the ruined buildings of the Mission 
 San Juan. Here not a soul was to be seen, and he 
 knew that his comrades were still in advance. 
 
 Two miles further on he found them just arrived 
 at San Jose, oldest and most beautiful of the Texan 
 missions. Here they were so close to the scene of 
 conflict towards which they were hastening that they 
 could now hear the shouts and screams of the com 
 batants mingled with the roar of guns. As yet, 
 however, they could see nothing, being unable even 
 to distinguish the smoke of battle through the screen 
 of timber standing between it and them. 
 
 As he overtook his comrades, Rex handed them 
 the meat that he had brought, and which they seized 
 with famished eagerness. While they ate, the new 
 comer followed Colonel Milam up into the belfry 
 tower of the mission church. To gain it he skirted 
 the fagade of the building with its massive doors of 
 carved cedar surrounded by exquisite stone sculp 
 ture, and entered a narrow doorway at one side. 
 Here a quaint spiral stairway formed of hewn blocks 
 of live-oak led him to the first floor of the belfry, 
 
152 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 from which a curious ladder made of single logs 
 deeply notched on their upper side, gave access to the 
 lookout above. From this platform sprang four 
 graceful arches supporting a square pyramidal roof. 
 
 Here Rex found Colonel Milam gazing eagerly 
 northward at certain smoke clouds that less than a 
 mile away mingled above the tree-tops with the 
 thinning fog and drifted slowly westward. 
 
 " It s almighty hard to tell smoke from fog," mut 
 tered Milam, " and it s a deal harder to tell greaser 
 smoke from Texan. Still, we ve got to find out some 
 how which is which before we take part in yonder 
 scrimmage, and we want to know all about it in a 
 hurry too." 
 
 "Why can t I ride ahead, sir, and pick up the 
 information you want ? " suggested Rex. 
 
 " Hello ! are you here ? " exclaimed the colonel. 
 " I m glad you ve come ; but do you know the danger 
 of what you have just proposed to do ? You ll have 
 to ride much closer to those chaps than is either 
 pleasant or safe, in order to discover which is which, 
 how many there are on each side, how they are posted, 
 and what they are doing. But those are the very 
 things I want to know. You must go and get back 
 within fifteen minutes too, for we won t wait longer 
 than that before pushing to the front. Do you still 
 want the job ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ; and if I m not back within fifteen min 
 utes, I ll not come back at all. Good-by." 
 
SEBASTIEN TEJADA S WIFE 153 
 
 Thus saying, Rex sprang down the rude stairway 
 of the belfry tower, ran to where he had left Tawny, 
 and rode away. When he got so near to the scene of 
 conflict that the rattle of musketry seemed to come 
 from all sides of him, and he could plainly see the 
 leaping flashes of fire between the trees, the young 
 scout dismounted and crept still closer. Crouching 
 low, he moved swiftly from one shelter to another, 
 until at length he reached an opening from which 
 he commanded a partial view of the battle. 
 
 For it was a regular pitched battle between his 
 own countrymen and the soldiers of the tyrant who 
 sought to rob them of their liberties. In a horse 
 shoe formed by the winding river, and from behind 
 a slight natural embankment, rang out the Texas 
 rifles. But those deliberately aimed and deadly 
 shots were very few as compared with the volleys of 
 musketry that crashed almost without interval from 
 close at hand. It needed not a second glance at the 
 tawdry uniforms and swarthy faces of the troops 
 who were thus burning such quantities of powder 
 with so slight effect, to know that they were 
 Mexicans. Beyond them Rex could see still other 
 flashings of fire and clouds of smoke. 
 
 " How we could astonish these fellows by making an 
 attack on them from this side," he thought. " It would 
 simply scare them stiff, and this is the very place, too. 
 A dozen rifles here will be as good as a regiment, and 
 I ll have them here, too, inside of ten minutes." 
 
154 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 What he had to do was very plain, and the result 
 appeared so certain that Rex seemed to see the battle 
 already won, and largely through his efforts. But 
 suddenly something happened. 
 
 He was just beginning to creep away from his 
 dangerous proximity to those dark-skinned soldiers, 
 when all at once there came a roar of artillery from 
 a new direction, and a whirlwind of grape mowed a 
 ghastly lane through the Mexican ranks. At the 
 same moment a line of yelling Texans, rising appar 
 ently from the ground not ten paces away, leaped at 
 them with such ferocity that the terrified soldiers 
 broke and fled, rushing with frantic haste directly 
 towards the place where Rex lay concealed. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 EEX BECOMES A MEXICAN SOLDIER 
 
 IT was all so sudden and so unexpected, that by 
 the time Rex realized what had happened, and 
 started to run, he was surrounded and swept away 
 by a mob of panic-stricken men. These, flinging 
 aside weapons, and everything else that impeded 
 their movements, sought only to escape by flight 
 from the terrible knives of los diablos Tejanos. So 
 oblivious were they to everything save their own 
 danger that for a time the presence of a white lad 
 among them passed without notice, and Rex, finding 
 himself unmolested, still entertained hopes of escape. 
 If he could only work his way to the outskirts of the 
 flying throng, he felt certain that he could slip away 
 unnoticed. 
 
 He made the attempt, but so dense was the mob, 
 that, in spite of his efforts, he was borne along for 
 more than a mile before finding himself compara 
 tively free, and in company with but half a dozen 
 soldiers. The exultant yells from behind had died 
 away, and even the most badly frightened of the 
 Mexicans were beginning to realize that their 
 
 155 
 
156 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 dreaded enemies had ceased from pursuing them. 
 So their headlong pace was slackened, they began to 
 glance furtively at one another, and even to excuse 
 themselves in panting gasps for having run. 
 
 "It was so sudden," explained one, "that I fled 
 without reflection." 
 
 " We could not have saved our lives otherwise," 
 growled another, " for the Tejanos were five to every 
 one of us." 
 
 " Los diablos ! " 
 
 " Los heriticos ! " 
 
 " Let us meet them on even terms, and we will 
 sweep them from the face of the earth. Is it not so, 
 amigo ? " 
 
 This last remark was addressed to Rex by the 
 man who ran nearest to him. As he made no reply, 
 the man glanced curiously beneath the sombrero that, 
 pulled well down over the lad s face, very nearly 
 concealed it. 
 
 " Holy Virgin ! " he cried ; " here is one of them ! 
 Seize him ! Help ! Do not let him escape ! " 
 
 With this he flung himself upon the stranger, only 
 to be met by a stunning blow that caused him to 
 measure his length on the ground. 
 
 During the whole of that involuntary flight, Rex 
 had expected an attack of this kind and had held 
 himself in readiness to meet it. Now he sprang to 
 one side, and might have escaped had there not been 
 one more soldier still beyond him. This man grap- 
 
REX BECOMES A MEXICAN SOLDIER 157 
 
 pled with the lad ; there was a moment of fierce 
 struggle, and then they rolled to the ground together, 
 but with the young Texan on top. With one free 
 hand he tried to draw a knife from his belt; but ere 
 this could be done, half a dozen soldiers rushed at 
 him, and further resistance became useless. 
 
 When the poor boy, breathless, begrimed, bare 
 headed, with torn clothing and pinioned arms, was 
 finally allowed to regain his feet, he gazed helplessly 
 about him. On all sides were the scowling faces of 
 those who not only thirsted for his life, but would 
 feel that in killing him they would be performing a 
 meritorious deed. From all mouths there was but 
 a single verdict. 
 
 " Kill him ! " 
 
 " Death to the heretic ! " 
 
 " Tear the heart from the Texas rebel ! " 
 
 " And make haste, for we have no time to 
 spare." 
 
 A dozen knives flashed in the sunlight, and a dozen 
 arms were uplifted. Rex closed his eyes, and his 
 brain seethed with its tumult of thoughts. Of them 
 all, one stood clearly forth was any one ever put 
 to death twice in one week before ? The idea was 
 so absurd that the lad actually laughed aloud. It 
 was a ghostly hysterical laugh, to be sure, but so 
 unmistakably a mirthful sound that the uplifted arms 
 were paralyzed with amazement. What sort of a 
 youth was this who actually laughed in the face of 
 
158 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 death ? Was his act one of bravado or madness ? 
 Others pressed forward for a look at him, and one of 
 these uttered a loud cry. 
 
 " Mother of God save us ! It is a miracle, and the 
 dead can return to life. You cannot harm him, and 
 he laughs because he has knowledge of the fact. We 
 killed this same lad a week ago, near Goliad. With 
 my own eyes I saw him pierced by a dozen bullets. 
 We left him where he fell, dead I tell you, dead ! 
 Now he stands yonder, alive, and mocking us with 
 laughter. Let him go before he casts upon us the 
 eye of evil ; for I tell you he is a devil in human 
 form." 
 
 " No, he is not a devil," said another. "He is one 
 whom the saints protect. See you not that he bears 
 upon his bosom the holy symbol of Our Lady ? We 
 could not harm him if we would, for the arm that 
 struck at him would be withered. It is no won 
 der he laughs, knowing how little he has to fear. 
 Let him go, then, before the Holy Ones become 
 angry at us." 
 
 " But he is surely a Texan, and a spy," murmured 
 other voices, " and to let such a one escape would be 
 a crime." 
 
 " It is a case for the Church to decide, since he 
 wears a charm that the Church has blessed," argued 
 one who seemed to possess authority. " Let us then 
 take him to the priests. If he is protected by the 
 saints, they will recognize the fact. If he is of a 
 
REX BECOMES A MEXICAN SOLDIER 159 
 
 weak mind, as his merriment in the face of death 
 would seem to indicate, they will find it out. If he 
 is an impostor, who can discover it more quickly 
 than they ? Let us carry him to the holy fathers, 
 and so shift from ourselves the responsibility of 
 either his life or his death." 
 
 This advice seemed so good that it was instantly 
 adopted, and so, within five minutes after discovering 
 him among them, the still retreating Mexicans were 
 hurrying Rex Harden towards San Antonio. 
 
 Although he had heard and understood their con 
 versation regarding him, he had not uttered a word 
 nor given a sign of comprehension. He recognized 
 the fact that his life had been spared for the time 
 being, on account of the amulet that the Senora 
 Tejada had hung about his neck that very morning, 
 and which, during his recent struggle, had been 
 pulled from its place of concealment beneath his 
 shirt. He also knew that by his present captors he 
 was regarded as being in some way mysterious, or 
 at least of an unsound mind, and he determined to 
 profit by the knowledge if possible. Above all, he 
 realized that he had just escaped death by the nar 
 rowest possible margin of safety, and was humbly 
 grateful for his wonderful deliverance. 
 
 In vain did the Mexican officers attempt, by com 
 mands, threats, and even by pleadings, to check the 
 retreat of their demoralized troops. The latter had 
 had enough of fighting for that day, and nothing 
 
160 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 could induce them to again face the terrible Texans 
 in an open field. 
 
 " How could we fight if we should return," they 
 argued, " since we have burned all our powder and 
 thrown away our guns? " 
 
 As even the most ferocious of the officers could 
 give no satisfactory answer to this question, the 
 retreat was continued. By noon all who remained 
 alive of the four hundred troops sent out to destroy 
 a force of ninety Texans had thankfully regained 
 the comparative safety of the city. 
 
 General Martin Cos with one thousand troops held 
 San Antonio and was preparing to defend it until his 
 brother-in-law, the Mexican President, should arrive 
 with an army strong enough to sweep Texas from 
 end to end. Already had he sent to Matamoras 
 for reinforcements, and while awaiting them was 
 strengthening his defences in every possible way. 
 Thus, as Rex was hurried through the narrow streets, 
 he saw on all sides parties of soldiers constructing 
 barricades, digging trenches, planting batteries, and 
 turning such of the thick-walled houses as com 
 manded important positions into temporary for 
 tresses. 
 
 Although the streets were thronged with people, 
 soldiers, priests, vaqueros who had come in with cat 
 tle for the garrison, and other civilians, they were all 
 Mexican, and not a single white face was to be seen 
 among them. Every American, except three or four 
 
REX BECOMES A MEXICAN SOLDIER 161 
 
 held as prisoners, had fled or been driven out, and 
 amid all who stared or scowled at Rex as he passed, 
 the lad could not discover a single friendly face or 
 one that was even familiar. His heart was very 
 heavy, but he laughed aloud and uttered childish 
 words of pleasure. At this, those who guarded him 
 looked at each other and touched their foreheads 
 significantly. 
 
 Finally they brought him to the well-remembered 
 Veramendi house in which the Mexican general had es 
 tablished his headquarters. Here, after a few minutes 
 of waiting at the entrance, Rex was ushered into the 
 presence of a stout, smooth-faced man, who, clad in 
 a gorgeous uniform, sat in an easy-chair, rolling ciga 
 rettes, and angrily receiving reports from those officers 
 whom the Texans had just defeated. Near by was 
 a table littered with papers at which two clerks were 
 busy. Several officers, all smoking cigarettes, but 
 looking very miserable, stood about the room. 
 
 At this juncture the appearance of a prisoner was 
 hailed with relief, and the several persons present 
 regarded the young Texan curiously. 
 
 " Who are you ? " demanded General Cos, sav 
 agely ; " and why are the people of Texas in rebellion 
 against their President? " 
 
 " You can talk," replied Rex, in English, " because 
 your hands are not tied. If your hands were tied so 
 that they hurt like mine, you could not remember 
 anything else. No one could." 
 
162 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 As the general understood English very well, and 
 had been informed that the prisoner did not seem to 
 be quite in his right mind, he ordered the bonds of 
 which the captive complained to be loosed. This 
 was no sooner done, than the lad picked up the com 
 mander s plumed chapeau from the table, and with a 
 silly smile, placed it on his own head, saying as he 
 did so : 
 
 " It is fine to be a soldier and wear feathers." 
 
 " How dare you, sir ! " thundered the general, 
 starting from his chair. At the same moment an 
 officer snatched away the chapeau and returned it 
 to the table, with a low bow. 
 
 The prisoner looked from one to another with a 
 grieved and puzzled expression, while the general, 
 sinking back in his seat and lighting a fresh ciga 
 rette, began to question him farther, this time speak 
 ing in broken English. 
 
 For a moment Rex seemed to be paying most grati 
 fying and intelligent attention to what was said. 
 Then, with a cry of delight he started in pursuit of 
 a kitten that had just entered the room and was 
 walking demurely across the floor. 
 
 Instantly there ensued a scene of direst confusion. 
 The frightened animal fled wildly from side to side, 
 with the prisoner in hot chase, while the officers, 
 nearly choked with suppressed laughter, either leaped 
 out of the way or made futile efforts to detain him. 
 The general swore, furniture was upset, and for a 
 
REX BECOMES A MEXICAN SOLDIER 163 
 
 minute pandemonium reigned. Then the kitten 
 took refuge under the general s chair, where Rex, 
 trying to follow, was captured and dragged to his 
 feet. 
 
 " He is an idiot, a raving lunatic ! " roared the 
 commander, furiously. " Take him away, or turn 
 him loose beyond the lines, or shoot him, I don t 
 care which ; only let me not be pestered with him 
 again." 
 
 As Rex was being hustled from the room, Martin 
 Cos cried : "Hold! I have another plan. Put him 
 in uniform, make a soldier of him, and place him 
 where the Texans themselves can shoot at him. In 
 the meantime let him dig in the trenches ; only at 
 night confine him with the convict troops, and see 
 that he does not escape." 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 QUARTERED AMONG CONVICTS 
 
 "THAT S a cheerful prospect for me," thought 
 Rex, as he was led away towards the guard-house. 
 " It is better than being shot, though, or placed in 
 solitary confinement in one of their rotten old dun 
 geons. So I might be worse off, and as the idiot 
 racket seems to be working pretty well, I guess I ll 
 keep it up until something better offers. Ha-ha ! 
 Ha-ha ! See the birdie, pretty little birdie. When 
 I catch him I ll put him in a cage, and hear him 
 sing. Ha-ha ! Ha-ha ! " 
 
 As the " birdie " toward which he pointed was one 
 of the city scavengers, a huge turkey buzzard, tear 
 ing at a bit of carrion in a gutter, the soldiers looked 
 at him curiously, and then broke into coarse laugh 
 ter. By this time the character of the handsome 
 young Tejano was established with all classes, and 
 every one, from the general down, was speaking of 
 him as El Ton to (the fool). 
 
 According to orders, Rex was conducted to the 
 guard-house, where he was stripped of his own 
 clothing, and compelled to assume a dirty uniform 
 of coarse blue cloth, with red facings, and a stiff cap 
 
 164 
 
QUARTERED AMONG CONVICTS 165 
 
 in which was stuck a green pompon. He was not 
 given shoes, stockings, nor any underclothing except 
 a gray flannel shirt. These garments were not only 
 so large as to hang loosely about the lad s slender 
 form, and make him appear more like a scarecrow 
 than a soldier, but they were so filthy that mere con 
 tact with them turned him sick. Of his own belong 
 ings nothing was left to him except the amulet 
 that the Seiiora Tejada had slipped into his hand, 
 and which the superstitious Mexicans would have 
 deemed it profanity to remove. 
 
 When the transformation had been effected, amid 
 much heartless laughter, and many coarse jests on 
 the part of the guard, and when Rex had been given 
 a number (names being unknown among the convict 
 troops), he was turned loose in a large, walled enclos 
 ure like a great corral. This was the camping-place 
 of the convicts, and here, when not at work, they 
 were penned like so many animals. A soldier with 
 loaded musket was stationed on a raised platform 
 beside the entrance. From here he commanded a 
 view of the whole enclosure, and could call any indi 
 vidual in it to order, in case of a disturbance. He 
 was even empowered to fire into the mob, in case 
 of any riot that commands and threats could not 
 quell. 
 
 As the convict soldiers were unarmed, while their 
 warder was backed by a score of picked troops sta 
 tioned in the guard-house close at hand, it seldom 
 
166 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 happened that his words were not listened to with re 
 spectful attention. At the same time he rarely inter 
 fered with the ordinary quarrels that were of frequent 
 occurrence among this scum of Mexican prisons. 
 
 On the present occasion, as our poor lad was 
 ushered into this horrible enclosure unannounced, 
 and its gate was swung to behind him, he felt as 
 though he had descended into a place of lost souls, 
 and that all hope must be abandoned from that 
 moment. 
 
 Lining the walls on three sides were low, open 
 sheds, having rough board floors sloping outward, 
 that formed the sleeping-places of the convict sol 
 diers. Across one corner of the camp flowed an 
 acequia or ditch of clear water from the river. 
 Several hundred men, with the faces of murderers, 
 and the furtive air of thieves, sat or lay beneath the 
 sheds, strolled aimlessly here and there, gambled, 
 quarrelled, smoked corn-husk cigarettes, or squatted 
 apathetically about the smouldering embers of a 
 small fire. All wore the honorable uniform of the 
 Republic of Mexico, which Santa Anna had thus 
 degraded. 
 
 At the entrance of the new-comer a murmur of 
 languid interest ran through the entire camp, and 
 all eyes were turned towards him. At first they 
 only noted that he wore the same uniform as them 
 selves ; but in another moment some one called 
 attention to his fair skin. With that there came a 
 
QUARTERED AMONG CONVICTS 107 
 
 general movement in his direction, and he quickly 
 formed the centre of an eagerly questioning throng. 
 
 Rex had determined that even here he would 
 sustain the character of an idiot, in which he believed 
 lay his only hope of safety and ultimate escape. So, 
 as the convicts gathered about him, he smiled fool 
 ishly, jabbered at them in English, and even threw 
 his arms about the most ill-favored cut-throat of 
 the lot, as though inviting him to dance. The man 
 pulled away with an oath, while the others roared 
 with laughter. 
 
 Slowly the jeering mob forced the lad to the 
 opposite side of the camp, and when well removed 
 from the guard, who had watched their proceedings 
 with a mild interest, they began a series of petty per 
 secutions, that would have taken the form of open 
 violence had they dared use it. So they only 
 shoved their victim violently from one to another, 
 pinched him or thrust thorns into his legs, all the 
 while shouting with laughter at his involuntary 
 starts and cries of pain. Most amusing of all was 
 to watch his rising anger, and his fruitless efforts to 
 single out the most active of his tormentors. 
 
 By the time Rex had grown so desperate, that he 
 was just about to attempt a rush back to the gate, 
 where he proposed demanding protection from the 
 guard, the rattle of a drum caused a general move 
 ment of the convicts in that very direction, and in 
 less than a minute he was left standing alone. His 
 
168 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 late tormentors, drawn up in double file, were march 
 ing slowly past the open gateway, where each one 
 appeared to be receiving something. Attracted by 
 curiosity, the unhappy lad strolled that way until he 
 could see that several camp cooks, standing beside 
 great kettles, were handing to each man a small 
 wooden dish or trough containing his supper. 
 
 Catching scent of the food, Rex became aware 
 that he was faint with hunger, and determined to 
 secure his share of whatever was to be had. So he 
 took position at the very rear of the column, and at 
 length, after a weary delay, reached the place where 
 the cooks were standing. A petty officer with a file 
 of armed soldiers superintended their movements, 
 while the regular camp guard also watched them 
 from his platform. 
 
 As Rex came up, one of the cooks handed him a 
 dirty wooden platter, containing a meagre quantity 
 of boiled beans and a cube of meat about an inch 
 square. Another gave him a single tortilla, or thin 
 cake of corn meal, and then the gate was closed, for 
 the task of feeding the convicts was ended for that 
 night. In the morning every one of them would 
 be expected to present his greasy little trough un 
 broken to the cooks, failing to do which he would 
 get no breakfast. 
 
 Of course Rex knew nothing of this, and his only 
 thought was whether or not he could bring himself 
 to eat the disgusting-looking mess just given him. 
 
QUARTERED AMONG CONVICTS 169 
 
 Finally concluding that he was hungry enough to 
 try, he was raising the tortilla to his mouth when 
 it was snatched from his hand. At the same time 
 a man on the other side grabbed the bit of meat 
 that had fallen to our lad s portion, and another, 
 seizing hold of the wooden bowl, attempted to wrest 
 it from him. 
 
 With a cry of rage, Rex jerked away his property, 
 and fetched the man who was trying to take it from 
 him such a blow on the head that the trough was 
 split in two pieces, and its contents streamed down 
 over the convict s face. Wheeling on him who had 
 snatched the meat, the lad dealt him a right-hander 
 under the ear that felled him to the ground ; then 
 he sprang after the thief who was making off with 
 the tortilla. Ere he could reach him, a by-stander 
 stuck out a foot, over which Rex tripped. Quickly 
 recovering himself, he turned with a blind fury upon 
 this new aggressor, and in another moment was lost 
 to sight in the vortex of a yelling, struggling mob, 
 who fought like wild beasts maddened by the scent 
 of blood. 
 
 In vain did the soldier on guard shout commands 
 and threats. He even fired his musket over the 
 heads of the infuriated throng ; but with no more 
 effect than if it had been a breath of wind. Seeing 
 that the fight was already beyond his control, and 
 bade fair speedily to involve every convict in the 
 camp, the sentry summoned his comrades from the 
 
170 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 guard-house. These charged the mob with such 
 lusty blows from their clubbed muskets, that within 
 ten minutes it had taken to howling flight, leaving 
 poor Rex bruised, dazed, and wellnigh smothered, 
 lying on the ground- 
 
 At command of a sergeant he was picked up, 
 carried to one of the sheds, laid on its sloping floor, 
 and there left to recover as best he might. Having 
 thus done their duty by all concerned, his rescuers, 
 impatient to resume their own interrupted supper, 
 marched back to the guard-house. Only the sentinel 
 lingered behind to take a final survey of the field of 
 battle, and to him Rex heard the retiring sergeant say : 
 
 " Take care, Tejada, that no more fights occur 
 while you are on duty." 
 
 " Tejada ! " Where had he known that name ? It 
 certainly sounded familiar. Oh, yes, the mission of 
 La Espada, the woman and the child, the little 
 Sebastien. Perhaps this soldier was the very one of 
 whom she had spoken ; and if so well he would 
 first find out, and then think what to do. So he 
 called softly : 
 
 " Tejada ! Sebastien Tejada ! " 
 
 The sentinel started and gazed about him inquir 
 ingly. 
 
 Again came the murmured sound of his own name. 
 To his amazement it was uttered by the wretched 
 youth lying at his feet, who had just caused so much 
 trouble. 
 
QUARTERED AMONG CONVICTS 171 
 
 " Why do you call me? " he asked shortly. 
 
 "Do you know the mission of Espada, and a 
 muchachito of thy name who dwells within its 
 walls ? " 
 
 " And if I do, what then? " 
 
 The soldier was now bending curiously over the 
 lad, and his tone was full of eagerness. 
 
 " I bring this token from the mother of your 
 child," answered Rex, drawing the amulet from his 
 bosom, " and by it I beg of you to aid me now, even 
 as I was able to aid them but a few hours since." 
 
 The soldier snatched the bit of silver, and kissed 
 it passionately. Then, whispering, "Lie quiet till 
 I come again," he rose and exclaimed harshly : 
 
 "No, dog. I will not bring thee water nor aught 
 else, but will beat out thy idiot brains if thou but 
 lift a hand to make further disturbance." 
 
 This was for the benefit of several convicts who 
 were drawing near, and whom Sebastien also threat 
 ened if the quiet of the camp was again broken that 
 night. Having thus disarmed suspicion, the sentinel 
 resumed his place beside the gate, and a little later 
 the inmates of the convict camp were ordered to 
 their sleeping-places. 
 
 As Rex had been laid at the extreme end of one of 
 the sheds, he was spared the misery of being crowded 
 on both sides by his filthy companions. Even so, 
 after an hour of breathing the foul air of the place, 
 and listening to the vile conversation of the wretches 
 
172 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 about him, he began to think that he should in truth 
 lose his mind unless speedily released from the well- 
 nigh unendurable situation. 
 
 While he was thus thinking, and wondering if 
 Sebastien Tejada would indeed prove a friend, a 
 harsh voice from outside the shed called : " Two 
 hundred and one is ordered out for punishment, and 
 must come quickly. Which is he ? " 
 
 " Two hundred and one is the gringo ! El Tonto 
 the gringo ! " cried a score of eager voices, while, as 
 Rex stiffly rose, and stepped forth from that den of 
 iniquity, he was followed by a torrent of jeers and 
 loudly expressed hopes that he was about to be 
 flayed alive. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 TAWNY APPEARS IN SAN ANTONIO 
 
 FEELING that fate was indeed dealing very harshly 
 with him, and yet glad of any change, Rex quietly 
 submitted to be led away by the soldier who had 
 summoned him. He wondered vaguely, and indeed 
 felt mortified that it had only been deemed necessary 
 to send a single man for him instead of a file of 
 soldiers. Then he remembered his assumed idiocy, 
 and acknowledged that it sufficiently explained the 
 contempt that sent a messenger instead of a guard 
 to escort him to the place of punishment. 
 
 What was he to be punished for, though, and how ? 
 With half a chance to escape, or even to fight in his 
 own defence, he would show these miserable greasers 
 that they could not ill treat a free-born Texan with 
 impunity. The lad grew hot with anger as these 
 thoughts surged through his brain, and defenceless 
 as he was, meditated an attack upon the armed man 
 by his side as soon as they should reach a favorable 
 place. 
 
 They had left the convict camp, and were passing 
 the guard-house as this possibility presented itself. 
 A band of light streamed from its open doorway, 
 
 173 
 
174 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 and, as they crossed this, Rex glanced curiously at 
 the face of his escort. To his surprise the man who 
 held his arm, and was leading him to punishment, 
 was the same whom he had believed to be a friend ; 
 for he was Sebastien Tejada. 
 
 The soldier noted his prisoner s start of recogni 
 tion, but checked the words that rose to his lips, with 
 a warning pressure of the arm. A minute later they 
 entered a tiny jacal, or hut, that stood but a short 
 distance beyond the guard-house, and in which Te 
 jada made his temporary home. 
 
 Although the interior was in inky blackness, the 
 Mexican led his guest to a corn-husk bed, that, rude 
 as it was, seemed to our aching lad delightfully soft 
 and comfortable. 
 
 " Here also is food," said Tejada, handing him tor 
 tilla after tortilla, until he had eaten as many of the 
 thin cakes as would have served two Mexican sol 
 diers for a full day s ration of food. 
 
 " Now if you could give me a drink," said the 
 lad; and in reply Tejada handed him a jug of fresh 
 milk, that Rex drained to the very bottom. 
 
 "There!" he exclaimed, as he set the jug down, 
 with a great sigh of satisfaction, " I feel like a new 
 man, and ready for anything that may turn up. 
 What comes next, Tejada? Do you deliver me to 
 the tormentors, or aid me to escape ? " 
 
 "Neither," replied the Mexican. "There is no 
 punishment in store for thee that I know of, and I 
 
TAWNY APPEARS IN SAN ANTONIO 175 
 
 only threatened one to throw yonder dogs off the 
 scent. If one was intended, however, I could not 
 save thee from it. Neither can I aid thee to escape, 
 without putting in peril the lives of my wife and 
 child, as well as my own, for I am held responsible 
 for thy safe keeping. I must even gain thy promise 
 not to attempt an escape during the night, or else 
 return thee to the camp of convicts." 
 
 " I am willing to promise, that from now until 
 daylight I will make no attempt to leave this place," 
 said Rex, " for I can imagine nothing more awful 
 than to be taken back among those wretches." 
 
 " They would surely kill thee before morning," 
 said Tejada; "but tell me, art thou truly of sound 
 mind, and reasonable ? " 
 
 "Perfectly, having only played the idiot for a 
 purpose." 
 
 " And thou hast recently seen my wife, together 
 with the little Sebastien ? " 
 
 " As I told you, I saw them only this morning, if 
 the hour is still before midnight, or yesterday, if it 
 be passed," answered the lad. Then he gave a full 
 account of his recent adventures in the mission of 
 Espada, including the part borne in them by the 
 Sefiora Tejada, to all of which his companion listened 
 with breathless interest. 
 
 " For thy goodness to them I will serve thee with 
 my life ! " exclaimed the grateful soldier, when Rex 
 had finished. " Without it I would still serve thee 
 
176 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 for the sake of thy most excellent father, the Senor 
 Harden, whose kindness is known to all the poor 
 dwellers in the missions. I am not able to do 
 much ; but what I can, that will I do gladly. From 
 among the convicts I am permitted to take one as a 
 servant; but when he is with me alone I must be 
 responsible for his safety with my life. In this way 
 only could I remove thee from the others, who, as I 
 have said, would surely have killed thee this night. 
 Now, therefore, while in reality I am thy servant, 
 bound to obey thy every wish, to all others thou 
 must appear to be mine. Sleep then in safety on 
 this poor bed till daylight, when I will wake thee 
 and instruct thee in thy semblance of duties. Also, 
 I think it would be safer if thou do not put off thy 
 idiocy too suddenly." 
 
 44 Trust me for that," laughed Rex, restored to 
 good spirits by this unexpected friendship. " The 
 trick has proved too valuable to be cast aside before 
 a better offers. To-morrow you will see that I am 
 more of a fool than ever." 
 
 44 Then, until the morrow. Buenas noches ! " 
 
 44 Buenas noches ! and may Heaven bless you for 
 a true friend in time of need," answered the young 
 Texan. 
 
 So Rex Harden, after a day of turmoil, exciting 
 adventure, many dangers and narrow escapes, was 
 left to a night of peaceful quiet, and slept soundly 
 on Sebastien Tejada s corn-husk bed until morning. 
 
TAWNY APPEARS IN SAN ANTONIO 177 
 
 Then he was awakened by his swarthy host, who 
 respectfully requested that, for the sake of appear 
 ances, he would assist in the preparation of coffee. 
 
 Not only did the young Texan willingly accede 
 to this request, but he still further carried out the 
 idea that he was Tejada s servant by cleaning the 
 soldier s musket and performing such other duties 
 as came to his hand. He also submitted in silence 
 to the volleys of abuse and harsh language which, 
 also for the sake of appearance, his supposed master 
 showered upon him when within the hearing of his 
 comrades. Our lad s indifference to all this was 
 commonly supposed to be owing to his ignorance of 
 the Mexican language, for only Tejada knew that 
 he was master of it. 
 
 Soon after sunrise Rex was driven with a party 
 of convicts under guard, to work in the trenches. 
 Here, although he performed fully as much labor as 
 any of his fellow-slaves, who shirked in every way 
 possible, he did not neglect to make certain exhibi 
 tions of idiocy that excited great mirth among the 
 spectators, and confirmed the impression that he was 
 a fool. So from that day he was known to all the 
 city as El Tonto ; and while his supposed infirmity 
 gained for him certain privileges, it also exposed him 
 to many cruel tricks, that the brutal soldiers thought 
 it great sport to play on one mentally incapable of 
 defending himself. 
 
 Having been thus introduced to a life of captivity 
 
178 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 and slavery, the unfortunate lad was compelled to 
 endure it for an entire month without finding his 
 condition materially changed. 
 
 During this time the Texan army, under Stephen 
 Austin, advanced closer and closer to the city until 
 it was regularly besieged, and communication with 
 the surrounding country was cut off. Provisions be 
 came so scarce that the daily rations of the soldiers 
 grew smaller and smaller, until actual starvation 
 stared them in the face. What with scanty food, 
 hard work, anxiety, and the mental strain of sustain 
 ing his assumed character, Rex grew so pitiably thin 
 that it is doubtful if his own parents would have 
 recognized him. 
 
 Towards the end of this month the garrison made 
 several sorties, generally at night, after provisions for 
 themselves and forage for their horses ; but they 
 were always driven back empty handed, and gener 
 ally with ranks sadly thinned by Texas bullets. 
 
 All this time it was noticeable that, while the 
 Mexican soldiers were suffering from hunger, and 
 the diseases caused by an absence of nearly every 
 necessity of life, their officers still seemed to have 
 plenty to eat and drink. They still smoked their in 
 cessant cigarettes, gambled, danced, and made merry, 
 as though there were no such things as anxiety or 
 sorrow or suffering within their horizon. Even 
 their horses remained sleek and high-spirited while 
 those of the troopers were reduced to skeletons. 
 
TAWNY APPEARS IN SAN ANTONIO 179 
 
 Seeing these things, and despairing of the ree n- 
 forcements that General Cos declared would surely 
 come to their relief, the common soldiers muttered 
 curses that grew louder each day, plotted rebellion, 
 and threatened to desert in a body to the enemy. 
 
 Knowing this state of affairs, and believing that 
 it must also be known in the Texan camp, Rex 
 could not understand why the besiegers did not 
 attack the city and seek to carry it by assault. 
 Night after night, he lay awake on his wretched 
 pallet, listening for sounds of the attack, which he 
 constantly expected would be made, and fretting 
 himself into a state of feverish nervousness over its 
 unexplainable delay. 
 
 At length it happened that, one afternoon, he with 
 a party of convict troops was sent to strengthen a 
 breastwork across one of the streets leading from 
 the main plaza. While they were wearily perform 
 ing their hated task, a group of officers rode into the 
 plaza to exercise their horses. With them came two 
 soldiers leading a steed so high-spirited that he would 
 have been unmanageable had he not been choked 
 into submission by two halters about his neck. 
 
 At sight of this horse, Rex dropped his spade and, 
 uttering an inarticulate cry of amazement, stood 
 staring at him, forgetful of all else. As he looked, 
 he saw man after man of those skilled Mexican 
 riders leap into the saddle, only to be so promptly 
 and ignoininiously flung from it that he had no 
 
180 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 desire to repeat the attempt. So intensely interested 
 were all the spectators of this struggle that even the 
 convicts were allowed to neglect their work un 
 heeded. 
 
 Step by step the young Texan drew near to the 
 scene of contest, staring with fixed gaze at the horse, 
 until he too began to share the general attention. 
 His fellow-slaves jeered at him with mocking shouts 
 of "See El Tonto! See the gringo scarecrow! He, 
 too, wishes to ride ! Let him try. He has never been 
 in a saddle, and should take his first lesson on a nice 
 quiet horse like this one." 
 
 Finally one of the officers, attracted by these 
 shouts, and thinking to extract some amusement 
 from the wretched appearing lad, ordered him to 
 mount the furious horse, and ride him twice around 
 the plaza, under a penalty of flogging if he failed. 
 
 A chorus of approving shouts greeted this propo 
 sition, and in another moment the young Texan was 
 hustled forward, picked up by the mocking soldiers, 
 and flung into the saddle. At the same instant the 
 men clinging to the halters let go their hold and 
 jumped aside. 
 
 As though in an agony of terror, Rex fell on the 
 horse s neck, and clasped it with both arms. As he 
 did so, he managed to whisper a single word in the 
 animal s ear, at sound of which Tawny for it was 
 indeed he stood for a moment quivering. Then he 
 sprang away and dashed furiously around the plaza, 
 
TAWNY APPEARS IN SAN ANTONIO 181 
 
 with Rex still clinging to his neck, as though in 
 abject fear. 
 
 The spectators screamed with delight as they 
 scampered out of the way, and redoubled their 
 shouts of derision at sight of that most contemptible 
 of beings to a Mexican a timid horseman. As the 
 splendid brute flew for the second time around the 
 plaza and drew near the barricade at which the con 
 victs had been at work, his scarecrow rider suddenly 
 sat erect in the saddle, seized the bridle in his hand, 
 and uttered a shrill cry. At sound of it the horse 
 threw up his head, charged straight at the breast 
 work, cleared it with a superb leap, and, dashing like 
 a whirlwind up the narrow street beyond, was lost to 
 the view of the amazed spectators, before they clearly 
 realized what had happened. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 WHO WILL GO WITH OLD BEN MILAM ? 
 
 WHERE Tawny had been during the month of his 
 young master s imprisonment in San Antonio, and 
 how he fell into the hands of the Mexicans, Rex 
 could not imagine, nor did he ever discover. All he 
 ever learned was, that during the night before he 
 made his wonderful escape, his old enemy, the sol 
 dier named Domingo, who had been absent for some 
 weeks on a mission to Matamoras, returned, bringing 
 with him the animal in question. He had offered to 
 sell his prize, which he described as the finest horse 
 in all Texas, to General Cos, who agreed to purchase 
 him if he proved to be well broken to saddle, and the 
 animal had been sent to the plaza for trial, with 
 what results we know. 
 
 All this Rex learned a long time afterwards, but 
 at the moment when he found himself dashing up 
 Flores Street on the back of his own incomparable 
 Tawny, he only knew, or cared to know, that he was 
 free. The thought filled him with a wild exhilara 
 tion, his blood coursed like fire, and as he flew up 
 the narrow roadway, scattering its occupants like 
 chaff before a gale, he uttered yells of exultation as 
 
 182 
 
WHO WILL GO WITH OLD BEN MILAM ? 183 
 
 wild as Comanche war-whoops. To the few who 
 recognized him as " El Tonto," his aspect, together 
 with these wild cries, were only added proofs of his 
 demented condition, and they piously crossed them 
 selves as he swept past. 
 
 The Texans, who were at this time encamped on 
 the west side of the city, and within a mile of its 
 plaza, had exhausted every effort to draw General 
 Cos from behind his breastworks, and induce him to 
 fight them on the open plain. When they found 
 that this could not be done, and that their own com 
 mander would not attempt an assault, they, too, 
 grew dissatisfied and mutinous. 
 
 As they were volunteers, serving without pay, 
 and free to come or go as they pleased, hundreds of 
 them returned in disgust to their homes, and their 
 numbers dwindled daily. Among those who re 
 mained an expedition was planned for the invasion of 
 Mexico ; and on the 4th of December it looked very 
 much as though the besieging force was about to 
 melt away without making an effort to capture the 
 stronghold before which they had sat so long. 
 
 Austin, their chosen leader, had been taken from 
 them, to be sent as a commissioner to the United 
 States, and his place had been filled by Edward 
 Burleson. Sam Houston, the idol of Texas, and 
 commander-in-chief of her slender forces, was de 
 tained, fretting like a caged lion, by the squabbling 
 factions at San Felipe. Men of influence and pre- 
 
184 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 sumed patriotism were trying to lure the besieging 
 force to its destruction in Mexico, and exaggerated 
 reports of the enemy s strength were spread through 
 the camp daily. All minds were filled with sus 
 picion and uncertainty. Only a handful of brave 
 men, among whom were Milam, Bowie, and Deaf 
 Smith, stood firm in their determination to capture 
 San Antonio, or die in the attempt. 
 
 On the afternoon of that memorable 4th of De 
 cember, Milam and Bowie stood before the latter s 
 tent, gloomily watching a scene of riot and con 
 fusion that was throwing the whole camp into an 
 uproar. General Burleson had just issued an order 
 to raise the siege, and prepare for a retreat that very 
 evening. By some, this order was received with 
 approval ; by others, with grief and bitter anger. 
 The latter declared they would not obey it, and 
 denounced as cowards and traitors those willing 
 to do so. Hot words led to blows, until it seemed 
 to the onlookers that war was about to break out 
 between the opposing factions. 
 
 The two officers, gazing on the scene of tumult, 
 were torn by conflicting emotions. For the sake 
 of example, they desired to obey the order of their 
 superior, and yet they believed that to do so would 
 be to deal a death-blow to Texas liberty. 
 
 " My God ! " cried Bowie, in a tone of anguish ; 
 "is this the end of all our hopes and boasts and 
 struggles ? Must we slink away like whipped curs, 
 
WHO WILL GO WITH OLD BEN MILAM ? 185 
 
 and lick the hands of the tyrant who will grind 
 us into the dust ? " 
 
 To this cry Milam could find no answer. His 
 heart was too full for utterance, and he only turned 
 his gaze toward the city he had hoped to win. 
 Now, bathed in the glory of sunset, it seemed to 
 be fading away, and with it all hope for Texas. 
 
 As he looked towards it, he started, and gazed 
 more eagerly. A moving object coming from the 
 city had caught his eye. " Look, Bowie I " he 
 cried. " A horseman comes this way, riding like 
 the wind ! Is he a deserter, a messenger, or an es 
 caping prisoner ? Did .ever you see such speed ? He 
 must be mounted on the immortal Pegasus ! Great 
 Csesar! How he rides! as if Death and all the Furies 
 were in pursuit. And yet I cannot see that any 
 follow. See him wave his arms, and hear him yell ! 
 He must be a madman, just loosed from Bedlam." 
 
 " He is a Mexican, and consequently a deserter ; 
 for I can make out his uniform," replied keen-eyed 
 Bowie, after a long look at the approaching horse 
 man. " But what a glorious brute he is riding ! 
 Too noble an animal by far to be burdened with 
 so worthless a carcass. I shall make it my business 
 to see that he enters a better service." 
 
 "You surely would not rob the poor greaser?" 
 questioned Milam, slyly ; " especially in face of 
 the order respecting the property rights of those 
 enemies who are won over to our cause." 
 
186 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 "A fico for your orders ! " cried Bowie. "Who 
 values an order since the issue of this last one? 
 But the deserter is making straight for us, and I 
 will toss you for his horse. By Heavens, colonel, 
 he is a white man ! " 
 
 As Bowie uttered this exclamation, the wild 
 horseman reined his steed to a sudden standstill 
 within two paces of the officers, and after a mo 
 ment of eager staring at them, slid limply to the 
 ground, muttering as he did so: 
 
 " Bowie and Milam ! Thank God ! " 
 
 Both men sprang forward to support him, and in 
 spite of his tattered uniform, his emaciation, and the 
 general wretchedness of his appearance, both recog 
 nized him. 
 
 " Rector Harden, by all that s good ! " 
 
 " Rex and Tawny, as I m a sinner ! " 
 
 In another moment they had borne him into the 
 tent, where with stimulants and food they fought 
 away the weakness into which the strength lent by 
 his recent excitement had been merged. 
 
 Within fifteen minutes he had so recovered 
 strength and voice that the men bending over him 
 had learned the outline of his story. They knew 
 also of the starvation and threatened mutiny in the 
 Mexican ranks, they knew that no expectation was 
 entertained in San Antonio of a Texan assault, they 
 knew that all the hopes of Martin Cos rested upon 
 the coming of reinforcements, and they knew that 
 
WHO WILL GO WITH OLD BEN MILAM ? 187 
 
 now if ever was the accepted moment for storming 
 the city. 
 
 In the meantime, a curious throng of those who 
 had noted the arrival of the supposed Mexican de 
 serter, were gathered outside the tent, clamoring for 
 news. To these came Colonel Milam. 
 
 "Boys," he shouted with a voice that reached 
 every quarter of the camp, "men of Texas, give 
 me your attention for just one moment." 
 
 The appeal was heeded, and from all sides the vol 
 unteers, dropping their personal quarrels, crowded 
 forward to hear what this man, whom they all knew, 
 and whose personal bravery all respected, had to 
 say. 
 
 Milam waited for silence ; and then, in ringing 
 tones, told them of what had just happened ; of the 
 wonderful escape from San Antonio of Rector Har 
 den, whom many of them knew and whose supposed 
 death they had mourned. " The lad is a keen ob 
 server and knows what he is talking about," con 
 tinued the speaker. " He says that now or never is 
 the time to make an assault on yonder town. I, for 
 one, believe him, and am willing to risk everything 
 on this chance. Fellow-soldiers, who of you will 
 go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio ? " 
 
 For answer there came a mighty yell from the as 
 semblage. Officers and men pressed eagerly forward 
 to offer their services. Bowie sprang from the tent 
 and stood beside his comrade. 
 
188 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 " I move that we capture San Antonio, and that 
 Colonel Benjamin Milam be chosen to lead the as 
 sault ! " he shouted. " All in favor will say aye ! 
 
 " Aye ! " yelled hundreds of the eager troops as 
 with a single voice ; and with that outcry the fate 
 of San Antonio was sealed. 
 
 Colonel Milam, who believed in striking iron 
 while it was hot, accepted the responsibility thus 
 thrust upon him, and ordered all who were willing 
 to join in the attack to meet him at an old mill half 
 a mile away as soon as the night was sufficiently 
 dark to conceal their movements. Then he ree n- 
 tered the tent and held an earnest consultation with 
 the lad whose opportune arrival had wrought this 
 sudden change of plans. 
 
 " I must go with you, sir," declared Rex, when 
 this talk was ended. "Indeed, I must." 
 
 " My dear boy ! You must rest where you are 
 until you regain your strength," replied Milam. 
 
 " All right, colonel ; I will lie right here until you 
 are ready to start, but then I shall join you," re 
 joined the young soldier ; and from this decision 
 nothing could move him. 
 
 At length Rex adroitly changed the subject by 
 saying, " Oh, colonel, can t you find something 
 Texan for me to wear ? It doesn t seem as though 
 I could stand this vile uniform a moment longer." 
 
 " Of course we can, son. You just lie still, and 
 I ll have you rigged out in no time." 
 
WHO WILL GO WITH OLD BEN MILAM ? 189 
 
 With this Milam left the tent, to which he re 
 turned a few minutes later, laden with an assortment 
 of clothing, including boots and a sombrero, from 
 which Rex might select whatever suited him best. 
 
 That night, at the old mill, three hundred picked 
 men were detailed for the assault, and all arrange 
 ments were perfected. A separate company was 
 ordered to cross the river and make a feint against 
 the Alamo, that should divert the enemy s attention 
 from the main expedition. The remainder of the 
 little Texan army, under command of General 
 Burleson, were to guard camp and cover the retreat 
 of the assaulting columns in case they should be 
 driven back. 
 
 By the time all preparations were made, it wanted 
 but an hour of daylight, and James Bowie went to 
 waken Rex. A hasty breakfast was washed down 
 by cups of strong coffee, and then they were off. 
 
 The three hundred men were divided into two 
 columns, headed by Colonels Milam and Johnson. 
 As they began their silent march towards the mist- 
 enshrouded city, a distant volley of rifles and an 
 answering roar of artillery told that the feint against 
 the Alamo was begun. 
 
 So completely did this divert the enemy s attention, 
 that Milam and Johnson entered two of the principal 
 streets of the city, that ran parallel with each other 
 to the plaza, without discovery. Down these streets 
 the shadowy columns advanced in swift silence, until 
 
190 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 they were within one hundred yards of the great 
 square. Here a shot from a Mexican sentry rang 
 out its quick alarm. It was answered by a volley 
 and a yell, as the Texans flung themselves into the 
 nearest houses. Then the streets they had just va 
 cated were swept by a storm of cannon-balls from 
 the plaza batteries, and the battle was begun. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE 
 
 THE struggle for the possession of San Antonio 
 quickly resolved itself into a house-to-house fight, 
 in which every foot of ground was stubbornly con 
 tested. The first two buildings occupied by the 
 Texans were the Veramendi house, in which both 
 James Bowie and his young friend, Rex Harden, had 
 passed so many happy hours, and the Garza house, 
 on the opposite side of Soledad Street. The space 
 between them was so incessantly swept by one of the 
 plaza batteries which Rex had unwillingly helped 
 place in position a few days before, that, for many 
 hours, all communication between them was cut off. 
 
 Against these two buildings was rained so furious 
 a storm of bullets from adjacent roofs, that for a 
 long time no Texan dared show himself beyond the 
 thick walls, or even near the wooden-shuttered 
 windows. At length, after hours of labor, a few 
 loop-holes were pierced close up under the eaves and 
 a rude platform, on which men could stand, was 
 erected. Now the deadly Texas rifles began to pick 
 their victims from roof and battlement with notice 
 able effect. 
 
 191 
 
192 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Almost immediately the Mexican fire began to 
 slacken, and soon the Texans, in turn, were able to 
 gain the house-tops, beneath which they had thus 
 far found shelter. To these they dragged bags of 
 sand, and were soon as securely fortified as they had 
 been in the rooms below. Now they fired with such 
 terrible effect that no Mexican dared expose the 
 smallest portion of his body within a radius of 
 one hundred yards, and two of the more advanced 
 batteries were reduced to silence. At the same time 
 the Texans found, to their cost, by attempting to 
 send messengers from one party to the other, that 
 their foes were as watchful for human targets as 
 they themselves were. 
 
 So the long day wore away, and night found the 
 weary assailants still penned in their two buildings 
 like rats in a trap. The low-ceiled rooms were filled 
 with sulphurous smoke, and the groans of wounded 
 men rose from all sides. As no provisions had been 
 brought along, and none could be found in the empty 
 houses they had occupied, the Texans were raven 
 ously hungry, but still the storm of bullets swept 
 the street with unabated fury. In the Veramendi 
 house eight wounded men lay on the bare floors, 
 and the position of the entire party seemed so critical 
 that men began to curse their folly in joining so 
 reckless an expedition, and to make gloomy predic 
 tions of the fate that must ultimately overtake them. 
 
 " Where is Rex Harden, the young fool who 
 
FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE 193 
 
 brought us into this fix, by pretending to know 
 more than his elders? " cried a voice ; but there was 
 no reply, nor could the lad be found in any part of 
 the building. 
 
 u Looks like he for one had paid for his folly with 
 his life," said a grizzled veteran, who, having sons 
 of his own, felt more tenderly towards all boys than 
 did some of the younger rnen. 
 
 At thought of the brave youth, who had so cheer 
 fully shared all their sufferings of that day, lying 
 dead in some dark corner, even the most uncharitable 
 were softened towards his memory, and admitted 
 that his many good qualities more than compensated 
 for his boyish follies. 
 
 While they were thus discussing him, there came 
 a sudden pounding on the floor beneath them, and a 
 muffled shout caused them to spring to their feet in 
 terror. Their one thought was, that the building 
 had been undermined, and that they were to be 
 attacked from below, as well as from all sides. 
 Some seized their rifles, while others stood in sullen 
 despair. Then a bit of the floor was slowly lifted, a 
 twinkle of light showed through the aperture, and 
 a voice called up : 
 
 " Don t shoot, men ; we are friends." 
 
 With this the trap-door was flung back, and the 
 very lad whose fate and character they had just been 
 discussing, appeared among them. He bore a lan 
 tern, and was followed by half a dozen others, who 
 
194 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 were recognized as having been left in camp that 
 morning. These were laden with sacks of provis 
 ions, and a supply of ammunition to replenish the 
 nearly exhausted Texan stock. 
 
 In ansAver to the questions of his bewildered 
 friends, Rex told them of the passage leading beneath 
 the Veramendi gardens to the river. He had con 
 ceived the idea of slipping out through it about sun 
 set, and, if possible, making his way to the camp 
 under cover of darkness, for he knew that without 
 provisions the Texans could not long maintain their 
 position. 
 
 Realizing the dangers of his proposed expedition, 
 he would not ask for company, nor would he even 
 mention his plan, for fear of further disheartening his 
 friends in case of. failure. So he had gone away 
 unnoticed, and had finally reached camp in safety. 
 On his way he made the important discovery, that 
 Mexican cavalry were guarding the further end of 
 the very street by which the Texans had entered the 
 city. Thus they were prepared to cut off a retreat, 
 should the latter be rash enough to undertake one 
 through the merciless fire by which their route 
 would be swept. 
 
 In spite of these dangers, which Rex clearly ex 
 plained in General Burleson s camp, half a dozen 
 brave fellows volunteered to return with him as 
 bearers of supplies. Their trip had been made 
 without a challenge, and here they were. 
 
"DON T SHOOT, MEN; WE ARE FRIENDS. 
 
FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE 195 
 
 This was the substance of the story told by Rex 
 Harden, while his famished comrades ate of the food 
 he had brought them. They were very grateful to 
 him, and very proud of what he had done, but it did 
 not occur to them just then to say so. Nor did the 
 young soldier feel that either thanks or praise were 
 called for by his simple performance of a duty. 
 " Any one of them would have done the same thing 
 if they had known what I did about the passage," 
 he said to himself, and there the matter ended so far 
 as he thought of it. 
 
 But the results of his daring act were by no means 
 ended with its successful completion. The food that 
 he had brought, and the knowledge that a way of 
 retreat was open to them, so inspired his comrades 
 with new courage, that they had no longer a thought 
 save to continue the struggle until the city should 
 fall into their hands. They also remembered their 
 friends across the bullet-swept street, and deter 
 mined to open communication with them, that they, 
 too, might share the welcome supplies just brought 
 in. Above all, they rejoiced that there was now a 
 chance of removing their wounded to the compara 
 tive comforts and safety of the camp. 
 
 While some undertook this humane but arduous 
 and dangerous task, others set to work with a will 
 to dig a trench across the street, through which they 
 might crawl to the Garza house. About midnight 
 it was completed, coimnuiiicatioii was established, and 
 
193 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 to Milam s men was extended the relief from hunger 
 and despair that Rex had brought. 
 
 On the following day, both sides maintained a 
 steady fire from daylight without accomplishing 
 anything of importance until towards night, when 
 the Texans rushing from the Garza house, stormed 
 and carried a small building some twenty yards away, 
 and thus took an important forward step. 
 
 Another night found the situation comparatively 
 unchanged, and was passed by both sides in strength 
 ening their positions. The morning of the 7th of 
 December found a new intrenchment thrown up on 
 the Alamo side of the river, from which a hot fire 
 was poured into the rear of the Veramendi house. 
 This, and the strong batteries commanding the direct 
 route to the plaza, caused Colonel Milam to cast about 
 for a change of base, and a more favorable direction 
 of attack. He sent for Rex, and together they 
 ascended to the house-top, where, by lying flat, they 
 could, with comparative safety, overlook the scene 
 of conflict. 
 
 " Which are the strongest of the plaza batteries ? " 
 asked Colonel Milam. 
 
 " Those commanding the streets by which we 
 entered town," promptly replied Rex. 
 
 " And where is its weakest point ? " 
 
 " At the northwest corner near the priest s house." 
 
 " Can you see the priest s house from here ? " 
 
 " No, sir. Zambrano Row is in the way." 
 
FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE 197 
 
 " Which is that ? " 
 
 " The long building from which comes that steady 
 firing." 
 
 "Then we should have to capture it first?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. And the houses of Navarro and of 
 Yturri as well." 
 
 "But you think they can be taken ? " 
 
 " I do, sir. The convict troops will never stand 
 for a hand-to-hand fight." 
 
 " Good ! That settles it. Those houses shall be 
 taken, and the plaza shall be carried from the point 
 you name, or I will die in the attempt ; for I am de 
 termined to lead every charge between here and 
 there. Come with me, and help explain this new 
 plan to Johnson." 
 
 So the commander arid his young lieutenant 
 walked together across the bullet-swept street. As 
 the former disdained to stoop behind the sand-bags 
 that had only been piled breast high, Rex followed 
 his example, and both walked with proudly lifted 
 heads. At the very entrance to the Veramendi house, 
 within reach of safety, Colonel Milam, whose face 
 was turned with a smile towards his companion, gave 
 a convulsive spring and fell headlong, his brain 
 pierced by a Mexican bullet. 
 
 Rex was instantly on his knees beside him, but 
 already was the dauntless spirit fled, and the name 
 of Benjamin Milam had become a memory to be 
 fondly cherished by all Texans from that day. 
 
198 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Colonel Johnson, instantly summoned, was quickly 
 beside his dead friend ; and, across the motionless 
 form, Rex outlined to the new commander the plan 
 of attack that Milam had just decided to adopt. 
 
 " It shall be carried out to the letter," cried John 
 son. " With Ben Milam s spirit to lead us, and 
 working on the lines he has laid down, we cannot 
 fail." 
 
 Twenty men were left to guard the dead, and the 
 others were ordered across the street. When the 
 attacking force was thus consolidated in the Garza 
 house, Johnson announced their leader s death, and 
 told of the plan he had formed. "What say you 
 men? " he cried. " Shall we carry out Ben Jlilam s 
 last wishes, and follow the lead of his brave spirit to 
 victory ? " 
 
 For answer there came a yell so loud and fierce, as 
 to be heard above the din of battle even in the 
 Mexican plaza. At the same moment a private 
 soldier named Henry Karnes, snatching a crowbar, 
 sprang forth into the storm of bullets, and with 
 mighty blows crushed in the door of the first of the 
 four buildings Milam had decided to capture. 
 
 For a moment the Texans stood aghast at the 
 man s audacity. Then a score of them dashed after 
 him, and in two minutes the house was taken, with 
 every Mexican who had defended it dead or put to 
 flight. An hour later the Navarro house was 
 stormed and captured in a similar manner. On the 
 
FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE 191) 
 
 following morning Zambrano Row fell into the 
 hands of the Texans, after a fierce struggle for 
 possession of each thick-walled apartment of its 
 long range. 
 
 The Mexicans were appalled by this steady ad 
 vance, and sent out their cavalry to attack Burleson s 
 camp, in the hope of drawing off Johnson s men to 
 its defence. But the camp was able to care for 
 itself, and the cavalry were driven back, some of their 
 pursuers even entering the city, and joining their 
 friends in Zambrano Row. 
 
 Thus matters stood on the evening of the 8th of 
 December, or at the close of the fourth day of 
 fighting. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 A GLORIOUS TEXAN VICTORY 
 
 As darkness settled over the stout little town, 
 that for four days had been the scene of heroic 
 assault and stubborn defence, the din of battle died 
 away, the hot batteries became silent, rifle and mus 
 ket were laid aside, while fierce-eyed men, smoke 
 begrimmed, and haggard with weariness, flung 
 themselves down in their places to rest. A sullen 
 quiet, intensified by the recent uproar, brooded over 
 the place, and in it those who could not sleep took 
 anxious thought for the morrow. They knew that 
 the crisis had been reached, and that within a few 
 hours more the fate of the city must be decided. 
 On one side the Mexican general, nervously smok 
 ing cigarettes, weighed the chances of defence and 
 retreat ; while, on the other, a group of stern-faced 
 Americans talked in low tones of the final assault 
 that they hoped would lead to victory. Near them 
 Rex Harden, stretched at length on the blood-stained 
 floor of beaten clay, lay in dreamless sleep. 
 
 As the hour approached midnight one of the 
 wakeful group rose and looked at him. " The lad 
 
 200 
 
A GLORIOUS TEXAN VICTORY 201 
 
 is completely done up," he said, " and no wonder. 
 It seems cruel to disturb him, and I hate to do it ; 
 but no one here knows the haunts of the greasers so 
 well as he, and we dare not go without him." So 
 the man, who was a grizzled and battle-stained vet 
 eran, touched the sleeper s smooth forehead lightly, 
 and the latter sat up, wide awake. 
 
 " Has the time come already ? It doesn t seem as 
 though I had more than closed my eyes." 
 
 " I don t suppose it does, son," answered the man, 
 " and yet you have slept like the dead for nearly five 
 hours, and in as many minutes more we must start. 
 Take a bite and a sup first, though ; for we ve keen 
 work to do between this and daylight." 
 
 Others of the group who had kept watch were 
 waking other sleepers, and one hundred dim forms 
 were quietly gathering in the black shadows of 
 Zambrano Row. All were heavily armed, and some 
 carried picks, iron bars, or axes. James Bowie was 
 with them, and Johnson. They were to lead this 
 midnight assault. 
 
 " Remember Ben Milam, boys ! He died for the 
 liberty we still must fight for," said the former in 
 low, but thrilling tones. 
 
 Then, without a whisper, and with guarded steps, 
 the company of picked men moved out into the 
 night. Guided by Rex Harden, they took their 
 noiseless way towards the priest s house that stood 
 in a walled enclosure facing the plaza. The low 
 
202 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 wall was reached without an alarm; but as Rex 
 surmounted it and dropped lightly to the other side, 
 he lighted squarely on the body of a man who lay 
 asleep in its shadow, and who uttered a yell of terror 
 at this rude awakening. 
 
 The spell of silence was broken, and, with fierce 
 answering yells, the Texans swarmed over the wall 
 regardless of a heavy fire from the building they 
 sought to gain. 
 
 " Give them a volley, boys ; then charge ! " 
 shouted Bowie, and in a moment Rex, crazed with 
 excitement, found himself in a line of yelling men, 
 all of whom were racing across the enclosure 
 directly in the face of those blazing muskets five 
 minutes, or it might have been an hour, for all the 
 lad knew, of curses and crashing blows, lightning 
 flashes and thunders, shrieks and yells, and then 
 all was over. The convict soldiers who had filled 
 the house poured from it in hurried flight, while the 
 Texans hastened their steps with a final volley and 
 a great shout of victory. Then they set to work 
 barricading doors and windows, piercing loop-holes 
 through the thick walls, and in other ways preparing 
 to defend their prize. 
 
 The fire of the enemy had by this time become 
 general ; and so terrific was the uproar that it 
 seemed as though every Mexican gun must be in 
 active play. Artillery thundered, musketry rattled 
 incessantly, and though but few shots struck the 
 
A GLORIOUS TEXAN VICTORY 203 
 
 building for which they were intended, the air was 
 filled with screaming missiles. Unmindful of this 
 uproar, the Texans labored steadily at their barri 
 cades, until, with the coming of dawn, their fortress 
 was practically impregnable. And it commanded 
 the plaza in which the enemy s strength had been 
 concentrated. 
 
 Since capturing the building the Texans had 
 not fired a shot ; and now they stood with ready 
 rifles, awaiting the daylight that should direct their 
 aim. 
 
 Gradually the Mexican fire slackened until it 
 finally ceased ; and with the growing light the 
 Texas riflemen looked in vain for a foe. The plaza 
 was deserted, not a gunner manned its silent batter 
 ies, not a soldier wearing the hated uniform of 
 Santa Anna was to be seen. 
 
 Yes, there was one slowly crossing the plaza in 
 their direction, and he bore the white flag of sur 
 render. General Martin Cos, brother-in-law to the 
 Mexican President, had retreated to the Alamo with 
 fourteen hundred men ; and from there he sent 
 in a flag of truce. The fight was ended; brave Ben 
 Milam s plan had been crowned with success, and 
 San Antonio, the stronghold of Western Texas, was 
 won to the cause of freedom. 
 
 At first the three hundred Americans, hollow- 
 cheeked, with the terrible strain of their four days 
 fight, unkempt, and powder-stained, could not believe 
 
204 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 the evidence of their senses, and each sought in the 
 faces of his comrades the assurance that what he saw 
 was true. But there was no mistake about that 
 white flag; no enemy was in sight, and his silent 
 batteries were clearly deserted. Yes, the city was 
 certainly theirs to enter at will and do with as 
 they pleased. 
 
 Their moment of doubt was succeeded by a wild 
 rush into the empty plaza, where in mad jubilation 
 they embraced and danced, yelled themselves hoarse 
 with cheering, caused the church bells to ring peals 
 of joyous music, and, for a short space, acted more 
 like crazy men than rational beings. Some one pro 
 cured a white blanket, rudely chopped out a great 
 star from a blue flannel shirt, and for the first time 
 in the history of San Antonio, a lone-star flag floated 
 from the tower of the cathedral. At sight of the 
 glorious emblem, the mad uproar of jubilation broke 
 out afresh, and no voice sought to stay it. 
 
 Soon afterwards the troops from camp came 
 streaming into the city, gazing with eager curiosity 
 at the manifold signs of the recent struggle, and 
 looking with envious eyes upon the heroes of the 
 assault, every one of whom walked with a free stride 
 and proudly uplifted head. 
 
 The inhabitants of the town peered fearfully at 
 the stalwart victors from behind closed doors and 
 shuttered windows, but gaining courage, as they saw 
 no sign of pillage, they finally ventured forth, until 
 
A GLORIOUS TEXAN VICTORY 205 
 
 swart-faced men, women, and little children were 
 mingling freely with the victors and even sharing 
 their rejoicings. In the Mexican throng, Rex found 
 his friend, the little Rillo, and made the child 
 supremely happy by going with him to his father, 
 whom he assured that he might resume his business 
 without fears of molestation from the Americans. 
 
 That same morning brave Ben Milam was buried 
 with all the honors his comrades could bestow, in 
 the Veramendi garden, close to the spot where the 
 fatal bullet had overtaken him. A great company 
 assembled to see him laid to rest, and among the 
 foremost at his grave was the lad to whom, more 
 than to any other, was due the capture of San An 
 tonio. Tears stood in his eyes, and his heart was 
 very heavy when the final volley rang across the sol 
 dier s grave; but as he turned sadly away, his grief 
 was changed to a sudden joy. Loving arms were 
 flung about him, and he heard as in a dream the voice 
 of his own dear father, uttering fervent thanks for 
 this, his boy, who had been lost, but was found. 
 
 " They sent me to New Orleans on a mission, son, 
 and only upon my return to San Felipe did I learn 
 that you had disappeared so absolutely that it was 
 not known whether you were dead or living. I 
 came to unravel, if I could, your fate, and find you, 
 not only alive, but a hero. From all sides I hear 
 words of praise for my boy, and my cup of happiness 
 is indeed running over." 
 
206 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Impatient as the Hardens now were to leave the 
 city, they could not do so at once, for they must 
 wait to witness the final triumph, and three days 
 later it came. Martin Cos, having pledged his word 
 that neither he, his officers, nor the troops under his 
 command, should ever again take up arms for the 
 subjugation of Texas, was allowed to depart with 
 such of his army as chose to follow him. 
 
 So, on the 14th of December, the flag of Mexico 
 was hauled down from the Alamo. The flag of free 
 Texas took its place, and the glittering but humbled 
 army of General Cos marched away towards the dis 
 tant Rio Grande. Three hundred of his soldiers 
 had chosen to remain behind and cast their lot with 
 Texas, while there also remained to the victors, 
 twenty-one pieces of artillery, one thousand muskets, 
 a great quantity of ammunition, besides clothing and 
 stores of all kinds. 
 
 Having obtained this signal victory, and driven 
 the enemy from the fair land that they claimed as 
 their own, the Texas volunteers dispersed to their 
 homes, leaving Colonel Johnson with a small body 
 of troops to hold the city he had won. 
 
 " Now, son, let us go," said Squire Harden, as, 
 with full hearts, he and Rex watched the disappear 
 ance of the last Mexican troop. " There are others 
 who, though they doubtless know ere this of your 
 safety, are longing to greet you. I left your mother 
 and the girls at San Felipe, but with permission to 
 
A GLORIOUS TEXAN VICTORY 207 
 
 come on as far as Gonzales, where they must now 
 impatiently await us." 
 
 So Squire Harden and his son, James Bowie, Deaf 
 Smith, and several others, whose homes lay in that 
 direction, rode merrily eastward, along the Gonzales 
 trail. Rex was, of course, mounted on his beloved 
 Tawny, who seemed to know as well as any one that 
 he was going home. 
 
 "We will stop at the old ranch for the night," 
 said Squire Harden, " though I fear we shall find it 
 but a melancholy camping-place. It looked desolate 
 enough as I came past on my way west, though I 
 hadn t the time to stop, nor the heart to enter the 
 house." 
 
 The short winter day was fading into twilight 
 when the party came in sight of the Rancho Herrera, 
 and for a moment it seemed as though they must be 
 mistaken in the locality. Instead of the gloomy, 
 deserted building they had expected to find, every 
 window in the great house was ablaze with light. 
 Even the outlying quarters appeared to be occupied, 
 and cheery camp-fires glowed in every direction. 
 
 "Some scoundrels have dared take possession 
 and make themselves at home," cried the squire, 
 angrily ; " but we ll quickly rout them out. Come 
 on, boys, and help an old man regain possession 
 of the home his son has fought to save." 
 
 Thus saying, he dashed forward, and the others 
 followed him ; but Tawny outstripped them ail. 
 
208 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Thus when the irate squire reined sharply up be 
 fore the entrance to his own house, it was to find 
 Rex clasped in his mother s arms, with Mabel, 
 Nelita Veramendi, Aunty Day, and a dozen ser 
 vants clustered joyously about them. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 LIEUTENANT HAKDEN GAINS HIS COMMISSION 
 
 "WE could not wait at Gonzales, Ellis, when we 
 heard the glorious news," explained Mrs. Harden, 
 when the tumult of greeting had somewhat sub 
 sided. " It seemed as though we must come on, at 
 least as far as our own home, and prepare a wel 
 come for our boy. Besides, such a fine escort was 
 offered us that we really couldn t find an excuse 
 for refusing to accept it." 
 
 "Did you try very hard?" laughed the squire. 
 
 "Yes, of course. But we couldn t, because it 
 was Why, where can he have gone ? Oh, here 
 he is ! " 
 
 At that moment a graceful, soldierly appearing 
 young fellow, apparently but little older than Rex, 
 stepped from the porch, and advanced with out 
 stretched hand. 
 
 " Will Travis ! " shouted Rex, springing to meet 
 him. "Dear old Will! Oh! how glad I am to 
 see you ! " 
 
 " Colonel William Barret Travis, of the Texas 
 regulars, if you please ; at present, superintendent 
 of the recruiting bureau," said the young soldier, 
 
 p 209 
 
210 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 with assumed pomposity, as he grasped the hand of 
 his old schoolmate and well-loved friend. " I be 
 lieve," he continued, " I have the honor of address 
 ing Lieutenant Rector Harden, also of the Texas 
 regular army." 
 
 "Not exactly," laughed Rex. "It is true that 
 some of the fellows at Gonzales did elect me to an 
 office in a moment of enthusiasm. As they were 
 only volunteers, though, who have already given up 
 soldiering and gone home, I expect my military 
 position has gone with them, leaving me only a 
 high private in the home guards." 
 
 "Not if you will accept this," rejoined Travis, 
 holding out an official-looking paper as he spoke. 
 
 As Rex examined the document with a puzzled 
 air, his friend continued : 
 
 " It is all right, old man, and you needn t look at 
 it as though it were a sentence of banishment back 
 to school. It is a genuine O. K. commission as 
 lieutenant in the regular army of Texas, signed by 
 Samuel Houston, Commander-in-chief. The recom 
 mendation came from Colonel Milam, and was writ 
 ten the very evening before you all started in to 
 capture San Antonio. How I wish I had been with 
 you ! but with good luck I ll have a chance to do 
 some righting yet. General Houston wrote out the 
 commission at once, and requested me to offer it to 
 you. Therefore, Lieutenant Harden, I have the 
 honor, etc., etc." 
 
LIEUTENANT HARDEN GAINS HIS COMMISSION 211 
 
 " But what is the use of an army, now ? " asked 
 Rex. "We have driven the Mexicans out of 
 Texas, and General Cos has given his parole not 
 to fight against us any more." 
 
 " Ho, ho ! " laughed Travis. " And they won t 
 come back again with an army ten times as strong, 
 and Santa Anna won t lift a finger to recover Texas, 
 and old Cos won t forget all about his parole as 
 soon as it is convenient to do so, and we haven t 
 got a bitter fight ahead of us before winning our 
 independence, oh no, not at all ! But all those 
 things are going to happen, old man ; and we ve 
 got to prepare for them while \ve are given time for 
 preparation. To begin with, we want every son 
 of Texas who has had any sort of a military train 
 ing to help us work up our splendid fighting mate 
 rial that now exists in the shape of raw recruits. 
 So, my boy, you ll please accept this commission 
 without another word, and walk in to supper with 
 such dignity as becomes an officer in the regular 
 army of Texas. If I can t enlist my best friends, 
 why am I chief of the recruiting service, I d like to 
 know ? " 
 
 During this conversation, these two had drawn 
 a little to one side, while the remainder of the 
 joyous company had either gone to the corrals with 
 their horses, or entered the house. At the supper- 
 table, where all were shortly afterwards assembled, 
 Travis announced the young lieutenant s accept- 
 
212 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 ance of his commission, which was loudly cheered, 
 and made a short address upon the present condi 
 tion and future prospects of Texas. He repeated 
 what he had said to Rex, and made an earnest 
 appeal to every man present to hold himself in con 
 stant readiness for a call to the field. Squire 
 Harden and James Bowie talked in similar strain ; 
 and thus while this gathering was still the most joy 
 ful that the Rancho Herrera had ever witnessed, its 
 mirth was tempered by sober thought for the future. 
 
 On the following morning, while those of the party 
 who were to continue their journey were collected 
 before the house bidding farewell to those who were 
 to remain, there came a striking confirmation of the 
 warning words spoken the evening before. A very 
 humble appearing group of wayfarers, consisting of a 
 man on foot leading a donkey on which was seated 
 a woman holding a child, had halted in front of the 
 ranch. They were Mexicans, and, as they looked 
 irresolutely at the horsemen, apparently afraid to 
 approach them, and yet anxious to do so, one of 
 the latter rode out to inquire what they wanted. 
 
 A moment later he returned looking puzzled. 
 " The man first said that he wished to see El Tonto," 
 he announced, " but when I told him there were no 
 fools about here, he apologized, and said he meant 
 the son of the Senor Harden. At that I came mighty 
 near knocking him down, and will do so now if the 
 lieutenant gives the word." 
 
LIEUTENANT HARDEN GAINS HIS COMMISSION 213 
 
 "Not on any account," Rex said. " El Tonto 
 is the name I have answered to for the past month, 
 and probably that chap never heard me called by 
 any other. I wonder, though, how he knew who I 
 was? I thought only Tejada was aware of my real 
 identity." 
 
 "Suppose you go and ask him," suggested Travis. 
 
 " A bright idea that was flashing through my own 
 mind at that very moment," laughed Rex, starting 
 towards the waiting group by the roadside. 
 
 As he drew near to them, those who watched were 
 amazed to see him advance eagerly, and shake hands 
 in the most cordial manner, first with the man and 
 then with the woman. Then they talked earnestly 
 together for several minutes, after which he started 
 back, bringing the strangers with him. 
 
 " Father," he cried as they approached, " this is 
 Sebastien Tejada, who not only saved my life, but 
 did everything in his power to make me comfortable 
 while I was a prisoner in San Antonio. And this is 
 his wife, who also did me a good turn at Espada, you 
 know, and the baby is the little Sebastien." 
 
 " For your sake they are more than welcome," said 
 the squire, heartily ; " but what fetches them here ? " 
 
 " To seek safety for themselves, father, and to 
 bring us a warning. Sebastien was one of the 
 troops who preferred to remain a Texan rather than 
 go with Cos to Mexico. The night after their sur 
 render the Mexicans camped at the mission. There 
 
214 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 this woman overheard the general say that, as a 
 promise made to heretics was not binding, he should 
 speedily return with another army. Then he should 
 make it his especial business to kill every Mexican 
 who had chosen the cause of freedom, as well as 
 every Texan who had borne arms against Santa 
 Anna. After the troops had left and her husband 
 reappeared at the mission, the woman told him what 
 she had heard, and begged him to fly to some place 
 of safety. As Tejada believes that Cos really will 
 return and carry out his threats, at least so far as the 
 Mexicans who have joined our cause are concerned, 
 he readily consented to do so, and remembering me, 
 has come to us for advice and assistance." 
 
 "Both of which they shall have/ said Squire 
 Harden, giving the Mexican s brown hand a friendly 
 grasp. " They shall stay here for the present, and if 
 Cos ever is so forgetful of his plighted honor as to 
 attempt to carry out his threat, then will I endeavor 
 to provide for their further safety. But I cannot 
 think that even he will descend to such baseness." 
 
 "He will, though ! " exclaimed Travis, "and this 
 man s story only goes to confirm what I said last 
 night. So, my friends, I beg of you to be on the 
 alert, and remember that those who would win Texas 
 have still to fight for her. Now, squire, I must be 
 off ; so, au revoir, for a time. Rex, be sure that you 
 report to Houston early in the new year. Good-by, 
 men, till we meet again." 
 
LIEUTENANT HARDEN GAINS HIS COMMISSION 215 
 
 Thus saying, the dashing young officer clapped 
 spurs to his horse and rode away, while those who 
 watched him out of sight had little thought that, in 
 a few short weeks, he would have passed from among 
 them forever, leaving behind him a fame as undying 
 as history itself. 
 
 The breaking up of that company was quickly 
 followed by the assembling of another at the same 
 place, for the Christmas festivities of the Rancho 
 Herrera never lacked for guests. In spite of the 
 anxieties of that year, or perhaps on account of 
 them, the fun and frolic of the season had never 
 been so enjoyed or kept up with such spirit. Will 
 Travis was there, and James Bowie, the first coming 
 from his recruiting-station at San Felipe, and the 
 other from Goliad, where he was raising a force for 
 the invasion of Mexico. All the hard-riding Texas 
 youths from fifty miles about, with their sisters 
 and sweethearts, were gathered under the hospitable 
 roofs of the great ranch. With them came many 
 strangers from the States, who had volunteered to 
 aid in the struggle for freedom, and to whom the 
 occasion was a fascinating novelty. 
 
 The days were filled with shooting-matches, hunt 
 ing, horse-racing, and feasting ; the nights with 
 music and dancing. Nor did our young lieutenant 
 neglect this opportunity for enrolling a number of 
 his festive friends into a military company, and pre 
 paring them, with daily drills, for the emergency 
 
216 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 of war that all felt might arise with the coming 
 year. 
 
 After this happy season was ended the ranch had 
 hardly settled to its everyday routine, before it was 
 again thrown into a flutter of excitement. This 
 time the cause was a visit from the most famous of 
 Texans, General Sam Houston. As commander-in- 
 chief of the army, he was on his way to Goliad to 
 direct the movements of the forces gathering in the 
 southwest for an invasion of Mexico. This future 
 President of the Republic was at that time a man 
 in the prime of life, possessed of a well-informed 
 mind, a clear brain, great physical powers, and a 
 commanding presence. A single glance at his reso 
 lute, clean-shaven face showed him to be a natural 
 leader of men, and Rex Harden, who now met him 
 for the first time, at once yielded him the homage 
 of implicit confidence and honest admiration. He 
 in turn was so well pleased with the young lieu 
 tenant that he appointed him a member of his staff 
 and took him away to Goliad. 
 
 After that, for another month the peace of the 
 ranch was only disturbed by rumors and counter- 
 rumors brought by passing travellers. Then, about 
 the middle of February, the quiet household was 
 startled late one night by the sound of rapidly gal 
 loping hoofs. Evidently a horseman was approach 
 ing who rode with urgent speed. They had barely 
 time to exchange glances of anxious inquiry when 
 
LIEUTENANT HARDEN GAINS HIS COMMISSION 217 
 
 the door was flung open, and Rex, flushed and 
 trembling with hard riding, stood before them. 
 
 Ere they could utter the joyous welcome that 
 sprang to their lips, he announced his news. 
 " Santa Anna himself, with an army of six thousand 
 men, has crossed the Rio Grande, and is marching 
 toward San Antonio ! " 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 SANTA ANNA INVADES TEXAS 
 
 NEVER had Texas been so ill prepared to resist 
 an invasion, as when Santa Anna, most able, most 
 vindictive, and most merciless of Mexicans, led 
 an army across the frontier to make a terrible 
 example of the people who had dared declare 
 for liberty. The provisional governor of the state 
 was engaged in a bitter quarrel with the Council 
 of Safety each countermanded the other s orders 
 until none knew which to obey. Sam Houston, 
 the strongest man in Texas, had been recalled from 
 the southwest, temporarily relieved from command 
 of the army, and sent off to make a treaty with an 
 Indian tribe. 
 
 In the southwest a few hundred armed men at 
 Goliad, San Patricio, Victoria, and Refugio, under 
 leadership of Johnson, Fannin, Bowie, and Grant, 
 each of whom aspired to the supreme command, pro 
 posed invading Mexico. Only eighty men were left 
 at San Antonio, and these, stripped of horses, pro 
 visions, ammunition, clothing, blankets, and medical 
 stores by their comrades who had gone south, were 
 in a pitiful state of weakness and destitution. 
 
 218 
 
SANTA ANNA INVADES TEXAS 219 
 
 The post was so defenceless and ill prepared to 
 resist an attack that one of General Houston s latest 
 acts as commander-in-chief was to send James Bowie 
 and thirty men to that point, with orders to demolish 
 the fortifications, and transfer the artillery to a place 
 of safety. For want of teams with which to remove 
 the guns, this order could not be obeyed. So 
 Bowie remained in command of the city, impatiently 
 awaiting the aid that he urgently requested, and 
 doing everything in his power to inspire his scanty 
 garrison with confidence as well as to provide for 
 their more pressing needs. Finally even his splen 
 did constitution broke down beneath a crushing 
 weight of anxiety, disappointment, and overwork, 
 and he lay in the Veramendi house tossing with 
 fever. At this juncture Colonel Travis was re 
 lieved from his recruiting duties at San Felipe, and 
 despatched with a score of men to San Antonio to 
 take command in place of fever-stricken Bowie. 
 
 All this time there were no funds available for 
 the payment of troops, or the equipping of an army. 
 The people were paralyzed by the quarrels of their 
 chosen rulers. The men dared not leave their homes 
 unprotected, and so declined service in the field. 
 They also seemed to think that there would be 
 enough volunteers from the United States to fight 
 the battles of Texas, and win her freedom. This 
 was the hope of those who admitted the possibility 
 of an invasion from Mexico, and a necessity for 
 
220 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 further fighting. As many more declared that there 
 would be no war, and that Santa Anna would never 
 dare cross the Rio Grande. 
 
 Holding these conflicting opinions, the people still 
 awaited hopefully the meeting of a convention that 
 had been summoned to assemble at Washington on 
 the Brazos by the 1st of March. This convention 
 was to declare the independence of Texas, adopt a 
 constitution, and under it elect officers. When this 
 was done, all would be well, and Texas would set 
 forth on a career of unexampled prosperity. So the 
 majority of Texans believed, and they also looked to 
 this convention to provide by some means for the 
 safety of the state. 
 
 In the meantime the Mexican President, knowing 
 nothing of conventions and caring less, was straining 
 every nerve to assemble a powerful and well-equipped 
 army whose first act should be to regain possession 
 of San Antonio. At the Rio Grande he was joined 
 by General Cos, and his paroled troops. Santa Anna 
 at once ordered these to face about and inarch back 
 into Texas, which order, in spite of his pledged word, 
 Martin Cos obeyed without a protest. 
 
 A friendly scout riding night and day across the 
 desert lying east of the Rio Grande carried news of 
 the invasion to Goliad, and as he entered the little 
 town, reeling from exhaustion, his horse fell dead 
 beneath him. The same messenger brought word 
 that General Urrea, with one thousand men, was 
 
SANTA ANNA INVADES TEXAS 221 
 
 ordered to advance from Matamoras upon San 
 Patricio, Refugio, and Goliad. After the small 
 forces at these places were wiped out the Mexican 
 armies were to unite, and sweep across Texas like a 
 devastating flood. 
 
 This was the startling news that Rex Harden had 
 brought from Goliad, and which he was commis 
 sioned to carry with all speed to San Antonio. 
 Mounted on Tawny the tireless, he had covered 
 ninety miles in less than ten hours. Now with one 
 hour for rest and refreshment, he must again be off 
 so as to reach his destination by daylight. 
 
 "I don t believe that there is another horse in 
 Texas could have done it, father," said the lad, with 
 honest pride. 
 
 " I don t believe there is, son. But what are you 
 going to do after you reach San Antonio ? " 
 
 " Ride on whatever errand Travis may send me, 
 or stay and fight beside him if he so desires." 
 
 " But with his handful of men he hasn t a ghost 
 of a chance against Santa Anna/ 
 
 " Behind the walls of one of the missions he might 
 hold the Mexicans in check until the country could 
 be aroused and a force raised for his relief, since 
 Santa Anna would never dare come on leaving 
 Travis in his rear. Don t you think so, sir ? " 
 
 44 There is some sense in that. But who is going 
 to arouse the men of Texas, and collect this army 
 you speak of ? " 
 
222 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 " You are, sir, or at least I hope you will make the 
 attempt. Fannin and Johnson and all of them are 
 agreed that if it can be done, you are the one mem 
 ber of the council who can do it. So they beg of 
 you to make the effort. Part of my present errand 
 was to tell you this, and that is why I was allowed 
 to come by the longer road." 
 
 " I ll do what I can, son ; but I fear it won t be 
 much, for I don t believe the angel Gabriel could 
 rouse our people to action before the meeting of the 
 convention. I was going to leave for Washington 
 next week, anyway ; but now we ll start in the 
 morning. You and the girls can be ready by that 
 time, can t you, wife ? " 
 
 " I didn t know you intended us to accompany 
 you to Washington, Ellis ! " exclaimed Mrs. Harden, 
 who with Mabel and Nelita had been eager listeners 
 to this conference. 
 
 " I did not, my dear ; but I do. What use should 
 I be in Washington if I had the thought of you left 
 here in the face of danger to distract my mind ? " 
 
 " But, Ellis, I can t leave my home again. I did 
 not believe it was necessary before, and now I am 
 confident it is not. Santa Anna surely does not 
 war with women, and no Mexican would harm a 
 daughter of the Veramendi. So with Nelita here, 
 our home will certainly be safe ; while if we should 
 desert it, the first vagabond who came along might 
 destroy it. Besides, the Mexicans may never pass 
 
SANTA ANNA INVADES TEXAS 223 
 
 San Antonio ; and if they do, we shall have warning 
 in ample time to escape. Rex will be close at hand, 
 and so will Bowie, to say nothing of Will Travis and 
 his brave fellows. No, dear, you will do your part 
 much better without us, and we shall be safer here 
 without you ; for you would want to defend our 
 home with your strength, while we shall do it more 
 effectively with our very helplessness." 
 
 With these and similar arguments the resolute 
 woman finally carried her point, so that, by the time 
 Rex was ready to resume his journey to San An 
 tonio, Squire Harden was also on horseback and 
 ready to start in the opposite direction. 
 
 Even as they were bidding farewell to the dear 
 ones who were to remain behind, a sound of hoof- 
 beats from the direction of Gonzales announced a 
 new arrival, and all waited with anxious interest to 
 see who it might be. 
 
 In another moment a middle-aged stranger, who 
 by the light streaming from an open doorway was 
 seen to be clad wholly in buckskin, rode up and in 
 quired if this were the Rancho Herrera. 
 
 " It is, sir," replied the proprietor. 
 
 "Then mebbe I have the pleasure of speaking to 
 Colonel Harden ? " 
 
 " Squire Harden is the title more generally be 
 stowed upon me, though I have not the shadow of a 
 claim to it." 
 
 " Squire or colonel, it s much the same, for no man 
 
224 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 gits a handle to his name without arning it one way 
 or another. Now, I never riz to be rightly more 
 than a cap n under old Hickory, but the boys will 
 have it that I d ought to been made colonel, and 
 so Colonel Crockett is what I answers to from the 
 Arkansaw to the Potomac." 
 
 "Not Colonel David Crockett of Tennessee ? " 
 " The same, sir, at your sarvice, and as hot now 
 for a scrimmage as ever I was. That s why I m 
 down here in Texas ; for they say up in the States 
 that there s a right smart chance of old Santy Ann 
 coming this er way, though there s a plenty to bet 
 he won t dast do it." 
 
 " Colonel Crockett, I am proud to meet you, sir," 
 exclaimed Squire Harden, urging his horse to the 
 other s side and extending his hand. " I ve long 
 known you by reputation as an honest man and a 
 brave soldier. If you have come to aid Texas in her 
 time of need, she has every reason to be grateful 
 to you. Nor could your arrival have been more 
 timely ; for my son here has just brought word that 
 Santa Anna has already crossed the Rio Grande at 
 the head of an army with which he first intends to 
 retake San Antonio. At this moment my boy is 
 about to ride west to notify Travis of the Mexican 
 advance, while I am about to travel east by way of 
 Gonzales to rouse the country. Under the circum 
 stances I know you will excuse my apparent lack of 
 courtesy in leaving you ; but if you will accept the 
 
SANTA ANNA INVADES TEXAS 225 
 
 hospitality of the Rancho Herrera as extended by 
 my wife, you will be made more than welcome." 
 
 " Squire, you do me proud, and I thank you same 
 as if I d camped in your ranch for a month. But 
 if Santy Ann is really travelling towards San An 
 tonio, it s high time I was making a trail to the same 
 place so as to be on hand to say 4 howdy when he 
 gets thar. So if you ve no objection, squire, stead 
 of lighting as I had intended, I ll just ride on in 
 company with your boy, and not detain you another 
 minute from the duty you have undertaken. Even 
 ing, ladies ! So long, squire ! Come on, young man." 
 
 Thus saying, this quaint character, then at the 
 height of his fame as a stump orator, a backwoods 
 politician, a fearless fighter, and the deadliest rifle 
 shot in America, put spurs to his horse and rode 
 away into the darkness from which he had emerged 
 but a minute before. 
 
 With a quick " Good-by, mother ! Good-by, 
 father ! Good-by, girls ! " Rex leaped on Tawny s 
 back and followed him ; while, after listening a mo 
 ment to the hoof-beats of the two steeds, the brave 
 old squire also bade his dear ones farewell and 
 started to bear onward through the night the 
 momentous message brought by his son. 
 Q 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE OATH OF NO SURRENDER 
 
 IN spite of Tawny s long journey from Goliad, 
 one hour of rest and feeding had put him in such 
 condition that he speedily overtook the horse ridden 
 by David Crockett. 
 
 "You re sure, son, thar s no mistake about old 
 Santy Ann being headed this er way ? " asked the 
 latter, as Rex slackened Tawny s pace to ride beside 
 him. 
 
 " There is no doubt of it, sir ; and unless he 
 changes his plans, he will certainly appear before 
 San Antonio within three or four days." 
 
 " Then I m in luck at last," rejoined he of the 
 buckskin suit, " though I must say I was beginning 
 to think I should be disappointed after all. Back 
 in Arkansaw everybody was sartin thar was going 
 to be the biggest kind of a fight down here ; but, 
 the further south I come, the less I heard of it. 
 Lately, right here in Texas, I ve been told the war 
 was all over, and the greasers would never dare 
 show their faces this side the Rio Grande again. 
 So I began to think perhaps I was barking up the 
 
THE OATH OF NO SURRENDER 227 
 
 wrong tree after all. I ll confess I was mighty low 
 spirited when I pulled up at your paw s place awhile 
 ago ; but now I m all right again in my mind." 
 
 "Are you, then, so very fond of fighting, sir?" 
 
 " Son, I m the peaceablest man you ever see, cept- 
 ing when it comes to a question of right or wrong : 
 then I m a fighter for the right every time. I 
 always say to the boys, 4 Be sure you re right, then 
 go ahead and never mind the consequences. That s 
 been my motter ever since I can remember, and I 
 expect it ll be the death of me some day." 
 
 " How so, sir ? " 
 
 " Because, boy, thar s so many wrongs to be fought 
 agin and whipped into rights, that I can t expect 
 to live long enough to see em all settled. So I ll 
 probably die fighting for some one or the other of 
 them. I hope it ll turn out that er way, too, for I 
 couldn t a bear to die peaceful long as thar was 
 necessary fighting to be done." 
 
 "That sounds very much like Don Quixote," 
 laughed Rex. 
 
 " Don t think I m acquainted with the gentleman. 
 I reckon, though, he must be some sort of a greaser, 
 from the name." 
 
 " He was a Spaniard," admitted Rex, " who went 
 about in search of wrongs that he might set right." 
 
 " That don t sound like a greaser," reflected 
 Crockett ; " for I never heard of one of the breed 
 going into a fight cept twas on the wrong side." 
 
228 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 " But there have been good Spaniards," argued 
 Rex, 
 
 " Mebbe thar has been some with good intentions, 
 son, but always mistook in their ideas of right and 
 wrong, leastways I never met up with any other 
 kind, nor do I think I m likely to on this particular 
 hunt." 
 
 In listening to the quaint conceptions of this 
 strange man, Rex found time pass so quickly that 
 the distance to San Antonio had never seemed so 
 short. By sunrise the little city lay before them 
 seemingly as peaceful as though no sound nor threat 
 of war had ever disturbed its serenity. 
 
 The sun shone brightly, the air was deliciously 
 mild, the timber of the river bottom was clothed 
 in the green gauze of earliest spring, and the whole 
 scene was one of such quiet beauty, that the tall 
 hunter from Arkansas declared it to be one of the 
 likeliest places to fight for that he had ever run 
 across. 
 
 Both travellers received the warmest possible wel 
 come from Travis, Rex on account of the strong 
 friendship existing between them, and Colonel 
 Crockett because of his wide-spread reputation. 
 At the news brought by the former, the young 
 commander s face grew very grave, and he said at 
 once : 
 
 "If Santa Anna comes now, there is no possible 
 chance of holding the town against him, since we 
 
THE OATH OF NO SURRENDER 229 
 
 have neither men, powder, nor provisions. Colonel, 
 you have just crossed the entire state ; what hope is 
 there for ree nf orcements ? " 
 
 " A mighty slim chance, colonel, I m afeared, till 
 after convention meets. You see the whole country 
 is plumb crazy over politics just now, and they 
 won t think of a thing else till after the first of 
 March. Then, if the convention does the right 
 thing, and puts Sam Houston back as commander- 
 in -chief, thar ll be some show, for that man will 
 bring help if he has to come alone. Then thar ll 
 be fun too ; for when him and old Santy Ann gets 
 into a scrimmage, one of em is going to be almightily 
 licked, and that one ain t going to be Sam Houston, 
 nuther." 
 
 "Then you think that if we can hold out until 
 the first of March, aid will be sent us ? " 
 
 " I do, colonel ; and moreover, if you can check 
 Santy Ann s advance till then, you will not only 
 give Texas time to wake up, but you will give hun 
 dreds of defenceless families a chance to escape to 
 places of safety." 
 
 " Then, gentlemen, I pledge you my word that, so 
 long as I live and an enemy remains in sight, I will 
 never surrender this place nor leave it." 
 
 As he uttered these words, the face of the young 
 commander took on an expression of fixed resolve 
 and high purpose, that was never forgotten by those 
 who saw it. 
 
230 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 " Colonel !" exclaimed Crockett, "you ve spoke 
 like a man, and expressed sentiments that is like 
 wise mine. Such being the case, I ll back you up 
 till death in maintaining of em, and thar s my hand 
 on it." 
 
 In the firm hand-clasp that followed, a friendship 
 was cemented between those widely differing speci 
 mens of western civilization, that was not dissolved 
 during the remainder of their lives. 
 
 "Now let s go in and tell the news to Bow.ie," 
 said Travis. Then, for the first time Rex realized 
 that their slow walk had led them to the Veramendi 
 house ; and that the compact he had just witnessed 
 had been made on the very spot where brave Ben 
 Milam gave up his life in the cause of freedom. 
 
 They found Bowie still in bed and nursed by a 
 Mexican woman who was indebted to him for past 
 kindnesses. Although slowly regaining strength, he 
 was filled with the impatient irritableness of a con 
 valescent, and bewailed his helpless condition. At 
 sight of his friends he visibly brightened, and he 
 expressed a sincere pleasure at again meeting with 
 David Crockett. But the best tonic that could have 
 been given him was the great news brought by Rex. 
 
 " Santa Anna across the Rio Grande ! " he cried. 
 "Then, boys, I mustn t lie here an hour longer." 
 With this he sat up in bed and continued excitedly, 
 "Travis, you won t let him luive San Antonio with 
 out fighting for it, will you? " 
 
THE OATH OF NO SURRENDER 231 
 
 "No, James, I will not," answered the other. 
 "Nor then, if I can help it; for I have just pledged 
 my word never to surrender nor retreat, and friend 
 Crockett here has promised to stay with me to the 
 end." 
 
 "You must let me in on that, boys," exclaimed 
 Bowie, his pale cheeks flushed with excitement, " for 
 I couldn t retreat if I would, and I wouldn t if I 
 could ; while as for surrender, the word is not 
 allowed in the Bowie family. So give me your 
 hands, you two, and let me swear the same oath you 
 have taken." 
 
 Thus those three brave hearts stood pledged to die 
 together, rather than surrender or betray the trust 
 reposed in them, and each instinctively felt that the 
 spirit of Ben Milam was witness to their compact. 
 
 " But, Will ! Bowie ! Colonel Crockett ! Am I to 
 be left out ? " cried Rex Harden, in grieved tones. 
 "Do you doubt that I too am ready to die for 
 Texas ? " 
 
 "Not for an instant, my dear fellow," rejoined 
 Travis, earnestly. " You have already faced death 
 for the cause oftener than any one of us, and so 
 proved your devotion beyond words. We know 
 that you are with us soul and body; but I can t 
 allow you to take oath never to leave this place so 
 long as an enemy remains in sight, for that is the 
 very thing I am most likely to want you to do. 
 None but you can ride Tawny, no horse in Texas 
 
232 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 can cover ground as he can, and consequently there 
 is no one else prepared to render such splendid 
 service as a courier. In that capacity I shall rely 
 upon you, and I hope not only to have you leave 
 San Antonio, but return to it again, more than once, 
 before the result of the impending struggle is de 
 cided. So, old man, though we count you as one of 
 us, you must not assume a pledge that might inter 
 fere with your greatest usefulness." 
 
 The others agreeing that Travis was right, Rex 
 was forced to submit to their decision, and so was 
 kept from taking an oath that would have ultimately 
 cost him his life. 
 
 Bowie having been persuaded to remain quiet and 
 save his feeble strength until the Mexican army 
 should actually appear, and Rex having earned a 
 long sleep, Travis and Crockett started off to see 
 what could be done towards strengthening the forti 
 fications. Although, after their inspection, both 
 agreed that much ought to be done in the way of 
 preparation, and could be done with adequate means, 
 Travis quickly convinced his companion that nothing 
 would be done. He did this by calling a sergeant 
 and ordering him to turn out his squad for work in 
 the trenches, telling him at the same time of the 
 Mexican approach. 
 
 " Of course I ll order the men out, colonel, if 
 you say so," replied the sergeant ; " but not one 
 of my squad, nor yet of the whole detachment, 
 
THE OATH OF NO SURRENDER 233 
 
 will lift a hand to work on the fortifications, or do 
 anything else except fight. That s the only thing 
 they ll do without pay ; and I don t believe they ll 
 stay here and starve much longer on the chance 
 of that, if it doesn t come mighty quick. There s 
 not a night that I don t expect to see the whole 
 command desert, and I m not sure but what I ll 
 go with them. So, colonel, if you want to have 
 a fighting man left in the town to-morrow morning, 
 I would advise you not to insist upon that order." 
 
 "Very well, sergeant," said Travis, smiling 
 grimly, " I withdraw it ; but for the sake of Texas, 
 use your influence to induce the men to stick it 
 out a few days longer." 
 
 " You see how matters stand," he added bitterly, 
 turning to Crockett. " I have only one hundred 
 and fifty men, all told, for the defence of this, the 
 most important post on our frontier. Many of 
 them are sick, and they have not received one cent 
 of pay since enlisting. They have not drawn a 
 single full ration of anything, are poorly supplied 
 with ammunition, and are actually suffering for 
 want of clothing, blankets, and medicines. I know 
 they will fight like devils when the time comes for 
 fighting ; but I know also that what the sergeant 
 has just told us is true, and that to compel them 
 to work would be to give the signal for a general 
 dispersion to their homes." 
 
 "Colonel," replied the rugged backwoodsman, 
 
234 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 "I appreciate the situation, and sympathize with 
 you. At the same time, it is comforting to remem 
 ber that desperate men make desperate fighters. 
 Out of just such hopeless situations as this have 
 come the most glorious results. Valley Forge was 
 one of them." 
 
 Four days after this, Rex and his stanch friend, 
 Colonel Crockett, who had been on a short scouting 
 expedition on the Leredo road, dashed breathlessly 
 into town shortly before noon, with the thrilling 
 announcement that they had seen and been fired 
 at by the advanced guard of the Mexican army. 
 
 This news was received by the Americans in 
 grim silence, and by the Mexican population with 
 ill-concealed exultation. An hour later, a group 
 of plumed and glittering horsemen appeared on 
 the crest of a low ridge a mile west of the town. 
 There they halted for a survey of the scene before 
 them. Santa Anna had indeed arrived, and the 
 struggle for Texas was to be renewed with greater 
 fury than ever. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 AN EXPRESS FKOM THE ALAMO 
 
 No reinforcements had reached San Antonio ; 
 and, as it was evidently impossible to hold the 
 town against the army gathered before it, Travis 
 gave orders to retire to the Alamo, the semi- 
 ruinous old mission across the river. There he had 
 succeeded in partially repairing the walls, and in 
 mounting on them fourteen of the Mexican guns 
 left by General Cos. 
 
 Obeying this order, the little band of Americans 
 filed across the only bridge spanning the San 
 Antonio, up the gentle slope beyond, and disap 
 peared within the Alamo as the enemy s advance 
 entered the opposite side of the town. Some of 
 the Texan sick were borne on litters; but James 
 Bowie insisted on rising from his bed, dressing, 
 and riding on horseback at the head of his own 
 company. 
 
 The retreating force had so little in the way of 
 provisions to carry with them, that they were forced 
 to raid every house within reach, and take what 
 they could find. In this way they secured a small 
 quantity of corn and a herd of thirty beef cattle. 
 
 235 
 
236 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 This was all ; and when it should be exhausted, the 
 end must speedily come. 
 
 In striking contrast to this pathetic outgoing of 
 the Texans was the gorgeous incoming of Santa 
 Anna and his troops. Most of these were the 
 flower of the Mexican army ; and as regiment after 
 regiment of dashing lancers, heavy dragoons, and 
 sturdy infantry swept into the plaza, while bat 
 teries of artillery rumbled through the narrow 
 streets, the awe-stricken spectators held up their 
 hands at the audacity of the Texans in daring to 
 await the onslaught of such a force. 
 
 "To defy El Presidente is to war with Heaven 
 itself. It is the same thing ! " they exclaimed, 
 piously crossing themselves. Then they turned 
 away to prepare for the fiestas, such as cock-fights, 
 horse-racing, eating, drinking, and dancing, that 
 would surely follow the coming of the Mexican 
 army. 
 
 Besides men and guns, the invaders brought with 
 them hundreds of mule loads of baggage and pro 
 visions ; while their camp followers, fully one-half 
 of whom were women, formed an army by them 
 selves. Thus in one short hour San Antonio de 
 Bexar was transformed from a stagnant frontier 
 town, garrisoned by a handful of ragged, hungry 
 men, into a bustling metropolis, thronged with 
 people, and full of glittering activity. No wonder 
 its Mexican population hailed the change with rapt- 
 
AN EXPRESS FROM THE ALAMO 237 
 
 ure, and anticipated with pleasure seeing the white- 
 faced gringos driven away forever. 
 
 Only three of the dark-skinned race had accom 
 panied the Americans into the Alamo, and two of 
 these were women in attendance upon the sick. The 
 third, a man, was no other than Manuel Peralta, the 
 zapatero, now so recovered of his lameness as to dis 
 pense altogether with crutches. Believing that the 
 Texans who had driven Cos from San Antonio were 
 strong enough to hold the place forever as an Ameri 
 can town, this man had trimmed his sails according 
 to what appeared to him the most favorable breeze. 
 
 He had loudly welcomed the victors to his pul- 
 queria and professed himself an ardent Texan patriot 
 to whom no name was so hateful as that of Santa 
 Anna. He scorned to associate with those of his 
 own race and treated them with such contempt as to 
 win their bitter enmity. Thus he succeeded in mak 
 ing his saloon a favorite resort for bibulous Texans, 
 and in acquiring a very tidy sum of money. 
 
 Great was Manuel Peralta s consternation when 
 another Mexican army appeared before San Antonio. 
 To save himself from his jubilant neighbors, who 
 threatened to have not only his money but his life, 
 he fled with his American friends to the Alamo, leav 
 ing only the brave little Rillo, who was so generally 
 liked that none would harm him, in charge of the 
 pulqueria. In the Alamo, Peralta especially attached 
 himself to Rex, as representing the master whom he 
 
238 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 had formerly served ; and our lad, never doubting the 
 man s sincerity, good-naturedly tolerated his presence. 
 
 Entering San Antonio at noon of February 23d, 
 1836, Santa Anna at once sent an officer to demand 
 the unconditional surrender of the Alamo ; but to 
 him Travis only made answer with a cannon-shot 
 of defiance. 
 
 Furious with rage and burning to avenge this in 
 sult, the Mexican commander ordered a blood-red 
 flag to be displayed above the Cathedral as a sign 
 that in the coming struggle no quarter would be 
 allowed and no mercy shown to rebels. At the 
 same time such batteries as could be brought to 
 bear on the Alamo opened fire. As these guns were 
 only light field-pieces, they did no particular damage,, 
 and the defenders of the old mission were content to 
 reply to them with occasional shots at favorable 
 opportunities. 
 
 That night a small party of Texans, led by Lieu 
 tenant Harden, sallied out and succeeded in setting 
 fire to a number of straw and wooden huts that had 
 afforded concealment to the Mexican sharp-shooters. 
 As the blaze lighted the heavens, the Mexican camp 
 buzzed like a beehive and a storm of bullets swept 
 across the illuminated space. Battery after battery 
 joined in the harmless uproar, which was continued 
 until the last flame of the brief conflagration had 
 expired and long after the incendiaries had gained 
 the shelter of their walls. 
 
AN EXPRESS FROM THE ALAMO 239 
 
 On the following day the bombardment was kept 
 up from daylight to dark, but always from such a safe 
 distance that Crockett was led to declare he didn t 
 believe the greasers meant to fight, or dared to fight, 
 or had any fight in em. 
 
 On the morning of the 25th, however, Santa Anna 
 himself crossed the river at the head of a strong 
 battalion, for the purpose of planting a battery within 
 three hundred yards of the main gateway of the 
 Alamo. They approached under cover of a heavy 
 fire, which Travis forbade his men to answer until 
 the Mexicans had advanced as far as they would. 
 Then the guns of the Alamo, double-shotted with 
 grape, and the long-barrelled Texas rifles rang out 
 together, with such terrible effect that the battalion 
 of Matamoras, torn to ribbons, broke, and fled panic- 
 stricken to the bridge. The battalion of Ximines 
 was hurried to their support, and a second advance 
 was ordered ; but again the Mexicans were swept 
 back by the deadly fire of rifles. 
 
 Santa Anna, black with passion and raging like a 
 madman, called out battalion after battalion of fresh 
 troops, but with no avail. The unerring precision of 
 the Texan fire, for which every rifle was carefully 
 aimed, and in which every bullet found its mark, was 
 so demoralizing that finally the Mexican troops could 
 no longer be forced within its range. So the attempt 
 to plant a battery on the desired spot was abandoned, 
 and one was established at the garita instead. At 
 
240 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 the same time Mexican cavalry patrols were so 
 posted, that Santa Anna believed he had effectually 
 cut off all communication between the Alamo and 
 the outside world. 
 
 In spite of these precautions, the Texans made 
 successful forays night after night, for fuel and for 
 age. In this way they also ascertained that a way of 
 retreat from their perilous position was still open to 
 them, should they care to avail themselves of it. 
 But they did not, for all were now animated by the 
 spirit of their fiery young leader, and shared his 
 determination never to retreat. Besides, they could 
 not leave their sick and wounded behind. And so 
 the question was never even considered. Among 
 those whose helplessness called forth this noble self- 
 sacrifice was Bowie, whose recent exertions had 
 brought on a relapse of his fever. 
 
 The defenders of the Alamo were sustained in 
 their devotion to duty by an ever-present hope of 
 relief. Surely their countrymen would rush to their 
 aid by thousands, the moment their situation became 
 known, and Travis had taken measures to have it 
 known, by sending out two messengers on the second 
 night of the siege. One of them, a fearless rider 
 named Bonham, had gone with an urgent letter to 
 Fannin at Goliad. The other was Rex Harden, who 
 was despatched to the eastward, with orders to lay 
 the situation before the delegates at Washington. 
 Under cover of darkness he had slipped out from 
 
AN EXPRESS FROM THE ALAMO 241 
 
 the Alamo mounted on Tawny, and, after several 
 narrow escapes from the Mexican patrols, had finally 
 found himself pushing, at a swinging gallop, along 
 the familiar Gonzales road. 
 
 At the Rancho Herrera he only halted to make 
 sure of the safety of its dear inmates, and tell them 
 of his errand. Daylight found him relating his 
 thrilling story at Gonzales, and two days later he 
 reached Washington on the Brazos. To his intense 
 disappointment, his father was not there, being 
 absent on a strenuous effort to rouse the country to 
 immediate action. So Rex reported to General 
 Houston. 
 
 " God knows, boy, that I would set forth with you 
 this very minute ! " exclaimed that whole-souled 
 patriot, in a voice broken with emotion, " did I 
 not believe I could do more good by remaining here 
 two days longer. Now I am but a private citizen, 
 possessed of but little influence. In two days the 
 convention will meet, and I may be in command of 
 an army. So ride back, and tell that band of heroes 
 to hold out for a few days more. Then I will either 
 come alone to die with them, or will bring the relief 
 for which they pray." 
 
 Everywhere Rex received the same answer to his 
 pleadings and demands. " You must wait until the 
 convention meets. Until then we are powerless to 
 help you." Finally, discouraged and heart-sick, he 
 turned his face westward, and began to retrace the 
 
242 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 weary way he had come. At Gonzales he found a 
 ray of hope in shape of thirty-two resolute men, 
 ready to march to San Antonio under his guidance. 
 
 Again was Rex granted only a few hurried min 
 utes at his home. He found its inmates terrified by 
 the constant and unmistakable rumblings that came 
 to them from the direction of San Antonio, but 
 otherwise they had gained no direct intelligence 
 since he passed. Every Mexican on the ranch, sav 
 ing only Sebastian Tejada and his wife, had disap 
 peared. What was taking place ? What should 
 they do? Why could Rex not stay with them? 
 Surely one more or less could not make any differ 
 ence in the ultimate result, at San Antonio. 
 
 So they wrenched his heart with their appeals, but 
 could not turn him from his clearly defined duty. 
 
 " I must go, mother, for I have promised. Besides, 
 I am carrying help and hope to the very bravest 
 fellows in all the world. I should be worse than a 
 traitor if I disappointed them, or caused them to 
 lose heart for a single minute. So you must let me 
 go, and I will come again if danger threatens you. 
 No horse ever ridden by a Mexican could catch 
 Tawny, you know, and I shall keep him always 
 ready. Listen for the sound of cannon. So long as 
 you hear it, the Alamo is holding out, and you are 
 safe. If at any time it ceases for more than half a 
 day, then fly to Gonzales. There at least you will 
 find stout protectors." 
 
AN EXPRESS FROM THE ALAMO 243 
 
 " But Rex dear " 
 
 " But mother dear, I must not stop another 
 moment. By daylight I must be with the brave 
 fellows who are waiting for me in the Alamo. So 
 good-by, dear, dear mother." 
 
 " Good-by, my darling boy, and may God hold 
 you in His omnipotent keeping. Good-by." 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 A HANDFUL WITHSTANDS THOUSANDS 
 
 ON through the night rode the brave men of Gon- 
 zales, exchanging few words as they went, but with 
 every sense keenly alert. At sunset they had heard 
 the far-away roar of artillery and knew that their 
 beleaguered countrymen still held out. 
 
 It was decided that, after riding as near to San 
 Antonio as they dared, they should dismount and 
 make their way into the Alamo on foot. Their 
 horses would be sent back in charge of two men who 
 had come for that purpose. So, as they came within 
 sight of the Mexican camp-fires, a halt was called, 
 and the horses were turned over to the herders, who 
 were ordered to remain where they were until day 
 light, and then make their way with all speed back 
 to Gonzales. 
 
 Only one horse was retained, and that was Tawny. 
 Believing that he might still be wanted for urgent 
 service, Rex had determined once again to conceal 
 him in Manuel Peralta s stable, where he could be 
 cared for by Rillo. 
 
 As the dismounted volunteers began their cautious 
 244 
 
A HANDFUL WITHSTANDS THOUSANDS 245 
 
 advance, with Rex, leading Tawny, at their head, our 
 lad was perplexed at the number of lights, denoting 
 either camps or batteries, that twinkled on all sides. 
 Certainly they had not been nearly so numerous five 
 days before. Could the Mexican lines have been 
 extended entirely around the Alamo? 
 
 The dark mass of the garita was close at hand, 
 and Rex was whispering to Captain Smith, leader 
 of the Gonzales troop, that as it was unoccupied, it 
 might be passed with safety, when suddenly a tiny 
 flame flared from it and disappeared. A Mexican 
 artilleryman had struck one of the recently invented 
 lucifer matches then just coming into general use, to 
 light his cigarette. 
 
 The warning was sufficient, and a wide berth was 
 given the danger thus carelessly disclosed. The 
 edge of the timber was reached in safety, and there 
 Rex begged the others to remain for a few minutes 
 while he led Tawny to Manuel Peralta s stable. 
 
 He succeeded in arousing little Rillo and getting 
 him out of the house without disturbing any of the 
 neighbors. The child was overjoyed to see his dear 
 friend Rex once more, and readily consented to take 
 charge of Tawny, who, he said, could now have the 
 whole stable since the donkey had disappeared. 
 
 " I think the wicked soldiers stole him," he com 
 plained, " as they did El Bravo, my beautiful chicken, 
 which the senor must remember. Oh! but he was 
 
246 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 " Yes, I remember him well," interrupted Rex, 
 "but why have the soldiers stolen him?" 
 
 " Because of their hatred of my father, who is 
 even now in the Alamo. Many times did they 
 come here to kill him, and when they found him 
 not, they carried away whatever they liked. Now 
 that there is nothing left, they come no more, so 
 will El Diablo be very safe in the stable of the 
 donkey." 
 
 By plying the wise little chap with further ques 
 tions, Rex learned that many fresh soldiers had 
 reached the Mexican camp since he left the Alamo, 
 and that every day they had brought new cannon. 
 " So," concluded Rillo, " it is time for my father to 
 leave that place also if he does not wish to be killed, 
 for it is said by the soldiers that after two days no 
 man in it will live." 
 
 " Perhaps it is so, little Rillo, and I will tell your 
 father what you say. At the same time, as you 
 value his life, do not so much as whisper to any one 
 in the whole world that Tawny is hidden in the 
 stable of the donkey." 
 
 No, Rillo would never let the great secret be even 
 suspected. So the young lieutenant returned on 
 foot to his waiting comrades, and led them by de 
 vious ways to where, in the gathering daylight, they 
 could plainly see the gray walls that still sheltered 
 Travis and his men. 
 
 At that moment a sentinel challenged, his musket 
 
A HANDFUL WITHSTANDS THOUSANDS 247 
 
 blazed in their faces, and a score of dark forms, hith 
 erto unseen, rose up directly in front of them. 
 
 " Charge them, men ! And run for it I " shouted 
 Captain Smith. " It is our only chance ! " 
 
 With an answering yell and a volley, the men 
 from Gonzales charged the Mexican picket and swept 
 it from their path. Then they ran for the shelter 
 of the friendly walls. Behind them thundered a 
 strong cavalry patrol, that in passing had been sum 
 moned by the shot of the outpost sentry. 
 
 In a moment they would overtake the flying foot 
 men, and already the cruel sabres were uplifted for 
 the slaughter. But all at once the despairing cries 
 of the Texans were answered by a ringing cheer 
 close at hand. A line of men, who had been lying 
 prone on the ground, beside a tiny canal of clear 
 water, sprang to their feet as the fugitives reached 
 it. Ere the startled horsemen could draw rein they 
 were met by a sheet of flame so deadly that they 
 fled in dismay, taking with them half a dozen empty 
 saddles. 
 
 The opportune presence of this force from the 
 Alamo at that place was readily explained. Only 
 the day before the enemy had diverted from its 
 course the direct stream of water by which the old 
 mission was supplied. So the defenders had been 
 compelled to sally forth under cover of darkness to 
 the nearest available ditch, and carry what they could 
 of the precious fluid to receptacles prepared for it 
 
248 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 within the walls. The last party to be thus engaged 
 were filling their canteens just at dawn when startled 
 by the rush, in desperate flight, of the men from 
 Gonzales. 
 
 Now the united bands poured joyfully into the 
 Alamo, heedless of the roaring batteries that had 
 been awakened on every side. Cheer after cheer 
 greeted the new-comers as they passed within the 
 barricaded gateway. Travis and Crockett shook 
 hands with each one of them, and blessed them for 
 their coming. Bowie, from his pallet, called that 
 they should gladden his eyes with the sight of 
 Texans who had risked their own lives to save those 
 of their fellows who were in peril. 
 
 Nor was Rex Harden forgotten. Indeed, he was 
 the hero of the hour ; for without his guidance this 
 timely aid could never have reached the besieged 
 fortress. Moreover, he had talked with Houston, 
 and brought from him a promise of speedy relief. 
 
 The day was the first of March. At that very 
 hour the convention that was to decide the destinies 
 of Texas was assembled. Perhaps Houston was 
 already reinstalled as commander-in-chief, and armed 
 with the authority for which they prayed. If they 
 could hold out for a few days longer, he would be 
 with them, and all would be well. Of course they 
 would hold out. Hunger, thirst, weariness, and suf 
 fering all were forgotten, and with stout hearts these 
 heroes of the Alamo sprang to their defences, where, 
 
WITH STOUT HEARTS THESE HEROES OF THE ALAMO SPRANG 
 
 TTJITID 
 
A HANDFUL WITHSTANDS THOUSANDS 249 
 
 with rifle and cannon, they hurled back the challenge 
 of Santa Anna s guns. 
 
 Late in the day a fierce norther smote the city 
 with chill breath, and, as though borne on its mighty 
 wings, the men of the Alamo rushed forth with im 
 petuous fury, swept every Mexican from the nearest 
 battery, seized its ammunition, and spiked its still 
 smoking guns. 
 
 That night as they shivered over their feeble fires, 
 drawing their tattered garments closer and more 
 closely about them, they discussed hopefully the 
 prospects of speedy relief, and imagined that they 
 heard in the wild blasts of the norther the exulting 
 shouts of armed hosts hurrying to succor them. 
 
 About midnight the leader of the Gonzales men 
 left them, once more to seek perilous passage through 
 the Mexican lines, and make his way to the Guadalupe, 
 whence he promised speedily to come again with 
 other volunteers. He also promised Rex Harden 
 that if the inmates of the Rancho Herrera had not 
 already left when he reached there, he would persuade 
 them to go with him to Gonzales. 
 
 Rex had sought Manuel Peralta soon after his 
 return to the Alamo to tell him of his recent inter 
 view with Rillo. He also told of Tawny hidden, 
 ready for instant service, in the little stable behind 
 the pulqueria. 
 
 Peralta had for some time been convinced that the 
 Alamo must eventually fall into the hands of his 
 
250 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 countrymen, and he trembled to think of his own 
 fate when that should happen. If he had only been 
 wise enough to cast his fortunes on the stronger, 
 instead of what had turned out to be the weaker 
 side ! If he could only devise some scheme, even 
 now, by which to gain favor with Santa Anna I As 
 he listened to Rex, a plan flashed into his mind, 
 a cruelly treacherous plan, to be sure, but what did 
 that matter ? To further it, he asked shrewdly : 
 
 " But does the senor expect again to use the horse 
 thus concealed ? " 
 
 " It is more than likely that I shall," replied the 
 unsuspecting lad. " If an express is wanted to ride 
 in any direction, I shall not hesitate to offer my 
 
 services." 
 
 " And if it so happens that the sefior should leave 
 this place of terrors, will he notify his servant, that I 
 may prepare a message for my child?" whined the 
 zapatero. 
 
 " Certainly I will, my good Manuel, and moreover, 
 when we have driven these troublesome countrymen 
 of yours out of Texas, I will undertake to see that 
 you have a comfortable berth at the ranch. You 
 will find that we Texans are not ungrateful to those 
 who like yourself have lent us aid in time of need." 
 
 Here Rex was called away, and as he departed the 
 Mexican looked after him with an expression of 
 crafty triumph. 
 
 Another day of incessant cannonading and un- 
 
A HANDFUL WITHSTANDS THOUSANDS 261 
 
 relieved anxiety dragged wearily by. The feeble 
 garrison. was very hungry and very cold, but still 
 presented a dauntless front to the enemy. On the 
 third of March came two events of disheartening 
 nature. One was the successful planting of a new 
 battery within musket shot of the Alamo on the north, 
 and the other was the return of Bonham from 
 Goliad with the bitter news that Fannin had indeed 
 started to their relief with three hundred men and 
 two pieces of artillery, but had been compelled by a 
 lack of teams and provisions to turn back. 
 
 On Friday, the 3d, the Mexican lines were drawn 
 a little closer in spite of desperate sallies by the 
 garrison to beat them back, and a feeling of despair 
 began to settle darkly over the brave band who were 
 holding an army in check. 
 
 The 5th, which was the tenth day of their heroic 
 defence, brought neither relief nor tidings from the 
 outer world ; and when in the afternoon the enemy 
 abruptly ceased their cannonading, Colonel Travis 
 took advantage of the respite to summon his entire 
 garrison to a council of war. 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 WHO WILL CROSS THIS LINE ? 
 
 THE council of war was ordered to assemble in 
 the church of the Alamo, where the sick and 
 wounded were quartered, that they, too, might 
 participate in it. Here, then, gathered the battle- 
 worn defenders, to hear what their chief might say. 
 Some of them were veterans with grizzled locks, 
 others were boys ; but the majority were sober men 
 in the prime of life, who fully realized the gravity 
 of their position, and their slight chance of suc 
 cess in the terrible task they had undertaken. 
 
 When the little company was drawn up in single 
 file, Colonel Travis, young, handsome, and strong, 
 but pale and worn with weariness and anxious re 
 sponsibility, took position opposite the centre, and 
 addressed them as follows: 
 
 "My dear comrades, I have taken advantage of 
 the temporary lull in conflict to gather you for what 
 may be our last meeting on earth. I want not only 
 to thank you for your noble support in our struggle 
 with overwhelming numbers, but to advise you of 
 my conviction that the end is close at hand. Both 
 
 252 
 
WHO WILL CROSS THIS LINE? 253 
 
 our ammunition and provisions are nearly exhausted. 
 Even should no assault be made upon our position, 
 we could hold it but a few days longer, while our 
 feebleness could not repel a general attack more 
 than a few minutes. 
 
 " Except for the noble band from Gonzales, who 
 are now with us, the relief promised by our friends 
 has not arrived. Five days ago the convention met, 
 and if they had realized our extremity, we should 
 have heard from them ere this. Fannin may be on 
 his way to us, or he may not. I shall send out 
 another courier this very night to meet him if he is 
 on the road, and hasten his movements. 
 
 " But to come to my main object in calling you 
 together. It is to tell you that, while we have 
 every reason to regard our position as desperate, 
 there yet remains a chance of escape for those 
 strong enough and brave enough to attempt it. 
 Harden and Bonham have successfully passed the 
 Mexican lines, and will probably do so again. What 
 they have done others may do. Only the sick and 
 wounded must remain; and I, for one, shall remain 
 with them to the bitter end. Now I want each of 
 you to choose freely which course he will take. 
 Will you stay, or will you make the attempt to 
 escape ? My own choice is to stay, and die for my 
 country, fighting so long as breath shall remain 
 in my body. This will I do, even if you leave me 
 alone. Do, then, as you think best, but remember 
 
264 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 that no man can die with me without affording me 
 comfort in the hour of death." 
 
 Here Colonel Travis drew a line with the point of 
 his sword on the earthen floor of the old church in 
 front of his men, and stepping back, said: 
 
 " Now must you make your decision. Let every 
 man who is in favor of retreat or surrender keep his 
 place ; but let every one who is willing to remain, 
 and face an almost certain death with me, cross to 
 this side of that line. Who will be the first ? For 
 ward ! March!" 
 
 The last word had not left the young commander s 
 lips before Rex Harden leaped across the line and 
 stood by his side. David Crockett was almost as 
 quick to do so ; and then, with a ringing cheer, 
 that bade defiance to death, every man, save one, 
 in that extended file, sprang over the fatal line. 
 Every one of the sick and wounded, able to walk, 
 rose from his pallet and tottered to the side of his 
 comrades. 
 
 James Bowie, too feeble to move, but loyal to the 
 traditions of his race, even in the face of death, said: 
 " Boys, I am not able to come to you ; but I should 
 be very grateful if some of you would help me over 
 that glorious line." 
 
 Instantly four men ran to him, and lifting his bed 
 in triumph, bore it to the desired spot. 
 
 The young wife of Lieutenant Dickinson, who was 
 the only white woman in the Alamo, stepped proudly 
 
WHO WILL CROSS THIS LINE? 255 
 
 over the symbolic line with her babe in her arms, 
 and the men cheered her to the echo. 
 
 As the young commander witnessed these proofs 
 of devotion to the cause of Texas and to himself, his 
 eyes filled with tears, and for some moments he could 
 not find voice to express his feelings. When the 
 words came, and he had thanked them in faltering 
 tones, he turned to the one man who still remained 
 with downcast eyes, on the further side of the line, 
 and said kindly: 
 
 "Peralta, as a Mexican, you could hardly be 
 expected to feel with the rest of us on this question, 
 and I cannot blame your choice. You are free to 
 leave when and how you will. I am going to send 
 Lieutenant Harden out to-night with another appeal 
 for help, and perhaps you two can aid each other in 
 passing the enemy s pickets. 
 
 " Me, colonel ! Are you going to send me out ? " 
 cried Rex, in genuine distress. "Am I not to be 
 allowed to remain here and share your glorious fate, 
 whether it be victory or death ? " 
 
 "My dear fellow," replied Travis, with a smile, 
 " while we are inexpressibly grateful to those who 
 are willing to die with us, we shall be infinitely 
 more so to him who is willing to risk his life on the 
 chance of saving ours. My chief, in fact my only, 
 hope lies now with Fannin, whom I cannot believe 
 has willingly deserted us. He is probably trying to 
 drag his cannon through the infernal mud of prairies 
 
256 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 and river bottoms. He may even be near at hand. 
 At any rate, I want you to find him wherever he is. 
 Beg him to abandon guns, baggage, everything that 
 can cause delay, and push on with all speed. With 
 his force added to our own I will undertake to drive 
 Santa Anna and his thousands beyond the Rio 
 Grande. Without Fannin s aid we are lost. Will 
 you then go on this most important mission, or shall 
 I send some one else who will be much less likely to 
 succeed ? " 
 
 " Of course I will go, since you put it in that 
 way," answered Rex. " But oh, Will ! promise to 
 hold out until I get back." 
 
 " I will promise to do all that mortal man can do, 
 my dear boy ; and if you do not find us here on your 
 return, you will have no difficulty in discovering the 
 reason of our absence. Now try and get a nap, for 
 I want you to start about midnight." 
 
 Rex did as requested, and at the hour named was 
 ready for departure. In vain did he search for 
 Peralta, who was to accompany him through the 
 enemy s lines, for the Mexican was nowhere to be 
 found. So after an affectionate parting from Travis, 
 Bowie, Crockett, and every other man of the defend 
 ers who was awake, he slipped softly out of the bar 
 ricaded gateway, and was instantly lost to view in 
 the blackness of that black night. 
 
 Before he had gone one hundred yards, he nar 
 rowly escaped running into a group of shadowy 
 
WHO WILL CROSS THIS LINE? 257 
 
 forms moving in profound silence directly across 
 his path. A little further on, he heard the muffled 
 tread of another party moving in the same direction. 
 These companies were evidently much stronger than 
 mere patrols, and he began to suspect that some 
 aggressive movement was on foot. He soon found 
 that still other bodies of men were marching in such 
 directions as to entirely surround the Alamo ; while 
 the tramp of horses hoofs showed cavalry to be also 
 on the move. 
 
 The young lieutenant decided to return and advise 
 his friends of this movement, but on attempting to 
 do so, found to his dismay that an impenetrable line 
 of troops had been formed behind him. So there 
 was nothing to do but adhere to his original pur 
 pose, and gain the place where Tawny awaited him 
 as quickly as possible. 
 
 After many delays and several hairbreadth escapes 
 from discovery, he finally stood at the door of the 
 humble stable in which he had left his beloved horse. 
 The worst of his dangers were over, and once mounted 
 on Tawny s back, he could defy the hottest of pur 
 suits. Everything was so quiet about him, and he 
 was so impatient to know if Tawny were still in the 
 stable, that as he reached it he sounded softly the 
 well-known signal whistle, which was instantly an 
 swered by a joyful whinny from within. 
 
 Relieved from a load of anxiety, our lad laid hand 
 on the door to open it, and at the same instant was 
 
258 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 seized in a powerful grasp from both sides at once. 
 A moment later a rope had been so tightly wound 
 about his body that he was as helpless as a trussed 
 fowl. 
 
 The onset was so sudden and unexpected that Rex 
 had no chance to resist it, nor did he make an outcry. 
 He was dumb and passive in the hands of his assail 
 ants, and only wondered vaguely whether he was to 
 be killed then and there, or whether his execution 
 would be postponed until daylight. He was confi 
 dent that his doom was sealed in either case, for he 
 knew that Santa Anna s order was to shoot all capt 
 ured rebels and hold no prisoners. His curiosity 
 concerning his fate was somewhat satisfied, and he 
 was at the same time notified of the identity of two 
 of his captors, by a few words exchanged by them 
 within his hearing. 
 
 " Have you got him safe ? " was asked from the 
 darkness, in a voice which, despite its trembling, 
 Rex recognized with a shock to be that of Manuel 
 Peralta. 
 
 " Yes, we ve got him safe enough this time," replied 
 one of the men who held him, and whom he now 
 knew to be his bitter enemy, Domingo, ex-herder of 
 the Rancho Herrera. 
 
 " Then you now know and can bear witness that 
 all I have done has been for the good of Mexico, 
 and the glory of our noble President," whined 
 Peralta. 
 
WHO WILL CROSS THIS LINE? 269 
 
 " Humph ! " sneered Domingo. " We will see 
 what reward El Presidente will pay for this prisoner 
 before making any promises." 
 
 " But you would never have taken him had I not 
 told you of his coming ; and as a messenger from the 
 gringos in the Alamo, he is a captive of the great 
 est importance." 
 
 "Come, we will present him to Santa Anna at 
 once," replied Domingo, gruffly ; and without vouch 
 safing any further answer to the cowardly Peralta, 
 who reluctantly followed them, the men led their 
 helpless prisoner away. 
 
 After they were gone, a childish figure that had 
 crouched in a dark shadow of the little stable rose, 
 and, with a choking sob, stole unnoticed in the same 
 direction. 
 
 The morning star was shining brightly, and 
 already a faint glimmer of dawn was stealing over 
 the eastern landscape, as this strangely assorted 
 group hurried up the river towards the Alamo, in 
 order to gain the only bridge leading into the city. 
 Ere they reached it a sudden blare of trumpets rang 
 out with a note of startling menace. 
 
 At this signal the air was rent by the roar of half 
 a dozen batteries, and the rattling crash of a thou 
 sand muskets. Then, with a mighty shouting, thou 
 sands of armed men clad in the uniform of Mexico, 
 rushed furiously at the grim Alamo from every side. 
 The long-expected and fearfully anticipated assault 
 
260 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 was made at last. The death struggle between four 
 thousand well-fed Mexican troops, and less than two 
 hundred half-starved Americans had begun, and the 
 dawning of that memorable Sabbath day was red 
 dened with its horrors. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 THE LAST SHOT FROM THE ALAMO 
 
 " CARRAMBA ! " muttered Domingo, as his little 
 party was brought to a stand by these sounds. " For 
 a while we may not approach El Presidente. He is 
 now busy with other matters, and until this affair 
 is settled we must wait. Let us then seek a place 
 where we three, together with this young gringo, 
 may enjoy the spectacle. Come, Peralta, I know it 
 will be painful for thee to see the heretics assigned 
 to everlasting flames, but it will be a lesson for thy 
 future guidance." 
 
 Domingo and his fellow cut-throats were too cow 
 ardly to fight, but from a place of safety could 
 regard with savage glee a scene of slaughter. So 
 they made their way to a deserted house, and drag 
 ging their prisoner with them, clambered to its flat 
 roof, whence they commanded an unobstructed view 
 of the Alamo. 
 
 From here in the reddening light Rex, forgetful 
 of his own peril, gazed with a fearful interest upon 
 the spectacle before him. Through the sullen smoke 
 clouds he could catch a glimpse of dark masses of 
 troops advancing swiftly to the very walls that had 
 
 261 
 
262 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 so recently sheltered him. Behind them stretched 
 a gleaming cordon of cavalry, ready, with drawn 
 sabres, to drive the infantry back to their horrid 
 work, should they show signs of faltering. Beyond 
 these the Mexican commander, surrounded by a glit 
 tering staff, and mounted on a coal-black stallion, 
 issued his orders and personally directed the as 
 sault. Near the bridge the combined regimental 
 bands poured forth in mighty volume inspiring 
 strains of martial music, and on all sides, well be 
 yond reach of bullet or ball, the citizens of San 
 Antonio were massed at every point of vantage. 
 
 In the grim Alamo reigned a silence as of death, 
 until the foremost rank of assailants, bearing stout 
 ladders, were within twenty paces of the walls. 
 Then the Texan fire leaped forth ; a crashing, wither 
 ing discharge of grape and canister, musket ball and 
 rifle bullet, that cut down the leading Mexican ranks, 
 as tall grasses are laid low by a sweep of the mower s 
 scythe. Stunned and demoralized, the rear ranks, 
 goaded on by the cavalry behind them, still essayed 
 to advance; but a second volley from the Alamo, 
 equally deadly with the first, put them to headlong 
 flight, that even the encircling cavalry could not 
 restrain. 
 
 Dashing among the disorganized masses with shrill 
 curses and flashing swords, that they used to beat 
 the soldiers into place, the Mexican officers finally 
 reformed their lines and sent them again at the 
 
THE LAST SHOT FROM THE ALAMO 263 
 
 deadly walls ; but again they were hurled back by 
 that terrible fire, shattered and panic-stricken. 
 
 At this sight Domingo stamped with rage. The 
 coward Peralta trembled at the thought that the ter 
 rible gringos might after all win the day, and so be 
 come masters of his fate ; while Rex, pale and almost 
 breathless with alternate hopes and fears, so far for 
 got his position as to give a great shout of exulting 
 joy. For this Domingo sprang at him, knocked him 
 down with a savage blow, and threatened to tear out 
 his tongue if he uttered another word. 
 
 The lad made no reply, but the moment Domingo 
 turned from him he struggled to his feet, and again 
 fixed his gaze on the scene of battle. 
 
 After their second repulse, the Mexicans reformed 
 slowly. Santa Anna, foaming at the mouth, and raving 
 with incoherent rage, dashed among them and swore 
 to turn their own batteries against them in case they 
 should dare give way again. Then he ordered up 
 his reserve of picked troops, and having thus con 
 centrated his entire force, again gave the word to 
 advance. Shrill bugles and braying trumpets sounded 
 the charge, the band played a furious quick-step, and 
 again the dark columns hurled themselves against 
 the low walls from which a few score of desperate 
 men had twice repulsed them. 
 
 This time the Texan fire was feeble, their supply 
 of powder had given out, and the ladders were 
 placed. Many of them were overthrown, and their 
 
264 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 swarming occupants were killed by the score ; but 
 the defenders were too few in number to guard 
 every point ; and in another moment the Mexicans 
 had gained the walls at a dozen places. 
 
 Filled with the fury of despair, and now fighting 
 only for vengeance, the defenders sprang at these 
 with clubbed rifles and their terrible bowie-knives. 
 Scores were killed, but hundreds took their places. 
 Step by step, the fighting Texans were overborne 
 and driven back by sheer weight of numbers. Cov 
 ered with wounds, they fought to the last, each man 
 as he fell surrounded by a ghastly heap of the foes 
 he had slain. At length a scanty remnant, not 
 more than a dozen in all, led by Travis, took refuge 
 in the church that sheltered their wounded. 
 
 From its roof, David Crockett, possessed of a horn 
 of powder, still coolly picked of the Mexican officers 
 with his unerring rifle, while the others loaded the 
 single cannon placed at that point for a final dis 
 charge. As they finished their task, a volley from 
 the walls tumbled the brave rifleman to the court 
 yard, from which he was dragged into the church by 
 Travis. By the same volley both of his companions 
 were killed where they stood ; but one of them, with 
 an expiring effort, touched a match to the loaded 
 cannon. 
 
 As this last gun from the Alamo thundered forth 
 its note of defiance, its unaimed ball sped to the 
 house-top on which Rex Harden knelt in an agony 
 
THE LAST SHOT FROM THE ALAMO 265 
 
 of prayer, and laid beside him the mangled corpse of 
 Domingo the Mexican. 
 
 With yells of terror, Peralta and Domingo s sur 
 viving comrade leaped to the ground and lied, leav 
 ing Rex alone. Even then the lad did not seem to 
 realize what had happened. He still knelt, dumbly 
 gazing, with an awful fascination, at the Alamo and 
 listened with aching ears to the muffled sounds of 
 conflict that still came from it. Finally a crash of 
 musketry echoed from the courtyard, and a dull roar 
 sounded from the reeking interior of the building 
 that had been consecrated to peace and good will. 
 It was the last shot of that bitter struggle, and was 
 fired from a cannon loaded with grape, that had 
 been aimed through the doorway of a small room in 
 which were huddled the Texan wounded. As the 
 smoke-pall of that murderous discharge was slowly 
 lifted, it disclosed only a heap of mangled corpses. 
 
 A few moments before, David Crockett and five 
 others, all wounded unto death, but desperately fight 
 ing with what feeble strength remained to them, had 
 been taken alive and dragged before Santa Anna. 
 There Colonel Almonte was so affected by the hero 
 ism of their resistance that he begged his com 
 mander to spare them. 
 
 With a contemptuous sneer on his thin lips, the 
 Mexican President turned to a file of soldiers and 
 said: 
 
 " Kill for me these rebels ! " 
 
266 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 As the fatal volley rang out, he pointed to the poor 
 dead bodies, saying harshly, " Those, colonel, are my 
 only terms for the Texas dogs ! " 
 
 Travis died defending the room that held his help 
 less wounded ; but ere he fell he had reared to him 
 self a monument of slain foes. 
 
 A Mexican officer taunted gallant Bowie with the 
 defeat of his cause, and handing him a dagger, invited 
 him to kill himself, thus saving his conquerors the 
 trouble. For answer, the blue-eyed giant rallied his 
 failing strength with a mighty effort, sprang, like a 
 wounded tiger at the throat of his tormentor, plunged 
 the dagger to its hilt into his body, and fell back, to 
 be pierced an instant later by a dozen bayonets. 
 
 So the Alamo fell, and its defenders died, until 
 not one man of them all was left to tell the heroic 
 story. Mrs. Dickinson was spared together with 
 her babe, and the two Mexican women of Bexar. 
 There was none other ; but ere the noble band who 
 thus died for Texas yielded up their lives they had 
 demanded a tribute from the enemy of five hundred 
 and twenty dead besides a like number unfitted for 
 further service by reason of their wounds. 
 
 It was all so quickly done that the morning sun 
 was hardly an hour high when, awed into silence by 
 the tragedy they had just witnessed, the spectators 
 of the battle returned to their homes, and the wearied 
 but exultant troops to their camp. 
 
 But Santa Anna would not have his victory passed 
 
THE LAST SHOT FROM THE ALAMO 267 
 
 over in silence ; and, though the dead still lay in 
 ghastly heaps, staring with sightless eyes into the 
 brilliant sunshine, and though the acequias of the 
 city still ran crimson, the Mexican President ordered 
 a general rejoicing. At his command the batteries 
 thundered forth a salute, the church bells rang out 
 joyous peals, while at the altars below priest and 
 acolyte chanted a service of thanksgiving ; the whole 
 city was decked with flags and bright colors ; there 
 was everywhere feasting, and dancing, and songs of 
 
 joy- 
 As soon as the troops were somewhat rested they 
 were set to work to dispose of the slain, which they 
 did by burning them on great piles of timber beyond 
 the walls for which they had fought. Thus, by the 
 hour of sunset on that ever-to-be-rernembered Sabbath, 
 nothing mortal was left of the heroic dead save a few 
 handfuls of wind-blown ashes, and of all who had gar 
 risoned the Alamo, only Rex Harden remained alive. 
 Alone on that housetop he had watched, with blood 
 less face, the swarming Mexicans scale the walls, the 
 hand-to-hand conflict of tens against hundreds, and 
 had seen the fearful struggle roll slowly back until 
 it was hidden within the church. Of the awful hap 
 penings in that narrow space he could then only know 
 by conjecture, though he afterwards learned the bitter 
 details. All this time he had no thought for himself, 
 but only for the gallant comrades who were being 
 done to death before his eyes. 
 
268 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 At length he was aroused to his immediate sur 
 roundings by hearing a light footstep beside him 
 and feeling a tiny hand laid on his arm. Turning 
 quickly, he looked into the frightened face of his 
 little friend Rillo, whose quivering lips betrayed 
 the effort he was making to be brave. 
 
 " Why, Rillo ! " exclaimed the lad, at the same time 
 glancing about him to discover who had brought the 
 child to that place. " How came you here ? " 
 
 " I came," answered the little chap, " to see what 
 the wicked Domingo was going to do with you and 
 my father, and I could not find where you had gone. 
 Then the shooting began, and I was so frightened that 
 I myself hid. When it was more quiet, I looked out 
 and saw you up here ; so I came to you. But why 
 are you tied ? " 
 
 " Because I can t help myself," replied Rex, with a 
 thrill of hope in his breast ; " but if you can undo 
 those knots behind me, Rillo, I shall be very glad. 
 So please try as hard as you can." 
 
 Eager to be of service, the child gladly undertook 
 the task, and after a struggle, working with teeth 
 and fingers, he finally loosened one of the tightly 
 fastened knots. Rex could now help with the others, 
 and in a few minutes was freed from his bonds. 
 
 " Now," he said to himself as he glanced at the 
 still swarming troops, any one of whom would have 
 killed him at sight, " what shall I do next?" 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 TAWNY SAVES HIS YOUNG MASTER 
 
 " BUT I cannot find my father," sobbed the child, 
 recalling his original purpose. "I heard Domingo 
 say that he should be killed, and now I am afraid 
 the wicked men have done it." 
 
 t4 No, they haven t, little Rillo," said Rex, sooth 
 ingly. " Domingo has been killed ; but your father 
 is safe at home, and if you run back there, you 
 will find him. Besides, Tawny must be very 
 hungry, and wondering why you do not feed him. 
 But, Rillo, you must not tell any one, not even 
 your father, that you have seen me ; for if you do, 
 the wicked men will kill us all. Will you remem 
 ber and promise?" 
 
 "Yes, I will remember." 
 
 "That s right. Now run along, and take good 
 care of Tawny until I come." 
 
 With a heart full of gratitude to the child who 
 had loosened his bonds, Rex watched him out of 
 sight, and then proceeded to carry out the only 
 plan of escape that presented itself. It was to 
 assume the uniform of the dead Domingo, and, by 
 
 269 
 
270 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 passing himself off as a wounded soldier, endeavor 
 to make his way beyond the Mexican lines. 
 
 Much as he dreaded to strip the rigid body, he 
 forced himself to the task, and in a few minutes 
 had drawn on the blood-stained uniform over his 
 own clothing. Pulling the soldier s cap well down 
 over his eyes, and smearing every exposed portion 
 of his white skin with moistened gunpowder, he 
 picked up the dead man s musket to use as a staff, 
 limped stiffly from the building, and began his 
 anxious search for some place where he might hide 
 until night. 
 
 That the last vestige of resistance in the Alamo 
 had been overcome he knew ; for not only did the 
 gaudy flag of Mexico float above its walls, but the 
 throngs of people passing in both directions were 
 eagerly discussing the final scenes of the struggle. 
 Thus from fragments of conversation he learned 
 of Bowie s gallant death, of how Travis fell, of 
 Almonte s fruitless effort to save Crockett, and of 
 the butchery of the helplessly wounded, so that 
 no man was left alive. 
 
 As he heard these things, he could hardly breathe 
 for the horror and rage with which they filled him ; 
 and he trembled as though he were indeed the 
 sorely wounded man he appeared. Fortunately for 
 him, wounded soldiers were hobbling from the scene 
 of battle on all sides, and attracting but slight atten 
 tion from the excited townsfolk, who ran to and fro 
 
TAWNY SAVES HIS YOUNG MASTER 271 
 
 exchanging thrilling items of news. To be sure, 
 he was several times accosted, and begged for 
 information ; but he only groaned, and passed on 
 without answering. 
 
 He had not thus proceeded far when Peralta and 
 another brushed by him so closely that he could 
 have touched them, and lie overheard the former 
 say : " Yes, we must find him, for he was too 
 securely bound to escape " ; at which Rex ground 
 his teeth and quickened his steps. 
 
 He knew that his situation was now more critical 
 than ever ; for when those men found that he had 
 disappeared, they would give an alarm, and the 
 whole city would be searched for him. To enter 
 it, then, would be to enter a trap from which there 
 would be no chance of escape. But which way 
 should he turn? What should he do? Where 
 should he go? 
 
 Why not to the very house of him who had be 
 trayed him ? Peralta was away, only loyal little 
 Rillo would be there ; and surely the last place 
 to be searched would be the premises of the man 
 most interested in his capture. 
 
 The thought was an inspiration, and, yielding to 
 it, Rex hobbled in the direction of Manuel Peralta s 
 pulqueria. He had the good fortune to find it so 
 absolutely deserted that not even Rillo was to be 
 seen. Feeling that he would be safer outside the 
 house than in it, and also desiring to be as close 
 
272 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 as possible to his horse, Rex entered the little stable, 
 where Tawny, chafing at his confinement, was over 
 joyed to see him, though he sniffed suspiciously 
 at the blood-soaked garments worn by his young 
 master. 
 
 Believing that he should have no further need 
 of these, Rex stripped them off, and hid them. 
 Then, arranging a place of concealment beneath a 
 scanty pile of forage, he prepared to pass a weary 
 day, and await with what patience he might the 
 coining of darkness. Tawny was munching the 
 corn with which Rillo had recently supplied him, 
 and the sound of his eating caused Rex to realize 
 his own hunger. As nothing better offered, he, too, 
 ate raw corn, and turned heartsick, as he thought of 
 the brave fellows whom he had seen doing the same 
 thing in the Alamo only a few hours before. 
 
 The horror of his thoughts so overcame him that, 
 to change them, he began with his pocket-knife to 
 enlarge a chink in the mud walls, so that he might 
 look out. Although the view thus obtained was 
 very limited, he could see gay banners replacing the 
 symbol of death, that for two weeks had streamed 
 ominously above the Cathedral. He could also hear 
 the saluting guns, the jubilant bells, the triumphant 
 music, and the glad shouts with which the Mexicans 
 celebrated their victory, and the sounds filled him 
 with an impotent rage. This was succeeded by a 
 despondency so deep that it seemed as though his 
 
TAWNY SAVES HIS YOUNG MASTER 273 
 
 whole beloved country lay beneath a pall of destruc 
 tion and death. Who now could hold Santa Anna 
 in check, or who would dare oppose his victorious 
 march ? 
 
 Then he thought of the dear ones waiting fearfully 
 by the beautiful Cibolo. Perhaps even now the 
 brutal soldiers of the tyrant were marching in that 
 direction. It seemed as though he must mount 
 Tawny that very minute and fly to them. So 
 strong was his longing for action that he might have 
 attempted this, had not the sound of approaching 
 voices warned him of the folly of such an attempt,, 
 and caused him to crouch in his hiding-place. 
 
 It was only a party of peons on their way to join 
 in the festivities of the city, and laughing noisily as 
 they passed. A little later some soldiers came and 
 ransacked the pulqueria for liquor. Rex heard 
 them swear because there was none, and rejoice that 
 the keeper of so wretched a place would never return 
 to it. The lad wondered what they meant, but it 
 was some weeks later before he found out. 
 
 Then he learned that the comrade of Domingo, 
 furious at the latter s death, the disappearance of their 
 prisoner, and the loss of his expected reward, had 
 denounced the zapatero as a traitor who had served 
 the rebels in the Alamo, and assisted one of them to 
 escape. With this Peralta was taken before Santa 
 Anna, who, upon hearing the charges against him, 
 had ordered the wretched man to be shot. So he 
 
274 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 was dragged away, already nearly dead with fright, 
 and from that moment the places that had known 
 him knew him no more. 
 
 Little Rillo, in the meantime, ignorant of the 
 tragedies that were overshadowing his young life, 
 had gone into the city with some other children, and 
 was enjoying to the full the unwonted festivities of 
 the day. He was reassured as to his father s safety, 
 for he had seen him in the pulqueria, when, by the 
 desire of the Seiaor Rex, he had returned to it that 
 morning. At that time Peralta had been in such 
 a terrible temper, that the child fled from him, and 
 so had wandered into the city. 
 
 It was dark when, tired and hungry, the little chap 
 reached the cheerless place that he called home, and 
 was terrified to find in it a party of soldiers Avho 
 were searching its every corner with lanterns. 
 When he saw them he started to run, but they 
 caught him just outside, and demanded to know 
 where the young Seiior Harden was hidden. 
 
 " I do not know," answered the terrified child. 
 " He is not here, but only his horse." 
 
 " Where is his horse ? " 
 
 " In the stable of the donkey, where I am to feed 
 him." 
 
 "We will take care of him for you, muchacho," 
 said one, and then all started towards the place 
 where Rex and Tawny were hidden. 
 
 The fugitive lad had heard their arrival, and 
 
TAWNY SAVES HIS YOUNG MASTER 276 
 
 knew from their conversation that they were in 
 search of him. He grew faint as he realized the 
 imminence of his danger, and his knees trembled so 
 that he could hardly stand. Still he made out to 
 prepare for it ; and when approaching voices together 
 with tiny gleams of lantern light announced the 
 coming of those who sought him, he was ready to 
 make a final effort for freedom. 
 
 Tawny had been turned about so as to face the 
 entrance, and Rex, with arms clasped about the 
 animal s neck, lay on his back. There had been no 
 time for saddle or bridle, and he had not more than 
 assumed this position when the door of the stable 
 was wrenched open. 
 
 At that instant the hunted lad uttered so fierce 
 a yell in Tawny s ear, as caused the horse to bolt 
 through the doorway with the force of a catapult. 
 Half of the soldiers were hurled to the ground, their 
 lanterns were extinguished, and a veritable cyclone 
 seemed to sweep over them. Ere they realized what 
 had happened, only the beat of galloping hoofs told 
 of the passing of El Diablo. Even then they knew 
 not if he were riderless or bore with him the fugitive 
 whom they sought. 
 
 As Rex burst from the timber and gained the open 
 country beyond, a cavalry picket let fly their 
 escopettas at him, and started in hot pursuit. But 
 they might as well have chased the wind. 
 
 The guard at the garita, startled by the sound of 
 
276 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 on-rushing horses and men, formed in line across the 
 road, and shouted for them to halt ; but dared not 
 fire until the last moment, for fear they might be 
 friends. As they were on the point of doing so, a 
 black form reared itself in their faces, took a great 
 flying leap over their heads, and vanished in the 
 further darkness amid the flashing roar of their 
 muskets. Directly afterwards a squad of cavalry 
 charged furiously through their broken line, and 
 disappeared in the same direction. Half an hour 
 later these returned sullen and crestfallen, declaring 
 that they had chased no horse of flesh and blood, 
 but El Diablo himself, who had vanished in a cloud 
 of flame and smoke, leaving no trail by which they 
 might follow him. 
 
 So Rex Harden had again escaped a deadly peril 
 by Tawny s aid, and it was fortunate for him that 
 his pursuers gave up the chase when they did. He 
 had gone but a few miles from the garita when the 
 pace of his splendid steed began to slacken ; and a 
 little later, in spite of all efforts to urge him forward, 
 he came to a full stop. Leaping to the ground, and 
 feeling carefully over the animal s body, Rex quickly 
 found his hands covered with blood, and knew that 
 his brave Tawny was wounded. Ignorant of what 
 else to do, he tried to lead him forward ; but after a 
 few faltering steps the horse again stopped, and could 
 not be persuaded to move. 
 
 " Oh, Tawny, Tawny ! My dear, splendid, 
 
TAWNY SAVES HIS YOUNG MASTER 277 
 
 Tawny ! What can I do ? " cried the poor lad, in an 
 agony of distress. "To remain here would mean 
 death not only to me, but perhaps to many others. 
 To leave you will break my heart ; but I must go on, 
 Tawny. I must. There is no other way. Good- 
 by, dear old horse. In giving you up for Texas, I 
 sacrifice one of the things I love best on earth." 
 
 Then, tearing himself away with a mighty effort 
 of will, and a sob that sounded like a heart-break, 
 Rex clapped his hands to his ears to shut out 
 Tawny s reproachful whinny, and ran as though 
 pursued. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 THREE BAFFLED MEXICANS 
 
 THE spring rains had so drenched the black soil 
 that the road was heavy with mud, through which 
 Rex quickly found that even walking demanded the 
 fullest exertion of his strength. So heavy hearted 
 was he, and so forlorn was his situation, that, but 
 for the dear ones whom he believed to be awaiting 
 him, he would have returned to die with Tawny. 
 As it was, he would not give up, and so pushed 
 on through the clinging mud, wading the shallow 
 prairie streams, and floundering through quagmires 
 until it seemed as though he must drop from 
 sheer exhaustion. 
 
 The darkness merged into daylight, the sun rose, 
 the morning was filled with the song of larks, and 
 the verdant prairie was sprinkled with the earliest 
 blooms of spring flowers ; but the weary lad noticed 
 none of these things. He only plodded stolidly for 
 ward, like one in a daze, with his eyes fixed on the 
 far-away timber line marking the Cibolo. 
 
 It was high noon before he reached the Rancho 
 Herrera, and, as he approached it, the hope that had 
 thus far sustained him was dashed by its appearance 
 
 278 
 
THREE BAFFLED MEXICANS 279 
 
 of utter desolation. There was no sound of voices, 
 no sign of human presence. Doors and windows 
 were closed, and over the whole place brooded an 
 unbroken silence. What had happened? Had its 
 inmates been murdered or had they fled ? 
 
 Sick with fear, Rex forced an entrance, and 
 explored the silent rooms. To his unspeakable re 
 lief he found no signs of violence, but only those of 
 hurried departure. In the cook-house he discovered 
 food, which he devoured ravenously. Then, making 
 his way to his own room, he flung himself on the 
 bed, and instantly fell asleep. 
 
 So utterly weary was the lad that he lay for 
 twenty-four hours motionless, and without waking. 
 When he finally did so, he lay for a while wondering 
 how long he had slept, and whether it were yester 
 day or to-morrow, but his hunger finally decided the 
 question, and he sprang up with a sudden activity. 
 A bath, fresh clothing, and a hearty meal made him 
 again fit for any undertaking, and anxious to push 
 on to the eastward. 
 
 First he visited the corral and stables, with the 
 hope of finding an animal to ride, but all had been 
 turned loose or driven away. He saw several dis 
 tant bands of horses, but they were far too wild to 
 allow a man on foot to approach them, and after a 
 number of futile efforts to do so he returned to the 
 house. 
 
 Night was already falling, and Rex was wondering 
 
280 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 whether he ought to start at once on his weary walk 
 to Gonzales or wait until morning, when he was 
 amazed to see a light shining from one of the win 
 dows of the building. His first impulse was to fly, 
 since it was more than probable that the house was 
 occupied by enemies. Still, it might be in possession 
 of friends, either his own people or another relief 
 party for the Alamo ; and if so, the sooner he made 
 himself known to them, the better. 
 
 Thus thinking, he crept cautiously forward and 
 peered in at the lighted window. Three Mexican 
 soldiers were seated at a table, greedily devouring 
 what remained of the food he had cooked a few 
 hours before. They were evidently in great haste, 
 and would finish their meal within a few minutes. 
 
 Having learned these facts by a single glance, Rex 
 ran noiselessly to the front of the house, where, as 
 he had hoped, he found three horses fastened. To 
 undo their halters, leap into the saddle of one, and 
 gallop away, leading the other two, was but the 
 work of a minute. As he thus dashed out on the 
 Gonzales road, it was all the young lieutenant could 
 do to restrain a yell of exultation at having thus 
 gained from his enemies the very means for defeat 
 ing their plans. He only regretted that he could 
 not have done them some greater injury; for, with 
 the memory of the Alamo still fresh in his mind, he 
 was full of vengeful thoughts towards all who wore 
 the uniform of Mexico. 
 
THREE BAFFLED MEXICANS 281 
 
 He had ridden several miles when suddenly a 
 harsh voice issuing from a clump of chaparral called 
 out : 
 
 " Who goes there ? Halt, or we fire ! " 
 
 The young man nearly leaped from his saddle, but 
 he still realized that an English voice must be a 
 friendly one, and reining up sharply, answered : 
 
 " Friend ! Don t shoot ! " 
 
 " What is your name, friend ? Where are you 
 from? and whither bound?" 
 
 " Lieutenant Rector Harden from San Antonio for 
 Gonzales," was the answer. " Who are you ? " 
 
 " Holy smoke ! It s Rex Harden, and in another 
 instant I should have shot him for a greaser ! " cried 
 the voice, in accents of horror, as several dimly out 
 lined forms rose from the bushes and hastily advanced 
 to where Rex was curbing his three horses. 
 
 "Thank Heaven, lad, that I ve been saved from 
 murder this night ! " exclaimed the foremost of these 
 as he gained the road. " I m Rastus Smith, and these 
 two are Henry Karnes and Bob Handy. We are 
 scouting in advance of fifty men marching to the 
 relief of the Alamo, and there are three hundred 
 more in Gonzales ready to start to-morrow for the 
 same place. But what s the news, lieutenant ? 
 All s been so quiet the past two days that we ve 
 been mightily af eared the Alamo had fallen." 
 
 " It has," groaned Rex. " It fell Sunday morning 
 before an assault of four thousand Mexicans led by 
 
232 WITH CKOCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Santa Anna in person. Every man in the Alamo 
 was killed and their bodies were burned. " 
 
 " Good God, man ! You don t mean it ! It can t 
 be true ! " cried Henry Karnes. " Don t tell us that 
 Will Travis is dead, and Jim Bowie, and Davy 
 Crockett, and Bonham, and " 
 
 " Every one of them, as well as one hundred and 
 eighty others, gave their lives for Texas last Sunday 
 morning, and the air of San Antonio reeked with 
 the stench of their burning bodies all that day," 
 replied Rex. 
 
 While he was relating all that he knew of the 
 awful tragedy and telling of his own miraculous es 
 cape, the main body of the expedition came up. His 
 sad news quickly spread through the ranks, and he 
 was at once surrounded by a throng of men clamor 
 ing for details, cursing Santa Anna, and vowing ven 
 geance against all of his race. When our lad told 
 of the three Mexican scouts he had just left at the 
 Rancho Herrera, Deaf Smith cried out : 
 
 " They must never get back to Bexar alive, boys ! 
 and I m going after their scalps." 
 
 A score of eager volunteers begged for the privi 
 lege of accompanying the scout, but he said he meant 
 to go on horseback, and asked Rex for the loan of 
 one of his horses. 
 
 This request was readily granted, as were those 
 of Karnes and Handy, who also begged for horses 
 with which to join in the vengeful chase. 
 
THREE BAFFLED MEXICANS 283 
 
 So Rex passed the night with the men from Gon 
 zales, who camped where they were, and the next 
 morning started with them on their march back to 
 the Guadalupe. They had not covered more than 
 half the distance, when the three scouts rejoined 
 them, with their sinister mission accomplished ; but 
 bringing the sad news that the Mexicans had fired 
 the main house of the Rancho Herrera and burned 
 it to the ground. 
 
 With his heavy heart made still more sorrowful 
 by this intelligence, Rex took back the horse he had 
 loaned to Handy, and rode ahead with the other 
 two, reaching Gonzales in the evening of the third 
 day after the fall of the Alamo. 
 
 To the townsfolk of Gonzales, most of whom had 
 counted relatives or friends among the defenders of 
 the Alamo, the news of its fall carried the wildest 
 grief and consternation. On all sides were heard 
 the wails of widowed women and orphaned children, 
 mingled with cries of fear. Every one believed that 
 the terrible Santa Anna would now march eastward, 
 and might appear at any moment. So great was the 
 panic that preparations for flight were at once begun 
 in nearly every house. 
 
 Amid all this grief and terror there was one 
 bright spot, and in one humble dwelling prayers 
 of gratitude were mingled with tears for the heroic 
 dead. It was a log cabin in which Sebastien Tejada 
 had found shelter for the fugitives from the Rancho 
 
284 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Ilerrera. Here Rex was greeted by his mother 
 and the two girls, as one restored to them from 
 the grave. 
 
 Late that night, or rather early the following 
 morning, as these four still sat talking of what had 
 happened, and trying to plan for the future, the door 
 of their cabin was flung open, and a man of com 
 manding presence, but so splashed from head to 
 foot with black prairie mud, as to be for a moment 
 unrecognizable, stood before them. 
 
 It was General Sam Houston, who had started 
 from Washington for San Antonio on the day of 
 receiving his reappointment from the convention 
 as commander-in-chief of the Texan army. As he 
 now learned, it was the very day on which the 
 Alamo fell. Accompanied only by his military sec 
 retary, and riding with all speed to the relief of the 
 beleaguered troops, he had only just reached Gon- 
 zales, and came to Rex Harden for confirmation of 
 the terrible news that greeted his arrival. 
 
 Again Rex told his sad story, and the General 
 followed its every detail with absorbed attention. 
 Tears of anguish stood in his eyes when it was 
 finished. 
 
 "It is a bitter blow," he said, "but I pray God 
 that the sacrifice of those brave souls may not be 
 in vain. Perhaps it was needed to rouse Texans 
 from their apathy in this struggle for freedom. Now 
 we must try and save Fannin from a like fate. 
 
THUEE BAFFLED MEXICANS 285 
 
 Are you in condition to carry a despatch to Goliad, 
 lieutenant ? " 
 
 "I am, sir," replied Rex, promptly; "only 
 Here the lad cast a perplexed glance at his mother. 
 "I understand," said Houston, "and, in your 
 absence, will care for these dear ones, as though 
 they were my own, until I can deliver them in 
 safety to your honored father, who still sits with 
 the convention at Washington. Did you know, my 
 boy, that, on the second day of this fateful month, 
 that same convention declared Texas to be a free 
 and independent Republic ? This news you will 
 bear to Fannin, as well as the sad tidings of the 
 fall of Alamo. You will also convey to him my 
 order to immediately blow up his fortifications, 
 destroy what public property he cannot carry 
 away, and retreat with all his force to the Colo 
 rado, where I will join him ; for we dare not 
 make a stand against Santa Anna until we can 
 unite our slender and widely scattered forces. 
 Therefore my policy for the present will be one 
 of retreat. But I will have a despatch prepared 
 for you to deliver. How quickly can you set 
 out ? " 
 
 "As soon as I can procure a horse, general." 
 
 " You can have mine ; for, in spite of his recent 
 
 hard travel, he will be again fit for the road by 
 
 morning. At daylight, then, I shall expect you to 
 
 be en route, and may God speed your mission. 
 
286 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 After delivering your despatch, you will remain 
 with Fannin and assist in his retreat. 
 
 "Ladies, I have the honor to wish you a good 
 night, and I beg that you will not allow any anxie 
 ties for the future to disturb your rest." 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 AGAIN ARE THE TEXANS DEFEATED 
 
 So heavy were the roads and so inferior to Tawny 
 was the horse now ridden by Rex, that he did not 
 reach Goliad until the 14th of April, or eight days 
 after the fall of the Alamo. He found Colonel 
 Fannin in a most perplexing position. No definite 
 news had been received concerning the Mexican 
 army known to have left Matamoras about the time 
 that Santa Anna began his eastward march from the 
 Rio Grande; but the air was thick with rumors of 
 its approach. Report located it at San Patricio, only 
 fifty miles away. A few days previous to the ar 
 rival of General Houston s order for the abandon 
 ment of Goliad, an urgent appeal had been received 
 from Refugio, a small mission village thirty miles 
 away, stating that several loyal families were in 
 danger of being cut off, and begging for an escort. 
 
 In reply, Fannin sent Captain King with thirty- 
 five men to bring them in. Since then nothing had 
 been heard from this relief party, nor from the three 
 scouts, sent out on as many successive days to gain 
 information of it. Finally, a few hours before Rex 
 
 287 
 
288 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 reached Goliad, Major Ward of Georgia had been 
 directed to march to Refugio with his battalion, one 
 hundred and fifty strong ; and now Fannin hesitated 
 to obey even so imperative an order as that brought 
 by our young lieutenant. 
 
 " God knows that I realize the danger of my 
 position, Harden, and the necessity for retreat," ex 
 claimed the perplexed soldier. " But how can I 
 go and leave those brave fellows behind to be 
 slaughtered ? No, sir, I can not do it, but must wait 
 for news from them." 
 
 Thus four precious days were spent in waiting for 
 news that did not come, days of suspense and sleep 
 less anxiety. In the meantime Goliad was filled 
 with rumors of the near approach of a formidable 
 Mexican army. The native population, some two 
 thousand in number, not only took delight in exag 
 gerating these rumors to increase the alarm of 
 the Americans, but they threw every obstacle in 
 the way of their procuring draught animals, wagons, 
 and provisions, all of which were necessary for the 
 retreat. 
 
 Finally, a wounded and blood-stained soldier, 
 nearly dead from starvation and exhaustion, crawled 
 into Goliad with a terrible tale of disaster. The 
 message that had drawn King to Refugio had been 
 a ruse ; and upon his arrival he had been sur 
 rounded by an overwhelming force of Mexicans. 
 Throwing themselves into the old mission, the thirty- 
 
AGAIN ARE THE TEXANS DEFEATED 289 
 
 five Americans had defended it for two days. Then 
 artillery was brought to bear on the walls, and, 
 through the breaches made by it, one thousand 
 Mexicans rushed in assault. The pitiful handful of 
 defenders was wiped out in a minute. Seven of 
 them, including their intrepid commander, captured 
 alive, were immediately taken outside, fastened to 
 trees, and shot. 
 
 The Mexicans next advanced to meet Major Ward, 
 of whose coming they had been notified. He, fall 
 ing into an ambush, still made a desperate resistance, 
 inflicting a heavy loss on the enemy, and finally es 
 caped under cover of darkness with a scanty rem 
 nant of his men. For two days these wandered 
 hopelessly amid swamps and drowned timber-lands, 
 dying of wounds and exhaustion, until the few who 
 remained alive surrendered as prisoners of war to a 
 party of Mexican troops near Victoria. 
 
 With this information Fannin hesitated no longer ; 
 but gave orders that a retreat to the Colorado should 
 be begun on the following morning. That night was 
 spent in burying the heavier guns, blowing up 
 fortifications, and destroying government property. 
 Scouts, sent out at daylight, reported no signs of an 
 enemy on the eastern road, and, at eight o clock in 
 the morning, the little army of Texans, only three 
 hundred in number, abandoned Goliad and marched 
 to the river. There two hours were spent in cross 
 ing their artillery and wagons. Then the slow 
 
290 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 march, which must keep pace with laggard oxen, 
 was resumed. 
 
 The day was bright and hot, and at noon Colonel 
 Faniiin ordered a halt to rest his teams. The point 
 at which this rest was taken was on the open prairie, 
 some eight miles east of Goliad and within five miles 
 of the timber line marking the Coletto, the next 
 watercourse on their route. 
 
 After an hour s halt the line of march was again 
 taken up, and the cavalry force of the expedition 
 only twenty-eight in all was sent ahead to examine 
 the crossing of the Coletto. Soon after they were 
 lost to view in the timber, Rex, who rode beside 
 Colonel Fannin, called the latter s attention to a 
 couple of horsemen emerging from the same line of 
 trees a mile or so distant. 
 
 Focussing his field-glass on these, the commander 
 uttered an exclamation. At the same moment the 
 two horsemen were joined by a strong force of cav 
 alry, that, sweeping from the river bottom, galloped 
 obliquely forward on a line that would intercept the 
 Texans, and cut them off from the timber. 
 
 " Mexican lancers ! " cried Rex, who knew only 
 too well the gaudy uniform, the waving plumes, and 
 pennoned spears of that corps. 
 
 " They are, indeed ! " replied his companion ; " and 
 there come their supports." 
 
 As he spoke, dark masses of infantry were to be 
 seen emerging from the timber at the same point. 
 
AGAIN ARE THE TEXANS DEFEATED 291 
 
 " God help us ! We must fight them here in the 
 open," exclaimed Fannin. With this he halted his 
 slender column and formed it into a holloAv square, 
 with artillery posted at the four corners, and wagons 
 in the centre. As the Mexicans drew near, the guns 
 opened fire at long range, and gave the Texas cav 
 alry their first intimation of trouble. They came 
 hurrying back from the timber, but communication 
 with their friends was already cut off. A few 
 minutes later they were compelled to fly for their 
 lives before a charge of lancers, who pursued them 
 to the river, where they finally made good their 
 escape. 
 
 In the meantime, the Mexican infantry charged 
 boldly, in spite of the steady fire of the Texas guns. 
 Advancing from three sides at once, with a furious 
 discharge of musketry, they rushed at the little 
 square as though expecting to overwhelm it by a 
 single effort. Not until the opposing bayonets were 
 actually interlocking, did they realize how deadly 
 were the rifles of those western frontiersmen. Then 
 they recoiled, staggered, and fled, leaving the still 
 unbroken square surrounded by scores of dead and 
 wounded men. 
 
 Disheartened by the failure of their first grand 
 charge, the Mexicans attempted but two more, and 
 these were so lacking in spirit as to be easily re 
 pulsed by the Texas riflemen. After that their 
 commander contented himself with drawing a close 
 
292 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 cordon about his intended victims arid firing at them 
 from a safe distance until dark. But this was a 
 game at which the riflemen were perfectly at home, 
 and for every American hit by a bullet at least three 
 Mexicans bit the dust. 
 
 In this long-range warfare the most serious dam 
 age done by the Mexicans was the killing of the 
 American cattle, which precluded the possibility of 
 removing their wounded from that place, even if an 
 opportunity for retreat should be offered. 
 
 With the coming of darkness the extended line 
 of Mexican camp-fires indicated their position, and 
 showed how effectively the besieged were cut off 
 from the blessed water, for lack of which they were 
 already suffering acutely. Many of the wounded 
 became delirious from thirst, and their pitiful ap 
 peals for water caused their uninjured comrades 
 more distress than even their own parched mouths. 
 
 All night long those who were able labored so 
 diligently at throwing up intrenchments, that by 
 morning they could safely defy attack by a force 
 much greater than any that had thus far appeared 
 against them. 
 
 Just before dawn Fannin, who was himself 
 wounded, called his men together, and laid before 
 them the desperate nature of their position. 
 
 " There is but one hope for you," he said, " and 
 that is to start at once, cut your way through the 
 enemy s line while he is still asleep, and then dis- 
 
AGAIN ARE THE TEXANS DEFEATED 293 
 
 perse in small parties. In that way some of you 
 can probably escape." 
 
 " But what shall we do with the wounded ? " 
 
 "We must be left to accept whatever fate the 
 Mexicans may reserve for us/ 
 
 "It would be the fate of the Alamo," shouted 
 Rex Harden. 
 
 Then from all sides rose cries of, 
 
 "We will never abandon our helpless comrades. 
 Whatever fate awaits them shall be ours as well." 
 
 So it was settled, and there was no further talk 
 of retreat. 
 
 With the coming of daylight, the Mexicans, who 
 had been reenforced by seven hundred cavalry and 
 a battery of artillery, renewed the attack by can 
 nonading the Texan position at long range. 
 
 Fannin withheld his fire because of his scanty 
 supply of powder, and because with each minute 
 he expected it would be needed to repel a general 
 assault. Instead of this, to his infinite surprise, the 
 Mexican fire ceased with sunrise, and an officer 
 appeared with a flag of truce. He demanded an 
 unconditional surrender, to which Fannin replied 
 that he would fight so long as he had a man left 
 able to fire a rifle, rather than surrender without 
 terms. 
 
 So the flag returned, and the entire Mexican 
 army formed in order of battle. Now every Texan 
 nerved himself for the expected onset, the gunners 
 
294 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 stood beside their pieces with lighted matches, and 
 the riflemen sighted their long barrels. But it 
 never came. Instead of ordering an attack, General 
 Urrea, accompanied by an officer bearing another 
 white flag, rode out in front of his extended lines. 
 Colonel Fannin, with Major Wallace and Rex 
 Harden, the latter being asked to act as interpreter, 
 advanced to meet them. 
 
 The two commanders greeted each other with 
 grave courtesy, and then General Urrea begged 
 that Colonel Fannin would avoid a further useless 
 shedding of blood by surrendering to the vastly 
 superior Mexican force. 
 
 The latter replied that as he was strongly in 
 trenched and well prepared to resist any force that 
 could be brought against him, he should not sur 
 render except on the most advantageous terms. 
 
 Rex Harden interpreted for both sides ; and it 
 was largely owing to his diplomacy that the follow 
 ing honorable terms were granted: 
 
 1st, That the Texans should be treated as pris 
 oners of war, according to the usages of the most 
 civilized nations. 2d, That they must lay down 
 their arms. 3d, That the men should be sent to 
 the coast within eight days, and thence to the 
 United States, as soon as vessels could be procured 
 to transport them. 4th, That the officers should be 
 paroled, and also forwarded to the United States. 
 Rex wrote out this agreement in both English 
 
AGAIN ARE THE TEXANS DEFEATED 295 
 
 and Spanish, the duplicate papers were signed by 
 the respective commanders, and the battle of the 
 Coletto was ended. 
 
 Although mortified at being forced to surrender, 
 the Texans rejoiced at receiving such favorable 
 terms, and immediately piled their arms outside 
 their breastworks, where they were taken into pos 
 session of the Mexicans. Then the unwounded 
 prisoners, some two hundred in number, were 
 marched back to Goliad, which place the wounded, 
 among whom was Colonel Fannin, did not reach 
 until two days later. 
 
 Thus for the fourth time in his short but eventful 
 experience of war did Rex Harden find himself a 
 prisoner in the hands of his Mexican enemies. The 
 present captivity, however, he regarded but lightly ; 
 for was he not shortly to be sent to the United 
 States and set free ? Certainly he was, if the most 
 solemn pledges that men can exchange were bind 
 ing upon Mexican honor. At the same time, he 
 would much rather be liberated in Texas, and with 
 out giving his parole not to fight against the 
 butchers of the Alamo. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 " LISTEN ! " 
 
 ALTHOUGH the prisoners were so closely crowded 
 into the mission church of Goliad that they had 
 scant room to lie down, and although they were 
 allowed neither bedding nor fuel, while for food 
 they were only given a daily allowance of meat, 
 without bread or salt, and so small as barely to save 
 them from starvation, they were comparatively 
 happy and content ; for were they not to be set free, 
 and sent to their homes within a few days? This 
 was almost the sole burden of their thought and con 
 versation. Most of them were young men from the 
 States, who had been attracted to Texas by the rom 
 ance with which its name and cause were surrounded. 
 In far-away Ohio and Kentucky, Georgia and Loui 
 siana, it had seemed a gallant thing to fly to the 
 relief of suffering Texas, there to gallop madly over 
 boundless plains in pursuit of flying foes, to feast on 
 unlimited game, perhaps even to invade the strange, 
 foreign land of Mexico itself, and wrest the freedom 
 of Texas from the Tyrant in his palace. 
 
 Urged by such anticipations, and by the restless 
 296 
 
" LISTEN ! " 297 
 
 enthusiasm of youth, these boys for most of them 
 were little more had left their homes, enlisted in 
 companies of Blues, or Grays, or Rangers, or Red 
 Rovers, or some other catching designation, and, 
 after undergoing many hardships, had finally landed 
 on the soil they were to defend. 
 
 From this point their disenchantment was even 
 more rapid than it had been while buffeted by the 
 billows of the Gulf. They were now drenched 
 by the cold rains of wet northers, forced to make 
 weary marches through mud as black and sticky as 
 tar, or to endure weeks of idleness in dreary and 
 wretchedly equipped camps. Instead of feeding on 
 an abundance of game, they starved on mouldy 
 hardtack and rusty bacon. Instead of dashing on 
 splendid horses across breezy prairies in pursuit of 
 flying foes, they were condemned to weary labor on 
 fortifications with hours of hateful drill thrown in 
 by way of change. They never saw the Tyrant they 
 were to drive across the Rio Grande, nor even one of 
 his soldiers, until he surrounded them with an army 
 to which they must surrender, or die of thirst. 
 Thus their present captivity with its promise of a 
 speedy return to their homes was the very pleasant- 
 est episode of their whole experience in Texas. 
 How dear and inviting those far-away homes now 
 seemed ! How the thin-faced boys talked of them, 
 and longed for them ; how they smiled when they 
 thought of what heroes they would be when they 
 
298 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 reached them, and how firmly they determined never 
 again to leave them! 
 
 They had surrendered on the 20th, and, according 
 to General Urrea s pledged word, were to be liberated 
 within eight days. Therefore on the 28th, at the 
 latest, they would be free. How they counted the 
 days, hours, and even minutes as the time dragged 
 slowly by ! 
 
 One morning Colonel Fannin announced that he 
 was going under guard to Copano, the nearest sea 
 port, to find out what vessels were available for their 
 transportation, and they gave him a hearty cheer as 
 he left them. On that same day eighty more volun 
 teers fresh from the States, who had been captured 
 by the Mexicans the moment they set foot on Texas 
 soil, were marched into Goliad, and huddled with the 
 other prisoners in the old mission church. 
 
 But no one minded the extra crowding, since it was 
 done by friends just from home. There would be 
 only four more days of it, anyhow ; while, between 
 the veterans who had actually fought for Texas, and 
 the new-comers, who were not likely to have a 
 chance to do so, there was so much to tell and to 
 hear, that the time would pass very quickly. As a 
 hero of the Alamo, Rex Harden was of especial 
 interest to the late arrivals, who regarded him with 
 much the same awe as they would Sam Houston 
 himself. 
 
 One thing about these new-comers greatly puzzled 
 
"LISTEN!" 299 
 
 Rex and his companions. It was that each of them 
 wore a white rag tied about his left arm. When 
 questioned concerning these badges, they could give 
 no information, save that a Mexican officer had tied 
 them in place, and charged them not to remove the 
 bits of cloth under penalty of death. All the prison 
 ers discussed this problem at length, but could arrive 
 at no satisfactory conclusion concerning it, though 
 the general opinion was that those wearing the 
 white badges would be held as prisoners much 
 longer than the others, and would probably be sent 
 to Mexico, since they had been obliged to surrender 
 without making terms. 
 
 There was a pale-faced, studious-looking youth 
 among the new-comers named Fenno, who was con 
 vinced that this was the correct explanation, and 
 was heartbroken in consequence. He was of the 
 same age as our Rex, and the very contrast of their 
 personalities caused an intimacy to spring up be 
 tween them. Fenno, soft-handed, low-voiced, and 
 of a peculiarly gentle disposition, had never before 
 been away from home, and was, as Rex told one of 
 his comrades, " precociously " ignorant of the world. 
 
 " Yes, looks like he would faint dead away at the 
 sight of blood," rejoined the other. " Regular Miss 
 Nancy, and what brought him down here is surely a 
 beater." 
 
 Fenno had been brought there through sheer 
 ignorance, and from a romantic desire to become a 
 
300 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 champion of liberty. Now, with his illusions all 
 vanished, he would gladly give anything that he 
 valued, to be once more back in his Ohio home. So 
 the belief that, as a wearer of a white badge, he 
 would be carried into Mexico for an indefinite im 
 prisonment, made him positively ill. " Oh ! If I 
 were only in your place ! " he cried, " and sure of 
 being sent to the States within two days." 
 
 At this Rex meditated, and then said thought 
 fully, " Well, I don t know but what I d change 
 places with you. I d a heap rather stay here in 
 Texas than go to the States just now, and I ve 
 already thought out a plan for escape. It will take 
 time, though, and I m afraid they are going to send 
 us off to-morrow. You know Colonel Fannin has 
 just got back from Copano, with the news that several 
 vessels are due there, so they may ship us off any 
 day, perhaps even to-morrow." 
 
 As a result of this conversation, Rex assumed 
 Fenno s white badge that night, they exchanged 
 clothing, and each agreed to answer to the other s 
 name at roll-call on the following morning. 
 
 That was the night of the 26th of March, and as 
 Major Ward with the survivors of his battalion had 
 just been added to the list of prisoners, the old 
 mission was crowded to overflowing ; four hundred 
 and forty-five men being squeezed within its narrow 
 walls. Still they were all in good spirits, for in 
 some way the impression had spread among them 
 
" LISTEN I " 301 
 
 that on the next day, which would be Palm Sunday, 
 and also the last of the eight days stipulated for on the 
 Coletto prairie, many, if not all of them, would set out 
 for their far-away homes. So they talked of home, 
 sang u Home Sweet Home," until tears stood in their 
 eyes, and finally fell happily asleep to dream of home. 
 
 At daylight soldiers came to waken them, and 
 order them into line. Instantly the report passed 
 from mouth to mouth that the vessels had reached 
 Copano, and that they were to inarch at once for 
 that port. 
 
 " Hurrah for the little old States ! " shouted one. 
 
 " Hurrah for good old home ! " cried another. 
 
 " And we ll never come back any more ! " yelled a 
 chorus. 
 
 All was excitement, bustle, and happy confusion. 
 
 Amid the noise the voice of a Mexican sergeant 
 was heard, announcing that the " white rags " should 
 remain where they were. 
 
 " That s rough on you Johnnies," called out a 
 sympathetic veteran, who was packing his slender 
 kit for home. 
 
 "Four of them," continued the sergeant, "are 
 wanted to assist the doctors. Let any four who can 
 speak Mexican step this way." 
 
 The doctors thus mentioned were four American 
 physicians, found among the prisoners, and ordered 
 to duty in the Mexican hospital. To assist them, 
 four of their countrymen were detailed each day. 
 
302 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 At the call on this occasion, Rex Harden, who had 
 already congratulated Fenno on his " chance," sprang 
 forward and was accepted. He was given a jacket 
 and cap such as the Mexican hospital stewards wore, 
 and told to put them on. This was in order that he 
 might be recognized as an attache of the hospital, in 
 case he should happen to be sent outside on errands. 
 
 Rex purposely delayed his dressing until his late 
 companions, and Fenno with them, had marched 
 joyously from the church, as he wished to avoid 
 any recognition or inquiries that would attract at 
 tention to himself. 
 
 The departing Americans had been formed in three 
 separate columns, each guarded by a double file of 
 soldiers. To the surprise of every one who witnessed 
 the manoeuvre, Rex among the number, these three 
 columns were marched out of town in as many dif 
 ferent directions. One was headed down the river 
 towards Copano, one up stream in the direction of 
 San Antonio, and one due west as though it were 
 bound to Mexico. 
 
 While our lad, walking slowly towards the hospital, 
 was wondering at this, and also planning an escape, 
 his preoccupation caused him to come into collision 
 with a young Mexican officer who stood alone on a 
 street corner, gazing after the receding columns of 
 prisoners. 
 
 Rex began to apologize, but his words were cut 
 short ; for, as the other turned his face he saw that 
 
" LISTEN I " 303 
 
 it was his old-time friend Florio Veramendi, whom 
 he had not met since the latter entered the army two 
 years before, and whom he had supposed to be still 
 stationed at the Mexican capital. 
 
 At this moment Florio s generally handsome and 
 laughing face was so haggard, and wore an expression 
 of such horror, that the greeting which Rex started 
 to utter died on his lips, and instead of it he asked 
 anxiously : 
 
 " My dear Florio ! can this be you ? When did 
 you come to Goliad? What is the matter? You 
 look as though you were condemned to instant ex 
 ecution. Are you ill?" 
 
 " 111 ! " cried the young Mexican, fiercely. " I am so 
 sick with shame that my heart is like to break. Con 
 demned ! I am condemned forever to wear the brand 
 of infamy because I belong to a race perjured and 
 accursed ! When did I come ? I reached this place 
 of horror last night, bearing a sealed and urgent 
 despatch from that monster of deceit and prince of 
 human devils, Santa Anna. Of its contents I was 
 ignorant until five minutes ago, else would I have 
 endured tortures rather than deliver it. Having 
 done so, though innocently, as I would swear before 
 the Almighty, I am forever marked with the damn 
 able marks of Cain and Judas." 
 
 " You rave, Florio ! Something terrible has hap 
 pened to upset you. I am your friend, even though 
 we fight on opposite sides. Tell me your trouble 
 
304 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 that I may help you bear it. What have you done ? 
 or what has been done to you?" 
 
 " I brought the sentence under which those hun 
 dreds of defenceless and unprepared men are even 
 now led out to be slaughtered in cold blood," an 
 swered the young Mexican, speaking with deliberate 
 emphasis. 
 
 " But," cried Rex, aghast, " that cannot be. Those 
 men are prisoners of war, with lives and liberty 
 solemnly pledged to them." 
 
 " For that very reason no Mexican may ever again 
 claim to be an honorable man, and I am outcast from 
 this day." 
 
 " Florio, I won t believe it ! " 
 
 " Listen ! " 
 
 From far out on the western prairie came a dull 
 roar of musketry. 
 
 "Listen!" 
 
 From down the river came another awful crash 
 of guns. 
 
 " Listen ! " 
 
 But, with a cry as of a wild beast springing on 
 its prey, Rex was racing madly in the direction 
 taken by the third column of prisoners, the one with 
 which Fenno had gone. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 A MASSACRE FIIOM WHICH TWO ESCAPE 
 
 TEXAS lay apparently at the mercy of Santa 
 Anna. Her only organized bodies of troops had 
 been wiped from existence, her foes had been every 
 where triumphant, and were now marching three 
 strong, well-equipped armies across the state. The 
 government had fled from Washington on the 
 Brazos, to the equally insignificant and defenceless 
 village of Harrisburg on Galveston Bay, near the 
 site of the present city of Houston. The one man 
 upon whom the faint hopes of the Texans rested, 
 and whom they had chosen to lead them in battle, 
 was retreating across the sodden prairies of the 
 Colorado at the head of a few hundred demoralized, 
 barefooted, and wretchedly equipped troops. With 
 these travelled a throng of helpless refugees, mostly 
 women and children, while in hot pursuit marched 
 Santa Anna, leading his strongest army corps. 
 
 That he did not overtake and destroy the fugitives 
 was owing to the heavy rains that turned the prairies 
 into quagmires, and made of every stream an un- 
 fordable torrent. At each one the Texans, as they 
 crossed, carefully collected and destroyed every boat 
 x 305 
 
306 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 for miles up and down, or carried them to the east 
 ern bank. Thus at every river the Mexicans were 
 compelled to spend days in constructing rafts for 
 their artillery and baggage. The Texans, moreover, 
 burned all villages as they evacuated them, begin 
 ning with Gonzales, besides sweeping the country of 
 provisions, live-stock, and forage. 
 
 From all sides Houston was bitterly blamed for 
 retreating ; but, realizing as no other could the folly 
 of attempting a stand under the circumstances, he 
 steadily pursued his own policy, held no councils, 
 and silently bided his time. The news of the fall of 
 Goliad saddened him, but in no way altered his plans, 
 for he had foreseen that it was inevitable. 
 
 When, two weeks later, one who had escaped as 
 by a miracle brought tidings of the cold-blooded 
 massacre of prisoners, whose lives and liberties had 
 been solemnly guaranteed, the great heart of the 
 leader seemed like to burst with grief and rage. 
 The effect on his men was to turn them into demons 
 athirst for vengeance, and he promised them that 
 their opportunity should not be long delayed. 
 
 Upon the Hardens the blow fell with a crushing 
 weight, for the messenger replied to their anxious 
 queries, that Rex was certainly among the murdered. 
 He knew him by the lone-star badge embroidered on 
 his sombrero. It was the only one in Goliad, and 
 he had seen its wearer fall. Yes, there could be no 
 mistake about it, their Rex the splendid fearless 
 
A MASSACRE FROM WHICH TWO ESCAPE 307 
 
 boy, who was all in all to them had been sacrificed 
 for Texas, and they felt that they had, indeed, given 
 her their best. 
 
 Until now Nelita Veramendi, with her piquant 
 beauty and unfailing cheerfulness, had been the 
 very life of that gloomy retreat ; never complain 
 ing, always helpful, and full of bright prophecies 
 for the future. From earliest childhood she had 
 regarded Rex Harden as a well-loved brother, but 
 at the news of his death she stared for a moment 
 incredulous, and then sank like one who has received 
 a mortal wound. 
 
 That the cruel massacre of helpless prisoners had 
 taken place was true ; but he who carried its tid 
 ings to Houston s camp was mistaken when he named 
 Rex Harden as among its victims. Santa Anna had 
 received news of the fall of Goliad and the victory 
 of Coletto while at Gonzales, and when he heard of 
 the terms granted to the vanquished, his face grew 
 black as night. Seizing a pen, he dashed off a few 
 words, enclosed them in a sealed envelope, and 
 looked about him for a trusty messenger. Florio 
 Veramendi had that day arrived from Mexico with 
 despatches from the Minister of War, and was in 
 the President s tent awaiting instructions. To him, 
 then, Santa Anna said harshly : 
 
 " Carry this order with all speed to General 
 Urrea at Goliad. Tell him to execute it instantly, 
 and to the letter." 
 
308 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 So Florio departed; and, taking an escort of 
 twenty mounted men, rode in haste to Goliad, which 
 place he reached during the second night. On the 
 weary journey he wondered much concerning the 
 nature of the urgent message he was bearing, and 
 when General Urrea opened it, he was startled by 
 the expression of horror that flitted across the man s 
 face. The trained soldier was, however, able to sup 
 press his feelings ; and, without a word of explana 
 tion, merely said : 
 
 " Very well, sir. His Excellency s order shall be 
 obeyed, and you may retire." 
 
 Thus dismissed, Florio joined certain young offi 
 cers of his acquaintance, from whom he learned all 
 that had happened since their advance upon Goliad. 
 Then he sought the rest he had so well earned, and 
 slept until morning. So the infamous order he had 
 brought was in the very process of being carried out 
 before he learned of its nature. His informant had 
 just left him horror-stricken at the merciless perfidy 
 of the man whom he owned as master, when his 
 friend Rex Harden, whom he had no idea was in 
 Goliad, appeared upon the scene. 
 
 The latter was no sooner convinced of the truth 
 of Florio s words, than he conceived a wild idea of 
 gaining the nearest column of prisoners in time to 
 warn them of their impending fate, and join them in a 
 death grapple for vengeance with their executioners. 
 
 Although he ran like one possessed, and was 
 
A MASSACRE FROM WHICH TWO ESCAPE 309 
 
 allowed to pass the sentries on account of his hos 
 pital uniform, he only reached the scene of the 
 tragedy in time to see it enacted. As he gained 
 sight of the column, the prisoners were halted in a 
 double line facing the river. Ten paces behind them 
 stood the three hundred Mexican troops who acted 
 as guards, with their muskets aimed at the still un 
 suspecting prisoners. At that moment one of the 
 latter turned his head, and instantly realized what 
 was about to happen. 
 
 " They are going to shoot us, boys ! " he screamed, 
 and had barely uttered the words when a sheet of 
 flame leaped from the long line of muskets. At that 
 fire one hundred men fell dead or dying. The terri 
 fied survivors rushed madly toward the river, and 
 after them leaped the Mexicans, yelling like demons, 
 firing as fast as they could reload, and stabbing with 
 their bayonets those whom they overtook. Only a 
 few of the Americans gained the river bank, while 
 not more than one in four of those who leaped into 
 its current, escaped the rain of bullets that beat the 
 clear waters into foam, and reached the other side. 
 
 All this happened so quickly that Rex, standing 
 horror-stricken, and temporarily unnoticed, Avas for 
 a moment incapable of thought or action. Then of 
 a sudden he knew that only by desperate effort 
 could he avert from himself the awful fate that had 
 just overtaken his recent comrades. 
 
 Thus thinking, he sprang forward as though to 
 
310 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 join the yelling savages who were chasing, shooting, 
 and stabbing the defenceless fugitives. With them 
 he screamed: 
 
 " Death to the gringos! Kill the heretics! " 
 
 In the assumed ardor of his chase, he did not 
 pause on reaching the river bank, but, leaping far out 
 into the water, swam after the most laggard of 
 those who had thus far escaped, as though bent on 
 his destruction. The Mexicans on the bank yelled 
 with delight as they saw him gain on the fugitive, 
 and, misled by his uniform into believing him one of 
 themselves, cheered him on to greater exertions. 
 
 As the swimmer whom he was following gained 
 the opposite shore only a few feet in advance, and 
 started to climb the steep bank, exhaustion or terror 
 overcame him, and with a despairing cry he slipped 
 back into the water. At this the Mexicans screamed 
 with derisive laughter, but in another moment their 
 tone was changed to one of angry amazement. In 
 stead of forcing his victim beneath the surface and 
 drowning him, as they fully expected the stout 
 swimmer wearing their uniform would do, he was 
 actually assisting the hated Americano to climb the 
 bank. 
 
 For a moment they gazed incredulous and then, 
 realizing that they had been tricked, began hastily 
 to reload their empty guns. Two or three shots 
 were fired without effect; and then, to their chagrin, 
 he whom they had supposed to be their friend 
 
A MASSACRE FROM WHICH TWO ESCAPE 311 
 
 turned and taunted them with a defiant gesture, 
 while his companion disappeared in the thick timber, 
 
 In another instant the young Texan followed, and, 
 gaining the shelter of the trees, found him whom he 
 had saved lying panting on the ground. Until then 
 Rex had not seen his face nor given a thought to his 
 identity. Now, to his joyful amazement, he dis 
 covered him to be the very lad whose white badge 
 of safety he had assumed the night before, and whom 
 he had believed to have thus been sent to his death. 
 
 " Fenno! Can it be possible ? " he cried. 
 
 At his words the other opened his eyes and strug 
 gled to his feet, gazing at Rex as though he had been 
 a ghost. 
 
 44 Is it truly you, Harden? Have we both really 
 escaped from that hell of murder, or is it all a dread 
 ful dream from which I am not yet awaked ? " he 
 asked. At the same time he shivered and glanced 
 about him fearfully. 
 
 "It is no dream, old man, but an awful reality 
 from which, thank God, we have both escaped. But 
 there is no time for talking ; we are still surrounded 
 by deadly perils. So brace up, and come along." 
 
 Thus saying, Rex started through the timber, 
 which at that point was but a narrow belt, and 
 Fenno followed him. They were about to emerge 
 from it, when the former halted and sank to the 
 ground, pulling his companion with him. 
 
 Not fifty yards away, on the open prairie, was a 
 
312 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 troop of Mexican lancers, evidently stationed at that 
 point to cut off the escape of any fugitives. Behind 
 them the lads could hear their merciless pursuers 
 crossing the river. Their position was certainly a 
 desperate one, while, to add to its terrors, several 
 Americans who, like themselves, had swum the river 
 in, safety, just then emerged from the wood in blind 
 flight, and were instantly speared to death by the 
 waiting lancers. 
 
 After making certain that their victims were dead, 
 and robbing their bodies of whatever was worth tak 
 ing, the lancers remounted and dashed away as 
 though they had sighted other fugitives. At the 
 same time, the shouts of the pursuing Mexicans who 
 had crossed the river drew ominously near. 
 
 " Come," whispered Rex, " we must run for it ! 
 There is no other chance." 
 
 So the two broke from their cover, and, nerved by 
 despair, sped like the wind across the open. They 
 had not gone a quarter of a mile, when a backward 
 glance showed the lancers to be returning to their 
 original position. Flinging themselves to the 
 ground, the hunted lads lay trembling, and only par 
 tially concealed by the brown prairie grasses. 
 
 After a little the lancers again moved away, and 
 the two fugitives resumed their flight, which they 
 maintained until they reached a clump of chaparral 
 in which Rex said they would hide until night. 
 
 During that day they repeatedly heard sounds of 
 
A MASSACRE FROM WHICH TWO ESCAPE 313 
 
 firing and saw several parties of Mexican cavalry 
 scouring the country; by which signs they were led 
 to believe that they two were the sole survivors of 
 that awful massacre. 
 
 Filled as they were with grief, rage, and appre 
 hension, our lads were spared a knowledge of the 
 further horrors even then taking place in Goliad. 
 There, after murdering their uninjured prisoners, 
 the Mexicans dragged the wounded out into the 
 courtyard of the old mission and butchered them. 
 Colonel Fannin was the last to be put to death, and 
 he met his fate like the brave soldier he was, calmly 
 facing his executioners and baring his own breast 
 to receive their cowardly bullets. 
 
 Thus was closed a chapter that, for perfidious 
 treachery and inhuman cruelty, is unsurpassed in all 
 the annals of American history. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 THE DARKEST HOUR 
 
 WITH the coming of night Rex and Fenno, some 
 what refreshed by their rest, set forth on what they 
 believed to be a northeasterly course. They dared 
 not strike for the Rancho Herrera, or even toward 
 Gonzales, for Rex knew that Santa Anna was march 
 ing to the eastward, and that the whole country in 
 that direction would swarm with Mexican soldiers. 
 By going directly east they would become involved 
 in the labyrinth of swamps and bayous bordering 
 the coast ; but a course between the two might take 
 them to the Texas army on the Colorado. 
 
 The night was intensely dark, and they had not so 
 much as a star to guide their steps. Still they 
 pushed sturdily on until daylight, when they stopped 
 to rest in the timber bordering a small stream. Fenno 
 was so wearied that he begged Rex to let him sleep 
 there all day, but the latter declared they must not 
 think of halting until they had put many more miles 
 between them and their merciless foes. So they 
 forded the stream in icy water that rose above their 
 waists, and pushed on with hardly a pause until 
 
 314 
 
THE DARKEST HOUR 315 
 
 night, when they came again to a narrow but deep 
 and rapid stream. 
 
 All that day they had been exposed to the drizzle 
 of a wet norther by which they had become 
 thoroughly soaked and chilled to the bone. They 
 were also sick and trembling with the weakness of 
 hunger. They had seen plenty of deer that day, 
 and could now hear numbers of wild turkeys going 
 to roost in the tall timber surrounding them, but as 
 neither of them possessed a weapon of any kind, 
 both deer and turkey were safe so far as they were 
 concerned. 
 
 Rex did own one thing fully as valuable as a rifle, 
 and that was a water-tight fire pouch, containing 
 flint, steel, and tinder. He had not dared light a 
 fire up to this moment, and would not have done so 
 now, but that poor Fenno was shaking so violently 
 with the cold, and pleaded so pitifully for one, that 
 he could not refuse him. 
 
 " All right, old man," he said at length. " I sup 
 pose we might as well run one risk as another, and 
 it does seem as though without a fire we should die 
 before morning. So we ll have one if I can make it. 
 Only let us cross this river first that we may not 
 have it to do in the morning when we are dry." 
 
 Fenno shuddered at the idea of entering the black 
 waters ; but, urged on by Rex, finally did so with a 
 rush, thinking to have the dreaded task over with as 
 quickly as possible. It was an ill-advised move- 
 
316 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 ment, for he stumbled, fell, and was swept away by 
 the strong current. So dark had the night already 
 become, that it was full half an hour before Rex, 
 guided by his faint cries, found him caught in the 
 overhanging branches of a tree, a quarter of a mile 
 below, and dragged him ashore, nearly dead with 
 exhaustion, chill, and fright. 
 
 Now a fire was a necessity, and the young Texan 
 made one as quickly as possible. With all his efforts, 
 another half-hour had elapsed before he succeeded in 
 obtaining a blaze from the wet material at hand. 
 While he was thus engaged, Fenno, shivering and 
 moaning, did not speak a word ; and when, by the 
 first gleam of fire-light, Rex turned to look at his 
 companion, he was terrified to find him lying with 
 closed eyes and bloodless face, in a sort of a stupor. 
 Dragging the poor lad close to the fire, and pulling 
 off his wet garments, Rex rubbed and slapped the 
 almost lifeless body for an hour before the sluggish 
 blood began again to circulate. A little later 
 Fenno was tossing with fever, and raving of the 
 awful scenes he had so lately witnessed. 
 
 All night long he passed in alternate chill and 
 fever, moaning and shaking with one, or tossing and 
 raving with the other. It moved Rex to tears to 
 hear him talk of his far-away home, and call the 
 dear ones left in it, by name. Again he would 
 break into a fury of rage against the wretches who 
 had murdered his comrades. The same train of 
 
THE DARKEST HOUR 317 
 
 thought came to his lucid moments, and he begged 
 Rex not to let him die until he had taken vengeance 
 upon at least one Mexican. 
 
 The coming of morning found both lads asleep, 
 and the day was well advanced before Rex awoke. 
 Seeing that Fenno still slept heavily, he ventured to 
 leave him, while he went to explore their surround 
 ings as well as to search for food and shelter. 
 
 He had not gone fifty yards before he found a 
 well-marked road running parallel to the stream on 
 which they were camped. Although somewhat 
 troubled at the nearness of this highway, as there 
 was no one to be seen on it in either direction, he 
 ventured to follow it in the hope of finding a house. 
 
 So anxious was he to make such a discovery that 
 he walked much further than he had intended on 
 setting out ; but was thinking of turning back, when 
 his ear caught a distant rattle of drums and the faint 
 notes of a bugle call. He wanted to run, but, deter 
 mined to know whence the ominous sounds came, he 
 forced himself to proceed to a bit of rising ground, 
 from which he hoped for a wider survey. To his 
 amazement, he saw, not more than two miles away, 
 a town. He could not believe the evidence of his 
 eyes, and rubbing them he looked again. Then his 
 heart sank like lead, and he groaned aloud, for not 
 only did he see a town, but he recognized it to be 
 Goliad. He tried to think himself mistaken ; but 
 could not, for the whole storm-blurred landscape 
 
318 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 was too terribly familiar. So in all their sorrowful 
 tramping he and Fenno had only moved in a circle, 
 and were again almost at the awful starting-point of 
 their despairing journey. 
 
 So disheartening was this discovery that for a mo 
 ment Rex was ready to give up the struggle and 
 resign himself to the fate that appeared inevitable. 
 Only a thought of the helpless lad awaiting him 
 caused him to think better of such a cowardly re 
 solve, and begin to retrace his steps. He had not 
 gone more than half-way back when he caught a 
 distant glimpse of approaching figures. Leaping to 
 one side, he threw himself down in the tall grass, 
 through which he crawled until the sound of ap 
 proaching voices warned him to lie low. 
 
 The new-comers were half a dozen Mexican foot- 
 soldiers straggling along the road toward Goliad, and 
 Rex, peering through the grasses, saw that while two 
 of them supported a comrade who was covered with 
 blood and evidently severely wounded, the other 
 three carried seven muskets between them. Thus 
 one soldier was missing and unaccounted for. 
 
 When the squad had passed out of sight, Rex rose 
 and hastened forward, apprehensive that they might 
 have seen the fire he had left burning, and so dis 
 covered his helpless comrade. So fearful did he be 
 come of this, that he ran the last mile of the way 
 as though in a race with death. When he at length 
 reached the place from which he had set forth, he 
 
THE DARKEST HOUR 319 
 
 found that he had indeed been racing with death, and 
 that the latter had won the victory. 
 
 Close beside the fire lay Fenno, pierced with a 
 dozen wounds and dead. His rigid fingers were 
 clutched about a bloody bayonet, and near him lay 
 a Mexican soldier of similar uniform to those who 
 had just passed, also dead. On all sides were evi 
 dences of the struggle in which the lad from Ohio 
 had taken that vengeance for which he had prayed, 
 before yielding up his own life. 
 
 The whole story of the tragedy was so plainly 
 written that Rex could see its every detail, and for 
 a while he could only sit and stare at the outspread 
 page. Birds sang above him, squirrels raced and 
 chattered on all sides, and the river flowed placidly 
 close at hand, but he heeded none of these things 
 and saw only his dead comrade. His first feelings 
 were of horror, loneliness, and utter despair. Then 
 came a bitter rage and a longing for revenge. 
 
 " I will live ! " he cried, springing to his feet. " I 
 will live, if only to fight those wretches once more, 
 even if I shall die fighting as this poor, brave fellow 
 has done. Yes, I will ! and I will make my way to 
 Houston s army. First, though, I must bury this 
 poor body beyond reach of buzzards and wolves." 
 
 With the bayonet that, in his final struggle, Fenno 
 had wrested from his murderer, and with which he 
 had avenged his own fate, Rex now laboriously dug 
 a grave beside the peaceful river. The task occupied 
 
320 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 him for several hours, and as the body of him who 
 had given up his life for Texas was laid to rest in 
 her soil, the sun was near his setting. It had broken 
 from the clouds in time for a last look at the dead, 
 and to direct the living on his course. 
 
 When his sad duty was finally completed, Rex again 
 crossed the river, carrying with him the bayonet that 
 killed, avenged, and buried poor Fenno. Then, guided 
 by the lone star of evening that shone low in the 
 west, our young Texan again set forth to traverse 
 the wide wilderness lying between him and safety. 
 
 Two days later, gaunt, famished, footsore, and in 
 the last stages of exhaustion, he stood beside the 
 swollen Guadalupe and gazed despairingly at its 
 swiftly rolling flood. With his ordinary strength 
 he could easily swim it, but in his present state of 
 weakness he knew the attempt would be suicidal. 
 In four days he had not tasted food save a few 
 grass seeds and leaf buds. 
 
 As he sat gloomily on the bank, concealed by an 
 undergrowth, and wondering if the end of all things 
 had indeed come for him, a slight sound attracted 
 his attention. Glancing in that direction, he saw 
 three deer walk daintily down to the water s edge, 
 not two hundred feet from him. Oh, for a rifle, 
 or a gun of any kind ! And then venison steaks 
 for supper ! 
 
 " But I might as well wish for the moon," thought 
 the starving lad bitterly. 
 
THE DAE REST HOUR 321 
 
 The sight of those deer was so tantalizing, that he 
 was about to hurl a chunk of wood at them, and so 
 dispel it, when his arm was arrested by a slight 
 movement on the limb of a tree overreaching the 
 place where they stood. He had just made out 
 that it was caused by the tip of a waving tail, when, 
 with a mighty spring, a great tawny body launched 
 itself through the air and lighted on the back of one 
 of the unsuspecting deer. Like a flash the others 
 were gone, and a puma or Mexican lion was begin 
 ning to make his supper off the one he had stricken. 
 
 Rex watched him enviously and anxiously. " Will 
 he eat it all ? " he asked himself. " Oh, if he would 
 only go away, leaving just a little of that venison! " 
 And the puma did just as the famished lad wished 
 he would. In half an hour his appetite appeared 
 to be satisfied, and a goodly portion of the deer still 
 remained. This he dragged a short distance and 
 carefully concealed beneath a pile of branches, sticks, 
 and leaves, as a dog would hide a bone. Then, 
 taking a drink from the river, and making a long, 
 slow survey of his surroundings, the powerful animal 
 walked leisurely up the bank and disappeared. 
 
 Two minutes later, regardless of whether the great 
 cat were watching him or not, Rex was robbing his 
 larder. That night he ate venison steaks hacked off 
 with a bayonet, and broiled over coals, until it did 
 not seem as though he should ever care to eat 
 another mouthful of meat so long as he lived. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII 
 
 DESPAIR AND HAPPINESS 
 
 AFTER that Heaven-sent supper, Rex slept dream- 
 lessly beside his smouldering fire until daylight, when 
 he awoke feeling happier and stronger than at any 
 time since leaving Goliad. Now he wondered if the 
 puma had come back to renew his feast during the 
 night, and trembled to think how easily the great 
 brute might have punished him for his theft if it 
 had been discovered. So uneasy was he at this 
 thought, that he decided not to remain within reach 
 of punishment any longer ; but to place the Guada- 
 lupe between him and danger as quickly as possible. 
 Lashing his meat, together with his clothing, to a 
 floating log, and pushing this before him, he swam 
 the river in safety ; but at the expense of a serious 
 loss. This was his bayonet, which he had sharpened 
 to a knife-like edge, and with which he would not 
 have parted for many times its weight in gold. But 
 in some way it slipped from the clothing in which 
 he had wrapped it, and now only the Guadalupe 
 knew where it lay. 
 
 While greatly cast down by this loss, and in spite 
 of his enormous supper of the evening before, Rex 
 
 322 
 
DESPAIR AND HAPPINESS 323 
 
 realized that his appetite was as ravenous as ever ; 
 and so, as soon as he gained the opposite bank, he 
 set about preparing another meal. While thus en 
 gaged he had the satisfaction of hearing a succes 
 sion of angry roarings from the timber he had so 
 recently left, that caused him to smile at his own 
 cleverness. 
 
 After this Rex made two more good meals from the 
 puma s venison, and then the remainder was stolen 
 from close beside him as he slept, so skilfully that 
 he never knew what animal took it. However, what 
 he had eaten gave him strength to reach the Lavaca 
 River, which lay mid-way between the Guadalupe 
 and the Colorado where he hoped to find his friends. 
 But now he was again very hungry, and so nearly 
 barefooted that his feet were bleeding from innu 
 merable cuts and bruises ; unless he could soon find 
 a pair of boots or something to take their place, it 
 was evident that his journey was nearly ended. 
 
 As he hobbled painfully along the edge of the 
 dense timber of the river bottom, which at this place 
 was miles in width, seeking for some road or trail 
 that should penetrate it, he caught sight of a house, 
 the very first he had seen in all his wanderings. It 
 was a small structure of logs, standing in a little 
 prairie bay that made into the timber, and was 
 enclosed by it on three sides. After cautiously 
 watching this house for a while from the conceal 
 ment of the timber, and seeing no evidence of 
 
324 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 human presence, Rex finally hobbled up to its door 
 and entered. Not only was it deserted, but every 
 thing movable in it had been so wantonly destroyed 
 that the floor was littered with broken furniture, 
 smashed crockery, and ripped bedding. There was 
 no sign of food, nor could our lad find a scrap of 
 leather with which to resole his worn-out boots. 
 
 Still the outlook was not wholly gloomy, for in a 
 crib outside he found half a dozen ears of corn, 
 which he speedily converted into meal by means of a 
 steel mill that was nailed to a tree in the yard. 
 Returning to the house with his precious meal and 
 building a fire in one of the chimneys, he soon had 
 prepared that simplest of all bread forms, an "ash 
 cake," which, unsalted and unleavened as it was, yet 
 tasted a little better than anything he had ever eaten 
 except the venison of the Guadalupe. 
 
 After disposing of this extremely frugal supper, 
 the tired lad collected a heap of tattered bedding, 
 and lying down on it, only kept awake long enough 
 to reflect how thoroughly comfortable he was and 
 how he wished he might look forward to as good a 
 bed every night. Then he fell asleep. 
 
 When next he wakened it was with a start and at 
 sound of gruff voices. Daylight was streaming in at 
 the open door and windows, and standing beside 
 him, looking at him curiously, were two strapping 
 Mexicans in the dress of rancheros. 
 
 " Ho ! Gringo ! " said one. 
 
DESPAIR AND HAPPINESS 325 
 
 "Probably escaped from Goliad," remarked the 
 other. 
 
 " And therefore worth money if we shall take him 
 back, for a reward is offered." 
 
 " As it is also the place to which we are going, there 
 can be no harm in letting him live till we get there." 
 
 " Certainly no harm, unless he should escape." 
 
 " We will attend to that. Stand up, gringo ! 
 Quickly ! So ! " 
 
 With this, the speaker gave our lad a kick that 
 assured him he was not dreaming, and brought him 
 stiffly to his feet. There was not the slightest 
 chance for resistance, and filled with despair he was 
 led outside, where two other Mexicans were guard 
 ing a small herd of horses. One of these was 
 caught and held until the prisoner, with arms pin 
 ioned behind him, could be securely lashed to its bare 
 back. Then it was turned loose with the others, 
 and the whole cavallard was started on a swinging 
 lope to the westward, or back over the very way 
 Rex had just come. 
 
 Never in all his manifold experiences had our lad 
 suffered such tortures both physical and mental as 
 fell to his lot that day. The pains that shot through 
 every joint of his body were those of one stretched 
 upon the rack, while his mind was filled with humili 
 ation, rage, and despair. When night came, he was 
 loosed from his horse on the bank of the Guadalupe. 
 He slipped to the ground like a log, while his brutal 
 
326 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 captors jeered at his sufferings, and told him they 
 were nothing to the torments he would endure after 
 he had been shot. They still did not wish him to 
 die just yet, so they loosed his bonds, gave him 
 food and drink, and then tied him securely to a tree 
 for the night. 
 
 The following morning he was again bound to a 
 barebacked horse, and the terrible journey was re 
 sumed. Rex thought he should be drowned when 
 the horses were made to swim the river, and hoped 
 he would be ; but to his disappointment he was not, 
 though it very nearly happened. By the time he 
 found himself on the western bank and being rapidly 
 borne through the timber, his body had become par 
 tially numbed by long-continued torture, and at 
 intervals he lost consciousness. From one of these 
 unconscious spells he was aroused by a confusion of 
 shots, yells, and the furious galloping of horses. 
 Then all was once more a blank. 
 
 When he next awoke he was lying on the ground, 
 and being bathed with hot water. He did not ache, 
 and it was so pleasant to lie still that for some time 
 he did not open his eyes. When he did, he knew 
 that he was in a dream and not really awake after 
 all ; for he saw his own dear Tawny standing only a 
 short distance away; while bending anxiously over 
 him was Cochito, the young Comanche with whom at 
 some remote period he had contracted a friendship. 
 
 Of course all this was absurd, for Tawny had died 
 
DESPAIR AND HAPPINESS 327 
 
 long ago, and so had Cochito; at least he believed he 
 had, though he was not quite sure. But thinking 
 was too hard work, especially when one could only 
 think foolish thoughts not to be distinguished from 
 dreams ; and he was very tired. So the poor lad, 
 who was too weak and weary to care for anything 
 except rest, again closed his eyes and fell asleep. 
 
 For weariness and pain, and unhappiness and de 
 spair, there is no restorer and comforter to equal 
 sleep. Thus when Rex had slept for a day and a 
 night, he awoke strengthened and refreshed in body 
 and mind. 
 
 Immediately he sat up and looked about him. 
 He was under a spreading tree, on a soft bed made 
 of Spanish moss overlaid with robes. Not far away 
 was a fire, about which were gathered a number of 
 Indians. Beyond them a herd of horses was feed 
 ing. At his first movement one of the Indians rose 
 and came toward him. 
 
 It was Cochito, who said in Mexican, " It is good 
 to meet my white brother once more, and to see that 
 he is well." 
 
 "Indeed, it is very good to see you, Cochito, 
 though I can t quite make out how it has come 
 about. You see, I thought I was dreaming, and in 
 my dreams you came to me together with my horse 
 Tawny, the one, you know, that brought you to me 
 once before. But, of course, that couldn t be really, 
 for he is dead." 
 
328 WITH CKOCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 For answer Cochito only smiled and breathed a 
 shrill whistle, the very one that Rex had formerly 
 used to call Tawny. At sound of it a horse in the 
 distant herd threw up his head ; and, when it was 
 repeated, he came swiftly to where they were. 
 
 It was Tawny, not only alive, but as strong and 
 well as ever. No other horse in Texas had so free 
 a stride, could show a coat of such satiny gloss, or 
 mane and tail of such admirable texture. Besides, 
 no other would have answered that whistle, or thrust 
 his velvet muzzle into Rex Harden s very bosom to 
 be petted. 
 
 Flinging his arms about the proud neck, and bury 
 ing his face in the silken mane, Rex almost sobbed 
 for joy ; and when he found words he cried: 
 
 " Oh Tawny ! Tawny ! I never expected to see 
 you again, and now I am the very happiest fellow in 
 all Texas. But, Cochito, how does it happen that 
 you and he are here? Where did you find him? 
 I can t seem to understand it at all." 
 
 " It is very simple," replied the young Indian, 
 smiling. " I found him more than a moon ago, 
 wounded on a prairie, and knew him for the horse of 
 my white brother. So I cared for him and made 
 him well, and he followed me because of the whistle 
 with which I had heard my brother call him. When 
 I came again I would have restored him; but the 
 lodge of my brother was burned, and he was not 
 there. Then with my comrades I gathered many 
 
DESPAIR AND HAPPINESS 329 
 
 horses and much else of value. With these we were 
 riding once more to the lodges of our own people, 
 when, at this place, we met my brother and four of 
 his enemies. They will not trouble him more, but 
 their scalps will make glad the hearts of the Co- 
 manches who dwell by the Nueces." 
 
 " And Tawny! Am I to have him back again ? " 
 cried Rex. 
 
 " Why not ? Is he not the horse of my brother ? " 
 " Am I also free to go where I please ? " 
 " Could one be the brother of a Comanche warrior 
 and not be free ? " 
 
 " Cochito, old man, you are one of the very finest 
 fellows I ever met. I am proud to be called your 
 brother, and to call you brother. For this day s 
 work I shall love you as long as I live." 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX 
 
 CAPTURED BY A FRIEND. 
 
 ALL that day Rex rested and regained strength, 
 happy in gazing at his beloved horse, whose every 
 movement filled him with joy, and in talking with 
 Cochito, whom he found to be so intelligent that a 
 decided respect for the young Indian was added to 
 his feeling of friendship. From him he learned that 
 General Houston had already retreated beyond the 
 Colorado, and would probably be found on the 
 Brazos, while Santa Anna was sweeping the country 
 with his armies. 
 
 " Why is it so ? " asked Cochito. " Are the white 
 men cowards, that they dare not stand before Los 
 Mexicanos ? " 
 
 " Does not a small band of Comanche warriors 
 sometimes run from a strong war-party of Lipans, 
 until they have led them into an ambush where they 
 may be destroyed?" asked Rex. 
 
 " It has so happened." 
 
 " In this case it is the same. The Texans are 
 few, and their enemies many. So, for a time, the 
 white men retreat; but at the proper place they will 
 turn and fight. Then let my brother open his eyes, 
 
 330 
 
CAPTURED BY A FRIEND 331 
 
 and he will see Mexicans flying over the prairie like 
 antelope before the lobo wolf." 
 
 "If my brother says so, then will it come to pass, 
 and Cochito will remember his words." 
 
 Bright and early the following morning was the 
 camp of rest astir; and though Rex parted with 
 regret from the young Indian who had proved so 
 true a friend, he was impatient to be off, the more so 
 that he was to ride his own incomparable Tawny. 
 Besides the horse saddled and bridled, all that the 
 Indians could give him were provisions, guns being 
 with them too scarce and too precious to be spared. 
 But Rex was more than content ; for, with Tawny, 
 he felt that he could travel to the world s end and 
 defy pursuit. 
 
 Cochito watched them swim the Guadalupe, and 
 the two lads waved a farewell to each other as the 
 dripping stallion scrambled up the eastern bank. 
 
 Oh ! how glorious was the ride across the broad 
 prairies that Rex had already traversed twice in sad 
 ness and pain. So swiftly were the miles spurned 
 by Tawny s flying feet, that the Lavaca River was 
 reached before noon, the Navidad was crossed a few 
 hours later, and that same night found our young 
 Texan camped in the heavy timber bordering the 
 Colorado. 
 
 He had just finished cooking his evening meal, and 
 was about to eat it, when two big, black, and very 
 ugly-looking negroes walked into the circle of fire- 
 
332 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 light and informed him that they had waited quite 
 long enough for him to prepare their supper. They 
 also ordered him to cook some more at once. 
 
 As one of them carried a gun which he kept con 
 stantly pointed at Rex, the latter thought best to 
 comply with their demand. So, inwardly fuming 
 with rage, but outwardly calm, he again set to work, 
 while they took turns at eating and threatening him 
 with the gun, until his whole slender stock of food 
 had disappeared down their black throats. 
 
 While his unwelcome guests ate, they informed 
 him that General Houston had been driven across 
 the Brazos, that Santa Anna was " gwine run him 
 clar outen de state," and that no white man would 
 ever again be allowed to dwell west of the Sabine. 
 This news Rex received in contemptuous silence, 
 though with a fear that part of it, at least, might be 
 true. 
 
 After the negroes had eaten all they could, or 
 rather, all that there was to eat, they argued as to 
 whether they should kill their prisoner or not, and 
 finally decided, that as the Mexicans would do that 
 very soon anyhow, they would not waste good pow 
 der on him. " Same time, boy," said one of them, 
 u we se gwine take dat ar hoss of yourn." 
 
 " Very well," replied Rex, quietly, " if you insist 
 upon taking him, I suppose I can t help myself. 
 Please don t abuse him, though, for he is very gentle, 
 and not over strong." 
 
CAPTURED BY A FRIEND 333 
 
 " Yah, yah ! " guffawed the negroes. " Oh no, sah, 
 we won t buse de hoss, certainly not, only jes ride 
 him to def, an den leav him go : dat s all." 
 
 With this, one of them approached Tawny, who 
 was quietly feeding near by, caught up the trailing 
 picket rope, and gave it a yank. 
 
 The stallion uttered a scream of rage, sprang at 
 the man, knocked him down, and struck furiously at 
 him with his fore feet. The attention of the other 
 negro being thus attracted from Rex, the young 
 Texan leaped forward, snatched away his gun, ran 
 back a few paces, and pointing it at his head cried : 
 
 " Down on your knees, you black scoundrel, or I 
 will kill you ! " 
 
 Instead of obeying, the negro advanced so threat 
 eningly toward the lad, that the latter pulled the 
 trigger. There was no report, and with a fiendish 
 laugh the black bounded forward holding a knife in 
 his uplifted hand. 
 
 At that moment Tawny was ready for another 
 victim ; and, instead of meeting a defenceless boy, 
 the negro was confronted by a raging demon, before 
 whose onset he was as helpless as a child. His up 
 lifted arm was seized and crushed between the ani 
 mal s powerful teeth ; and, in another instant, he too 
 was flung aside to lie as motionless as his compan 
 ion. 
 
 Then Tawny, still quivering from excitement, with 
 head and tail uplifted, stepped proudly over to his 
 
334 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 young master, with an inquiring air as though to ask 
 " Are there any more ? " 
 
 " You are a noble fighter, old fellow," cried Rex, 
 passing an arm across the horse s neck and petting 
 him, " and I am mighty glad that you are my friend 
 instead of an enemy." 
 
 An examination of the gun that had first intimi 
 dated, and then failed him, disclosed the fact that it 
 was not only unloaded, but broken and worthless. 
 So Rex threw it into the river. Then satisfying 
 himself that neither of the negroes was dead, and 
 having no desire for further dealings with them, 
 he mounted Tawny, and taking advantage of the 
 light of the newly risen moon, started to cross the 
 Colorado. 
 
 Although the western bank and the broad surface 
 of the river were flooded with light almost as bright 
 as day, the eastern bank was still in blackest shadow. 
 Thus while Rex was plainly visible to several pairs 
 of eyes that watched him from the shore he was ap 
 proaching, he was unsuspicious of a human presence, 
 until as Tawny was in the act of leaving the water, 
 his bridle was seized from both sides, and at the same 
 time a harsh voice, accompanied by the ominous click 
 of a pistol, ordered the young rider to dismount and 
 surrender. 
 
 " Out of the frying-pan into the fire," groaned 
 Rex, as he reluctantly obeyed, for the command had 
 been given in Mexican, and he realized that he was 
 
CAPTURED BY A FRIEND 335 
 
 again occupying the now familiar position of a pris 
 oner in the hands of a pitiless enemy. 
 
 He was conducted up the river far enough to over 
 come the distance he and Tawny had drifted down 
 stream in crossing, and then into a gully through 
 which a red clay road, ankle deep with mud, led to 
 the top of the bluffs. Just back of these was a 
 cluster of houses, to one of which our lad was taken. 
 Without formality he was ushered into a lighted room 
 containing a Mexican officer, who was seated at a 
 table, with his back to the door, eating supper. 
 
 " A prisoner, Senor Teniente," announced one of 
 the two men who held Rex by the arms. 
 
 At this the officer partially turned his head, and 
 revealed the familiar features of Florio Veramendi. 
 
 In the water-soaked, mud-bespattered, tattered, 
 and long-haired youth of whom he caught only a 
 glimpse, Florio did not recognize the friend of his 
 boyhood, and asked carelessly: 
 
 " What sort of a prisoner ? " 
 
 " An Americano, senor." 
 
 " A soldier ? " 
 
 "It is doubtful." 
 
 "What is his name?" 
 
 "Your name, gringo, announce it," said the sol 
 dier in a low tone to Rex, and the latter answered in 
 a clear voice: 
 
 " Lieutenant Rector Harden, of the Texas army." 
 
 " Holy Mother ! " cried Florio, springing from his 
 
336 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 chair. Then recalling his position, he added in a 
 calmer tone : " This is a most important capture, 
 sergeant, for which you deserve and shall receive 
 great credit. Now, however, you may retire and 
 leave the prisoner with me, for I must question him 
 in private. You have taken the precaution to see 
 that he is unarmed ? " 
 
 "I have, Teniente." 
 
 " Very well, then, I can take care of him," 
 here Florio laid a hand significantly on his sword, 
 " though you will, of course, station a sentry within 
 call." 
 
 " I understand, Teniente," replied the sergeant, 
 saluting and marching stiffly from the room, followed 
 by the other soldier. 
 
 The moment the door closed, and it was certain 
 that the room was not exposed to observation from 
 the outside, Florio s manner changed as by magic. 
 "With a beaming face he sprang forward, and seized 
 his prisoner s hand. 
 
 " My dear, dear Rex ! How can I ever say how 
 glad I am to see you ? How can I express my 
 thankfulness that you should come this night of all 
 nights, the only one on which I happen to be in com 
 mand of the river guard? This, too, when I 
 believed you to have been killed at Goliad, through 
 an infamous order delivered by my hand. Imagine 
 what I have suffered ! Imagine my position ! With 
 your blood on my head, I could never again face 
 
CAPTURED BY A FRIEND 337 
 
 your family or my own. With my hatred of Santa 
 Anna for that act of devilish perfidy, I could no 
 longer serve him. I handed my resignation to 
 General Urrea on the day that I last saw you. He 
 would not accept it, but ordered me to report in 
 person to the President. This I determined never 
 to do, but rather to desert, since I was not allowed 
 to resign. For that purpose I strove to get as 
 close to the Texan army as possible, and came to 
 this point, where Filisola ordered me to remain with 
 Captain Gregorio, who commands the river guard. 
 
 " Unable to form any plan, I obeyed ; and now, see 
 how kindly the saints have directed my steps. Gre 
 gorio was summoned to the Brazos, where the army 
 is crossing, but will return on the morrow. In the 
 meantime we will plan together a flight, for now 
 that I can again look your father and mother and 
 sweet sister in the face, I am no longer a Mexican, 
 but one devoted soul and body to the cause of Texas. 
 So, while we have time, let us consult. But, dear 
 boy, you look famished. Have you supped? No? 
 Sit down, and as you eat, tell me of the miracle by 
 which you escaped on that dreadful day. Oh ! the 
 horror of that time ! the happiness of this ! " 
 
 An hour later the sergeant was summoned and 
 told that, on account of important disclosures made 
 by the prisoner, the lieutenant had determined to 
 escort him in person to the Brazos, leaving him 
 the sergeant in command of the river guard for 
 
338 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 that night. " You will therefore have my horse and 
 the horse of the prisoner at the door in five minutes, 
 besides detailing one man to accompany me," ordered 
 Florio. 
 
 Within five minutes everything was in readiness, 
 and when Rex was mounted on Tawny, Florio bade 
 the soldiers pinion his arms securely behind him. 
 Then they set forth, the lieutenant and the soldier 
 riding on either side of the prisoner and holding 
 straps attached to Tawny s bridle. 
 
 They had thus gone a mile when the lieutenant 
 suddenly discovered that he had left his pistols be 
 hind, and ordered the soldier to ride back for them. 
 "We will proceed slowly until you again overtake 
 us; and you will leave your carbine with which I 
 may shoot the prisoner if he attempts to escape," 
 added the young officer. 
 
 The soldier saluted, obeyed, and disappeared, where 
 upon Florio loosed his prisoner s bonds, handed him 
 the carbine just acquired, and with lighter hearts than 
 either of them had known in many days, the two lieu 
 tenants dashed away in a direction very different 
 from the one they were supposed to have taken. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 TEXAS FREE AT LAST 
 
 FOR a whole week Rex and Florio, leaving all 
 travelled trails to avoid the Mexican armies, struggled 
 through tangled canebrakes, swamp, and drowned 
 timber lands, swam swollen rivers, or rode heavily 
 over endless prairies sodden with ram. They were 
 generally bewildered and often lost, they had scanty 
 food, and less of rest, but always they pushed steadily 
 forward. After crossing the Brazos they rode toward 
 Harrisburg, the seat of government, where, if any 
 where, they believed the Texans would make a stand. 
 
 Now they met many stragglers, Mexican soldiers 
 wandered from their commands, and refugee settlers. 
 Whenever our two lieutenants encountered the former, 
 Rex was a prisoner in the hands of Florio, but when 
 they met with Americans, their position was reversed. 
 Every one whom they questioned told them a differ 
 ent story ; but by piecing these together they gained 
 a fair idea of the situation. 
 
 Santa Anna, leaving the main body of his army 
 still crossing the Brazos, with an utter contempt for 
 the little force of farmers under Houston, had pushed 
 ahead with but eight hundred men and a single piece 
 
 339 
 
340 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 of artillery, so rapidly as to leave the Texan army in 
 his rear. His objective point was Galveston, and he 
 only delayed his march to that place long enough to 
 burn Harrisburg, which had been deserted by its 
 terrified inhabitants but an hour before. Then he 
 continued down Buffalo Bayou amid a network of 
 creeks and salt-water inlets toward Galveston Bay. 
 
 Until he reached the San Jacinto River he had no 
 idea that he was being hotly pursued by the enemy 
 whom he had passed and left in his rear with such 
 contemptuous indifference. On the San Jacinto 
 prairie they caught up with him, drove in his rear 
 guard and shelled his camp. With this he moved to 
 a timbered ridge slightly elevated above the sur 
 rounding level, and began to fortify his position, at 
 the same time sending back for reinforcements. 
 
 Thus matters stood on the morning of the 21st of 
 April, 1836. General Martin Cos had just joined 
 his illustrious brother-in-law with seven hundred 
 fresh troops, several pieces of artillery, and a report 
 that Filisola would arrive the next day with one 
 thousand more. 
 
 "I shall not need them," remarked Santa Anna, 
 scornfully. " We are strong enough now to sweep 
 Mr. Houston and his horde of ragged rebels from 
 the face of the earth, and this very day I mean to do 
 so. But there is no haste, my dear Martin. Take 
 your time to rest, and after siesta will we set about 
 our task of teaching the dogs their lesson. " 
 
TEXAS FREE AT LAST 341 
 
 The noon hour was long past when two young 
 horsemen dashed up to the only bridge across a 
 bayou, bordering the San Jacinto prairie. To their 
 amazement, men were cutting away its supports, and 
 they had hardly clattered across when it fell. One 
 of the axemen, clad in buckskin, sprang forth to bar 
 their passage. He was Deaf Smith the scout. 
 
 "It s all right! " shouted the foremost rider. " I 
 am Rex Harden. Where is the Texas army ? " 
 
 " Hurrah, lad! You re just in time for the fight. 
 Ride one mile further, and you ll be with them! " 
 
 So the two hastened on, and five minutes later Rex, 
 reining Tawny to a stand beside General Houston, 
 saluted and reported: 
 
 " Just arrived, general, but ready for duty." 
 
 Why, lad, they told me you were dead! Never 
 mind. Thank God you are alive. Now get a sword 
 and help us strike the blow that shall make Texas 
 forever free. Come on! " 
 
 " Take my sword," said Florio, hurriedly, at the 
 same time thrusting the weapon into his comrade s 
 Jiand. " I cannot draw it against men of my own 
 race, and so will await you here. God bless you, my 
 friend, and send you the victory." 
 
 Thus far Rex had seen no enemy, and was won 
 dering where the battle was to be fought, when, 
 from a clump of timber in front of the thin Texas 
 line, there came a roar of artillery. A moment later 
 the thrilling order: 
 
342 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 "Forward march! Double-quick, charge!" rang 
 out, and was repeated from mouth to mouth along 
 the line. 
 
 As they burst through the fringe of timber, and 
 emerged from it, Rex saw a long, low breastwork 
 and beyond it the tents of a camp. A narrow strip 
 of prairie lay between him and it. Already the 
 Texans were running across this, yelling like mad 
 men their battle-cries : 
 
 "Remember the Alamo ! Remember G-oliad ! " 
 
 The startled Mexicans fired one wild volley into 
 the on-rushing line; but they might as well have 
 tried to stop it with pea-shooters. This was the 
 moment for which the men of Texas had waited for 
 months, the terrible moment of vengeance. Not a 
 shot did they fire until the breastwork was reached. 
 Then a withering sheet of flame leaped from the 
 brown rifles, and swept with the shriek of death 
 through the devoted camp that was barely wakened 
 from its siesta. 
 
 Over the breastworks the Texans sprang like 
 famished tigers. They had no bayonets, but they 
 had pistols and bowie knives, while, with sinewy 
 arms, they swung their clubbed rifles like flails of 
 Heaven s wrath. 
 
 For five minutes the struggle was fierce, and to 
 the death. Then the Mexicans gave way at every 
 point and fled in utter panic. Within fifteen min 
 utes from the first cannon shot, the decisive battle of 
 
TEXAS FREE AT LAST 343 
 
 San Jacinto had been fought and won. Santa Anna, 
 " the Napoleon of the West," who had never before 
 been defeated in battle, had been whipped at last 
 by "Mr." Houston and his seven hundred ragged 
 rebels. The Alamo and Goliad were avenged. 
 Texas was free! 
 
 That evening a report was handed to General 
 Houston. " Eight Texans killed and twenty-five 
 wounded ; 630 Mexicans killed, 208 wounded, 730 
 prisoners, and not more than a dozen escaped." 
 
 Horses and mules with gorgeous trappings, camp 
 equipage, arms of every description, ammunition in 
 quantity, and a military chest, containing $12,000 in 
 gold, all had fallen into the hands of the victorious 
 Texans. 
 
 But one thing was wanting to crown their victory, 
 and it was the capture of Santa Anna. Houston 
 had issued strict orders that he was to be taken 
 alive if possible, and now he was not to be found. 
 Could he have escaped ? It must not be ; for only 
 the Mexican President could command the four 
 thousand Mexican troops still in Texas to face about 
 and march beyond the Rio Grande. Until dark the 
 adjacent country was scoured for him, and with 
 earliest dawn the search was renewed. 
 
 Rex Harden knew not what he had done in the 
 wild excitement of those terrible fifteen minutes of 
 battle, or how he had borne himself. When they 
 were over, he found both himself and Tawny cov- 
 
344 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 ered with blood that was not their own, and that he 
 was tightly clutching the hilt of a broken sword. 
 As soon as he found that Santa Anna was missing, 
 he entered eagerly into the search for him, and by his 
 side rode Florio Yeramendi, the only man in camp 
 who knew the Mexican President by sight. 
 
 The morning after the battle, as these two and 
 three others were riding at some distance from 
 camp, Rex spied a Mexican in the uniform of a pri 
 vate soldier, skulking beside a bayou, and they rode 
 up to him. At their approach, he drew a blanket 
 over his head; but Florio had already recognized the 
 man who, in all the world, he most despised. " It 
 is he ! It is Santa Anna himself ! " he shouted. 
 
 In another minute, Lieutenant Rector Harden of 
 the Texas regulars, riding Tawny the superb, was 
 leading the horse of Florio, on which was seated his 
 prisoner, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, 
 tyrant by trade, and President of the Republic of 
 Mexico by profession. 
 
 Three hours later, Florio Veramendi, Texan, who 
 had begged for the mission and been backed in his 
 pleading by Lieutenant Harden, to whom nothing 
 could now be refused, was galloping westward ac 
 companied by Deaf Smith, the scout. The former 
 bore to General Filisola, now commanding the Mexi 
 can forces in Texas, an order written and signed by 
 Santa Anna for the immediate retirement of all his 
 troops beyond the Rio Grande. With the signing 
 
TEXAS FREE AT LAST 345 
 
 of that paper was the freedom of Texas forever 
 assured. 
 
 Miles away from the battle-ground of San Jacinto, 
 on which myriads of red mallows, snow-white Texas 
 lilies, and the blue bells of buffalo clover were 
 stained with blood to an all-pervading crimson, 
 was a camp of refugees. In it were the sick and 
 wounded, men too old to fight, and boys too young, 
 women and children, cattle driven from many an 
 abandoned ranch, and a few wagons containing the 
 scanty savings from hundreds of deserted homes. 
 It was a camp of distress and suffering, of mingled 
 hopes and fears. Its occupants were at the end of 
 their strength, which had been exhausted by weeks 
 of terror and ceaseless flight, and now they must 
 await their fate, for they could go no further. 
 
 They knew that a battle was about to be fought. 
 If it should result in defeat, the end of all things 
 would have come, so far as they were concerned. 
 If a victory should be theirs, and oh ! how they 
 prayed for one, the joy would be inconceivable. 
 
 So, on that 21st of April, they waited with such 
 intent listening, that they hardly dared speak above 
 a whisper, for fear of losing one of the dreaded, but 
 longed-for sounds. They had heard a boom of heavy 
 guns the day before, and were fevered with anxiety, 
 until they learned that it indicated but a preliminary 
 skirmish, and that the battle would be fought on the 
 morrow. Now the fateful morrow had come. 
 
346 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE 
 
 Squire Harden, suffering such pain from his old- 
 time wound as to be nearly helpless, was in command 
 of the pitiful camp, and on that morning he visited 
 every part of it, with words of hopeful cheer and 
 kindly wisdom. But its inmates hardly heard him, 
 and made scant reply to his courtesy, for they fretted 
 at being interrupted in their listening. 
 
 From daylight they listened until long past noon, 
 and the strain became almost too intense to be borne; 
 but no sound had come to them. The afternoon 
 was half spent ere they heard the far-away, but un 
 mistakable note of a heavy gun. At the dread 
 sound, their pent feelings found relief in shouts and 
 shrill screamings. But only for a moment, and 
 again they listened in breathless silence. 
 
 For ten minutes the distant cannonading was 
 continued; then came a heavier volume of firing, a 
 confused murmur, and all was as quiet as before. 
 The sun set, and they still knew not what had hap 
 pened. All that night they waited in dread antici 
 pation, but in the morning the messengers came. 
 There were so many of them, that, when first seen 
 they were believed to be the earliest fugitives of a 
 defeated army, and the refugees watched their ap 
 proach with despairing eyes. Especially was their 
 intent gaze fixed on one who so far outstripped the 
 others, that he seemed to have left them at a stand 
 still, and to be coming on the wings of the wind. 
 
 Squire Harden would have ridden to meet him, 
 
TEXAS FREE AT LAST 347 
 
 but his wife begged him not to leave them, while 
 Mabel and Lita Veramendi clung to his arms. So 
 they waited together until Mabel, staring intently at 
 the approaching figures, exclaimed: 
 
 " Father, that horse is Tawny, for there cannot be 
 another like him in all Texas." 
 
 " Nonsense, daughter ! It can t be." 
 
 " But father, it is ! " 
 
 "And Rex, our Rex, is riding him," almost 
 screamed Nelita. 
 
 " Child, hush ! Rex is dead." 
 
 " He is not dead ! He is alive, and is coming ! " 
 cried the girl, leaping forward, with outstretched 
 arms, as though to greet the brave young rider. 
 Then, realizing what she was doing, she turned and 
 fled to the shelter of the wagon, there to hide her 
 confusion and her unspeakable joy. 
 
 Now the speeding horseman waves his hat madly, 
 and utters the ringing Texas yell, a fierce cry of 
 jubilation and victory. With that one sound the 
 whole story was told, and in an instant the breathless 
 camp was shouting, cheering, laughing, sobbing, and 
 praising God. 
 
 A few seconds later, Rex Harden had leaped from 
 Tawny s back, and, with the hot tears, that alone 
 can give adequate expression to overwhelming joy, 
 streaming down his sun-tanned cheeks, had clasped 
 his trembling mother in his strong young arms. 
 
Charles Scribner s Sons 
 
 New and Standard Books for 
 Young Readers for 1897=98 . . . 
 
 MRS. BURNETT S 
 FAMOUS JUVENILES 
 
 An entirely new edition of Mrs. Burnett s famous 
 juveniles from new plates, with all the original 
 illustrations. Bound in a beautiful new cloth bind 
 ing designed by R. B. Birch, and sold at very much 
 reduced prices. 
 
 LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY 
 
 TWO LITTLE PILGRIMS PROGRESS 
 
 SARA CREWE and LITTLE SAINT ELIZABETH AND 
 
 OTHER STORIES (in one vol.) 
 PICCINO AND OTHER CHILD STORIES 
 GIOVANNI AND THE OTHER 
 
 Five Volumes, 12 mo, each, $1.25 
 
 The original editions can sttll be supplied at the former prices : 
 
 LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY. Beautifully illustrated by REGINALD B. BIRCH. 
 
 Square 8vo, $2.00. 
 
 TWO LITTLE PILGRIMS PROGRESS. A STORY OK THE CITY BEAUTIFUL. 
 By Mrs. FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT. Illustrated by REGINALD B. BIRCH. 
 Uniform with " Fauntleroy," etc. Square 8vo, 1.50. 
 
 SARA CREWE ; OR, WHAT HAPPENED AT Miss MINCHIN S. Richly and fully 
 illustrated by REGINALD B. BIRCH. Square 8vo, $1.00. 
 
 LITTLE SAINT ELIZABETH, AND OTHER STORIES. With 12 full-page draw 
 ings by REGINALD B. BIRCH. Square 8vo, $1.50. 
 
 GIOVANNI AND THE OTHER: CHILDREN WHO HAVE MADE STORIES. With 
 9 full-page illustrations by REGINALD B. BIRCH. Square 8vo, $1.50. 
 
 PICCINO, AND OTHER CHILD STORIES. Fully illustrated by REGINALD B. BIRCH. 
 Square 8vo, $i.5<x 
 
SCRIBNE^S <BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG 
 
 Q, A. HENTY S POPULAR STORIES 
 FOR BOYS 
 
 New Volumes for 1897-98. Each, crown 8vo, handsomely illustrated, $1.50. 
 
 Mr. Henty, the most popular writer of Books of Ad 
 venture in England, adds three new volumes to his 
 list this fall books that will delight thousands of 
 boys on this side who have become his ardent admirers 
 
 WITH FREDERICK THE GREAT. A TALE OF THE SEVEN YEARS WAR. With 
 12 full-page illustrations, ismo, $1.50. 
 
 This story, more than any other of Mr. Henty s, follows closely the historic lines, 
 and no better description of the memorable battles of Rossbach, Leuthen, Prague, 
 Zorndqrf, Hochkirch, and Torgau can be found anywhere than is given in this 
 volume. Through the historic part there runs the record of the daring and 
 hazardous adventures of the hero, so that the charm of romance is given to the 
 whole narrative. It is one of the most important volumes Mr. Henty has written. 
 
 A MARCH ON LONDON. A STORY OF WAT TYLER S RISING. With 8 full-page 
 illustrations by W. H. MARGETSON. i2mo, $1.50. 
 
 This book weaves together, in a most interesting way, the story of Wat Tyler s 
 rebellion under King Richard, the civil war in Flanders which occurred soon 
 after, and the ill-planned attack upon the French led by the Bishop of Norfolk. 
 The whole story is singularly interesting, covering as it does a period of history 
 which is but little known and which is well worth narrating. 
 
 WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA. A STORY OF THE PENINSULAR WAR. With 12 
 full-page illustrations by WAL. PAGET. i2ino, $1.50. 
 
 A bright Irish lad, Terence O Connor, is living with his widowed father, Captain 
 O Connor of the Mayo Fusiliers, with the regiment, at the time when the Penin 
 sular War against Napoleon began. Under the command of Sir John Moore, he 
 shared in the same marching and sharp fighting which that expedition experi 
 enced up to the battle of Corunna. By his bravery and great usefulness, in spite 
 of his youth, he received a commission as colonel in the Portuguese army, and 
 during the remainder of the war rendered great services, being mentioned twice 
 in the general orders of the Duke of Wellington. The whole story is full of ex 
 citing military experiences and gives a most careful and accurate account of the 
 conduct of the campaigns. 
 
of stories 
 
 SCRIBNEI^S <BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG 
 
 MR. HENTY S OTHER BOOKS 
 
 Each volume with numerous illustrations ; handsomely bound. Olivtne edges. 
 I2mo. $1.50. 
 
 " Mr. Henty s books never fail to interest boy readers. Among writers 
 of adventure he stands in the very first rank." Academy, London. 
 
 11 No country nor epoch of history is there which Mr. Henty does not know, and 
 what is really remarkable is that he always writes well and interestingly. Boys 
 like stirring adventures, and Mr. Henty is a master of this method of composi 
 tion." New York Tunes. 
 
 AT AGINCOURT. A TALE OF THE WHITE HOODS OF PARIS. With 12 full-page 
 illustrations by WAL. PAGET. 
 
 COCHRANE THE DAUNTLESS. A TALE OF THE EXPLOITS OF LORD COCH- 
 RANK IN SOUTH AMERICAN WATERS. With 12 full-page illustrations by W. H. 
 MARGETSON. 
 
 ON THE IRRAWADDY. A STORY OF THE FIRST BURMESE WAR. With 8 full- 
 page illustrations by W. H. OVEREND. 
 
 THROUGH RUSSIAN SNOWS. A STORY OF NAPOLEON S RETREAT FROM 
 Moscow. With 8 full-page illustrations by W. H. OVEREND. 
 
 A KNIGHT OF THE WHITE CROSS. A TALE OF THE SIEGE OF RHODES. 
 With 12 full-page illustrations by RALPH PEACOCK. 
 
 THE TIGER OF MYSORE. A STORY OF THE WAR WITH TIPPOO SAID. With 
 
 12 full-page illustrations by W. H. MARGETSON. 
 
 IN THE HEART OF THE ROCKIES. A STORY OF ADVENTURE IN COLORADO. 
 
 WHEN LONDON BURNED. A STORY OF RESTORATION TIMES AND THE GREAT 
 FIRE. 
 
 WULF THE SAXON. A STORY OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 
 
 ST. BARTHOLOMEW S EVE. A TALE OF THE HUGUENOT WARS. 
 
 THROUGH THE SIKH WAR. A TALE OF THE CONQUEST OF THE PUNJAUB. 
 
 A JACOBITE EXILE. BEING THE ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG ENGLISHMAN IN 
 THE SERVICE OF CHARLES XII. OF SWEDEN. 
 
 CONDEMNED AS A NIHILIST. A STORY OF ESCAPE FROM SIBERIA. 
 BERIC THE BRJTON. A STORY OF THE ROMAN INVASION. 
 
 IN GREEK WATERS. A STORY OF THE GRECIAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 
 
 [1821-1827]. 
 
 THE DASH FOR KHARTOUM. A TALE OF THE NILE EXPEDITION. 
 REDSKIN AND COWBOY. A TALE OF THE WESTERN PLAINS. 
 HELD FAST FOR ENGLAND. A TALE OF THE SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR. 
 
SCRIBNE^S KOOK FOR THE YOUNG 
 
 SOME OF THE NEWEST BOOKS 
 
 WILL SHAKESPEARE S LITTLE LAD. By IMOGEN CLARK. With illustra- 
 tions and cover design by R. B. Birch. i2mo, $1.50. 
 
 A story, full of warm color and brisk movement, of Stratford life in Shakespeare s 
 day, the local atmosphere being reflected with rare fidelity, and the hero, the 
 poet s son, being drawn with sympathy and charm. 
 
 CHILD POEMS. By EUGENE FIELD. With an introduction by KENNETH 
 GRAHAME and profusely illustrated by CHARLES ROBINSON. Uniform with Robert 
 Louis Stevenson s "Child s Garden of Verses," also illustrated by Charles Robin 
 son, izmo, $1.50. 
 
 THE STEVENSON SONG BOOK. VERSES FROM " A CHILD S GARDEN," by 
 ROBERT Louis STEVENSON. With music by various composers. A companion 
 volume to the Field-DeKoven song book printed last year. Large 8vo, $2.00. 
 
 AN OLD-FIELD SCHOOL GIRL. By MARION HARLAND. With 8 full-page 
 illustrations, izmo, $1.25. 
 
 LORDS OF THE WORLD. By ALFRED J. CHURCH. A STORY OF THE FALL OF 
 
 CARTHAGE AND CORINTH. With 12 full-page illustrations by RALPH PEACOCK. 
 
 I2mo, $1.50. 
 
 The scene of this story centres in the overthrow and destruction of Carthage by 
 
 the Romans. The story is full of valuable historical details and the interest never 
 
 flags. 
 
 HEROES OF OUR NAVY. By MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL. Illustrated, zarno. 
 
 In press. 
 
 Never has this entertaining writer been more felicitous than in the present 
 
 volume. 
 
 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE MOHAWK. By W. J. HENDERSON. Illustrated 
 by HARRY EDWARDS. lamo, $1.25. 
 
 The book is crowded with dramatic incident mutiny, shipwreck, Farragut s 
 great fight in Mobile Bay and the narrative is as simple as the events and 
 characters are entertaining. 
 
SCR/BNE^S BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG 
 
 KIRK MUNROE S STIRRING TALES 
 THE WHITE CONQUEROR SERIES 
 
 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE AT WAR WITH PONTIAC 
 
 THE WHITE CONQUERORS THROUGH SWAMP AND GLAD 
 
 Each, illustrated, I2mo, $1.25. The complete set, 4 vols., in a box, $5.00. 
 JUST 
 
 WITH CROCKETT AND BOWIE ; OR, FIGHTING FOR THE LONE STAR FLAI 
 A TALE OF TEXAS. With 8 full-page illustrations by VICTOR PERARD. 
 
 The story is of the Texas revolution in 1835, when American Texans under Sa 
 Houston, Bowie, Crockett, and Travis, fought for relief from the intolerab 
 tyranny of the Mexican Santa Ana. The hero, Rex Hardin, son of a Texas rancl 
 man, and graduate of an American military school, takes a prominent part in tl 
 heroic defense of the Alamo, the terrible scenes at Golead, and the final triump 
 at San Jacinto. The historical side of the story has been carefully studied and i 
 localities rendered familiar by a special trip to Texas undertaken by the authc 
 for that purpose within a year. 
 
 PREVIOUS 
 
 THROUGH SWAMP AND GLADE. A TALE OF THE SEMINOLE WAR. With 
 full-page illustrations by VICTOR PERARD. i2mo, 11.25. 
 
 In this new story Mr. Munroe opens to view an exceedingly interesting period < 
 American history the period of the Seminole War in Florida. Coacoochee, th 
 hero of the story, is a young Indian of noble birth, the son of Philip, the chieftai 
 of the Seminoles. He is a boy at the time of the beginning of the Seminol 
 troubles and grows up to lead his tribe in the long struggle which resulted in th 
 Indians being driven from the north of Florida down to the distant souther 
 wilderness. It is full of strange adventure, of stirring incident and rapid actior 
 and it is a true and faithful picture of a period of history little known to youn 
 readers. 
 
 AT WAR WITH PONTIAC ; OR, THE TOTEM OF THE BEAR. A TALE OF REI 
 COAT AND REDSKIN. With 8 full-page illustrations by J. FINNEMORE. i2mo, $1.2; 
 
 A story of old days in America when Detroit was a frontier town and th 
 shores of Lake Erie were held by hostile Indians under Pontiac. The here 
 Donald Hester, goes in search of his sister Edith, who has been captured by th 
 Indians. Strange and terrible are his experiences; for he is wounded, take 
 prisoner, condemned to be burned, and contrives to escape. In the end there i 
 peace between Pontiac and the English, and all things terminate happily for th 
 hero. One dares not skip a page of this enthralling story, 
 
 THE WHITE CONQUERORS. A TALE OF TOLTEC AND AZTEC. With 8 full 
 page illustrations by W. S. STAGEY. i2mo, $1.25. 
 
 This story deals with the Conquest of Mexico by Cortes and his Spaniards, th 
 " White Conquerors," who, after many deeds of valor, pushed their way into th 
 great Aztec kingdom and established their power in the wondrous city wheri 
 Montezuma reigned in barbaric splendor. 
 
SCR/BNE^S <BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG 
 
 BOOKS BY WILLIAM HENRY FROST 
 
 THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. Illustrated and cover designed by 
 5. R. BURLEIGH. i2mo, $1.50. 
 
 Mr. Frost s volumes of folk-lore stories have achieved a deserved popularity, and 
 this last one, dealing with the ever-fascinating theme of the Round Table and its 
 knights, is equal to either of his earlier books. 
 
 MR. FROST S FORMER BOOKS 
 
 THE COURT OF KING ARTHUR. STORIES FROM THE LAND OF THE ROUND 
 TABLE. Illustrated by S. R. BURLEIGH. i2mo, $1.50. 
 
 Mr. Frost has had the happy idea of making a journey to the different places con 
 nected with the Arthurian romances by history or legend, and of relating the ever 
 new Round Table Tales on their sites, to the same little girl, now somewhat older, 
 to whom he told his charming Wagner stories. 
 
 THE WACiNER STORY BOOK. FIRELIGHT TALES OF THE GREAT Music 
 DRAMAS. Illustrated by SIDNEY R. BURLEIGH. izmo, $1.50. 
 
 "A successful attempt to make the romantic themes of the music drama intelligi 
 ble to young readers. The author has full command of his subject, and the style 
 Is easy, graceful, and simple." Boston Beacon. 
 
 ROBERT GRANT S TWO BOOKS FOR BOYS 
 
 JACK HALL; OR, THE SCHOOL DAYS OF AN AMERICAN BOY. Illustrated by F. 
 G. ATTWOOD. ismo, $1.25. 
 
 " A better book for boys has never been written. It is pure, clean, and healthy, 
 and has throughout a vigorous action that holds the reader breathlessly." 
 
 Boston Herald. 
 
 JACK IN THE BUSH ; OR, A SUMMER ON A SALMON RIVER. Illustrated by F. T. 
 MERRILL. i2mo, $1.25. 
 
 " A clever book for boys. It is the story of the camp life of a lot of boys, and is 
 destined to please every boy reader. It is attractively illustrated." 
 
 Detroit Free Press. 
 
 THE RANTER GIRLS 
 
 By MARY L. B. BRANCH. Illustrated by HELEN M. ARMSTRONG. Square 12010, 
 PI. 50. 
 
 The adventures of Jane and Prue, two small sisters, among different peoples of 
 the imaginative world dryads, snow-children, Kobolds, etc. aided by their 
 invisible rings, their magic boat, and their wonderful birds, are described by the 
 author with great naturalness and a true gift for story-telling. The numerous 
 illustrations are very attractive, and in thorough sympathy with the text. 
 
SCRIBNE^S *BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG 
 
 SAMUEL ADAMS DRAKE S HISTORICAL BOOK 
 
 JUST ISSUED 
 THE BORDER WARS OF NEW ENGLAND 
 
 COMMONLY CALLED KING WILLIAM S AND QUEEN ANNE S WARS. By SAMU: 
 ADAMS DRAKE. With 58 illustrations and maps. i2mo, $1.50. 
 
 Mr. Drake has made a consecutive, entertaining narrative of the border vva 
 which the French and Indians waged against the English settlers in New Er 
 land during the reigns of King William and Queen Anne. The story is full 
 adventurous interest and is told with that minute attention to suggestive and ; 
 structive details which have been the distinguishing feature of Mr. Drake s otb 
 books. The illustrations, many of them from photographs of historic spots and 
 buildings still standing, are of exceptional interest. 
 
 FORMER VOLUMES 
 
 THE MAKING OF THE OHIO VALLEY STATES. 1660-1837. Illustrate 
 I2mo, $1.50. 
 
 THE MAKING OP VIRGINIA AND THE MIDDLE COLONIES. 1578-1701. 
 lustrated. izmo, $1.50. 
 
 THE MAKING OP NEW ENGLAND. 1580-1643. With 148 illustrations ai 
 with maps. I2mo, $1.50. 
 
 THE MAKING OF THE GREAT WEST. 1812-1853. With 145 illustrations ai 
 with maps. i2ino, $1.50. 
 
 STORIES OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND HU 
 TORY BY HENRIETTA CHRISTIAN WRIGHT 
 
 A NEW VOLUME JUST ISSUED 
 
 CHILDREN S STORIES IN AMERICAN L!TERATURE.-i86o-i896. larr 
 
 $1.25. 
 
 Miss Wright here continues the attractive presentation of literary history begi 
 in her " Children s Stories in English Literature," taking up the literary figur 
 that have appeared since the time of the civil war, and treating their works ai 
 personalities in a simple manner, interesting to young readers. 
 
 CHILDREN S STORIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE.-i66o-i86o. i2rr 
 $1.25. 
 
 CHILDREN S STORIES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE. Two volumes : TALI 
 SIN TO SHAKESPEARE SHAKESPEARE TO TENNYSON. i2mo, each, $1.25. 
 
 CHILDREN S STORIES OP THE GREAT SCIENTISTS. W T ith portrai 
 I2mo, $1.25. 
 
 CHILDREN S STORIES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. Illustrated. i2mo, $1.2; 
 
 CHILDREN S STORIES OF AMERICAN PROGRESS. Illustrated. i2ir 
 $1.25. 
 
SCRIBNE^S "BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG 
 
 THREE BOOKS OF SPORTS AND GAMES 
 
 THE AMERICAN BOY S BOOK OF SPORT. OUT-DOOR GAMES FOR ALL SEA- 
 SONS. By DANIEL C. BEARD. With over 300 illustrations by the author. 8vo, 
 $2.50. 
 
 This is an entirely new book by Mr. Beard, containing altogether new matter of 
 great interest to all young lovers of sport. It is a companion volume to the author s 
 well-known " American Boy s Handy Book," of which over twenty-five thousand 
 copies have been sold, and will undoubtedly rival that famous work in popularity 
 as it does in interest. 
 
 THE AMERICAN BOY S HANDY BOOK ; OR, WHAT TO Do AND How TO Do 
 
 IT. By DANIEL C. BKARD. With 360 illustrations by the author. Square Svo, 
 
 $2.00. 
 
 " The book has this great advantage over its predecessors, that most of the games. 
 
 tricks, and other amusements described in it are new. It treats of sports adapted 
 
 to all seasons of the year ; it is practical, and it is well illustrated." 
 
 New York Tribune. 
 
 THE AMERICAN GIRL S HANDY BOOK. By LENA and ADELIA B. BEARD. 
 With over 500 illustrations by the authors. Square Svo, $2.00. 
 " I have put it in my list of good and useful books for young people, as I have 
 many requests for advice from my little friends and their anxious mothers. I am 
 most happy to commend your very ingenious and entertaining book." 
 
 LOUISA M. ALCOTT. 
 
 THOMAS NELSON PAGE S TWO BOOKS 
 
 AMONG THE CAMPS; OR, YOUNG PEOPLE S STORIES OF THE WAR. With 8 
 full-page illustrations. Square 8vo, $1.50. 
 
 "They are five in number, each having reference to some incident of the Civil 
 War. A vein of mingled pathos and humor runs through them all, and greatly 
 heightens the charm of them. It is the early experience of the author himself, 
 doubtless, which makes his pictures of life in a Southern home during the great 
 struggle so vivid and truthful." The Nation. 
 
 TWO LITTLE CONFEDERATES. With 8 full-page illustrations by KEMBLE 
 and RKDWOOD. Square Svo, $1.50. 
 
 "Mr. Page was raised in Virginia, and he knows the darkey of the South 
 better than any one who writes about them. And he knows white folks, too, and 
 his stories, whether for old or young people, have the charm of sincerity and 
 beauty and reality." Harper s Young People. 
 
 EDWARD EGGLESTON S TWO POPULAR BOOKS 
 
 THE HOOSIER SCHOOL-BOY. Illustrated. 121110, $1.00. 
 
 11 The Hoosier School-Boy depicts some of the characteristics of boy-life years 
 ago on the Ohio ; characteristics, however, that were not peculiar to that section. 
 The story presents a vivid and interesting picture of the difficulties which in those 
 days beset the path of the youth aspiring for an education." 
 
 Chicago Inter-Ocean. 
 
 QUEER STORIES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. i 2 mo, $1.00. 
 
 " A very bright and attractive little volume for young readers. The stories are 
 fresh, breezy, and healthy, with a good point to them and a good, sound American 
 view of life and the road to success. The book abounds in good feeling and good 
 Sense, and is written in a style of homely art." Independent. 
 
SCRIBNFRS "BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG 
 
 BOOKS BY HOWARD PYLE 
 
 BEHIND THE GARDEN OF THE MOON. A REAL STORY OF THE MOON 
 ANGEL. Written and illustrated by HOWARD PYLE. Square i2mo, $2.00. 
 Out of the truth that great deeds are achieved and high character moulded by 
 entire spiritual consecration, rather than by direct and interested effort, the 
 author has evolved a winning and delightful piece of fanciful fiction, and has il 
 lustrated it copiously in his happiest and most characteristically poetical vein. 
 
 THE MERRY ADVENTURES OP ROBIN HOOD OF GREAT RENOWN IN NOT- 
 TINGHAMSHIRE. With many illustrations. Royal 8vo, $3.00. 
 
 " This superb book is unquestionably the most original and elaborate ever pro 
 duced by any American artist. Mr. Pyle has told, with pencil and pen, the com 
 plete and consecutive story of Robin Hood and his merry men in their haunts in 
 Sherwood Forest, gathered from the old ballads and legends. Mr. Pyle s admira 
 ble illustrations are strewn profusely through the book." Boston Transcript. 
 
 OTTO OF THE SILVER HAND. With many illustrations. Royal 8vo, half 
 
 leather, $2.00. 
 
 " The scene of the story is mediaeval Germany in the time of the feuds and robber 
 
 barons and romance. The kidnapping of Otto, his adventures among rough 
 
 soldiers, and his daring rescue, make up a spirited and thrilling story." Christian 
 
 Union, 
 
 THE BUTTERFLY HUNTERS IN THE CARIBBEES 
 
 By Dr. EUGENE MURRAY-AARON. With 8 full-page illustrations. Square izmo, 
 
 $2.00. 
 
 "Our author only reproduces the incidents and scenes of his own life, as an 
 
 exploring naturalist, in a way to capture the attention of younger readers." 
 
 Chicago Inter- Ocean. 
 
 JUST PUBLISHED 
 
 THE KING OF THE BRONCOS 
 
 AND OTHER TALES OF NEW MEXICO. By CHARLES F. LUMMIS. Illustrated by 
 VICTOR PERARD. izmo, $1.25. 
 
 A charming collection of stories of life and adventure in the Southwest. The last 
 story, " My Friend Will," is a masterpiece, with a brainy moral for adult as well 
 as juvenile readers. 
 
 A NEW MEXICO DAVID 
 
 AND OTHER STORIKS AND SKETCHES OF THE SOUTH-WEST. By CHARLES F. 
 LUMMIS. Illustrated. 121110, $1.25. 
 
 " Mr. Lummis has lived for years in the land of the Pueblos ; has traversed it in 
 every direction, both on foot and on horseback ; and it is an enthralling treat set 
 before youthful readers by him in this series of lively chronicles." Boston Beacon. 
 
 STORIES FOR BOYS 
 
 By RICHARD HARDING DAVIS. With 6 full-page illustrations. 121110, $1.00. 
 " It will be astonishing indeed if youths of all ages are not fascinated with these 
 Stories for Boys. Mr. Davis knows infallibly what will interest his young 
 readers." Boston Beacon. 
 
SCRIBNE^S <BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG 
 
 HEROES OF THE OLDEN TIME 
 
 By JAMES BALDWIN. Three volumes, I2mo, each beautifully illustrated. Singly, 
 $1.50 ; the set, $4.00. 
 
 A STORY OP THE GOLDEN AGE. Illustrated by HOWARD PVLE. 
 " Mr. Baldwin s book is redolent with the spirit of the Odyssey, that glorious 
 primitive epic, fresh with the dew of the morning of time. It is an unalloyed 
 pleasure to read his recital of the adventures of the wiley Odysseus. Howard 
 Pyle s illustrations render the spirit of the Homeric age with admirable felicity." 
 
 Prof. H. H. BOYESEN. 
 
 THE STORY OF SIEGFRIED. Illustrated by HOWARD PYLE. 
 THE STORY OF ROLAND. Illustrated by R. B. BIRCH. 
 
 THE BOY S LIBRARY OF LEGEND AND CHIVALRY 
 
 Edited by SIDNEY LANIER, and richly illustrated by FREDERICKS, BENSELL, and 
 KAPPES. Four volumes, cloth, uniform binding, price per set, $7.00. Sold sepa 
 rately, price per volume, $2.00. 
 
 Mr. Lanier s books present to boy readers the old English classics of history 
 and legend in attractive form. VVhile they are stories of action and stirring inci 
 dent, they teach those lessons which manly, honest boys ought to learn. 
 
 THE BOY S KZNG ARTHUR THE BOY S PERCY 
 
 THE BOY S FROISSART THE KNIGHTLY LEGENDS OF WALES 
 
 FRANK R. STOCKTON S BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG 
 
 " His books for boys and girls are classics." Newark Advertiser. 
 
 THE CLOCKS OF RONDAINE, AND OTHER STORIES. With 24 illustrations 
 by BLASHFIELD, ROGERS, BEARD, and others. Square 8vo, $1.50. 
 
 PERSONALLY CONDUCTED. Illustrated by PENNELL, PARSONS, and others. 
 
 Square Svo, $2.00. 
 
 THE STORY OF VITEAU. Illustrated by R. B. BIRCH. i2mo, $1.50. 
 A JOLLY FELLOWSHIP. With 20 illustrations. 121110, $1.50. 
 
 THE FLOATING PRINCE AND OTHER FAIRY TALES. Illustrated. Square 
 Svo, $1.50. 
 
 THE TINQ-A-LINQ TALES. Illustrated, izmo, $1.00. 
 
 ROUNDABOUT RAMBLES IN LANDS OF FACT AND FICTION. Illus 
 trated. Square Svo, $1.50. 
 
 TALES OUT OF SCHOOL. With nearly 200 illustrations. Square Svo, $1.50. 
 " The volumes are profusely illustrated and contain the most entertaining 
 sketches in Mr. Stockton s most entertaining manner." Christian Union. 
 
 THINGS WILL TAKE A TURN 
 
 By BEATRICE HARRADEN, author of " Ships That Passim the Night." Illustrated. 
 I2mo, $1.00. 
 
 One cannot help being fascinated by the sweet little heroine of this tale, she is so 
 engaging, so natural ; and to love Rosebud is to love all her friends and enter 
 sympathetically into the good fortune she brought them. 
 
HOME USE 
 
 CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 
 MAIN LIBRARY 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below. 
 1 -month loans may be renewed by calling 642-3405. 
 6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books 
 
 to Circulation Desk. 
 Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior 
 
 to due date. 
 
 ALL BOOKS ARE SUBJECT TO RECALL 7 DAYS 
 AFTER DATE CHECKED OUT. 
 
 tf-* 
 
 . cm. 
 
 LD21 A-40m-i2, 74 General Library 
 
 (S2700L) University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
LIBRARY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE BEFORE CLOSING TIME 
 ON LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW 
 
 LIBRARY USE 
 
 
 MAR 2 1968 
 
 
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 MAD 2 fi8-3i 
 
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 rtnn * OO O 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 LD 62A-50m-7, 65 
 (F5756slO)9412A 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley