CHAPTER XXV.
MARCH OF SANTA ANNA INTO TEXAS.
"You rascal! Get back, or I'll shoot!"
"'YOU RASCAL! GET BACK, OR I'LL SHOOT!'"]
Such were the words which burst from Dan's lips as soon as he recoveredsufficiently from his surprise to speak.
But Hank Stiger was already retreating, carrying the lighted tinder inhis hand. He could not make out who was there, but saw it was somebodywith a gun, and the sight of the weapon was enough for him.
"What's up?" came from Poke Stover, who had been snoring in the corner,and the old frontiersman scrambled to his feet and joined Dan at thedoorway.
"There goes Hank Stiger! He was going to blow up the cabin with our kegof gunpowder."
"Can it be possible! I'll stop him." Stover ran outside. "Stop, HankStiger, or you're a dead man!" he called out, loudly.
But the half-breed was now running like a deer and paid no attention tothe words. Taking hasty but careful aim at Stiger's legs, Poke Stoverpulled the trigger of his gun.
The report, which awakened all of the others, was followed by a screamof pain from the half-breed, who went a step or two more and then sankin a heap.
"What does this mean?" demanded Amos Radbury, as he, too, seized hisgun. "Are we attacked by Indians?"
"No, we were attacked by Hank Stiger," answered Dan, and pointed to thekeg of powder.
"My powder! What was he going to do with that?"
"Blow us all sky-high."
"And you saw him?"
"Yes, I caught him in the act of lighting the fuse lying there."
"But how came you to be up?"
"I was restless,--thinking about the keg and other things."
"It must have been an act of Providence," murmured Amos Radbury. "Whofired the shot?"
"Poke Stover. He has gone after Stiger," concluded Dan.
All ran out of the cabin, and found the frontiersman and the half-breedat the edge of the clearing. Hank Stiger had been struck in the kneeand was evidently suffering great pain, for after screaming for awhilehe fell back in a dead faint.
Stover and Pompey were for leaving him where he had fallen, but neitherAmos Radbury nor his sons had the heart to do this, and in the end thehalf-breed was carried to the cattle shed and put in the corner fromwhence he had removed the powder. All were anxious to question himabout his actions, but the wounded man was in no condition to talk.
"After this I'll put this powder in a safer place," said Mr. Radbury,and stored it in a corner of the dugout, under the living-room.
Hank Stiger's wound was dressed, and then Pompey was set to watch himfor the remainder of the night. The negro was given a pistol and wasinstructed to discharge it at the first intimation of danger of anykind.
But the balance of the night passed quietly, and toward morning Dan gotinto a sound sleep, from which he did not awaken until long after theothers were up.
After breakfast Amos Radbury started to question Hank Stiger. He foundthe half-breed resting easily, but in a sullen mood. At first heutterly refused to talk.
"Very well," said Mr. Radbury. "If you won't talk, neither shall youeat nor drink."
"Then take me back to the Gonzales lockup," muttered Stiger.
"We will,--when we have the time. At present we have other matters toattend to."
Left once more in charge of Pompey, the half-breed flew into a rage andmuttered all sorts of imprecations against those who had outwitted him.Then, as the day wore on, he calmed down, and tried to bribe thecoloured man into giving him something to eat and to drink.
Pompey was obdurate. "Can't do it, nohow," he said. "It's ag'in Mars'Radbury's ordahs, sah."
A wounded man always craves water, and by one o'clock in the afternoonthe half-breed's tongue was fairly lolling out of his mouth. He stoodit awhile longer, then summoned Pompey.
"Give me a drink,--I am dyin'."
"I dun tole you dat it was ag'in the massah's ordahs, sah."
"He said I could have water if I would talk," growled Stiger.
"Is yo' ready to talk?"
"Yes."
At once the negro called his master, who was busy, with the boys andPoke Stover, in putting down some hog-meat for the winter. Knowing howgreatly Stiger must suffer, Amos Radbury went to him without delay.
"So you are willing to talk now, Stiger?"
"How can I help myself?"
"Then tell me why you tried to blow up my cabin?"
"I wanted to git squar' fer havin' me locked up."
"But you deserved to be locked up, after that attack on Dan and HenryParker."
At this the half-breed shrugged his shoulders.
"And you must remember perfectly well what you did before that,"continued Amos Radbury.
"I didn't get Bison Head to attack you,--he did that on his ownaccount."
"But you came in afterward and robbed the place. It is useless for youto deny any longer that you took those papers relating to this grant ofland."
For several minutes Stiger was silent. At last he lifted his eyes.
"Are you goin' to give me dat drink?" he asked, falling back into hisIndian accent.
"Yes,--if you'll promise to tell me about the papers."
"I--I will."
Pompey was at once sent for a pitcher of fresh water, and when itarrived Hank Stiger grabbed it with both hands and drained it dry.Nectar could not have tasted sweeter to him.
"Now what did you do with the papers?" Amos Radbury asked, after Stigerhad given a long sigh of satisfaction.
"I--I lost 'em."
Instantly Amos Radbury's face flushed, and he sprang to his feet.
"Stiger, you are falsifying! I do not believe you!" he exclaimed.
"It's de truf."
"It is not. You have either hidden the papers or else given them tosomebody."
At this the half-breed shrugged his shoulders again.
"You cannot deceive me longer," went on the settler. "By and by youwill want food and more water. You shall have neither."
"Goin' ter starve me to death?"
"It will be your own fault. I am now treating you with more kindnessthan you deserve. Many a man would have strung you up to the nearesttree for your misdeeds."
At this Hank Stiger winced, for he knew only too well that Mr. Radburyspoke the truth. He felt that he could not go too far or he might getinto deeper trouble.
"I'll tell yer all," he said at last. "But give me somethin' to eatfirst."
"Not a mouthful until you have told your story. Then you can have allthe food and water you wish, and we'll try to make you as comfortableas we can."
This was the straw which broke the camel's back, so far as Hank Stigerwas concerned, and with much hesitation he told his story, which insubstance was as follows:
About six months before, he had fallen in with a man of mixed Americanand Spanish blood named Carlos Martine, who was anxious to obtainpossession of a large grant of land on the Guadalupe from the Radburyclaim northward.
Carlos Martine was in league with a number of Mexican officials, andhad obtained ownership of a large portion of the land without muchdifficulty. But the best of the land, that fronting the river, belongedto Amos Radbury, and this Martine could not obtain, although he triedto do so through a certain John Morgan. Morgan had asked Mr. Radbury tosell several times, but had been refused.
Carlos Martine had had a hold on Hank Stiger, and during the Indianraid had asked the half-breed to obtain possession of the papersrelating to the land, if they could be found in the Radbury cabin. WhatMartine was going to do with the papers Stiger did not know.
Having obtained the papers, Hank Stiger had gone off to Gonzales withthem. From there he had journeyed to Goliad, and there met CarlosMartine. The latter had promised him twenty dollars, Mexican money, forthe documents, but at the time of the meeting the half-breed had beenso intoxicated that he could not remember whether he received the cashor not. Certainly, when he had sobered up, two days later, every centof the money
was missing.
"And have you seen Carlos Martine since?" questioned Amos Radbury.
"No."
"Then you do not know where he is?"
Once more Hank Stiger shrugged his shoulders. "I think he got afraidand went to Mexico. A good many people around Gonzales do not like him,and I think he was afraid I would expose him," he ventured.
Amos Radbury questioned the half-breed, and at last concluded that thestory must be largely true. This being so, he ordered Pompey to fetchsome more water and prepare such a meal as might be good for the sickman. The planter had had considerable experience at doctoring, and heattended to the wounded knee with almost as much skill as a surgeon.
As Carlos Martine was out of reach, nothing could at present be donetoward getting back the missing documents.
"But I shall fortify myself as much as possible," said Amos Radbury;and on the following day he wrote down Hank Stiger's confession infull, made the half-breed sign it with his mark, and had Poke Stoverwitness the paper.
"Thet might not hold with the Mexican government," drawled the oldfrontiersman, "but I calkerlate 'twill hold with the government o' thisfree an' enlightened State o' Texas, hear me!" And at this the othershad to laugh.
The holidays came and went, and nothing of more than ordinary interesthappened at the ranch. It was at times bitter cold, the sweeping"northers," as they are called, hurling themselves over Texas withgreat fury. During those times everybody remained indoors hugging thefire. Hank Stiger still kept to his couch at the cattle shed, and wasprovided regularly with all that he needed to eat and drink. If thetruth must be told, the half-breed was thankful that he had such acomfortable home for the time being, knowing it was much better thanany the Indians could offer him, or better than he would get at theGonzales lockup.
In the meantime, matters politically were in a very mixed-up statethroughout Texas. The majority of the settlers were for liberty, butsome, while wishing State rights, still thought it best to remain inthe Mexican Confederation, while others wanted annexation to the UnitedStates without delay.
Many meetings were held, but this only increased the confusion, andthough a portion of the Texans set up a provisional government, otherscontinued to act largely on their own responsibility. There were manywrangles and, to look back, it is a great wonder that anarchy did notreign supreme. But it is a satisfaction to know that, in the end, lawand order conquered. With the political troubles our tale has nothingto do.
While the Texans were speculating upon what to do next, Santa Anna, inMexico, was not idle. At the head of a party peculiarly his own, he hadcut off many of the rights of the Mexican citizens, and made himselfvirtually a dictator, although still called simply the president. Thisaccomplished, he set out to subdue Texas, the only spot where hisauthority was resisted.
Santa Anna had sent out a small command to relieve General Cos at SanAntonio. The two forces met at the Rio Grande River, and there waitedfor further orders. Early in February, General Santa Anna came up toMonova with about four thousand troops. These soldiers were joined bythose on the Rio Grande, thus increasing the Mexican army to aboutseven thousand.
The order now came for a direct advance upon San Antonio, and the armyset off on its wearisome journey of about six hundred miles over aplain which was hardly protected by any timber from the cutting winterwinds. Slow progress was made, and, food falling short, the whole armyhad to be put on short rations. Some of the soldiers tried to desert,but these were promptly shot by Santa Anna's orders. Whenever asettlement was passed, the inhabitants were made to give the hungryMexicans all the provisions they could possibly spare. Once the wholearmy came close to open rebellion, but Santa Anna's orders weresupreme, and on the 22d day of February, 1836, the first of his troopsappeared within sight of San Antonio; and the war, which had hung firesince the December before, was again begun.