four orfive thousand Mexicaners comin'?"
"Let them come. Less will leave!"
But Jim, sour-faced turned to the other man. "Davey? You got something tosay?"
"Hell, yes. How do we get out, after we done pinned Santa Anna down? Youthought of that, Billy boy?"
Travis shrugged. "There is an element of grave risk, of course. Ord,where's the document, the message you wrote up for me? Ah, thank you."Travis cleared his throat. "Here's what I'm sending on to general Houston."He read, "Commandancy of the Alamo, February 24, 1836 ... are you sure ofthat date, Ord?"
"Oh, I'm sure of that," Ord said.
"Never mind--if you're wrong we can change it later. 'To the People ofTexas and all Americans in the World. Fellow Freemen and Compatriots! I ambesieged with a thousand or more Mexicans under Santa Anna. I havesustained a continual bombardment for many hours but have not lost a man.The enemy has demanded surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison isto be put to the sword, if taken. I have answered the demand with a cannonshot, and our flag still waves proudly over the walls. I shall neversurrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of liberty, ofpatriotism and everything dear to the American character--" He paused,frowning, "This language seems pretty old-fashioned, Ord--"
"Oh, no, sir. That's exactly right," Ord murmured.
"'... To come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receivingreinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousandin four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustainmyself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what isdue his honor or that of his homeland. VICTORY OR DEATH!'"
* * * * *
Travis stopped reading, looked up. "Wonderful! Wonderful!" Ord breathed."The greatest words of defiance ever written in the English tongue--and somuch more literate than that chap at Bascogne."
"You mean to send that?" Jim gasped.
The man called Davey was holding his head in his hands.
"You object, Colonel Bowie?" Travis asked icily.
"Oh, cut that 'colonel' stuff, Bill," Bowie said. "It's only a NationalGuard title, and I like 'Jim' better, even though I am a pretty importantman. Damn right I have an objection! Why, that message is almostaggressive. You'd think we wanted to fight Santa Anna! You want us to bemarked down as warmongers? It'll give us trouble when we get to thenegotiation table--"
Travis' head turned. "Colonel Crockett?"
"What Jim says goes for me, too. And this: I'd change that part about allAmericans, et cetera. You don't want anybody to think we think we're betterthan the Mexicans. After all, Americans are a minority in the world. Whynot make it 'all men who love security?' That'd have world-wide appeal--"
"Oh, Crockett," Travis hissed.
Crockett stood up. "Don't use that tone of voice to me, Billy Travis! Thatpiece of paper you got don't make you no better'n us. I ran for Congresstwice, and won. I know what the people want--"
"What the people want doesn't mean a damn right now," Travis said harshly."Don't you realize the tyrant is at the gates?"
Crockett rolled his eyes heavenward. "Never thought I'd hear a goodAmerican say that! Billy, you'll never run for office--"
Bowie held up a hand, cutting into Crockett's talk. "All right, Davey. Holdup. You ain't runnin' for Congress now. Bill, the main thing I don't likein your whole message is that part about victory or death. That's got togo. Don't ask us to sell that to the troops!"
Travis closed his eyes briefly. "Boys, listen. We don't have to tell themen about this. They don't need to know the real story until it's too latefor them to get out. And then we shall cover ourselves with such glory thatnone of us shall ever be forgotten. Americans are the best fighters in theworld when they are trapped. They teach this in the Foot School back on theChatahoochee. And if we die, to die for one's country is sweet--"
"Hell with that," Crockett drawled. "I don't mind dyin', but not for thesebig landowners like Jim Bowie here. I just been thinkin'--I don't ownnothing in Texas."
"I resent that," Bowie shouted. "You know very well I volunteered, after Isent my wife off to Acapulco to be with her family." With an effort, hecalmed himself. "Look, Travis. I have some reputation as a fightingman--you know I lived through the gang wars back home. It's obvious thisAlamo place is indefensible, even if we had a thousand men."
"But we must delay Santa Anna at all costs--"
Bowie took out a fine, dark Mexican cigar and whittled at it with hisblade. Then he lit it, saying around it, "All right, let's all calm down.Nothing a group of good men can't settle around a table. Now listen. I gotin with this revolution at first because I thought old Emperor Iturbidewould listen to reason and lower taxes. But nothin's worked out, becausehot-heads like you, Travis, queered the deal. All this yammerin' aboutliberty! Mexico is a Republic, under an Emperor, not some kind ofdemocracy, and we can't change that. Let's talk some sense before it's toolate. We're all too old and too smart to be wavin' the flag like it's theFourth of July. Sooner or later, we're goin' to have to sit down and talkwith the Mexicans. And like Davey said, I own a million hectares, and I'vealways paid minimum wage, and my wife's folks are way up there in theImperial Government of the Republic of Mexico. That means I got influencein all the votin' groups, includin' the American Immigrant, since I'm aminority group member myself. I think I can talk to Santa Anna, and even toold Iturbide. If we sign a treaty now with Santa Anna, acknowledge the lawof the land, I think our lives and property rights will be respected--" Hecocked an eye toward Crockett.
"Makes sense, Jim. That's the way we do it in Congress. Compromise,everybody happy. We never allowed ourselves to be led nowhere we didn'twant to go, I can tell you! And Bill, you got to admit that we're in betterbargaining position if we're out in the open, than if old Santa Anna's gotus penned up in this old Alamo."
"Ord," Travis said despairingly. "Ord, you understand. Help me! Make themlisten!"
* * * * *
Ord moved into the candlelight, his lean face sweating. "Gentlemen, this isall wrong! It doesn't happen this way--"
Crockett sneered, "Who asked you, Ord? I'll bet you ain't even got a polltax!"
Decisively, Bowie said, "We're free men, Travis, and we won't be led aroundlike cattle. How about it, Davey? Think you could handle the rear guard, ifwe try to move out of here?"
"Hell, yes! Just so we're movin'!"
"O.K. Put it to a vote of the men outside. Do we stay, and maybe getcroaked, or do we fall back and conserve our strength until we need it?Take care of it, eh, Davey?"
Crockett picked up his guitar and went outside.
Travis roared, "This is insubordination! Treason!" He drew his saber, butBowie took it from him and broke it in two. Then the big man pulled hisknife.
"Stay back, Ord. The Alamo isn't worth the bones of a Britainer, either."
"Colonel Bowie, please," Ord cried. "You don't understand! You _must_defend the Alamo! This is the turning point in the winning of the west! IfHouston is beaten, Texas will never join the Union! There will be noMexican War. No California, no nation stretching from sea to shining sea!This is the Americans' manifest destiny. You are the hope of the future ...you will save the world from Hitler, from Bolshevism--"
"Crazy as a hoot owl," Bowie said sadly. "Ord, you and Travis got to lookat it both ways. We ain't all in the right in this war--we Americans gotour faults, too."
"But you are free men," Ord whispered. "Vulgar, opinionated, brutal--butfree! You are still better than any breed who kneels to tyranny--"
Crockett came in. "O.K., Jim."
"How'd it go?"
"Fifty-one per cent for hightailin' it right now."
Bowie smiled. "That's a flat majority. Let's make tracks."
"Comin', Bill?" Crockett asked. "You're O.K., but you just don't know howto be one of the boys. You got to learn that no dog is better'n any other."
"No," Travis croaked hoarsely. "I stay. Stay or go, we shall al
l die likedogs, anyway. Boys, for the last time! Don't reveal our weakness to theenemy--"
"What weakness? We're stronger than them. Americans could whip the Mexicansany day, if we wanted to. But the thing to do is make 'em talk, not