A half
dozen guards stood near the person of the dictator, and he said to them:
"If the prisoner seeks to leave us, shoot him at once."
The manner of Santa Anna was arrogant to the last degree, but Ned was
glad to stay. He was eager to see the great panorama which was about to
be unrolled before him. He was completely absorbed in the Alamo, and he
utterly forgot himself. Black specks were dancing before his eyes, and
the blood was pounding in his ears, but he took no notice of such
things.
The gray bar in the east broadened. A thin streak of shining silver cut
through it, and touched for a moment the town, the river, the army and
the Alamo. Ned leaned against an edge of the earthwork, and breathed
heavily and painfully. He had not known that his heart could beat so
hard.
The same portentous silence prevailed everywhere. The men and women on
the roofs of the houses were absolutely still. The cavalry, their line
now drawn completely about the mission, were motionless. Ned, straining
his eyes toward the Alamo, could see nothing there. Suddenly he put up
his hand and wiped his forehead. His fingers came away wet. His blood
prickled in his veins like salt. He became impatient, angry.
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