The whole column broke and reeled
away, carrying Duque with them.
Ned saw the face of Santa Anna turn purple with rage. He struck the
earthwork furiously with the flat of his sword.
"Go! Go!" he cried to Gaona and Tolsa. "Rally them! See that they do not
run!"
The two generals sprang from the battery and rushed to their task. The
Mexican cannon had ceased firing, for fear of shooting down their own
men, and the smoke was drifting away from the field. The morning was
also growing much lighter. The gray dawn had turned to silver, and the
sun's red rim was just showing above the eastern horizon.
The Texan cannon were silent, too. The rifles were now doing all the
work. The volume of their fire never diminished. Ned saw the field
covered with slain, and many wounded were drifting back to the shelter
of the earthworks and the town.
Duque's column was rallied, but the column on the east and the column on
the west were also driven back, and Santa Anna rushed messenger after
messenger, hurrying up fresh men, still driving the whole Mexican army
against the Alamo. He shouted orders incessantly, although he remained
safe within the shelter of the battery.
Ned felt an immense joy.
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