"You say that you were in the Alamo, and that all the defenders have
fallen except you?" said the Captain, looking curiously at Ned.
"Yes," replied the boy.
"And that the Mexican force dispatched against the Eastern settlements
is much nearer than was supposed?"
"Yes," replied Ned, "and as proof of my words there it is now."
He had suddenly caught the gleam of lances in a wood a little distance
to the west of the town, and he knew that the Mexican cavalry, riding
ahead of the main army, was at hand. It was a large force, too, one with
which the little band of recruits could not possibly cope in the open.
Captain King seemed dazed, but Ned, glancing at the church, remembered
the Alamo. Every Spanish church or mission was more or less of a
fortress, and he exclaimed:
"The church, Captain, the church! We can hold it against the cavalry!"
"Good!" cried the Captain. "An excellent idea!"
They rushed for the church and Ned followed. Old Jack did not get the
saddle and bridle that had been promised to him. When the boy leaped
from his back he snatched off the halter of withes and shouted loudly
to him: "Go!"
It pained him to abandon his horse a second time under compulsion, but
there was no choice.
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