Yet the Texans felt no exultation. They had been compelled to retreat
before the Mexicans, and they could not forget King and his men, and
those whom they had left behind in the church. Ned, in his heart,
knowing the Mexicans so well, did not believe that a single one of them
had been saved.
They walked the whole day, making for the town of Victoria, where they
expected to meet Fannin, and shortly before night they stopped in a
wood, footsore and exhausted. Again their camp was pitched on the banks
of a little creek and some of the hunters shot two fine fat deer further
up the stream.
Seeking as much cheer as they could they built fires, and roasted the
deer. The spirits of the young recruits rose. They would meet Fannin
to-morrow or the next day and they would avenge the insult that the
Mexicans had put upon them. They were eager for a new action in which
the odds should not be so great against them, and they felt sure of
victory. Then, posting their sentinels, they slept soundly.
But Ned did not feel so confident. Toward morning he rose from his
blankets. Yet he saw nothing. The prairie was bare. There was not a
single sign of pursuit. He was surprised. He believed that at least the
younger Urrea with the cavalry would follow.
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