Read Online Juan Seguin by Robert E. Hollmann - Free Book Online

food?” Andres asked.
    I took a piece of meat and blew on it to cool it. Juan shook his head.
    “I have something to tell you,” he said. “Colonel Travis is afraid that none of his messengers have reached the government or Colonel Fannin. He wants to send a messenger who is familiar with the country and who speaks Spanish.”
    The men looked at Juan. “Is he asking for a volunteer?” one of them asked.
    Juan smiled. “No. He’s already picked the man he wants to go.” Juan paused. “He wants me to take the message.”
    The men sat silently. Some slowly chewed their food. Juan took a deep breath and said, “I told him I didn’t want to go. I don’t want to leave you. You came to the Alamo because of me. I don’t want you to think I’m running away and leaving you here.”
    Andres wiped his hands on his pants. He looked at the other men, then turned to Juan. “We’ve discussed the possibility that none of the messengers have made it through the enemy lines. We’ve seen the enemy army grow larger each day. We know that if more men don’t come we can’t hold off Santa Anna. We believe that you can make it through. We have faith in you, Juan. And don’t worry. We’re here because we want to be. Because we want Texas to be free. So take the message. Bring more men back to us so we can defeat Santa Anna and make Texas free. We’ll be watching for you.”
    I watched Juan’s face. I thought I saw tears fill his eyes. He ducked his head for a moment, then stood up. He walked over and shook each man’s hand.
    “Good-bye, my friends. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” We walked back across the courtyard. Travis had our horses saddled and waiting for us. Davy Crockett was standing next to Travis. He smiled at us as we walked up. Colonel Travis handed Juan some saddlebags.
    “Here are the messages I want you to take to Houston or Fannin or the government. Find the first one you can and let them know how badly we need more men. Tell them I’ll fire the cannon three times a day to let them know we are still holding out. Tell them to bring food and ammunition. Good luck, Captain Seguin.”
    Juan took the saddlebags and tied them onto his saddle. We climbed into our saddles and looked down at Davy Crockett. He shook my hand then turned to Juan. Juan took his outstretched hand.
    “Now, Juan, you get back here soon. We still have to decide who’s the best shot.”
    Juan grinned at Davy. “Don’t worry, Davy. I’ll be back before you know it. I’m going to feel bad about beating you in the shooting contest. I guess people will have to change all the stories they’ve been telling about you as being the world’s best shot.”
    “We’ll just have to see, Juan. Another reason you need to get back soon is, John MacGregor and I are tired of listening to the enemy band all night. He’s going to get his bagpipes and I’m going to get my fiddle and we’re going to have a contest to see who can play the loudest. I know you don’t want to miss that.”
    Juan smiled. “I can’t wait to hear that, Davy.”
    Travis walked over to Juan. “Go over by the gate. Davy and some men are going to slip out on the other side and fire at the enemy to get their attention. When you hear the shooting start, you can slip out of the gate and hopefully the enemy will be too busy shooting at Davy to see you leave.”
    Juan nodded. “I’ll see you soon, my friends.”
    We walked our horses over to the gate. We watched as Davy and a few men slipped out of the Alamo. Time seemed to stop as we waited for the shooting to start. Finally we heard shots from the other side of the Alamo. Men were yelling and we heard the enemy firing back at Davy. The sentry opened the gate and we rode out of the Alamo.
    We rode toward the Gonzales road. The night was dark. Clouds covered the moon and there were no stars in the sky. We found the road and rode away. We heard the shooting fade away as the men ran back into the Alamo. Our horses’ hooves