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

sounded loud in the night.
    Suddenly up ahead we saw a fire. We knew it was an enemy position. It was too late to turn off the road. We stopped our horses and looked at the fire glowing in the night.
    “What are we going to do, Juan?” I asked.
    “Just stay close to me. Be ready and do what I do. We are ranchers out looking for stray cattle. Be calm and it will be all right.”
    We rode slowly toward the fire. As we got near the camp a voice called out.
    “Halt! Who goes there?”
    I could see several dark shapes stand up beside the fire. As we stopped our horses I could see the shapes were enemy soldiers. Each one held a rifle that was pointed right at us.

Chapter Twenty-One
    Juan and I sat on our horses watching as the enemy soldiers pointed their guns at us.
    “Who are you?” one of the men shouted.
    “We’re friends,” Juan answered. “We have a small ranch not far from here. Some of our cattle wandered off and we were looking for them. It got dark and we got lost. We were nearly shot by the rebels in the Alamo. We’re just going home.”
    “We heard the firing. We wondered what was happening.”
    We saw the soldiers lowering their guns. One of them waved to us.
    “Come on in. Sit by the fire and warm yourselves. It’s cold tonight.”
    We rode slowly toward the fire. We had our hats pulled low across our faces, and we wore serapes to keep out the cold wind and to hide our guns. We looked around the camp. There were no horses. That was good. The men sat down by the fire and laid their rifles beside them. We were now getting near to the fire. I could feel its heat.
    One of the soldiers looked at us and smiled. “Get off your horses and visit awhile. Tell us of the news you have heard about the Texas army.”
    I looked at Juan. He rode straight for the fire. One of the soldiers moved over to make room for his horse. Juan looked at me and nodded. He kicked his horse with his spurs and the horse leaped over the fire and disappeared into the darkness on the other side of the camp. I was right behind Juan. I could hear the soldiers yelling. Suddenly I heard a shot. I ducked and the rifle ball flew above my head. Other shots rang out in the night. I could see Juan leaning low in his saddle as his horse galloped away from the camp.
    Soon we were back on the Gonzales road. We rode as fast as we could for several miles. Finally we stopped to let our horses catch their breath. We listened for the sounds of horses running after us, but all we heard was our horses’ heavy breathing.
    “That was close,” I said.
    Juan patted his horse on the neck. “Too close. I’m glad they didn’t have any horses. I think we’re all right now. Jim was right. This horse is strong and fast. I’m glad I have him.” He turned his horse and began to ride away. “Let’s get going. We have a long way to go.”
    Several days later we rode into the camp of the Texas army. We were both disappointed to see that the army was much smaller than we had expected. Several tents were standing at the far end of the camp. We rode toward the tents and got off our horses in front of the largest one. We walked up to the man who was standing guard in front of the tent.
    “Is General Houston here?” Juan asked.
    “Who wants to know?” the sentry said.
    “I’m Captain Juan Seguin. This is my friend, Pablo. We’ve just come from the Alamo with a message from Colonel Travis for General Houston.”
    The sentry turned and walked into the tent. We could hear the sound of voices as he spoke with someone. At last he came back out.
    “Go on in, Captain.”
    We walked inside the tent and saw Sam Houston sitting on a small bed, writing on a little table. Houston looked up as we walked in. He smiled and stood up. Houston was a tall man. He seemed to fill up the tent as he walked toward Juan.
    “Good to see you, Captain Seguin. What news have you brought me?”
    Juan handed Houston the saddlebags.
    “Colonel Travis sent this letter to you. I haven’t