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

read it.”
    Houston took the saddlebags and sat back down on the bed. He opened them and took out the letter. He read the letter and then placed it on the table next to the bed.
    “Travis wants more men. I’ve received several letters from him asking for more men. You’ve seen the army outside. I don’t have any men to send him right now. I’m recruiting men as fast as I can, but it’ll be a while before I have enough to march to the Alamo.”
    Houston rubbed his eyes. He seemed very tired. “I told Bowie to blow up the Alamo and leave San Antonio. He and Travis didn’t do it, and now they’re penned up and I can’t get them out.”
    Houston stood up and paced up and down in the tent.
    “Is the Alamo surrounded?”
    Juan nodded. “Yes. The enemy is receiving more men every day. I don’t think it will be too long before they attack.”
    Houston tightened his jaw. “I’ve ordered Colonel Fannin to leave Goliad and bring his army here. When they get here we might have enough men to go to the Alamo.”
    “What do you want me to tell Colonel Travis?” Juan asked.
    “Nothing,” Houston said.
    “What do you mean?” Juan asked.
    “What I mean, Captain Seguin, is that you’re not going back to the Alamo.”
    Juan and I looked at each other. We thought of the friends we had left in the Alamo. We had to get back.

Chapter Twenty-Two
    “I’ve told you, Captain Seguin, you’re not going back to the Alamo. I need you here.” Houston frowned as he looked at Juan.
    “But, Sam,” Juan said. “I have to go back. I told my men when I left that I would come back.”
    Houston stood up. He walked over and put his hand on Juan’s shoulder. “I know how you feel. I want to jump on my horse and ride to the Alamo as fast as I can. But that’s not what’s best for Texas. Those men in the Alamo are allowing us to build an army by keeping Santa Anna there. We must take advantage of the time they are giving us. You can do those men more good by helping to raise an army to defeat Santa Anna than by going back by yourself.”
    I looked at Juan. I thought he was going to cry. “So you are saying you will not help the men in the Alamo? That you are going to let them die so you have time to build an army?”
    Houston looked Juan in the eye. “I’m saying if I march to the Alamo right now, it won’t do those men any good. We don’t have enough men or ammunition to make a difference. By raising an army we can fight Santa Anna on our terms and drive him from Texas. I need you to work with me to raise that army. I pray that we can do this in time to march to the Alamo.”
    Juan looked at the floor. I knew Houston was right. Juan knew it too. Finally he looked at Houston. “All right, Sam. I’ll help you raise your army. I know there are still many people around here who will fight for Texas. But I want your word that you will march to the Alamo as soon as you can. We have to reinforce the men there.”
    Houston smiled. “Juan, as soon as the army’s ready, I’ll lead them to the Alamo.”
    We walked outside the tent. A cold breeze swept through the camp. I pulled my serape tightly around me. I looked at the men sitting around the campfires trying to get warm. There were no uniforms. Every man wore the clothes he had. There were all types of weapons. I thought, There is no way you could call this group an army. Then I remembered the men we had left behind at the Alamo. They were the same type of men. They had no uniforms. They had all types of weapons. I decided that uniforms don’t make soldiers. Fighting spirit does. I knew the men in the Alamo had that spirit, and I believed that the men huddled around the small campfires had it too.
    Juan and I spent the next few days riding around the countryside getting men to come with us to the army. Most men came willingly. A few stayed with their families. Houston’s army was slowly growing. He moved the army to the town of Gonzales. Colonel Fannin had not arrived, and Houston