Davy moved from man to man. He slapped them on the back and cheered as they fired. The enemy began to slow down. Some of them tried to find a place to hide. Others threw down their muskets and ran to the rear. Finally a bugle sounded and the enemy began to retreat back to their positions. The men in the Alamo cheered as the enemy retreated.
Travis waved his hat in the air. “You have made them run, boys. Hurrah,” he cheered. He walked over to Davy. “It was a small attack, but the men did well. I think Santa Anna wanted to get an idea how strong our defenses were. I don’t think he will try and attack us like that again.”
Davy wiped his face with his sleeve. “I think he will try to soften us up. Look, he is already moving up more cannon. He is going to try to knock some holes in our walls.”
Travis watched the enemy begin to dig some new trenches. “I think he will just keep moving closer. When he thinks he has enough men, he will attack again. I don’t think his whole army is here yet. I hope we get some reinforcements before the rest of his army gets here.”
Davy looked beyond the enemy lines. “Do you really think that more men will come?”
Travis shrugged his shoulders. “I hope so.”
The children followed Davy and Travis as they walked around the walls. The men were in good spirits. They thought that the walls were too strong and that the enemy could not get into the Alamo. The cold wind forced most men to duck down behind the walls. They talked quietly about the battle. They nodded and waved as Davy and Travis walked by.
Soon they were standing in front of the wooden fence. Davy’s men watched for some sign of an enemy attack. Travis and Davy looked out over the fence.
“Those buildings in front of us are a problem,” Travis said. “The enemy can get into them and shoot at us under cover. He can also build up his forces and we can’t see them.”
Davy stared at the wooden buildings. “You are right. I think the thing to do is to burn them down.”
“I agree,” Travis said. “After dark, take some men and go burn the buildings down.”
“All right. I will pick out a few men, and we will burn down the buildings.”
Travis looked at the buildings again. “Be careful. We can’t afford to lose any men.”
“I will. If we do it right, we can be down there, set the buildings on fire and get back in here before they know we are doing anything.”
Travis looked back at the men cooking in the courtyard. “I will have the men fire at the enemy from the north wall. That should keep his attention away from you.”
“That will be fine, Colonel. Just be sure that they don’t shoot us.”
“Yell when you start back to the fort. The guards will be watching for you. We will have the gate open.”
Travis walked away. Davy walked over to Jim Bowie’s room. He knocked on the door. The lady watching Bowie opened the door and peeked out.
“How is he doing, Juana?” Davy asked.
“He was sleeping, but the firing woke him up.”
Bowie called out, “Who is it?”
Davy stepped into the room. “It is me, Jim. I came to check on you.”
Bowie coughed. “Davy. Good to see you. What is going on?”
“Santa Anna paid us a little visit. We drove him away. The men did well.”
“That is what I thought. He will be more careful next time.”
“Travis and I decided to burn down those wooden houses outside the walls. They make good cover for the enemy.”
“How are you going to do it?” Bowie asked.
“After dark, I am taking some men and we are going to set them on fire.”
Bowie tried to sit up, but he began to cough and he fell back onto his pillow. “Be careful. There will be enemy in those houses.”
“How do you know that?” Davy asked.
“Because that is where I would be.” Bowie coughed. Juana brought him some water. He drank it and lay back on his cot. “Sorry I can’t go with you.”
“That’s fine, Jim. When you get better and this war is over, we will go hunting together.”
Bowie smiled. “I look forward to it.”
Davy put his hand on Bowie’s shoulder. “I have to go, Jim. I have some houses I need to burn down.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was a dark night. Clouds covered the moon. The cold wind still blew, forcing people to take shelter. Davy thought that would be in their favor as he and ten other men prepared to slip out and burn down the houses that provided cover for the enemy. The men waited for the firing on the north wall to begin. Before long the men on the north wall began firing. The enemy returned the fire. Davy and his men lit their torches and ran out of the gate toward the houses.
Addie, Dylan, and Braden followed the men as they ran across the open ground to the first house. Davy motioned for the men to spread out. The men split up and ran to different houses. One of the men threw his torch inside one of the houses. Flames lit up the house as it began to burn. Other houses were set on fire, and soon the flames were making the night bright. Suddenly enemy troops ran out of some of the houses. Davy remembered that Jim Bowie had said they would be there. The enemy started firing at the Texans.
“Get down,” Davy shouted. “Return their fire.”
The Texans took cover and shot back at the enemy. Bullets were whistling through the air. The children huddled down in a hole and listened to the battle. They could hear the yells of the enemy soldiers as they fired at the Texans. Bullets hit the ground, throwing sprays of dirt on them. They could hear Davy yelling at his men to keep shooting. The burning houses provided enough light that the children could see the enemy as they fired at them.
Addie looked behind her. There was open ground between the Texans and the Alamo. If they tried to run across the open area, the enemy could plainly see them and they would make easy targets. More enemy soldiers were joining the fight. A Texan came running around a building with several enemies chasing him. It looked like the enemy would catch him when the Texans fired at them. The enemy soldiers ran for cover as the Texan joined his friends.
All of the houses were burning. When the enemy tried to put out the fires, the Texans would shoot at them and force them to find a place to hide. Davy looked at his men. They were fighting hard, but they were beginning to run out of ammunition. Davy called to one of his men.
“Antonio.”
The man crawled over to Davy.
“We will cover you. Get back to the fort and tell Travis to be ready to cover us when we start back. When he is ready, tell him to fire a cannon at the last house. We will start back then.”
Antonio nodded and waited for Davy to give him the signal to start back. Davy told the others to fire as fast as they could. He nodded at Antonio. He ran toward the Alamo as the others fired. The children watched Antonio run across the open ground. Bullets hit all around him. He fell and the children thought he had been shot, but he bounced to his feet and began to run again. Soon he was at the wooden fence. He leaped to the top and other Texans pulled him into the fort.
“He made it, Davy,” one of the men yelled.
Davy nodded. “Keep firing. They’re still out there.”
The Texans kept firing. The noise was so loud, the children could no longer hear the enemy shout. Braden lifted his head.
“The enemy is getting ready to attack. I can see them through the flames.”
“You better get down,” Dylan yelled. “Those bullets are getting thicker.”
One of the men called out, “I am out of bullets, Davy.”
“Me too,” another said.
Another man pointed to the burning houses. “Davy, the enemy is getting ready to charge.”
Davy looked where the man was pointing. He could see the enemy soldiers standing up. Their officers were pointing their swords toward the Texans. Just as the enemy started to move forward, a cannon from the Alamo fired. The cannonball screamed over the heads of the Texans and landed among the enemy soldiers. They dove for c
over as Davy called for his men to run toward the Alamo. The men stood up and raced toward the open gate. Enemy bullets hit next to them, making the men run faster.
The children ran after the men. Addie was breathing hard as she followed Davy toward the Alamo. It seemed like it was taking forever to cross the open space. Finally they raced through the gate and fell on the ground, gasping for air.
Travis walked over to the group as they started to get up from the ground. “Good job, men. It will help a lot to have those houses out of the way.”
Davy wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt. “That was pretty scary out there. Bowie was right. There were enemy soldiers in those houses. I think they were going to attack us in the morning. They would have had good cover if those houses were still there.”
He looked back at the burning houses. “Did anybody get hurt?”
Travis smiled. “Not one. I can’t believe our good luck. We haven’t lost a man yet. I must go write another message. Once again, you did a good job.”
Davy walked over and sat next to the wall. The children sat next to him. “That was some fight,” Dylan said.
Davy closed his eyes. “Yes it was. The men fought well. I think the enemy knows they have a hard fight in front of them. I just hope the reinforcements get here soon.”
Davy stood up and watched the houses burn. “We better get some sleep. There is a lot to do tomorrow.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The defenders of the Alamo dodged cannon shells as they worked to repair the damage to the walls. The enemy cannons fired night and day. It was hard to sleep at night because of the constant shelling. The women and children rarely left their rooms. They huddled indoors, praying for the cannons to stop.
Davy and the children walked across the courtyard. They saw a man coming toward them carrying a keg of gunpowder. “Morning, Gregorio,” Davy called. “Nice day for a stroll.”
Gregorio Esparza set the keg of powder down and wiped his forehead. “Sure is. If you don’t mind some falling cannonballs.”
“How is your family doing, Gregorio?” Davy asked.
“They are doing pretty well. They are safe as long as they stay inside. So far they have plenty to eat. My son wants to fight, but he is too young.”
“He will probably get his chance someday. Most of us do.”
Gregorio nodded. “Yes, it seems there is always someone who wants to rule over everyone else. Santa Anna is a bad man. I do not want my family living in a place where he is the ruler. That is why Antonio and me and the others joined Captain Seguin’s company. That is why we came into the Alamo. To make a better place for our families to live.”
Some bugles sounded. Davy looked toward the enemy lines. “They keep getting more men all the time. I have lost count of how many they have.”
“Yes. They have many men. One of them is my brother. I hope that I do not have to fight him.” Gregorio picked up the keg of gunpowder and started to walk away. “I must get this powder to Captain Dickinson. Good-bye, Davy.”
“Good-bye, Gregorio.” Davy watched him walk away. “I feel sorry for him. It must be hard to fight against your brother. It just shows how much he wants his family to live in a free land.”
The rest of the day was spent strengthening the walls of the Alamo. As the sun set, the men gathered around the fires and cooked their meal. There was little conversation. Most of the men were thinking about their homes and their families.
“The men seem sad tonight, Davy,” Addie said.
Just then the enemy band began to play a song. The men in the Alamo could hear it plainly as they sat by their fires.
“What is the name of that song?” Davy asked.
“It is called the Dequello,” someone said. “It means that the enemy will give us no mercy.”
Davy thought for a minute. He walked over and picked up his fiddle. The children followed him as he walked to another fire.
“Where is John McGregor?” he asked.
A man stood up. “Here I am, Davy. What do you want?”
Davy walked over to McGregor. “Do you hear that music?”
McGregor nodded.
“Well, I think it is bad. It hurts my ears. I hear that you play the bagpipes.”
“That is right,” McGregor said.
“I play the fiddle. Maybe not real well, but I can play loud. I think you should get your bagpipes and I will get my fiddle and we will have a contest to see who can play the loudest. What do you boys think?”
The men sitting around the fire laughed and clapped. McGregor smiled. “I think that is a fine idea. I will be right back.”
McGregor walked into a building and soon came out with his bagpipes. He blew into them to warm up, then nodded to Davy and began to play. Davy picked up his fiddle, and soon they were making an awful racket.
Travis came rushing out of his office and asked, “What is happening?”
“Davy and John are serenading the enemy,” someone told him.
Travis smiled and leaned against a wall to listen. Juana came running from the room where she was watching Jim Bowie. She asked someone about the noise, then smiled and walked back inside to tell Bowie what was happening.
Davy and McGregor got louder and louder. The men were laughing and yelling. Some of them got up and began to dance around the fire. Soon the music stopped.
“Don’t stop now,” the men called.
Davy and McGregor nodded to each other and began playing again. More men began to dance, and soon men were coming from all over the Alamo to listen to the music. Some of the women and children stuck their heads outside to see what was going on. A few women came out and danced with the men. Everyone was having fun. They were no longer thinking about home. The children laughed and clapped as they watched Davy and McGregor. Dylan and Braden tried to dance like the Texans. Everyone seemed to forget that there was an enemy army just outside their walls.
Finally Davy and McGregor stopped playing. Some of the dancers fell to the ground. Others clapped and cheered. The men shouted for more. Davy raised his hand.
“John and I appreciate your knowledge of fine music. But we need some time to catch our breath. I don’t know that we can pick a winner of the contest, so we will have to do it another time. Do you agree, John?”
McGregor was breathing heavily. “Yes, Davy. I think we will have to try again.”
“Listen,” someone said. The men stood quietly in the dark. Finally one of them spoke.
“I don’t hear anything.”
“That is right. The band stopped. The cannons stopped. They must have been listening to the contest too.”
All the men laughed again. Davy raised his hand. “Well, I guess they can’t be too bad if they appreciate such good music. I think we all need to get back to our posts now.”
The children walked with Davy as he crossed the courtyard. They could feel the happy spirits of the men.
“Davy, you sure made the men feel better,” Addie said.
Davy put his hand on her shoulder as they walked. “It made me feel better too. My ears hurt. That bagpipe sounded like a bag full of fighting cats.”
Outside the Alamo, a cannon fired and the band began to play again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The wind had stopped blowing, but the air was still cold. The men in the Alamo watched the enemy moving their cannon closer. The defenders also scanned the horizon for any sign that help was coming. Davy did all he could to keep the men’s spirits high, but it became harder with each passing day. The children followed Davy as he made his rounds each day. He could still get a laugh with his stories. Travis had sent out more messengers, but so far no aid had come.
Addie and the others sat around the fire as the sun set. When it got dark, the band would play and the cannons would fire faster.
The men were talking quietly when suddenly a sentry called out. “Who is there?”
There was no answer, and the sentry called again.
“I said, who is t
here? Next time I am going to shoot.”
Everyone listened. They could hear horses outside the walls. The sentry fired into the darkness. From outside came a shout.
“Hold your fire. We are Texans.”
The men rushed to the gate and cheered as some men came riding in. The riders stopped in the middle of the courtyard and got off their horses. One of the men had been shot in the foot by the sentry. Colonel Travis ran from his office, buttoning his jacket as he ran. When he saw the new men, he stopped and quickly counted them. Thirty men. He tried not to look disappointed as he walked to the leader.
“Glad to have you men here. Are others coming?”
The leader shook Travis’s hand. “I don’t know. We are from Gonzales. We thought others would join us, but we didn’t see anyone else.”
Travis forced a smile. “Well, if you are here, I am sure others are on the way. Did you have any trouble getting through the enemy lines?”
“No. There is a gap not far from the Gonzales road. We rode right through it.”
Travis motioned for the men to follow him. “Come with me. I will show you where the corral is. Then I will take you to your position on the walls.”
Davy stood in the circle of defenders, watching the new men. One of them looked familiar. He walked over to the new arrival. “Why, Isaac Millsaps. What are you doing here? Jim Bowie told me he sent you home to take care of your family.”
“Yes, he did, Davy. I was with my family when the messenger came saying that the enemy was in San Antonio and Travis needed more men. The men of Gonzales decided to come here, and I joined up with them.”
“What about your wife and family?”
“I talked to my wife. She agrees that Texas is the place we want to raise our family. We don’t think we will have much of a life if Santa Anna is the ruler. I couldn’t let other men go and fight while I stayed home. If Texas is good enough to be my home, it is good enough to fight for. I moved my wife and family into town. Some of the other wives are going to watch after them. I feel better knowing she is not by herself.”
Davy Crockett Page 7
