Return to the Alamo

by Paul Bedford

  Without taking my eyes from him, I gently but firmly detached myself from Sarah and allowed her to slip to the ground. The cold fury that had enveloped me throughout my final journey to San Antonio returned, as I strode over to the north wall.

  ‘Remove the sling,’ I bellowed. ‘Now!’

  For the first time, an air of uncertainty clouded his features. With the gaping muzzle of my revolver pointing directly at his head, he had little option other than to comply. Slowly, and showing genuine discomfort, he removed the material and placed it on the floor with a resounding thump.

  As the toe of my boot slipped into it, the cloth shifted to reveal yet another revolver. Belatedly, I realized that it was only his arrogant overconfidence that had saved me, or rather us!

  The knowledge that my earlier inability to end his life had again put Sarah’s in jeopardy sent me into a paroxysm of rage. I lashed out with unrestrained ferocity. The barrel of my weapon smashed into the side of his head, sending him sideways onto the stone floor. As he lay there unresisting, I kicked him repeatedly. Finally, I stepped back and again levelled my piece.

  Battered and bruised he may have been, but his wits remained as sharp as ever.

  ‘You haven’t got the guts to kill me in cold blood,’ he snarled, fixing his cool eyes on mine. ‘I’m a British officer on active duty, and you’re supposedly my superior, at least in rank.’

  Even in his position he could not resist baiting me, but he had succeeded in one respect. He was still alive. As though sensing my indecision, he kept pushing. ‘And what about your arm? If I had not extracted that arrowhead, greenrod would have set in and you’d be dead. That low bred bitch would never have seen you again.’

  Even as he said that he acknowledged his mistake. Ignoring the pain, I reached forward with that very arm, grabbed a handful of greasy black hair and yanked him to his feet. As he swayed unsteadily before me, I prodded him viciously in the belly with my gun muzzle.

  ‘Outside,’ I barked.

  Through the double doors we plodded and onto the low wall that I had earlier considered vaulting. Finally we reached the main compound.

  Speirs could not contain himself any longer. ‘Where the devil are you taking me?’

  Shoving him forward, I gestured towards the Alamo’s well. ‘You’re going for a little swim,’ I replied venomously.

  Hugo Speirs’s eyes widened in horror as he took in the full implication of my statement, but he still made one last attempt. ‘Sergeant Flaxton told me how you had him under your knife, yet you just couldn’t finish him!’

  Backing him up against the lip of the stone well, I met his gaze and favoured him with a mirthless smile. ‘Where is he now then?’

  With that, I hammered the barrel of the Colt against his cheekbone and then shoved hard against his chest. Stunned by the unexpected blow, he could not resist the sudden pressure. Toppling backwards, his legs swiftly disappeared from view as he plummeted down the shaft. He was not even able to cry out before hitting the water and then there was only silence. Falling head first down a narrow bore with injuries such as his, meant that death by drowning was inevitable. Belatedly, I also realized that recovering my gold sovereigns was going to require a lot of effort!

  Footfalls sounded behind me. ‘What have you done, Thomas?’

  Turning, I found Sarah regarding me with a mixture of confusion and relief. Her nightgown was badly torn and she was showing a deal more leg than was proper in those parts.

  ‘What I’ve been trying to do for weeks. What Vicky would have wanted.’

  ‘Vicky?’

  On the point of answering, I was abruptly halted by a dramatic entrance. Prefaced by the pounding of many hoofs, a column of riders swept into the compound. Catching sight of us near the well they spread out and advanced menacingly across the moonlit ground. Making no attempt to raise my revolver, I turned to face them as they formed up around us in a semi-circle.

  One rider moved slightly to the fore of the others, indicating that he was the acknowledged leader. Slim and slightly built, he made no attempt to reach for a weapon. Instead he settled his piercing eyes on mine and in a strangely high voice said, ‘Good evening, Major Collins. I trust I find you well and in possession of our gunpowder!’

  With somewhat mixed feelings, I greeted the return of Captain John Coffee Hays.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Along with ushering in a new day, the sunrise brought with it an amazing spectacle. Jack Hays, Sarah Fetterman and a somewhat battered Thomas Collins rode at the head of a column of fourteen heavily armed Texas Rangers. We were on our way down the escarpment to, God willing, meet with and assist Kirby and his much-reduced party. Sarah, in the face of much protest and even some mild threats, had insisted on accompanying the force.

  ‘You done left me for the last time, Thomas Collins. You might think you’re as fast as shit from a goose, but look at the state of you.’

  The remainder of the previous night had been spent explaining to the Ranger Captain why so much Texan blood had been spilt in the Alamo Compound, followed by a few hours’ sleep snatched before the dawn. Though we had so much to talk about, Sarah and I had agreed to hold off for another time. For her body to be curled up next to mine on our bed was quite sufficient for me. It was the first time that I had felt truly safe for weeks.

  The ride out from San Antonio afforded the time for me to explain the circumstances surrounding the purchase and transportation of the precious gunpowder. Hays listened intently. It was not until I had finished off with talk of my arrival in San Antonio that he finally spoke. Glancing over at Sarah before fixing his gaze firmly on me he said, ‘Although neither of you would agree with me, I am compelled to say that this man Speirs did you a service by carrying Sarah off.’

  I made to protest, but he cut me off. ‘Four citizens of San Antonio were brutally slain and a visiting British national heaved down a well by you, sir! Doubtless they needed killing, but that would have been hard to justify on your word alone, had it not been for the disgraceful kidnapping of this lady. Such action changed everything, as the capture of women and children by the Comanches is an all too familiar occurrence out here. Such behaviour will not be tolerated.’ Then his expression softened. ‘By the by, would you happen to know what the date was yesterday?’

  I was totally flummoxed. Not only had I no idea of the date, I couldn’t for the life of me understand the relevance of his question. A pleading glance at Sarah elicited no help, so my answer was merely an elaborate shrug of the shoulders.

  Hays laughed again, as though at a private joke, before enlightening us both. ‘February 23rd, 1845. Nine years to the day since the siege of the Alamo began. In your own way you managed to commemorate it quite well.’

  As the day progressed, storm clouds began to build and it appeared as though our run of unseasonably dry weather was coming to a close. I had made it my business to accompany the relief column for two reasons. I wished to be on hand personally when Captain Hays appropriated the first wagonload of powder and I also keenly desired to greet Sergeant Kirby, with whom I had shared so much.

  Hays had tactfully left Sarah and I alone, so that we were able to ride together companionably without being overheard. It was me who first raised the subject of her cousin, albeit with some trepidation.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me after your husband was killed that you had Vicky for a cousin? I could perhaps have found her for you last year and avoided this tragedy.’

  Sarah favoured me with a sad smile. ‘Because she was a strumpet! She paid her way by selling her body and that ain’t nothing to be proud of. I’m right sorry she’s dead, but what’s done is done.’ Then she settled her piercing green eyes on mine as she remarked, ‘I hope she didn’t offer you anything on account, because she ain’t here to settle with, only you.’

  My guts were bubbling like hot tar, but I managed to maintain a calm exterior as I answered that. ‘What kind of man do you take me for? She was your cousin, for God’s sake.’


  She smiled, but couldn’t resist one last salvo. ‘That’s good, because if I thought anything had passed betwixt you two, I’d be the meanest bitch that ever bawled for beads!’

  That was the last reference she made of cousin Vicky, but the thought of the two of them under one roof turned my bowels to mush.

  The outrider reined in before his captain, a broad smile on his face. ‘It’s them all right, Jack. One wagon and four men, down near the base of the escarpment.’

  Hays’s thin face lit up with sheer joy and as the news passed down the column, shouting and cheering broke out. Rain began to patter down, but I knew that no amount of it could dampen our spirits. Increasing his pace, the captain led us down through the trees, until sure enough we were all able to see the small party moving towards us.

  With a surge of emotion, I identified Travis, Davey and Ben sitting together on the bench seat, waving and shouting themselves hoarse. Kirby, astride his mount, was altogether more restrained. As we drew closer, I was shocked to discover that they resembled street beggars, with their unkempt beards and torn, filthy clothing. That feeling was compounded, when it came to me that I too was in the same state.

  Making straight for Kirby, I reined in before him. Reaching out, I accepted his proffered hand. Seemingly oblivious to the joyous mayhem around us, we remained like that for a long moment. It was Kirby who first broke the reflective silence between us.

  ‘Reckon I’m right glad to see you all,’ he offered laconically. Thoughtfully massaging his disfigured neck he continued, ‘And what of that festering cockchafer Speirs?’

  ‘He’s dead!’

  ‘Figured he might be. He die hard?’

  ‘Very!’

  ‘Any others along with him?’

  ‘Four.’

  ‘You counted, huh?’

  ‘It makes sense in my profession.’

  ‘And what might that be, Thomas?’

  I thought about that for some time before answering. ‘Soldier of fortune,’ I finally replied with a broad grin.