Ole Devil at San Jacinto (Old Devil Hardin Western Book 4) (12 page)

‘
I
wouldn’t like to be
in those three’s shoes when he gets back,’ Ole Devil remarked,
watching the colonel stamping away.

‘
He’s in a somewhat difficult
position, for all of that,’ Hallistead pointed out. ‘Being in
command of a privately financed volunteer regiment puts a serious
limit to the extent of his disciplinary powers, as you may have
cause to know.’

‘
It does, although we’re luckier than
most in that respect,’ Ole Devil answered. ‘But I hope that he can
keep them under control until we leave. I meant what I told
him.’

‘
He didn’t doubt it,’ the
entertainer declared. ‘And I’m sure he’ll find a way to make sure
they don’t cause trouble in the future.’
^xxvi

‘
By the way,’ Ole Devil said. ‘I was
coming to see you when I met them. Can you spare me a few minutes,
please?’

‘
Certainly,’ Hallistead affirmed. ‘The
Grand Hotel is in the offing. Shall we avail ourselves of its far
from extensive facilities?’

‘
I’d rather be getting back to my
Company, if it’s all the same with you,’ Ole Devil objected.
‘Fooling with them’s kept me away much longer than I intended and I
still have a lot to do ready for the morning.’

‘
That’s understandable,’
Hallistead declared, knowing that Company
‘C
’
was leaving. ‘So I will perambulate thence with you and can pay my
respects to Colonel Fog in passing. And what about you, light of my
life?’

‘
I
don’t think I’ll
come,’ Corrinne replied. ‘Unless, of course, you need my advice
too, Captain Hardin?’

‘
While I’d count it an honor to be
seen in your company, ma’am,’ the Texian replied, sweeping his hat
off with a flourish. ‘Your husband can tell me all I want to
know.’

‘
Then I’ll go and wait for
you at the hotel, darling,’ Corrinne informed her husband, glancing
in that direction. ‘Why there’s charming Colonel Smith. I wonder if
he’s heard that there are any marauding bands of Mexicans in the
vicinity. Perhaps he’ll be able to put my mind at ease about
it.
’

‘
I’ve heard
‘Deaf” Smith called
a whole heap of things, mostly deserved, on occasion,’ Ole Devil
remarked, watching the little blonde join the obviously delighted
old Chief of Scouts. ‘But “charming” wasn’t one of
them.’

‘
Or me, I
admit,
’ Hallistead replied.

‘
What do you think your
lady’s up to?
’ the Texian inquired.

‘
She
seems
deeply disturbed by
the possibility that we will hear the Mexicans are approaching with
the intention of launching an offensive,’ the entertainer
suggested. ‘What would happen, do you think, if such a threat
should eventuate?’

‘
Everybody would be too
busy watching out for them to go around looking for mischief,’ Ole
Devil surmised with a grin. ‘But it won’t happen,
will
it
?’

‘
As I told Corrinne, the
contingency is remote,
’ Hallistead answered, but his tone lacked
conviction. They started to walk towards where the Texas Light
Cavalry were camped and he went on, ‘Now, in what manner do you
wish me to render assistance?’

‘
I’m not at liberty to
explain why,’ Ole Devil warned, ‘but I have to take a small party
into the
center of the Mexican Army.’

‘
No easy
task,
’
Hallistead said quietly, showing no surprise. ‘How did you propose
to accomplish it?’

‘
Would it be possible to disguise
Tommy, the other man and myself so we could get in there and carry
out our assignment?’

‘
By day, or at night?’

‘
We could move in to
the
center by night, but getting there and doing what we have
to will mean working in daylight.’

‘
Do you wish to
impersonate specific personages?
’ Hallistead asked, but his voice
expressed no enthusiasm.

‘
No,
’ Ole Devil replied. ‘Just to pass for Mexicans to avoid
suspicion if we meet any. Once we
⁵
ve done our work, it doesn’t matter if they
realize we’re Texians.’

‘
To pass at a distance,
you would require the appropriate garments and even saddles, which
would be easy enough to obtain,’ Hallistead decided, being an
authority on the subject of make-up and disguise as they had been
his specialty
in the theater. ‘However, at under fifty yards and with
your face shaved and hair either hidden or cut, your features would
probably give you away. That would be even more so in the case of
your worthy Oriental factotum. He could
never
pass as a person of Latin origin. An
Indian, mayhap, with stain on his skin and wearing a black wig,
which I could supply.’

‘
We don’t intend to let
anybody get
that
close on the way in,’ Ole Devil pointed out. ‘And we can
cover the final stage during the night.’

‘
True, but even in the
darkness there could be problems. Unless I’m prying beyond
acceptable depths, is the third member of your party
a
Chicano.’

‘
A
Texian.
’

‘
Then you will have the
language problem to contend with, should you be
challenged,
’ the entertainer warned. ‘There are sure to be sentries
posted and, no matter how well you speak Spanish, your accents
might give you away.’

‘
So you don’t think much of our
chances?’

‘
Not at close
quarters,
’ Hallistead admitted. ‘A disguise is never entirely
satisfactory, nor long lasting, when it requires make-up and is for
use out of doors. That would be particularly so in the current
inclement weather. It would require frequent renewal and that is no
task to be undertaken without training. No, my Mephistophelian
young friend, there is no way you can utilize a disguise at close
quarters and be sure of success.’

‘
That’s just about what I
figured,
’ Ole Devil admitted and gave a shrug. ‘We’ll just have to
try it some other way.’

‘
If you haven’t completed
the selection of your party, or even if you have and consider the
idea meritorious, I could accompany you and renew the make-up when
necessary
,’ Hallistead offered. ‘Not even that will guarantee
success, but it is worthy of consideration.’

‘
Thank you for the offer,
sir,
’
Ole Devil drawled. ‘But three is the maximum that we could hope to
take through.’

‘
I’ll
leave that in your
hands, captain,’ the entertainer declared. ‘And I’m sorry I
couldn’t be of more help.’

‘
You only closed up a way
I wasn’t really counting on, sir,
’
Ole Devil drawled philosophically.
‘There’s another open to us. While I was on my way to collect the
General’s caplocks, I picked up a letter of identification Santa
Anna had given to a white renegade.
^xxvii
That might get us
through.’

‘
I hope that it
does
,’
Hallistead said sincerely, without attempting to try and find out
the nature of the assignment. ‘Isn’t this your second-in-command
coming?’

‘
Yes,’
Ole Devil affirmed, looking to where Mannen Blaze was exhibiting an
uncharacteristic haste as he strode towards them from the Texas
Light Cavalry’s neat lines of tents.

‘
In
considerable haste,
too,’ the entertainer went on, frowning. ‘I hope that nothing is
amiss.’

‘
So do
I,’ Ole Devil seconded grimly.

‘
Howdy, Mr. Hallistead,’ Mannen
greeted, then gave his full attention to his superior. ‘Paul
Dimmock’s just come back, Cousin Devil.’

‘
He made good time,’ Ole
Devil said quietly, feeling sure that the
redhead had
something more to add.

‘
Sergeant Smith met them bringing in a
herd of cattle they’d found,’ Mannen continued. ‘Trouble is, so did
some fellers who heard about the fuss at the hotel. Paul told me
he’d like to see you as soon as it’s convenient.’

‘
Where is he now?’ Ole Devil asked,
sensing his cousin had left much unsaid.

‘
Down at the horse lines, the last I
saw of him,’ Mannen replied.

‘
I’ll go and see him,’ Ole
Devil decided.
‘If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Hallistead?’

‘
Of course,’ the entertainer answered.
‘Is Colonel Fog available, Mr. Blaze?’

‘
Yes,
sir,’ Mannen confirmed.

‘
Take Mr. Hallistead to see the
colonel,’ Ole Devil ordered and, even though Mannen Blaze knew why
Lieutenant Paul Dimmock had insisted upon the interview, he
signified his assent without a moment’s hesitation.

Leaving the burly
redhead to escort
the entertainer, Ole Devil walked swiftly through the camp. Making
his way to the well guarded lines of picketed horses, he was
pleased to observe that the man he was seeking stood alone and some
distance from the nearest sentry.

Since the destruction of his
former regiment, along with the other prisoners at Goliad, Paul
Dimmock had laid aside the attire of the New Orleans
Grays and wore the
uniform of an officer in the Texas Light Cavalry. Almost as tall as
Ole Devil, he was slightly heavier in build and had short cropped
light brown hair. The bitter lines on his good looking face had not
been there before the massacre of Colonel James Walker Fannin’s
command. Seeing his superior coming, he strode forward with a
demeanor of indignation and anger.

‘
Before you say what
you’re thinking,’ Ole Devil drawled, as they halted face to face,
in his voice a coldly prohibitive note.
‘Don’t
!’

‘
You
—!’ Dimmock began, ignoring the warning.

‘
I took steps to prevent
something stupidly senseless from happening,’ Ole Devil
interrupted. ‘You don’t need to prove
anything,
especially to a bunch of young
fools with too much time and not enough work on their
hands.’

‘
But
they
—!’ Dimmock tried to protest.

‘
What would it have proved to call
one, or all of them out?’ Ole Devil continued relentlessly. ‘Not a
solitary damned thing and it would have settled less.’

‘
It would have proved
that
—’
Dimmock tried to explain.

‘
For
each one you’d faced
and beaten, there’d be another to take his place,’ Ole Devil
pointed out, ignoring the other’s words. ‘Only it wouldn’t have
stopped just between you and those six. The men of Company “C” like
and respect you enough to want to take your part. Once that
happened, the rest of the New Orleans’ Wildcats would have felt
obligated to stand by their own.
Mister,
the Republic of Texas’s Army has more than
enough problems without stupid, pointless feuds among its ranks.’
He raised his right hand as his subordinate made as if to speak. ‘I
know, I took an un-gentlemanly liberty by interfering in your
private affairs. But,
Lieutenant
Dimmock, we’re not gentlemen any more.
We’re
officers,
responsible for the lives of the men under our command.
And, as
you
asked to come into
my
Company, you’re under
my
command. That gives
me
the right to interfere and take whatever steps I feel are
necessary if something’s happening that could put you and the rest
of my Company in jeopardy.’ Pausing for a few seconds to let his
meaning sink in, he finished, ‘If
I’d
had the slightest doubts about your courage, I
wouldn’t have taken you into Company “C”—or be asking if you’ll
volunteer for a dangerous assignment.’

‘
I will, sir,’ Dimmock
agreed, looking slightly abashed as
he conceded that his superior had
made very good sense.

‘
You’d better hear what it
is, first
,’ Ole Devil warned. ‘It will mean going into the middle of
the Mexican Army—’

‘
I’ll still
go,’
Dimmock declared. ‘And thanks—for everything.’

‘
Come
on,’ Ole Devil said, satisfied that he had achieved his purpose.
‘I’ll tell what else we’re going to do as we go back to the
tents.’